Saving Turkish Cypriots...

Hurrah... Once again Turkey extended its generous helping hand and salvaged Turkish Cypriots from an economic collapse. Deputy Prime Minister Tuğrul Türkeş - a Turkish Cypriot from his late father Alparslan Türkeş - signed a 62.5-million-Turkish-Lira check to save the Turkish Cypriot economy days before the start of the new year, though on the island the leader of the majority party of the left-right coalition was telling news people that disagreement with Ankara over the administration of water Turkey provided through a suspended pipeline might turn into an unthinkable full-fledged crisis between the Turkish Cypriot and Turkish governments. 

Really?

It has become some sort of a tradition for Turkey, despite all the rhetoric and indeed efforts to build a self-sustainable economic system in Turkish Cyprus, to salvage the Turkish Cypriot budget from the verge of bankruptcy almost every yearend. Do Turkish wage earners receive a 13th salary? They are even unaware of such a payment. Repetitive Turkish Cypriot governments have all hinted at the possibility of giving up the application of 13th salary, a tax-free additional check at an amount equal to around 1.4 the monthly wage distributed every year sometimes in December or January. Yet, neither the conservatives nor the socialists could walk that very difficult road that might end with considerable decrease in their votes. After all, is it not a fact that directly or indirectly some 60 percent of Turkish Cypriots are on the public pay roll?

An economy which is not self-sustainable or surviving every year on loans from Turkey - a penny of which has not been so far paid back - should perhaps have given up the 13th salary practice long ago, as the Greek Cypriots on the southern side of the Cyprus divide did several years ago when their economy plunged into the worst economic-financial crisis in the recent history of the island. Yet, who would walk that costly road, particularly if every single vote has become so existentially important for Turkish Cypriot political parties? For example, all through the past two decades, more or less, there has been a cliffhanger distribution of left-right seats in the Turkish Cypriot parliament, mostly just a few seats in favor of conservatives but sometimes a seat or two in favor of the left. That is, one parliamentarian might bring a party to government or terminate its government.

With the money Türkeş - who has been boasting of being the first Turkish Cypriot minister in Turkish governments since the time of his late father - signed and sent to Turkish Cyprus the publicly-owned milk products giant SÜTEK paid a substantial portion of its overdue payments, while state subsidies for agricultural products were distributed and payments long overdue for agricultural products procured by the public sector were completed. Such developments made the villagers and farmers rather happy, but the real news came later with an announcement that now a resource (from Turkey) was available this year as well the 13th salary, which will be distributed within - or soon after - the first week of the new year. Next year? Well, there is still 12 months to think on the problem for 2016’s 13th salary. Who knows what will happen by that time? There might be a Cyprus resolution - in that case, leave the issue for the first federal cabinet to solve the problem - or the country might be compelled to go to an early election or the conservatives might wake up and realize that their combined vote is more than enough to come to power together…

But was not Turkey and Turkish Cypriots at loggerheads over the administration of the water Turkey was pumping to the island? Was it not because of that crisis precious thousands of cubic meters of water were being released to sea? Has there been any progress on the issue? No… Not yet…

Turkish Cypriots are right in objecting to Turkey’s pertinent demands that the Turkish State Water Works must be given the right of local administration of the water it provided. It might of course have a share in a company to be established for that purpose, but is Cyprus a colony of Turkey to leave such administration of such a vital resource to a Turkish public agency? Turkish Cypriots are wrong in demanding that water must be administered either directly by the Turkish Cypriot public water works agency or with a joint company of the public water works and the municipalities. Turkish Cyprus’ public works has been highly politicized and with political appointments has been extremely overstaffed. It cannot function now and cannot collect water fees particularly from the public institutions or hotels. Municipalities have been problematic for similar reasons. Was not the collapsed Nicosia municipality salvaged with Turkey’s support only three years ago?

But the left-dominated coalition government does not want to leave administration of such an important life resource and precious political tool to the hands of a private or private dominated company. As such a development would not allow manipulation the way it hoped.

Anyhow, including Şener Elçil - the head of the Turkish Cypriot Teachers’ Syndicate who last week declared he did not want neither Turkey nor its money or its soldiers on Cyprus - everyone will be happy getting the 13th salary, a generous bonus from Ankara…

P.S.: I wish all the readers of HDN a happy, healthy and peaceful 2016.