Akinci wins presidential elections in north

A leftist moderate promising to press for a peace deal in Cyprus swept to victory in the Turkish Cypriot presidential election runoff yesterday, the Cyprus Mail reports.

Mustafa Akinci, standing as an independent, won 60.3 percent of the votes, against his rival incumbent president Dervis Eroglu who received 39.50%.

In his first speech after his victory, Akinci said he would stand by everything he promised during the election campaign. He will follow a pro-solution policy on the Cyprus problem backed by confidence building measures, Turkish Cypriot daily Detay reports.

Addressing his supporters in Inonu square in northern Nicosia after the results were announced, Akinci said that nothing could stop change because the people were determined to make the change and thanked all the parties which supported him.

Akinci said that President Anastasiades had called to congratulate him and added that they will have a meeting soon after the “formalities” are over. “This country has no more time to lose”, he stressed. “We would have liked the generations before us to have solved the problems of this island. This did not happen. If we cannot solve them either, then they could become a bigger burden for the generations after us. I told him that and he shares the same view”.

In a message to Turkey, Akinci said that he wants that their relations be based on mutual respect.

Moreover, Turkish Cypriot daily Afrika says that Akinci had said his approach would be one that protects the rights of the Turkish Cypriot people, but tries to understand the point of view of the other side as well, showing empathy.

Akinci added: “There has been much pain in the past,” he said. “But we were not the only ones who experienced this, the community in the south also experienced pain. It is time to heal our wounds. The past generations shared this pains. Let the future generations share the blessings of this island.”

The Cyprus News Agency reports that UN Secretary General`s Special Adviser on Cyprus Espen Barth Eide, also congratulated him and said he will be in Cyprus between May 4 – 8 to continue preparations for the resumption of peace talks.

Akinci’s election gives hope for reunification, says President 

The election of Mustafa Akinci to the leadership of the Turkish Cypriot community gives hope that at long last Cyprus will be reunited, President Nicos Anastasiades said on Monday following Akinci’s landslide victory, the Cyprus Mail reports.

He also sent a message to Ankara to contribute towards a solution because “it is Turkey which occupies Cyprus’ northern areas.”

“We extend our hand, not to have it assaulted, but to have it accepted,” he said, and expressed the conviction that there will be cooperation for the good of the country.

Akinci victory sparks war of words on Twitter

Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci’s election victory on Sunday sparked a flurry of discussions on Twitter, with some in the Greek Cypriot political elite going against the grain of renewed hope for a settlement to the decades-long conflict, the Cyprus Mail says.

Prominent hardliners – DIKO leader, Nicolas Papadopoulos, and Yiorgos Lillikas, head of the Citizens’ Alliance, were criticised not only for their refusal to congratulate the winner, but also through posting openly undiplomatic responses on the issue.

Immediately after Akinci’s win was announced on Sunday night, Papadopoulos tweeted his take on the result, setting the stage for what was to follow.

“Those who claim that the Cyprus problem will be solved because the Turkish Cypriot negotiator has changed are simply exculpating Turkey,” he said.

This was immediately countered by DISY member Michalis Sofocleous, who criticized Papadopoulos for lack of common courtesy.

“Not even for appearances,” said Sofocleous, director of the ‘Glafcos Clerides’ Institute. “Congratulate the man on a human level first!”

Unfazed, DIKO’s leader answered the question with a question. “Why exactly should I congratulate the occupation leader?” Papadopoulos asked. “Has he returned our properties?”

This sparked a number of remarks and comments, ranging from the sarcastic to those bordering on abuse.

Citizens’ Alliance leader Yiorgos Lillikas was even more confrontational, and drew his share of flak.

In response to a tweet by Omer Tilli, which claimed that “several fellow countrymen Greek Cypriots are with us at Inonu square – come and see what hope is”, Lillikas had only sarcasm to offer.

“I know what hope is… and I know what delusion is… I hope I am wrong,” he replied.

Predictably, it was not long before he was met with criticism.

“The brothers [Yiorgos Lillikas, Nicolas Papadopoulos and Yiannakis Omirou] started singing the familiar tune, that Turkey decides for everything!” user Active citizen wrote.

Once again, Lillikas opted for sarcasm. “I imagine you have never heard of Turkish occupation,” he replied. “If someone ever brings it up, just ignore him.”

But unless Lillikas was going for sparking interest in his Twitter account – under the doctrine “there’s no such thing as bad publicity” – this quickly backfired.

“This is populism and sarcasm that does not honour you,” user Mattheos Mattheou responded. “At last, get serious.”

Eide: economic zone is not sovereign territory

UN Special Adviser Espen Barth Eide, in an interview with the Cyprus News Agency yesterday, said a country’s economic zone (EEZ) is not sovereign territory, the Cyprus Mail reports.

“There is the legal argument that is very strong on the Republic of Cyprus side, which is that the Republic of Cyprus is a country like every country and it can declare its economic zone. After all, nobody has exploited it, by the way. It is a question of how much a violation has actually happened because many countries do not see seismic exploration as a violation as long as it doesn’t lead to exploitation. Because the economic zone is not sovereign territory, anybody can  basically do anything there but for taking out the resources. But that’s a very technical issue,” he said.

The other argument, he said, from the Turkish Cypriot side was that the hydrocarbons of Cyprus belonged to all Cypriots “and one side of Cyprus cannot just venture into making all decisions that will have a kind of an eternal effect on everyone without consulting with the other side.”

“So, there is a legal argument and a political argument. And this actually illustrates the deep problem of the Cyprus problem. It’s essentially contested what is the Cyprus problem. Is it a hijacked state, or is part of the country occupied? And we know that we will never get a full agreement on that. But you can get to full agreement on how you reunify. So the hydrocarbon crisis is in essence an illustration of the deep disagreements that lies behind the whole understanding of what the Cyprus problem is,” he added.

Asked if a gesture on the part of Turkey, for instance, the opening of ports/airports and other measures, to Cyprus that would be conducive in helping the process move forward, Eide said “the other side in the negotiations is the Turkish Cypriot side, not Turkey”.

“Of course Turkey has an interest in this for obvious reasons but the negotiations are between the two communities on the island.”


To a question by CNA that the problem was the actual division of the island which is maintained by Turkey, Eide said: “Again, this is part of the essential contest, that’s a dimension of it, another one, if you are a Turkish Cypriot is that back in the sixties a state that was supposed to be a state for Greeks and Turks was hijacked by one side and turned into more of a Hellenic state.”

Eide said he did not want to go further into the issue, saying for a long time  people had been living with “different readings” on why the Cyprus problem existed. He said he was more concerned with how it could be resolved.

Asked why he considered the current effort to see the talks resume as possibly a last opportunity, the Norwegian diplomat said:  “Of course, I am not saying that if we have some trouble in three months and a temporary suspension that that’s the end of the day. I am saying in the broad sense I think we have had a very serious crisis with the hydrocarbons, they illustrate that some of these problems, in the absence of a solution, and I sincerely think that it is important now to grasp this moment and try because if there is a will, there is a way. He added that it was not that there was no will “but I don`t think there was sufficient will”.

“I really trust [President] Anastasiades that he actually wants this to happen. Of course, he has a difficult political environment which we can all see and I also feel that there is a very strong urge now for a lot of people on the Turkish Cypriot side to get out of a very strange situation that they are now in.
”

Eide said the impatience of the international community on all sides, was becoming more and more evident. “that there is a feeling that this really cannot be allowed to go on any longer, we cannot have this unresolved, because it is fundamentally unresolved.”

“It’s not like neutral. It’s an open issue that has not landed and there is in principle only two ways to land which is reunification or separation.” 
Eide said he wanted to maintain the optimism that  the problem could be solved and this, he said, was based on a lot of conversations with a lot of people in Cyprus and elsewhere.

Regarding the introduction of confidence building measures, Eide said “they are good but my focus is not on that. My focus in the UN is the talks themselves on the substance, on the core issues, not fringe issues, because I know that if we solve all the core issues, then everything else will follow.”

For instance, he continued, “a unified Cyprus will be recognised by Turkey, of course, and then the ensuing state will have the same access to ports in Turkey as every other state, the hydrocarbon issue is not any longer a conflict issue but a cooperation issue because both sides already agreed that it’s a federal capacity in a new state. So, a lot of these issues are issues because of the division and will actually evaporate once a solution is found. Because they are expressions of the division.”

Asked if the core issues would be dealt with first, he said when the talks restart they would cover core issues, property, territory, governance and power sharing. “We are taking difficult issue by difficult issue and seeing how we move forward.”

To a question as to whether there was a timeframe or deadline, Eide said “2015 is the border framework we are operating inside. I don’t want to say a particular date because the date will become a point in itself but the sooner the better. And this is also what the leaders say, they want to solve this the sooner the better.” 
He said Cyprus could be “a stable, wealthy, interesting, positive place, an example to the world for overcoming past difficulties through peaceful negotiations.”

It would also attract a lot of investments as an ideal location for people who want to be engaged in the Middle East but do not want to actually be based in the Middle East.” 
The island would eventually, he hoped “be able to capitalise on its natural resources and so on, and have an economy that is not driven by political decisions but by rational economic choice.”

“And I think that`s a great future but you can only find it by working with other Cypriots,” he concluded.

Furore

Eide’s interview to CAN created a furore on the Greek Cypriot side particularly his statement that the exclusive economic zones (EEZ) were not sovereign, and his comment as to what defines the Cyprus problem.

Government spokesman Nicos Christodoulides said in a written statement that the Republic had already made “very strict demarches,” which he deemed “unacceptable”.

UN clarifies

The UN issued a written statement on behalf of Eide clarifying two points.

“ The SASG [Special Adviser of the Secretary-General] has never intended to make any kind of judgment about the competing narratives about the roots of the Cyprus problem. He was merely referring to the well-known fact that there is more than one perception about what the core of the issue is, and that while Cypriots may continue to disagree about the past, they should look ahead and aim at agreeing about the future,” the statement said.

On the issue of the EEZ, the statement said : “The SASG has repeatedly underlined that the Republic of Cyprus has exactly the same right to declare an Exclusive Economic Zone as any other sovereign state, and that its rights in this regard should be fully respected by other states. A passage in the interview could leave the impression that he relativizes this basic right, established in the United Nations Law of the Sea Convention, which is obviously not the case and which was never his intention.”

Straight talking is all very well if your audience is ready to listen

                       

UN Special Adviser Espen Barth Eide was doing so well, says an editorial in the Cyprus Mail. He announced on Tuesday that Cyprus talks would be resuming after the elections in the north, which will be held on April 19.

A day later he found himself in the doghouse, not only with the usual suspects – the rejectionist parties – but with the government after an interview he gave to the Cyprus News Agency.

Two comments he made raised hackles. In one, he tried to play down Turkey’s forays into the island’s EEZ effectively saying it was no big deal.

His second ‘offence’ was when he tried to define the Cyprus problem, saying: “It`s essentially contested what is the Cyprus problem. Is it a hijack state, or part of the country is occupied?”

The government immediately made strong demarches, and the political parties trotted out the usual song and dance they perform when a foreign official doesn’t follow the Greek Cypriot party line.

At the time of writing yesterday afternoon we had lauded Eide for his sensible straight talking, saying that it was refreshing to see a UN interlocutor not afraid to be scrutinised over what he said in the hard-core Greek Cypriot media, which routinely eats UN envoys for breakfast.

The UN had not issued any ‘clarifications’ or statements that Eide had been ‘misunderstood’ or tried to smooth things over for the good of the negotiations, which indicated that he was ready to stand by what he said and not be cowed.

This viewpoint was short-lived. Late last night Eide issued a statement saying he had been ‘misrepresented’. Interestingly he did not say he had been misquoted but merely tried to clarify that he had not intended to make any kind of judgment about the competing narratives on the Cyprus issue, and also that Cyprus’ EEZ should be respected by other states.

With all the past experiences of his predecessors it is hard to believe Eide did not know that everything he said would be nitpicked to death, even though he did not say anything that was terribly shocking.

Straight talking is all very well if your audience is ready to listen and understand what you are trying to do. But in Cyprus, neither side wants to hear the other’s point of view. That’s why the Cyprus issue has not been resolved.

In their own ways, the sides in Cyprus ‘can’t handle the truth’ and anyone who speaks it is labeled ‘an ambassador for Turkey’ by the Greek Cypriot side or ‘pro-Greek by the Turkish side.

The unfortunate reality is that for the sake of the negotiations it is sometimes best not to give more ammunition to the political parties who are just looking for an excuse to pressure President Nicos Anastasiades into not returning to the talks.

Talks to restart

UN Special Advisor Espen Barth Eide has announced he expects talks on the Cyprus problem to resume after the Turkish Cypriot elections later this month, the Cyprus Mail reports.

Speaking after separate meetings with the leaders of the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities, the Norwegian diplomat said they both agreed the “circumstances were now right” for the resumption of negotiations.

“I see no obstacle to a very early resumption of talks once the election process in the north of Cyprus is done,” Eide said.

“The stated reason why talks could not happen are gone, at least for the foreseeable future,” Eide said,”and that that makes it possible to prepare for the resumption of talks in a structured, results oriented and fast manner.”

He said Mr Anastasiades had informed him that, in view of the fact that the NAVTEX had expired and will not be renewed, and that there is no overhanging threat,  he was ready to lift the suspension of his participation in the talks and that he looks forward to engage in constructive dialogue with whoever emerges as the Turkish Cypriot leader after the elections in the north on April 19.

He said that both leaders had agreed to pick up from where they left off and called on all Cypriots to realize that this is a decisive moment, not only for political leaders, but also for everybody living on this island.

“I strongly feel that 2015 is going to be a decisive year,” Eide stressed. “The conditions are in place.”

He also stressed that while some Cypriots believe that their problems are other Cypriots, that’s fundamentally wrong. “The problem Cypriots share is the absence of a settlement which is one of the reasons why a lot of young people leave the island, why investments that could have happened are not happening, why the benefits of economy of scale cannot be reached to their full potential, and why it has been very difficult to prepare for this hydrocarbons phase of Cyprus history.”

He said it’s time to think strategically and not tactically, and not only at the leaders’ level but across all elements of society, and understand that this is an opportunity that has to be grasped.

“It is a window of opportunity. We do not necessarily talk of deadlines, but the window may not be open forever.”

“This country has to find a solution after 51 years. It’s possible. We have difficult months ahead, but there is nothing - I repeat nothing - in all the chapters that I know now quite well which I deem as unresolvable. 
Every single issue can be solved if there is will, if there is dedication, and if that will is sustained as we go through all the chapters and eventually bring in the international community in some kind of final stage,” he concluded.

Greek Cypriot response

Government spokesman Nicos Christodoulides said the Greek Cypriot side was ready to withdraw its decision to suspend its participation in a bid to create the prospects that will allow a solution of the Cyprus problem through honest dialogue without threats and intimidation, according to the Cyprus Mail.

Christodoulides said talks could not start immediately in view of the elections in the north.

“In the meantime,” he said, “we will have the chance to verify the assurances Mr. Eide has conveyed” that Turkey would not repeat last year’s actions.

The spokesman said there was no written assurance from Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan.

“He (Eide) brought a message from the Turkish government.”

The spokesman said progress in the talks, if any, would emerge at the negotiating table.

“That is where we will judge, that is where we will be able to say if there are prospects for a positive conclusion,” Christodoulides said. “We will work towards that direction that is our objective; political will is also needed, but also specific actions from the other side.”

Ruling DISY leader Averof Neophytou said dialogue was the only way of breaking the deadlock.

“Do we have an alternative? Do we have the capability of freeing our country through a different way?” Neophytou said, referring to the naysayers.

The DISY leader said the easiest thing was to say no.

“No to insolvency, no to foreclosures, no to the first haircut, no to dialogue, no to privatisations, no to reforms,” Neophytou said. “Yes, but it is high time the people who permanently say no to say what they propose instead.”

DIKO said resumption of the talks should not entrap the Greek Cypriot side further “in a vicious cycle of a fruitless procedure.” EDEK said the reasons why the Greek Cypriot side withdrew from the talks were still there. AKEL expressed support for the start of the talks.

‘Not many chances left,’ says Eide

The UN Secretary General’s Special Adviser  Espen Barth Eide warned on Tuesday that not many chances remained to reunify the island but appeared optimistic that talks between the Greek and Turkish Cypriots side would resume, the Cyprus Mail reports.

“I think people have to realize that we cannot go on year after year without any progress, because this problem has remained unresolved for many decades,” Eide told reporters after a meeting with Anastasiades. “At some stage there must be shared will to move on.”

Eide said he felt the will was there but in addition “there must be the right circumstances and if these circumstances occur we must be ready to grasp the opportunity and use it constructively.”

“There will not be many more chances, let me put it that way,” he said.

Eide said there was a growing sense that the circumstances that led to the suspension of talks may soon be over.

“Expectations are that within reasonable time we will be able to get back to a climate where we can not only talk again but maybe even see if those talks can be accelerated.”

The UN official said he felt there was a wish and desire to invest in this, after the crisis in the winter.

“Sometimes crises can help clarify people’s mind and illustrate that there are bigger issues out there that we have to meet together. So, I am significantly more optimistic than last time you saw me.”

A navigational telex, or NAVTEX, issued by Turkey to announce its intention to carry out seismic surveys expires on April 6, a factor that would contribute constructively to the resumption of talks, Eide said.

It was the second NAVTEX issued by Turkey. The first one, issued in October, expired at the end of the year.

“It seems that a window may be created where the mutual reasons for what has happened over winter are not there and if that momentum occurs we will use it. What we are trying to do now is to talk about what we will do if this is possible. Assuming that we are moving into a better space then we will accelerate talks and try to see how far we can get.”

Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu said after his meeting with Eide that he considers it very possible that President Anastasiades will return to the negotiating table soon, even before the upcoming elections in the north, in April.

The Cyprus Mail also reported that Eide left the island on Wednesday and would return when he is ready to announce the resumption of talks, which it is hoped will begin again at the end of April or early May.

Citing sources close to the special envoy, the Cyprus News Agency said Eide hoped to announce a date for the stalled negotiations prior to the elections in the north for a new Turkish Cypriot leader on April 19.

The sources also said there was an agreement in principle from Turkey that it would not renew a navigational telex (NAVTEX) for further explorations in the island’s exclusive economic zone, which expires on April 6.

Negotiations could then resume from the point at which they stopped last October when Turkey issued the first NAVTEX that prompted the Greek Cypriot side to withdraw from the talks.

The sources told CNA that the most difficult issues in the negotiations process would be discussed first this time, however, and not left until last.

Depending on the positions presented by both sides, the United Nations would submit neutral proposals to facilitate convergence between the two sides, the sources said, but they warned it would be difficult for the process to survive yet another interruption.

Eide himself said during a reception at the UN-controlled Nicosia airport yesterday on empowering women, that a resumption of the talks was close.

“We are about to restart the peace talks in earnest. There is will on the top level on both sides,” he added.

“There are serious and deep difficulties on the property issue and on state level issues. However, I have not found a single issue which cannot be resolved.”

Eide urged civil society and ordinary Cypriots on both sides to press their respective leaders to work towards a settlement.

The future of their homeland did not lie just in the hands of their elected leaders, he said, and that people had to encourage and hold their leaders to their promise to deliver a solution.

“The Cyprus problem is not the other side. The problem in Cyprus is the fact that Cyprus is not progressing as it should,” he said, adding that the country as a whole was losing out daily on economic opportunities.

Nami says no new NAVTEX will be issued 


Turkish Cypriot daily Kibris reported that the Turkish Cypriot foreign minister Ozdil Nami said that if the Greek Cypriot side continues to put forward preconditions for the resumption of the Cyprus negotiation talks as it had previously done so, then the talks will remain in suspension.

In statements to the paper, Nami noted that the NAVTEX ends on April 6, adding that the Turkish Cypriot side will not announce a new NAVTEX and will not sent the Barbarros to the region.

Nami stated that it will be very pleasant if Mr Anastasiades would return to the table within this period. He recalled that the Greek Cypriot leader, had put forward some preconditions for returning to the table, and warned that if the talks resume in the next three months and the Greek Cypriot side resumes its oil exploration activities, then they will be forced to give the necessary response.

Nami said there were three alternatives - either the sides proceed together on the hydrocarbon issue, or they continue with their activities separately, or simultaneously stop their work.

Moreover, Turkish Cypriot daily Afrika  reported that Eroglu said that the Barbaros has not left Famagusta as a goodwill gesture from the Turkish Cypriot side in order for the talks to be resumed again. He expressed the wish that the Greek Cypriot leader Nikos Anastasiades would return to the negotiating table.

Coffeeshop

Was it a coincidence that last Sunday the pseudo foreign minister of the north Ozdil Nami announced that the navtex for Turkey’s seismic research vessel Barbaros, which expires on April 6, would not be renewed, the Cyprus Mail’s satirical column Coffeeshop asks. Was Turkey so keen on the resumption of the talks that it gave in to Nik’s courageous ultimatum?

As we know only too well, the Turks do not make unilateral concessions. In order not to renew the navtex, they were given assurances from someone that we would stop all exploratory drilling, which was reason the Turks were violating our EEZ. We do not know whether the Yanks arranged for the drilling to stop in consultation with Nik or if it was our prez’s initiative.

Was it another coincidence that the nerdy UN envoy Espen Barth Eide arrived this week to prepare the ground for the resumption of the talks? But it was no coincidence that in the same week we also had the theatre involving Noble, whereby special guests flew in all the way from Texas to take part in it. Two Noble Energy vice presidents flew here all the way from Texas to state the obvious – that they will sell the gas.

The prez pulled off quite a clever stunt to deflect attention away from the fact that we had temporarily given up our sovereign right to carry out drilling in our EEZ so he could triumphantly return to the talks claiming that the Turks had given in to his diktat. This non-commercial exploitation of hydrocarbons is one the few things this government does extremely well, Coffeeshop says.

Ban plan needed, says Davutoglu

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has urged the United Nations Secretary-General to come up with a plan to solve the Cyprus problem before his term ends in 2016, the Cyprus Mail reports.

Speaking after a meeting with Ban Ki-moon in New York on Thursday, Davutoglu said he had reminded the UNSG that the Turkish side had supported the Annan plan in 2004, which was rejected by the Greek Cypriot side.

“In 2004 we supported the Annan plan and I suggested to Mr Ban Ki-moon that we now need a Ban Ki-moon plan before the end of his term to end this long-standing crisis,” he said.

The Turkish PM also called on the Greek Cypriot side to return to the negotiating table, and for an international conference to be held as soon as possible.

“Instead of one-sided actions and provocations about natural resources in Cyprus, negotiation at the table will be more beneficial. We will do everything possible for a sustainable comprehensive peace,” he said.

The UN said Ban’s special adviser Espen Barth Eide continued his consultations.

“When he is ready to unveil something, it will be unveiled, but obviously Cyprus remains very high on the agenda for the Secretary-General” the UNSG’s spokesperson said.

The spirit of Makarios in Anastasiades

Loucas Charalambous writing in the Cyprus Mail says he is amused by the foolish arguments used by our politicians and journalists when they accuse the British, the Americans, EU and UN officials, of double standards when they don’t support our side, which is always in the right, and sit Turkey, which is always in the wrong, in the dock.

The nonsensical comments made by President Anastasiades on his Moscow trip combined with the US and British reaction gave this bunch the excuse to bombard us with their anti-American and anti-West sloganeering, he says.

This attitude explains how and why we are in the current mess. It is a sick mentality that is based on our political mythology of the last 50-plus years which maintains that for everything that has happened to this country the Turks and the West are to blame, never us. We are completely blameless, the only ones without sin, while the whole world has been constantly conspiring to destroy us.

He says we can accept all this rubbish when it comes from AKEL, DIKO and EDEK and the rest of our political scoundrels who remain stuck in the Makarios political culture, but when we hear it from the mouths of Anastasiades and Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides, two men from DISY, the party set up some 40 years ago with the aim of fighting this sick political culture, destroying the myths, speaking honestly to people, modernising our primitive political attitudes, we can only despair.

Both told us that the behaviour of the Western countries was hypocritical and Pharisaic because they did not condemn Turkey for its ‘invasion’ of the Cypriot EEZ whereas they wanted to crush President Putin over the Ukraine. Both are outraged when they are told that the two cases are very different. But they are.

Our politicians, including Anastasiades and Kasoulides, pretend they do not know the Cyprus problem. Turkey does not recognise the Republic and that is the problem. Turkey’s position – much as we do not like it – is generally accepted by foreign countries and is along the following lines: The Greek Cypriots destroyed the partnership state of 1960, Turkish Cypriots have not been participating in it since 1964, they have set up on their own and therefore the Greek Cypriots represent only half of Cyprus; Greek Cypriots were not committed to a settlement that would lead to the establishment of a new partnership state, in contrast to the Turkish Cypriot who proved they were. For as long as this situation continues we will look after the rights of the Turkish Cypriots and will not allow the Greek Cypriots to usurp them.

This is the argument Turkey uses to justify its incursions into the Cypriot EEZ from which we want the Americans and the British to kick her out. It is also the reason we are told that the two cases are not the same. It is understandable that Turkey’s actions infuriate the Greek Cypriots who have been inculcated with the mythology about the “Turkish Cypriot rebellion”, the evil US, back-stabbing Britain, nasty NATO, the hypocritical EU and virtuous, principled Russia by our political demagogues.

Anastasiades and Kasoulides, after all these years, are emulating Makarios who thought he could play games in the ring in which the two world superpowers were sparring, with result that they crushed us. After all these years and with the benefit of hindsight, we have learnt nothing from these criminal mistakes.

Neither Anastasiades nor Kasoulides – not to mention the other political dwarfs – have understood what our problem is. They continue the demagoguery and the frivolous political games instead of concentrating on finding a solution to the problem and explaining to people why it is necessary and the risks of leaving it unsolved, he concludes.

Coffeeshop

The Cyprus Mail’s satirical column Coffeeshop says that the Mayor of Kyrenia Glafcos Kariolou, who was recently visiting Brussels, went out to dinner with a group of Cypriot and Greek MEPs.

Kariolou, formerly a bash patriot, lost membership to this exclusive club after suggesting that Greek Cypriots should return to their homes in Kyrenia under Turkish Cypriot administration.

While the group were chatting about his suggestion over dinner, Sigmalive’s bash-patriotic columnist and MEP aide, the colossally self-regarding Yiannos Charalambides entered the restaurant with a companion and sat down at a table nearby. When Charalambides saw that Kariolou was among the company, he banged his hands on the table and said: “Traitors, your are eating with this traitor,” and pointed to the Kyrenia mayor.

The MEPs ignored him and a couple of minutes later, he banged his hands on the table again and loudly announced, “My family does not forgive such traitors,” before getting up and leaving the restaurant. Interestingly, among the traitors having dinner with Kariolou was our freedom-fighter MEP Dr Eleni Theocharous, whose parliamentary aide, Dr Charalambides happens to be.

Dr Charalambides was not drunk at the time. We were informed that his outburst was perfectly normal behaviour for him, Coffeeshop concludes.

Eide: no prospects for resumption of talks

The UN Secretary General’s Special Adviser Espen Barth Eide has conceded that, despite his efforts, chances are slim for the resumption of direct Cyprus peace talks in the near future, the Cyprus Mail reports.

“We are not giving up…but right now there are no prospects for an immediate meeting [of the two leaders] and I think that will be true for quite awhile,” the UN official said on Wednesday.

He was speaking to reporters coming out of a meeting with President Nicos Anastasiades. He said he was here to listen to the two leaders.

Although both leaders were in favour of resuming talks, it had not been possible to resolve complications, he said. “I’m concerned, I’m increasingly concerned that things are not moving and I’m afraid that as they are not moving they are de facto moving in the wrong direction,” the special adviser added. “If you remember in October I said that if this hydrocarbon crisis will last for a few weeks or even a few months, it would not threaten the process itself. Now it’s lingering on, we are way into the next year and I think is really important that everybody now tries to do what they can to get over this.”

Eide spoke of a paradox, in that there is greater agreement on the future than on the present. Whereas the sides agree that hydrocarbons should be the competency of the central government in a reunified state, they cannot agree on how to unlock the current stalemate.

The UN official said that during a lull in natural gas drilling by the Greek Cypriots, and a simultaneous halt in seismic surveys by Turkey in Cyprus’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ), the UN had tried to work out a formula to bring the two leaders back to the table.

But the efforts failed due to a number of factors, he said, without elaborating.
This was unfortunate, Eide said, because whatever disagreements existed on the issue of hydrocarbons were less severe than divergences on such thorny subjects as property and territory.
Eide welcomed Anastasiades’ positive contribution, which however did not succeed in ending the standoff.

“The difference on the issue is so deep that it prevents any direct talks about anything, which I think is highly unfortunate because we should now be at the table so that this issues can actually be discussed,” said Eide. “And I reiterate that there is a positive step from Mr Anastasiades and this step should be followed with some kind of response from the other side.”

He was referring to last week’s overture by Anastasiades to the Turkish Cypriots, saying that the island’s hydrocarbons resources could be discussed at the tail end of the talks process.
Previously Nicosia had ruled out discussing hydrocarbons prior to a comprehensive settlement.

Anastasiades said after the meeting with Eide the issue was not whether hydrocarbons were on the table or not. “It has already been agreed that the management of the natural resources comes under the competencies of the central government,” Anastasiades said. “It has been discussed and it has been agreed. Also agreed has been the issue of the allocation of the total resources of the federal state among which are also the natural resources. That is why the Turkish Cypriots never raised an issue during the joint communique or during the exchange of the proposals. Consequently, it is not the first time that it is being raised. But there is also no way that the issue will be discussed before the completion of the total agreement, and always with implementation of whatever will be agreed after the solution.”

On Tuesday, Eide had met separately with Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu. After that meeting, the UN official warned that the deadlock has started damaging the peace process.


Eide said he would return to the island before January 26, when he was due to brief the UN Security Council on Cyprus, in view of the renewal of the UNFICYP mandate.

On his next visit here, he said, the aim will be to clinch an agreement between the leaders on a schedule of meetings and a timeline. Achieving that goal would allow him to report back to the Security Council that prospects for a solution still existed, Eide said.

Government unhappy with UNSG report           

The government on Thursday expressed “strong displeasure” over the UN Secretary General’s report on the international organisation’s operation in Cyprus, for failing to cite Turkey’s economic zone violations and for speaking of Turkish Cypriot isolation, the Cyprus Mail reports.

Ban Ki-moon’s report covering UN activities in Cyprus between June 21 and December 15, 2014 was given to UN Security Council members ahead of a discussion on UNFICYP’s mandate.

Government spokesman, Christodoulides said the report made no clear reference to the continuing violations of Cyprus’ sovereign rights and there wasn’t any reference to Turkey’s “illegal seismic surveys” inside the island’s exclusive economic zone by a research vessel, Barbaros,  accompanied by warships.

“The report outlines the events in a manner that does not reflect reality,” Christodoulides said. “The equal distance approach under the pretext of impartiality emboldens Turkey and further complicates the current situation.”

The UNSG only gave a brief outline of the events that led to the interruption of the talks and stressed the need for a prompt resumption of negotiations, appealing to the two sides to find a way to accomplish this without delay.

“I have noted that both communities can ill afford to perpetuate the status quo, in particular in the light of the wider regional context,” Ban said. “I reiterate my call to both sides to refrain from the “blame game” and from negative rhetoric about each other.”

The report also includes “exceptionally unfortunate claims” regarding supposed obstacles and restrictions that hinder the economic development of the Turkish Cypriot community, the spokesman said.

“Any economic inequality between the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities is the direct result of the continuing illegal occupation of part of the territory of the Republic of Cyprus by Turkish troops,” Christodoulides said.

He added that the government planned to protest at the highest level.

In his 11-page report, Ban said an active civil society and the continued development of economic, social, cultural, sporting or similar ties and contacts between the two communities could provide critical support to political leaders and help them make the necessary compromises at the negotiating table.

“Similarly, the removal of restrictions and barriers that impede the economic development of the Turkish Cypriot community will promote trust. Such a development will help to address the isolation concerns of the Turkish Cypriots, as well as their inability to participate meaningfully in an interconnected world, thereby preparing Cyprus for a comprehensive settlement.

Ban urged the leaders of the two communities to exert efforts to create a climate conducive to achieving greater economic and social parity between the two sides, including through joint projects and increased trade, which will make an eventual reunification easier and more likely.

The UNSG’s report is used to inform members of the Security Council ahead of a vote for the renewal of UNFICYP’s mandate, scheduled for January 28.

UN special representative Lisa Buttenheim will brief the UNSC on January 26, the Cyprus Mail concludes.

Anastasiades angry over UNSG report                 

President Nicos Anastasiades has said he would not be blackmailed into returning to the negotiating table and warned that he should not be taken for granted just because he supported a reunification blueprint in 2004.

“I will not bow, under any circumstances, and be dragged into talks under threat or blackmail,” Anastasiades said in an interview with private Mega television on Thursday evening.

It followed the publication of the United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon’s report on UNFICYP, which the government slammed as one-sided and failing to reflect reality.

A displeased Anastasiades said the report was an indirect way of forcing a change in policy – i.e. to return to the negotiating table irrespective of the violations of Cyprus’ sovereign rights by Turkey, and discuss joint exploitation and joint decision-making of the island’s natural resources.

“So that Turkish Cypriots become partners in the Republic’s natural wealth and also have the right to choose plan B (partition),” the president said.

Anastasiades suggested that his refusal to take part in such a dialogue led, under pressure from certain powers, to the creation of a negative climate reflected in UNSG’s report – “an unacceptable text” that was reminiscent of 2004.

“Some people have taken for granted that just because I supported the Annan plan, I would accept any solution,” he said.

He added that he had received promises from UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, US Secretary of State John Kerry, and US Vice President Joe Biden, the Russian foreign minister and even Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, that Turkey was ready to go ahead with talks at the start of October as agreed.

What’s more, he added, the ambassador of a big power, he did not name which, had told him that before the start of the talks, Turkey would lift the embargo on Cyprus-flagged vessels.

“Instead, five days later a Navtex was issued (announcement of seismic surveys inside Cyprus’ exclusive economic zone or EEZ),” he said. “It is the first time I say it, but patience has its limits.”

Turkey proposes escrow account for Turkish Cypriots

Turkey’s foreign minister Melvut Cavusoglu on Wednesday accused Nicosia of deliberately excluding Turkish Cypriots from sharing in the island’s wealth.
In comments to Turkey’s Anatolia news agency, Cavusoglu proposed setting up an escrow account with the share of natural gas revenues allotted to the Turkish Cypriots, the Cyprus Mail writes.

The account could be held in trust by either the UN or the World Bank, he said.
Once this was done, he added, negotiations in Cyprus could resume.
Greek Cypriots have “failed the sincerity test,” Cavusoglu noted, claiming that Nicosia is coming up with all sorts of excuses to avoid sharing the island’s natural resources.

“We proposed establishing a [joint hydrocarbons] commission, they [Greek Cypriots] said no, because that would amount to recognition [of the breakaway regime]. Then we proposed setting up a private company, again they rejected this. Then what else can be done?”
Turkey is not opposed to hydrocarbons prospecting in the eastern Mediterranean, provided that this was not unilateral, Cavusoglu added.

Cavusoglu was due in the north for talks with the Turkish Cypriot leadership later on Wednesday.


Tusk and Davutoğlu agree on need for Cyprus solution

The President of the European Council Donald Tusk and Turkey’s Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu have agreed on the need for a comprehensive settlement to the Cyprus problem, the Cyprus Mail reports.

“The status quo has endured for too long. It is very important to ensure a positive climate so that the negotiations can resume”, said President Tusk in a press statement issued on Thursday following his meeting with Davutoğlu in Brussels.

He also noted that he had reaffirmed the importance the European Union attaches to its relations with Turkey. “Turkey is a key partner for us. Turkey`s accession process remains the main framework of our relations. On our side, we will continue to support opening new chapters when the conditions are met,” he said.

Erdogan torpedoed the talks

A front page article in Politis newspaper yesterday quotes government circles as saying that the government had assurances from US, UN and Turkish Cypriot circles that Turkey was not going to renew the NAVTEX and send out the Barbarosa again but wanted to give the process a chance to work. The paper says the decision came from Erdogan’s office rather than that of Davutoglu, who the US and the international community find more amenable. It seems, the paper says, that once again Erdogan has caught out the international community as happened with Biden’s visit and the effort to open Varosha. The paper says this is because of forthcoming parliamentary elections in Turkey and because the next few months before the Turkish Cypriot elections are a dead period. It concludes by saying that any developments will most likely happen after the summer.

Turkish Cypriot elections

An opinion poll has shown that Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu has a clear lead in the runup to the elections in the north in April, according to Politis.

The polls give Eroglu 31%, CTP candidate Sibel Siber 20%, independent candidate Mustafa Akinci 11%, and former negotiator Kudret Ozersai 5%.

Eide returns next week

The Special Adviser of the UN Secretary-General on Cyprus Espen Barth Eide will return briefly to the next week, in order 
to ascertain directly from the leaders their views on the current impasse in the talks and prospects for its resolution, 
the UN office in Nicosia has said.

The Special Adviser also plans to use the trip to prepare his briefing to the Security Council, scheduled on 26 January.
 “In the meantime Eide continues to be in contact with all relevant actors, and in the lead-up to his visit he urges the leaders to remain focused on resuming the talks”, a UN press release says.


Akel and the government really on the same page

As AKEL’s leader Andros Kyprianou struggleds to differentiate his party’s position from President Nicos Anastasiades’ decision to agree to incorporate the hydrocarbons issue in the talks on the Cyprus problem, Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides has asserted that the government’s position was essentially aligned with that of the communist party, the Cyprus Mail reports.

Following a party leaders’ meeting on Monday, Anastasiades had issued a statement insisting he would not be returning to the peace talks, but for the first time conceded that hydrocarbons could be discussed as part of the final phase of negotiations, and only after territorial adjustments have been discussed.

The move was considered a major concession by opposition parties who criticised him vehemently, with the notable exception of AKEL, which refrained from offering a public position.

Media reports meanwhile suggested that AKEL had agreed with the government’s strategy during the party leaders’ meeting, but Kyprianou promptly denied this during the night-time news programmes, claiming that the government was just trying to show it had broader support than it actually had.

But while every other party criticised the government for making a “dangerous concession” with nothing to show in return, Kyprianou’s charge was precisely the opposite - that Anastasiades hadn’t been clear and bold enough, the paper says.

“We suggested that the President make explicit proposals,” Kyprianou told state radio yesterday. “Turkish Cypriots have rights, solution or no solution. There should have been a clear reference that revenues belonging to the Turkish Cypriot community will be deposited to a special fund that will become available when the Cyprus problem is solved.”

“The issue of hydrocarbons has been resolved, but the President’s statement did not say that,” Kyprianou added. “The only thing left to agree on is the communities’ share of the revenue.”

Kasoulides claimed that AKEL’s leader was just trying to find ways to look as if it was different.  Anastasiades’ statement, he said, was meant to offer the UN special envoy, Espen Barth Eide, a way out of the deadlock.

“President Anastasiades’ statement was not only aimed at domestic audiences – it was also intended for international stakeholders and the United Nations,” Kasoulides said.

He agreed with Kyprianou that the hydrocarbons issue has largely been resolved and that the only issue left to agree was each community’s share of the proceeds. He said this was also contained in the Memorandum of Understanding, adding that the Finance ministry was preparing a bill that will not only designate the percentage of revenues that will be deposited in a fund for future generations, as per the Norwegian model, but will also designate the share allocated to each community.

Face-saving formula needed for talks to resume

                       

An editorial in the Cyprus Mail says that Anastasiades concession that the sharing of the hydrocarbons between the two communities could be discussed at the final stages of the settlement talks, when the territorial adjustments were being negotiated, was obviously not good enough for Turkey. One of Turkey’s demands had been satisfied – to discuss the sharing of the hydrocarbons at the peace talks – but the second, the suspension of drilling by the Cyprus Republic, was not.

This may have been the reason Ankara issued another NAVTEX 24 hours after Anastasiades’ proposal was made public. We assume Turkey, which always makes a point of underlining its position of strength, was not prepared to make any concession before all its demands were satisfied. There is a tiny probability that, despite the issuing of the NAVTEX, the Barbaros would not sail into the Cyprus EEZ, but Turkey has not accustomed us to idle threats, let alone acts of goodwill for the sake of the peace talks.

Poor old Anastasiades has come under attack from all the political parties for his proposal – the hardliners have lambasted him for agreeing to the inclusion of hydrocarbons in the peace talks, while AKEL has accused him of not making a concrete proposal for the sharing of the natural gas. The attacks would have been an irrelevance if his concession led to a resumption of the talks, but the Turks have refused to budge putting him in a very awkward position, the paper says.

The deadlock is threatening to become permanent. The only person who might be able to break it is the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy to Cyprus Espen Barth Eide who is reportedly in contact with both sides. It is a thankless task as both sides are entrenched in their positions, but everything now depends on the Norwegian diplomat finding a face-saving formula that would allow the resumption of talks.

However, with the Turks insisting on their demand for the suspension of the drilling and Anastasiades not willing to suffer the humiliation of giving in to it, the prospects of success of Eide’s salvage operation seem rather dim, the paper concludes.

Now what?

Politis columnist Giorgos Kaskanis says all well and good, we’ve broken off the talks, made all demarches to the EU, got a mention and a resolution, but what do we do now?

All that Anastasiades’ handlings in the end have achieved is to displease everyone, both in Cyprus and abroad, without gaining anything of substance.

But the buck stops with Anastasiades himself, the writer says.  He is the one who must decide whether to continue a policy of trying to please the rejectionists who, in any case cannot ever be pleased, or whether to take the bull by the horns and create new conditions that will lead out of the current impasse. This can only happen if he undertakes substantial and decisive initiatives towards solving the Cyprus problem rather than to pursue the pointless effort of trying to get recognition for the rights of the Cyprus republic.

It is high time, the writer says, that we all recognise that the outcome of what’s happening today is either a permanent solution or permanent partition, with the exploitation of the natural gas being doubtful.

Talk to the people not the parties

In an open letter to President Anastasiades, blogger Constantinos Odysseos says it is doubtful how he will achieve his aim of a bizonal bicommunal federation by trying to please those who don’t want such a solution, but who prefer some other, as yet unspecified (because this brief 40 year time span hasn’t been enough time for them to find exactly what they want), as well as those who want a two-state solution, ie partition (which people are talking openly about now in articles in the press and on the internet).

The writer suspects, however, that we will end up with partition and will be pulling our hair out, as we have done many a time in the past, as a result of our permanent state of confusion that characterises our positions.

There can never be “unity” in the handling of the Cyprus problem, he tells the president. So forget about it! We don’t all want the same thing. Change the way you are thinking and stop believing that the parties represent the people. The vast majority of the people, no longer trust the parties, and if they vote for them it’s only because they have no choice. So talk to the people, he says, address the citizens themselves. They are the ones who will end up having to pay the price if things go wrong in the Cyprus problem again.

Tell us, he goes on, what the facts are. Explain what bizonal federation means, its advantages and disadvantages. Challenge those who are advocating a new strategy, a new basis, new nonsense, to explain exactly what they mean. And finally, explain to the people what partition really means, so that the ordinary citizen stops flirting with this devilish idea that will turn the Greeks of Cyprus into a minority if it ever becomes official.