Mehmet Ali Talat and the Reunification of Cyprus
Mehmet Ali Talat is one half of the diplomatic team that will look to hammer out a reunification plan for the Republic of Cyprus and The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus on the 11th of September, and will no doubt bring his own political outlook to the table. Where, then, has Mehmet Ali Talat learned the tools of his trade? And what kind of politics does he favour? Childhood and Education He was born in 1952, in Kyrenia, 22 years before the Turkish army invaded North Cyprus. His childhood, then, was full of Turkish and Greek heritage. When it came to education, though, he favoured the Turkish side of his upbringing, and studied in Ankara at the Middle East Technical University, in the department of Engineering. There, he was involved in the Republican Turkish Party’s youth movement. On his return to Cyprus, he became involved in the KOGEF, or the Turkish Cypriot’s Youth Federation, in what had become since his departure the Turkish Republic of North Cyprus. He later became the executive chairman, and was indeed the first to hold the position. Political Career His first major post was in 1993, when as part of the first coalition government, he took the role of Minister of Education and Culture. He held that for two terms, and in the third term of coalition government became the TRNC’s Deputy Prime Minister. Talat became leader of the party in 1996. In that position, he took the party into yet another coalition government, where he served as Prime Minister. During his time, he developed a tense relationship with the TRNC President of the time, Rauf Raif Denktas, whom he succeeded in 2005. Since his presidency he has strongly advocated a reunification of the Republic of Cyprus with the TRNC in North Cyprus. When it came to the Annan Plan Referendum in 2004, he campaigned for citizens of North Cyprus to vote ‘yes’, and indeed they did. Unfortunately for Talat, the Greek Cypriots voted against the bill at the respective urging of their president of the time, Tassos Papadopoulos. But Talat has not been dissuaded, and remains as committed to reunification as he ever was. Now, with Dimitris Christofias as his working partner, signs are positive indeed; the AKEL leader is fully in favour of a unification of the Republic of Cyprus and the TRNC of North Cyprus, and he made that clear as part of his election manifesto, which means that the Greek Cypriot’s now must be, too. It seems, then, that if the leaders can agree on a settlement, which - considering both have a desire to unite, they will - then any referendum similar to the Annan Plan of 2004 will be treated positively by both sides. Reunification is on the way.
