North Cyprus Newspaper - Online Newspaper
Controversial North Cyprus ferry leaves political storm in its wake
The gleaming passenger catamaran that moored alongside a Tripoli port jetty that early October morning seemed somehow out of place amid the horde of towering, rusty commercial vessels. Yet what was more striking about the Akgünler I is that while much less glorious ships prepared for their departure with cranes and busy crews loading multicolored containers, the catamaran’s deck was deserted. The ship seemed destined for a decisively anticlimactic departure that contrasts with the significance many have attributed to its service.
“We are waiting for the two Romanians,” says Ziad Naboulsi, the ship’s agent, with an expression on his face that appears to contain amusement and annoyance.
Naboulsi showed up at 6 a.m. to supervise the boarding of the ship and see that it sails off properly to its controversial destination: Famagusta, Northern Cyprus. But the only two passengers to join the boat at Lebanon were yet to arrive, and it was past 8 a.m.
“I called them. They are still in their hotel. They drank a bit too much last night and overslept,” Naboulsi says, laughing.
Delaying a whole vessel for three hours because of two latecomers seems to contradict the whole notion of profit-making. Yet Naboulsi has instructed the captain to wait. Given the circumstances, it is leaving without them that would seem absurd – why undertake the journey at all, if it is not to transport a single passenger?
Sami Sassine, the accomplished businessman who holds the license for the ferry’s operation, is keeping it afloat despite its obvious unprofitability; an average of 10 passengers per journey have boarded the 300-berth ship from Tripoli this season. “When I took the boat, I was thinking of profit. Now I fight for the principle,” he says.
Under normal circumstances Sassine’s business would be a successful one. The price of a ticket to board the Akgünler – at $125 – should be attractive to the numerous tourists that flock to Lebanon every summer. Famagusta, only a few hours away, should tempt any holiday-seeker with its pristine beaches and inexpensive resorts. “The area is very beautiful,” says Sassine, with a dreamy tone in his voice. Most of all, Sassine’s company is the one and only – by air or sea – that transports passengers from Lebanon to North Cyprus.
But behind its unremarkable commercial façade, the Akgünler has collided with a burning political controversy.
By establishing a transit line with the breakaway region of North Cyprus – with which the island’s government and many others say it is illegal to associate – the ship has entered murky waters that extend far beyond its commercial operation, and even beyond the borders of the two small countries it connects.
As a result, authorities of the Republic of Cyprus fear that, by connecting Tripoli to North Cyprus, the ship may boost the latter’s claim that it is independent from the former.
Ethnic Turks unilaterally declared the independence of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TNRC) more than three decades ago, but the move was only recognized by Turkey, fueling Cyprus’ hostility toward the TRNC’s main backer.
The UN Security Council has previously called for its member states “not to facilitate or assist the [North separatists].”
The issue is all the more significant because the two foes have recently been engaging in peace efforts to re-unify the island that are widely seen as more promising than any previous efforts.
“I know the United Nations doesn’t recognize Northern Cyprus,” says Sassine. But scores of tourists travel to the area from the coasts of Europe every year, he adds. “My passengers should be given the same right.”
Meanwhile, despite Sassine’s demand, Cypriot authorities have vehemently condemned the service with an unrelenting diplomatic offensive aimed at stopping it from undertaking its weekly trip.
Turkey’s accession to the European Union is also part of the puzzle, because the EU candidate was told it should straighten out the Cypriot question if it wished to join the fold.
The Daily Star news
05.10.2009
