End of freeze for Turks

Published on Sunday 18 July 2004 02:32

THE forbidden fruit of northern Cyprus is set to appear on European supermarket shelves as the EU prepares to bring the territory in from the cold.

Direct international air links could also be introduced, ending 30 years of crippling bans on travel and trade.

Despite resistance from the internationally-recognised Cypriot government in the south, the European Union and the United States are pressing ahead with measures to end the isolation of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, paving the way for free trade and direct international air links.

With the 30th anniversary of the Turkish invasion of Cyprus, that led to the division of the island, due to take place on Tuesday, the EU agreed late last Friday a generous financial package of 170m as a reward to Turkish Cypriot voters for approving a United Nations plan to reunite the island.

It also proposes to allow direct trade, which has been banned since 1974. The proposals will be discussed at the EU General Affairs Council in September.

Last week the US joined in with an announcement by the state department of a $30.5m package for northern Cyprus. The money is to "aid the economic development of northern Cyprus and the economic integration of the island in support of eventual reunification".

Although voters in the south rejected the UN plan resulting in Cyprus joining the EU in May without the north, both the EU and the US promised to reward Turkish Cypriots for voting ‘yes’.

State department spokesman Richard Boucher said the referendum result in the north "showed quite clearly the Turkish Cypriot community wanted to stand up and be part of Europe. We think that’s a sentiment that deserves support and encouragement".

EU enlargement commissioner Gunter Verheugen said: "As the Turkish Cypriot community expressed overwhelming support for the UN plan to reunify Cyprus, it would have been unfair to leave it out in the cold.

"The Commission is happy to propose an aid and trade scheme, which will foster the economic development of the Northern part of the island."

To open the way for direct trade links, the European Commission has already authorised the Turkish Cypriot chamber of commerce to certify goods as originating in northern Cyprus.

Turkish Cyprus produces arable crops and fish. But until now only oranges and lemons have been allowed to pass through the Greek Cypriot ports and airports on their way to the export markets.

Money will also be spent on drinking water, waste water, transport and environmental projects in the north.

It will also be made easier for Turkish Cypriots to travel to other parts of the EU, and they will not require visas to work in the south. The number of north-south crossing points is to be increased.

Before long it is also possible that the sea ports in the north will be permitted to import and export goods freely, and international visitors may be able to fly directly to northern Cyprus.

However, the EU plans are opposed by the Greek Cypriot government. It is adamant that the lifting of the economic embargo on northern Cyprus should not pave the way for giving it diplomatic recognition.

EU budget commissioner Michaele Schreyer said a small part of the 170m would be paid late this year, with the rest delivered over 2005 and 2006.

Cypriot president Tassos Papadopoulos has threatened a legal challenge at the European Court of Justice as a last resort. Foreign minister George Iacovou said the measures may have been "motivated more by politics than by trade alone".

He added, however, that his government could accept the new rules "provided the goods from the northern part of the island are transported through a legal port" - meaning a port in the internationally-recognised south.

Ports and airports in the northern part of the island can be reopened for international traffic only on the authority of the International Civil Aviation Organisation or the International Maritime Organisation.

If these bodies agree, it would be a huge boost to tourism in northern Cyprus, which is severely hampered by the fact that international flights are few, and have to make an obligatory transit stop in Turkey.

Both the EU and the US insist they are not about to recognise northern Cyprus. Boucher said: "This is not about a legal formalistic diplomatic recognition policy. It’s about letting people trade, about letting people travel." Verheugen also insisted the EU "has no intention, directly or indirectly, of recognising" Northern Cyprus. "The union has no interest in having a Turkish mini-state in the eastern Mediterranean," he said.

Despite its reservations, the Cypriot government has unveiled goodwill gestures towards Turkish Cypriots on the eve of the 30th anniversary of the Turkish invasion.

These include a proposal for both Greek and Turkish Cypriot forces to pull back from the ceasefire line where Greek Cypriot and Turkish troops still confront each other. This would stop army manoeuvres along the "green line", and also lead to the removal of land mines that have been there for 30 years.

Other encouraging signs are that Greece and Turkey are adopting positive stances towards the Cyprus question.

Greece, the closest ally of Cyprus, is to provide economic aid to the Turkish-controlled north. President Konstandinos Stefanopoulos said last month: "We will not spare any effort to support them financially. Northern Cyprus now has the support of international organisations in the economic sphere."

Turkey, which gave the green light to the UN reunification plan, hopes for its reward in December when EU leaders are due to decide whether it has made enough progress on human rights and political freedoms to begin the long-delayed entry negotiations.

Because the loosening of trade restrictions would require the backing of a qualified majority in the Council of Ministers, the Greek Cypriots will not be able to block the measures on their own.