DEVELOPMENTS IN THE CYPRUS CONFLICT: A CONFLICT RESOLUTION PERSPECTIVE Maria Hadjipavlou

OVERVIEW  NEW TYPES OF CONFLICTS: NEW APPROACHES  GOALS OF CONFLICT RESOLUTION TRAINING WORKSHOPS IN THE CYPRUS CONTEXT  THE POLITICAL PARTY YOUTH FESTIVAL  CYPRIOT WOMEN’S CALL FOR S.O.S  THE BI-COMMUNAL CHOIR- AN INTERCULTURAL FORUM  THE IDEOLOGY OF RAPPROCHEMENT  THE MACRO LEVEL  LACK OF LINKAGE BETWEEN THE OFFICIAL AND UNOFFICIAL LEVELS  RESUMPTION OF HIGH LEVEL TALKS  CONCLUDING REMARKS

CYPRIOT WOMEN’S CALL FOR S.O.S  Seminar COMMUNICATION IN DIVIDED SOCIETIES: WHAT WOMEN CAN DO;  Initiated by Cypriot women ( not without difficulties) ;  Participants from other conflicting areas ( Bosnia- Herzegovina, Northern Ireland, Palestine and Israel) were also invited to share their experiences;  Their main concern was that military constraints posed to movement of citizens also stop the possibilities of sharing ideas, experiences and, therefore, the chance for a shared, peaceful future; create a psychological division;  There is a “recognition mania” on behalf of the Turkish Cypriot side and a “recognition paranoia” of the Greek part;

 A top-down solution will not work in Cyprus and, that is why, a strong civil society has to make its way out;  The seminar was very effective because it led to the creation of a formal NGO structure of women committed to bi-communal work; this sort of NGO works in every community and even abroad and is focused on lifting the communication embargo.

HANDS ACROSS THE DIVIDE  It is the first organization in Cyprus that has managed to legalize itself as a unitary organization with only one shared basis for the North and the South;  First internationally recognized women’s NGO;  As a group they want the right to organize freely together;  At a personal level they want to be able to visit friends as and when they like, roam in every part of the island, and in general stop living under intimidation from a continual threat of renewed violence;  Turkish Cypriots are also very fed up with the isolation and poverty of northern Cyprus;

 It has been distinctively political in two senses: first, it has been politically activist within Cyprus, and, second, it has seen relevance in internationalism, making links to other Cypriot women located in the Diaspora, women of Greece and Turkey, and the international feminist antiwar movement;  There were also two other initiatives: Multi-Track Diplomacy//Fulbright Commission Cyprus Consortium ‘IMTD’ Actions in the Mediterranean/Cyprus Link initiative ‘AIM’;  IMTD focused on a change in individuals;  AIM aimed at creating a link through which women could have had an influence on the political process.

THE BI-COMMUNAL CHOIR- AN INTERCULTURAL FORUM  Initiated by the bi-communal choir, formed in 1997 by musicians, conductors and singers from the two communities;  Aim: to bring people together to get to know and respect each other’s culture (similarities, as well as differences);  They participate in numerous events, but the most important one, which was supposed to take place in July 2001, was rendered impossible by the military actions of the Turkish authorities;  We, again, have an example of a citizens dynamism and interest for cooperation and communication, as opposed to the separatist politics of the leaders.

THE IDEOLOGY OF RAPPROCHMENT  It was developed by the Greek Cypriots (especially those on the left political side) and it’s now gaining considerable support at all levels;  Its underlying principle is that international conflict does not concern only the states, but the societies themselves; therefore there exists a domestic dynamic which needs to be addressed equally to the external factors;  It can be observed in all the events that were discussed, as well as in UN and EU resolutions- that put great emphasis on the ideas and suggestions that were forwarded by the bi-communal peace groups;  Unfortunately, no mechanisms of implementing these ideas were built.

THE MACRO LEVEL  The possibility for Turkey’s and Cyprus’s accession in the EU appeared (Helsinki, 1999), and this was welcomed by the two and by Greece, as well;  UN talks with the representatives of the two communities, made people hope that the embargoes would disappear;  Again, they did not manage to agree with regard to establishing a federation (according to which the two sides would have been politically equal);  Contradiction between the outrage of the Turkish Cypriots who were badly influenced by the economic problems of Turkey and Denktash’s efforts to have TRNC recognized;  An important development: European Court’s of Human Rights decision to condemn Turkey for its illegal presence and policies in Cyprus since 1974 could have functioned as a motivation for peace activists on both sides.

LACK OF LINKAGE BETWEEN THE OFFICIAL AND THE UNOFFICIAL LEVELS  Have peace processes really begun in Cyprus? – Because there have been no “substantive talks” at the official level, which would lead to a peace process with a shared agenda, nor have they facilitated contacts between citizens;  There was a lack of linkage that promotes the consolidation of the status quo and deepens geographical and psychological distance;  The linkage approach: enlarges and complements the state-centered approach and promotes the idea that conflict is an interactive process;  Resistance to resolution occurs not only in the exogenous factors, but also in the endogenous dynamics → the importance of linking activities and efforts on both levels.

RESUMPTION OF HIGH LEVEL TALKS  In 2001, the two leaders finally decided to talk and try to solve the already too long conflict (they met at the UN Headquarters in Nicosia, but also for unofficial dinners) ;  The 3 rd parties also changed their strategy and allowed the two communities to present their views and positions before they started framing joint interests;  EU officials will be visiting the country to evaluate the improvements made;  The people of Cyprus were still hoping for the accession of Cyprus, as a whole, in the EU.

CONCLUDING REMARKS  Conflict resolution perspective is the most appropriate in dealing with international or inter-communal conflicts, because it calls for a better understanding of micro-level needs, experiences, perceptions and hopes of the people;  There should be a view from within and the citizens should be empowered as members of peace-building processes;  It opens up possibilities for rapprochement on various societal levels between the conflicting parties;  Encouraging bi-communal social critique in Cyprus will help the growth of a civil society. Further “listening” _cyprus_who_guest_and_who_visitor