Fresh hopes that a 2015
agreement to connect the mobile phone services on both sides might finally be
realised
By Esra Aygin
You can call home and check
on your family from almost any corner in the world – unless you are a Cypriot
stuck on the wrong side of your own island.
The Greek Cypriot and Turkish
Cypriot mobile phone operators offer coverage services in their respective sides
of divided Cyprus and elsewhere in the world – but not the other side of the
divide.
The interoperability of
mobile phones, which would have been merely a technical issue elsewhere in the
world, has become a contentious political issue in Cyprus.
More than three years into an
agreement on it by the two leaders, Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots who
travel across the buffer zone are left without a signal. They have no way of
making a call for help if they get stuck on a remote mountain road with a flat
tyre, an ambulance if they have a health problem, or police if they are in
trouble.
The international travel
guide Lonely Planet advises travellers to use a mobile phone from outside
Cyprus with global roaming so that they can tune into the GSM networks of
either side. For Cypriots, the only way of having coverage throughout the
island is to carry two different SIM cards – one by Telsim or KKTCELL for the
north and one by Cyta, Primetel or MTN in the south.
In the euphoric, hopeful
onset of the latest round of negotiations back in May 2015, Mustafa Akinci and
Nicos Anastasiades had agreed on a number of confidence-building measures
including mobile telephone interoperability.
Indicative of a solution
process that went very wrong, none of the confidence-building measures was
implemented, as the good relationship and spirit of cooperation between the two
leaders gradually dwindled.
The Luxembourg model
Shortly after the 2015
agreement by the leaders, a working group including representatives of the chambers
of commerce, communication regulators and mobile phone operators from both
sides of the island began looking for a way to make mobile phone
interoperability possible. A direct agreement between the mobile phone
operators, which would have been the most straightforward solution, was not
possible due to Greek Cypriot concerns about cooperating with Turkish Cypriot
bodies.
In autumn 2015, the working
group developed a model which did not necessitate local operators dealing
directly with each other. Under this model,
Turkish Cypriot and Greek
Cypriot mobile phone operators would be able to provide coverage to their
clients throughout the island through a hub in Luxembourg. All of the existing
Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot operators are currently connected to this
Luxembourg hub for the purposes of obtaining roaming services in other parts of
the world.
The model was put on ice
however, despite an agreement on the technical level and by the Turkish Cypriot
leader, over concerns by the Greek Cypriot leadership that a 2004 electronic
communications law prevented cooperation with unrecognised operators, albeit
indirectly.
Although some interpretations
of the law foresaw no problems, Greek Cypriot attorney-general Costas Clerides
advised the leadership that the law constitutes a legal obstacle.
The Enosis vote
Another obstacle appeared
just as Averof Neophytou, the Disy leader, was about to submit an amendment to
the law in question to parliament to overcome any legal concerns. In February 2017, the House of
Representatives voted to commemorate in schools the 1950 Enosis (union with
Greece) petition. This led to a freezing of relations between the two sides and
a collective backlash among the vast majority of Turkish Cypriots, who consider
the Enosis aim as the reason behind the inter-communal clashes in the 1960s.
EU clearance
The European Union, however,
which has looked into the issue, has already conveyed to the sides that the
Luxembourg model is in full compliance with EU laws. The EU also found the 2004
electronic communications law, which is seen by the Greek Cypriot leadership as
the obstacle in front of implementing the Luxembourg model, in line with the EU
acquis, which does not forbid any kind of implicit or explicit cooperation with
any operator outside the EU.
“The 2004 electronic
communications law is an implementation of an EU directive,” said a source
close to the issue. “In any case, EU law is above national laws.”
Revival of CBMs
Confidence-building measures
have recently been brought back on the agenda, mainly due to pressure by the
international community, which, frustrated with lack of meaningful results in
Cyprus, have been emphasising the need for a positive climate.
Some UN Security Council
members are increasingly questioning the presence of the UN Good Offices
mission in Cyprus and pressing for changes to the mandate of the UN
peacekeeping force (Unficyp) in the absence of any progress on ground, arguing
that Unficyp’s presence has to support a political settlement process. Although
the Security Council extended Unficyp’s mandate for another six months last
July, it also called for renewed efforts to implement all remaining
confidence-building measures. Similar views are likely to be reiterated in the
next round of consultations for the renewal of Unficyp’s mandate in January.
The international pressure and
the risk of Unficyp leaving the island has been seen as the reason Greek
Cypriots are showing willingness to reconsider the Luxembourg model. Back in
September, Greek Cypriot negotiator Andreas Mavroyiannis had stated that “a lot
of work needs to be done in the immediate future to prove that there is a
direct link between the need to retain Unficyp and efforts to reunite the
country.”
The Greek Cypriot leadership
is now holding meetings with technical and legal experts to decide on how to
proceed. Any agreement on mobile phone interoperability will be announced by
the leaders on 12 November.
Lack of political will seems
to have been the only obstacle in front of the implementation of the Luxembourg
model, which had been accepted by both sides on a technical level, cleared by
the EU and considered as the most suitable model by experts. Any remaining
technical or legal obstacles can easily be overcome with the necessary
political will.
Whether the Greek Cypriot
leadership will be able to show it, remains to be seen.
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