The Cyprus blunder
The 12th Commonwealth Summit held in the Greek Cypriot portion of Cyprus has come out with a one-sided Communique in its closing session fully supporting the Greek Cypriot position on Cyprus. The Communique has called for the withdrawal of Turkish Forces that had to intercede on the island in 1974 when a Greek sponsored military coup in Cyprus tried to merge the country into Greece without taking into account the wishes of the large minority of Turkish origin. During the Summit the Commonwealth countries did not bother to listen to the Turkish Cypriot position on Cyprus or the severe human rights violations visited on that community by Greek Cypriots in the period 1963-1974. In fact, the very fact of holding that Summit on Greek Cypriot territory in the presence of a recognised international dispute was questionable.
For Pakistan, this is a major foreign policy blunder. The Foreign Office should have properly briefed our Prime Minister not to attend the Commonwealth Summit as her presence on Greek Cypriot territory would tend to support the Greek Cypriot viewpoint. This abstention should have also applied to the newly inducted Foreign Minister, Farooq Leghari, now the PPP’s candidate for President. Given the fact that Ms Benazir was very keen to put forward Pakistan’s viewpoint on Kashmir, she should have been well advised to do so in a message to be read out by a senior official of the Foreign Office at the Summit. This statement should have also mentioned Pakistan’s stance on the Cypriot question without any ambiguity. Furthermore Pakistan should either have put a strong dissenting note on Cyprus while supporting the Turkish Cypriot position or completely abstained from signing the Communique in the presence of anything anti-Turkish.
Turkey (along with China) happens to be among the front-rank of the handful of nations that Pakistan can count as one of its real friends. Anyone visiting Turkey will be repeatedly told by Turks as to how much they appreciate Pakistan’s position on Cyprus, enunciated quite unambiguously by Ms Bhutto’s late father. In fact, we were almost the only nation that supported the Turkish intersession in Cyprus in 1974, a reciprocation of their “Pakistan, right or wrong” support that Turkey has been giving to us in all forums in everything all the time. Other than Turkey, we are probably also the only nation that recognises the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC). One of the reasons that Turks feel uncomfortable about joining the EEC is that they feel Pakistan would be left “alone” in Asia, such is the depth of their feeling for Pakistan. With such deep emotions for this country, our shameful stance of seeming to acquiesce with the Greek Cypriot position must have come for a rude shock for our Turkish friends.
Since this fact is far from the truth, we must immediately launch “damage control” operations designed to assuage exacerbated Turkish feelings. Foreign ministry officials who blundered by not giving a proper briefing to the PM on the Cypriot question and the embarrassment it would cause to Pakistani-Turkish relations by her presence on Greek Cypriot territory, must be censured. Our Foreign Minister must immediately visit Turkey (and the TRNC) to explain that under no circumstances Pakistan has any other position except fully supportive of Turkey and Turkish Cypriots. Besides the fact that we should blindly support Turkey anyway, without question and without conditions, the undeniable fact remains that there is a moral question here in which the Turkish stance is fully justified. Can we seem to agree with the other Commonwealth countries that the Turkish minorities in Cyprus should be subject to Greek Cypriot domination, particularly in the face of inhuman treatment meted out to them pre-1974? This has been a diplomatic faux pas of imperial proportions and we must immediately make suitable amends to Turkey and the TRNC. One clear indicator of our resolve would be a well publicised visit by our PM to Turkey and TRNC as soon as convenient for them. Through the years, Turkey has been a true and tested friend of Pakistan, we cannot afford to cause them any heartburn. As it is we have only a handful of good friends among nations, Ms Benazir should not start her term by losing them.
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