Controversy has arisen with a recent visit to Northern Cyprus by former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Australia and former Special Advisor to the UN Secretary-General on Cyprus Alexander Downer.
Downer met with the so-called president of the self-proclaimed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) Ersin Tatar.
The so-called TRNC is considered by all other states to be part of the Republic of Cyprus which was occupied by Turkish forces in 1974.
It is not recognised internationally by any country, except Turkey, so Downer’s visit has raised some eyebrows, especially given his past role.
Tatar was recently in Australia where there were calls of protocol breach with his visit and meetings with parliament members.
According to media sources, Tatar said that Downer is in a “very good position, as someone who was involved in previous negotiations processes, to make an objective assessment of what has been lived in the Cyprus issue.”
He referred back to the UN Comprehensive Settlement [Annan] Plan of 2004 and how the Greek Cypriots rejected this settlement.
He further pointed to the Greek Cypriot rejection as a rejection to a solution as a whole.
Following the meeting, Downer said he was “delighted to have come back to Cyprus and the TRNC and to have the opportunity to [meet] with the President.”
“We had an opportunity to talk about the Cyprus problem and where it can go from here.”
This has been seen as recognition of the so-called TRNC and Tatar by someone outside of Turkey.
He further stated that he had spent six years trying to help the sides reach a settlement, and that new ideas need to be brought up.
“My view is that this is a time that requires fresh ideas. There is no point in continuing to repeat the same mantras of history. It is a time for imagination, creativity and new ideas.”
This suggests he believes there is no point living in the past and new ideas are needed for a solution.
Neos Kosmos spoke to President of the Cyprus Community of Melbourne and Victoria, Theo Theophanous, who has had past interactions with Downer when he was the UN special envoy.
“The thing that struck me the most is that his [Alexander Downer] attitude was that the obstacle was the attitude of the Greek Cypriots and he had very little to say about Turkey being the major obstacle,” he said.
“I never got the impression that he [Alexander Downer] was going to be helpful in the role that he had and as it turned out, he was unable to achieve anything.”
He added that Downer actually lost the confidence of the entire Greek Cypriot side, who in the end were not even prepared to talk to him.
“I’m not surprised by his [Downer] recent intervention in going to northern Cyprus, because it’s consistent with the position that he took when he was supposed to be an independent UN person, but instead seemed to me at least to be very one sided in his approach.”
Neos Kosmos have reached out to Downer for comment and have not heard back. We will update this story if we get word from him about his recent visit and acknowledgement of the TRNC.
