Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 17
By Rufiz Hafizoglu - Trend:
At first sight it may seem that there is nothing in common between the last decision of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) with regard to the "Armenian genocide" and the EU's recent agreement with Ankara to limit the Syrian refugee flow from Turkey to the Union.
But when carefully examining the situation in Europe with regard to the Syrian refugees it can be seen that there is actually a link between the two developments.
Syrian refugees, both in Turkey and in Europe, can cause a number of social problems, which is by the way quite obvious.
Initially, a number of European countries decided that they could only receive Christians from Syria and Iraq. This decision in fact is nothing but a religious discrimination, contradicting the European values. The decision can also lead to further religious monotony of Iraq and Syria.
Currently, Turkey, along with Jordan, is a home to Syrian and Iraqi refugees, where they live without problems. Given this, these two countries can be called a "paradise for refugees."
Every country tries to protect first of all its own interests in all kinds of developments, and so, with regard to the Syrian refugees, Ankara and the EU also act in line with their interests only.
Ankara, on one hand, proved to the EU that it can keep the Syrian refugee flow into the Union, and on the other hand, demanded that the Union stops criminalizing the denial of the so-called Armenian genocide.
The decision taken by the ECtHR with regard to the so-called Armenian genocide can be seen as the Armenian diaspora's collapse and Turkey's victory. History has once again proved that the so-called Armenian genocide had been a trump card for super powers.
Northern Cyprus moving from the lira to the euro
Northern Cyprus has always rested on Turkey's political and economic support, and it doesn't differ from Turkey.
Almost all the political and economic developments in Turkey, which is considered by Turkish Cypriots as their motherland (ana vatan as they call it in Turkish), are in the first place reflected on the Northern Cyprus.
However, despite that the Northern Cyprus is being supported by Ankara, there are still some aspects that drastically make it different from Turkey.
Northern Cyprus is a place where the Muslim identification of population ends and the national identification begins, according to the majority of the Turkish Cypriots. That is, national values are higher here than the religious ones.
Besides, the views of the current political leaders of Northern Cyprus already differ from those of the political elite in Turkey.
Earlier, Mustafa Akinci, leader of Turkish Cypriots told Trend that Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus speaks for the policy independent from Turkey.
Turkish cypriots believe in their power and are confident that they will be able to pursue independent policy, he added. "It is an advantage not only for us, but also for Turkey," said Akinci.
The Cyprus issue remains a major political obstacle to Turkey's accession to the EU.
But it seems that Turkey has solved this issue in its own way.
Earlier on October 13, Northern Cyprus started technical work on the transition of the national currency from the Turkish lira to the euro.
Experts of the European Union will arrive in the Northern Cyprus and start work with officials of the country as part of the preparations.
Along with the transition to the euro, the process of accession of Northern Cyprus to the European Union Customs Union (EUCU) will begin as well. The customs legislation of Northern Cyprus will be brought into line with the EU legislation within the framework of this process, which is primarily in the interests of Turkey.
Some experts believe that this is the first serious step to get out of Turkey's control but in fact it is not so.
In order to withdraw from the jurisdiction of Turkey, Northern Cyprus must have economic development, which is currently missing in the Turkish part.
Refusal of Northern Cyprus from the lira and the transition to the euro may lead to serious problems for the EU in the future.
It can be said that Turkey, which previously defended itself against political and economic pressure from the EU, has completely taken the offensive.
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Rufiz Hafizoglu is the head of Trend Agency's Arabic news service, follow him on Twitter: @rhafizoglu
