Monday 29 November 2010

UN S-G report: both leaders have failed to deliver

A critical window of opportunity to resolve the Cyprus issue is rapidly closing while negotiations remain sluggish, frustratingly slow and disappointing, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has concluded in his report on his Good Offices Mission.

The 10-page report to the Security Council, released last week gives a rundown on what the UN expected from the leaders based on their commitment, and what they failed to deliver.

It also said the property differences were currently irreconcilable and urged the two leaders to come up with a convergence plan by the end of January when Ban will meet them in Geneva.

“I acknowledge that the question of property is arguably the most complex of the issues under negotiation, and recognise the efforts made by both sides to date to tackle the issue in a serious manner. However, despite close to six months of discussions on this crucial issue, my Special Adviser has reported a worrying lack of progress in efforts to agree on a conceptual framework on property. Basic differences exist between the two sides. For the time being these two positions are irreconcilable,” said Ban.

“We must be clear that to negotiate successfully a bizonal, bicommunal federation, the two leaders will have to reconcile these and other seemingly irreconcilable issues across all six chapters”, he said adding that the talks could not be an open-ended process.

“However, I fear a critical window of opportunity is rapidly closing. It is true that the leaders have met 88 times since the beginning of the full fledged negotiations and I commend them for this commitment. However, the true measure of the success of the negotiations will not be in how many times they have been able to meet, but by progress on finding mutually acceptable solutions to difficult issues. Talks for the sake of talks are ultimately not productive,” the Secretary-General said.

“The process so far has been characterised by periods of sluggish activity together with some flashes on dynamism ahead of important events. It is my concern that the political environment in the second quarter of 2011 will likely not be conducive to constructive negotiations,” he added, referring to Greek Cypriot parliamentary elections in May and Turkish elections in June. Ban said society intense political moments such as elections were rarely a time for compromises or flexibility.

“If substantive agreement across all chapters cannot be concluded ahead of the election cycle, the talks may go into abeyance and there is a serious risk that the negotiations could founder fatally,” he said.

“As such, both leaders must necessarily take responsibility for the course of the talks, for their success or their failure. No-one else can do this. Cypriot leadership means that it is the leaders who must propel the process forward and defend it against those who would seek to derail it.”

Referring to opinion polls, Ban said they indicates overwhelmingly low public expectations that a settlement could be reached, as well as distrust on both sides that, if a settlement were to be reached, the other side would have any serious intention of honouring it.

He said a solution therefore needed more than a comprehensive plan. It needed strong and determined leadership that will make the public case for a united Cyprus with all the benefits this brings.

Despite the collegial atmosphere in which the leaders engage in the talks, Ban said, the leaders’ subsequent public rhetoric had not conveyed that the negotiations were moving forward. Throughout the process, political leaders, both in government and opposition have accused the other side of undermining the talks, he said. Occasional outbursts by the leaders about each other had not contributed to building public confidence either, he said. It was up to them to reverse the current cycle of negative messages.

“I have been very disappointed to see a steady stream of untruthful and highly negative remarks about the United Nations reflected in the media. This criticism and misinformation about the UN is most unfortunate. Efforts by opponents of a solution to undermine the UN's credibility directly undermines the process itself.”

He said until now five Secretaries-General of the United Nations have dispatched good offices missions to the island to help facilitate peace negotiations and the international community had remained engaged in the Cyprus peace process due to the critical importance of its resolution for the island as well as the region “and there is a clear expectation that it will succeed”.

“While some progress has been made, it has been frustratingly slow. It is disappointing that, as we approach the end of the year, those expectations have not been met,” said Ban.

“The leaders of Cyprus are expected to make good on their commitment to that outcome. I also urge all regional actors to contribute positively, wherever they can, to help bring these negotiations to a rapid and successful conclusion. In the coming days and weeks, they will set the future course for the island and its citizens. It is their choice to make.”

Ban concludes with a list of recommendations and observations, including the leaders coming up with a practical plan to overcome the major remaining points of disagreement. They must also try to improve the public atmosphere and give out more constructive and harmonised messages to enhance public trust.

“I believe that parliamentarians and political actors on both sides should more consistently demonstrate their support for the negotiation process by allowing the two leaders adequate space to negotiate a potential settlement in good faith,” Ban added.

Finally he warned both sides that in the coming months he plans to conduct a broader assessment of the United Nations presence in Cyprus, with a view to recommend ways to adjust to ongoing developments.

The government responding to the UN S-G’s highlighted the positive elements of the report, referring to the fact that the Secretary-General had reaffirmed the basis of a Cyprus solution, which in essence ruled out strict timeframes and arbitration.

That UN Security Council resolutions were mentioned, along with the principle ‘nothing is agreed until everything is agreed’ were also a plus, Government Spokesman Stefanos Stefanou said, as was the idea to link all six chapters.

“There are some problematic references in the report regarding the role of political leaders and the media in creating a political climate which supports efforts for a solution,” he said.

Stefanou warned that those who engage in public rhetoric needed to consider what kind of messages they are giving out to the world and how others perceive them.

“Nevertheless, we feel that it would have been better to avoid these references in the SG’s report, just as public statements by his representatives should be avoided, which provoke other statements and reports, creating a vicious circle,” he added.

Coffeeshop refers to the scandalous report by the UN Secretary-General which set a suffocating time-frame for an agreement between the two sides and threatened a UN disengagement from the Cyprob after 47 years of unproductive work. All the parties and newspapers were furious with Ban Ki-Moon’s reference to the “steady stream of untruthful and highly negative remarks about the United Nations reflected in the media. The criticism and misinformation about the UN is most unfortunate.” They were livid that he spoke about the negative climate and opposition to a settlement cultivated by the political parties and media and called it an unacceptable case of interference in the internal affairs of the Cyprus Republic, as well as an official doubting of the Cyprus Republic and its institutions. It just makes you wonder why we insist on solving the Cyprob within the framework of an organization that is so hostile towards us. Isn’t there another, more favourable framework anywhere in the world within which not to solve the Cyprob? Maybe we should try the Islamic Conference or the Organisation of African Unity.

Tuesday 23 November 2010

Official contacts

President Demetris Christofias flew to Athens yesterday for a meeting with the Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou today.

It was also announced that the Foreign Minister of Foreign, Markos Kyprianou, will visit London on 23 - 24 November in order to address the first meeting of the British All Party Parliamentary Group for Cyprus and brief British parliamentarians on the Cyprus issue. While in London he will meet with his British counterpart Mr William Hague.

Moreover, Bayrak reported that the Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu will be visiting Stockholm for contacts on 24 to 26 November.

The Greek Foreign Minister Mr Dimitris Droutsas speaking in Brussels yesterday proposed that an EU-Turkey Summit Meeting be held in late June or autumn next year, in order to adopt a political declaration that would set out a “new roadmap” for Turkish accession.

On the Cyprus issue Mr Droutsas underlined that if Turkey really wants to move ahead, it needs to meet all its obligations. “In the final analysis, we are talking about relations with a country – a reunified Cyprus – that will be a partner tomorrow, because it is obvious that as long as there are occupation troops on the island, Turkey cannot become a member. So I think that if the Protocol issue and the matter of Turkey’s other obligations have not been resolved by June, Turkey runs the danger that the accession process will be frozen until these situations are resolved. That is simply how it is, so there is no point in anyone hiding behind the Cyprus issue”.

Sunday 21 November 2010

Beginning of the end of the talks

Makarios Droushiotis writing in Politis says that the UN is determined to clarify matters as far as the Cyprus problem is concerned and end of January is the deadline. He quotes a diplomatic source as saying that the New York meeting was the beginning of the end of the negotiating procedure and that it will either culminate in a solution or collapse. The January meeting will be the end of the line.

Depending on how things go, that meeting may possibly turn into a conference and it is no coincidence that Geneva was chosen as it is more suitable for hosting such a conference compared to New York.

He says the UN is fully satisfied with the way the meeting went and the fact that the leaders are as well gives the process a new impetus which, provided there are not setbacks, could very well lead to a positive outcome.

No attempt to negotiate any of the aspects of the Cyprus problem was made in New York or to put forward any gap-bridging proposals. The meeting concerned itself soley with procedure.

The UN S-G and his team told the leaders that the following:
- the problem can be solved. There are solutions that can satisfy the sensitivities of both sides. What is needed is the political will.

- He is not interested in acting as arbiter or imposing solutions. It is not the UN’s job to threaten to impose a solution that would not be acceptable to the people. It is their responsibility as leaders to prepare and persuade their people.

- The UN has experts who have worked and prepared useful material which they have put at the disposal of the leaders. It is up to them to make full use of it.

- The UN believes that the Cyprus problem cannot be discussed ad infinitum. All the issues have been discussed extensively. The deadlock cannot be broken by further discussions but by political decisions.

- Time is running out. The two communities are drifting further and further apart from a solution and any drawn out procedure will kill the prospects of agreement. If it is to be solved through negotiations, then it must be solved now. If not then there is no reason to carry this effort on.

-It is up to the leaders to find the way to make full use of the UN to bridge their differences and persuade their communities as to the benefits of a solution.

Both Christofias and Eroglu agreed with the UN S-G that the momentum has been lost, time is running out and this cannot continue without a result in the near future.

Christofias was better prepared according to the UN than Eroglu who relies a lot on his advisors and lacked the support that the physical presence of Turkey would have given him. Eroglu’s position was that the Cyprus problem should immediately be sent to a four party conference, whereas Christofias said his proposals should be accepted. The end result was a compromise between the two, whereby Christofias wish was satisfied that all open chapters would be discussed and Eroglu’s wish for a deadline was also satisfied albeit postponed by a month.

The most important outcome of the meeting was the fact that bothe leaders agreed with the UN to draw up a road map consisting of cross chapter negotiation of the areas still pending, namely territory, property, security and government. Most of this work will be carried out by the advisors with the help of the UN.

The UN believes that if the political support exists on the part of the leaders and they abandon the delaying tactics of the last six months then progress will be rapid.

The plan is that the endgame will come in January. Christofias and Eroglu have committed to following the UN road map, which describes the procedure from now until then. They made this commitment in public via Ban Ki-Moon’s statement in their presence.

Politis says that in the next few days the UN S-G will submit his report to the UN Security Council in which he will record what was agreed between Christofias and Talat in order not to allow chapters that have closed to be reopened again.

The report will also record the commitments that the two leaders have undertaken as described by Ban Ki-Moon. Provided that the report is an objective outline of facts and the road map is approved by the leaders, it is expected that the Security Council will approve it. Any attempt to block it will be seen as an attempt to renege from what has been agreed.

Alexander Downer will, in the next few weeks, Alexander Downer is expected to draw up the ‘practical action plan’ which will form the road map. If the leaders stick to what they agreed then the convergences that the UN S-G wants will be found in all the chapters and the Geneva meeting will justifiably be upgraded. If, however, any or both of the leaders start playing the blame game and are inflexible, then this will be recorded every step of the way. If the talks end in deadlock then the UN S-G will withdraw his good offices and will clearly state in his next report why his effort failed and each side will have to shoulder the responsibility it deserves.

The Sunday Mail’s satirical column, Coffeeshop says you had to laugh seeing the tv footage of the glum-looking mukhtars of the two communities standing either side of Ban Ki-moon, staring into the void, as he read his statement straight after the meeting at UN headquarters.
They looked like two naughty schoolboys being told off in front of the classroom by the benevolent headmaster whose patience was at breaking point, but was giving them one last chance to mend their ways.
He put them on probation until the end of January, but if their behaviour does not improve drastically by then he will expel both them and their problem from the UN for good. They will no longer be allowed to take the piss out of everyone as they have been given more than enough time to cut out the monkey business and get serious.
Will they heed this final warning and take some responsibility as their long-suffering headmaster urged them to do, or will they carry on misbehaving and insisting that the other boy is to blame for messing about in the classroom?
Both looked pretty miserable and dispirited while listening to the public reprimand, but I am certain that they will get over it once they are back in the sun and dust of their separate playgrounds in Kyproulla, where they can be as naughty as they like.

Despite the public bollocking, which must have been preceded by a much worse one at the private meeting, the comrade was in defiant mood. He called newsmen and showed off his talent for Stalinist propaganda, by informing them that he was “very satisfied with the outcome of the meeting”.
None of the scare stories circulating in Cyprus ahead of the meeting proved correct, he triumphantly announced, implying that our great leader had saved us. “There are no time-frames, there are no threats from anywhere and the Secretary-General has no intention whatsoever of applying pressure.”
Apart from forcing the two sides to stop the delaying tactics, stop the blame-game and intensify their contacts, there was indeed no pressure. And there was certainly no time-frame, apart from the end of January deadline for progress. And there were certainly no threats apart from Ban threatening to end his good offices mission if significant progress was not reported by the end of January - which was not a time-frame - when he arranged to meet the two leaders again.
Under the circumstances, we should congratulate the comrade for achieving all his objectives at the meeting and adding one he forgot to mention – no change to the procedure, apart from intensifying the meetings and Big Bad Al submitting convergence proposals.

Friday 19 November 2010

People of Cyprus and international community want a solution, not endless talks, says Ban

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon yesterday urged the leaders of the two communities in Cyprus to pick up the pace in the Cyprus peace process.

In a brief statement after a he met with Christofias and Eroglu at UN headquarters in New York yesterday, Ban said he had invited the leaders to meet with him because the talks on Cyprus were losing momentum and needed a boost if the two sides are to reach a settlement while there is still the time and the political opportunity to do so”.

“Only the leaders can give the talks a boost,” he added. “The United Nations can support them, as we have been doing through the work of my Special Adviser and his team. But only the leaders can arrive at a solution”.

He said that when he visited the island earlier this year, he could feel the hope and expectation among people on both sides for a settlement that would finally reunify Cyprus and real progress was being made in the talks.

The UN chief added that “that sense of anticipation has faded, however, as talks continued throughout the remainder of the year without clear progress or a clear end in sight” but added that the message of urgency was driven home to both sides.

He said he had made it clear to both leaders that the UN respects these talks as a Cypriot-led process and that it is precisely for that reason that they expect the Cypriot sides to assume their responsibility to drive this process toward a solution.

“The people of Cyprus and the international community want a solution, not endless talks”, he stressed. “I believe the leaders understand this. I hope today’s meeting has helped restore momentum,” he said.

He said that both leaders told him they recognize the need to move more quickly and decisively in order to reach a settlement.

Noting that serious differences remained between the two sides, the UN chief said the leaders expressed their commitment to work together, as partners, toward that goal. They had agreed to intensify their contacts in the coming weeks, and the three would meet again in Geneva in late January.

“In the meantime, the leaders will identify further convergences and the core issues which still need to be resolved, across all chapters. That, in turn, will help the United Nations determine its own next steps”, he said.

The UN chief also said that projecting positive messages is critical if any agreement is to be trusted and embraced by the respective publics in referenda.

Neither Ban nor the two leaders took questions afterwards. The Secretary-General explaining that this was due to “the sensitive nature of the discussions.”

The talks were preceded by a working lunch hosted by Ban for the two leaders.
The three men then took time to join hands in a three-way handshake during a photo-op before getting down to business.

Attending the meeting, in addition to the leaders, were George Iacovou, Eroglu’s advisor Kudret Özersay, Downer and the UN’s Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Lynn Pascoe. Christofias’ party to New York also included expert on constitutional law Toumazos Tselepis.

Before the meal, Eroglu was quoted by Anadolu news agency saying he expected the Secretary-General to ask the leaders for their thoughts on how to break the deadlock on some of the negotiating chapters.
Asked whether he was optimistic, the Turkish Cypriot leader offered the perfunctory answer: “Certainly, every meeting provides hope, and that is why we are coming to this meeting with good will.”

Reports said UN Special Adviser Alexander Downer, also in New York for the meeting, will today have a follow-up meeting there with Christofias and Eroglu. Downer and the two leaders are also set to meet again back in Cyprus next week.

According to the CyBC’s New York correspondent, the agenda of yesterday’s meeting was fixed only at the eleventh hour, despite Downer having told newsmen on Wednesday the meeting held no surprises in store and that the two leaders would be “happy” with the format.

The meeting came days before Ban is due to submit to the Security Council a progress report on the talks and whose conclusions both sides are eagerly awaiting. Ban said yesterday his report would be “fair and frank”.

Reports from New York suggested the Secretary-General was considering another progress review in February of 2011.

Though the UN has said no deadline for a settlement exists, it has also stressed that the talks cannot be allowed to drag on forever.

President Christofias left New York yesterday saying he was very satisfied with the results of the meeting between him, Eroglu and the UN S-G.

“I came to New York after having been bombarded with a load of conjecture and catastrophic speculations. I am leaving New York very satisfied with the results of this meeting”, he stressed.

“None of the speculation was founded. There are no timeframes, there is no threat by anybody and there is no intention by the Secretary General to exert pressure. His press release is crystal clear, at least in my evaluation and the way I interpret it. I return to Cyprus satisfied” , added.

He stressed: “We want a solution to the Cyprus problem; we do not want talks for the sake of talks. This is well known. And we will do whatever is possible in order to break the deadlock. I hope that we will succeed.”

According to the Turkish press, in statements after the meeting Dervis Eroglu said they will continue the negotiations with good will.

He added: “It was a useful meeting. The negotiations will continue in an intensified manner. The UN Secretary-General will show in January whether he will continue his good offices mission”.

Eroglu said that six chapters exist in the negotiations and that there are some deadlocks today. He said they had discussed what efforts they could exert to overcome these deadlocks and that they had decided to evaluate the situation during the meeting in Geneva.

Thursday 18 November 2010

New York meeting underway

The leaders of the two communities Demetris Christofias and Dervis Eroglu are currently in New York meeting with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon.

According to CyBC’s New York correspondent, the meeting started at 1pm local time (8pm in Cyprus) with a working lunch attended by five representatives of each community, lasting 90 minutes. After a half hour break, the tripartite meeting will start with each leader bringing four aides to the table.

The meeting is expected to last two hours at the end of which the Secretary-General will make a statement, the contents of which will have been agreed upon by the leaders.

According to UN sources, the statement will include a reference to the nature of the talks, what has been achieved so far and the steps that will follow.

The two leaders were called to New York based on the UN’s assessment that talks on the property issue need a push forward if any progress is to be made in the negotiations.

Ban, through his Good Offices team in Cyprus, is due to issue a progress report on the talks this month. The outcome of today’s meeting will play a significant role in the conclusions of that report.

Before leaving for New York, Christofias told Greek Cypriots that he was not going there to make concessions while Eroglu was quoted in the Turkish Cypriot press saying that the two leaders had reached “deadlock” on the property issue.
The Turkish Cypriot leader said Ban likely called the meeting before the report is due to hear objectively the thoughts of both sides and to try to overcome the deadlock.

The Cyprus Mail reports that British High Commissioner in Nicosia, Matthew Kidd, yesterday described the tripartite meeting as “important”, noting that “both sides have made concessions and offers and have come up with ideas, particularly in the past few weeks in the area of property”.

Kidd highlighted that reaching a solution required concessions from both sides.
He said British Prime Minister David Cameron had spoken on the phone with Christofias yesterday morning. Christofias “will be able to expect support from the UK and the Prime Minister for anything that he does to try to move us courageously towards an agreement,” he added.
Acting government spokesman Christos Christophides said yesterday that the Greek Cypriot side was going to the meeting “very well-prepared”.

He said Christofias’ package of proposals on the talks, regarding linking various chapters, returning Varosha, opening Famagusta port and calling an international conference, offered a way out for various issues on the Cyprus problem.
Christophides maintained that “these proposals are gaining ground internationally”.

Meanwhile, Turkey’s chief EU negotiator, Egemen Bagis, raised eyebrows when he suggested the Cyprus problem be solved “in the way that the Pope gets elected”. He proposed that all the players in the Cyprus problem lock themselves up in a room with the UN S-G and Security Council until the problem is solved.
Speaking to Turkish reporters in Athens on Tuesday, Bagis criticised Christofias for his pre-meeting build up.

“The world is not made up of the 59 seats in the parliament of south Cyprus,” he said, adding that there was a bigger world which “has had enough of the rejection of every proposal”.

“Where in the world does a leader on his way to New York for UN talks, after an appeal by the opposition, feel the need to promise that he won’t make many concessions?” he asked.

The Turkish minister added: “Turkey is ready for a solution but we are also ready for tension. We are ready for everything.”

Moreover, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Adviser on Cyprus, Mr Alexander Downer, speaking after separate meetings in New York with both Christofias and Eroglu, said “The Secretary General has a plan for how he wants the meeting to go and I don’t think there will be any problem for the two leaders. They will be happy about it”.

He added that he hoped the meeting would be productive because the negotiations “have lost momentum and we want them to see if this will help to give them a bit of new momentum”.

Tuesday 16 November 2010

Cyprus endgame

The Acting Deputy Spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General Farhan Haq announced yesterday that the UN Secretary-General will host the two Cypriot leaders in a working lunch on Thursday, 18 November, followed by a meeting in the afternoon.

An editorial in the Financial Times says that Sir David Hannay, an eminent British diplomat, once observed that no one had ever lost money betting against a successful outcome of negotiations to solve the Cyprus problem. As a former UK special representative for Cyprus, he knew whereof he spoke. The latest United Nations-sponsored talks, which started in 2008, have not even come close to ending the division of Cyprus, now in its 37th year. But the process is approaching a T-junction at which it will no longer be possible to avoid choosing between a settlement and the island’s permanent partition.

If, as seems entirely likely, the discussions in New York this week lead nowhere, the UN may withdraw from its good offices mission, raising the prospect of formal partition.

A two-state solution is not an ideal outcome. It would impose grave costs on the Greek Cypriots in terms of maintaining high levels of military expenditure to counter the perceived Turkish threat. In the short term, it would deal yet another blow to Turkey’s prospects of joining the European Union.

But to varying degrees each Cypriot community has only itself to blame. For too long, Greek Cypriots have mouthed platitudes in support of reunifying Cyprus, while never taking the politically difficult decisions needed for a breakthrough. The Turkish Cypriots did at least vote in favour of a settlement in 2004. But Mr Eroglu has long favoured a two-state solution – as did Rauf Denktash, the Turkish Cypriot leader from 1983 to 2005. As Alexander Downer, the UN envoy for Cyprus, put it earlier this year: “It’s easy to sound in favour of a solution ... You can train a parrot in a pet shop to say that.”

If the Turkish Cypriots asked for recognition of their state, it would be difficult for the UK to oblige, because London is bound by a 1960 treaty of guarantee not to promote partition. Other EU countries would also hesitate. But many states are impatient with the constant Greek Cypriot disruption of EU business on account of the Cyprus dispute. They believe Turkey’s rising geopolitical and economic importance makes it imperative to show Ankara that the EU will not be hostage to the Greek Cypriots for ever. Even Russia, a long-time friend of the Greek Cypriots, is signalling a possible change of course on account of its newly blossoming ties with Turkey. The isolation of the Turkish Cypriots may therefore not last much longer – a point the Greek Cypriots should bear in mind before letting the UN talks fail.

A former US ambassador to Greece in a letter to the FT says that the EU effectively lost its leverage on Cyprus in 2004 when it allowed itself to be blackmailed by Greece, which threatened to block the admission of the Baltic states, Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia and Malta, unless Cyprus was admitted too.

He said that while he was serving in Greece in 1995, he had worked with the French EU presidency to devise a formula whereby Cyprus Cyprus’ admission to the EU would come only after a settlement had been reached. In other words, the EU would admit a Cyprus settlement, not the Cyprus problem.

In giving in to Greece’s blackmail, he said, the EU effectively threw away its leverage and ensured that a Cyprus settlement would probably never be reached. It also, in effect, rewarded the Papadopoulos government for having killed the Annan Plan, which was the best hope for a solution to the Cyprus problem.

Sunday 14 November 2010

Plan B will be decided in New York

Makarios Droushiotis writing in Politis says that the New York meeting is giving Cyprus yet another chance to use the EU in order to reach a dynamic solution. It is an opportunity to unblock the talks and to put all Plan Bs on the shelf. If it fails then alternative ways will be sought to push Turkey’s accession while partition will acquire its own dynamic so much so that establishing a single state in Cyprus will finally become unfeasible.

The Cyprus Mail’s editorial today says that alarm-mongers and conspiracy theorists have been working at full capacity ahead of Thursday’s meeting of the two leaders with the UN Secretary-General. Nothing for them is too far-fetched or outlandish, as they spin tales about traps, dirty tricks, hidden agendas and ultimatums being planned by Ban Ki-moon and his associates. Some have identified the danger of asphyxiating time-frames and arbitration being imposed while others fear there will be an attempt to change the talks’ procedure.

This was why President Christofias, who grudgingly accepted the invitation to New York, sought assurances from Special Envoy Alexander Downer about the agenda of the meeting. Once these assurances were given, he would have included them in a letter to Ban to ensure there were no changes to the meeting’s agenda. This move was unanimously approved by all the party leaders at their meeting with Christofias last Tuesday. Interestingly, the only way to achieve unanimity among party leaders and political unity is by taking a totally negative stance.

All agreed that there should be no change in the talks’ procedure, no suffocating time-frames no change in the role of the UN, and that an international conference and arbitration should be avoided at all costs. Christofias also received assurances that no joint communiqué would be issued by the UN. And although he agreed to a review of the talks so far being carried out, he demanded that nothing was put in writing. Downer, reportedly, also reassured Christofias that he would not be put under any pressure by Ban.

The question is why has Christofias agreed to go to New York? If his conditions are met, nothing will be achieved at the meeting. If we have ruled out proposals for bridging differences by the UN and the change of the procedure, how will the impasse reached in the talks on property be overcome? If we have ruled out an international conference that would bring Turkey into the process, then we are ensuring against a breakthrough? On the one hand Christofias insists that Ankara holds the key to a solution, but on the other he has dogmatically resisted all attempts to involve Ankara directly in the talks, the ownership of which, he says, must remain Cypriot.

We can only deduce that Christofias is perfectly content with the talks dragging on indefinitely. This is why he does not want the UN to play a more active role in the procedure, a position supported by the hard-line party leaders who are opposed to the settlement that could be achieved. The impression given is that we would be happy to carry on talking inconclusively for another two years. Turkey would have no objection either, as long as the chapters in the accession negotiations with the EU were unblocked, which is their primary concern.

Given this negativity and the UN’s assurances that no pressure will be applied what is the purpose of the meeting? The most likely scenario is that Ban will tell the two leaders that he respected their desire to maintain the Cypriot ownership of the talks, but that the UN wanted results in order to carry on its good offices mission. He might give them a reasonable deadline for reaching agreement on the property issue (a couple of months at most), after which, if they fail, the UN would wind up its mission in Cyprus and issue a report on the reasons for its failure.

It would be a perfectly reasonable position for Ban to take, as the talks have been going on for more than two years without coming anywhere near an agreement. All things must come to an end at some point and nobody outside the island can accuse the UN of giving up on the Cyprus problem unjustifiably. The organisation has been trying to broker an agreement for more than 40 years now. The time has come for the UN to concede defeat, pack up and go home and leave the two sides to reach an agreement on their own.

There would be no pressure, no time-frames, no change of procedure, no arbitration and no joint communiqué, and all the UN’s detractors could sleep easy as they would never again have to worry about traps, hidden agendas and conspiracies aimed at a speedy closure of the Cyprus problem. Christofias has avoided taking any tough decisions on the Cyprus problem for close to two and a half years now, but in New York on Thursday he will, most probably, be forced to make a choice. Carrying on talking inconclusively would not be a choice.

Politis reports that the Economist Intelligence Unit in a recent report says there’s a 20% chance for a solution to the Cyprus problem being found by 2015. It says the climate can only change if there are significant convergences on property. If nothing comes out of the New York meeting, the next talks will be for agreed partition. In such an eventuality the property issue will be discussed without there being a need to discuss the sharing of power. Nevertheless it points to the difficulty of negotiating such a solution and the acceptance of partition.

Tuesday 9 November 2010

Cyprus could slide towards partition

An article in the Financial Times says that Cyprus might slide towards formal partition if a make-or-break meeting of Greek and Turkish Cypriot leaders at the UN this month fails to find a solution, diplomats fear.

Officials in the UN and leading western governments have warned that there is a limit to how long they will back the negotiations, saying they are running out of patience with the inability of both sides to strike a deal.

“If we don’t get agreement now . . . then it really is ‘goodnight, nurse’ ”, a leading diplomat involved in negotiations told the Financial Times.

“There’s a chance the UN will withdraw its good offices in hosting the talks. We’re not going to stay here for ever, going through mindless meetings and meaningless talks.”

Another senior diplomat from a European Union nation warned that the peace talks ran the risk of failing completely. “This meeting is the last chance for a solution because progress so far has been pitiful,” the diplomat said. “We’re approaching the point where it’s time to face up to the painful consequences of failure.” The Greek and Turkish Cypriot leaders have held almost 90 face-to-face negotiating sessions in the drive for a settlement.

The paper says discussions have stalled because the Greek Cypriots are demanding extra territory on the island before they agree to abandon their historic rights to property that is on the Turkish side.

The pace of talks has also slowed since Dervis Eroglu was elected Turkish Cypriot president last April, replacing Mehmet Ali Talat.

Critics of Demetris Christofias said the Greek Cypriots were using filibustering tactics. “The Greek Cypriot leadership pulls back when advisers are close to agreeing,” said one person with knowledge of the talks.

The senior EU diplomat said failure to strike a deal this year would bring a real risk that Cyprus would move to formal partition. While the Greek part of the island is an internationally recognised state and member of the EU, the TRNC is formally recognised only by Turkey. “If there is no significant progress by the end of 2010, it will have disastrous consequences and Cyprus could be permanently divided in 2011,” the diplomat said.

“Withdrawal of the UN good offices after a failed peace process means that a non-negotiated partition becomes a real possibility and Turkey would likely push for wider recognition of the TRNC.”

According to the diplomat, the TRNC’s prospects of being recognised as an independent state have increased after an International Court of Justice ruling that Kosovo’s declaration of independence did not violate international law. “Partition will damage Cyprus economically, politically and culturally,” the diplomat told the FT.

“It will also threaten broader regional instability because it will mean Turkey and Greece have to spend more militarily on preserving the formal border across the island.”

Diplomats said the Greek Cypriots wanted all their property in the north of the island – comprising 75 per cent of total property in the TRNC – reinstated. The Turkish Cypriots want to keep the property and pay the Greek Cypriots compensation instead. “Both sides have started to come together on some aspects of the negotiation but haven’t reached sufficient convergence,” a UN official said.

Mr Eroglu wants to reach agreement on property before moving on to other areas. The sensitivity of the issue was confirmed last week when Turkish and Turkish Cypriot politicians met to discuss how to finance any compensation for Greek Cypriot owners.

Leaked reports of the session, attended by a Turkish bank chief executive, sparked a furore. “If things carry on as they are then it’s just negotiations for the sake of negotiations,” said a Turkish Cypriot official, adding that the New York meeting could produce simply an “X-ray photo” of the stalemate or a “prescription to break the deadlock”.

It is time for the UK government to “consider the formal partition of Cyprus” if the current round of UN-backed reunification talks fail, former British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw wrote in The Times yesterday.

His statements came ahead of next week’s meeting between President Demetris Christofias and Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in New York, and a visit by the Turkish President Abdullah Gul to the UK yesterday to collect this year’s Chatham House Prize from the Queen.

Speaking of the New York meeting, which comes after more than two years of negotiations, Straw said, “We should pray for success,” but added that “the chances of a settlement would be greatly enhanced if the international community broke a taboo, and started publicly to recognise that if political equality cannot be achieved within one state, then it could with two states - north and south”.

Straw’s comments, he said, stem not from a belief that Cyprus would be better off divided, but from his frustration at the EU’s, and in particular Cyprus and France’s, opposition to Turkey’s long-awaited accession to the bloc.

While France and Cyprus share the burden of blocking Turkey’s accession hopes, Straw says France has been able to use the “convenient excuse of Cyprus” to hide the “naked truth” that it opposed Turkish accession because it is a predominantly Muslim country. The UK, on the other hand, has always supported Turkish accession to the EU.

Straw urged the international community to see both sides of the story surrounding the Cyprus dispute.

“There are two stories: one of the ‘unjustifiable’ Turkish invasion; the other of such ‘violent oppression’ by the Greek majority of the minority that Turkish protection was (and is) vital. Both sets of stories have truths, but because Greek Cyprus was admitted to the EU before any settlement of the island’s future it is their truths which dominate EU decisions on Turkey,” he wrote.

Speaking to the BBC’s Radio Four Today Programme yesterday morning Straw said that if next week’s talks failed, a “default position” was needed to prevent Turkey’s accession process from being totally scuppered.

“Greek Cypriot Cyprus is using what is a relatively tiny dispute to try to stop Turkey coming into the EU,” and warned: “If we carry on locking Turkey’s accession negotiations we will push Turkey towards Iran and the [Arab] south.”
Alternatively, Straw said, Europe should “embrace the advance” of a Turkey that was “becoming an advanced industrialised country”.

“If we reject it, we will pay the price.”

Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu has told UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon that a solution can be found by the end of the year if the Greek Cypriots stop wasting time.

According to Turkish Cypriot press reports, in a letter dated November 1, Eroglu states that progress and agreement can be reached by the end of the year “if the Greek Cypriot side takes progressive steps and shows the necessary political will”.

He was quoted saying: “If the Greek Cypriot side stops making unnecessary statements and starts putting its energy into the negotiations on the Cyprus problem, then a comprehensive solution may be found by the end of the year.”

The Turkish side continues to engage in negotiations with good will and has accepted peace plans, said Eroglu, adding that the upcoming tripartite meeting between Ban and the two leaders on November 18 would have a positive impact on the talks.

The United Nations yesterday highlighted the importance of a New York meeting on the Cyprus problem next week as President Christofias said his aim was to break potential deadlocks and pave the way for a comprehensive solution, the Cyprus Mail reports.

“It’s an important meeting in the process, it’s not just a run-of-the-mill meeting; it’s going to be particularly important,” UN Special Adviser Alexander Downer said yesterday, following a meeting between Christofias and Eroglu.

Downer said the UN has already started working on their report that will be completed after the leaders’ meeting.

“We’ll obviously update it to take into consideration what’s happened in that meeting; in other words, to put it in a simpler way, it won’t be completed until the meeting has taken place,” Downer said.

The Australian diplomat also sought to clear the air concerning the UN role in the negotiations.

“There is a sort of presumption that the United Nations is anxious to force something upon people; it’s not our objective to force something upon people. It is the objective of the leaders in Cyprus to achieve a bizonal, bicommunal federation with political equality and single sovereignty as articulated in Security Council resolutions,” Downer said.

He stressed that nothing could be forced on the people of Cyprus as ultimately they would have to endorse any agreement.

“Suggestions that we can come here and force something on them, and that the people will be forced to vote yes in referendums is fanciful; that is not possible,” he said.

Asked about the New York meeting, Christofias said he aimed to defend the principles and, as far as possible, break potential deadlocks and open the way for a comprehensive solution.

“This is the aim. I do not aim to go to New York to determine a deadlock and then full stop, nothing further. We want the talks to continue in a creative way and this will become evident in due course,” Christofias said.

After the meeting, Eroglu said the main subject at the New York meeting would be the slow progress on the property issue.

The Turkish Cypriot leader declined to comment on reports that if there are no convergences in New York then division in Cyprus would become permanent.

Wednesday 3 November 2010

Compensation for Greek Cypriot properties to be speeded up - Turkish Cypriot owners may be asked to contribute

A decision was taken in Ankara yesterday to speed up the process of making the Greek Cypriot properties in the north, with Ankara also possibly calling on Turkish Cypriots living in such Greek Cypriot properties to pay up to a third of the financial costs of compensation claims,

The Cyprus Mail says that these ideas were among those put forward at a top-level meeting on the Cyprus property issue in Ankara on Monday between a delegation made up of the whole Turkish Cypriot leadership, including leader Dervish Eroglu and his prime minister Irsen Kucuk, with Turkish President Abdullah Gul.

Coming just days after the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ordered Turkey to pay over €15 million in compensation to 19 Greek Cypriot refugees forced off their properties during the Turkish invasion in 1974, the meeting indicates that Turkey may call on Turkish Cypriots to play a greater financial role in ongoing legal settlements.

So far, they have not been called on to do so. Nor have they been asked by Turkey to contribute to the STG £46.8 million worth of settlements that have been reached through the Immovable Properties Commission (IPC) in the north.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, an attendee at the Ankara meeting stressed that the meeting had been “a brainstorming session” during which “many ideas for raising funds” had been exchanged.

The source added, however, that if Turkish Cypriots were called on to contribute, the process would be done “fairly”, and through the mechanism of the IPC, the body set up in 1996 to handle the claims of Greek Cypriots who wish to either return to, exchange or sell their properties in the Turkish-controlled north.

How to deal with Turks and other foreigners who had either purchased property or been given it free was also discussed, along with “alternative ways of raising funds” to pay compensation bills.

It was reported in some newspapers in the north yesterday that the Ankara meeting had also been attended by Turkish bankers and industrialists in an attempt to find creative ways of raising capital.

Reacting yesterday to rumours emerging from Monday’s meeting, Turkish Cypriot daily Havadis said Turkey was “feeling the pinch” of Greek Cypriot property claims and was now telling Turkish Cypriots to “put your hands in your pockets”.

Peace Institute of Oslo (PRIO) researcher Ayla Gurel, who has studied the Cyprus property issue in detail, warned yesterday that a move that involved asking Turkish Cypriots using Greek Cypriot properties to pay even part of the compensation bill would “constitute a complete invalidation of the current property regime” in the north.

“The government gave them title deeds, and now they are asking them to buy another one,” she said, referring to ‘title deeds’ given to Turkish Cypriot refugees from the south.

“One way or another these people have already paid for the properties, at least in theory,” she said.

These same could be said of foreigners who have bought properties, she added.
“They bought properties in a country where the government told them it would be the guarantor of the title deeds. Are they going to tell them now they have to pay 30,000 pounds more?” Such a move, Gurel said, “would not be politically easy” and “could even bring down the government”.

Turkish daily Hurriyet reports that a ‘historic’ decision was taken at the Ankara meeting to speed up the process of making the Greek Cypriot properties in the north Turkish.

Turkish President Abdullah Gul asked for the Greek Cypriot properties to be “turkified speedily through the efficient functioning of the Property Compensation Commission established on the island”.

The paper says that Gul gave instructions to Ersin Ozince, President of the Union of Banks and General Director of Is Bankasi, whom he invited to the summit, to establish a committee and work towards granting credit for the “properties which have been cleared” with respect to the international law.
Citing information acquired by high ranking officials who participated in the Cyprus meeting, Bilge reports that President Gul described the “Property Compensation Commission” as “very important” and said that it should function efficiently and take decisions more quickly. The sides, which stressed that the land in the TRNC is among the most valuable in the Mediterranean Sea, asked Ersin Ozince to prepare proposals so that the properties, which belonged to Greek Cypriots before 1974 be harmonized with international law, and are evaluated using modern financing techniques. Ersin Ozince said that he would establish a special committee the soonest.

Turkish Cypriot daily Kibris reports that Turkey has pressed the button to guarantee bi-zonality in a possible solution to be found to the Cyprus problem and to turn the occupied Greek Cypriot properties into Turkish properties “in a manner which is in harmony with the international law”.

The paper writes that developments are expected which will make anyone who received Greek Cypriot property in the north without having any property in the south but took occupied to “lose sleep”.

According to a reliable source who participated in the Ankara meeting, the following method is under consideration. When a Greek Cypriot files an application for compensation of his property in the occupied areas of the island, a research will be held regarding the value of the property left in the free areas of Cyprus by the person who is currently using the Greek Cypriot property. The difference in the value of the properties will be met with a credit granted by Turkey’s Is Bankasi or by another bank.

The person who lives in the Greek Cypriot property will be responsible for paying at least half the difference between the two properties. According to the paper, those who have taken a lot of occupied Greek Cypriot property without having property in the free areas of the Republic “will lose their sleep”.

After the necessary compensation is paid by the bank to the Greek Cypriot who has applied to the “Property Compensation Commission”, a bargain will be held with the user of the property. The paper gives the following example: If the value of a property is 10 million Euros, the user of the property will be asked to pay around five million Euros or sell the property. All efforts will be exerted so that the Greek Cypriots who apply to the Property Compensation Commission to accept compensation.

The source said that they expect a boom in the number of Greek Cypriot applications. The paper writes that if Greek Cypriots apply to the “Commission”, efforts will be exerted for a quick solution of the problem regarding their property. It notes that bureaucratic obstacles will be eliminated and all measures will be taken in the direction of creating “as many Turkish properties as possible”.

Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot leaders on Monday decided to establish a committee that would look into opening more crossings between the island’s divided communities as the United Nations are pushing for more momentum in the Cyprus problem negotiations, the Cyprus Mail reported.

“That joint committee will no doubt be put together fairly soon,” UN Special Adviser Alexander Downer said after a meeting between President Christofias and Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu.

Christofias and Eroglu also exchanged views on their forthcoming meeting with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in New York on November 18 and the issue of property, Downer said.

The UN official said details of the meeting’s agenda have not yet been finalised but “no doubt the Secretary-General will want to talk to the leaders, inter-alia, about the property question, but I am sure he will want to talk more broadly about the whole process.

“We still have two and a half weeks to go until the meeting takes place, so all of that will be worked out much nearer the time,” Downer said.

The Australian diplomat said the New York meeting is important as the UN try to inject momentum in the talks.

“There obviously has been some slowing of the momentum in recent times, and the Secretary-General has taken the initiative of calling the leaders about that, and he thought it best to invite them to New York,” Downer said. “And I think this is an important part of the overall engagement by the United Nations with the leaders.”

Downer said the two leaders will meet again next Monday. Their representatives will meet on Wednesday and possibly on Friday.

Monday 1 November 2010

Leaders to meet with UN S-G in New York

The leaders of the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities will be meeting with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon on November 18 in New York, within the framework of ongoing talks to resolve the Cyprus problem, the UN announced yesterday.

According to reports in the press, the meeting is an effort to help resolve the property issue by the end of the year.

A UN progress report is expected by the end of November.

Ban had previously telephoned the two leaders to express his concern at the slow pace of the talks and urged them to make concrete progress.

Yesterday, President Christofias said he will request that the discussion move onto territory.

“Because I see that we could be led to a possible deadlock on property, I will ask once more, and repeat with emphasis, that there is a need to move on to discussion of territory, which is directly related with the property issue,” Christofias said. “If we find common language on territory, by widening the area under Greek Cypriot administration the issue of property will be discussed more easily.”

The basic position of the Greek Cypriot side is that the legal owners of the properties in the north should have first choice – in case of a solution – to decide if they want restitution, exchange or compensation.

The Turkish Cypriot side proposes that the final decision for every property should be made by a property commission based on criteria, which, Greek Cypriots say, will essentially preclude – except in rare cases -- restoration of the property rights of the lawful owners.2. Eroglu discusses property issue with Gul in Ankara Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu travelled to Ankara yesterday for talks with Turkish President Abdullah Gul on the property issue.

Turkish Cypriot daily Kibris reports that the purpose of the meeting was to discuss the property issue, as well the areas to be returned to the Greek Cypriots and the compensation of the properties which will remain in the north. Kibrisli reports that the meeting in Ankara will determine “the next steps” the Turkish side will take and Eroglu’s tactics during the forthcoming meeting in New York with Christofias and the UN Secretary-General, as well as the issues of property, Varosha, the opening of the occupied port of Famagusta and the privatization of the illegal Tymvou airport.

Kibris reports that developments are in progress which justify those who say that the process for solving the Cyprus problem will be intensified before the end of the year.

Eroglu was accompanied by a large delegation which also included high ranking members of the Immovable Property Commission, Eroglu’s advisor on housing, legal advisers, his minister of finance and his attorney general. They returned to Cyprus on the same day.

3. Turkish Foreign Ministry on the ECHR Ruling
According to Bayrak television, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said that the recent compensation ruling of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) against Turkey does not question the effectiveness of the Immoveable Property Commission established in the TRNC as a domestic remedy.

The ECHR ruled that Turkey should pay a total of 15,001,498 Euros in respect of pecuniary and non-pecuniary damages and a total of 160,375 Euros for costs and expenses with regard to 19 cases submitted by Greek Cypriot applicants.

“Greek Cypriots can either apply to the Commission in the TRNC for their property cases or wait for a political agreement to be reached on the Cyprus issue,” the spokesperson for the Turkish Foreign Ministry, Selcuk Unal, said.

He noted that the door is open for appeal to the ruling at the Grand Chamber of ECHR.Reminding that 727 cases have been brought to the Immoveable Property Commission so far, Unal pointed out that 189 of these cases have been concluded. He added that there were two more property cases pending with the ECHR which were submitted before the ruling in favour of the Immoveable Property Commission.

4. Bagis says Turkey has made innumerable initiatives on Cyprus
In statements on the Cyprus problem during the 65th meeting of the Joint EU Turkish Parliamentary Committee last week, Turkish State Minister and Chief Negotiator with the EU, Egemen Bagis said that the Turkish side has always supported the solution of the Cyprus problem and has undertaken “innumerable initiatives” in this direction.

According to Turkish Cypriot daily Kibris, responding to questions of Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) on the Cyprus problem, Bagis recalled the EU “promise” to the TRNC to lift its isolation when it accepted the Annan Plan. Bagis said that the EU could not expect any “new step” by Turkey when the Union does not implement its own decisions.

According to the paper, when Greek Cypriot MEPs said that they expect from Turkey to take a constructive step, Bagis asked them whether they are ready to repeat the negotiations held in 2004 in Burgenstock, with the aim of finding a solution in Cyprus. “If you have the courage, come and let us carry out the meeting in Burgenstock again”.

When the Greek Cypriot MEPs called for the withdrawal of the Turkish occupation troops from the island, Bagis said that Turkey had attempted to withdraw its troops, but the Greek Cypriots rejected this by saying ´no´ to the Annan Plan, which provided that initially 950 Greek soldiers and 650 Turkish soldiers would remain on the island and that later all the troops would be withdrawn with a referendum held at the beginning of 2010.

Sunday 24 October 2010

UN Secretary-General worried about the talks

The UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Friday telephoned the two leaders to express his concern at the “slow” pace of the talks in recent weeks and urged them to make “concrete advances”.

According to a UN spokesman, Ban called President Demetris Christofias and Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu separately to discuss “the state of the UN-supported talks on Cyprus”.

The spokesman said Ban was closely following developments in the negotiations through his Special Adviser Alexander Downer ahead of the progress report due next month.

“In his conversations with the leaders, the Secretary-General noted that the process has been slow in recent weeks and urged them to achieve concrete advances in the current discussions on property in order to maintain momentum in the peace process,” said the spokesman.

The Cyprus Mail quotes a source close to the negotiations as saying that “the UN has real doubts that the will exists for a solution on either side. Property negotiations are going round in circles”.

The two leaders have been discussing the property issue for months but have yet to reach the core of the issue, as in, who gets what. If no progress is made on property, then the future is bleak for the remaining chapters, he added.

The UN is not happy with either side, according to the source. The Greek Cypriot side is seen as not being in much of a hurry in the talks while the Turkish Cypriots’ near fatal effort to have the Turkish ambassador to the breakaway state attend the Limnitis opening did not go unnoticed.

Confusion prevails over whether meeting can be arranged. According to the Cyprus Mail, Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu told reporters that he accepted the invitation to New York and that if Christofias did too then the meeting would take place there within 15 days.
Government spokesman Stefanos Stefanou yesterday acknowledged that the UNSG “sounded out the president during their telephone conversation about a meeting taking place in the next 15 days in New York”.

“As things stand it is not possible in the coming days for the president to travel to New York given his schedule. (He) travels to Brussels and then there is the official visit of the Syrian president to Cyprus,” said Stefanou.

Asked what Ban’s response was, he said: “The SG sounded out the president to see if there is such a possibility at this time. He understands that the schedule is heavy.”

Asked whether the issue would be raised in the future, Stefanou said “it was left vague”.

However, speaking from UN headquarters in New York, UN deputy spokesman Farhan Haq told reporters that “at this stage, there are no plans for a tripartite meeting between the Secretary-General and the Cypriot leaders, either in New York or elsewhere”.

He noted that Ban is leaving next week for Asia and “is going to have quite a number of travels during the coming three weeks”, adding, “So there is no plan for that”.

Speaking last night at a Ledra Palace event to celebrate 65 years of the UN, Christofias told the audience: “I want to assure you, because there is misinformation, that I hope the soonest possible to meet the Secretary-General and Mr Eroglu in New York.”

Following a meeting in Athens, the Prime Ministers of Greece and Turkey, George Papandreou and Recep Tayyip Erdogan, yesterday expressed their intention to “contribute” towards moving efforts to solve the Cyprus problem forward and “away from stagnation”.

The Cyprus Mail’s satirical column Coffeeshop reports that the reason Christofias did not agree to meet the UN Secretary-General and Dervis Eroglu within the next week was, he explained on Astra radio yesterday, because he had a very busy schedule and could not meet Ban Ki-moon before November 15. You can’t expect the guy to drop everything, cancel the scheduled openings of village schools, art exhibitions and rural community centres because Ban has got a bit stressed out about the lack of progress in the talks. Did nobody inform him that we rejected suffocating time-frames?

Moreover, he says that there have recently been reports of a falling out between the Greek PM and the comrade president. Why had he not gone to the climate conference in Athens on Friday? His Friday schedule involved meetings with an assortment of inconsequential committees and on Friday evening he was to inaugurate the Athienou gymnasium. And when we consider, that a few weeks ago he took the private jet and flew to Barcelona for some minor conference, returning the same day, the rumours of a falling out do not seem too far-fetched. He could have gone to Athens and returned in time to open the Athienou gymnasium.

Tuesday 19 October 2010

Leaders discussing property

The Cyprus Mail reports that the property issue was again on the agenda yesterday as direct negotiations continued between President Demetris Christofias and Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu.

Speaking after the two-and-a-half-hour meeting, the UN's special envoy in Cyprus, Alexander Downer, announced that the two leaders’ representatives would meet in the next few days to examine the work that needs to be done during Christofias and Eroglu’s next meeting on November 1.

Asked why the leaders seemed to be handing over most of the work to their representatives, Downer said: “The representatives work on the technical details, the leaders give them guidance, and, of course, the leaders are the people who make the decisions, not the representatives”.

He said he didn't see the logic in suggestions for a simultaneous process and more frequent meetings between the leaders. "I think the leaders…they don’t need to review every couple of days, or every four days or three days the work of the representatives. But at certain points, at certain junctures, they need to. So I think that’s probably the right way to handle it”.

Asked if the two leaders had managed to achieve any progress yesterday, Downer said Christofias and Eroglu continued "to work away at it". He added: "It’s a big and a complex area, the property question. So, they’re working at it.”

Meanwhile, it was reported that intense diplomatic efforts were underway to achieve an informal meeting between Christofias, Erdogan and Greek President Karolos Papoulias during their trip to the international conference on climate change in Athens.

The European Parliament’s Legal Affairs Committee last night upheld by an 18-to-five majority vote a ruling saying the European Commission cannot bypass the Republic of Cyprus to implement direct trade with the Turkish-occupied north.

The EP’s legal service has ruled that the legal basis chosen by the Commission to push through the direct trade regulation was unsuitable and its potential adoption could undermine Cyprus’ sovereign rights.

According to the Cyprus Mail, it was a heated atmosphere inside a packed room in Strasbourg, with MEPs engaging in passionate debate and analysis of the Cyprus problem.

A motion was made to postpone discussion of the issue, but that was defeated by majority vote.
AKEL MEP Takis Hadjigeorgiou, the only Cypriot who spoke during the session, argued that the government was against anyone’s isolation.

Hadjigeorgiou said proof that the government was not in favor of isolation was the decision for co-management of the Famagusta port, in conjunction with the return of Varosha, which the Turkish Cypriots have rejected.

The Legal Affairs Committee decision will now be discussed by the Presidents’ Conference – EP President and leaders of the political groups – but it would be unlikely for them to go against it.
The Commission would then have to decide whether to send it to the Council, where unanimity is needed -- or withdraw it.

Sunday 26 September 2010

Christofias at UN

President Christofias, addressing the UN General Assembly in New York on Friday, called on the Turkish leadership to meet him, parallel to the negotiating process, “so that I can share with them my vision for a solution of the Cyprus problem which would serve the interests of the Cypriots, of Turkey, of Greece as well as of peace and security in the region”.

“The people of Cyprus have suffered enough”, he said. “It is time to overcome the problems, to achieve reconciliation between the two communities and to reunite our country and our people for the sake of peace and of the future generations”.

Referring to Archbishop Makarios’ acceptance in 1977 of the evolution of the unitary state into a bicommunal bizonal federation, he said that historic compromise constituted a brave concession by the Greek Cypriot community towards their Turkish Cypriot compatriots.

He referred to his set of proposals expressing the belief that they would benefit all sides and could create the necessary political climate to push the entire process forward, but added that unfortunately, the Turkish Cypriot leadership have rejected them. He also again proposed that the National Guard and the Turkish Army cancel their annual military exercises this autumn.

“Turkey’s leadership has been assuring the international community that it wants a solution of the problem by the end of 2010. We are still waiting for their words to be transformed into deeds”, he concluded.

An editorial in the Sunday Mail says that when President Christofias goes to New York to attend the UN General Assembly, we hear all kinds of boasts. This week we were informed that, during a meeting at UN headquarters, the president told the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon that Turkey was not ready to solve the Cyprus problem. He also accused Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu of engaging in a blame game and of being used in Ankara’s communications game.
After exposing Turkey’s ‘unacceptable’ behaviour, he asked Ban to urge the Turkish leadership to translate words into deeds and the Secretary-General, reportedly, agreed to do so.

But there was no evidence to suggest that Ban made such a request at his subsequent meeting with President Abdullah Gul. On the contrary, according to a UN spokesman, Ban encouraged Gul and Turkey to carry on helping maintain the momentum of the Cyprus talks while Gul said that Turkey would carry on co-operating with the UN in the negotiations.

Not everything said in these meetings is made public, but it is doubtful that Ban would have reprimanded Gul for not translating words into deeds, as Christofias had claimed. A few days earlier, at his meeting the Greek PM George Papandreou, Ban had reportedly asked for the talks to be intensified and would have made the same plea to Christofias, even if this was not reported by the latter.

The problem, however, is that every time the UN has proposed the intensification of the talks, it is the Cyprus president who is resistant and not the Turkish side. In this way Christofias is assisting Ankara’s communications game, because he is allowing Turkey to appear more committed to a settlement than the Greek Cypriot side. While this is not necessarily true, it is the main impression created among third parties, no matter what Christofias says about communications games and Turkey’s unwillingness to solve the Cyprus problem.

He should know that words count for nothing, as the DISY leader Nicos Anastassiades pointed out on Thursday when he called on Christofias to stop deluding himself about what was actually happening. Unless Turkey was tested at the negotiating table, we would never establish whether she was playing a communications game or was sincerely interested in a settlement. This was something that Christofias has failed to do and was the reason why everyone outside Cyprus is praising Turkey’s allegedly constructive approach to the talks.

The president is deluding himself if he genuinely thinks that by reporting Turkey to the UN Secretary-General, of playing a communications game and not being ready to solve the Cyprus problem, he is winning diplomatic victories. He also needs to translate words into deeds if he is to expose the games that Ankara has been playing so successfully in the last few years and have earned kudos from everyone.

Loucas Charalambous writing in the Mail refers to an interview in last week’s Sunday Mail, in which Dervis Eroglu said: “No-one in Cyprus is any longer a refugee. On both sides people have established new lives, so what we need is a solution that does not bring about social upheaval. I am not saying some Greek Cypriots cannot come and live among us, but it has to be limited. If 160,000 Greek Cypriots returned to the north, where are we supposed to go?” Needless to say, he adds it caused the usual knee-jerk reaction.

He says that clearly the Turkish Cypriot leader meant that close to 40 years after the movement of populations, the people on both sides have settled in their new places of residence. They have created new lives and the truth is that almost none of them would be prepared to leave his current home to go back and start from the beginning again. This is a simple truth, a reality that no political slogan or piece of rhetoric could ignore. It might not suit the demagogues who dominate our political life, it might not suit the pseudo-patriots of the mass media but this is the truth.

Interestingly, the view expressed by Eroglu is shared by the vast majority of the Greek Cypriot refugees. It is no coincidence that the majority of them voted against the settlement in 2004.

Most of the refugees who were over 40 years of age in 1974 have now passed away. Those who were under 20 are now middle aged, with their own families, living and working throughout the free areas. None of them would want to settle in the north. What would they do there? As for those who were between 21 and 40 in 1974, the majority of them are now pensioners with grandchildren.

So who are the refugees whom the demagogues are claiming want to return to the north under Turkish Cypriot administration? And if some of them would want to return, where is the problem? Even Eroglu’s proposals on the property issue say that 15 per cent of the population in the north could be Greek Cypriot.

Kyrenia currently has a population of 50,000 which would mean that 7,500 thousand Greek Cypriots could return if they wanted to. But in 1974, only 3,000 Greek Cypriots were living in Kyrenia and about half of them have died since then. So there would be no problem for all remaining 1,500 refugees were to return to Kyrenia if they wanted to do so.

I mention this only to highlight the stupidity and superficiality behind the slogans and vacuous rhetoric about the “return of all refugees”. If Eroglu were smarter, he would have proposed that any refugee who wanted to could return to Kyrenia. He would have made complete fools of us when a hundred refugees, at most, decided to return. Yet all this demagoguery is official policy. And then we wonder why nobody outside Cyprus takes us seriously.

The Mail’s satirical column Coffeeshop congratulates Christofias for his eloquent sound-bite that “we are waiting for Turkey to translate words into deeds.” We would just like to add that the Turks should take their time because we are against suffocating time frames.

Sunday 19 September 2010

Solution will bring economic benefits

Makarios Droushiotis writing in Politis says that the ultimate aim of the discussions on property that are currently underway is to make the solution of the Cyprus problem a huge opportunity for the economy to grow rather than put it in danger of collapsing.

The backbone of the overall approach to the issue is the proposal to set up an Organisation of Property Development which will undertake the responsibility of developing T/C property in the south, rebuilding Varosha and develop other land in the north that will benefit from a solution.

According to reliable sources the original idea came from UN experts who have carried out detailed surveys, visited all the areas to be developed, looked at examples elsewhere in the world and adapted the plan for urban development to the specific needs of the Cyprus problem.

They took into account that the fear (real or exaggerated) that the economy would collapse was one of the factors that led to the rejection of the plan in 2004. Tangible possibilities for the economy to grow will lead people to think maturely and creatively. Furthermore, a strong economy will help overcome the problems that will arise in implementing the solution.

The experts discussed their ideas with both sides. The Turkish side adopted them, worked on them further and announced that it is open to amendments and improvements. Their proposal, moreover, enjoys the approval of the UN and other mediators.

“Despite any weaknesses and obvious reservations towards certain aspects of the proposals that the G/C side may have, the document is not open to rejection”, an EU diplomatic source told the paper.

The proposals are seen as an opportunity for massive development all over the island, something that will make the solution very appealing because it will offer something significantly better than that which exists today or that which would exist if the talks were to fail.

Specifically, the value of T/C land in the south will increase and thereby strengthen the compensation fund.

The size and quality of the properties concerned (500,000 skales, many right on the sea) in an environment without political problems and within the EU would attract billions of foreign investments. The solution will not be an issue that will affect just a few romantic ideologist and the refugees who will receive compensation for their property, but the rest of the population, especially the inhabitants of Larnaca, Limassol and Pafos, who will benefit from the growth in jobs, services, trade, etc.

The writer says that this growth will be gradual and controlled, will last many years and will serve the needs of the solution. The experts have noted that more than 30 T/C villages have been completely deserted and that separate development plans could be created for each one of them.

Moreover, there are large expanses of land along the Kyrenia coast that are currently military areas. This land has not been given to anyone and could be returned. One idea is for this land to also be given over to the Organisation of Property Development. Owners could get Turkish Cypriot land of equal value in Limassol or Larnaca. What’s more, in Kyrenia, once the necessary infrastructure has been created, a couple of hundred houses could be built and given to Greek Cypriots who had property in Kyrenia which cannot be returned, either as a permanent home or as a holiday home.

These are just some of the possibilities that the experts have considered. Perhaps for some they may seem utopian, yet there have been many examples of similar land development done successfully in other countries.

The key to its success is proper management and stability. The Organisation of Property Development, would come under the Property Commission which would be a central government body. Both Greek and Turkish Cypriots would participate, as would foreigners, with management knowledge and experience.

If stability is achieved interest from foreign investors is expected to be huge thanks to Cyprus’ geographical position, its membership of the EU, its services sector and infrastructure. What’s more Turkey, which today is a hostile mass that overshadows the island, would become a financial partner. With the 15th largest economy in the world, and a 10% growth rate, it could offer great opportunities and financial activities. One of Cyprus’ largest economic partners today is Russia. Russia’s largest partner is Turkey. A thawing of relations would turn Cyprus into a services centre that could cover a large geographical area from the Mediterranean to the Baltic Sea.

The fact that Turkey has embraced these arrangements on the property issue, is, according to the various mediators, a groundbreaking event. If despite this there is no solution, then the Cyprus problem will be considered truly unsolvable.

One of the thorny issues in the discussions on property is that of bizonality and how that affects the right to property. The T/Cs do not want to see their society disturned and do not believe it would benefit a solution if the present balances are upset.

The G/C side in its document puts the emphasis on the right of the owner, but also recognises the problems that would be created by forcing the user to move and offers solutions such as long term leases.

In essence both sides agree that that it is doubtful if a huge number of Greek Cypriots will want to return under Turkish Cypriot rule. However, the Turkish side does not want to leave this to chance, fearing there may be a campaign by those who are against a solution and may want to make things difficult. Also they want to ensure they have majority ownership of the land, so that they will have the power to withstand the pressures of free market forces.

What is needed is a formula that would recognise the rights of owners and would not put a ceiling to the number of properties that would be returned, but which in practice would also protect the user as well as safeguard the majority of land ownership.

Once the majority ownership of land in the T/C state is establised, either with a ceiling or through exceptions, then the market will open and everyone will be free to buy and sell wherever he wants.

The Greek Cypriot side wants that any restrictions to land ownership expire in ten years time. The Annan plan provided for the return of a third of one’s land and there was a derivation from the acquis of 15 years or when the GNP of the T/Cs reached 85% of that of the G/Cs, whichever came first. But the EU could propose to the T/C state that it abandon either wholly or in part any restriction if it believed that the political, economic or social conditions in Cyprus allowed it.

In view of the fact that the EU does not accept any permanent derivations, it is believed a similar arrangement will be included in the new plan. However, an economy that is based on land development cannot survive without European buyers. Thus the market itself will remove all derivations from the very first day.

The Greek Cypriot negotiating team is failing to take seriously proposals tabled by the Turkish Cypriot side and sometimes even treats them “with contempt”, the Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu has said.

In a rare interview, Eroglu told the Sunday Mail that the talks with President Christofias are “going slowly”, repeating his view that the latest effort is “the last chance” for a solution.

“Everything that needs to be discussed has been discussed ... but Christofias seems to be seeking more time by blaming me and calling me intransigent,” he said.

He complained that his team’s proposals in the talks are “not taken seriously” and are even sometimes treated “with contempt” by the Greek Cypriot team, despite the UN considering them “reasonable”.

The Turkish Cypriot leader hinted that his vision for the island’s future rested on a model very close to the situation prevailing today.

“No one on Cyprus is any longer a refugee,” said Eroglu, adding: “On both sides people have established new lives, so what we need is a solution that does not bring about social upheaval.”In effect, Eroglu sees ethnic separation as the key to a solution, hence the focus in the leaked Turkish Cypriot property proposals on finding innovative ways to finance compensation and relocation for Greek Cypriot refugees with a “limited” return.

He called on Christofias to lead his people by telling them “the facts” about the “pain” of a solution which both sides will have to share.

Saturday 18 September 2010

Golden formula on property

Turkish daily Hurriyet yesterday published a front page a report saying that the proposal on the property issue submitted by the Turkish Cypriot side was discussed and finalized during a summit in Turkey on June 18 attended by Turkish President Abdullah Gul, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Cemil Cicek.

The paper says describes the proposals as a “golden formula” to solve the property issue and says this opening package shocked both the Greek Cypriots and the United Nations.

It says that President Gul congratulated those involved in the preparation of the package, which is based on mutual gain with Cyprus becoming one massive construction site, representing the largest urban development in the world, while creating the funds necessary to support a solution.

The formula replies to the Greek Cypriot question of who will pay for the difference in property values if they agree to an exchange of properties between Greek Cypriot-owned land in the north and Turkish Cypriot properties in the south, with the answer being to allow for mass development on large plots of land administered by a property commission, staffed by Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots.

Large plots of Turkish Cypriot land, such as in Limassol, Larnaca and Paphos, and would gain value after their “urban development”, and potentially raise enough funds for compensation to be provided to the displaced Greek Cypriots.
Theoretically, this is feasible as the Turkish Cypriot side claims to be in possession of nearly all Turkish Cypriot title deeds south of the buffer zone after a policy whereby they exchanged them for the property of Greek Cypriots left behind in the north.

This proposal would work on the assumption that Turkish Cypriots will not seek to return to their homes in villages and towns in Limassol, Larnaca and Paphos.

Another controversial component of the formula is that the title deeds of Varosha will also be included in the mix.

Hurriyet also reported that Greek Cypriots will be allowed to return to empty properties in the north immediately. Those that do not accept will be offered plots of public land or land owned by the church or Muslim charitable foundation Evkaf. The Turkish proposal reportedly stipulates that Greek Cypriots returning to their properties “will not exceed 15 per cent of the Turkish population there”.

The Cyprus Mail quotes a source close to the negotiations as saying that Turkish Cypriot-owned property in the government-controlled areas has a “trapped value” which has potential to rise. Rather than seeking permission from 20 land owners, for example, to develop on their properties, this proposal entails putting the land under one authority, the Property Development Corporation (PDC), which can then administer it accordingly, facilitating a programme of redevelopment and rehabilitation.

The proposal, for which the Turkish side cannot take full credit, given the impetus of UN experts in the talks, creates a situation whereby Turkish Cypriot-owned land in the south can be developed relatively easily and with much greater prospects for increasing its value exponentially. Any development should be based on environmental criteria to be agreed.

The PDC will have a range of options before it, including the power and funds to compensate, reinstate or relocate refugees. A feasible exchange of properties deals at least with one third of the property issue. Then there is the question of the level of restitution as well as the debate over the levels of compensation.
According to the source, one idea is to make Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots invest in property across the island, along with Greece and Turkey, thereby, making all parties invest in the federation. If successful, this would translate into real progress on the property chapter while making a solution more economically attractive.

According to Bayrak television, Kudret Ozersay, Eroglu’s Special Representative, has said that the Christofias’ statements concerning the Turkish side’s proposals on property did not reflect the Greek Cypriot side’s true stance at the negotiating table.

He described Christofias’ latest statement as a pessimistic stance and said that the Turkish side was not very happy with the Greek Cypriot proposals either and that it was not possible for the two sides to place all their demands on the negotiating table.

Explaining that the Turkish side’s proposals had been carefully prepared with a certain degree of flexibility, Ozersay said that either domestic political concerns or Christofias’ upcoming address at the UN General Assembly were the reason for his statement.

“We don’t find this right. Both sides need to be flexible and show good will in order to achieve progress on the proposals tabled at the meetings” he said.

He also said that despite the Greek Cypriot side’s negative statements on the proposals, the Turkish side’s perception was different.

“Looking at the questions asked by Christofias at the last meeting, it is possible to say that the Greek Cypriot side is ready to discuss the proposals and to enter a give and take process. It seems he was interested. In any case if he wasn’t, he would have just criticized the proposals”, he said.

Ozersay was also quoted as saying the Limnitis crossing would be officially opened on October 14, with EU Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fule in attendance.

US President Barack Obama yesterday commended the courage with which President Demetris Christofias has been trying to reach a solution, noting that division of the island has lasted a very long time.

During a special ceremony at the White House where new Cypriot Ambassador to the US Pavlos Anastassiades gave his credentials, Obama expressed the wish that Cyprus will be reunited soon.

The US president described Cyprus as an important ally for the US and noted the two countries’ cooperation in various fields including security, financial relations, economy and culture.

President Christofias leaves for New York today, where he will meet UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday and address the UN General Assembly on Friday.

He will also give a speech at the New York University, attend a reception hosted by US President Barack Obama and have lunch with the leadership of the American Jewish Committee.

On September 28, Christofias will fly to Washington to inaugurate the exhibition ‘Cyprus: Crossroads of Civilizations’ at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the independence of the Republic of Cyprus.

Turksish daily Bakis reports that the former Turkish Cypriot leader, Rauf Denktash, has said that a new plan on the Cyprus problem might come to surface by the end of the year and warned that the Turkish Cypriots might “come face to face with new pressures”. He says that this plan will most probably be amended in favour of the Greek Cypriots and claimed that the “sovereignty of the Turkish Cypriot people” and the treaty of guarantees will not be included in this plan.

“Pressure will be exerted again on us. I do not know whether the Greek Cypriots will accept it or not, but the TRNC, our sovereignty, the guarantees are not included in the plan”.

He said that the moment the Turkish Cypriots are united with the Greek Cypriots and enter into the EU before Turkey does, the basis of the 1960 Treaty of Guarantees will cease to exist.

It is important for Turkey to stand solidly before the “dangers” and the Turkish Cypriots to defend their “state”. Denktash said that a “document of principles” might be tabled this time, instead of a 9000-paged agreement text. The paper also reports that the Turkish Cypriot leader, Dervis Eroglu was due to have lunch today with both Rauf Denktash and Mehmet Ali Talat.

Wednesday 15 September 2010

National Council discusses property

President Christofias yesterday briefed the National Council members on the negotiations on property, after both Greek and Turkish Cypriots submitted proposals on the issue.

Government Spokesman Stefanos Stefanou said that initial comments on the proposals were made by some political parties and it was agreed that the discussion would be continued at a subcommittee on property and subsequently concluded at another meeting of the National Council.

“The effort is to have consensus; that is why there will be a very specific discussion in the property sub-committee,” Stefanou said. “Each party will submit its own proposals, thoughts, assessments, comments on the proposals in a bid to find a common element.”

He also revealed that the government had taken certain steps to stop future leaks from taking place. Reports in the press said that Christofias had marked the documents containing the proposals he had given to each party and was able to prove that the leak came from the Green party and Mr Perdikis. Mr Perdikis himself denied such a thing, saying he had been abroad at the time.

Sunday 12 September 2010

Property proposals published in full

Politis today publishes in full the texts of both the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot proposals on the property issue, so that those directly concerned can decide for themselves.

“The issue concerns many people, is delicate and technical, society cannot be left to make up its mind through being influenced by the distorting lenses of the TV channels and the press”, the paper says.

Moreover, analysing the Turkish proposals Makarios Droushiotis says that it is an extremely interesting document, which despite having been demonised by the media, also contains positive elements the likes of which have never appeared before in any negotiation of the Cyprus problem, and what’s more they are starting points.

These positive points are:
- recognition of the right of property ownership as it existed before 1974
- the financial responsibility to give compensation will be undertaken by the Turkish Cypriot constituent state.
- compensation will be guaranteed by the Turkish state
- the creative idea of development of Turkish Cypriot property in the south and its exchange.

Negative elements constitute their insistence of strict bizonality that limits restitution or the acquisition of property by Greek Cypriots in the northern part of the island

Droushiotis says that clearly this is not a final document, it is up for negotiation, and it certainly isn’t monstrous as the media and certain politicians would have us think.

Specifically, the T/C side proposes the setting up of three committees on property – the Property Commission that will have the overall responsibility and two sub-committees, one in each constituent state, which will be charged with settling the property issues within their jurisdiction.

The three well-known options are put forward – restitution, exchange or compensation. While restitution remains an option, it is subject to many limitations. Exchange will come under a broader plan of mass development. The greatest emphasis is laid on compensation, but it clearly ensures that the claimant will be compensated, his money will be guaranteed, he will get the money quickly and will be calculated at today’s prices.

The right of restitution will be given to displaced people willing to live under Turkish Cypriot rule. But there will be agreed quotas, both on the total population numbers as well as by community or municipality. The ceiling is negotiable and will be part of the overall agreement. If, for example, the quota is 10% in Kyrenia which has a population today of 50,000 Turkish Cypriots, then 5000 people will be able to return. Whoever chooses to return will be allowed his/her property back provided it was a home and was used before 1974; he/she has full ownership; if it cannot be returned then he will be given land and compensation to build a house of similar value in the same municipality or community. Similar arrangements are proposed for property housing small businesses. As for a person’s remaining property, a part of it will be returned except if it is essential for the survival of the present day user, in which case alternative property of equal value in the same community or municipality will be offered in return.

The document contains a new element entitled “alternative property” for displaced people whose property cannot be returned. This alternative property will come from either from another displaced person who prefers compensation, from government land, church or Evkaf land, or from unclaimed property.

Priorities for restitution will be given to those who choose to move back into their property, displaced people whose permanent home was in the same region, displaced owners who were heads of families; the elderly, people born in the property and who lived in them an x amount of time.

The document proposes the exchange of T/C property in the south with G/C property in the north which cannot be returned. However, it also proposes that such T/C property be developed in order to increase their value. It proposes that Varosha be developed along these lines. It describes this as a “huge solution that can bring vast financial and social benefits”, and gives examples where this has been done elsewhere in the world such as in the Lebanon, Turkey, Brazil, etc. Specifically it propses setting up a Property Development Organisation that will function under the auspices of the Property Commission. It would be responsible for buildings and infrastructure in the regions under development. The organisation will obtain most of the property left by the Turkish Cypriots in the south and who were given property in the north. About 98-99 % of Turkish Cypriots exchanged their property.

Property owners who will not be able to return may apply for compensation. Property which cannot be restituted or exchanged will be eligible for compensation. If the property has been developed it will be compensated with the value of the property minus the development. Church or Evkaf property will be compensated and transferred to the property sub-committees in order to be given to displaced people. As regards houses, current owners will have priority and the owner will be compensated. Property that has been used for public benefit will be compensated. The Church and Evkaf will be allowed full restitution without exception of all the property that was used before 1963 and 1974 as places of worship. If they so wish, they can apply for compensation. Property where the present user has a “lawful interest”, a term that the Turkish side is willing to discuss, will be compensated.
Guaranteed Bonds will be issued in exchange for the title deeds of a property. These bonds will be bought by the constituent state and will be guaranteed. Until these bonds are cashed in, the owner will have ownership of his property. These bonds will be able to be bought and sold or transferred. In order to buy these bonds, each constituent state will set up a fund and will impose a special tax. Part of the profits of the Organisation of Urban Development will end up in this fund. The owner of a bond will be paid from the proceeds of the sale of the property. Any shortfalls will be guaranteed by the Turkish Cypriot constituent state or if necessary by Turkey. The property up for sale can only be bought by citizens of the T/C constituent state. Compensation will be according to today’s prices. Provision is also made for appeals in the event that owners are not satisfied.

The positions submitted by Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu in the negotiations to resolve the Cyprus problem are not bringing the two sides closer, President Demetris Christofias said yesterday, according to the Cyprus Mail.
“When I tell Mr. Eroglu that we have to reunite to celebrate Bayram and Easter together, he agrees,” Christofias said. “But I am sorry to say, the positions he tables do not bring us close at present.”

Christofias said Turkey did not seem ready at this point to solve the Cyprus problem.

“Due to her own domestic and regional problems, which she has created, it appears that Turkey, at least at this point, is not ready to solve the Cyprus problem,” the president said.

He added that Turkey knows that without a fair and viable solution of the Cyprus problem it cannot join the European Union.

“Today we are fighting a tough battle under difficult circumstances to get rid of the occupation and partition,” Christofias said. “Rejection of partition is the fixed parameter of our policy, because partition means catastrophe.”

The continuation of the occupation and the island’s de facto division serves all those forces who aim at partitioning Cyprus, the president said.
“That is why they invest in a fruitless passage of time, stagnation, and deadlock to bolster the faits accompli.

“Partition will be the beginning of new suffering for our country and our people – Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots,” he said. “My promise is fixed and final: we will not yield from our commitment for a bizonal, bicommunal federation, because it is the only way to reunite the country, the people and our economy … to come together again, Greek and Turkish Cypriots, in conditions of peace, cooperation and joint participation in our federal state.”

The period before the referendum was briefly back on our screens on Tuesday night, as all the TV stations went into misinformation mode, says the Cyprus Mail’s satirical column Coffeeshop. They took the bits of the Turkish proposals on the property issue that they knew would terrify people and then tried to generate mass hysteria.

The news shows were celebrations of abject negativity, last witnessed in 2004, when the TV stations were competing in the misinformation stakes for the worthy cause of defeating the satanic A-plan and saving the Republic from extinction.
The bash-patriotic politicians proved reliable allies. On Wednesday Edek chief Yiannakis Omirou described the Turkish proposals as “infuriatingly provocative and intransigent.” He said the proposals were unacceptable and “they were not worthy of comment or discussion, least of all at the negotiating table.”
On Thursday morning, after repeating all his funky stuff on a radio show, Omirou was asked if he had read the document containing the Turkish proposals on property and said ‘no’.

Listening to the AKEL chief Andros Kyprianou talking on the radio yesterday morning I concluded that he must be Omirou’s next-door neighbour on cloud cuckoo land. While divulging his banal views about the talks, Andros said he felt obliged to issue a warning. He said that the “climate of euphoria” that had been created as a result of the two days of intensive talks was not justified. Where had Andros identified a climate of euphoria? On TV, on the streets or in the Akelite coffeeshops? The only climate is the familiar one of fear, loathing, negativity, disgust, hostility, anger, pessimism, some humidity and sweltering heat, but euphoria?The climate of euphoria will set in when the talks collapse and the danger of an unfair settlement is seen off; not while the Turks are submitting infuriatingly provocative proposals.