The opening of new checkpoints as a bridge of communication between the two communities and the challenge of resuming negotiations for a comprehensive solution
The Cyprus issue once again stands at a critical crossroads. Negotiation efforts continue, diplomatic contacts are intensifying, the international community is attempting to create the necessary conditions, and Maria Olgin, under Guterres’s watchful eye, is making her final, intensive effort to restart the process. However, the question remains: how much do we really want to reach out to one another?
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
How is the political landscape taking shape?
Perhaps the answer lies in something that seems simple to many: opening new checkpoints.
Because opening border crossings creates opportunities for communication, cooperation, and the gradual restoration of trust that has been damaged by the long-standing division.
The discussion about opening new crossing points is taking on particular significance at this time. Four proposals are currently on the table, concerning the area of Mia Milia, the Athenou–Pyroio – Aglantzia, the Louroutzina–Lympia area, and the Kambos Kykkos–Karavostasi connection. The Special Envoy of the UN Secretary-General, María Ángela Olguín, is seeking to promote an agreement as part of broader confidence-building measures.
The goal, however, is not simply to add four more points to the map of Cyprus. It is to gradually change the prevailing perception between the two communities.
For years, we have heard that building trust is an essential prerequisite for resolving the Cyprus problem. But how can this trust be built when people do not have enough opportunities to meet, collaborate, and engage in joint activities? And this is precisely what the Secretary-General seeks to achieve whenever he refers to confidence-building measures.
Of course, confidence-building measures are not the political solution to the problem. Opening the roadblocks does not in and of itself resolve the Cyprus problem, nor does it replace substantive negotiations on territory, security, and the other aspects of the problem.
It can, however, create a different environment. An environment in which the two communities will have more opportunities to get to know one another, to cooperate, and to realize that the future of this land cannot be built on a foundation of perpetual mistrust.
Political leaders on both sides have a responsibility to realize that symbolic gestures must eventually be translated into action. Statements about a solution are not enough, nor are repeated declarations of our readiness to sit down at the negotiating table even tomorrow. Mutual concessions and political will are needed.
The November 9 meeting, attended by the President of the Republic, Nikos Christodoulides, Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman, and María Ángela Olguín represents yet another important opportunity. And the discussion on the roadblocks could mark the beginning of a broader effort toward a solution.
Fifty-two years later, Cyprus cannot afford to miss any more opportunities, and of course we must not simply manage the division.
Opening new checkpoints could be a first step, because a solution to the Cyprus problem will not come solely from behind closed-door negotiations, diplomatic meetings, and announcements—but through the everyday life of society itself.
The checkpoints must open up paths—not only so that people and cars can pass from one side to the other, but so that we can rebuild our shared future together.
