What’s the connection?
“Kosovo will look like Turkish Cyprus someday, if it is lucky, ‘Kosovo’, or whatever people will call it in 2024, will be small, Balkanized, and politically, legally, and economically screwed up. It will be semi-sort-of-independent, scarred with bullet holes, land mines, and old hate, maybe it will also be picturesque, an off-the-beaten-path tourist draw, an overgrown rather than active graveyard.”[i]
So what is the “Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus”,
if it is not an independent nation? The
area of Northern Cyprus is a small, armed protectorate, holding 190,000 people,
ninety-nine percent Muslim. It is
outside the diplomatic reach of the U.N., like Kosovo, Bosnia, Checknya, East
Timor, Algeria etc. But, Turkish Cyprus
is different, because to the average citizen, it is at peace, that is, no other
country routinely attacks it. Like
other outlaw areas, it is ripe in illegal finance, espionage, and shady
military affairs.[ii] That is exactly why Turkey keeps it as a
protectorate; international law does not apply in Turkish Cyprus.
Recently a spy scandal where a
“covert clique of government supported, heroin dealing assassins” had influence
over all sixty-five million of turkey’s citizens. During what is called the Susurluk scandal, over 2700 as-of-yet
unsolved political murders took place.
The entire operation, which makes the Iran-Contra incident look like “a
boy scout jamboree”, was financed and run from within Turkish Cyprus, where it
was off-shore and out of sight, and plausibly deniable.[iii]
The Susurluk “state mafia gang” was
formed as a quick way for the Turkish Government to finance the killing-off of
ethnic Kurds, the same Kurds that are being killed-off in Iran, Iraq, and
Kosovo. After the Susurluk scandal was
revealed to the public, casinos were made illegal in Turkey as a measure to
fight further corruption. No problem,
they simply moved all their casinos to Turkish Cyprus, and all the money that
goes with it.[iv] This could explain why Turkish Cyprus’
economy seems to be booming, with all the luxury cars and mansions on the hill
springing up.[v]
That isn’t the first case of
illegality and corruption on a grand scale in Turkish Cyprus. The ocean-side town of Girne is one of the
big economic centers for Turkish Cypriots.
It appears similar to a Mexican seaside resort, with cracked streets,
spotty electricity, yet so many signs of civilization, like computer stores,
cell phones, and fashion magazines. It
is also home to the Jasmine hotel that was originally built by Asil Nadir.[vi]
Mr. Nadir started a large corporation called Polly Peck in the 1980’s; his corporation moved many consumer goods between Britain and Cyprus. Since the British still consider Cyprus as a whole to be a commonwealth, this kind of activity is completely natural. His company didn’t last long however, through unknown reasons he managed to rack up 660 million pounds in debt against Britain, but rather than face trial, he came back to Turkish Cyprus and hid out. Since the Northern Republic has no extradition treaties the police could never dig him out.[vii]
Both of these cases show that countries without official diplomatic relations in the world can quickly become pools of illegal activity.
That’s not to say that all Turkish-Cypriots are criminals, in fact, quite the opposite. The average Turkish Cypriot is warm, open, human, and hospitable; even those right on the green line own TVs and VCRs. The Turkish side seems to all most deny the existence of the Greeks, state enforced “blindness”, no picture zones, and the way they heap their garbage on the wall shows how they live in total ignorance, not acceptance, of there long-standing enemy. “When in Turkish Cypriot, the enemy is further away than Antarctica.”[viii]
The only reminder that you are on the U.N. patrolled rim of a non-existent country is the wall marking the green line itself. The green line is what the U.N. calls the arbitrary cease-fire zone running one hundred and ten miles down the island, and at it’s widest close to five miles. It is a landmine-ridden no-man’s zone, and takes up a full three percent of the islands land.[ix]
Most Turkish Cypriots don’t mind being excluded from the world, after all what do they have to gain by being honest? And nobody is going to make them either, Turkey is a member of NATO alliance; because it may be the closest thing the Muslim world has to an advanced industrial nation. It’s internal politics, though bloody at times, are usually better than the other countries around it. Turkey is the one Muslim nation-state that has it together, the only one on earth that can truly kick ass and take names in its part of the world.[x]
Because the United States is still indebted to Turkey over the Saddam debacle and no other country is in a position to move the Turks out of Cyprus they can just stay if they want if the U.N. doesn’t like it, tough. But thanks to Serbia, Turkish Cyprus may get another chance at a diplomatic deal. After NATO’s “interventions” in Kosovo and Serbia in 1999, Turkeys illegal “intervention” in Cyprus in 1974 doesn’t seem so illegal anymore. So the rest of the world may yet admit that the Turkish republic of Cyprus does in fact exist.[xi]
Turkish Cyprus would have a lot to gain by becoming either its own independent country or by uniting with Greek Cyprus, because there are problems with being outside diplomatic recognition. Travel to and from anywhere but Turkey is almost impossible, as most major global airports do not accept Turkish Cypriot passports, and visas to any country but Britain and turkey are all but impossible to obtain.[xii]
Or how about no international mail? Anything addressed to Turkish Cyprus ends up on the Greek side, and may never reach its destination. Ever since the Greek Cypriots successfully argued in the European Court of Justice that all land in Turkish Cyprus is stolen property, it is impossible to officially own the land. Consequently, the European Community will not buy sheep or oranges originating in Turkish Cyprus since these are seen as the proceeds of the twenty-five year long theft.[xiii]
What is perhaps the worst insult against the soccer crazy pseudo-country is that unless it becomes an independent country, it can never take part in international sports competitions.[xiv]