Only independence would be better

The most difficult part of a bargain is in its final minutes.

The sides bluff each other, phone their big brothers, use media to get a point of advantage. Sometimes they lie in order to prevent the rival side from getting the advantage. One development follows another and you cannot understand what is really going on in such a chaos.

For this reason, I don’t want to drag you into details and last minute developments in the talks. Today, I want to share with you what the fourth version of the U.N.-imposed plan tells us. Here is what this plan brings to the Turkish Cypriot side.

1. The republic of Cyprus, which is under the supervision and administration of the Greek Cypriots, will disappear. Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots will establish a new republic. Everything will be new — from the flag and national anthem to laws and judiciary.

2. The Turkish community on the island which has continuously been named as a minority to date will be accepted as politically equal to the Greek community for the first time.

3. The Turkish community will secure the right to govern itself with its own constitution, own Parliament and laws.

4. The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (KKTC) which has been recognized only by Turkey on the international arena, which has been under the pressure of a series of embargos and which has had a income per capita of $2,500 to date, will have a statute respected by the members of international community. In addition it will become a member of the European Union.

5. The Turkish side will guarantee its existence on the island with restrictions on the number of Greek settlers and their acquiring commodities in the north, in case of a future invasion by the Greek Cypriots.

6. The plan secures the transient existence of Turkish troops on the island.

7. The plan allows the Turkish Cypriot state to continue its relations with Turkey.

8. Turks will get rid of 4,000 cases waiting at the European Court of Human Rights and 47 others that are about to be given a final decision.

9. The Cyprus problem that has been perceived as the biggest obstacle on Turkey’s way to the join the EU will be eliminated.

Can we imagine any better plan?
I can make the list above longer. However, let’s stop for a while and ask ourselves: "Couldn’t a plan have been prepared that would give us even more advantages?"

Of course, the plan could have been better.

However, such a way of thinking has no limits.

We should not forget that we could lose what we have obtained if we look for more. For some of us, the best way to end the situation was for the KKTC to declare its independence or to annex the KKTC to Turkey.

We could have done this at anytime in the last 30 years, if we had enough power. However, we didn’t and it is impossible to do this now, at this point.

The fourth version of the Annan plan provides us with the best solution. Now we should look for ways to use this plan to help Turkish Cypriots make the best use of the advantages granted to them.

The Greeks are furious
The fourth version of the Annan plan caused a huge disappointment in Greece and among Greek Cypriots, and this disappointment turned into anger.

I have been following such negotiations for 35 years. I have never felt this relaxed in such a process. The Turkish side knew what it wanted to get and progressed with determination for the first time.

The Greek side, on the other hand, was seeking ways in the last minutes to catch the train they missed.

In fact, it is very natural of Greeks to be furious, how could they not be?

They are losing the republic they have and they are forced for the first time to act together with Turks which they used to see as a minority on the island. They are forced to govern the state together with them.
They’ll have to give up all of the political pressure and embargos they have imposed on Turks until now.
They’ll have to share their income per capita of $18,000 with Turks instead of further increasing it.
In addition to all of this, they cannot get a considerable portion of land from the north of the island, they cannot return a majority of the Greek settlers back to northern part
If you were in shoes of the Greek Cypriots, wouldn’t you go crazy? Now, the game is over.

After this point, the Turkish community should leave aside the political games. It is in their hands to become wealthier. They should no longer think about surviving only on money sent from Turkey, they should focus on how they could provide Turkey with advantages as a new member of the EU.

Now, let’s use this opportunity.