Turkish Cypriots favour a permanent split with south
By Jerome Taylor in northern Cyprus
The Independent
Published: 03 December 2007
They were the people who, three years ago, voted overwhelmingly for a
peaceful resolution to the division of their island and were rewarded by
being denied entry into the European Union. Now for the first time in
years,
thanks to a string of broken promises by Brussels and the wider
international community, the population of north Cyprus favour the
permanent
partition of their Mediterranean island.
According to a recent poll conducted by the self-declared Turkish Republic
of North Cyprus, 60 per cent of Turkish Cypriots now favour a two-state
solution that would see their population permanently separated from their
Greek counterparts on the south of the island along the infamous Green
Line
border that carves the island in two.
The findings are in stark contrast to the results of a referendum held
three
years ago in which just under 65 per cent of Turkish Cypriots voted for a
UN-backed peace plan in favour of reunification with the south. In the
same
referendum the Greek Cypriots overwhelmingly rejected the peace plan but
were able to enter the EU because their government is recognised
internationally.
According to Mehmet Ali Talat, the pro-reconciliation President of Turkish
Cyprus, the change in popular opinion is the legacy of the international
community, and the EU in particular, failing to live up to its promises to
end the isolation of the north and encourage greater direct trade.
In an interview, Mr Talat expressed frustration at the lack of progress in
peace talks. "I find myself continuously warning the international
community
and the Greek Cypriot side that the Green Line is becoming more and more
permanent, not less," he said.
"Turkish Cypriots have started to say if they don't want a solution with
us,
if they don't want to live with us why should we continue to ask to live
together, what is the point? A growing number of Turkish Cypriot's are
thinking this every day. The walls between the two peoples are growing
taller every day."
http://news.independent.co.uk/europe/article3218049.ece
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