First to favor the TRNC

BY SAMI KOHEN
MILLIYET- Today will see an event long-anticipated by Turkish Cypriots. A Turkish Cypriot Airways plane will take off from Istanbul carrying an American commercial delegation to Ercan Airport in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC). The US delegation of representatives from large American firms and commerce consultants from Ankara’s US Embassy will hold meetings with Turkish businessmen in the TRNC. Such a visit is a first, and it holds political significance. In other words, the decades-long policy of isolation imposed on Turkish Cypriots is being breached, thus sending an important message to the Greek Cypriot Papadopoulos administration. As TRNC Chamber of Commerce head Ali Erel told me yesterday, ‘The message that the TRNC’s isolation is ending will shake Greek Cypriots and remind them that they, too, need a resolution. Greek Cypriot leaders should realize that the TRNC is opening up to the world and starting to stand on its two feet.’ For the first time a delegation from the US is arriving in the TRNC directly, which is raising the Greeks’ hackles. Some people also say that by way of retaliation, the Papadopoulos administration will cooperate with US enemies in the region like Iran and Syria. It’s very unlikely that such threats will work. US officials in Washington say that this visit is consistent with its promise to end the Turkish side’s isolation and a signal this policy will continue. Obviously it is important that the US will stand firm on this, and trade between the TRNC and the US will provide the financial help which it promised. Such certainty will make it easier for other countries to act similarly.
But for now, no such move is expected from the European Union. Although TRNC Prime Minister Mehmet Ali Talat told EU Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso that he was getting support in ending the isolation, certain hurdles remain in place. As Talat stated, the commission is doing its best, but the TRNC was unable to get what it wanted. This situation springs from the fact that the commission is made up of bureaucrats, while the Council of Europe consists of the ministers of the 25 EU member states. Among these are the Greek Cypriot administration and Greece. A European diplomat told me that the structure of the EU wasn’t suitable for establishing direct ties with the TRNC, as the US is doing. If Papadopoulos feels the obligation to change his policy, a way to make this happen is to support the Turkish Cypriots and place importance on the reality of the TRNC, as the US did.