www.talkcyprus.org

[boulio]

i found the following on the internet callled cyprus odyssey:


The Federal Proposal
In 1977 (President Makarios/Denktash talks) and again in 1979 (President Kyprianou/Denktash talks) the negotiators of both communities, in what has become known as the high level agreements, agreed upon a solution to the Cyprus problem based on a federal model. This was endorsed by UN resolution 649, adopted by the Security Council on 12 March 1990.
Cyprus is not a very large island and cannot easily accommodate two separate states, with the result of duplicity of administration in many areas. A viable solution that takes account of both the UN resolutions and the desires of the two communities is one that will have the best chance of success.

The constitution that Cyprus inherited in 1960 was arguably one of the most complex in the world. It was based on racism, which allowed nationalists in both communities to exploit ethnic differences for their own ends, and as such resulted in the current unacceptable situation.

The prospect of Cyprus once again being handed a poisoned chalice in the form of a federal constitution, that will on the surface look to establish the co existence of Cypriots on the island, but underneath facilitate the strategic interests of the West, by establishing the legal framework for partition, cannot be morally acceptable.

In light of this, a working model should be sought that has been tried and tested over the years as the basis for a solution. There are numerous federal states throughout the world that could be considered. Those of the United States of America, Germany, Spain and Switzerland to name but a few.

A federal solution that has appropriate checks and balances to ensure that abuse of power is avoided and that both communities can feel confident and secure must be sought.

The Swiss canton style of federal government has not been artificially created, but instead has evolved over the centuries. The Swiss cantons existed long before the formation of the Swiss Confederation.

Could the Swiss style of federation be applied to Cyprus? Probably not. The artificial polarisation of the communities in Cyprus, has meant that the natural development of the Swiss cantons has not taken place. This would undoubtedly lead to confrontation between the two states, as is the case in Belgium where the federal structure is based along linguistic lines between French and Dutch speakers.

It should also be pointed out here that the American civil war was fought on the basis of the southern states wishing to secede from the Union and seek their own separate destiny. The southern separatists were quashed in a bloody civil war. A similar situation occurred later in Spain, where dictatorship established a strong centralised government which quashed the desire for regional autonomy, only to see it resurface once democracy had been established.

The Swiss canton model would include the possibility that eventually the Turkish Cypriot canton in Cyprus will integrate with Turkey. This would come about as a result of the settlers voting in a referendum for their canton's integration with Turkey. This would mean that the partition of Cyprus would have been brought about by a "democratic vote", and render redundant any claims of the Greek Cypriots to live in their homes in the north.

The German federal model, however, seems more suited to Cyprus. Created at the end of the Second World War, the German model has shown itself to be workable in an artificially created situation as opposed to the natural evolution of the Swiss federation.

Germany is divided up into various länder or states, similar to the states of America. These states are responsible for overseeing matters such as policing, education and cultural affairs (within the state boundaries) and are governed by the appointment of a minister-president and an elected assembly. The civil service that each state maintains is of benefit to the federal government and does not result in excessive bureaucracy, as these administrations are responsible for seeing through the implementation of federal policies.

This method of government places the onus of implementing federal law on to the länder and allows for a decentralised federal system. Each länder is also allowed to raise local tax revenue which results in only 25% of their revenue coming from the federal reserves.

The system of government is based around the Bundestag or lower chamber of the federal parliament, which is an elected assembly based on proportional representation. This assembly elects and controls the federal government. The upper chamber or Bundesrat is composed of representatives from the länder governments, which in turn have also been elected by the people of each state.

The Bundesrat cannot initiate legislation but forms part of the constitutional checks and balances of the German federal system. All legislation that relates to länder responsibilities must be approved by the Bundesrat ensuring local needs and concerns are listened to at federal level.

The President of Germany is mainly a figure head with limited powers and is appointed, for a maximum of two five year terms, by the Bundesversammlung or Federal Convention, which is made up of members of the Bundestag and an equal number from the länder governments.

The Chancellor or Prime Minister is elected from the party with a majority in the Bundestag and in turn can appoint a 16-20 member cabinet.

The checks and balances built into the German federal system are:

The Bundesrat or upper chamber. The Bundestag or lower chamber. The Bundesverfassungsgericht or constitutional court.

The voice given to the länder governments ensures that the smaller states have their voices heard in the decision making process. The decentralisation of power through the länder ensures that local priorities are given prominence. Matters affecting the whole country are dealt with by a legislature that takes account of the political persuasion of all the people.

This form of government would provide a sound basis for a solution to the Cyprus problem. The länder concept would be translated as the two zones called for in the UN bi-zonnal proposals. These länder or states would have their own state government, to oversee local affairs and would send representatives to Cyprus' equivalent of the Bundesrat.

The federal government would be elected in a similar way to that of Germany. The smaller political parties would not be disadvantaged within this framework, but also equally important, the majority choices would not be disadvantaged.

The federal government would be elected in a similar way to that of Germany, i.e. on a system of proportional representation. The smaller political parties would not be ignored within this framework but also equally important the majority would not be artificially held back.

The Lower House.

The Lower House would be elected on the basis of a representative parliamentary democracy with proportional representation. All eligible citizens will enjoy universal suffrage with one citizen one vote. There would be no restriction upon the number of candidates standing nor upon their political platform. Likewise, there will be no restriction upon the citizens as to whom they may vote for.

The Upper House.

This house would be the representative of the länder regions of which there will be two in the case of Cyprus. Election of candidates to the Upper House would take place indirectly via the länder regional assemblies.

In the northern region a set number of seats in the regional assembly could be reserved on a ratio of perhaps 2/3 of the available seats for the Turkish Cypriots and 1/3 for other residents. This will guarantee a built in majority in the northern region for the Turkish Cypriots regardless of the actual size or ratio of the relevant populations. There would be no restriction upon voting rights nor upon the right of any citizens wishing to stand for elected office. The only limit would be the number of seats available to members of each community.

There would, however, be two key mitigating factors to take into account. First, the Turkish Cypriot candidates would have to canvass Greek Cypriot voters in order to get elected. It would not therefore be in their interests to abuse their position. Second, the greater likelihood is that as time passes party political interests would replace pure nationalist sentiment so that although the Turkish Cypriots would have a built-in majority they would not all necessarily belong to the same political party. Indeed it is possible that some of them would share the same party political affiliations as their Greek Cypriot colleges thus blurring the ethnic divide and enhancing democracy.

There can be objections to this arrangement of course but these would be more along the lines of the current debate as to whether the British parliament ought to have a fixed quota of seats reserved for women. The question is not "is this democratic?" but rather "is this fair to aspiring male parliamentarians?".

In the southern länder region of Cyprus the Greek Cypriot majority would "reserve" a proportion (perhaps 1/3) of the seats in their regional assembly for the other minority groups such as the Armenians, Maronites and Latins on exactly the same basis as the reserved seats in the northern Turkish Cypriot Länder. Thus we will eventually arrive at a bi-cameral federal government which will be elected on a party political basis moving away from the strict ethnicity of the two main communities.

The regional assemblies would be free to elect whom ever they wish to represent them in the federal government's upper house. At first this could be expected to be based upon ethnic lines. In the long run, however, party affiliation can be expected to play a major role in such decisions.

The reason for the necessity of these small restrictions is to guarantee, without loss of democratic rights, that the administration of each länder assembly remains in the hands of each respective community. This allows the Turkish Cypriot community to retain administrative control over their "Länder" even though they will in fact remain a minority in absolute terms due to the return of all the Greek Cypriot refugees to their homes and properties in the region.

In his report (southern component state/6253 March 26th 1965) to the Secretary General the then UN mediator in Cyprus, Galo Plaza, recalled in paragraph 165 that President Makarios was willing to concede the:- "desirability of finding some means, for a transitional period at least, of ensuring representation of the Turkish Cypriots in the Government institutions. This might be done by a system of proportional representation or reservation of seats in the parliament, and also, perhaps by appointment of a Turkish Cypriot Minister responsible for the affairs of his community - without prejudice, of course, to other Turkish Cypriots being elected or appointed on merit".



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[Kifeas]

A very interesting essay indeed! Do you have the url address of this article boulio?

[boulio]

http://members.aol.com/CCCEDITOR/CCC02000.HTM

it was written i believe ten years ago predicting the annan plan

[cannedmoose]

Boulio, what do you think my plan was based on?

[boulio]

actually moose when i was reading the articles i was thinking of your plan with the map attached.but i thought your plan was more of a canton style plan,i must go read it again.

[cannedmoose]

boulio wrote: actually moose when i was reading the articles i was thinking of your plan with the map attached.but i thought your plan was more of a canton style plan,i must go read it again.

No, my plan isn't cantonal (although the distinction between cantonal and multi-district federal is slightly blurred), but it is heavily based on the German Federal structure, in which the lander and sub-lander districts are responsible for most of the areas affecting daily life.

[repulsewarrior]

This is viable in the Cypriot context and it offers the service which government needs to supply to the distinctive elements of its citizenry.

Given that a social evolution can take place as dhavlos suggested in another thread it would be possible for all Cypriots to start anew, on the same page so to speak, with an identity that is identical while the distinctiveness of each community is promoted in a manner which is in direct response to the desire of the 'local' electorate.

Such a system of government, would not need guarantors, nor the interference of external powers. But, I fear it would be a hard sell to the elements in each society who have a greater identity toward their Turkishness or Greekness and who see Cyprus as the prerogative of their respective 'motherlands'.

[city]

interesting article. This is actually what I always thought might be the only possible solution to the CyProb.

It works quite well here in Germany; of course there are problems arising here and there but overall it works fine and especially takes care of any minorities desires.

[cannedmoose]

I chose Germany as my model for a very good reason. After the war, the Allies sat around a table and crafted a constitution and government structure to devolve power across the country and prevent the rise of an all-powerful central government. Essentially the US, UK and others were seeking to create the perfect federal system and in Germany's case it has worked incredibly well. Thus, I think what is also needed in the case of Cyprus is a new system, based on existing structures, but a new system nonetheless. The Swiss cantonal model is too complicated and historically-bound to Switzerland alone, similarly, the Belgian federal model has many faults and has not reduced the desire of many people in Belgium for a more formal separation between the Walloon and Flemish areas. Thus, we have Germany, where the lander have strong devolved powers and where the central government (initially at least, although in recent years it has taken back some greater powers) was largely reliant on the agreement of the lander governments to craft federal policy. I think it's a great model for Cyprus and one that I hope the framers of a future Cyprus constitution will take account of. The hope being that one day in the distant future, people will be proud to be Larnakans and Cypriot, or Kyrenians and Cypriots... here's hoping.

[boulio]

aolt more info on Germany and her states and structures and institutions,no lets try to apply it to Cyprus

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/States_of_Germany#Politics

[jorgoske]

cannedmoose wrote: ...the Belgian federal model has many faults and has not reduced the desire of many people in Belgium for a more formal separation between the Walloon and Flemish areas.

"Many people" might be an overstatement. The percentage of people wanting a complete separation is hardly 10-15% (of the Flemish population; it's even less in Wallonia). What I can say about the Belgian system is that it does indeed have many flaws, but in overall it works very well. Sure, there are tensions and discussions, but we don't bang each other's head in and French-speaking and Dutch-speaking people live and work side by side, especially in Brussels (officially bilingual). And Belgians are renowned internationally for their ability to find compromises, i.e. finding solutions that suit everybody involved (win-win situation). Without wanting to discredit any other federal models, the Belgian model might work very well in Cyprus. Just my personal two cents... :-)

[repulsewarrior]

Welcome jorgoske, In Canada the situation in Quebec, between anglophones and francophones, brews, and the threat of seperation is very real.

Montreal, without a doubt has declined in prominence, as one of the world's cosmopolitain cities, for this reason. People don't get the value of language in urban settings, and the provincial attitudes of the people who wish to build this nation of theirs, promote fear, as though the future can be stopped, if we resist change.

[jorgoske]

I think one of the keys to finding a successful solution in Cyprus is the willingness of people. Dealing with people of a different culture and speaking a language other than your own has to become a reflex. As an example, of the 50 or so people in my office, around 10 are Flemish-speaking, around 20 French-speaking, and the rest are Czechs, Scots, Germans, Dutch, French, etc. Most people speak at least French and English and the language of conversation is whatever someone desires to use at that very moment. This of course implies knowledge of the other language, which in turn implies learning another language from kindergarten, so to speak. I was surprised when I found out that students in Cyprus don't automatically learn the 2nd language of their country (Greek or Turkish). One of the first actions that should be taken when a solution is in place is to start teaching children the other community's language. That's the only way you'll ever be able to get to know the other culture and will be able to respect it. Like I said, we have arguments in Belgium about almost everything (you can't imagine), but we respect each other, we talk, we try to find a solution that works. And like in any negotiation: you win some, you loose some. Better than killing each other...

[Bullika]

I think its a good idea in principle. However on the downside, if we have 4/5 Lander and in each one Greek Cypriots outnumber the Turkish Cypriots, that effectively means there is no Turkish Cypriot area leaving them fully dependant on the good will of the majority. How will Turkish Cypriots decide Education for their community in a specific 'Land' if the Landtag is dominated by Greek Cypriots?

I think two ethnically homogenous constituent states would be better, with rights for each community in each state.


I can see it now Cyprus divided into 9 Lander

1) Nord Lapithia-Ost Kantara - SDP stronghold
2) Nord Lapithia-West Kormakitisburg -Cyprus Sozial Union colition with AKEL
3) Salaminien (Famagusta) - Liberal Partei
4) Schleswig-Karpassien - Grand Coalition
5) Amathusien-Sud Troodos Bergen (Limassol)- SDP
6) Nikosien Stadtland - Liberal Partei
7) Pafos-Freistadt - SDP Koalizion CSU
8) Zentral Troodos - CSU
9) Morphou Anhalt - SDP
10) Larnaka-Lefkaraburg- ?

[boulio]

bullika did you miss were he said that each Leander state that is a t/c state the g/c local population even if it outnumbers the the t/c 2 to 1 will only have 1/3 of the seats?same in the g/s states.in other words if there are only 10,000 t/c in a pafos Leander and there is a population of 100,000=

10,000/100,000=10%

however paphos has lets say 12 seats the non Greeks would get 3 seats.

reverse now:

girne has 100,000 people

50,000 are g/c

50,000/100,000=50%

girne has 12 seats the non Turkish pop.gets 3 seats even though they make up 50%

ethnic homogeneous states is segregation.Jesus move on already its 2006.