THE CRUX OF THE CYPRUS PROBLEM  by RAUF R. DENKTAS

Anthony Nutting, who was the British Minister of State at the Foreign Office during the period 1954-56, wrote in his book I Saw for Myself his impression following talks with the leaders of Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots:
“There is nothing Cypriot about Cyprus except its name. In this beautiful beleaguered island you are either a Greek or a Turk. From the leaders of the two communities downwards the chasm of suspicion and hatred which separates them is frighteningly wide.”

CONFEDERATION, FEDERATION AND SOVEREIGNTY by CLEMENT H. DODD

It is not at all clear in the modern world whether federations have a glorious future, or a glorious future behind them. In the European Union we see states taking steps, albeit with some misgivings, to establishing a degree of federal organisation from what is at present an essentially confederal position. In some states, as in Britain, there is a perceptible movement towards a federation some time in the future composed of England, Scotland and Wales. Some established federations like Switzerland, Germany and the United States seem relatively stable, though it must be said that the unitary elements in these systems are pronounced.

FACING NEW REALITIES:The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus and Unrecognised States in the International System  by BARRY BARTMANN

The end of the Cold War has fundamentally changed the landscape of the international system. The contest between the principles of territorial integrity and self-determination has been recast in response to the collapse and implosion of established states and the successful secession of sub-national peoples, both as recognised states (the former constituent republics of the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia) and as de facto states which have established an unchallenged writ on the ground (Chechnya, Northern Somaliland). The Cyprus Question can be usefully revisited against this backdrop of changing international norms and prevailing orthodoxies. 

A SOLUTION FOR CYPRUS THROUGH STATEHOOD by MÜMTAZ SOYSAL

It took twenty-three years for the German Democratic Republic to be recognised by the Federal Republic of Germany and by the rest of the Western bloc, which had refused such recognition for almost a quarter of a century, considering this state to be an illegal and superficial creation imposed by the Soviet occupation forces.
The Constitution of the German Democratic Republic was adopted on 30 May 1949, following the adoption of the Basic Law (Grundgesetz) by the Parliamentary Council of West Germany on the eighth of the same month. The reciprocal recognition of both German states occurred on 21 December 1972 and this led to the recognition of the German Democratic Republic by the whole community of nations.

CYPRUS: POLITICAL AND LEGAL REALITIES by DIETER BLUMENWITZ

I. The political and legal realities in the Cyprus issue are indeed ignored by the international community:
1) On 18 November 1983, in response to the proclamation of the establishment of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), the United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 541 (1983), which provides, where relevant, as follows:
“The Security Council ...
1. Deplores the declaration of the Turkish Cypriot authorities of the purported secession of part of the Republic of Cyprus;

CYPRUS AND THE RULE OF LAW by MICHAEL STEPHEN

Cyprus is and always has been a pawn in the great game of geopolitics. It seems clear that the future of Cyprus will be decided not by the rule of law, but by considerations of grand strategy directed from Washington, and to a lesser extent from London and Brussels, Athens and Ankara. In short the rule of law is irrelevant to the Cyprus Question except as a classic example of its failure. Turkish Cypriots have had to live for 36 years in a kind of jurisprudential black hole, at both the local level and the international level.

CYPRUS: A NEW AND REALISTIC APPROACH by M. ERGÜN OLGUN

The development of successful and sustainable remedies for a conflict depends on the accurate assessment and diagnosis of the causes and dynamics of that conflict.
Greeks and Greek Cypriots choose to describe the Cyprus issue as one resulting from the ‘invasion' and ‘occupation' of the northern third of the Island by the Turkish army in July 1974.
In Years of Renewal, Henry Kissinger described the Cyprus issue as “the forerunner of conflict between ethnic groups”.1
Neither of these descriptions of the Cyprus issue are accurate or adequate.

GREEK CYPRIOT APPLICATION FOR EUROPEAN UNION MEMBERSHIP by HALUK KABAALIOGLU

When our friends from various EU institutions, member states or from the US suggest that the best way to solve the Cyprus problem is EU membership as a bi-communal, bi-zonal Cypriot federation, they seem to disregard the supranational characteristics of the Union.
In a final settlement of the Cyprus problem, Turkish Cypriots would no doubt request guarantees and safeguards in the constitution that would ensure an equal voice in the government.
When one looks at the 1960 Constitution, the mechanism provided therein will be described as ‘functional federation'. In fact, the 1960 Constitution and the Zurich and London Agreements created a state of affairs not only between Turkish and Greek Cypriots, but also between the two motherlands, Greece and Turkey.

THE LOIZIDOU CASE: A MISCARRIAGE OF JUSTICE
by M. NECATI MÜNIR ERTEKÜN

1. The fundamental flaw of the European Court of Human Rights in its judgement of the Loizidou case lies in the manner of its application of the European Convention for Human Rights to the Cyprus Question. As is known, the aim of the Convention is to secure public order in Europe, which is based on individual civil rights, human rights and the rule of law. In fact, the Court in its decision disregarded the historical, legal and political aspects of the Cyprus Question.
2. Although defined as a right in the Convention, it has been undisputed in principle and practice that the right to property can be restricted in the public interest and by the general principles of both international law and domestic law. Hence, restrictions can be placed upon the property rights of individuals. Such restrictions must of course be equitable and compensated for.

JUDGEMENT OF THE EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN THE LOIZIDOU CASE: A CRITICAL EXAMINATION by  ZAIM M. NECATIGIL

The applicant, Mrs Titina Loizidou, is a Greek Cypriot, presently living in South Cyprus. She owned certain plots of land in Kyrenia (Girne).
On 19 March 1989, a Greek Cypriot women's group, Women Walk Home, organised a march with the announced intention of crossing the cease-fire line of the Turkish forces. From Nicosia, the demonstrators drove to the village of Lymbia, where a group managed to cross the buffer zone and the Turkish forces' line. Turkish Cypriot police officers arrested some of the women, including Mrs Loizidou. Later the same day, they were released to United Nations Forces in Cyprus (UNFICYP) officials in Nicosia and taken over to the Greek Cypriot area.

BOOK REVIEW 

IMPERIAL LEGACY: THE OTTOMAN IMPRINT ON THE BALKANS AND THE MIDDLE EAST L. Carl Brown (ed.), New York, Columbia University Press, 1996, pp. 356. 

YÜCEL GÜÇLÜ
This book is about imperialism and nationalism. It represents a fascination with the Ottoman Empire which has developed in recent years as the reputation of nationalism has declined and the search for supranational geopolitical forms within an internationalist system has apparently become more urgent. Another, perhaps even more potent impulse, has been the re-emergence of internecine Balkan national strife. As politicians and scholars contemplate the wreckage of Josip Broz Tito's Yugoslavia, they are inevitably intrigued by the Ottoman imperial system, which held together fractious nationalities where ideology failed.