Ulaş Barış writes..."Running Towards a Bright Future from Baby Steps"

Ninety-seven days after the dinner in New York on October 15, 2024, with Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Ersin Tatar, and Nikos Christodoulides, the Cypriot sides met again to discuss border crossings. This meeting, one of the two main topics from the October 15 dinner, has not yet yielded the expected results. However, I prefer to view the situation with the mindset that "1 is greater than 0."

I will not frame my article as 'ended in disaster' or 'great hope' like some others. In my opinion, tangible proposals came from both sides during the meeting. Ersin Tatar, unexpectedly, proposed a crossing point connected to the village of Limya for our village of Louroujina (Akıncılar), which has been living almost like prisoners for years due to not only the southern border but also arbitrary practices because it is accessed through a military zone.

I believe this proposal is positive and can fulfill the purpose of the Kiracıköy-Piroi crossing route desired by the Greek Cypriot side. If this proposal comes to life, it will be a significant development for the people of Louroujina, who live in a kind of 'enclave.' The village, which has lost almost 70% of its population over the years due to isolation within Cyprus, will be freed from this unfortunate situation with such a crossing point.

On the other hand, it will be an extremely beneficial step for other Greek Cypriot villages in the region, which face various difficulties due to Louroujina's pocket-like intrusion into the south.

In response to Tatar's insistent stance on the Haspolat (Mia-Milia) crossing, Greek Cypriot leader Nikos Christodoulides presented an 8-point proposal package, including 4 border-related crossing points. Apart from the Kiracıköy-Piroi and Erenköy (Koççina) routes, which were not accepted by Tatar or the Turkish military, the Haspolat crossing and Louroujina crossing route are the Greek Cypriot leader's proposals.

The Greek Cypriot leader also included a provision for a crossing for the people of Louroujina in his proposal. Tatar's innovation here is to include the village of Limya by adding a crossing point.

Additionally, the Pile-Yiğitler road agreement, which was agreed upon almost 2 years ago but was thwarted by Tahsin Ertuğruloğlu's relentless struggle, is also included in the proposal.

I believe these proposals from the Greek Cypriot leader are quite reasonable and are extremely beneficial for the entire region, especially for the Turkish Cypriot side. However, Tatar is not authorized in these matters, even though he may be inclined to tell a success story in the elections.

Christodoulides' statement after the meeting, "Tatar was not ready to decide, otherwise we would have agreed and announced all these issues," is precisely because of this.

Let there be no misunderstanding, I am not claiming that previous presidents were authorized and opened crossings. The experiences of the 2nd President Mehmet Ali Talat at Lokmacı, even after a long time, are still remembered. Mustafa Akıncı's 3.5-year struggle to overcome the guard post at the Derinya crossing is well-known. The experiences of the 3rd President Derviş Eroğlu, one of the most important leaders of the right-wing, at the Limnidi crossing are also known.

Therefore, I do not want to unfairly say to Tatar, "You couldn't even open a crossing." Because we all know that Article 10 of the Temporary Constitution is in effect in the north of Cyprus, and it means that civil administration has no authority at the borders. Of course, the Greek Cypriot side is also aware of this situation.

The meeting on Monday, planned as a positive climate and confidence-building step before the multilateral Cyprus conference expected to be held in March, was not solely aimed at opening border crossings.

In this context, the Greek Cypriot leader also put forward other very important proposals. As emphasized in his statement after the meeting, the most important of these proposals, which were also discussed at the October 15 dinner and accepted by Guterres, is the establishment of a Truth Commission, which could be a cornerstone in transforming the achievable political agreement into lasting peace.

This issue, which has been particularly pushed by Greek Cypriot lawyer Achilleas Demetriades for many years, was also quite prominent during the period of negotiators Kudret Özersay and Andreas Mavroyiannis, with trips made to places where highly successful commissions like those in South Africa were established.

In an environment where the fate of hundreds of missing persons on both sides of Cyprus is still unknown, the establishment of such a commission is extremely important.

The Youth Technical Committee proposed by the Greek Cypriot leader is also critical for addressing the distortions put forward by the established order about each other and for the contacts of our children, who are raised as enemies.

I also find the proposal for an Advisory Committee, which includes civil society, important.

In short, I would like to state that I believe the trust to be created between the two sides will increase much more with these committee proposals I mentioned above, rather than just through border crossings or transit routes.

However, unfortunately, the issue has been reduced to just the border issue in the Turkish Cypriot public opinion, and other issues have not been worked on much in this context.

I did not write this last part to criticize anyone or disrespect the effort shown. I hope that in the new meeting announced to be repeated next week, these proposals will also be answered, or new and creative proposals will come to the table mutually.

Look, I have fought in my own way throughout my life for the resolution of the Cyprus problem. In this context, without thinking about elections, votes, sides, or factions, I have supported and will continue to support steps taken towards a solution, regardless of who takes them.

Just as I supported the signature of Derviş Eroğlu on the February 11 document more than he did, I consider it my duty to support positive steps to be taken here as well.

I believe that the static situation in the Cyprus problem serves nothing but the interests of certain groups on both the north and south sides. In fact, I think the parties most harmed by this situation are, in order, the Turkish Cypriots and the people of Turkey.

In my opinion, at this point, being constructive and creative, taking steps that break the mold, should be the primary goal of those most harmed by this situation.

I hope that the number of people who think like me will increase by the March meeting, and we will have the chance to go to that meeting with a formula where all parties win.

Otherwise, we will live in troubles under a ceasefire regime without a political agreement, and in the end, we will remain a small community mentioned in the dusty pages of history.

We must put an end to this bad scenario. In this context, as I wrote in my first message after the meeting, even if they are 'baby steps' for a solution, a step has been taken.

I hope these steps will increase and strengthen, and the island of Cyprus will run towards bright days...