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Flickr/United Nations Development Program in Europe and CIS. Some rights reserved.In the past few months few informed pundits on the Cyprus problem would cite any positive developments at the political level; the Cypriot stalemate is deepening further each day. Yet at the grassroots level bicommunal activity in the island is emerging as the critical actor in the reunification process.
In September 2014, the Greek Cypriot side withdrew from negotiations after a Turkish frigate started seismic surveys in the Republic of Cyprus’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) south of the island. Surprisingly, this interruption in the Cyprus negotiations offered an opportunity for civil society leaders to seek alternatives in their attempt to resume the peace process. February 2015 has been the month of civil society engagement in Cyprus.
Mr. Tsipras was the first Greek PM to meet with bicommunal NGOs in his inaugural visit to Cyprus while the following week President Anastasiades held a well-received press conference with Turkish and Turkish Cypriot journalists. But much of the civil society engagement receives little media or public attention. Last week the two Cypriot chambers of commerce from the communities of the island launched a successful event in London hosted by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office while the Greek-Turkish Forum met in Athens to discuss confidence-building measures.
