AFTER US Secretary of State Colin Powell’s unprecedented reference to Mehmet Ali Talat as “Mr Prime Minister” in New York on Tuesday, the US has taken a further step towards giving Turkish Cypriots a voice in the international community by saying it will back the community’s membership to organisations such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank, Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) and UEFA.
The pledge of support for Talat and the Turkish Cypriot community came at the end of Talat’s three-day visit to the US following an invitation from Powell, who indicated before the visit than he would be seeking to help end the 40-year isolation of the Turkish Cypriots as a reward for their overwhelming backing of the UN-backed Annan plan in a referendum last month.
In a further act of support for Talat, who became ‘prime minister’ in January, the US made it clear it now sees him as the Turkish Cypriot leader, rather than Rauf Denktash, whose representation of the Turkish Cypriot people spans six decades. Denktash is widely seen as having lost the support of voters in the occupied north when he urged them to reject the Annan plan last month. The plan was subsequently backed by almost 65 per cent of the occupied north’s population.
An unnamed US official told Turkey’s Anatolian News Agency (AA) on Wednesday that “the US administration no longer regards Denktash as the Turkish Cypriot leader, we have accepted Talat”.
The development has far-reaching implications for future UN-sponsored negotiations on Cyprus, with Talat seen as more open to a bizonal, federal solution than his hardline predecessor. Talat is also a keen advocate of EU membership.
The official said moves to bring Turkish Cypriots out of political and economic isolation would be made on a step-by-step basis, some of which would be taken before the UN publishes its report on Cyprus later this month. Other steps would follow the report, the official said.
The official added that the US was seeking a formula that would enable it to provide financial aid to the Turkish Cypriot community. The US previously set aside a $400 million aid package for the whole of Cyprus on condition it backed the Annan plan. Following the Greek Cypriot rejection of the plan, it is now considering ways to use a portion of the money for the benefit of the Turkish Cypriot community.
Another official told reporters that the US Congress would first have to ratify some of the measures proposed by the US, including the release of funds.
Talat has, meanwhile, been at pains to stress that despite recent support from the EU and the US, he has not abandoned his aim to see the island united along federal lines.
“We are continuing in our efforts to reunite the island, and at the moment there is a positive atmosphere for reunification among the Turkish Cypriot people. However, if isolation of our community continues, such a positive atmosphere may not continue indefinitely,” he said, adding that the positive attitude of his people presented an opportunity to solve the Cyprus problem that should not be missed.
Speaking at a conference organised by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, Talat summed up his visit to the US by saying: “We came here with modest expectations, but these meetings have given me greater reason for hope.”
