MILLIYET- Columnist Sami Kohen comments on Justice and Development Party (AKP) leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s recent remarks on the Cyprus issue. A summary of his column is as follows:
When he spoke to a Greek TV station about the Cyprus issue just days after his party’s election victory, Justice and Development Party (AKP) leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan seems to have forgotten the famous saying (especially popular within diplomatic circles) that ‘The devil lies in the details.’ That’s probably why he made remarks in favor of the Belgian model for a permanent solution on the island.
In his interview on Greek TV, Erdogan underlined that there were two different nations on Cyprus. He added that the AKP advocated the Belgian model which had previously also been suggested by United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan. The AKP’s program includes similar remarks on the Cyprus issue. ‘Our party believes that the Cyprus problem should be solved immediately,” says the AKP program. ‘There is no doubt that a permanent solution cannot be reached on the island in the absence of either recognizing the Turkish Cypriots’ presence and identity or ensuring their right to self-determination. We believe that establishing a federal state comprised of two different nations on the island would be beneficial for both sides.’
The Turkish Foreign Ministry is now quite concerned, since Athens has evaluated Erdogan’s remarks as Turkey’s official views on the issue and expects the new government to take significant steps towards the establishment of the Belgian model on the island. ‘Lame duck’ Foreign Minister Sukru Sina Gurel recently scolded Erdogan, accusing the party leader of being ignorant on the Cyprus issue. A Foreign Ministry spokesman also weighed in, stating that Erdogan’s remarks were not binding on the ministry’s official views.
There are diverse and even contradictory voices within the AKP concerning the Cyprus problem. Deputy leader Abdullah Gul two days ago confirmed that the AKP’s program included remarks advocating the Belgian model. However, Yasar Yakis, another deputy AKP leader, said that the AKP had only been ‘inspired’ by the Belgian model but had never considered it a permanent solution, underlining that certain changes would have to be made in such a model to make it feasible for the island. Foreign diplomats concerned with the Cyprus issue were surprised and confused by all these conflicting statements. I think it would be best if everybody waited to hear for the AKP’s official statements after its single-party government is formed.
The Belgian model, as a matter of fact, was previously suggested by Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Rauf Denktas and his advisors. In an address to the European Parliament, Ergun Olgun, one of Denktas’s advisors, recently stated that Cyprus might benefit from Belgium’s dual-ethnic experience. However, there is an extremely important detail here. Olgun underlined that Cyprus might benefit from the Belgian experience in its relations with the EU, but he neither suggested that the model might be completely implemented on Cyprus nor implied such. Prof. Mumtaz Soysal, another advisor to Denktas, yesterday stressed that the Turkish side was referring to the Belgian model only when talking about relations between the EU and the island, reiterating that the Belgian model could not be completely put into practice on Cyprus itself. In fact, the two separate nations in Belgium enjoy their separate identities and sovereignty rights in their relations with the EU. This is the very point which might be taken as a model for Cyprus. The Turkish side advocates the Belgian model for the island’s foreign relations and the Swiss model for its domestic affairs. However, the AKP’s current attitude on the issue seems to be considering the Belgian model a proper path towards a permanent solution. Let’s not be surprised if UN Secretary-General Annan suggests a similar solution proposal next week.
SOURCE: OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER, DIRECTORATE GENERAL OF PRESS AND INFORMATION