90% of illegally occupied northern Cyprus's indigenous population,
circa 200.000 people, was forcibly expelled in 1974. Many want Cyprus to
negotiate based on such "reality on the ground".But if regional peace is the ultimate goal, as every player in the conflict claims, then perhaps a new, much less dramatic reality, should be envisioned and implemented:
a far smaller, peaceful and organized population transfer of the remaining 75.000 Turkish Cypriots to Turkey, coupled with an agreement between the Republic of Cyprus and the Republic of Turkey for financial compensation and perhaps a gas pipeline through Turkey.
If peace is indeed the desired goal, then this is by far the optimal solution as it removes the main obstacle: how to balance the rights of an indigenous majority vis-a-vis the illogical apartheid-like demands of an ethnic minority. If only Turkish Cypriots were as logical as Kurds in Turkey. But no such luck.
Some would say that Turkish Cypriots might object. However, the truth is they are a minority, yet again, in the occupied north to illegal settlers anyway and the transfer would not change that. It would however render them proper citizens of the country they so cherish, while guaranteeing their safety, their major concern since the beginning of the conflict.
