No time left for EU at the MGK (!)

The military reminded once again the Red Lines of the Republic, displayed their sensitivity. The AK Party agreed with them and said it would act carefully.

Now there will be a period of mutual testing. We will be watching one another. And, in the future, we will meet again at the MGK (!)

There was no time for EU?
I could not help but notice newspaper reports that say that the MGK could not discuss the EU at the end of its seven-and-a-half hour meeting because it devoted so much time to Cyprus, to Iraq and to the AK Party attitude though the EU was one of the issues on its agenda.

What a shame! They could not devote time to the biggest civilization project Turkey is faced with. At a time there is so little time left and there are so many things to be done! We seem to be forgetting.

In the long run, the military’s stick cannot save Turkey from religious fundamentalism, from separatist movements or from being downgraded into the Third League. There would come a day when the fear of the military would stop being a deterrent factor. If you continue to have this sterile bickering and forget about the EU your children and their children would hold you to account.

In Cyprus Pandora’s Box has been opened
In Cyprus dizzying developments are taking place. I am asking myself, "Where are we heading for?" I am watching the developments with great pleasure. I cannot help but say, "Friends, where had you been all this time?"

The first big step was taken by the Turkish side, doing the right thing. I still cannot understand how Rauf Denktas abandoned his rigid stance. Then the Greek Cypriots were stirred into action. The restrictions on communications will be lifted. Only those who have visited the Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot sections of Cyprus would see the significance of that.

In the past, two persons standing apart 100 meters from one another would not be able to talk with one another on the phone if they were on different sides of the Green Line. Greek Cypriots were able to talk with the rest of the world but they could not be called from either Turkey or the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (KKTC). This anachronistic situation is now going to change.

Also, the trade embargo on Turkish products is being lifted partially. Turkish products will freely circulate on the island. However the external embargo on the KKTC remains in force. Soon that too will have to be lifted.

What are the two sides trying to achieve?
You can interpret the developments in three ways:

1. PESSIMISTIC:

You can say that the Greek Cypriots have ulterior motives and that this is a treacherous plan aimed at swallowing up the entire island.

2. OPTIMISTIC:

If you left aside the political calculations that have become so exasperating by now, you could say that the two sides are may be coming closer to a solution maybe for the first time. The nature of the solution is not clear though there is optimism in the air.

3. FED UP WITH IT ALL:

There are also those who are fed up with everything about Cyprus, those who do not care whether a solution will be reached or not, the cynics who say, "None of these two parties is to be believed. They will continue to bicker all the time."

I am one of the optimists.

Pandora’s Box has been opened. The genies that left it cannot be put back into it ever.

Lies being exposed
The argument that there might be a genocide if Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots were to be brought together, has been proven wrong. The two sides are not focusing as strongly as in the past on whether their "sovereignty rights" are being eroded or not. To sum up, things are proceeding in a positive direction.