Cyprus and Obama: Government Sends Support to President Elect

With the rigours of election taking its toll on Barack Obama, and the world weatching hopefully as he stepped up to deliver his winning speech as president elect and the first ever black president, Senator Obama could be forgiven for forgetting for a moment the little island of Cyprus, nestled away in the mediterrenean sea.

But they have not forgotten him.

Wednesday, the day Barack Obama was formally accepted and the world reflected, the Cyprus government pledged its commitment and support to the future Obama Administration, championing his policies and beleifs, not to mention his commitment to a resolution of the issues surrounding Cyprus reunification.

A governemnt spokesman cordially announced that,

"Obama has made specific declarations which we welcome. We hope that these declarations will be fulfilled",

and it is a symbolic gesture of well wishing that matches Obama's desire to help with Cyprus Reunification that he discussed openly in the run up to the primaries, when he stated that "There must be a just and mutually agreed settlement of difficult issues like property, refugees, land and security".

The growing relationship between Obama and the Cypriot government is good news for all those in favour of Cyprus reunification, and it is high time that a political heavyweight like the American president elect weighed in with his thoughts; the island has now been divided since 1974, when the North of the island, close to the Turkish mainland, was invaded by troops sent by Ankara to protect the Treaty of Guarantee against the Greek coup.

Stalemate set in when Ankara decreed that North Cyprus be known as the TRNC in 1983, dispelling any hope that a resolution for Cyprus reunification was a work in progress.

It remained that way for a number of years, as presidents Rauf Denktash of North Cyprus and Tassos Papadopoulos, power wielder in the Republic of Cyprus, remained completely resolved against Cyprus reunification.

Now though, the two sides of the island have leaders worth noting, in Dimitris Christofias and Mehmet Ali Talat, and the island is in spirits to welcome Cyprus reunification just as much as they are ready to congratulate Obama on his road to presidency, and his commitment to resolution of the Cyprus reunification issue.

But why is Obama so keen to see the Cyprus reunification issue resolved? Why is Cyprus reunification so important? Take property in Cyprus as one case in point; when the Annan Plan Referendum in 2004 nearly led to a resolution of the Cyprus reunification issue, property prices soared.

Now as the issue comes back on the cards again, they accelerated, and property in Cyprus, flourishing as it is, is leading to the brilliant economic strength of an island that, despite its size, is one of the only appreciating markets in the world.

It is clear, then, why Barack Obama is so interested in the little island of Cyprus, and why they are so ready to congratulate a man who might hold the final key to the lock of Cyprus Reunification, covered once with nettles and thorns, and now slowly clearing to see the light of the sky.