FES BRIEFING VAROSHA: Between Human Rights and Realpolitik Mete Hatay “No picnic over pain”: This was the slogan that peace activists used to protest the surprising announcement of Republic of Tur­key President Erdoğan that he would celebrate the anniversary of the“Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus” with a festive lunch on one of Varosha’s newly opened beaches. 1 The picnic announce­ment was part of the unprecedented Turkish intervention that would help Ersin Tatar, leader of the conservative nationalist Na­tional Unity Party(UBP), win north Cyprus’s 2020“presidential” election. At the time“prime minister,” Tatar contravened the election law only a week before voters went to the polls in Octo­ber by flying to Ankara for a press conference with the Turkish president to announce the ghost town’s opening. A political hos­tage since the island’s division in 1974, this once-famous resort town had been left to decay for more than four decades. The announcement was intended to aid Tatar, and when the new “TRNC president” made his first visit to Ankara after the election, Erdoğan would make his astonishing announcement that 15 No­vember, the anniversary of the self-declared state, would be an appropriate time for a seaside picnic. Since 15 August 1974, when Varosha fell into Turkish military hands, only the western part of the town has been open to settlement, housing both Turkish Cypriots and settlers from Turkey. 2 The eastern and seaside areas, on the other hand, had been kept under Turkish military control and closed to civilians. In an interview from the 1980s, Kenan Evren, Chief of Staff during Turkey’s 1980 coup d’état, claimed that Varosha was being occupied and held as a negotiating tool. Indeed, Turkish Cypriot negotiators put Varosha on the table eight times, but their terms were unacceptable to the Greek Cypriot side, which rejected the various offers. In 1974, the population of the entirety of Famagusta city was approximately 39,000 to 40,000, with around 12,000 people living elsewhere but commuting to the city every day for work during that period. Of the city’s residents, approximately 26,000 were Greek Cypriots, and most of these lived and worked in the area known as Varosha, in the city’s east. An additional approximately 4,000 non-Cypriot residents also lived primarily in the Varosha area. The 8,500 Turkish Cypriot residents of the city, on the other hand, lived primarily in Famagusta’s walled city and neighbouring areas. 3 In sum, returning the entirety of Varosha to its legal owners will mean that around 30,000 displaced persons will be able to access their properties, while the return of only the closed area of Varosha, which was recently opened, will mean that around 20,000 persons will be able to return to their homes. While the currently settled area of western Varosha was to be returned in the Annan Plan, Erdoğan and the current Turkish Cypriot leadership are not including this area in their new “opening.” The fact that this area has been inhabited for 46 years is considered the biggest impediment to its return. WHAT IS THE TURKISH SIDE ATTEMPTING TO ACCOMPLISH? As explained above, Turkish Cypriot negotiators have consist­ently viewed Varosha as a bargaining chip in the negotiations. However, in recent years this bargaining chip has begun to look more like a burden. 1 The TRNC was proclaimed as an independent secular republic on 15 November 1983. However, the TRNC has failed to gain international recognition from any country other than Turkey, and the UN Security Council pronounced its proclamation in 1983 invalid and called upon member-states‘not to recognize any Cypriot state other than the Republic of Cyprus’. Since the TRNC has not achieved international recognition, neither the TRNC’s government nor its parliament are seen as legal entities internationally. 2 https://www.havadiskibris.com/marasin-74-oncesi-bugunune-soyle­bir-bakalim/ Over the past 46 years, there have been varying views on what should be done with the closed city in relation to negotiations, and in the Turkish Cypriot community these varied views have tended to break down along party lines. Those parties that we can consider to be on the left, starting with CTP, have until very recently viewed Varosha as part of a comprehensive set­3 https://www.havadiskibris.com/marasin-74-oncesi-bugunune-soyle­bir-bakalim/ 1