Akinci hopes for a solution this year

By Angelos Anastasiou
GUARANTEES are the result of international treaties and cannot be terminated with a unilateral statement, newly elected Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci has told the Turkish paper Star.
He was referring to a statement last week by Greek Defence Minister Panos Kammenos that Greece is not interested in being a guarantor power in Cyprus.
Since its birth in 1960, the independence and constitutional order of the Republic of Cyprus has been guaranteed by Greece, Turkey, and the United Kingdom, under the Treaty of Guarantee.
It was under the provisions of this treaty that Turkey justified its military invasion in July 1974.
Asked to comment on Greece’s stated position of no longer being interested in being a guarantor power, Akinci said there are five players on this issue.
“There is Turkey, Greece, Great Britain, South Cyprus [the internationally recognised Republic of Cyprus], and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus [the breakaway regime in the Turkish-occupied areas],” he said.
“Therefore, one side saying guarantees should be ended cannot end guarantors’ rights. Greece saying that unilaterally is of no consequence.”
Laying out his priorities, Akinci said the most important issue on his agenda is the Cyprus problem.
“There have been negotiations since 1968,” he said.
“Our hope is that these negotiations will culminate in a positive result in 2015. We have discussed this issue with [Turkey’s deputy Prime Minister] Mr Arinc and Turkey’s wishes are in this direction.”
But he had some disapproving comments in store for the Cypriot government, especially with regard to its willingness to share power in post-solution Cyprus.
In reference to this week’s tripartite summit between Egypt, Greece, and Cyprus, as well as the ‘Nicosia Accord’, Akinci said the initiative is “indicative of the Greek-Cypriot mindset, that they are the only sovereign power”.
“The Greek Cypriot side operates under the assumption that it is the only sovereign country and the sole protector of citizens’ rights,” he said.
“I believe this is wrong. Natural gas is wealth belonging jointly to both communities. And I believe that this resource can fund the solution. It is wrong for it to be turned into a point of friction, even before it is unearthed.”
With regard to the major sticking points in the negotiations, he singled out power-sharing.
“The Greek Cypriot side, arguing that ‘I am the state, the entire world recognises me as the state’ has been extremely tight on the issue of sharing power,” Akinci said.
“If they accept that on this island they are politically equal with us, then we will have overcome the most important obstacle. Agreement on all other issues will become easier.”
Akinci also had some criticism with the confidence-building measures unilaterally announced by President Nicos Anastasiades earlier this week, saying they are not enough.
“It was hardly appropriate to announce these through the press,” Akinci said.
“It is noted that maps to minefields on the Pentadaktylos mountains will be handed over. And yet, this is an issue that concerns public safety and should have been announced much earlier.”
“I don’t wish to react negatively, but much more needs to be done, like lifting the embargo [against Turkish Cypriots],” he concluded.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.