Who is squeezing Erel?
Citrus fruits get the go ahead
Elections to the Turkish Cypriot Chamber of Commerce (KTTO) take place on Saturday amid something of a row between the current president, Ali Erel, and his opponents.
The last time the KTTO elections took place, Erel was unopposed. This time, however, he will have to stand against a new group led by businessman Erdil Nami, who has connections to Mehmet Ali Talat’s CTP, which heads the administration in the north. Nami is also supported by the camp of Serdar Denktash, leader of the DP, which is also in coalition.
Working out the real reason why Erel is being opposed this time is a tricky matter, because there are several different versions doing the rounds depending on who is talking. But they almost all have to do with politics.
Who is squeezing Erel?
The mildest version is that businesses think that the new team will represent a broader section of business in northern Cyprus.
A less mild version is that some feel Erel has used the office to promote his own political ambitions. Businesses, although they still want a solution, would prefer a new president to concentrate more on business matters, one representative of the Nami camp told the Financial Mirror.
Erel’s political ambitions date back to the Turkish Cypriot assembly elections in December 2003. Although Erel’s personal ratings were high, those of his party were less so, and it failed to pass the threshold.
A stronger version of the story is that Talat wants the KTTO under his own control because, as a body formed before the division of the island, it is the only body in northern Cyprus that anyone will do business with, so to speak.
The KTTO is the body charged with handing out certificates for Green Line trade and, if direct trade ever happens, will no doubt be heavily involved in that too. It has also built up a strong team in the past two years, with well informed, English-speaking staff and a growing public relations machine.
The fact that the KTTO set up an independent office in Brussels, separate from the Turkish Cypriot representation, and before the Cyprus Chamber of Commerce has done so, has also embarrassed the Turkish Cypriot leadership.
According to our information, the KTTO Brussels office is also the better place to go to get accurate information about what is going on in Cyprus. Reportedly, the Turkish Cypriot representation told the EU’s Jacques Poos that he would not be able to cross the Green Line.
The final version involves Turkey. This version says that Ankara is annoyed that Erel went against its line and wants a new president to be under its control.
Erel suggested, contrary to Turkey’s stance, that the stalled direct trade and financial aid regulations be decoupled, because at least the Greek Cypriots were prepared to approve the financial aid regulation but they would never allow opening up the ports and airports.
Erel has also lately suggested scrapping the direct trade regulation altogether, and replacing it with an EU customs union monitored by the EU that encompasses the whole island of Cyprus and Turkey. This is an interesting idea, and we hope that our government is taking it seriously.
The KTTO itself says that, in effect, it is being gagged, and that the leadership in the north needs to realise that NGOs are supposed to think independently.
It is, of course, possible that all of these versions are true. In northern Cyprus more than anywhere else, business, especially external trade, cannot be divorced from politics, so it is not surprising that Erel has had to be political and that this has turned him into a rival of Talat.
And if the KTTO is the only body with any political clout, then one can see why the Turkish Cypriot leadership wants to control it, however unethical that is in practice.
Finally, if Ankara likes to conrol everything, as we are always being told it does, then it would want to make sure that this powerful NGO does not step out of line.
Let’s hope that whoever wins on Saturday, it will not reverse the great achievements of the KTTO in trying to bring Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot businessmen together, in supporting the reunification of the island andin trying to persuade Greek Cypriots that Turkish Cypriots are not interested in some half-way Taiwan status that will never get rid of the real problems faced by business, when the property issue is left unresolved.
Citrus finally to trade across the Green Line
The demise of Erel, if it happens, comes at a time when progress has finally been achieved on citrus trade. After a plans that date back more than two years, Turkish Cypriot citrus producers have finally got the go-ahead to trade citrus fruits across the Green Line under the rules of the EU Green Line Regulation. They should also be able to export them via Limassol.
Government Spokesman Kypros Chrysostomides said that the Regulation “provides significant opportunities to Turkish Cypriots as it allows the movement of citrus, which constitute one third of their total annual exports, in the customs territory of the Community without being subject to any duties.”
However, total trade across the Green Line has been minimal to date. The Turkish Cypriot Chamber of Commerce told the Financial Mirror that since the Green Line regulation entered into force in August 2004, less than CYP 1 mln has been traded across the Green Line by only around 30 traders, compared with exports from northern Cyprus amounting to CYP 65-70 mln per year.
“The aim of the regulation was to improve the economic situation of northern Cyprus so if you look at the figures I don’t think it is enough to improve the economic situation,” said a spokesman at the Chamber.
However, given the importance of citrus to Turkish Cypriot exports (around 35% of the total), one can assume that one of the 200 or so Turkish Cypriot businesses now reigstered in the south will take the opportunity to export via Limassol.
Fiona Mullen
