EUROPE'S LAST DIVIDED CITY

Lokmaci (Ledra), the central street of Cyprus's largest city, Lefkosia (Nicosia), which has divided the city into Greek and Turkish sectors since 1963, was opened on 3 April after the de-mining of the 70-metre "dead zone." The checkpoint on the "green line" (buffer zone), which was erected 45 years ago, was partially disassembled, and nearby houses, which have been empty for decades, are now being repaired.

Although Lokmaci is the sixth border checkpoint between the feuding communities to be opened since 2003, it attracted special attention. And this too is quite understandable: after all, this checkpoint was a symbol of the division in Cyprus. It had been opened only once before, in 1968, but it was closed again following the Greek coup of 1974 - and for such a long time, as subsequent developments dictated. The first barricades were built there in 1963 and, in 1974, they were then replaced by a wall. As a result, the commercial district of the city and its tourist centre, were divided into two parts. The line which divides the island into the two sectors is to this day guarded by the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP).

However, the atmosphere of reconciliation between the leaders of the two communities which has reigned in recent months showed through in the statements made during the checkpoint opening ceremony. It was attended by ministers, parliamentarians and large numbers of people from both parts of the country, as well as by the heads of the Turkish and Greek municipalities of Lefkosia. The youth branch of the Republican Turkish Party - United Forces - greeted the opening by chanting slogans demanding peace. After a gala ceremony, the street was officially declared open, albeit only for pedestrians for now.

The decision to open the checkpoint was reached on 21 March at a meeting held under the auspices of the UN between the President of the Republic of Cyprus (RC) Dimitris Christofias and the President of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) Mehmet Ali Talat. They also agreed to create workgroups of experts to prepare an agreement on the resolution of the long-standing Cyprus problem.

It must be noted that, in anticipation of problematic issues, the Turkish side has taken a number of preventive measures. For example, a pedestrian bridge has been constructed for the Turkish military serving at the checkpoint. According to the Northern Cyprus leadership this should minimize contact between the military and Greek Cypriots who visit the Turkish part of the city. The project was funded by the Turkish embassy in Northern Cyprus, which allocated US$800,000.

The Greek side initially raised numerous objections to the footbridge, but while TRNC President Mehmet Ali Talat was visiting Azerbaijan and TRNC Prime Minister Ferdi Sabit Soyer was in Germany, it then made a surprise move. During the night of 8 March 2007, the wall which separated the Greek part of the city from the Lokmaci checkpoint was removed by bulldozers, paving the way for further rapprochement between the communities. Although it is premature to talk about political dividends from the opening of the Lokmaci checkpoint, local businesses are already celebrating. Revenues from the growing trade are already flowing in. The initiators of the opening of the checkpoint maintain, not without reason, that the contacts at local level will facilitate the development of economic ties between the communities, which will eventually help to eliminate divisions in Cyprus.

No closed checkpoints remain along the entire stretch of the 180-kilometre "green zone" which divides the two communities of the island. In other words, there are no longer problems of a "local nature". And the election of a new leader of the Greek Cypriots, Dimitris Christofias, in February 2008, has also made it possible to guide the negotiating process itself out of impasse.

The news about the opening of Lokmaci has inspired hopes even among hard-boiled political analysts in Ankara, whose positive responses have dominated the Turkish press over the last few weeks. The signing of a long-awaited comprehensive peace agreement is expected to be the next step.

And this is quite possible. Given the financial support which Ankara allocates to Turkish Cypriots, part of which, incidentally, comes from Turkey's own foreign credit, it is clear how keenly both the ruling class and ordinary Turks await a resolution of the decades of conflict.

However, not everyone is optimistic. The Turkish General Chief of Staff, Yasar Buyukanit, voiced his department's opinion that the opening of the Lokmaci checkpoint is an "insufficient step." During his visit to Lefkosia, Buyukanit called a news conference at which he particularly stressed the issue of the opening of the checkpoint. In his words, the "Turkish Army will not leave the island until a comprehensive and just solution to the conflict is found." "Lokmaci is just one of the many doors whose opening will lead to a solution of the problem," Buyukanit stressed.

Indeed, talks about the unification of the island have been under way for a long time, but without result so far. The latest major attempt was thwarted during a referendum on the "Annan plan," which was held on the island under the aegis of the UN on 26 April 2004. The UN-proposed, Cyprus regulation plan ("Annan plan") envisaged the creation of a two-community two-zone state on the island rather than a single Republic of Cyprus which, in the opinion of the Greek community, would effectively mean acceptance of the Turkish occupation of the Northern part of the island. The Turkish side would have the right of veto in the government of a united Cyprus and the right to keep its military contingent on the island. The Greek Cypriots' rights to buy real estate in the northern part of Cyprus would also be limited. Seventy-five percent of Greek Cypriots voted against the UN plan, in contrast to the Turkish Cypriots, a majority of whom voted for the plan. The results of the referendum proved that the Turkish Cypriots were ready to give up their most precious possession, their own statehood, in return for the possibility of building a single Cyprus, whereas the Greeks are trying to wield international levers to achieve as many concessions as possible.

An analysis of the historical causes of the Cyprus conflict shows that they lie not so much in antagonism between the communities themselves as in the balance of power between the foreign players, whether Greece, Turkey, Britain or, later, the EU. The Greeks and Turks lived together for centuries under the Ottoman Empire, and there was no discord between them. It all began much later, in the mid-20th century, when Cyprus, which was a British colony, gained independence in 1960. The legal aspects of independence were regulated by the Zurich and London agreements of 1959, which limited considerably the republic's independence. Under those agreements, Britain, Greece and Turkey were declared guarantors of the "independence, territorial integrity and security" of Cyprus, which entitled these three states to interfere in Cyprus's domestic affairs (The Agreement on Guarantees). In addition, Greece and Britain were given the right to keep military contingents on the island, 950 and 650 persons respectively (The Union Agreement). Britain retained 99 square miles of Sovereign Bases under its full jurisdiction, in which two major military bases, Dhekelia and Akrotiri, were situated and also reserved the right to use other "small areas" and the infrastructure required for the functioning of the military bases and other facilities. In addition to these bases, there are also several other British and US military installations and facilities on the island.

In July 1974, with the support of the Greek junta, a military coup took place on the island.  President Makarios was removed from power and control of the island was transferred to Nikos Sampson, a member of the underground, ultranationalist organization EOKA-B (National Organisation of Cypriot Fighters), which fought for the annexation of Cyprus by Greece. Continual harassment of the ethnic Turks escalated into mass robbery and murder and Turkey, as a guarantor country, decided to use its right to defend the local ethnic Turks by deploying its troops in the north of the island on 20 July 1974. As a result, 33% of the island's territory was brought under Turkish control.

The first few years of negotiation yielded no results. On 13 February 1975, the leadership of the Turkish community declared the Federal Turkish State of Cyprus and elected Rauf Denktas its first president then, on 15 November 1983, the Legislative Assembly of the Federal Turkish State of Cyprus declared the independence of the Turkish Cypriot state. In principle, the Greek Cypriots had enough time to find a mutually acceptable solution to the problem, but nationalist sentiments in the south of the island precluded the implementation of the idea.

The current situation shows that, despite Turkey's pressure on the Turkish community of the island and EU pressure on the Greek Cypriots, the process of rapprochement is slow and difficult. Since the conflict both parts of Cyprus have effectively become mono-ethnic. In 1974-1975, an "exchange of population" took place: almost all the Turkish Cypriots moved to the Turkish-occupied parts of the island, whereas the Greek Cypriots moved to the south (at present, only a few hundred ethnic Greeks reside in the north of the island).

The EU became involved in the Cyprus issue much later, when the Greek part of the island joined the EU on 1 May 2004. All the benefits and advantages which Cyprus has gained from membership are effectively restricted to the Greek sector, whereas the EU to this day views Northern Cyprus as an EU territory under foreign occupation.

This situation hinders Turkey's negotiations on EU membership. Greece and the Greek Cypriots use every possible lever to put pressure on Ankara, demanding the opening of southern Turkish seaports for vessels from southern Cyprus. The EU-Turkey Customs Union makes the same demand and this accounts for the partial suspension of EU-Turkey talks about membership.

At the same time, Ankara has the support of a number of Western countries on this issue, including the US and Britain, which, despite international sanctions and Greece's objections, have allowed the opening of official missions from Northern Cyprus on their territories and maintain certain trade relations with the TRNC. Turkey also resists the Greek side's attempts to shift the negotiating process from the UN to the EU, which would mean starting the dialogue from scratch in a situation which would be disadvantageous for Ankara. Turkey reacts with proposals to resume discussions on the Annan plan, which was rejected by the Greek side.

Today, the two sides are very well aware of the essence of the negotiating process. Mutually acceptable concessions, which the TRNC leadership advocates, but which were rejected by the previous government of the Greek sector, might facilitate a resolution of the conflict.

It remains to be seen how flexible new RC President Dimitris Christofias will be on this issue and whether the demolition of the dividing wall in Lefkosia will be followed by a major agreement. International mediation has effectively ground to a halt. It must be said that the only way out of the current situation is for the leaders of the communities themselves to come up with a new document on resolution. However, this is hard to believe: Ankara and Athens are prone to confusing their own interests with those of the islanders. There is no light at the end of the tunnel yet, and the ball is in the Greek court.