Although the coverage has been generally fitting a country of its size, yesterday's
referendum on unifying Cyprus deserves more attention.
The fact the UN, the EU, Greece, Turkey, and even the US heavily promoted the unification proposal and it lost because one side rejected it bodes poorly for other regions.
Here's Cyprus in a nutshell. In the 1970s a Greek Cypriot coup tries taking over the island, Turkish troops invade to protect the Turkish Cypriots. Then you get 30 years of a divided island, barbwire, walls, lost homes, the whole bit. The Greek side is internationally recognized as a separate country. The Turkish side is only recognized by Turkey. Both sides have crazy, quasi-dictorial presidents.
So in yesterday's referendum, the Turkish Cypriots voted 'Yes' and the Greek Cypriots voted 'No'. On May 1 the Greek side enters the EU, and gains veto power over future entrants. The Turkish side exists in a limbo. Crazily enough, it is officially represented by the Greek Cypriot side in the EU.
Why does this matter? It's another international example of unilateral political decisions, although done at the ballot box, that cuts off a chunk of people. Forget about unifying the Koreas, forget about a negotiated settlement in Israel and Palestine, heck forget about a unified Iraq. This is a huge failure in international diplomacy.