Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Should Cyprus be proactive?

The 9th conference on EU, Kurds and "Turkey" ended in Brussels last Thursday (6/12/12). The question that should be on our minds is whether the Cyprus government can act on the conference's conclusions to promote peace in the wider region as well as bring some sense to Cyprus's Turkish-British problem. I list three of the declarations adopted which I find relevant:

1] The EUTCC calls for the direct negotiations between "Turkey" and the Kurds to be re-established immediately and without preconditions. It also calls on the EU to play a role in these negotiations by providing political and official support for the creation of a democratic platform for dialogue between "Turkey" and the Kurdish representatives.

2] The EUTCC Conference resolves to periodically make recommendations regarding measures for the Turkish accession process, the protection of human rights and the situation of the Kurds.

3] The Conference calls upon the Turkish authorities to seriously write and ratify the promised new democratic and civil constitution along with resuming a new approach of dialogue and negotiation in all fundamental problematic issues.

I think the above offers a solid platform on which the Cyprus government, as an EU member, can pursue a direct involvement in the Turkish-Kurdish relations. Our experience with our own ethnic minority & even the advice "Turkey" itself has been offering us since the 1950s about the adequate level of political rights for an 18% (12% today as a result of "Turkey" 's policies) ethnic minority, can prove extremely useful towards a final resolution of "Turkey" 's Kurdish issue, or perhaps more correctly Kurds' "Turkey" issue.

In my mind, a Cyprus government that in light of the above stays silent, is a government lacking in effectiveness and imagination, and certainly should not expect my approval or admiration!

EU conference calls for dialogue 07.12.2012 DIHA

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Turkey's Kurds & Cyprus' tCypriots

As either unitary state or federation solutions are discussed as replacements to Cyprus' 1960 and Turkey's 1923 unworkable constitutions, should we abide by "if a right is a right too many for Turkey's Kurdish community (circa 23% of population) then that right is a right too many for Cyprus' tCypriot community too (circa 15%), and vice versa." Is the adoption of this fair logic the catalyst to securing just solutions for both UN countries.