TODAY we mark the 40th anniversary of the Turkish invasion which led to the occupation of 37 per cent of the Cyprus Republic’s territory.
In its 54-year existence, the Republic has exercised control over all its territory and coast-lines for only 14 years and this does not take into account the Turkish Cypriot enclaves that were created at the end of 1963 and operated as autonomous areas.
In other words, for almost three-quarters of its existence as a sovereign state, the Republic has had more than a third of its territory occupied by Turkey.
There is a sizable proportion of the population that has never seen Cyprus without a dividing line or ever visited what is now called the fenced area of Famagusta.
Even the official slogan – ‘I don’t forget’ – is meaningless to them as they have no memories of or any direct, personal connection to the north of the island before it was occupied.
And in another 10 years, reminiscing about Kyrenia or the Karpas will be an old age pensioner’s pastime.
Our politicians may still be talking about their desire for a settlement and condemning Turkish intransigence as preventing reunification in 10 years time but nobody will be listening.
The Cyprus problem industry, which has made many political careers, cannot last forever. Its best days are in the past and its peak – the 2004 referendum hysteria – was 10 years ago. It has been in decline ever since as a vote-winner and career-maker.
People are not just fed up of listening to the same old nonsense from dishonest politicians they no longer care.
The reality is that, despite the rhetoric, the overwhelming majority of people seem comfortable with the status quo and have accepted the division as part of their life; we suspect the Turkish Cypriots think the same way.
Why would people want reunification when the four decades of separation offered uninterrupted peace and security, in stark contrast to the period before 1974 which was plagued by intercommunal fighting and bloodshed?
The 40 years of partition, at least for the Greek Cypriots, was a period of growing prosperity and affluence, even if we are now paying the cost of our profligacy. Why risk it?
This is the thinking behind our politicians’ fiery rhetoric about a settlement being fair, just, viable, workable, respecting all human rights etc.
They know they are in no position to achieve this utopia, but they keep banging on about it, because they are afraid to say that permanent partition is, for them, the best of all options.
They are happy to achieve it through their childish, patriotic stance that rejects every compromise proposal for the chimera of the perfect settlement.
Partition has another big benefit for our political establishment – it ensures against the anathema of power-sharing. Greek Cypriot politicians do not want to share the spoils of power they have been enjoying for decades with Turkish Cypriots and operate in a system that would impose unprecedented checks and balances on them.
It is no coincidence that the last two presidents, both supposedly pro-settlement, in practice, have not been too committed to achieving a deal because they do not want to surrender their power or have it curtailed by a new constitution.
In 40 years of division the only major change that has taken place in relations between the two sides has been the opening of the checkpoints in 2003 by the Turkish Cypriot leadership.
After 29 years of complete separation the members of the two communities came into contact with each other once again, and the fear factor that existed until then greatly diminished.
In the 11 years since there has been no violence or any major incident and many thousands of people now visit the other side routinely, without fear.
This showed that the two communities could live peacefully as good neighbours, but it is also an indication that this might be as far as they are prepared to go.
There would be many, big opportunities for a settlement that did away with the dividing line and reunited the island but nobody is prepared to make the big leap of faith because partition seems to suit both sides, not only the Turkish Cypriots.
Despite the brave and defiant words about never accepting the fait accompli of the invasion, the Greek Cypriot politicians have done exactly that as the facts of the last 40 years show, and not many people have been protesting.
After all, the objective is no longer reunification but the preservation of the Cyprus Republic, even if the cost is to surrender 37 per cent of its territory to Turkey.
