Word: cypriots
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...coup in Nicosia backed by the military junta then ruling Greece. Numerous international peace plans have since been floated - and failed - but several factors conspire to make this a moment of opportunity. "There is reason to be more optimistic than ever before," says Metin Munir, a Turkish Cypriot political commentator. "The biggest change is that Turkey, a dominant party in the conflict, now wants a solution. They are willing to compromise." (See pictures of the streets of Istanbul...
...regional power. It also threatens to derail Ankara's long-standing -albeit slow-moving - bid to join the European Union. The E.U. has frozen discussions on eight of the 35 policy chapters towards membership since December 2006 to punish the Turks for not opening their ports and airspace to Cypriot vessels as required. At a summit last week, the E.U. agreed to open just one new chapter - on the environment...
...complicating factor. The island's last major opportunity for resolution was arguably lost when Brussels accepted Cyprus, as represented by its Greek Cypriot government, as a member in 2004, even though Greek Cypriots had rejected a painstakingly crafted U.N. peace plan in a referendum vote just prior. (Turkish Cypriots voted yes.) As a result, the Greek-Cypriot republic lost any incentive it might have had to speed up negotiations. (Read: "On the Run in Cyprus...
More tactically, the Greek Cypriots also gained E.U. veto power, which they threatened to use last week to block the opening of five new chapters in the negotiations for Turkey's membership next year. "The problem as far as a deal is concerned is that Greek Cypriots are basically content. As it stands they are an E.U. member, they're happy and prosperous," says Munir. "They know that any deal will inevitably entail some loss for them and they don't like that idea." The Greek Cypriot leader who presided over that fateful referendum was Tassos Papadopoulos, the hard-liner...
...homes in the conflict. About a quarter of Cyprus' population of around 1 million is internally displaced. Talks on the sensitive issues of property and security have barely inched forward since last year, despite twice-weekly meetings. The problem now is that time is running out for the Turkish Cypriot side. A deal, or at least a concrete roadmap, would have to be agreed by late February to be approved in time for Talat's election run. "The only way really to get the Greek Cypriots to move forward is pressure from outside," says Munir. "But the question...