VZCZCXYZ0012
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHNC #0696/01 2391156
ZNR UUUUU ZZH (CCY ADFC5088 MSI0393-695)
R 271156Z AUG 07
FM AMEMBASSY NICOSIA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 8108
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 0932
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS

UNCLAS NICOSIA 000696 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE - SIPDIS 
 
C O R R E C T E D COPY CAPTION 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/SE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM SENV CY TU
SUBJECT: RUMORS OF DEVELOPMENT SHAKE CYPRUS'S KARPASS 
 
REF: 06 NICOSIA 2051 
 
¶1.  (U)  Summary:  The pristine Karpass peninsula, the long 
finger of land stretching northeast "like a dagger toward the 
heart of Anatolia," has dominated north Cyprus newscasts 
nightly this summer.  A sleepy corner of the island known 
more for its turtle hatcheries and unbroken surf, Karpass has 
hijacked the headlines over two matters:  the extension of 
high-voltage electrical lines to the undeveloped extreme tip 
of the peninsula, and the destruction of Greek Cypriot-owned 
houses in its largest town, Rizokarpasso.  Regarding 
electricity, an impromptu environmental coalition has 
coalesced to fight the project over fears that hotels, 
marinas and golf courses will follow the wires, destroying 
the peninsula's character forever.  The coalition's odds of 
success seem miniscule, however.  As to the bulldozing of the 
homes, many in falling-down condition, Greek Cypriot 
community representatives believe the move belies Turkish 
Cypriot authorities' true intent:  to extinguish the G/C 
presence in Karpass permanently, and to open the area for 
further settlement and development.  End Summary. 
 
THE KARPASS:  CYPRUS'S PRISTINE PANHANDLE 
----------------------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (U)  The Karpass peninsula is a largely undeveloped 
region of hilly scrubland and gorgeous coastline.  It is home 
to a variety of plant and animal species -- a handful of 
which are found only in the Karpass -- and is one of the few 
nesting grounds of endangered loggerhead and green sea 
turtles.  The peninsula's population is 8,000, of whom 
roughly 400 are enclaved Greek Cypriots (Reftel).  Apart from 
the region's two main towns of Yialousa (Yeni Erenkoy in 
Turkish) and Rizokarpasso (Dipkarpaz), the inhabitants live 
in a scattering of small villages.  The stark beauty of the 
area combined with its historical sites and beaches makes the 
Karpass a common, if remote, vacation destination for both 
Greek and Turkish Cypriots from throughout the island and for 
Europeans -- and a few Americans -- looking to partake in 
alternative ecotourism. 
 
"POWER" STRUGGLE EMERGES 
------------------------ 
 
¶3.  (U)  Launching the Karpass into the headlines this summer 
was the announcement of a "TRNC" plan to bring electricity to 
the extreme tip of the peninsula.  Electric lines currently 
end at Rizokarpasso, leaving the last 15 miles without power. 
 The scattering of 50-odd locals and less than a dozen hotels 
and restaurants either rely on generators and solar panels 
for power, or do without.  Located in this unserved area is 
the Apostolos Andreas Monastery, a pilgrimage site which many 
Greek Orthodox consider the island's holiest. 
 
¶4.  (U)  The announcement of the electrical transmission plan 
was greeted with protests by environmental groups and 
left-wing political parties skeptical of the "government's" 
motives.  The groups claimed that the extension of the power 
grid beyond Rizokarpasso would mar the natural beauty of the 
peninsula and endanger the environment, particularly the rare 
and unique species living there.  Further, the opposition 
groups argued the "government" plan was not just unwise, but 
illegal:  the tip of the peninsula was designated a park area 
in 1978 and the "government" had declared it a "specially 
protected area" in 2007, ostensibly to prevent its 
development.  Undaunted, the "government" forged ahead and 
began to erect poles on August 12, with "Prime Minister" 
Ferdi Soyer declaring that electricity does not equal 
development, noting that other protected sites in the "TRNC," 
such as the ruins of Salamis and Kyrenia Castle, have 
electricity yet are protected from commercial development. 
The "government" estimates that the Karpass could be fully 
electrified by the end of the year and that a law 
specifically preventing commercial development of the area 
would be passed in the near future.  In response, the 
environmental groups applied to the "TRNC" courts for an 
injunction to halt the project; the hearing has been delayed 
two times, and now is scheduled for September 10.  Court 
"officials" attribute the delay to the need to allow the 
contracting company and the "government" to argue their 
position; according to the environmentalists, however, the 
real reason is to allow enough time for workers to finish 
putting up poles, creating a fait accompli. 
 
A NEW "VEGAS ON THE SHORE?" 
--------------------------- 
 
¶5.  (SBU)  One of the most vocal opponents of the electricity 
extension is Dogan Sahir, the chairman of the Green Peace 
Movement (Yesil Baris Hareketi, not to be confused with the 
global ecological organization Greenpeace).  He shared his 
misgivings with us in a meeting August 6.  Sahir conceded it 
was not electricity itself that was objectionable; certainly 
the Karpass population deserved grid access just like any 
other public infrastructure service.  His concern was that 
electricity was merely the fist step to irresponsible 
development of Cyprus's last natural refuge.  Sahir 
questioned the "government's" motives, claiming the 
electrical capacity of the new project was far greater than 
was needed to provide electricity to those houses and 
businesses in the Karpass that did not already have it, and 
that solar power panels could fill the demand at lesser cost. 
 He concluded the "government" intended to open areas of the 
peninsula to large-scale development, drawing a comparison 
with the tacky hotel/casino-fueled sprawl of Kyrenia (Girne) 
and the kitsch monstrosity of the Artemis Hotel in Vogolidha 
(Bafra). 
 
¶6.  (U) Unregulated development would turn the pristine 
Karpass into a sprawling chain of hotels, casinos, marinas, 
golf courses, and villas, complete with the attendant 
infrastructure -- roads, gas stations, apartment blocks, 
hospitals, schools, shopping areas -- to support it.  In such 
a scenario, the peninsula's unique cultural and ecological 
assets would be severely damaged, if not obliterated.  Sahir 
had obtained a proposal presented to the "Prime Ministry" and 
the "Tourism Ministry" by a South African development company 
envisioning such a complex, to be named "Romeo Bay Golf and 
Marina Resort" (the proposal is now posted on the internet at 
www.karpasia.com).  Although unclear whether the proposal is 
under serious consideration, Sahir claimed it proved there 
was interest in developing the Karpass.  He doubted the 
"government" could keep those interests at bay. 
 
¶7.  (SBU)  In response to the allegations of the 
environmentalist groups, "Government" officials, including 
"President" Talat, his closest advisors, and the "mayor" of 
Rizokarpasso, Mehmet Demirci, repeatedly have claimed the 
augmentation of the electrical grid in Karpass was designed 
solely to bring power to villages that currently relied on 
generators for electricity, and to supplement the power 
supply to Rizokarpasso, which is subject to brown-outs and 
power cuts when demand peaks.  Demirci told us August 14 that 
his "constituents" overwhelmingly supported the electricity 
project.  They feel they have lagged behind the rest of the 
"TRNC" economically, and that the electric lines would help 
increase their standard of living.  Development would also 
help stem the outflow of educated youth to the cities. 
Demirci bristled at the suggestion his "constituents" were 
unaware of the environmental risk to their region, saying no 
one in Cyprus wanted to conserve the beauty of the Karpass 
more than the people who lived there, and who would not 
accept the kind of development the environmentalists feared. 
The project would bring electricity to those who needed it, 
and the excess capacity would only be sufficient to support a 
handful of new small hotels and restaurants. 
 
REPERCUSSIONS NOT ONLY ENVIRONMENTAL 
------------------------------------ 
 
¶8.  (SBU)  Izzet Izcan, head of the communist United Cyprus 
Party and a former member of "Parliament", decried the plan 
for political reasons.  In addition to harming the 
environment, Izcan reasoned, extending electricity the full 
length of the Karpass might make negotiating a final Cyprus 
settlement even more difficult.  Certain versions of the 
Annan Plan reunification effort would have demanded the 
"Turkish Cypriot Constituent State" hand over administration 
of parts of the Karpass to the Greek Cypriots, he related. 
As difficult as that was for Turkish Cypriots to accept in 
2004, it would be even harder if the current and future 
"governments" succeed in wiring the peninsula, building 
additional infrastructure, and attracting significant foreign 
investment.  The "mayor" of Rizokarpasso was sanguine on this 
point, arguing it was irresponsible for the "government" to 
neglect the needs of its citizens in anticipation of an 
ever-elusive CyProb solution. 
 
 
ENCLAVED GREEK CYPRIOTSS PROTEST KNOCKDOWN POLICY 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
 
¶9.  (SBU)  Accompanying the electrification controversy 
lurked accusations by Greek Cypriot contacts that the "TRNC" 
was illegally demolishing Greek Cypriot-owned buildings in 
Rizokarpasso, home to the largest group of enclaved G/Cs. 
Six members of the Karpass Coordinating Committee, an "exile" 
organization, told us August 10 that Turkish soldiers in 
 
April/May had marked a number of vacant Greek-owned 
properties in Rizokarpasso for demolition and tore them down 
sometime later.  The Committee complained that, while some 
were old and perhaps unsafe, most were in good condition 
despite being unoccupied since 1974.  Some were also of 
historical value, such as an old flour mill.  Members claimed 
that G/C property owners were afraid to file complaints or 
ask the "TRNC" for compensation over fears of reprisal.  In 
their minds, the concurrence of the destruction of Greek 
houses with the electrification project was no coincidence; 
the "government" was tearing down unoccupied Greek houses in 
Rizokarpasso to make way for massive development projects, 
made possible by the influx of electricity. 
 
¶10.  (SBU)  Of similar mind was Andreas Tanis, a former 
Karpass "mukhtar" (village elder).  Tanis lamented the loss 
of the houses, claiming the Turks were already building new 
housing for Turkish settlers on the now-empty land (Note: 
During an August visit, Embassy staff saw a handful of 
recently destroyed buildings, but did not see evidence of new 
construction on those sites).  He also claimed that, although 
all the houses were unoccupied, several were owned by Greek 
Cypriots still living on the peninsula who had inherited them 
from the now-deceased residents, meaning they could have been 
restored and utilized by enclaved G/Cs. 
 
¶11.  (SBU) Tanis's vision of the future for Karpass Greek 
Cypriots was grim.  With young G/Cs leaving the peninsula 
after high school for better opportunities in the south, the 
average age of G/C residents was increasing every year.  "The 
Turks are waiting for us to die," he claimed, after which the 
"TRNC" would take over their land to hand over to Turkish 
settler families.  Even the prospect of electricity could not 
brighten his vision of the future; yes, electricity would 
make life easier for Greek and Turk alike and would help to 
make visits to the Monastery easier, but the economic 
benefits would not be sufficient to stop the population 
decline and thus would serve only Turkish interests in the 
long run.  When asked what could make the future of Karpass 
Greek Cypriots better, he insisted that all G/C land needed 
to be restored to its rightful owners, that all settlers from 
mainland Turkey be removed from the Karpass (and preferably 
sent back to Turkey), and all Orthodox religious sites be 
restored. 
 
¶12.  (SBU)  Conversely, Turkish Cypriot "Mayor" Demirci 
defended the demolitions.  He claimed all the structures were 
decrepit safety hazards, despite many looking sound from the 
outside.  Evincing obvious frustration over relations between 
the communities, he related how Karpass Greeks overwhelmingly 
had opposed the Annan settlement, despite the fact the 
arrangement would have returned all Turkish-occupied 
territories in Karpass to their pre-1974 owners.  How could 
T/Cs help or even work constructively with people who 
insisted, without room for compromise, that everything had 
been frozen in time since 1974? he questioned. 
 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶13.  (SBU)  The corruption and near-sightedness that plague 
the Turkish Cypriot-administered area's political system and 
economy make us doubt the "government" can resist the 
bulldozers' advance into far-off, beautiful Karpass.  Once 
the wires are up and working, property values there will 
increase.  With increased property values, the citizens of 
the Karpass -- whom "mayor" Demirci claims care deeply about 
their environment -- may find the prospect of developers 
offering top dollar for their land irresistible.  Despite the 
best intentions of the "government," enforcement of 
development laws is weak enough that rogue "ministers" or 
politicians could be convinced with large enough bribes to 
open the Karpass to developers on the sly.  Eyesores already 
abound on the road to the peninsula -- either in the form of 
cheap, ugly pastel-tinted housing developments ill-suited to 
Cyprus's terrain or traditional architecture, half-built 
husks of abandoned construction projects, or the 
aforementioned Artemis behemoth -- and the threat that 
similar structures could continue their creep up the coast is 
disheartening.  Further, the "government" is not winning 
itself any allies with its heavy-handed ways, such as 
continuing to plant poles despite the active drive for an 
injunction.  It is entirely possible that the poles will be 
fully erected before the September 10 hearing, in which case 
the environmentalists will no doubt accuse the court of 
deliberate delay. 
 
¶14.  (SBU)  In stark contrast to the noisy environmentalists 
and equally strident "government" spokesmen, there has been 
conspicuous silence on the part of the investors purportedly 
interested in developing the Karpass, making them hard to 
identify.  Rumors and allegations abound, pointing to the 
same international developers who have invested heavily in 
Kyrenia:  businessmen from Turkey, Russia, western Europe and 
Israel (one enclaved Greek Cypriot told us an Israeli company 
had offered him five million Cyprus pounds (nearly $12 
million) for his coastal property; he was holding out for 
more, figuring that the arrival of electricity would increase 
his land's value).  Statements of support for economic 
development of the peninsula from leaders of Turkey's 
governing AKP -- Prime Minister Erdogan once announced his 
hope that Karpass become a tourist magnet like Ayia Napa in 
the south, Karpass Committee members claimed -- suggest that 
politically-connected investors and/or contractors are 
lobbying hard in Ankara and Istanbul.  Worse, the prospect of 
a property stampede in territory notorious for weak 
regulations and poor enforcement is a clear invitation to 
organized crime syndicates and money launderers. 
 
¶15.  (SBU) We have no evidence the destruction of Greek 
Cypriot-owned homes in Rizokarpasso is linked to the 
electrical project or to any eventual plans for development, 
as the Committee members alleged.  The demolitions do 
underscore the continued mistrust between the peninsula's 
ethnic Greeks and Turks who, despite living in close 
confines, live rather separate lives. 
SCHLICHER