New battle in Brussels over plan for contact group with Turkish Cypriot

[brother]

New battle in Brussels over plan for contact group with north
By Simon Bahceli


A WAR of words seems set to erupt between the Cypriot government and the Turkish Cypriot authorities over a proposal put to the European Parliament (EP) on whether it should establish an eight-person high-level contact group that would have direct links with the north.

The proposal will be discussed today at the Conference of Presidents of the European Parliament in Brussels. If passed, it will mean members of the eight-person team could forge direct links with Turkish Cypriot political and business groups in the north, thereby creating the most substantive Turkish Cypriot-EU body to date.

Sources close to the six Greek Cypriot MEPs say Nicosia is unhappy with the proposal, as it rekindles fears that the formation of a contact group could lead to tacit recognition by the EP of the breakaway Turkish Cypriot state.

A source told the Cyprus Mail yesterday the six Cypriot MEPs were “mobilising to deal with the problem”.

“It is not that there is a problem with the EP having contacts with the Turkish Cypriots. They can come to Brussels, and Brussels can go to them. But we do not want such arrangements to be permanent or formalised. Once you do that it is very difficult to go back,” the source told the Mail.

The source added that it was also felt Turkey should not be rewarded for the “trouble it is causing for Europe at the moment”.

As it stands, the proposal will very likely receive the backing of the Greens and Liberals within the EP, but will be opposed by the European People’s Party (EPP).
Turkish Cypriot ‘MP’ Ozdil Nami, who has made several appearances in Brussels on behalf of his community, expressed confidence that the proposal would be accepted.
“We have the impression that all political groups welcome the issue. Contact with the group will most probably be accepted,” he told Turkish daily Zaman earlier this week.
Asked how the establishment of an EP contact group could in away way constitute recognition of the north, the Greek Cypriot source said: “It’s all in the detail. The first versions of the proposal were very blatant and referred to the Turkish Cypriot leader as President Talat as if the north were a separate country. I don’t think any Greek Cypriot would find that acceptable”.

The source insisted it was not the Cypriot government’s intentions to see the Turkish Cypriots excluded from contact with the EP, but added: “This is not the time to give out the wrong message. It will not help with finding a solution to the Cyprus problem and once such an arrangement has been formalised there will be no motivation to go back”.
An unnamed spokesperson for the Turkish Cypriot authorities yesterday criticised Greek Cypriot opposition to the proposal, saying, “This is nothing more than paranoia. Seeing that the Turkish Cypriots have made it patently clear they are working for reunification of the island, why should anyone be worried that a contact group would become a permanent arrangement?”

He added that Greek Cypriot rejection of any move by the EU in support of the Turkish Cypriots had become “automatic, irrespective of what the proposals entail”.

“First they rejected the idea of allowing us two out of the six seats in the European Parliament, as proposed in the Annan plan. Then they rejected the idea of giving us observer status in the parliament. And now this. They simply cannot stand the idea of Turkish Cypriots expressing their views in a European forum. It’s hardly democratic,” the spokesman said.

“All that will happen if the contact group is established is that we will be able to give the EP the information they need about the north,” he added.

He also reacted to statements coming out of Greek Cypriot circles in Brussels that Turkey should not be rewarded, especially in the light of its recent declaration that it did not recognise the Nicosia government, by saying: “This has nothing to do with Turkey, and if we do not get the opportunity to have our voices heard in Brussels, it does not mean Turkey is being punished. It is the Turkish Cypriots who are being punished.”







Why does this not surprise me, anything that may go in the way of Turkish Cypriot is always blocked with the exscuse that it may lead to whatever.....the Republic of Cyprus is so petty and has still not grasped the concept of being european and the spirit of the EU and then the Republic of Cyprus has the gaul to throw mud at Turkey when she is worst than them.

[brother]

Turkish Cypriots gain direct contact with Europe
By Simon Bahceli


THE TURKISH Cypriot authorities scored a minor victory in the European Parliament (EP) yesterday when it was agreed that the parliament would forge stronger links with the community by setting up a North Cyprus Contact Group.

The decision came during a meeting of EP presidents in Brussels which will now oversee the establishment of the contact group made up of representatives of the eight political parties present in the EP.

Turkish Cypriot representative in Strasbourg Ozdil Nami greeted the news with pleasure yesterday telling the Cyprus Mail, “We don’t know all the details yet, but we know that the proposal for the contact group has been accepted by the presidents. We view this as very positive”.

The eight-person group will hold meetings with Turkish Cypriot political parties, as well as business interests and NGOs, Nami said.

“And we will be able to put our messages through directly to the EP and furnish it with objective and truthful information about the north,” he added.

Nami refrained from declaring the EP’s move as a victory for the Turkish Cypriots over Greek Cypriot objections, and went as far as saying he had reassured Greek Cypriot MEP Yiannakis Cassoulides that the he and his compatriots would not seek to use the contact group as a way of furthering separatist ideals.

“I spoke to Mr Cassoulides and asked for his support, which he said he would, in principle, be willing to give,” Nami said.

He added that Cassoulides had expressed concerns that the Turkish Cypriots might use the contact group to represent themselves as a separate country, to which Nami said he would use the position only to forge closer links with the EU – something he said he believes will bolster efforts to reunite the island.

Asked whether he thought the EU was becoming less inclined to back Greek Cypriot opposition to links with the Turkish Cypriots Nami said, “I think the EU is becoming more aware that it has to behave reasonably toward the Turkish Cypriots. They want to help us and they do not look kindly on those who act to oppose such help”.

On Wednesday a source close to the six Cypriot MEPs in Brussels told Mail the MEPs were planning to oppose the establishment of the contact group because of fears it could establish a negative precedent that could eventually help lead to a recognised separate state in the north.
“It is not that there is a problem with the EP having contacts with the Turkish Cypriots. They can come to Brussels, and Brussels can go to them. But we do not want such arrangements to be permanent or formalised. Once you do that it is very difficult to go back,” the source said.


Well its a start and for once the Republic of Cyprus could not block this one.

[cannedmoose]

Having met Ozdil a couple of times, I can certify that he's a thoroughly decent chap and is far from a hardliner. I have no objection whatsoever to contacts between the political parties of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus with the EPGs in the European Parliament. Communication can only result in dialogue which can only lead to the moderation and conciliation of positions. It's a big plus as far as I'm concerned, which in no way constitutes recognition of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.

[brother]

[-mikkie2-]

I think what the RoCy is worried about is the hardliners in the north that may use the EPG's to push their own partitionist agenda within the EU. The Greek Cypriot MEP's seem to support the idea but they are worried about making the contacts official in the sense they don't want it to lead to any form of recognition of the 'Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus'.

[cannedmoose]