""...the visit was an “illegal action that violates UN resolutions and Cyprus law."... "completely contrary” to UN resolutions and every legal principle... "This action was taken under the false pretext of lifting the isolation of the Turkish Cypriots, even though it is well known that this isolation is owed to the attitude of the occupation regime and certainly not the attitude of the Greek Cypriots"... "Nicosia had every right to take legal action against the "lawbreakers" under numerous bilateral agreements with Washington"... "overtly provocative act" that was being "tolerated and perhaps abetted" by Washington ..."
[Picture caption] ILLEGAL ENTRY: The US trade delegation disembarks
at the illegal Tymbou airport in the occupied north
A US-led trade delegation touching down at illegal Tymbou
airport for a whistle-stop tour of the occupied north sparked a huge
outcry in Nicosia as President Tassos Papadopoulos said the move could
damage ties with Washington.
“Such actions are an affront to the feelings of the Cypriot people
and don’t at all contribute towards improving relations between Cyprus
and the USA,” Papadopoulos told reporters before leaving for an official
visit to Malta yesterday.
“They do nothing to create the necessary climate surrounding
efforts to reunify the island,” he added.
Leading a chorus of condemnation from politicians of all parties,
Papadopoulos said Nicosia encouraged economic cooperation between Greek
and Turkish Cypriots, as long as it complied with international legal
norms and European Union directives.
The delegation, composed of Turkish representatives from 11
US-based companies, including pharmaceuticals giant Pfizer and parcel
delivery leader Fed Ex, was led by the Commercial Attache at the US
Embassy in Ankara, Aner Kayani.
That more than anything else perturbed Nicosia, which saw it as a
calculated move on Washington’s part to disregard both the Cyprus
government and Brussels in order to deliver on post-referendum promises
of lifting Turkish Cypriots out of their economic ‘isolation’.
But Papadopoulos said Nicosia had bent over backwards trying to
bring Turkish Cypriots out of the cold through the EU-sanctioned Green
Line regulation designed to promote trade between the two communities
and to allow for the export of Turkish Cypriot goods via the island’s
legal air and sea ports.
Kill off
Nicosia insists that any move by the international community to
establish direct trade links with the north would be a move towards
recognition and would kill off any chance of a reunification deal.
Urging Turkish Cypriots to take advantage of the opportunities the
regulation affords them, Papadopoulos said “others” appear to be
manipulating the rules to legitimise the illegal Turkish Cypriot regime
short of full-fledged diplomatic recognition.
“Neither the United States nor other countries will move to
recognise the occupied areas. Neither are the Turkish Cypriots seeking
diplomatic recognition,” said Papadopoulos.
Papadopoulos explained that one of the primary reasons for this was
that native Turkish Cypriots are European citizens by virtue of the
Cyprus Republic’s EU membership and diplomatic recognition of a
secessionist entity would erase that.
The backlash from party leaders was immediate and harsh.
Akel Parliamentary Spokesman Nicos Katsourides said the visit was
an “illegal action that violates UN resolutions and Cyprus law.”
Disy Chief Nicos Anastassiades said the visit was “unacceptable”
and “disturbing,” while Diko deputy leader Nicos Cleanthous said it
“violates international law.”
‘Troubling’
United Democrats President George Vassiliou said the
“troubling” trip is intended to prod the Greek Cypriot side into
re-taking the initiative on settlement efforts.
“It’s in some way to pressure our side to understand that if we
don’t move towards something, then we can continue to believe that
things will remain as they are indefinitely,” said Vassiliou.
Acting House Speaker Vassos Lyssarides expressed the “angst and
dismay” of all parties over the visit which, he said, was “completely
contrary” to UN resolutions and every legal principle.
“This action was taken under the false pretext of lifting the
isolation of the Turkish Cypriots, even though it is well known that
this isolation is owed to the attitude of the occupation regime and
certainly not the attitude of the Greek Cypriots,” Lyssarides said in a
statement.
House Legal Affairs Committee member Andreas Angelides said Nicosia
had every right to take legal action against the “lawbreakers” under
numerous bilateral agreements with Washington.
The Cyprus-American Business Association registered its “concerns
and disagreements” with the visit, which it warned could “worsen the
situation on the island as it obstructs the efforts to continue to the
peace process.”
“The association feels exposed towards the state, the public and
its members as another American business association is organising -
with the help and support of American embassies in Turkey and Cyprus - a
visit to Cyprus under such circumstances and with lack of respect
towards the sensitivities of the Republic of Cyprus,” CyABA said in a
statement.
House Commerce Committee Chairman Lefteris Christoforou dispatched a
letter of protest to US Ambassador in Nicosia Michael Klosson
expressing shock over an “overtly provocative act” that was being
“tolerated and perhaps abetted” by Washington.
The outcry may have had an impact as both American Express and
computer software maker Oracle who had reportedly agreed to join the
delegation, appeared to have backed out at the last minute.
An unrepentant Klosson said if politicians couldn’t move the ball
forward on the Cyprus problem, then big business would.
“We believe that building closer business ties will facilitate
progress towards a Cyprus settlement. Business can help bridge economic
gaps and nudge the political process forward,” Klosson told The Cyprus
Weekly.
At Turkish Cypriot Chamber of Commerce headquarters in occupied
Nicosia, where the trade delegation met Turkish Cypriot businessmen,
Klosson - whose presence there gave the meeting additional political
weight - said: “This is about business, not politics.”
But no-one south of the ceasefire line was convinced that the
transparent visit came without political strings attached.
TCCoC Chairman Ali Erel rebuffed suggestions that the trip was
timed to offer ‘prime minister’ Mehmet Ali Talat a political boost 72
hours before Turkish Cypriots cast their votes in ‘parliamentary’
elections.
Business
“The basic message is we want to do business...this is not
connected with the elections...it’s a coincidence,” he told reporters
outside TCCoC headquarters.
That’s not how Papadopoulos saw it, suggesting that the visit had
the strong scent of political campaigning.
Erel said moves to improve the Turkish Cypriots’ economic lot to
bring it up to par with that of Greek Cypriots would generate the
impetus to get the two sides talking again.
But the implication is that the Turkish Cypriots would gain a
stronger bargaining hand thanks to a stronger economy.
“To achieve a comprehensive solution, we need to get rid of
economic disparities between the two communities,” Erel told reporters.
Erel said the visit would herald the establishment of a Turkish
Cypriot-Turkish board which would meet on a regular basis to search for
ways of strengthening business ties.
Asked by The Cyprus Weekly what he would say in response to the
Greek Cypriot outrage, Erel said: “The whole thing about this is to
unite Cyprus and not to divide it.”"