GAZIMAGUSA, Northern Cyprus, 10 February 2004 - Efforts are going on at various levels to find a solution to the Cyprus issue. It is necessary to better understand Turkish Cypriot views to reach a just and viable settlement.

At the outset I would like to give some information concerning the Cyprus issue. The trouble began in 1963 when Greek Cypriots launched a military campaign with the aim of uniting the island with Greece and forcibly appropriated the title of the Republic of Cyprus in which the two peoples were equal partners. As a result, the Turkish Cypriot people were left stateless and had to live as refugees and under severe embargoes. This unfortunate situation continued until the Turkish Peace operation in 1974 which came in the wake of the coup, carried out by the Greek junta and their Greek Cypriot collaborators to unite the island with Greece.

Following the Turkish Peace operation the Turkish Cypriots voluntary moved to the North and the Greek Cypriots voluntary moved to the South of the island. This was in accordance with the Voluntary Populations Exchange Agreement concluded between the two sides in August 1975. In 1975 the Turkish Cypriot people, who had been administrating themselves since the destruction of the partnership republic, established the Turkish Federated State of Cyprus, which in 1983 led to the creation of the TRNC.

Since 1968, the two sides have been negotiating, on and off, to reach a settlement in Cyprus to no avail. While the Greek Cypriot side desires a settlement that will make Cyprus a Greek island with a Turkish minority, the Turkish Cypriot side resists such a setup and wants a settlement on the basis of equal power sharing. The attitude of the international community toward the Greek Cypriot administration has encouraged the Greek Cypriots to insist on being the "boss" of the island and thus reject power-sharing with the Turkish Cypriots. The Greek Cypriot administration used its usurped title of the "Government of Cyprus" to impose inhuman embargoes on the Turkish Cypriot people in every field. The acceptance of the Greek Cypriot administrations' membership application by the European Union on behalf of the whole of Cyprus has also bolstered the Greek Cypriot ambition of making Cyprus a Greek island. This is what has led to the failure of the negotiation process between the two parties.

It was in this atmosphere that the Turkish Cypriot President Rauf Denktash took the initiative at the end of 2001 of commencing direct talks between the two sides. Direct talks began in the presence of the UN secretary-general's special advisor on Cyprus, Alvaro De Soto, in January 2002, which continued for over a year until The Hague meeting. During this process, the UN secretary-general presented a plan, which was followed by two revised versions as a result of demands from both sides for changes. Both sides held intensive talks over the plan but enough time was not given to negotiate the plan that consisted of hundreds of pages of legal jargon. Therefore it was not possible to reach agreement and the talks have come to an end.

When one objectively reviews the plan, it would be seen that while meeting the basic requirements of the Greek Cypriot side, the plan falls short of addressing the legitimate demands and concerns on vital issues such as sovereign equality of the two sides, the continuation of the 1960 system of guarantees without any alternations, the issue of bizonality and the settlement of the property issues through global exchange and compensation.

Despite the negative attitude of the Greek Cypriot administration and the failure of the talks, the Turkish Cypriot side put forward, on April 2, 2003, proposals in order to overcome the deep crisis of confidence between the two peoples, which has been blocking the way to a just and lasting settlement in Cyprus. Unfortunately, the Greek Cypriot side rejected them the very same day.

Still the TRNC government, aware that absence of confidence between the two sides has been blocking the settlement, decided, on April 21, 2003, that crossing between the TRNC and Southern Cyprus would be permitted. This decision to facilitate crossing has shown that the two peoples can establish good neighborly relations.

However, the Greek Cypriot authorities continue to discourage both Greek Cypriots and tourists from crossing over to TRNC. They do not allow tourists to stay overnight in Northern Cyprus and threaten those who choose to stay with legal action and fines. People who buy consumer goods from Turkish Cypriot shops in Northern Cyprus are faced with difficulties on their way back to South Cyprus. Despite the fact that the Turkish Cypriot side has declared its readiness to continue to work toward a settlement on the basis of the equal sovereignty of the two peoples and bizonality, the international community is treating the Greek Cypriot side as if they represent the whole island. This has been the practice since the beginning of the Cyprus question and it is this asymmetry in status and imbalance in addressing the concerns of the two sides that explains numerous failed attempts to settle the issue. I hope the Greek Cypriot leadership will change its rigid stance toward the TRNC in the period ahead if there is to be an amicable settlement. At the same time, the international community has to rethink its attitude toward the Greek Cypriot administration.

- Rihan A. Y. Akhtar is studying at Eastern Mediterranean University School of Computing and Technology.