Will the
West give up Cyprus to placate an irritable Turkey?
The Washington Times
Jack Straw (John D. McHugh/AFP/Getty Images)
It's no secret that
relations between Turkey
and its Western allies have become quite testy over the past year or so
regarding an assortment of issues, including policy toward Iran
and the Israeli-Palestinian dispute. Western leaders are understandably
eager to heal the breach with Ankara because Turkey
is a significant regional power. Unfortunately, it seems increasingly
likely that the small nation of Cyprus
will end up being a sacrificial pawn in that effort.
The latest indicator is an
article by former British
Foreign Secretary Jack
Straw arguing that it is time for Britain
and other governments to consider the formal partition of Cyprus,
if the latest round of U.N.-brokered
talks do not achieve a breakthrough. The northern portion of Cyprus
has been occupied by Turkish troops ever since the 1974 invasion of that
country. Following the invasion, Ankara set up a puppet government (which
is recognized only by Turkey)
in the occupied territory and brought in more than 250,000 settlers from
the Turkish mainland. Periodic U.N.
mediation efforts have failed to resolve the division of the island.
As yet, neither London nor
Washington has embraced Mr.
Straw's proposal, but it has all the characteristics of a prominent
trial balloon. Over the years, numerous members of the foreign policy
communities in both Britain
and the United
States have privately toyed with the idea of imposing a formal
partition.
Going down that path would
be a mistake - for both practical and moral reasons. The practical
consideration is that the U.S.
and the leading EU
countries already set a dangerous international precedent in 2008 when
they encouraged and then formally recognized Kosovo's unilateral
declaration of independence from Serbia.
At the time, NATO
troops occupied Kosovo, preventing Belgrade from doing anything to thwart
that secession.
Numerous governments
warned that the move trampled on Serbia's
sovereignty and created a highly destabilizing precedent. That fear was
soon realized when Russian troops implemented the secession of two
restless provinces from Russia's small neighbor, the Republic of Georgia.
Now the Western powers may
be flirting with the notion of forcibly dividing Cyprus
against the will of the Cypriot government and a majority of the Cypriot
people. Such a move would reinforce the unhealthy recent precedents set
with respect to Kosovo and Georgia - and would encourage nations and
movements with secessionist agendas around the world.
The moral case against
partitioning Cyprus
to curry favor with Ankara is even stronger. Turkey
committed an act of aggression when it invaded its neighbor in 1974, and
that violation of international law is made worse by the continuing
occupation and the colonization effort using Turkish settlers. That should
be unacceptable behavior by any country, but it is even more outrageous
coming from a NATO
member and aspirant to join the European
Union.
The tepid reaction over
the decades by Washington and its democratic allies to Ankara's rogue
conduct on the Cyprus
issue is troubling. Those countries should not further reward Turkey's
aggression by making the division of Cyprus
permanent.
There are other actions
the West can take to help repair the fraying relationship with Turkey.
In particular, the U.S.
must show greater understanding that its policies in Iraq - especially the
creation of a de facto independent Kurdistan in the north - create major
problems for Ankara because of Turkey's
own restless Kurdish population. Likewise, the push for ever tighter
economic sanctions against Iran
poses major economic and strategic dilemmas for Turkey.
Those issues need to be
addressed squarely, and efforts should be made at least to cushion the
adverse impact on Turkey.
But it would be wrong to adopt the cynical approach of using Cyprus
as a convenient sacrificial pawn to ease overall tensions with Ankara.
Such a move would betray important Western values and, in the long run,
likely undermine important Western interests.
