Cyprus: a never ending partition?
'My generation is dropping down the blame game. We have seen what not to do', says 28-year-old Turkish Cypriot Berk Tansel. 'We have to think of ourselves as part of the whole that we are, whether we like it or not. », echoes Christiana Eftychiou, 22 years old, and a Greek Cypriot. Their friendship grew from a shared commitment to reunification.
Cyprus is divided since 1974, when a Greek-backed coup triggered a Turkish military intervention.
This led to a split between the internationally recognized Greek Cypriot-controlled Republic of Cyprus, and the self-declared 'Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus' recognized only by Turkey.
While the Republic of Cyprus is part of the European Union, EU law does not apply in the breakaway northern entity, which remains under Turkish military presence.
Berk and Christiana routinely cross the checkpoints separating the two communities.
'I grew up in the occupied areas of the Republic of Cyprus, and experienced what it means to be a European citizen, but technically not live in the EU where EU acquis is enforced », says Berk.
'Your rights are suspended, there's corruption.
And this place being a legal internationally black hole, it pushes the mafia, human trafficking, sex trafficking.'
The 'only way out' insists Berk, 'is the agreed UN framework, a bi-zonal, bi-communal federation, where the EU acquis is applied all across the island.'
Christiana has more faith in grassroots action than formal politics.
'We need to change the narrative. We have narratives shaping the identity of Greek and Turkish Cypriots, in our education, our everyday life. There's a construction of the 'other person' that you never really get to meet'. A sociology student, she advocates for 'more common spaces, more exposure to whatever we deem as 'the other', so that it is not a threat anymore. This is not being encouraged, on a larger scale.' sighs Christiana. 'If we carry on the way we do, with the idea of a Federation taking a big part in political discourse, but no practical action towards that, nothing will happen.', she warns.
Chances of reopening official reunification talks, stalled since 2017, are thin, according to Hubert Faustmann, a professor at the University of Nicosia, and director of the Friedrich-Ebert Foundation's Cyprus Office.
'The Turkish Cypriot and Turkish position has shifted. They insist on the recognition of equal sovereignty, or even of the separatist Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, as a prerequisite for talks. The Greek Cypriot side and the international community will never accept this.'
As for the European Union's role, the analyst is skeptical.
'Given that the Greek Cypriot-dominated Republic of Cyprus has joined the EU, Turkey and the Turkish Cypriots reject an active role of the European Union.' he explains, while acknowledging the Cyprus problem is 'a European problem.' 'There's a part of European territory, legally speaking, that's occupied by Turkey.
There's an unresolved dispute pitching the European Union against Turkey, with many EU states having no interest in a confrontation with Turkey.
While the Greek policy is to use EU membership against Turkey to get concessions in the Cyprus question.', says Faustmann, before concluding:
'This is a stable conflict. It's very much conflict management rather than conflict resolution. I fear the status quo is here for years to come, with this island slowly drifting into permanent partition.'
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