After a possible settlement, the point on which almost every section of society living in our country agrees is that the Greek Cypriot side’s economic size will overwhelm us! You may remember that before the economic crisis, efforts were made to develop policies in this direction. It was said that work was being done to minimize the gap between the Northern and Southern economies in a new federation to be established through the talks being advanced with the EU, and so on. The same discussions were taking place when the Annan Plan was on the agenda. While those who said yes believed that the gap in question would somehow be eliminated, the no camp drew attention to the dangers of this gap.
Let’s sum up the issue this way: If we put the Southern economy at 5 units, the Northern economy could, optimistically, be described as 1 unit in comparison. Even in a corporate merger, a partnership formed at such a ratio would reflect how much say the smaller party would have.
Yes, negotiations are taking place, and perhaps this issue is being or will be raised in those negotiations. It may even be that, mindful of the situation we have described, measures to protect the Northern side’s economy are being discussed.
But even if measures are discussed, and even if they are included in a possible settlement plan, how much can they protect our economy?
On the other hand, according to what I learned in an interview the other day with Alp Cengiz Alp, chair of the Economy Committee of the Turkish Cypriot Chamber of Commerce (KTTO), the Green Line Regulation currently in force is working against us. Mr. Alp even gives a figure! The economic damage caused to us by the disadvantages of the Regulation—disadvantages we did not initially realize—comes to around 50 million euros. Let me explain how significant this figure is for our economy with another example: The revenue the state hoped to raise from the properties it put up for sale, as announced the other day and then halted by our President—although, according to our Prime Minister, he was the one who made the decision to halt it—was 18 million pounds sterling. (At today’s exchange rate, that comes to 21 million euros.) Yet our losses arising from the Green Line Regulation amount to 50 million euros! About two and a half times as much!
There is no disputing the effect on consumers of cheap goods or well-executed promotional activities—which all require a strong economy. Indeed, we are seeing this for ourselves right now. The Greek Cypriot businesses and administration, which are economically stronger than us, have a significant customer base in our country, thanks to their product-marketing and price-cutting policies. In this situation—in the face of an economy that understands consumers and has the means to develop methods that appeal to them—how can we protect our local producers and businesses after a possible settlement?
Actually, we have a chance!
This is our chance: what we have been experiencing since the crossings opened gives us a very good idea of what we will experience in the future.
Perhaps what needs to be done is to shape the plan that emerges from the negotiations toward a settlement by looking at what we are experiencing now!
Yes, this is a chance, but it can be a chance only if we are aware of it…
We are undoubtedly aware!
Hope to see you Tuesday…
Pay attention to your surroundings, keep them clean, and please be respectful on the road! Being Human! ---3.02.2009 On January 6, 2009, I wrote in this column and, over Israel’s massacre in Gaza, said, “I Am Ashamed of My Humanity.”
That article ended with these words:
“‘Why?’ I ask myself!
Something is happening there before the eyes of the whole world—something bloody—and no one is stopping it, no one can stop it! Why?
The question, ‘What kind of vested interest could make people stand by as dozens of civilians are killed?’ is gnawing at my mind!
I cannot find an answer; I am ashamed of my humanity…
Yes, I am ashamed of my humanity…”
Less than a month after that article, the annual “World Economic Forum” began in Davos, and events unfolded in a way we know all too well. Like everyone else, I felt proud of Erdoğan’s reaction to Peres’s remarks at the panel held in Davos.
Of course, there would be criticism of Erdoğan’s reaction! And there was…
Some called it an excessive reaction, while others said it was appropriate and right. My personal view is that Erdoğan’s reaction was appropriate and right.
Another issue that has been criticized is the claim that, as a result of this tension, Turkey would lose its role as a mediator in the Middle East. I personally think the exact opposite. Erdoğan’s stance in Davos reminded the world of the very quality the Middle East needs: “humanity.” In other words, Erdoğan also sent a message to the world at that panel…
That message:
“We may be diplomats, prime ministers, presidents, ministers, leaders, kings, and so on. But first and foremost, we are human beings! We cannot govern the world by disregarding our humanity and relying solely on vested interests. We cannot ignore the human tragedy and massacre taking place in Gaza.”
The same article also included these sentences: “I think of Gaza! The little children flinching at every bomb that falls come before my eyes… I hear mothers saying, ‘It will be over, don’t be afraid, my child.’ I see helpless fathers punching walls. I feel those punches in my heart. I ask what we can do; I understand the helplessness. My anger grows even stronger…” Yes, I was angry—angry that nothing could be done, and that nothing was being done. But Erdoğan’s reaction in Davos was doing something. That something was giving voice to hundreds of people like me who are angry with Israel. That something was being a balm for Gaza’s wounds, still raw, more powerful than the strongest medicine in the world.
Setting all this aside, as I think about the sentence I recalled at the beginning of my article—“What kind of vested interest could make people stand by as dozens of civilians are killed?”—I read with sadness the comments by colleagues these days suggesting that the reaction given by the Prime Minister of the Republic of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, in Davos will harm our interests with Israel… I ask them to put that question to themselves!
By the way;
What is all this talk about vested interests!
It’s about being human, friends…
About remembering our humanity!
What person with a conscience could forget the hundreds of children who have died and think about vested interests?
For this reason alone:
“Thank you, our Prime Minister, Mr. Erdoğan, a person of conscience who set aside all diplomatic restraint when the issue of humanity came to the fore, and broke with convention.”
Hope to see you Thursday…
Pay attention to your surroundings, keep them clean, and please be respectful on the road!
Note: To read the full article titled “I Am Ashamed of My Humanity,” published on January 6, 2009, visit www.starkibris.net…