New window of opportunity opens for Cyprus problem

As Greek and Turkish Cypriot leaders are preparing to resume stalled reunification talks on Friday, a new window of opportunity has opened for a solution to the decades-old Cyprus problem.

United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, like all his predecessors, has offered to help the two communities on the eastern Mediterranean island move toward reunification.

"We hope that we will be able to see improvement and make some breakthrough in this long-pending issue in Europe," Ban said Monday.

The secretary-general said the international community should "seize the momentum and the window of opportunity" presented by Demetris Christofias' election in Cyprus and his commitment to the resolution of the issue.

Divided island with uncompromising parties

Cyprus has been divided since 1974 when Turkey militarily intervened and occupied the northern third of the island followinga failed coup by a group of Greek officers who pushed for union with Greece.

In 1983, the Turkish Cypriot authorities declared a breakaway and set up "the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus," recognized only by Turkey.

The United Nations has been trying for several decades to persuade the two communities to find a viable solution to the issue.

In an April 2004 referendum, Greek Cypriots led by then hard line President Tassos Papadopoulos rejected a comprehensive settlement plan proposed by then UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, arguing it would favor Turkey and Turkish Cypriots and hurt Greek Cypriots' rights.

The Greek Cypriot south joined the EU in May 2004 on behalf of the whole Republic of Cyprus, but the new member has been "in the EU doghouse," as Greek Cypriot journalist Jean Christou recently described.

Turkish Cypriots have said they do not want permanent partition, and welcomed the UN blueprint in the 2004 referendum.

Meanwhile, they have spared no effort to open trade offices overseas and strengthen ties within the Islamic world with the help of Ankara, in a bid to break what they call the "isolation" enforced by the Greek Cypriots.

New momentum by pro-solution president

Papadopoulos' uncompromising attitude towards the Cyprus problem cost him his re-election bid last month. Most Greek Cypriot voters have realized that the long impasse will only lead to permanent division.

Moreover, the unilateral declaration of independence by Kosovo,coinciding with the latest presidential election in Cyprus, underlined the urgency of settling the Cyprus issue.

Left-wing moderate Demetris Christofias replaced Papadopoulos as the new president and Greek Cypriot leader, and has pledged to make reunification his government's top priority.

Last week, Christofias met with EU leaders in Brussels on the sidelines of a European Council meeting, outlining his vision for a solution to the Cyprus issue, which was acknowledged by the 27-member bloc.

On the other side, Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat, who met with Ban Ki-Moon last week in Senegal during a summit of the Organization of Islamic Conference, assured the UN chief of his commitment to revive the stalled negotiations.

Both leaders have indicated the possibility of announcing after their first meeting the opening of Ledra Street in the heart of the old walled city of Nicosia, bisected by the UN monitored Green Line since the 1960s following violence between the two communities.

Such a move of opening a crossing point on the busy commercial street will be regarded as a goodwill gesture from both sides.

Big challenges ahead

Cyprus gained independence from British colonial rule in 1960 and established a power-sharing constitution between the Turkish and Greek Cypriot communities.

The power sharing system collapsed in 1964 amid inter-communal violence. A UN peacekeeping force was sent to prevent further fighting in what has become one of its longest operations.

Since Turkish troops entered the north in 1974, the UN peacekeepers have been supervising ceasefire lines, maintaining a buffer zone and undertaking humanitarian activities.

Greek Cypriots feel the problem originated with the Turkish invasion and have called for a full and immediate withdrawal of the estimated 35,000 Turkish troops in the country.

But in the eyes of Turkish Cypriots, the problem is rooted in the bloody violence of the 1960s, when Greek Cypriot extremists attempted to drive the Turkish Cypriot minority out of the island to promote Enosis, the movement of the Greek-Cypriots to push for union with Greece.

The Greek Cypriots, rejecting the Annan plan, demand negotiations based on a procedure agreement reached by the two sides in July 2006.

But the Turkish Cypriots believe the Annan plan can help resolve many problems, and any negotiations for change need to be based on that plan.

They pursue a new partnership state based on "the political equality of the two peoples and the equal status of two constituent states", as Talat has reiterated.

Even if the first encounter between the two leaders goes well, full-fledged negotiations are not expected until a UN evaluation team headed by Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Lynn Pascoe visits the island.

Following his dialogue with all related parties scheduled for the beginning of April, Pascoe will report to the UN chief and to the Security Council for a decision on what role the UN can play to broker an agreement between the two communities.

When substantial negotiations kick off, a number of tough issues will appear on the table, including security, property, return of refugees, Turkish settlers and guarantor status.

Tens of thousands of Turkish settlers have arrived on the island since 1974. The Annan plan foresaw 40,000 returning to Turkey, which many Greek Cypriots considered too few.

The guarantor status, held by Britain, Turkey and Greece through the Treaty of Guarantee of 1960, gives the three countries the legal right to intervene in the island's affairs, based on which Turkey conducted its military intervention in 1974.

Greek Cypriots, on the other hand, view the colonial-style guarantors as unacceptable.

All these thorny issues require painful compromises from both communities as well as Turkey, to whom Talat, the Turkish Cypriot leader, has to defer.

However, this is the first time that the two communities have a pro-solution leader on each side, thus creating the possibility of an imminent resolution of the Cyprus problem.