Foreign relations of Northern Cyprus
From Freepedia
The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, due to its unrecognized status internationally, is dependent upon Turkey to facilitate its contacts with the international community. The internationally-recognized Republic of Cyprus government has kept a political, cultural, economic, and sporting embargo of the TRNC relatively intact since 1974. However, recent developments have weakened the embargo.
Contents |
Recent developments
Since the 2004 referendum on the Annan Plan, the attitude of the international community towards the TRNC has begun to change. Azerbaijan has commenced direct air links with the TRNC, whereas before, all flights had to originate or stop off in Turkey first. The Organization of the Islamic Conference has upgraded the TRNC's status from a community to an observer-state, and delegations from foreign governments (such as US congressmen) have been in direct contact with the TRNC Government, arriving in the TRNC without first going through the southern part of the island, and meeting the representatives in their ministries.
Following Azerbaijan's lead, several states in Central Asia are expressing interest in commencing their own air links with the TRNC (However, Azerbaijan is experiencing strong diplomatic pressure from the EU to break off its links with TRNC).
At the September 2005 Session of the Organization of the Islamic Conference meeting in New York, the OIC issued resolutions calling upon member nations and other states to do more to ease United Nations restrictions imposed upon Northern Cyprus, and to open more direct links with the TRNC.
In October 2005, a large parliamentary delegation from Kyrgyzstan arrived in TRNC for the purpose of proposing closer economic, cultural, and sporting ties.
Diplomatic representations
At the present time, only Turkey maintains a formal embassy in TRNC, while the TRNC has an embassy and consulates in Turkey. In various other countries, the TRNC has unofficial representative offices which serve as de facto embassies and consulates. Turkey represents TRNC interests in countries without such offices. In Northern Nicosia (the TRNC controlled northern half), both the British High Commissioner to Cyprus and the United States Ambassador to Cyprus have their formal residences, though since these residences had been in use since before 1963, it is not indicative of formal recognition of the TRNC from the United Kingdom or United States.
Azerbaijan and the Gambia have recently announced their willingness to eventually formally recognize the TRNC. They so far have not followed through, but their informal contacts have increased. Also, diplomats from other countries have recently officially visited the Ankara Embassy of the TRNC to hold meetings with the TRNC Ambassador.
Honorary Representatives are also appointed by the TRNC in various other cities to represent the TRNC and to assist the primary TRNC Representative Offices.
Foreign Minister
Serdar Denktaş (son of the former Turkish Cypriot President Rauf Denktas)is the TRNC Foreign Minister. He pursues a policy of raising international awareness of the TRNC, while strengthening the 'motherland' links with Turkey, which maintains 30,000 troops in the TRNC - obtensibly as a protection force against the Greek Cypriot South. When Denktaş visits OIC member countries, he is officially regarded as the "Foreign Minister of the Turkish Cypriot State" , which is a major upgrading of his status internationally. Denktaş portrays the TRNC as an independent, secular democracy and favors strengthening economic contacts internationally.
Disputes
Republic of Cyprus
The internationally recognized Cypriot government refuses to give any official status to the Government of the TRNC, and actively dissuades any other country from doing so. This is backed up by the United Nations. The Cypriot government regards the TRNC in such terms as: "illegitimate entity", "Turkish military occupied territory" and "a puppet state of Turkey". Phraseology such as "pseudo" or "so-called" are used by the Cypriot Government to describe government officials and institutions in the TRNC.
The TRNC President is referred to simply as the "Turkish Cypriot Leader" by the Cypriot government and the United Nations. (It is however interesting to note that under the 1960 Constitution of Cyprus, the Leader of the Turkish Cypriots is regarded as the Vice-President of the Republic of Cyprus with wide veto powers, but this status has not been acknowledged by the Cypriot government since December 1963). Due to this stance, the TRNC refuses any official recognition of the Cypriot Government, calling it the "Greek Cypriot Administation of Southern Cyprus", and referring to its President as the "Greek Cypriot Leader". Turkey backs this position.
There have been some inter-Cypriot diplomatic successes recently however, the most recent being the opening of several checkpoints along the Green Line, allowing Greek and Turkish Cypriots to visit either side of the Green Line.
European Union
Negotiations between both Cypriot communities have been complicated by the accession of the Republic of Cyprus to the European Union in 2004. The TRNC views the EU accession as illegal as they had not been consulted (as the 1960 constitution stipulates), and that the Cypriot government does not represent the Turkish Cypriot populace. Legally, the EU regulations cover the whole island, but in practice, only the southern portion of the island enjoys the benefits of EU membership.
The Cypriot government have used their EU position to veto promised aid packages from the EU to the TRNC, and are using their membership to add pressure on Turkey to end their support for the TRNC. This is being viewed in an increasingly negative way by countries such as Britain and the United States, though Turkey's non-recognition of the Republic of Cyprus despite its signing of the customs union between itself and the EU is an additional bone of contention.
Legally, the EU continues to consider northern Cyprus as EU territory under foreign military occupation and thus indefinitely exempt from EU legislation until a settlement has been reached. The number of seats assigned to Cyprus in the European Parliament (6 seats) is based on the population of the entire island, despite the fact that the residents of Northern Cyprus - Turkish Cypriots and Anatolian Turks alike - currently cannot participate in the election process. By comparison, Malta, with a population equal to that of the government-controlled southern part of Cyprus, holds only 5 MEP seats, and thus technically the voters of Northern Cyprus must "relinquish" their sole MEP to the voters of the South. There is no support as yet for admitting two Cypriot member states into the EU.
United Nations
In 1983, The United Nations issued two Security Council resolutions calling the TRNC's UDI illigitimate and calling upon the other UN member nations not to recognize it. The policy of the UN is to reunify both comunities under a federal structure. The TRNC calls the UN action hypocritical, given their recognition of Bangladesh in 1972 after it broke off from Pakistan. The United Nations still maintains UNIFCYP which keeps the peace along the Green Line.
Turkey
In 2005, moves were made by TRNC to regulate Turkish migrants. This was in reaction to employment shortages and an increase in crime. This is the first major area of disagreement between TRNC and Turkey, which wants to preserve the Turkish majority demographic status quo through continued ethnic Turkish migration.
International Postal Union
The IPU does not recognize TRNC as a seperate entity, and as all mail adressed to the TRNC as 'TRNC' or 'Cyprus' will be returned to the sender as 'undeliverable', TRNC-bound mail has to be routed through Turkey first (mail must be addressed to Mersin 10, TURKEY). However, TRNC postage stamps - unlike postage stamps from Rhodesia between 1965 - 1980 are recognized.
Outlook
While the stance of the Republic of Cyprus has been the main source of the international isolation of the TRNC, sympathy for the Turkish Cypriot people has increased since their support for reunification in the failed 2004 referendum on the Annan Plan. Some observers believe that with the continued chipping away of the embargo, the TRNC could end up with a political status similar to that of the Republic of China (which has diplomatic relations with only 25 states, but otherwise no barriers to trade, tourism, and sport and de facto relations with most countries in the world in the form of "economic and cultural" offices). Formal recognition would only be likely in the short to medium term from a handful of OIC nations. Most other nations would not follow suit while the relevant UN Security Council resolutions (550, 541) are still in force.
TRNC fully supports Turkey's bid to join the European Union. As part of this bid, Turkey recently signed a protocol extending its customs union to the new EU members, including the Republic of Cyprus, which Turkey does not recognise. Turkey made sure this was not tantamount to recognition with the inclusion of a declaration, stipulating their continued policy of non-recognition of what they describe as the "Greek Cypriot administration of Southern Cyprus" until a settlement is reached. TRNC views any move by the EU to force Turkish recognition of the Republic of Cyprus as an effort to cut them off from their base of support. Turkey has pledged not to abandon the TRNC, but the upcoming negociations with the EU will put this pledge sorely to the test.
International Organizational Membership
TRNC is an observer-state member of the Organization of the Islamic Conference.
See also
- Politics of Northern Cyprus
- De Facto TRNC Mission to the UN
- De Facto TRNC Embassy in USA
- Turkish Cypriot diaspora
