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Talks on Cyprus reach crucial point, territorial issues remain

 

 

GENEVA: -- Talks in Geneva on the reunification of Cyprus have reached a crucial point. Greece has suggested Turkey has a 28.2 percent share of the island, while the Turkish delegation is pushing for 29.2 percent.

 

Each side has handed the UN maps with new boundary proposals.

 

The UN envoy to Cyprus said there was still work to do, but added that discussions to resolve its 42-year division are ‘on track’ and many contentious issues have been resolved.

 

Espen Barth Eide added: 

“This is the best chance, and that I can not see anything that would suggest that the chance is getting any better by waiting four months or eight months, or two years, or forty-two years, or fifty-two years, as it has been tried before. There is simply nothing in the trend lines that I see internationally that suggests that the world is getting more, you know, constructive, that people are coming together more, that problems are more easily overcome, that we get the world leadership that is more helpful.”

 

As guarantor powers of Cyprus’s independence, the Greek, Turkish and British foreign ministers are expected to join discussions in the Swiss city on Thursday. There, they will discuss the security parametres of any deal.

 

The aim of the talks is to establish a two-state federation with both sides sharing power.

 

 

-- © Copyright Euronews 2017-01-12

[Kerryd]

Cyprus is a fine example of the total failure of the UN and the concept of "peacekeeping".

 

When it takes over 42 YEARS and they haven't been able to resolve anything, and the peacekeepers are basically there just to boost the local economy, it is a failure. The Peacekeeping mission was actually established back in 1964 !!!! Canada finally pulled it's troops out of the mission in the 90s after nearly 30 years of rotating a fresh battalion of troops there every 6 months.

 

Meanwhile, since then we've seen the collapse of the USSR, the Berlin Wall, the Vietnam War, numerous wars in the Middle East and many "new" countries spring up but the Cyprus issue remains unresolved.

Timor for example, is 4 times the size of Cyprus and has 3 times the population. It was invaded in 1975 by Indonesia. After decades of strife, in 1999 East Timor elected to separate and Indonesia agreed to relinquish control. Peacekeepers were sent in due to the initial violence that happened after the referendum. Within 3 years (by 2002) East Timor was officially independent but the peacekeeping mission had effectively ended much earlier (in 2000, after which the mission was more of a policing effort than a peacekeeping one). By 2006 there was barely any UN presence remaining in the country, less than 7 years after independence referendum. 

 

Just like the Greeks and Turks, the East Timorese and West Timorese were traditional enemies long before the UN ever came along. Unlike Cyprus though, it seems the Timorese have settled down and are getting on with their lives. 

And to think, it didn't take 40+ years of UN intervention and peacekeeping to achieve. Somehow though, I just can't see Erdogan (Turkey's former Prime Minister, current President and possibly future dictator) giving up an inch of anything to Greece or anyone else for that matter. This could drag on for another 40+ years the way things are going.

 

[khunken]

9 hours ago, Kerryd said:

Cyprus is a fine example of the total failure of the UN and the concept of "peacekeeping".

 

When it takes over 42 YEARS and they haven't been able to resolve anything, and the peacekeepers are basically there just to boost the local economy, it is a failure. The Peacekeeping mission was actually established back in 1964 !!!! Canada finally pulled it's troops out of the mission in the 90s after nearly 30 years of rotating a fresh battalion of troops there every 6 months.

 

Meanwhile, since then we've seen the collapse of the USSR, the Berlin Wall, the Vietnam War, numerous wars in the Middle East and many "new" countries spring up but the Cyprus issue remains unresolved.

Timor for example, is 4 times the size of Cyprus and has 3 times the population. It was invaded in 1975 by Indonesia. After decades of strife, in 1999 East Timor elected to separate and Indonesia agreed to relinquish control. Peacekeepers were sent in due to the initial violence that happened after the referendum. Within 3 years (by 2002) East Timor was officially independent but the peacekeeping mission had effectively ended much earlier (in 2000, after which the mission was more of a policing effort than a peacekeeping one). By 2006 there was barely any UN presence remaining in the country, less than 7 years after independence referendum. 

 

Just like the Greeks and Turks, the East Timorese and West Timorese were traditional enemies long before the UN ever came along. Unlike Cyprus though, it seems the Timorese have settled down and are getting on with their lives. 

And to think, it didn't take 40+ years of UN intervention and peacekeeping to achieve. Somehow though, I just can't see Erdogan (Turkey's former Prime Minister, current President and possibly future dictator) giving up an inch of anything to Greece or anyone else for that matter. This could drag on for another 40+ years the way things are going.

 

You are making the popular (biased) mistake by blaming the UN for the failure.

You obviously missed the Annan (that's Kofi Annan) plan which was put to the electorate of both sides in 2009 and accepted by the Turkish-Cypriots but rejected by the Greek-Cypriots.

The division has many facets including an attempted 'Enosis' with Greece and a Turkish invasion but resolving it is not the perogative of either the Greek or Turkish government but the local leaders. That's not to say that the local leaders are not influenced by their ethnic neighbours.

 

I do share your opinion of Erdogen but his current dictatorial activity in Turkey plus interference in Iraq & Syria has weakened his influence over the Turkish-Cypriots. Note that the Op states that there is only a 1% difference of opinion on the Turkish-Cypriot area to be governed. That seems solvable & I wish them the best of luck.