Britannia Radio

9 February 2009     Title Futile Offer to Clear Cyprus Mines   UK Government Ignores Reality   Letter to the Minister for Europe, Caroline Flint MP February 2009   Dear Minister   Why has the Foreign Office just given 50,000 euros for land mine clearance between the two communities in Cyprus, when the EU has had 259 million euros sitting unused in northern Cyprus for exactly that purpose?   Is this just another empty gesture at the expense of hard-pressed British taxpayers?   Does no-one in your department ever do any homework first?  Did they not talk to the High Commissioner in Nicosia, or the European Commissioner for Enlargement, Ollie Rehn, both of whom could and should have briefed you properly on the land mine clearance issue.   The Turks in the north are using mines as a bargaining tool while negotiations go on over a settlement between the two communities.   Since their invasion of 1974 over 40,000 armed Turkish troops have been stationed in the north.  Up to 80 percent of the land they seized was originally the property of Greek Cypriot residents.  It remains illegally in Turkish possession to this day.   The compensation claims are now out of sight, and are also tangled up with the settlement negotiations.    So do you really think 50,000 euros is going to make any impact at all?    It, like the rest of the 259 million from the EU, will not be used until the Turks think they have a deal which secures their presence in the north of the island.   Then, finally, they may allow the mines to be cleared, and remove at least some of their troops.  But be in no doubt, the Turks have no plans to remove their troops altogether.  They have a toehold in the EU and they intend to exploit it to the maximum.  Mines are - to them - merely one small pawn in the game.   For the record, let me also point out that the EU's 259 million euros was given to improve relations between the Greek and Turkish communities, and specifically to improve economic activity.   The EU knew the use of the money could not be properly controlled and audited, since - with exquisite irony - the EU does not officially recognise the Turkish regime in the north.  Nonetheless, the money was authorised.   And as a final twist in this sorry tale, in reply to my question directly to Mr Talat, the head of the Turkish regime, during one of our regular meetings, he claimed that mine clearance would not be for the benefit of the local cross-border economy, and that was why the money was not being used for mine clearance.   What else do you need to know about the Turkish mindset?    Ashley Mote   Member, European Parliament's Hi-Level Contact Group with Northern Cyprus