Korinia Estates Agency News

Will dignitaries and their expressions of support for the TRNC help bring it into the international community? Ben Dahlstrom explores.
As the world continues to move into the 21st Century, Europe’s politicians are eager to prove their statesman-like characteristics and cement their place in history, on a continent which, mercifully, has had few major political struggles since the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. The chance to bring both sides of the Cypriot divide to the table, perhaps even providing a solution or at the very least international recognition to the north, is becoming an even more attractive proposition.
The former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroder is the latest of many former or serving politicians to visit Northern Cyprus and signal his intent to bring the territory into the international community. On his visit, he publicly called for more to be done to stop Northern Cyprus’s economic isolation amongst the EU community, of which Southern Cyprus is a member.
This visit from the former Chancellor comes after several meetings in Germany with political and non-governmental organisations from Northern Cyprus - an important sign considering Germany’s presence on the European political and economic stage.
Schroder ended his trip to the island after meeting the Turkish Cypriot Prime Minister Ferdi Sabit Soyer, who welcomed Germany’s efforts to assist the region. The former Chancellor said that many projects between the two countries have helped further strengthen the case for the inclusion of Northern Cyprus in the wider community and he also opened up the possibility of direct flights between the two countries in the near future. Soyer acknowledged that the visit has angered the Southern Cypriot community; however, he told a press conference that his government will work to help provide a lasting, and internationally recognised, solution to the issue.
"We will do our best to improve peace and cooperation milieu between peoples of Cyprus, Turkey and Greece as well as to make the Aegean and east Mediterranean a peace and cooperation zone within integration process with Europe," explained Soyer.

EU pressure
Gerhard Schroder, when in power, was a strong believer in the right of Turkey to join the European Union and this visit is seen by some politicians as a way of offering Turkey a seat at the table, should they broker a deal with the Greeks and Southern Cypriots.
Euro MP Ioannnis Kasoulides, a front-runner for the Southern Cypriot Presidency, said if he was to win the election in February, his first act would be to “invite himself” to the North and press matters for a negotiable settlement. “He [Soyer] cannot decline a meeting with a newly elected President, who wishes to see him with good will to talk to him about measures for peace – and there are measures we can discuss,” said Kasoulides in a recent interview. The Euro MP added that the reconciliation of Cyprus is in the best interests of the island and Turkey, which is bidding for EU membership.
Kasoulides noted that most conflicts in history have been resolved by the parties sitting down together and reaching an agreement, something that Cyprus has been reliant upon in the past for other countries to help facilitate. “The others have tried but the result is the same. It is high time - on the basis of the material we have before us from all these past years, recent developments such as the acquis communautaire, UN resolutions, and other federal systems - to seek a solution between us.”

Tourist interest
The forward movement of many in the international community towards a lasting settlement on the island is reverberating around the world – particularly in the UK.
At the recent Destinations: Holiday & Travel Show exhibition, at Earls Court, London, the North Cyprus Tourism Centre told Property NC that it had received an “unprecedented” interest in holidays and property in the North and this was largely down to the real possibility of an equitable solution in the future. “We have completely run out of all of our brochures and marketing material and it is only half way through the first day,” said a spokesperson for the association. “A lot of the people we talk to are expressing a confidence in Northern Cyprus as a holiday and investment destination that wasn’t there before.”

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