'Our songs under moonlight'

Perhaps time has come to try to convince the two peoples of Cyprus that what the two leaders and negotiating teams have been discussing ?discreetly? for the past few months might culminate in the establishment soon of a United Federal Cyprus. It was the first time since Mustafa Ak?nc??s election as the Turkish Cypriot president and the resumption of talks with an invigorated speed that he heralded on the sidelines of the July 20, 1974, Turkish intervention anniversary that a ?United Federal Cyprus? has become discernible.

Ak?nc? going further than rather empty ?settlement within months? rhetoric and providing some details of the discussions on the core issues testified to the existence of the political will on both sides for a difficult and painful compromise settlement. Yet, in between the lines of his statement there was a confession that the thorniest issues are left to be decided upon later. That is of course a wise approach. How can the two leaders discuss the amount of territory the ?two constituent federated states? will have? The moment they start such a discussion life will stop in northern Cyprus. Can anyone invest in property they may be compelled to abandon some time later? Talk is that ?all Cypriots will decide freely wherever they would like to live.? If that is done, will it be possible to talk about the bi-zonality and bi-communality of the federal state to be established? Were those two terms not cornerstone principles of a resolution? If those two principles are to be adhered to and there will be a quota of Greek Cypriots residing in the Turkish Cypriot north, will Greek Cypriots agree to make that ?derogation? become primary law of the EU through endorsement in all member parliaments? Otherwise, such quotas that contradict with EU norms...