Turkish Forum

Tag: Turkish Cypriots

  • UN envoy De Soto urges EU to end KKTC’s isolation

    UN envoy De Soto urges EU to end KKTC’s isolation

    Former UN envoy De Soto urges EU to end KKTC’s isolation;

    Alvaro de Soto, the UN secretary-general’s former special adviser on Cyprus, has said the European Union should, as promised, end the isolation of Turkish Cypriots to help find a lasting solution to the problems on the long-divided island.
    Mr de Soto stated that it would only be fair for the EU live up to its promises to the Turkish inhabitants of northern Cyprus. Noting that he believes that the EU should comply with its commitments to the Turkish Cypriots, he said this would drive Turkey to open its ports to traffic from Greek Cyprus. Turkey refuses to do so as long as theTurkish Cypriots continue to be subjected to isolation, which the EU had promised to end following the Greek Cypriot rejection of the Annan plan in 2004 while the Turkish side overwhelmingly approved it.
    The former UN envoy argued that one reason that prompted the Greek Cypriots to reject the Annan plan aimed at reunifying the island six years ago could be that they felt they were in an advantageous position because they were going to join the EU. He added that another reason was that the Greek Cypriots did not study the plan as carefully as the Turkish Cypriots and were therefore not completely aware of what it would have meant for them.
    De Soto also assessed the prospects of resolving the issue through the bilateral talks initiated by Greek Cypriot leader Dimitris Christofias and former Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (KKTC) President Mehmet Ali Talat on Sept. 3, 2008. Talat was unseated by Dervis Eroglu at the presidential elections held a month ago.
    He said both sides have agreed to a bi-communal, bi-zonal federal state solution as a compromise, though it was not either side’s preference. Stating that the parties have agreed to terms of reference for the talks, he said:“There is a new basis. I see that even Mr. Eroglu has agreed to continue on the same basis. They are pursuing a bi-zonal, bi-communal federal solution, the results of which would have to be a state of single international legal personality and sovereignty, and that is in conformity with the Annan plan as far as I can tell.” He added that it is a “good thing” to see Eroglu pledge to continue the talks from where they left off. Christofias and Eroglu are scheduled to hold the 72nd meeting of the reunification talks on May 26.
    De Soto lastly discussed the reason for his resignation from his last post at the UN in 2007 as the special coordinator for the Middle East peace process. He said he resigned because the UN refused to talk with Hamas.“In the Quartet, the UN decided not to deal with Hamas even though Hamas had been democratically elected in an election that has been praised by the observers, including the EU observers. Even though this was the case, the UN stopped dealing with the government of the Palestinian authority, and that was a mistake. I tried to get things changed, and when I was not successful, I left the UN,” he said.
    17 May 2010, Monday

    Topix

  • Turkish Cypriots complain about Greek harassment

    Turkish Cypriots complain about Greek harassment

    bWednesday, August 5, 2009

    REETA PAAKKINEN

    KYRENIA – Hürriyet Daily News
    The Turkish Cypriot tourism sector is considering starting legal proceedings against Greek Cyprus for what they see as harassment of their business partners abroad. The issue reached the Italian parliament in June, when a local MP called the letters from Greek Cypriot representation an ‘intimidation campaign.’

    For harassment of their overseas business partners, the Turkish Cypriot Tourism and Travel Agencies Association, or KITSAB, and the Turkish Cypriot Hoteliers’ Association, or KITOB, are considering starting legal proceedings against the Greek Cypriot government.

    Presenting several letters from Greek Cypriot embassies in European Union countries and Lebanon to local travel companies marketing holidays in northern Cyprus, KITSAB and KITOB presidents said the Greek Cypriot approach contradicts the U.N.-mediated peace talks.

    In late June, the issue reached the Italian parliament. Marco Perduca of the Radical Party said the letter the Greek Cypriot Embassy in Rome sent to Italian tour operators amounted to an “intimidation campaign” in which the Italian government should support Italian entrepreneurs who bring tourists to northern Cyprus.

    Undermining tourism

    “This time we have had enough of the Greek Cypriot campaign to stop tourism to Turkish Cyprus. Germany, the U.K., Lebanon, Romania, Sweden. … Wherever we go, the Greek Cypriot government follows and calls for our business partners not to cooperate with us,” Özbek Dedekorkut, president of KITSAB, told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review.

    A letter from the Greek Cypriot Embassy in Rome to Italian tour operators, seen by the Daily News, conveyed the image that a holiday from Italy to northern Cyprus could lead one into legal trouble by stating, in Italian: “We remind that Tymbou [Ercan] Airport is in the occupied area. In addition, it is operating outside the IATA authority in a way that is outside the law. Arriving in Cyprus through that entry point can lead to fines according to the laws of Republic of Cyprus.”

    Another letter seen by the Daily News was from the Greek Cypriot Embassy in Beirut to a local tour operator in Jounieh, Lebanon, dated June 5. The letter presented the local travel agency the possibility of legal charges in case his company brings tourists to northern Cyprus.

    “It has come to the attention of this Embassy that your travel agency … is currently in the process of establishing a tourist holiday package involving destinations in the Turkish-occupied areas of the Republic of Cyprus. As a consequence we hereby wish to inform you that some of your actions are violating both the legislation of the Republic of Cyprus – a member state of the European Union – and international law in such a way that it may be cause for taking legal action against you and your company. … We also advise you to refrain from launching a sea line with a destination in the occupied areas of the Republic of Cyprus.”

    The letter had an official reference number and was signed by Charge d’Affaires Kyriacos P. Kouros, who could not be reached when the Daily News contacted him about the authenticity of the letter.

    Harming Turkish business

    Although there is no legal basis for stopping people from traveling to northern Cyprus, travel companies abroad become unnecessarily concerned, he said. “Greek Cypriot representatives are trying to scare local businesses abroad, and this harms us. They do not have the right to threaten our business partners like this,” Dedekorkut said.

    “The Greek Cypriot campaign is affecting our marketing, especially in Europe,” said Mehmet Dolmacı, president of KITOB. “Greek Cypriots are making it clear they don’t want to cooperate or share tourism income here. Cyprus is not solely a Greek island – Turkish Cypriots also have the right to live here. Whatever we try to do, they try to stop it. This seems to be their biggest job – not to find a solution but to try to pressure us to leave Cyprus for better income elsewhere.”

    Contradictory

    Maintaining isolation is contradictory to peace talks, according to Maurizio Turco, a member of the Italian Parliament and a colleague of Marco Perduca in the Italian Radical Party. Turco said attempts to hamper the growth of tourism in northern Cyprus are in dire contrast with the ongoing talks. “The Greek Cypriot side is talking with Turkish Cypriots about a comprehensive settlement, yet at the same time their representations are trying to stop tourism to northern Cyprus. This is just not right,” Turco told the Daily News in late July in Kyrenia.

    “We should bring the issue to the world’s attention. [Turkish Cypriot president] Mehmet Ali Talat should also point this out to [Greek Cypriot president] Dimitris Christofias and make it clear this is not right,” Turco added.

    According to Turco, the letters the Greek Cypriot Embassy in Rome sent have been noted in the Italian parliament. “This issue should really be discussed on the EU level,” he said. “Member states should come together to discuss the isolation of northern Cyprus. But because of the veto Greek Cyprus has, this is difficult.”

    It was a mistake to accept Greek Cyprus in the EU after it turned down the Kofi Annan Peace proposal, said Turco, who earlier served in the European Parliament. “There should have been first a peace deal, and only then entry for the whole island into the EU.”

    Hürriyet