A CONTROVERSIAL three-day visit to the north by seven advisors to US congressmen and senators is a clear indication of a policy that seeks to end the economic and political isolation of the Turkish Cypriot community, the north’s Chamber of Trade chairman Salih Tunar said yesterday.
The seven advisors arrived at Tymbou (Ercan) airport last night at the invitation of the Chamber of Trade amid sharp criticism from the Cypriot government, which maintains that such visits encourage the breakaway Turkish Cypriot statelet to seek international recognition.
“The visit expresses a repetition of statements made by then-US Secretary of State Colin Powell to [Mehmet Ali] Talat when he visited the States last year that they [the Americans] would be supporting the north’s integration into the world economic community,” Tunar told the Cyprus Mail yesterday. He added: “This is not a case of seven people coming here off their own bat; it had to be approved by the US government.”
Tunar’s comments fly in the face of statements by Foreign Minister George Iacovou on Sunday claiming the US State Department had distanced itself from the visit following protests by the Cypriot government.
“It [the State Department] does not know much about the trip, which is not funded by Congress, and as far as we know, members of the House are not participating in this visit,” Iacovou said.
He also played down the importance of the visit by saying the delegation’s aircraft would not be flying directly into the north but would be touching down in Turkey first.
Yesterday, Tunar echoed the north’s official position of not asking the international community for recognition and said the visit should not be interpreted as encouragement by the US for the north to seek recognition as a separate state.
“This visit is simply a fact-finding trip that is happening because we invited them,” Tunar said, adding that the US delegation’s arrival in the north would be, he hoped, the first of many visits by foreign officials.
“We have sent out many invitations and this is the first positive response we have received,” he said.
“The US has been very helpful in giving support for the lifting of isolation,” he added.
He could not say the same for the EU, however, which he accused of reneging on promises made after the Turkish Cypriot ‘yes’ vote in the Annan plan referendum.
“I believe the US will do some concrete things to help. As for the EU, we’ve seen how little they are prepared to do.”
This is not the first time a delegation of US officials has travelled to the north to express support for the lifting of isolation of the Turkish Cypriot community. In May, three congressmen flew into the north and declared the airport there “not illegal”, while in April a delegation of businessmen representing some of the US’s largest and most well-known companies held meetings with the north’s Chamber of Commerce. Both visits provoked angry reactions from the Cyprus government.
As with the previous visits, the delegation will hold face-to-face meetings with both the ‘prime minister’ and ‘president’ of the breakaway state, as well as forging contacts with business leaders and non-governmental organisations (NGOs).
Last week reports in the Greek Cypriot press branded the visit a political stunt, with some going as far as to accuse the Turkish Cypriot Chamber and the north’s ‘government’ of bribing the delegation to travel to the north.
“These reports are completely unfounded and are based on pure speculation. The delegation is coming here at its own expense,” Tunar insisted.
Tunar said they would be following the advice of the Americans not to present the delegation with gifts worth more than $50 so that accusations of bribery did not arise.
