Back to talks on Cyprus

On the last day of March the Greek Cypriot House of Representatives will vote on a draft sponsored by the ruling Democratic Rally Party (DISI) to authorize the Education Ministry to decide on the days to be marked in secondary schools. The draft, which cleared the education committee last week, aims at leaving behind a controversy over a recent law that ordered the commemoration of a 1950 plebiscite on union with Greece (enosis) in schools. Because of that law, considered by Turkish Cypriots as a demonstration of hostility not conducive to the spirit of federation talks, negotiations between Greek and Turkish people on the island, which aimed at creating a federation on Cyprus, collapsed last month.

The education committee of the Greek Cypriot parliament approving the draft was seen in northern Cyprus as a "step in the right direction" and President Mustafa Akıncı heralded the development with appreciation saying, "It is a virtue to be able to take a step back from a wrong move." Would the move be enough to resume the talks? It might be today or tomorrow, but definitely before the April 16 vote in Turkey, some hope would help transform Turkey into an autocracy, apparently there will be a statement heralding momentarily resumption of the Cyprus intercommunal talks. It is already claimed that Akıncı's office has informed Espen Barth Eide, the special adviser to the United Nations' Secretary General, that after the draft rendering obsolete the earlier enosis commemoration law becomes law on March 31, the Turkish Cypriot side may return to the talks.

Since the Greek Cypriot side has been stressing readiness from the first day of the collapse of the talks that it was ready to resume the talks, it might be assumed that a major crisis would be left in the...