It's Simple--the Cyprus Negotiations Will Fail A Case Study.

• Author: Jennings, Roger L.
• Position: Commentary and Analysis - Case study

April 2016

Currently the Greek and Turkish Cypriots are negotiating a unification of the two populations on the island of Cyprus.

The Turkish Cypriots are very optimistic an agreement will be reached, but Greek Cypriot President Anastasiades counsels caution.

When the world understands the history of Cyprus, the Greeks and the Turks, then people will understand why the negotiations as they are currently being conducted will fail. Ultimately, Turkey and its client the Turkish Cypriots will lose patience with the Greek Cypriot method of negotiation, and north Cyprus will become a province of the Republic of Turkey. The Greek Cypriots will not like a large influx of Turks to this new Turkish province.

A successful conclusion to the negotiations is within the control of the Turkish Cypriots, but their leaders do not comprehend their potential and are not interested in advice. The current political administration of north Cyprus is following the same course as the failed prior political administrations.

Cyprus became a sovereign country in 1960. Greece, Turkey and the U.K. guaranteed the sovereignty of all citizens of Cyprus. Greek Cypriots outnumber Turkish Cypriots by almost 3:1. The first President was Archbishop Makarios. Initially he spoke in favor of "Enosis" which means union with Greece. The Turkish minority did not want to become Greeks. The Turkish Cypriots wanted equal rights and representation.

Years earlier ethnic Greeks forced the ethnic Turks to leave Crete. Then Crete joined with Greece to become part of Greece. This was a realization of the Megali Idea. The Megali Idea is a proposal that all ethnic Greeks would be unified in one Greek state with its capital in Constantinople.

In 1974 units of the Greek military joined with the Greek Cypriot military. Their combined forces then attempted to force the Turkish Cypriots to leave the island of Cyprus. Archbishop Makarios barely escaped with his life by going to the British enclave on the island. Several days later the Archbishop delivered a scathing speech at the U.N. that was critical of Greece and the combined force in Cyprus.

The entry into Cyprus by Greek military for the purpose of Enosis was a violation of Cypriot sovereignty. The U.K. took no action to protect the Cypriots from military action and to protect innocent people from being killed. When people were being killed, the Republic of Turkey exercised its right as a guarantor of the sovereignty of all Cypriots by landing a large military force on Cyprus. The Turkish military defeated the combined Greek and Greek Cypriot forces. The Turks then forced the Greek Cypriots to move to the southern end of the island and the Turkish Cypriots to the northern end. The border, reminiscent of the Berlin Wall, is supervised by military units of the U.N. to this day. A large contingent of Turkish military remains in north Cyprus.

South Cyprus is recognized by the world as the sole representative of Cyprus. South Cyprus belongs to the E.U. and has diplomatic and trading relations with many countries. The Greek Cypriot people have benefited with higher income per capita than the Turkish Cypriots. The Turkish Cypriots are not recognized any country, except the Republic of Turkey. The E.U. made a huge mistake by not recognizing human life in north Cyprus.

Former U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan worked very hard to achieve a unification in Cyprus. In...