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The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus(TRNC) {NOTE: the name is not accepted by UN} , in Turkish Kuzey Kıbrıs Türk Cumhuriyeti, is a self-proclaimed state occupying the northern third of the island of Cyprus in the eastern Mediterranean. Not counting Azerbaijan's Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, Turkey is the only state which recognises the TRNC; all other national governments and the United Nations recognise the sovereignty of the Republic of Cyprus over the whole island of Cyprus. For its part, Turkey does not recognize the Republic of Cyprus Government. Recently, however, the Organization of the Islamic Conference recognized TRNC as a constituent state, under the name Turkish Cypriot State. The TRNC has a population of about 190,000 and an area of 3,355 square kilometres. Established following the 1974 military intervention by Turkey. The Northern Cypriot population is almost entirely Turkish (Turkish-Cypriots and mainland Turks with equal proportion) with small remnant populations of Greeks and Maronites. The TRNC includes the northern part of the city of Nicosia (in Turkish Lefkoşa), which serves as the TRNC's capital.
HistoryThe separate state of northern Cyprus was autoproclaimed in 1975 under the name "Turkish Federated State of Northern Cyprus". The name was changed to its present form on 15 November 1983. At the New Delhi Non-Aligned Conference Northern Cyprus redeclared her secession from Cyprus to reinforce their earlier self-proclaimation in 1975. The area of the TRNC corresponds to the area occupied during the Turkish intervention of Cyprus in 1974. The Republic of Cyprus has consistently refused to recognise the Turkish occupation of northern Cyprus, the 1975 declaration of the Federative State, or the 1983 declaration of independence in any way, and this refusal has been supported by all countries except Turkey. In retaliation, the TRNC refers to the Republic of Cyprus as the "Greek Cypriot Administration of Southern Cyprus". The 1983 declaration of independence was condemned by the United Nations Security Council's Resolutions 541 and 550, which declared it legally invalid, called for Turkey's immediate withdrawal of armed occupying forces and urged all member states not to recognise it. The TRNC maintains informal relations with some Middle-Eastern countries, such as Lebanon. Nakhchivan (an enclave of Azerbaijan), recognizes TRNC as a sovereign state but as Nakhchivan is not soveriegn in its own right, is not regarded as 'official recognition'. Azerbaijan itself however maintains cordial informal reliations with TRNC. The TRNC presents itself as a democracy, with a president elected for a five-year term. President Rauf Denktaş was last elected in April 2000. The TRNC's legislature is the House of Representatives (Temsilciler Meclisi), which has 50 members elected by proportional representation from five electoral districts. In the elections of December 14, 2003, the opposition Republican Turkish Party overtook the ruling Party of National Unity (Ulusal Birlik Partisi) to become the largest parliamentary party. The legislature is now evenly divided between opposition and government parties, with the two sides holding 25 seats each.  TRNC leader Rauf Denktaş (left) with UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and former Cypriot President Glafkos Klerides The TRNC is heavily dependent on Turkish military and economic support. It uses the New Turkish Lira as its currency. All TRNC exports and imports are via Turkey, as are its communication links. International telephone calls are routed via a Turkish dialling code, +90 392, on the Internet TRNC is under the Turkish second-level domain .nc.tr, and mail must be addressed to 'Mersin 10, TURKEY' as the Universal Postal Union refuses to recognise the TRNC as a separate entity (mail sent to 'CYPRUS' will be returned to sender as 'undeliverable'). Ercan airport is not yet recognized as a port of entry, and flights currently must stop over in Turkey first. Anyone who has a TRNC immigration stamp may be refused entry by the Republic of Cyprus or Greece, although after the accession of the internationally recognised Republic of Cyprus to the EU such restrictions have been eased following confidence building measures by the Cypriot government. The Republic of Cyprus allows free unrestricted passage across the Green Line from Nicosia into the TRNC, since the TRNC does not require a visa or leave entry stamps for such visits.  The flag of the TRNC on the Beşparmak Mountains (Pentadaktylos Mountains in Greek). Property IssuesThere are still outstanding legal proceedings relating to the 1974 intervention by Turkey, that ousted more than 200,000 Greek-Cypriots from their homes at the time. The precedent case of Loizidou vs Turkey was judged in the Greek Cypriot's favor, and ruled that Turkey should issue a compensation to Loizidou in the millions of dollars. It is understood by both sides that no solution to the Cyprus problem can be achieved without a significant tranfer of property back to pre-intervention owners - an issue that further complicates any potential solution. While there has been a flourished construction market in TRNC recently, great risk in the purchase of property there, as the ownership of the property might come into question following an agreement to reunite the island. See the Cyprus dispute. Recent developmentsDuring 2002 and 2003 the approach of the Republic of Cyprus's accession to the European Union (on May 1, 2004) produced a political crisis in the TRNC, because its residents realised that they would not have access to the privileges of EU membership, particularly the right to work anywhere in the EU, which would be open to Cypriot citizens. In 2002 there were large demonstrations in the TRNC against the continuation of the division of Cyprus. During 2003, pro-EU parties campaigned vigorously against the government of Rauf Denktaş, standing for election on a platform of replacing him as the republic's chief negotiator and pushing for a settlement that could take the north into the EU as part of a reunited Cyprus. In January 2004, pro-EU leader Mehmet Ali Talat was appointed Prime Minister. On April 24, 2004 a referendum was held in both parts of Cyprus on the Annan Plan for re-uniting the island before its entry to the EU. Turkish Cypriot voters approved the plan, while Greek Cypriot voters, on the advice of their government, rejected it. (see Cyprus reunification referendum, 2004). The EU expressed disappointment at the outcome. Turkish Cypriots, having long been blamed for obstructing the reunification of Cyprus, were praised for supporting the Annan Plan, while Greek Cypriots were criticised for rejecting it. As a result, the EU indicated that it would reward the Turkish Cypriots by relaxing the EU's embargo on the TRNC. Günter Verheugen, the EU's Enlargement Commissioner, was reported as saying that the EU was considering opening a representative office in the TRNC. EU foreign ministers agreed to give the TRNC 259 million euros (US$307 million) in aid. Verheugen also said that the Greek Cypriot government should not expect a reduction in the number of Turkish troops stationed in Cyprus due to the failure of the Annan plan. Instead Turkey might increase their number beyond the current 30,000, he said. Rauf Denktaş announced in mid-May 2004 that he would be stepping down as President of the TRNC at the end of his fourth term. He said Talat and Foreign Minister Serdar Denktaş were both suitable candidates to replace him. Elections for the post will take place in 2005. In June 2004 a meeting of Foreign Ministers of member states of the Organization of Islamic Conference decided that the TRNC would be represented at future OIC meetings under the name of "Turkish Cypriot State", as was envisaged in the Annan plan. The European Commission announced a plan on July 7, 2004, that all goods produced in Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus will be exported freely to European market. In December 2004 Turkey and the EU met to discuss Turkey's application into the European Union. They struck a deal over an EU demand that Turkey had to resign the 1963 Ankara Association Agreement to cover all of the new EU members, which includes Cyprus before membership talks begin. The deal clears the way for Turkey to start entry talks around October 3 2005. See also
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