Back Stage in Cyprus
From MICHAEL ADAMS
NICOSIA
s children we used to play a game called, I think, Grandmother's Steps, in which the object was to progress cautiously towards your goal without ever letting your opponent see you move. For six weeks, in an atmosphere of mingled amusement and exasperation, Cypriots have been watching Archbishop Makarios and Mr. Julian Amery playing a very similar game over the ques- tion of the size of the bases which Britain is to retain in Cyprus when the island becomes inde- pendent, and these two have proved well-matched opponents. Now 'pax' has been called to allow the Archbishop to fulfil his spiritual functions in the Easter celebrations of the Greek Orthodox Church, after which we may be sure that he will return with renewed zest to the pursuit of his temporal ambitions.
While these intricate manoeuvres occupy the centre of the stage, there are some interesting things going on in the background in Cyprus. In particular it is instructive to compare the attitudes of Israel and the Arab countries to the future Cyprus Republic.
Cyprus, when it gains its independence, will be of some importance both to the Israelis and to the Arabs. The island has only half a million inhabi- tants, but it will be the only Middle Eastern State which is uncommitted in the Middle East's private cold war, and so worth capturing for either side. It will be the seat of the only remaining British bases in the Eastern Mediterranean, bases from which, presumably, British intervention Would be directed in the event of any further flare-up in the Middle East in which Britain came to be in- volved, either in protection of her own Interests or as a result of her treaty obligations. It will stand in need of technical .assistance in developing its adequate but largely untapped resources, and as development proceeds it will constitute a worth- while market for consumer goods and light in- dustrial equipment. And as long as the cold war persists in the Middle East, Cyprus will be the obvious listening post for both sides.
On the face of it, the 'Arabs should have the inside track in Cyprus. During all the years of the struggle for euosis. it suited President Nasser's policy to support the Cypriots against the colonial government. Afro-Asian support, marshalled at the United Nations by Egypt, played its part in forcing Britain to acknowledge the Cypriot claim to self-determination. It might seem logical now to expect the Cypriots to repay the debt.
In fact, nothing seems less likely. To begin with, and largely by chance, the Arabs are scarcely represented in Cyprus, whereas the Israelis are extremely active. This is an illogical result of the Suez crisis, which led to the closing of the Egyptian consulate in Nicosia; since Britain is still the ruling power in Cyprus, and since the resump- tion of diplomatic relations between Britain and the UAR has not yet been followed up by an agreement between the two governments on where and when each will allow the other to re-open consulates. Arab interests in Cyprus are handled only by the Lebanese consulate-general, since no other Arab State is at present represented in the island. And the Lebanese consul-general's main preoccupation at present is the protection of the small Maronite minority in Cyprus.
The Israelis on the other hand are making an open and successful bid to capture the sympathies and the markets of Cyprus, and it is more than likely that when the British leave, it will be Israelis who replace 'them at many key points in the economic and technical life of the island.
In this the Israelis will only be following a recipe which has brought them success in West Africa and South-East Asia. and which is doing more than anything else to counteract the effects of the continuing Arab blockade. By the loan of specialists the Israelis have already won for themselves a special position in several of the newly emerging countries of West Africa. By find- ing places at their excellent technical and training establishments in Israel, they have forged links with Ethiopia, Burma. Uruguay. Israeli doctors are organising a medical faculty in Nigeria, and a department of ophthalmology in Liberia. Be- tween four and five hundred trainees from Afro- Asian countries are now studying in Israel.
In Cyprus, once it becomes independent, we can expect to see the same process, and because Cyprus is near to Israel and similar to it in climatic conditions and in its physical needs and problems the advantages of co-operation between the two are obvious, even without the political incentive to the Israelis to keep at least one Middle Easter° door open to themselves. Already much pre' liminary spadework has been done. A erot10 of thirty secondary schoolchildren returned to Nicosia last week from a two weeks' tour of Isr: with enthusiastic accounts of the recepb accorded to them. Israeli exports to Cyprus during 1959 were worth £850,000. and although the development of agriculture inside Israel ha- ' r duced the value of Cypriot exports of agricultural produce to Israel over the last few years. the v )%.
of Israeli tourists to Cyprus has more than coil' pensated for it in terms of Invisible exports' In all this there is surely a lesson for the Arabs. Their present approach to Cyprus. and to martY of the young countries which are taking the stage in Africa and Asia, is a sterile one. Having little to offer them besides leadership of a sort in IN anti-imperialist campaign—which is already o`er for many of them—the Arabs are reduced to try- ing to counter the Israeli inroads by threatening a boycott of companies trading with Israel.
But since the Sinai campaign of 1956, hid' opened up .Eilath and the Gulf of Aqaba. this boycott cannot hope to strangle Israel—and it harms the Arabs themselves. They Could use the technical experience which the Israelis ha‘e gained, they could with advantage co-operate in the development of water resources in the NIiddie East, they need the friendship of the Afro-Asian world which the Israelis, by offering tangible bale" fits, are stealing away from the Arabs. In their own interests, it is time the Arabs re-examined the whole concept of the boycott of Israel.
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