UN Special Adviser Alexander Downer said after a meeting he had with the UN Security Council on Monday presenting the latest progress report on Cyprus that “nothing dramatic” came out of the meeting but that everyone agreed that “it’s important to maintain momentum”.
“There aren’t specific timelines but it is important that it (the process) does maintain momentum, continues to move forward and constructively”, he said..
The Australian diplomat noted that this Friday is the 100th meeting between the leaders of the two communities, since the process started in 2008 and was an opportunity “for everybody to reflect on how they feel it’s gone over those previous ninety nine meetings and our view is that it will be important that that meeting and subsequent meetings continue to build momentum towards an agreement difficult as that may be”.
Asked when UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon planned on meeting the two leaders again, Downer said this depended on how much progress had been made by the end of the month. He said the UN S-G would get in touch with them in late March to discuss “whether it will be worth his while having another meeting with them” in early April.
Asked what he expected would be accomplished with the meetings between UN experts and representatives of the two sides on property, Downer said this was simply an opportunity for both sides to listen to experts for ideas or at least run their own ideas past experts and hear their opinions.
“There are a whole range of different issues here. If you’re going to set up a system of compensation with bonds or guaranteed financial entitlements, which is the Turkish Cypriot alternative to the Greek Cypriot proposal of bonds, they have to be sellable, (they) have to raise the money. People are not going to rush into a property settlement if they don’t think there’s any money,” he said.
The aim was to provide assistance, he said noting, “As I said to the Security Council, we in the UN Secretariat can’t want an agreement more than the Cypriots and Cypriot leaders want it.”
He explained that the experts understand how all these things work, they didn’t try to impose on them some particular plan or point of view, they just explained issues to them when asked to explain them.
He added that he believed that the Greek Cypriots found the discussions they had with the experts “very helpful, very informative and very interesting”.
“So I heard that the meetings have gone pretty well and the Turkish Cypriots have meetings as well at the end of this week, so I will see how those go”, he said.
Downer emphasised that, as he had also told the Security Council, “the important thing to remember is that we, the United Nations, we can’t want an agreement in Cyprus more than the Cypriots want it and the Cypriot leaders want it. We can’t want it more than they do. We can provide assistance and help of one kind or another as they ask for it. But at the end of the day it’s up to them, it’s not up to us, it’s up to them”.
Wednesday 16 March 2011
Sunday 13 March 2011
The UN fully in control of the procedure
Three members of the Greek Cypriot negotiating team on the Cyprus problem had meetings on the property issue with United Nations experts in New York this week.
The members are the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Nicholas Emiliou, the President’s Advisor, Mr Toumazos Tselepis, and the Head of the Technical Committee for the Economy and former Minister of Finance, Mr Michael Sarris.
Government Spokesman Stefanos Stefanou, asked whether the experts intended to listen to the positions of the Greek Cypriot side or to make proposals, replied: “the whole contact is not aimed, of course, at getting the UN involved in the negotiating procedure. We are not negotiating with the United Nations. The United Nations does not play the role of mediator, it supports the entire effort. It has offered to give knowledge through the UN experts. Beyond that, the negotiation is being held between the two sides”.
The Cyprus team at the UN is getting ready for the talks on Cyprus to reach their climax sometime early in the summer, according to Politis.
Makarios Droushiotis writing in the paper says that the UN S-G is determined to clarify things at the next meeting he will have with the Greek and Turkish Cypriot sides, which will probably be held in New York in April.
He says that the UN Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, Lynn Pascoe, told the representatives of both Christofias and Eroglu during contacts in New York last month that the UN S-G is not prepared to be further exposed on the Cyprus problem and refuses to have another unproductive meeting like the one in Geneva. If such a meeting is to take place then it will be “decisive and productive” otherwise it simply will not take place.
As he also stated in his latest report to the UN Security Council, Mr Ban Ki-moon considers the property issue the biggest sticking point and rather than leave it up to the ‘good will’ of the negotiators, he summoned the technocrats to New York for talks, starting with the Greek Cypriot side last week and continuing with the Turkish Cypriot side. The meetings follow a specific agenda covering all the aspects of the property issue from the compensation fund to the procedure for exchange and restitution.
He says that if common ground is found on the property issue the UN S-G will call the leaders to meet with him in April and this issue will then be added to the ones on governance and power-sharing where convergence has already been achieved. The issue of territory will be discussed at the end, while that of guarantees and security will be discussed at an international conference together with the guarantor powers.
If the deadlock on the property issue is broken, this will pave the way for a conference, an eventuality which the UN S-G acknowledges in his report where he says that it is being discussed by the two leaders.
The writer says that what has become clear is that after having reached many points where the talks almost collapsed, the UN is now in full control of the game. Alexander Downer and his team are now able to control events rather than be controlled by them. Whereas previously Mr Christofias could talk of “Cypriot ownership of the talks with no timeframe or arbitration”, he can no longer do so. His behind-the-scenes efforts to replace Mr Downer were unsuccessful and did not even meet with approval in Athens.
The UN consider it positive that the two sides agreed to send representatives to New York in order to discuss the property issue separately with the UN’s experts. If these efforts fail and no agreement is reached on property in the next few weeks, the UN S-G will not call a new meeting in June and will allocate blame, something neither side wants to see happen.
Moreover, Turkish Cypriot daily Demokrat Bakis reported earlier this week that the UN Secretary-General will publish his report on Cyprus on 15 March and on the same day will invite the two Cypriot leaders to a new summit where he will submit a new plan prepared by the United Nations.
Citing reliable sources, the paper says that Ban Ki-moon will give the sides two months at most to negotiate this plan. The UN is reportedly exerting pressure in the direction of not having open-ended negotiations. According to the new plan, the sides will discuss all chapters simultaneously. As a result of the insistence of the Turkish side, the security issue will be discussed at an international conference with the participation of the guarantor powers within the framework of the above-mentioned timetable.
The sources said the UN gave to the Greek Cypriot side what it wanted by including in the plan the latter’s proposal to discuss all the issues simultaneously, while at the same time encompassing the Turkish side’s position to have a timetable for the talks. The sources said the UN wants an “interim agreement” to be signed in May.
Bakis notes that the plan is similar to the Annan Plan on some points, but on some substantial issues “new openings” are made because the situation has changed.
The Cyprus government is proposing that Famagusta be handed over to the United Nations this summer and before a solution is agreed, according to an article in Greek Cypriot daily Alithia.
Quoting a government source, the paper says that Christofias had sent a message to the parties interested in a solution that “Famagusta should not be returned with a solution, but that a solution should come about through Famagusta”.
Politis says that it has information that this proposal was seen positively by third parties involved in the Cyprus problem but that Famagusta must be linked to developments and not be sacrificed to tactical moves. That way a solution may truly come about as a result of Famagusta rather than risk Famagusta becoming the solution.
Speaking at a reception earlier in the week, Christofias said: “The issue of Famagusta is of utmost importance because it is a test, a trial for the Turkish side, whether it is really ready to proceed with the reunification of Cyprus, to proceed with the termination of the occupation. If it does not make this move, everyone can be doubtful of the good intentions of Turkey.”
A ‘huge gap’ separates the two sides on the issue of citizenship, President Christofias after talks said on Wednesday with Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu, adding that “nothing new” came out of the latest meeting between them.
Christofias said they had discussed the issue of citizenship in a reunified federal Cyprus. The two sides repeated their known positions on the issue of settlers and citizenship.
“We are separated by a huge gap which is why I said there was nothing new. We repeated our positions,” he said.
Asked to elaborate, he said “Mr Eroglu considers that the citizenships given by the pseudostate are legal. This is our major problem. We certainly believe that the so called ‘state’ is the result of a violation of the international law, with the invasion and occupation and has been condemned by the United Nations through a unanimous Security Council resolution and by the European Court of Human Rights“.
UN Special Representative in Cyprus Lisa Buttenheim said the two leaders had set out their basic principles on citizenship and that the next meeting has been set for March 18, while their respective aides will meet again this Friday.
Meanwhile, Turkish Cypriot daily Kibris reported that tension was created when President Christofias told Eroglu that the Greek Cypriot side agrees to 50 thousand Turkish settlers remaining on the island after a solution, something Eroglu rejected.
According to the paper, President Christofias referred to the laws of the Republic of Cyprus and said that settlers who are married to Turkish Cypriots could stay on the island after the solution but suggested a limit of 50 thousand. He also noted that according to the agreements for the establishment of the Republic of Cyprus, the Turkish Cypriot population should not exceed one fourth of the Greek Cypriot population.
The Turkish Cypriot side reacted to this statement and argued that there is no such provision in the Constitution of the Republic of Cyprus. It alleged that even according to the Constitution a person married to a Turkish Cypriot obtains the right to become citizen of the Republic. “What can be done if the Turkish Cypriots are more fertile? Will you bring on the agenda the issue of sterilizing them?”According to the paper, tension was caused when Eroglu’s adviser, Kudret Ozersay tried to explain that there could be no proportional limit as the Greek Cypriot side proposes and President Christofias took offence saying: “Thank you for your academic and detailed presentation, but I did not come here to take a lesson, I am not your student”.
Referring to the 4:1 proportion, Ozersay said the Turkish Cypriot side has given a clear response to these allegations and claimed that neither the 1960 agreements nor any other legal rule necessitates such a proportion. “Therefore, it is not right to focus on certain numbers”, he alleged and argued that what is important is to establish regulations regarding citizenship based on valid and objective criteria from the point of view of human rights.
The members are the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Nicholas Emiliou, the President’s Advisor, Mr Toumazos Tselepis, and the Head of the Technical Committee for the Economy and former Minister of Finance, Mr Michael Sarris.
Government Spokesman Stefanos Stefanou, asked whether the experts intended to listen to the positions of the Greek Cypriot side or to make proposals, replied: “the whole contact is not aimed, of course, at getting the UN involved in the negotiating procedure. We are not negotiating with the United Nations. The United Nations does not play the role of mediator, it supports the entire effort. It has offered to give knowledge through the UN experts. Beyond that, the negotiation is being held between the two sides”.
The Cyprus team at the UN is getting ready for the talks on Cyprus to reach their climax sometime early in the summer, according to Politis.
Makarios Droushiotis writing in the paper says that the UN S-G is determined to clarify things at the next meeting he will have with the Greek and Turkish Cypriot sides, which will probably be held in New York in April.
He says that the UN Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, Lynn Pascoe, told the representatives of both Christofias and Eroglu during contacts in New York last month that the UN S-G is not prepared to be further exposed on the Cyprus problem and refuses to have another unproductive meeting like the one in Geneva. If such a meeting is to take place then it will be “decisive and productive” otherwise it simply will not take place.
As he also stated in his latest report to the UN Security Council, Mr Ban Ki-moon considers the property issue the biggest sticking point and rather than leave it up to the ‘good will’ of the negotiators, he summoned the technocrats to New York for talks, starting with the Greek Cypriot side last week and continuing with the Turkish Cypriot side. The meetings follow a specific agenda covering all the aspects of the property issue from the compensation fund to the procedure for exchange and restitution.
He says that if common ground is found on the property issue the UN S-G will call the leaders to meet with him in April and this issue will then be added to the ones on governance and power-sharing where convergence has already been achieved. The issue of territory will be discussed at the end, while that of guarantees and security will be discussed at an international conference together with the guarantor powers.
If the deadlock on the property issue is broken, this will pave the way for a conference, an eventuality which the UN S-G acknowledges in his report where he says that it is being discussed by the two leaders.
The writer says that what has become clear is that after having reached many points where the talks almost collapsed, the UN is now in full control of the game. Alexander Downer and his team are now able to control events rather than be controlled by them. Whereas previously Mr Christofias could talk of “Cypriot ownership of the talks with no timeframe or arbitration”, he can no longer do so. His behind-the-scenes efforts to replace Mr Downer were unsuccessful and did not even meet with approval in Athens.
The UN consider it positive that the two sides agreed to send representatives to New York in order to discuss the property issue separately with the UN’s experts. If these efforts fail and no agreement is reached on property in the next few weeks, the UN S-G will not call a new meeting in June and will allocate blame, something neither side wants to see happen.
Moreover, Turkish Cypriot daily Demokrat Bakis reported earlier this week that the UN Secretary-General will publish his report on Cyprus on 15 March and on the same day will invite the two Cypriot leaders to a new summit where he will submit a new plan prepared by the United Nations.
Citing reliable sources, the paper says that Ban Ki-moon will give the sides two months at most to negotiate this plan. The UN is reportedly exerting pressure in the direction of not having open-ended negotiations. According to the new plan, the sides will discuss all chapters simultaneously. As a result of the insistence of the Turkish side, the security issue will be discussed at an international conference with the participation of the guarantor powers within the framework of the above-mentioned timetable.
The sources said the UN gave to the Greek Cypriot side what it wanted by including in the plan the latter’s proposal to discuss all the issues simultaneously, while at the same time encompassing the Turkish side’s position to have a timetable for the talks. The sources said the UN wants an “interim agreement” to be signed in May.
Bakis notes that the plan is similar to the Annan Plan on some points, but on some substantial issues “new openings” are made because the situation has changed.
The Cyprus government is proposing that Famagusta be handed over to the United Nations this summer and before a solution is agreed, according to an article in Greek Cypriot daily Alithia.
Quoting a government source, the paper says that Christofias had sent a message to the parties interested in a solution that “Famagusta should not be returned with a solution, but that a solution should come about through Famagusta”.
Politis says that it has information that this proposal was seen positively by third parties involved in the Cyprus problem but that Famagusta must be linked to developments and not be sacrificed to tactical moves. That way a solution may truly come about as a result of Famagusta rather than risk Famagusta becoming the solution.
Speaking at a reception earlier in the week, Christofias said: “The issue of Famagusta is of utmost importance because it is a test, a trial for the Turkish side, whether it is really ready to proceed with the reunification of Cyprus, to proceed with the termination of the occupation. If it does not make this move, everyone can be doubtful of the good intentions of Turkey.”
A ‘huge gap’ separates the two sides on the issue of citizenship, President Christofias after talks said on Wednesday with Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu, adding that “nothing new” came out of the latest meeting between them.
Christofias said they had discussed the issue of citizenship in a reunified federal Cyprus. The two sides repeated their known positions on the issue of settlers and citizenship.
“We are separated by a huge gap which is why I said there was nothing new. We repeated our positions,” he said.
Asked to elaborate, he said “Mr Eroglu considers that the citizenships given by the pseudostate are legal. This is our major problem. We certainly believe that the so called ‘state’ is the result of a violation of the international law, with the invasion and occupation and has been condemned by the United Nations through a unanimous Security Council resolution and by the European Court of Human Rights“.
UN Special Representative in Cyprus Lisa Buttenheim said the two leaders had set out their basic principles on citizenship and that the next meeting has been set for March 18, while their respective aides will meet again this Friday.
Meanwhile, Turkish Cypriot daily Kibris reported that tension was created when President Christofias told Eroglu that the Greek Cypriot side agrees to 50 thousand Turkish settlers remaining on the island after a solution, something Eroglu rejected.
According to the paper, President Christofias referred to the laws of the Republic of Cyprus and said that settlers who are married to Turkish Cypriots could stay on the island after the solution but suggested a limit of 50 thousand. He also noted that according to the agreements for the establishment of the Republic of Cyprus, the Turkish Cypriot population should not exceed one fourth of the Greek Cypriot population.
The Turkish Cypriot side reacted to this statement and argued that there is no such provision in the Constitution of the Republic of Cyprus. It alleged that even according to the Constitution a person married to a Turkish Cypriot obtains the right to become citizen of the Republic. “What can be done if the Turkish Cypriots are more fertile? Will you bring on the agenda the issue of sterilizing them?”According to the paper, tension was caused when Eroglu’s adviser, Kudret Ozersay tried to explain that there could be no proportional limit as the Greek Cypriot side proposes and President Christofias took offence saying: “Thank you for your academic and detailed presentation, but I did not come here to take a lesson, I am not your student”.
Referring to the 4:1 proportion, Ozersay said the Turkish Cypriot side has given a clear response to these allegations and claimed that neither the 1960 agreements nor any other legal rule necessitates such a proportion. “Therefore, it is not right to focus on certain numbers”, he alleged and argued that what is important is to establish regulations regarding citizenship based on valid and objective criteria from the point of view of human rights.
Sunday 6 March 2011
It’s now or never, says UN chief
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has warned the two leaders in Cyprus that the moment has come to confront hard choices and that they needed to inject “greater impetus” in the talks to achieve substantive agreement on all core issues or else run the “very real risk” of losing momentum, the Cyprus Mail reports.
“The negotiations cannot be an open-ended process, nor can we afford interminable talks for the sake of talks”, he stressed.
In his second progress report since last November, to be presented before the UN Security Council on March 15, Ban said he remained “concerned about the rate of progress in the talks” and called on both leaders to tackle the “hard choices”.
He cautioned that the next three months would be “less conducive” to progress because of elections in both Cyprus and Turkey, adding that “there is a need now for greater impetus to achieve substantive agreements on the core issues across all chapters before the electoral cycles are too advanced.”
He called for “courageous and dedicated leadership” which will take practical steps to bring talks to a conclusion.
“This will require both leaders to build a greater level of mutual trust between themselves and between their two communities,” said the UN chief.
While both leaders have made efforts over the last months, Ban highlighted that more must be done to prevent the negotiations from “stalling or drifting endlessly”.
Divergences remain in governance and power-sharing, economy and EU matters, which are “not insurmountable” though less could be said about the remaining three chapters of property, territory and security and guarantees.
On property, each side’s stated positions “remain far apart” while the two leaders have yet to agree on the circumstances in which to discuss territory, he noted.
Ban called on the leaders to recognise that some of the key considerations in the above three chapters are “necessarily inter-related”.
The UN chief left the possibility of a third meeting with the two leaders open, saying he would decide in the second half of the month, depending on whether enough progress has been made.
If the meeting were to take place, he would expect the two leaders to explain “how they intend to resolve remaining divergences”.
On the prospects of an international conference, Ban said he would consider convening one, in consultation with both sides, “if there has been sufficient progress on the core issues within and across chapters”.
The exact parameters of such a meeting are still being discussed by the two leaders, he noted.
Ban said the two leaders have agreed to discuss security and guarantees at the multilateral meeting, though he acknowledged that the Greek Cypriots would also like to discuss the issue in advance.
On the issue of maps and figures relating to territory, both sides agree that this should be discussed during the last phase of the process, though there is no agreement yet on the precise timing, he said.
The UN chief strongly encourages the two sides to take the necessary steps to finalise talks on property, once again repeating his call for both sides to make productive use of international experts regarding the technical aspects of the chapter.
The Greek and Turkish Cypriot sides at a meeting on Monday reaffirmed that UN principles will form the basis of negotiations on the reunification of Cyprus.
“We have made clear together with Eroglu that we are talking about federation, not confederation”, Christofias said after the meeting.
The Greek Cypriots have been seeking official clarification for some time following a series of contradictory comments by Eroglu in which he appeared to advocate a “two states, two peoples” solution.
UN envoy Alexander Downer said: “It was a good opportunity for them to talk about a range of issues. They did have a discussion about the basis of the negotiations and both leaders agreed that the talks would continue on the agreed United Nations basis”.
“All chapters are being negotiated with the aim of increasing the points of convergence on the understanding that nothing is agreed until everything is agreed,” he added.
Government Spokesman Stefnos Stefanou said agreement on the basis of the talks was significant as many of the proposals tabled by the Turkish side fell outside the agreed UN framework.
He said government initiatives to accelerate the process were being hampered by Eroglu’s insistence on a conference involving the guarantor powers.
Meanwhile the two leaders on Friday resumed the talks discussing governance and power-sharing issues, a chapter where tangible convergence has already been achieved, as well as the issue of settlers.
About 30,000 Turkish Cypriots took part in a demonstration in the northern part of Nicosia on Wednesday against Turkey’s economic austerity package, which they say will force the community to emigrate, the Cyprus Mail reported.
“This country is ours. We will govern ourselves!” read banners carried by the protesters at what was the largest rally staged by the community since those in support of a UN-backed plan to reunite the island in 2004.
Discontent has been growing in the north since Ankara forced the ruling National Unity Party (UBP) to implement sweeping austerity measures aimed at cutting back on what it sees as the north’s bloated public sector. Some salaries in the sector have been cut by up to 40 per cent, and there are plans to privatize some of the north’s ‘state–run’ corporations – a move unions believe will lead to mass redundancies.
“We want the world to hear that we want peace and reunification. We want a future,” one protestor told the Cyprus Mail, while others expressed the desire for self-determination.
“We want to rule ourselves. Right now we don’t have sovereignty, but this is our country; we have to be the ones to run it,”
Even Democrat Party (DP) leader Serdar Denktash, son of the founder of the ‘TRNC’ Rauf Denktash told the Mail earlier that he would join the rally because he wanted Turkey to “respect the administration” in the north as a “truly sovereign authority”.
A similar rally in January gathered over 10,000 protesters and provoked the anger of Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan who, after seeing banners calling on Ankara to “leave the Turkish Cypriots alone”, blasted the community for receiving Turkish financial aid while simultaneously telling Ankara to get out of its affairs. Erdogan raised tension in February by replacing his ‘ambassador’ to Nicosia with Halil Ibrahim Akca, the chief architect of the austerity package.
Clearly angered by what they saw as Erdogan’s “insults” to the community, many of yesterday’s demonstrators again carried banners calling on his Justice and Development Party (AKP) to “get your hands off the Turkish Cypriots” – a move that can be expected to further irritate the Turkish leader.
Speaking to the rally, head of the Turkish Cypriot Teachers’ Union (KTOS) Sener Elcil called for Turkey to end its policy of running the north from Ankara, and issued an appeal to Greek Cypriots and the EU to help end the division of the island.
“We will put pressure on Turkey. We will put pressure on The Greek Cypriots. And we will put pressure on the EU. Turkish Cypriots will be the power behind reunification,” he said.
The demonstration on the whole passed off peacefully with police exercising their power to confiscate banners they saw as provocative or insulting to Turkey.
The owner of the outspoken Turkish Cypriot daily Afrika Sener Levent and a number of supporters were turned back from the rally when they tried to enter Inonu Square, the rally’s destination, carrying a banner reading, “You saved us? Hassiktir!”, a mild curse for Cypriots but highly insulting for Turks.
Protesters carrying the Cyprus Republic flag were also prevented from entering the square.
Commenting on the rally, head of the Eastern Mediterranean University’s (EMU) Cyprus Policy Centre Ahmet Sozen told the Cyprus Mail the protest stemmed from an almost universal desire among Turkish Cypriots for self-determination.
“This is not the same as saying they want their own state, but they want to rule themselves, either in a federation with the Greek Cypriots, or if that isn’t going to come in the near future, without the interference of Ankara, he said”.
Meanwhile on the Greek Cypriot side, only about 50 people responded to a call by the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot teachers platform to gather at the Ledra Street crossing point in support of the Turkish Cypriots.
Commenting on the discrepancy, Disy candidate at the forthcoming elections, Xenia Constantinou, told the group of people who gathered that “half the town is making history, while the other half is fast asleep”. She said “even though the roadblocks had opened since 2004, we are living as though they are still closed, pretending as if we didn’t see a thing”.
“I am angry”, she said. “I am angry because our President who supposedly wants a solution, didn’t find the guts to call on half the Cypriots to join forces with the other half. That’s why I no longer want to hear about anniversary anti-occupation rallies, or demonstrations against Turkey, not even bicommunal picnics to the mountains.”
*I’m sorry I’m venting my anger at you, who I’m sure are feeling the same things I am, but I’m hoping that we can convert our anger into a power for change”, she added.
She went on to say that before the Turkish Cypriots took to the streets she had lost all hope for a solution and that all windows had been closed and that all reasons for optimism had evaporated.
“The Turkish Cypriots have given me hope”, she said and called on optimists and people who wanted peace to dare.
“Next time, let’s not meet here in Ledra Street, let’s gather outside the Presidential Palace or the House of Representatives, or the party headquarters where they will come out and talk to us with 6 different adjectives each about a solution – just, fair, viable, European, with a proper content, bizonal. Whatever.”
“They add on the adjectives in order to avoid the point. The point is a solution. But for there to be a solution, Cypriots must truly want it”, she concluded.
Under the headline “Solution or goodbye”, Makarios Droushiotis writing in today’s Politis says that the UN Secretary-General is determined to clarify things in the Cyprus problem. Without actually spelling it out, in essence his latest report sets out a road map for finishing the talks and clearly warns that the UN will not stay involved for ever.
He says that anyone who can read between the lines of diplomatic talk can clearly see how the UN is thinking and what strategy it wants to lay down for the coming weeks and months. The writer believes that there will either be a breakthrough or a complete collapse. He says Ban Ki-moon is so committed and determined that there is no more room for tactical ploys.
Droushiotis says the UN’s road map is as follows:
- the UN considers the chapters on economy and the EU closed. Those on governance and power sharing have small divergences which are not unbridgeable.
- the only chapter still pending and preventing the Cyprus problem from going to a conference is the property issue. The leaders must bridge their differences using the UN’s experts.
- the leaders must converge their positions on all chapters through cross negotiations i.e. they must start a give and take.
- the UN S-G will reevaluate everything at the end of March and will decide whether to call the leaders to another meeting with him
- at this meeting, which will probably be held in April, he will ask the leaders for proposals as to how they intend to proceed. He will propose that the procedure be expanded.
- his report is clearly preparing the ground for an international conference with the participation of the guarantor powers and the EU
- convergences in all major issues must happen before the elections in Cyprus and Turkey
- he will not write a new report . The next evaluation will take place in June and according to developments he will decide as to the future of UNFICYP and his good offices mission.
- he warns that the UN has been in Cyprus for 50 years now and internal discussions have already begun as to its future on the island.
Droushiotis says there are three major elements arising from the report - the S-G’s insistence on convergences in the next few weeks, that he is preparing the ground for an international conference, that the UN’s role in Cyprus is coming to an end.
The Cyprus Mail’s satirical column Coffeeshop says House president Marios Garoyian is another member of our ruling elite whose delusions of adequacy, this week, developed into full-blown delusions of grandeur. He declared that Ban Ki-moon’s report was neither “objective nor just” and took great exception to Ban’s decision to call a dreaded multilateral meeting, when “I deem it appropriate”. Who did the Secretary-General think he was? As Garoyian pointed out, using the royal plural, “we do not recognise the right of the Secretary-General to be the judge” of when to convene the meeting that would be attended by the guarantor powers. So to whom does Garoyian recognise the right to call the meeting, the DIKO central committee, the Association of Refugee Mothers or the Cyprus Football Federation?
Garoyian also put Big Bad Al in his place because the way the Aussie behaved did not “help the negotiations”. Al did not even record correctly the positions of the two sides at the negotiations. Either that or the comrade has been telling lies to Marios about what positions were being put forward at the talks. The problem was that the Aussie was “biased” and his stance was a “provocation to the Greek Cypriots and a provocation to the UN.” Hard-man Garoyian attacked the biased Ban and Al, thus avoiding putting any blame on the comrade president for the unacceptable report. He needs to stay in the comrade’s good books now, if he is to earn a second term as House president and carry on giving lessons to the Secretary-General on how to make the UN a fairer and more just organisation.
This is why it is imperative to keep the Cyprob alive for as long as possible. Apart from offering fantastic career opportunities to losers and opportunists the Cyprob also feeds the delusions of grandeur and megalomania of our illustrious leaders.
Without it, the president of the People’s Republic would never have meetings with the UN Secretary-General or have an excuse to attend the UN General Assembly every year. He would not be invited for meeting European Commission grandees wanting to know how the talks were going. Most EU big-wigs would not even know Cyprus was a member of the Union if it were not for the Cyprob.
Cyprob is by far our most successful industry and it would be criminal to close it down at a time of recession. If only we could also tax its exploitation all the government’s budget worries would become a thing of the past.
“The negotiations cannot be an open-ended process, nor can we afford interminable talks for the sake of talks”, he stressed.
In his second progress report since last November, to be presented before the UN Security Council on March 15, Ban said he remained “concerned about the rate of progress in the talks” and called on both leaders to tackle the “hard choices”.
He cautioned that the next three months would be “less conducive” to progress because of elections in both Cyprus and Turkey, adding that “there is a need now for greater impetus to achieve substantive agreements on the core issues across all chapters before the electoral cycles are too advanced.”
He called for “courageous and dedicated leadership” which will take practical steps to bring talks to a conclusion.
“This will require both leaders to build a greater level of mutual trust between themselves and between their two communities,” said the UN chief.
While both leaders have made efforts over the last months, Ban highlighted that more must be done to prevent the negotiations from “stalling or drifting endlessly”.
Divergences remain in governance and power-sharing, economy and EU matters, which are “not insurmountable” though less could be said about the remaining three chapters of property, territory and security and guarantees.
On property, each side’s stated positions “remain far apart” while the two leaders have yet to agree on the circumstances in which to discuss territory, he noted.
Ban called on the leaders to recognise that some of the key considerations in the above three chapters are “necessarily inter-related”.
The UN chief left the possibility of a third meeting with the two leaders open, saying he would decide in the second half of the month, depending on whether enough progress has been made.
If the meeting were to take place, he would expect the two leaders to explain “how they intend to resolve remaining divergences”.
On the prospects of an international conference, Ban said he would consider convening one, in consultation with both sides, “if there has been sufficient progress on the core issues within and across chapters”.
The exact parameters of such a meeting are still being discussed by the two leaders, he noted.
Ban said the two leaders have agreed to discuss security and guarantees at the multilateral meeting, though he acknowledged that the Greek Cypriots would also like to discuss the issue in advance.
On the issue of maps and figures relating to territory, both sides agree that this should be discussed during the last phase of the process, though there is no agreement yet on the precise timing, he said.
The UN chief strongly encourages the two sides to take the necessary steps to finalise talks on property, once again repeating his call for both sides to make productive use of international experts regarding the technical aspects of the chapter.
The Greek and Turkish Cypriot sides at a meeting on Monday reaffirmed that UN principles will form the basis of negotiations on the reunification of Cyprus.
“We have made clear together with Eroglu that we are talking about federation, not confederation”, Christofias said after the meeting.
The Greek Cypriots have been seeking official clarification for some time following a series of contradictory comments by Eroglu in which he appeared to advocate a “two states, two peoples” solution.
UN envoy Alexander Downer said: “It was a good opportunity for them to talk about a range of issues. They did have a discussion about the basis of the negotiations and both leaders agreed that the talks would continue on the agreed United Nations basis”.
“All chapters are being negotiated with the aim of increasing the points of convergence on the understanding that nothing is agreed until everything is agreed,” he added.
Government Spokesman Stefnos Stefanou said agreement on the basis of the talks was significant as many of the proposals tabled by the Turkish side fell outside the agreed UN framework.
He said government initiatives to accelerate the process were being hampered by Eroglu’s insistence on a conference involving the guarantor powers.
Meanwhile the two leaders on Friday resumed the talks discussing governance and power-sharing issues, a chapter where tangible convergence has already been achieved, as well as the issue of settlers.
About 30,000 Turkish Cypriots took part in a demonstration in the northern part of Nicosia on Wednesday against Turkey’s economic austerity package, which they say will force the community to emigrate, the Cyprus Mail reported.
“This country is ours. We will govern ourselves!” read banners carried by the protesters at what was the largest rally staged by the community since those in support of a UN-backed plan to reunite the island in 2004.
Discontent has been growing in the north since Ankara forced the ruling National Unity Party (UBP) to implement sweeping austerity measures aimed at cutting back on what it sees as the north’s bloated public sector. Some salaries in the sector have been cut by up to 40 per cent, and there are plans to privatize some of the north’s ‘state–run’ corporations – a move unions believe will lead to mass redundancies.
“We want the world to hear that we want peace and reunification. We want a future,” one protestor told the Cyprus Mail, while others expressed the desire for self-determination.
“We want to rule ourselves. Right now we don’t have sovereignty, but this is our country; we have to be the ones to run it,”
Even Democrat Party (DP) leader Serdar Denktash, son of the founder of the ‘TRNC’ Rauf Denktash told the Mail earlier that he would join the rally because he wanted Turkey to “respect the administration” in the north as a “truly sovereign authority”.
A similar rally in January gathered over 10,000 protesters and provoked the anger of Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan who, after seeing banners calling on Ankara to “leave the Turkish Cypriots alone”, blasted the community for receiving Turkish financial aid while simultaneously telling Ankara to get out of its affairs. Erdogan raised tension in February by replacing his ‘ambassador’ to Nicosia with Halil Ibrahim Akca, the chief architect of the austerity package.
Clearly angered by what they saw as Erdogan’s “insults” to the community, many of yesterday’s demonstrators again carried banners calling on his Justice and Development Party (AKP) to “get your hands off the Turkish Cypriots” – a move that can be expected to further irritate the Turkish leader.
Speaking to the rally, head of the Turkish Cypriot Teachers’ Union (KTOS) Sener Elcil called for Turkey to end its policy of running the north from Ankara, and issued an appeal to Greek Cypriots and the EU to help end the division of the island.
“We will put pressure on Turkey. We will put pressure on The Greek Cypriots. And we will put pressure on the EU. Turkish Cypriots will be the power behind reunification,” he said.
The demonstration on the whole passed off peacefully with police exercising their power to confiscate banners they saw as provocative or insulting to Turkey.
The owner of the outspoken Turkish Cypriot daily Afrika Sener Levent and a number of supporters were turned back from the rally when they tried to enter Inonu Square, the rally’s destination, carrying a banner reading, “You saved us? Hassiktir!”, a mild curse for Cypriots but highly insulting for Turks.
Protesters carrying the Cyprus Republic flag were also prevented from entering the square.
Commenting on the rally, head of the Eastern Mediterranean University’s (EMU) Cyprus Policy Centre Ahmet Sozen told the Cyprus Mail the protest stemmed from an almost universal desire among Turkish Cypriots for self-determination.
“This is not the same as saying they want their own state, but they want to rule themselves, either in a federation with the Greek Cypriots, or if that isn’t going to come in the near future, without the interference of Ankara, he said”.
Meanwhile on the Greek Cypriot side, only about 50 people responded to a call by the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot teachers platform to gather at the Ledra Street crossing point in support of the Turkish Cypriots.
Commenting on the discrepancy, Disy candidate at the forthcoming elections, Xenia Constantinou, told the group of people who gathered that “half the town is making history, while the other half is fast asleep”. She said “even though the roadblocks had opened since 2004, we are living as though they are still closed, pretending as if we didn’t see a thing”.
“I am angry”, she said. “I am angry because our President who supposedly wants a solution, didn’t find the guts to call on half the Cypriots to join forces with the other half. That’s why I no longer want to hear about anniversary anti-occupation rallies, or demonstrations against Turkey, not even bicommunal picnics to the mountains.”
*I’m sorry I’m venting my anger at you, who I’m sure are feeling the same things I am, but I’m hoping that we can convert our anger into a power for change”, she added.
She went on to say that before the Turkish Cypriots took to the streets she had lost all hope for a solution and that all windows had been closed and that all reasons for optimism had evaporated.
“The Turkish Cypriots have given me hope”, she said and called on optimists and people who wanted peace to dare.
“Next time, let’s not meet here in Ledra Street, let’s gather outside the Presidential Palace or the House of Representatives, or the party headquarters where they will come out and talk to us with 6 different adjectives each about a solution – just, fair, viable, European, with a proper content, bizonal. Whatever.”
“They add on the adjectives in order to avoid the point. The point is a solution. But for there to be a solution, Cypriots must truly want it”, she concluded.
Under the headline “Solution or goodbye”, Makarios Droushiotis writing in today’s Politis says that the UN Secretary-General is determined to clarify things in the Cyprus problem. Without actually spelling it out, in essence his latest report sets out a road map for finishing the talks and clearly warns that the UN will not stay involved for ever.
He says that anyone who can read between the lines of diplomatic talk can clearly see how the UN is thinking and what strategy it wants to lay down for the coming weeks and months. The writer believes that there will either be a breakthrough or a complete collapse. He says Ban Ki-moon is so committed and determined that there is no more room for tactical ploys.
Droushiotis says the UN’s road map is as follows:
- the UN considers the chapters on economy and the EU closed. Those on governance and power sharing have small divergences which are not unbridgeable.
- the only chapter still pending and preventing the Cyprus problem from going to a conference is the property issue. The leaders must bridge their differences using the UN’s experts.
- the leaders must converge their positions on all chapters through cross negotiations i.e. they must start a give and take.
- the UN S-G will reevaluate everything at the end of March and will decide whether to call the leaders to another meeting with him
- at this meeting, which will probably be held in April, he will ask the leaders for proposals as to how they intend to proceed. He will propose that the procedure be expanded.
- his report is clearly preparing the ground for an international conference with the participation of the guarantor powers and the EU
- convergences in all major issues must happen before the elections in Cyprus and Turkey
- he will not write a new report . The next evaluation will take place in June and according to developments he will decide as to the future of UNFICYP and his good offices mission.
- he warns that the UN has been in Cyprus for 50 years now and internal discussions have already begun as to its future on the island.
Droushiotis says there are three major elements arising from the report - the S-G’s insistence on convergences in the next few weeks, that he is preparing the ground for an international conference, that the UN’s role in Cyprus is coming to an end.
The Cyprus Mail’s satirical column Coffeeshop says House president Marios Garoyian is another member of our ruling elite whose delusions of adequacy, this week, developed into full-blown delusions of grandeur. He declared that Ban Ki-moon’s report was neither “objective nor just” and took great exception to Ban’s decision to call a dreaded multilateral meeting, when “I deem it appropriate”. Who did the Secretary-General think he was? As Garoyian pointed out, using the royal plural, “we do not recognise the right of the Secretary-General to be the judge” of when to convene the meeting that would be attended by the guarantor powers. So to whom does Garoyian recognise the right to call the meeting, the DIKO central committee, the Association of Refugee Mothers or the Cyprus Football Federation?
Garoyian also put Big Bad Al in his place because the way the Aussie behaved did not “help the negotiations”. Al did not even record correctly the positions of the two sides at the negotiations. Either that or the comrade has been telling lies to Marios about what positions were being put forward at the talks. The problem was that the Aussie was “biased” and his stance was a “provocation to the Greek Cypriots and a provocation to the UN.” Hard-man Garoyian attacked the biased Ban and Al, thus avoiding putting any blame on the comrade president for the unacceptable report. He needs to stay in the comrade’s good books now, if he is to earn a second term as House president and carry on giving lessons to the Secretary-General on how to make the UN a fairer and more just organisation.
This is why it is imperative to keep the Cyprob alive for as long as possible. Apart from offering fantastic career opportunities to losers and opportunists the Cyprob also feeds the delusions of grandeur and megalomania of our illustrious leaders.
Without it, the president of the People’s Republic would never have meetings with the UN Secretary-General or have an excuse to attend the UN General Assembly every year. He would not be invited for meeting European Commission grandees wanting to know how the talks were going. Most EU big-wigs would not even know Cyprus was a member of the Union if it were not for the Cyprob.
Cyprob is by far our most successful industry and it would be criminal to close it down at a time of recession. If only we could also tax its exploitation all the government’s budget worries would become a thing of the past.
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