.
Turkey is currently struggling with some of its most critical issues regarding its identity which is affecting all aspects of public life, the economy, its fragile social fabric and even aspirations of regional hegemony, and the government of Cyprus had better not risk losing what little it has by trying to reverse the flow of international politics.
There is no doubt in anyone’s mind that the United Nations is no longer the same peace-seeking organisation it used to be when it was first set up nearly seven decades ago. In fact, even then, when the U.N. mutated from the League of Nations, it continued to look after the interests of its key members, who collectively represent the permanent members of the Security Council (P5).
Justice, equality, human rights and values were long thrown out the window in favour of commercial and territorial rights, something we see P5 members squabbling over in “non political” issues such as the children’s charity Unicef, the cultural protection body Unesco, the food and agricultural development agency FAO and the health watchdog WHO. Even on issues such as who has control over the Antarctic. Within all of these organisations, P5 members have long looked after and secured their own interests by way of installing their own representatives, or worse, slashing much-needed funds.
Why, then, does it come as a surprise to us that the U.N. has changed the rules of the game as regards Cyprus and is implementing a policy that has to do with interests far greater than the million or so souls living on this God forsaken island? Besides, any benefit from our natural gas finds lie far, far into the future and only then will this resource earn us the money with which we, too, can buy political clout.
In the meantime, we should start playing by the rules of the “big boys”, our supposed partners in the European Union who have shown us all the solidarity we could ever ask for, especially this year. Cyprus cannot rely on or trust any of the other EU member states which means that we should plan our own course and develop our own regional policy.
The bottom line: as little as we’d like to admit it, Turkey is a far greater force than tiny Cyprus could ever be and our political and economic interests probably lie with our adversary to our north. Having warm and brotherly relations with our neighbours to the east and south is good and most welcome, but how long will their policies (and interests) remain friendly towards Cyprus?
The Anastasiades administration should let go of its misgivings over the UN negotiator, who is nothing more than a bull in a china shop, and try to open a direct channel of communication with key Turkish Cypriots who enjoy the full support of the Turkish establishment, such as Ozdil Nami and a few others who seem genuine when they say they want to reach a solution to our problem.
When and how talks will ever resume is trivial, no matter how loud the UN chief and his envoys shout. The key to the solution lies in Ankara and Anastasiades know it very well. EU accession and future natgas resources are the only aces we hold that Turkey wants. That is the direction we should be looking at.
