THE HEYBELIADA TALKS: TWO YEARS OF PUBLIC DIPLOMACY ON CYPRUS Prepared by: Lenka Peťková Edited by: Sylvia Tiryaki & Mensur Akgün Book Design and Cover: YA-BA (Gökhan Özen) Page Layout: YA-BA (Gökhan Özen) Printed by: Golden Medya Matbaacılık ve Tic. A.Ş. 100 Mah. MAS-SİT 1. Cad. No: 88 Bağcılar - Istanbul/Turkey Phone: (+90) 212 629 00 24 - 25 Fax: (+90) 212 629 00 13 Certificate no: 12358 Global Political Trends Center Istanbul Kültür University Ataköy Campus, Bakırköy 34156 Istanbul/Turkey Certificate no: 14505 Phone: (+90) 212 498 44 76 Fax: (+90) 212 498 44 05 www.gpotcenter.org Library Catalogue Details: The Heybeliada talks: Two Years of Public Diplomacy on Cyprus / ed. Mensur Akgün, Sylvia Tiryaki, Lenka Peťková Istanbul: Istanbul Kültür University, 2011 p. xvi+112; 23 cm (Istanbul: Istanbul Kültür University Publication No. 147) ISBN 978-605-4233-55-7 I. Cyprus - Politics and government II. Foreign relations Copyright© IKU, 2011 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced electronically or mechanically without the prior consent of the Global Political Trends Center (GPoT Center). The views expressed in contributions belong to the authors, and they may not necessarily concur partially or wholly with those of either GPoT Center or IKU. GPoT Center would like to extend its thanks to the Open Society Foundation – Turkey and Friedrich Naumann Foundation – Turkey for their financial contribution to the publication and promotion of this book. THE HEYBELIADA TALKS: TWO YEARS OF PUBLIC DIPLOMACY ON CYPRUS PREPARED BY Lenka Peťková EDITED BY Sylvia Tiryaki Mensur Akgün INCLUDES CONTRIBUTIONS BY Joseph Bayada Katie Clerides Erhan Erçin Takis Hadjidemetriou Mete Hatay Erol Kaymak Andros Kyprianou Praxoula Antoniadou Kyriacou Yiorghos Leventis Contents FOREWORD . VII PREFACE . IX EXECUTIVE SUMMARY . XIII INTRODUCTION . 1 PROCEEDINGS FROM THE ROUND­TABLE MEETINGS . 7 DOMESTIC POLITICS IN CYPRUS: FACING THE NEW REALITY . 7 NEGOTIATION PROCESS: OVERCOMING THE CHALLENGES AHEAD . 12 THE ROLE OF INTERNATIONAL PLAYERS: THE UN AND THE EU IN NEED OF A VISIONARY STRATEGY . 16 PUBLIC OPINION: TOWARDS AN INFORMED CITIZENRY . 20 MEDIA AND THE NEGOTIATION PROCESS: TOWARDS RESPONSIBLE JOURNALISM . 23 CIVIL SOCIETY: GRASSROOTS ACTIVISM AIMING TO BRIDGE THE DIVIDE . 25 PROPERTY ISSUE: GETTING OUT OF THE TECHNICAL DEADLOCK . 26 GOVERNANCE AND THE CONCEPT OF FEDERATION . 29 ECONOMY AND THE BENEFIT OF THE PEACE DIVIDEND . 31 WRITTEN CONTRIBUTIONS BY PARTICIPANTS OF THE HEYBELIADA TALKS . 35 JOSEPH BAYADA – ADHERING TO THE STATUS QUO IMPLIES NO VISION . 35 KATIE CLERIDES – BUILDING BRIDGES ON A DIVIDED ISLAND: THE CASE OF CYPRUS . 38 ERHAN ERÇIN – REASSESSING THE EU’S ROLE IN CYPRUS . 42 TAKIS HADJIDEMETRIOU – PARTITION CANNOT BE A SOLUTION . 46 METE HATAY – TURKISH CYPRIOTS AND THE “CYPRIOT SOLUTION” . 49 EROL KAYMAK – FEDERATION REMAINS ONLY A NEGOTIATED SETTLEMENT, BUT PUBLIC SKEPTICISM AND MISTRUST REMAIN A CHALLENGE . 52 ANDROS KYPRIANOU – SPEECH OF THE GENERAL SECRETARY OF THE C.C. OF AKEL . 59 PRAXOULA ANTONIADOU KYRIACOU – CHALLENGES AHEAD . 68 YIORGHOS LEVENTIS – THE DESPERATE CRY OF TURKISH CYPRIOT CIVIL SOCIETY: IS ANYBODY HEEDING IN ANKARA? . 74 PRESS SCAN: HEYBELIADA TALKS I N THE MEDIA . 77 WHAT DID ERDOĞAN CONVEY AT THE PRIVATE MEETING? . 77 ERDOĞAN: DON’T DOUBT OUR SINCERITY . 81 ERDOĞAN: WE MAY WITHDRAW OUR SOLDIERS FROM CYPRUS . 86 V TURKEY IN THE EU WOULD CALM FEARS ON BOTH SIDES . 87 IF THE SOLUTION IN CYPRUS REQUIRES WITHDRAWING THE TROOPS, WE WILL WITHDRAW THE TROOPS . 90 WHAT WAS THE MEANING BEHIND ERDOĞAN’S WORDS? . 94 CHRONOLOGY OF KEY EVENTS RELATED TO THE CYPRUS QUESTION . 101 MAP OF CYPRUS . 107 BIBLIOGRAPHY . 108 LIST OF GPOT CENTER PUBLICATIONS . 110 VI Foreword We, as The Open Society Foundation (Turkey), provide support on the basis of the “open society philosophy”, which acknowledges that no one can monopolize absolute knowledge, that people can have different opinions and expectations, and that society needs institutions to protect individuals’ right to live together in peace. We also care deeply about EU-Turkey relations, because we strongly believe that Turkey becomes a more open society as it gets closer to the EU. We also believe that as the EU gets ready to admit Turkey its own open society values grow stronger. GPoT Center, under the auspices of Istanbul Kültür University, has been involved in various projects related to Turkey’s foreign policy and the relevant region since its establishment. The Cyprus question has been among the top issues on the agenda of the Center. Up until today, GPoT has been able to conduct several projects that have contributed to the rapprochement process between the Cypriot communities. We have supported the 8th and 9th Cyprus Talks, which were realized.