2012-08-23
Cyprus Solution
I found a good site for Cyprus, and proposed my solution there (in 2006). I then forgot to actually come back and post my solution on my blog, but better late (6 years) than never. Nothing much was lost in the 6 years. GC and TC didn't go to war over a misunderstanding that could be cleared up.
First of all you need to recognize that both GC and TC are classified as "free" territories, if you go here:
http://www.freedomhouse.org
Free people can unite in any way they want, as the EU demonstrates. EU countries have virtually identical laws - your human rights are respected wherever you go. There's no political barrier to reunification of GC and TC. NATO is another umbrella organization where free people join together in mutual defence.
Also, you need to realise that with the same reasoning, if some group wants autonomy, that is fine too. There's no need for a separate country. The UK recently gave autonomy to Scotland et al. It actually doesn't change anything. The laws remain virtually identical. Human rights remain respected, the autonomous regions remain in NATO.
So here is how to use modern trends to solve the Cyprus problem.
NATO gives a security guarantee to the GC that the TC will not attack GC. Some NATO planes land on GC. The NATO planes can come from any NATO country the GC feels comfortable with, except for Greece and Turkey. ie you can use US planes, French planes, Polish planes, whatever. Or a combination of whatever. The GC will be secure.
The GC then hands ALL their weapons over to the TC. The GC military disbands. The GC is totally defenceless except for the NATO security guarantee (Iceland has a similar arrangement).
Because the TC are now a totally superior military to the GC, there is no need for them to have military protection from Turkey. Turkey withdraws all its armed forces. This is the main thing that the GC are after, and it is a reasonable thing for the GC to request, and this way it happens. If the GC are serious that all they want to see is the Turkish military to cease occupying their country, they will jump at this opportunity. Experience talking to actual GCs on the forum shows that they are not serious. They have more sinister desires, and the TC are well within their rights to seek protection via the Turkish military.
Cyprus then consists of two autonomous regions (not unlike Scotland in the UK, or even NSW in Australia). The TC can integrate with the GC at any level they feel comfortable with. Leave that entirely up to their democratic process to decide.
The TC are not going to invade GC, even though they will have a superior military. Free people don't wage war on other free people. The GC have nothing to fear, but they have a NATO security guarantee for as long as they feel they need it. The GC will save money by having no military, and their standard of living will increase. It will be up to the TC to decide how much money they want to waste on a military designed to defend against another free people (ie the GC). Maybe they will one day wake up and simply ask for a similar NATO guarantee, get some non-Turk/non-Greek planes on their territory, and disband their own army. It's entirely up to them. It shouldn't even be suggested to them. Just let them come to that conclusion on their own.
Iceland is another country with no military. It relies on NATO for protection. You could argue that it is an island, so is different from GC which has a land border. Haiti is a country with no military AND a land border. They're more fearful of a military coup than an invasion from the Dominican Republic.
Regardless, the TC wouldn't dare attack a NATO protectorate. They will be massacred. It will be a turkey-shoot (literally! ).
I can't see any reason for this plan to fail. Can you? Besides GC intransigence, which is the real problem in Cyprus. And Greek intransigence, which is the real problem in the EU.
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First of all you need to recognize that both GC and TC are classified as "free" territories, if you go here:
http://www.freedomhouse.org
Free people can unite in any way they want, as the EU demonstrates. EU countries have virtually identical laws - your human rights are respected wherever you go. There's no political barrier to reunification of GC and TC. NATO is another umbrella organization where free people join together in mutual defence.
Also, you need to realise that with the same reasoning, if some group wants autonomy, that is fine too. There's no need for a separate country. The UK recently gave autonomy to Scotland et al. It actually doesn't change anything. The laws remain virtually identical. Human rights remain respected, the autonomous regions remain in NATO.
So here is how to use modern trends to solve the Cyprus problem.
NATO gives a security guarantee to the GC that the TC will not attack GC. Some NATO planes land on GC. The NATO planes can come from any NATO country the GC feels comfortable with, except for Greece and Turkey. ie you can use US planes, French planes, Polish planes, whatever. Or a combination of whatever. The GC will be secure.
The GC then hands ALL their weapons over to the TC. The GC military disbands. The GC is totally defenceless except for the NATO security guarantee (Iceland has a similar arrangement).
Because the TC are now a totally superior military to the GC, there is no need for them to have military protection from Turkey. Turkey withdraws all its armed forces. This is the main thing that the GC are after, and it is a reasonable thing for the GC to request, and this way it happens. If the GC are serious that all they want to see is the Turkish military to cease occupying their country, they will jump at this opportunity. Experience talking to actual GCs on the forum shows that they are not serious. They have more sinister desires, and the TC are well within their rights to seek protection via the Turkish military.
Cyprus then consists of two autonomous regions (not unlike Scotland in the UK, or even NSW in Australia). The TC can integrate with the GC at any level they feel comfortable with. Leave that entirely up to their democratic process to decide.
The TC are not going to invade GC, even though they will have a superior military. Free people don't wage war on other free people. The GC have nothing to fear, but they have a NATO security guarantee for as long as they feel they need it. The GC will save money by having no military, and their standard of living will increase. It will be up to the TC to decide how much money they want to waste on a military designed to defend against another free people (ie the GC). Maybe they will one day wake up and simply ask for a similar NATO guarantee, get some non-Turk/non-Greek planes on their territory, and disband their own army. It's entirely up to them. It shouldn't even be suggested to them. Just let them come to that conclusion on their own.
Iceland is another country with no military. It relies on NATO for protection. You could argue that it is an island, so is different from GC which has a land border. Haiti is a country with no military AND a land border. They're more fearful of a military coup than an invasion from the Dominican Republic.
Regardless, the TC wouldn't dare attack a NATO protectorate. They will be massacred. It will be a turkey-shoot (literally! ).
I can't see any reason for this plan to fail. Can you? Besides GC intransigence, which is the real problem in Cyprus. And Greek intransigence, which is the real problem in the EU.
# posted by Paul Edwards @ 12:46 
