Cyprus is small, Luxembourg is smaller

To those who think that a division of Cyprus is unfeasible, think again. Aysu Basri Akter who writes about a public opinion poll which was conducted by the Cyprus social and economic research centre (KADEM), concluded that the Turkish Cypriots in the north are 78,000 and the overall population is over 320,000. The Turks in the ‘TRNC; are continuing to build up their population, which means they have no plans of leaving.

Like most Greek Cypriots, I would like to see all the Turkish troops and settlers leave but I am also a realist. Turkey is not going to join the EU as France and Germany have made that plainly clear.

Those who argue that Cyprus is too small to divide then I would suggest that they look at a map of Europe and see that EU member Luxembourg only covers an area of 998 square miles and has a population of 490,000.

The Republic of Cyprus covers an area of 2,276 square miles and has a population of 790,000 of which 660,000 are Greek Cypriots. The ‘TRNC’ covers an area of 1,295 square miles.

The Irish Model should be the basis of negotiations. There are two states on the same geographic area and the International community is not pushing the two to unite.

As it stands Turkish troops control 37 per cent of the total area of Cyprus. Negotiations between the two Cypriot parties should be based on a 70-30 per cent land distribution with secure borders and compensation for lost properties from both sides. Most Greek and Turkish Cypriots prefer to govern themselves than one another.

George K Georgiou,
Melbourne, Australia 

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.