Sailing Against The Wind

BY CUNEYT ARCAYUREK
CUMHURIYET- My headline today is a summary of the policies applied by the government and TRNC President Mehmet Ali Talat to the Cyprus problem.
The new laws put in force by the Greeks hold the Turks at bay and show that they are sailing against the wind.
The Turkish Cypriots thought that by finding a new leader, namely Talat, they would overcome their obstacles. The general idea was that to overcome difficulties under the leadership of Talat, they should first get rid of longtime President Rauf Denktas.
Now Denktas is gone, but the Turkish Cypriots face new problems with each passing day.
Talat, in an interview with a Greek newspaper, said ‘Please believe that we want Cyprus to be reunited.’
Another subject is: 32,000 Turkish Cypriots got passports from the Greeks. However the Greeks gave these passports for another reason. Now the Greek Cypriot leadership says to these Turks, ‘If you are Greek Cypriot citizens, then it’s not legal for you to live on property which belongs to the Greeks, so you should go to court.’
The cases against Turks said to be using Greek property rises every day, and the warning Talat made to the Geeks is very amusing: He says, ‘You will risk free movement.’ But who cares?
Besides, it also became obvious that the government in Ankara doesn’t take Talat very seriously either. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan started contacts about the Annan plan in Moscow, and Talat was shocked when he heard this. The upshot is that both the Greeks and the government in Ankara are playing with Talat.
Denktas who was against a resolution, is gone now. But developments cannot be made with Talat, who is ready for every solution, either.