Varosha

In his column today, Mr. Simon Bahceli acknowledges that the city of Varosha is being used as a bargaining chip by Turkey and the North. Mr. Bahceli states “It (Varosha) has never been part of the self-proclaimed ‘Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus’ (‘TRNC’), and has always been seen as a bargaining chip that Turkey and the North could use as part of an overall settlement of the Cyprus problem.” This statement should not come as a surprise for those who follow the Cyprus issue. The Turks, it seems, are approaching the issue of Cyprus as if it were a poker game. The world has remained silent while a city rots for 31 years because the Turks view the city as Mr. Bahceli explained “their trump bargaining chip.” Varosha was the third largest city in Cyprus and using it as a dangling carrot for so many years is immoral. The current and previous Cypriot governments have become complacent on this issue…not enough is being done to atract outside public awareness on this matter. Behind each abandoned house in Varosha exists a refugee face that commands a certain level of attention, dignity and respect. Mr. Talat can, at the very least show some good faith by allowing refugees the ability to briefly retrieve personal belongings instead of having their possessions wasted in this most cynical way. Please view my post below titled “The Game” for more info on Varosha.