The arrest of the five Greek Cypriots by the occupation authorities last week has put the Cyprus government in a rather difficult position. Even more difficult after the military court in the north decided that the three men and two women would be held in prison in Nicosia until they reappear in court again in mid August. And nobody could predict whether they would be released then.

The government said it made “discreet moves” and reported the illegal arrests to the UN Secretary-General, to EU institutions, the permanent members of the UN Security Council and foreign ministers so that the five people would be released. It would be naïve to think there is any chance of them being released before they appear in court, as the Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar would want to score a few points.

First, he wants to show President Nikos Christodoulides that he has the power to engage in a tit-for-tat. Tatar has been protesting for several months about the arrests by the Republic of foreign nationals involved in the sale or development of Greek Cypriot properties in the north. He brought the matter up in meetings he had with UNSG Antonio Guterres but got nowhere, so he opted for retaliation.

Second, he is using the same argument as Christodoulides to keep the five in prison – he cannot interfere in justice as there is a rule of law in the north just as there is in the republic. How could Tatar possibly order the release of the Greek Cypriots after the courts issued a two-week remand order? Christodoulides said the same thing when Tatar was demanding the release of the people who were charged with usurping Greek Cypriot properties.

Christodoulides was quite clearly annoyed with the turn of events and went on the offensive, accusing the Turkish Cypriot regime of “piracy”. “We are talking about a fascistic decision by the occupation regime, which, at the end of the day, will be more of a blow to our Turkish Cypriot countrymen,” he said. The aggressive rhetoric is obviously designed to deflect attention away from the fact that his tough stance on the development of Greek Cypriot properties in the north, illustrated by several arrests, has backfired. The regime in the north has arrested five Greek Cypriots on trumped up charges and there is nothing Christodoulides can do about it, except direct insults at Tatar, who took great offence.

Meanwhile, the two nationalist parties, Edek and Elam, have both called for the immediate closing of all crossing points. To be fair, the government made it clear on Monday that there were no such plans; it also had the support of the two biggest parties – Akel and Disy – which argued strongly against the closing of the crossing points. It would be an insane move considering the UNSG has been trying to persuade the two sides to open more crossings. What message would Christodoulides give to the UN if he listened to Edek and Elam?

The harsh reality is that there is nothing Christodoulides can do to stop Tatar’s retaliatory actions.