Alleged Turkish Cypriot isolation3 Following the rejection of the Annan Plan, Turkey launched a propaganda campaign under the slogans of “easing,”“lifting” or “ending” the alleged “isolation” of Turkish Cypriots, and bridging the “economic disparity” between the two communities on the island. Regrettably, this has led to widespread misinformation, regarding the situation in Cyprus, and to some questionable proposals, ostensibly to improve the economic conditions of Turkish Cypriots. Turkey has even tried to mislead the international community into believing that the government of Cyprus was, somehow, responsible for the predicament of the Turkish Cypriots. Turkey used this approach for two reasons: to divert, in view of its EU aspirations, attention from its ongoing military aggression against Cyprus and to upgrade the illegal regime in the occupied areas of the island. In essence, Ankara has been seeking to secure for the secessionist regime economic attributes of an independent entity with no formal international recognition. This would allow the illegal regime to exist without any incentive for constructive participation in the peace process for the reunification of the island. In their efforts to gain international support for their propaganda, Turkish leaders have adopted, as their main argument, the misleading slogan of “ending the economic isolation” of Turkish Cypriots when, in fact, their goal has been all along political. However, any moves promoting the de facto recognition of the illegal secessionist regime would be in direct violation of international law and UN Security Council resolutions, especially resolutions 541 (1983) and 550 (1984). Such moves would also undermine efforts for the country’s reunification, which is the declared position of the UN, the EU, the international community at large, as well as of the two Cypriot communities themselves. The plight of the Turkish Cypriot community has been the direct result of Turkey’s aggression, which keeps Cyprus, its people, institutions and economy divided. It is also the result of misguided policies by Turkish Cypriot leaders, who have consistently promoted Turkey’s interests at the expense of their own community and of Cyprus as a whole. The so-called “isolation” of Turkish Cypriots is very much a self-inflicted wound. It is certainly not the result of any action taken by the government of Cyprus, which has sovereignty over all the territory of the state, including the occupied areas, and which abides by its obligation to defend its sovereign rights and the rule of law. 3 See Miltos Miltiadou, Toward a Unified Cyprus: The Myth of Turkish Cypriot “Isolation,” Fourth Edition (Nicosia: Press and Information Office, Republic of Cyprus, 2010). The Cyprus Question| A brief Introduction 20
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