Omphalos Tis Gis

What really happened at Greentree

2012-01-29T23:12:00.001+02:00

What happened at Greentree was that President Christofias managed to buy some time, says Makarios Droushiotis writing in Politis. The big decisions on the Cyprus problem have simply been postponed till the end of February when Alexander Downer will decide whether to call a multilateral conference.

Most observers in New York believe that the UN S-G will probably go ahead and call a multilateral conference leaving it up to each side to decide whether or not to attend. In fact the UN S-G was ready to do so at Greentree but agreed to allow for some more time in order to help Christofias.

As far as the UN is concerned, the prerequisites for calling a multilateral conference are already in place. The UN S-G himself said that only three issues remain to be settled – the election of the executive, the property issue and citizenship (the settlers). If it is true that just these three issues remain, then the UN is right, the Cyprus problem can be solved in a few hours. The fact that only these issues are being discussed before a final conference means that there are no other serious differences, and even these can be bridged.

The way a future President is elected is not a disagreement that can justifiably scupper the whole deal. The property issue has already been solved by the UN technocrats but is being kept open until the issue of territory is clarified, while the issue of the settlers is within the framework of maintaining the population ratios.

Thus the talks are within a hair’s breadth of reaching an agreement. Politically, however, an agreement is completely unrealistic. President Christofias has never admitted that there has been serious progress in the talks, nor has he ever done what the UN S-G had encouraged him to do, namely prepared the people for a solution, or even sought political alliances to help him work a solution. Instead, he is cultivating, even now, a climate of failure, or deadlock and mistrust of the other side, to such an extent that the people no longer trust him or his interlocutor. On the contrary, society is petrified of all the dangers that lie ahead.

Christofias went to Greentree with the National Council’s decision to say three ‘no’s’. Even though he had entered the endgame of the talks, he was still talking about not having asphyxiating deadlines and arbitration.

As expected, the Turkish side, aware of Christofias’ public reluctance to go to the next stage, came with specific proposals on all three open issues.They proposed that the system of cross-voting for the Senate (which elects the President) should come into force after 9 years (the UN believes they would be willing to come down to five, ie after its second term). On the property issue they submitted a package which conforms with the study of the UN experts. On citizenship they presented the recent population census which the UN accepted as valid.

Christofias discussed the question of the election of the President, extensively and some progress was achieved. He announced he was unprepared to discuss the property issue and used as an excuse the Turkish side’s delay in submitting data. On being pressured by the S-G to reply, he said he wanted time to think and study the data in Cyprus. He also said he did not want the talks to end in failure. Ban Ki-moon’s intention was to either call a multilateral conference or declare a failure. In the end a compromise was found giving Christofias the extra time and Eroglu the indirect date for a conference.

The S-G’s reference to the UN Security Council resolutions is just a sweetening of the pill in order to allow Christofias to handle the situation in Cyprus. According to the paper’s sources in New York, the UN S-G will call a confence without the prior approval of the Security Council. The UN Secretariat has received legal advice confirming that the UN S-G does not require approval for the initiatives he takes. Of course, holding such a conference does presuppose the approval of the two sides in the sense that he cannot order them to attend, but can only invite them and they can refuse if they choose.

Christofias, however, has said that he believes that the talks will continue even during the time of the EU presidency, which shows his lack of political judgement and how disconnected he is with reality.

In an opinion piece, Makarios Droushiotis says that the Cyprus problem is on a knife’s edge. The whole of the international community wants a soution before Cyprus takes on the EU presidency. The collective hullaballou might serve the internal political game as it has been played since the 30s, but all this shouting and negativity has resulted in us step by step losing half of Cyprus and now preparing to legalise partition under the worst possible terms.

A solution in the immediate future is unfeasible because there is no leader willing to bear the responsibility or accept the challenges and the risks and lead society into a new era. Eight years ago Christofias told us he just wanted two or three changes to the Annan plan, now he is talking of no timeframes and has become the laughing stock of diplomatic circles.

Christofias is not up to this task and is hiding behind the mantra of no asphyxiating timeframes. But events have passed us by. The European Union, irrespective of Turkey’s EU course, is fed up of the Cyprus problem. The German representative at the Security Council during Downer’s briefing, linked the talks with the EU presidency. But his statement was suppressed, while all the political parties attacked Downer, the British and the Americans, because that’s what they have been trained to do for decades now.

Christofias’ claim that he can control the procedure through the Security Council is yet another sign of his ignorance of international politics.

Turkey without trying too hard has managed to persuade everyone that it is in a hurry for a solution, while the Director General of our Foreign Ministry was rushing over to the State Department to explain why we didn’t want a multilateral conference and deadlines. The scene is set for them to put the blame squarely on us.

The only ones able to save us are the West and Downer, who is going to write the report on the failure of the UN initiative and decide on our future. It would be wise to try to prove Davutoglu’s predictions wrong regarding the recognition or semi recognition of the north. Our politicians are trying tooth and nail to prove him right. The tragedy is that we mistake this cannibalism for the national struggle.

The Sunday Mail’s satirical column Coffeeshop says that paranoid hysteria and mass anxiety spread like a cholera epidemic among the Cyprob warriors, as soon as Ban Ki-moon finished reading the statement about the failure of the Greentree meeting and the timeframes he had set for the completion of the talks and for the holding of the colossally undesirable multilateral conference.

Within minutes, the knives were out for the bungling village idiot, who, despite being strengthened by the three ‘nos’ sanctioned by the National Council, failed to utter a single one of them (or if he did, he was ignored) when Ban set his timeframes for the conclusion of the talks.You almost felt sorry for the comrade as his embarrassingly moronic plan for ‘never-ending talks despite his sincere wish for an agreement’ collapsed and now he has to wear an oxygen mask to cope with the asphyxiating timeframes and double his police guard because the bash-patriotic warriors are baying for his blood. Two of them have already called for his resignation, while others have demanded that he should step aside and allow someone else to be our side’s negotiator.

Being the coward that he is, the comrade has gone into hiding since the Ban statement, leaving his Akel flunkeys to take the heat and defend his incompetence, as happened after the Mari blast. He may even address the nation this week and announce the appointment of an investigating committee to establish who was politically responsible for the Greentree fiasco.

The comrade spoke briefly to Cypriot hacks, immediately after Ban’s shocker, and defiantly told them that there was no timeframe for a multilateral conference. Ban was merely expressing his intention to call a conference but only under certain conditions, he claimed, which meant ‘late April or early May’ was not a timeframe.

The real timeframe was at the end of March when Ban would ask Big Bad Al if there was adequate progress to call a conference and Al would answer affirmatively, on the grounds that there would never be any progress in the talks and because the EU wants a settlement, at all costs, before Cyprus takes over the EU presidency.

This was evident, when Big Bad Al briefed the members of the Security Council about the Greentree meeting. Germany’s representative was extremely pushy telling Al to get on with it and make sure there was a deal by the end of June, because the EU does not want to have to deal with the intractable problems that would arise if a divided Cyprus took over the presidency.

The comrade gave instructions that no mention of what the German representative had said was included in the report sent to Cyprus foreign ministry about the Security Council meeting. He did not want anyone in Kyproulla to know that his friend Angela Merkel fully supported the timeframes and the multilateral conference.

Since Greentree, the presidential camp has been engaging in the only thing it knows how to do – propaganda, claiming that there were no timeframes, and that the attacks on the great leader were motivated by “political expediencies and personal ambitions, while the national interest is relegated to secondary importance.”

Meanwhile the bash-patriots have been out in force creating Annan plan conditions, in preparation for the multilateral conference. The only risk is that the paranoid hysteria may have peaked too soon. Big Bad Al whom we all love to hate, has become the target of universal abuse, vilified as a totally biased Turk-lover that eats Greek babies for breakfast, garnished with tomatoes illegally imported from Turkey.

All the parties have been demanding that he be replaced immediately, because he is to blame for everything. Meanwhile the bash-patriotic tree-hugger Perdikis has undertaken a brave initiative. He has been in contact with all the parties in order to persuade them to support a House of Representatives’ resolution, declaring Downer “untrustworthy and undesirable.” The resolution will follow a debate in the House on Thursday about “the dark role played by Downer in the Cyprus problem.”

The Greek Cypriot side’s proposals revealed

2012-01-27T21:09:00.000+02:00

The Greek Cypriot sides wants the return of Morphou, Famagusta and the line that connects the two towns including villages like Asha, Vatyli, Lysi, and Kontea, as well as part of the Karpas peninsula, Sigma TV station reveals.

The Greek Cypriot side proposes that the territorial adjustments should be such that in all 100,000 refugees would be able to return under Greek Cypriot administration, something that would in turn also greatly facilitate the property issue. In essence that would leave the question of how the property of 60,000 Greek Cypriot refugees under Turkish Cypriot administration would be sorted out.

Furthermore, the Greek Cypriot side wants that after a transitional period all Cypriots should be able to enjoy the four freedoms without exception. In other words, a Greek Cypriot should be able to buy a house or open a business in Kyrenia, with the only difference being that he would not have the right to vote in Kyrenia so as not to affect the balance in the Turkish Cypriot federated state.

The Greek Cypriot side has set a ceiling of 50,000 to the number of Turkish settlers who would remain and become citizens of the United Republic of Cyprus, as Sigma calls it.

As regards the question of the executive power, President Christofias made it clear that if Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu does not reaffirm what had previously been agreed with Talat, namely the rotating presidency with weighted cross-voting, he would go back to the previous Greek Cypriot position of Greek Cypriot president and Turkish Cypriot vice president.

Finally, the Greek Cypriot side under no circumstances will accept that the solution become EU primary law, as the Turkish side wants.

Sigma goes on to say that there was high drama just before the UN S-G made his statement and the precondition for calling a multilateral conference was added only after President Christofias’ insistence. Moreover, according to a diplomatic source, President Christofias made it clear to Ban Ki-moon that if he ignores the Security Council resolutions and our side’s positions and proceeds to call a multilateral conference, then he will call on the countries in the Security Council that support Cyprus not to adopt any of his reports again and even adopt a resolution that exposes him. The source added that the S-G assured him that he has no intention of ignoring the Security Council resolutions on Cyprus.

Comments on Greentree 2

2012-01-26T14:31:00.000+02:00

President Christofias in a statement after the end of the Greentree 2 meetings, said that, while the agreement to exchange data is progress, in essence no progress had been achieved.

He said that many discussions were held during the meetings with the Secretary General without any progress being achieved. “The two sides insist on their positions”, he said.

However, he expressed satisfaction that the UN Secretary-General’s statement included their concern that any progress achieved should be significant progress, which would solve the internal aspects of the Cyprus problem, as provided by the Security Council resolutions, before discussing the possibility of convening an international conference.

On the question of government he said the differences were not just on the election of the executive power, but also on foreign relations, international relations, and the issue of the air space.

He said the two sides must exchange specific and significant data concerning the property issue and, at the same time, discuss the territory issue.

“Not necessarily to present maps”, he said. “This is not what we are asking. We are asking for the Turkish Cypriot side’s intention as regards our basic demand for territorial adjustments. Namely, that 100,000 refugees since 1974 ought to be offered the possibility to return under Greek Cypriot administration and to have full ownership of their properties. This will greatly help us discuss with an open mind and heart the issue of property, which concerns the areas that will remain under Turkish Cypriot administration”.

He said that the Turkish Cypriot side did submit some data on property outside the deadline that had been set, which can be found on the internet. A commitment had been undertaken by the two sides at the first meeting at Greentree to create a committee which would discuss specific data confidentially but unfortunately the Turkish side did not respond.

He stressed that the property issue had been linked to the territorial issue throughout the discussions and gave credit to the Secretary General because in all of his interventions and positions, as well as in those of his aides and team, the connection of the territorial and the property issues had been emphasized.

President Christofias said he had made it clear to the Secretary-General, as was decided at the National Council, that a timeframe for the international conference is not acceptable.

He added that the Secretary-General in his statement expresses his intention to call a conference under certain specific preconditions, namely that there is important progress, which will meet with the Greek Cypriot side’s approval and which will be recorded by Mr Downer.

“We will have a say, and the Secretary-General will consult with us on whether this progress exists and on whether a conference will be convened, always under the precondition set by the UN Security Council, namely that the position of the Secretary-General will be consistent with the last resolution as well as with all the other UN resolutions regarding the convening of an international conference”.

The Turkish Cypriot side expressed mild satisfaction at the outcome of the Greentree Summit yesterday, saying they were leaving New York having achieved much of what they’d set out to do, the Cyprus Mail reports.

“If the Special Representative’s report at the end of March is positive, Ban will call for the five-way conference to take place in late April or early May,” Turkish Cypriot leader Dervish Eroglu’s special representative Kudret Ozersay said immediately after the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon gave his assessment of the summit yesterday.

“As the Secretary General pointed out, this will happen whether or not the Greek Cypriots oppose it with the excuse that all internal issues had not been resolved,” he added. "We leave this summit having achieved what we came for."

The Turkish Cypriot side had stated before the summit that getting a date for a multi-party conference would be seen as a major breakthrough, as it would herald the final stage of the talks ahead of a referendum. Although a date is still conditional on the special advisors report, Eroglu believes that “the conference is closer to happening today than it was yesterday”.

The representative seemed less pleased however with how the Turkish Cypriot side’s proposals on property, citizenship and the electoral system had been received by the Greek Cypriots, saying that “if they had been better received, there would have been more progress”.

“We thought our proposals would be acceptable to the Greek Cypriot side and that we’d be able to bridge the differences. The UN thought so too,” he added.

Eroglu’s spokesman Osman Ertug echoed Ozersay’s assessment but told the Cyprus Mail that Christofias and his team had refused to even read the documents presented by the Turkish Cypriot team.

“They politely accepted them and said ‘we’ll read them when we get back to Cyprus’. This is nothing more than a delaying tactic,” he said.

As Ban Ki-moon was making statements in New York, in Nicosia Greek Cypriot politicians were busy slamming UN envoy Alexander Downer for supposedly referring to the ‘Greek Cypriot’ EU presidency’ rather than using either the ‘Cyprus’ presidency or the Republic of Cyprus’ presidency’, says an article in the Cyprus Mail.

House President and leader of socialists EDEK Yiannakis Omirou denounced the comment saying it was unacceptable, and flagrantly violated all the resolutions of the UN Security Council on Cyprus, the UN Charter, international law rules and the principles and values of the EU.

DIKO described Downer as the “great subverter” and called for his immediate removal otherwise the UN would be in a difficult position when it came to safeguarding their credibility and impartiality.

AKEL leader Andros Kyprianou said the comment was not accidental as Downer knew well that it was the Republic taking over the presidency.
However, the official transcript of Downer’s remark, obtained by the Cyprus Mail, the UN envoy made it clear he was only referring to the ‘Greek Cypriots’ in the context under which they are referred to by the UN in the negotiations.

He said: “… I think it’s very important that the two leaders do make substantial progress and as you know the Greek Cypriots take over the presidency of the European Union on the 1st of July. This will be a major responsibility for them. I know the whole of the European Union, that’s 26 other countries including some very big countries, will be looking to the Greek Cypriots, as we say in the context of these negotiations, to carry forward the presidency of the European Union.”

Former President George Vasiliou sees the two week deadline for progress in Cyprus, not as pressure on us, but as pressure on Turkey.

“As long as Downer's report says there is progress and if the progress is consistent with the Security Council resolutions, only then will he consider a multinational conference”, he said in an interview on Sigma television.

“Downer has a responsibility to write a report which shows that any progress that has been made has been consistent with the Security Council resolutions. What is Downer going to do if the Turkish side insists, as it has been, on two states, two air spaces, two this and two that? What can he say?”

Asked if this new scenario of a two week deadline, an upgraded role for Downer and the looming threat of a multinational conference scares him, he replied:

“What scares me is that 37 years have passed without a solution and voices are being heard today saying, since we've waited 37 years, we might as well wait for another 37 years”.

He said we must understand that time is working against us. As long as the international community supports the principles that President Makarios and subsequently the whole of the political leadership for a federal solution, we must take advantage of this support, otherwise the result will be destructive for Cyprus. “I can't stress this enough", he said.

Referring to the upgraded role of Alexander Downer, he said “we must stop always blaming third parties. It used to be de Cuellar, then Ghali, then de Soto. Things aren't like that. We have to stay steady on our positions and be persuasive”.

What has changed, he said, is that pressure on Turkey has increased. When the interviewer asked, whether the pressure was on our side because of the deadline, he said it isn’t to our advantage not to have a solution. Asked what if we're pressured to agree to a bad solution, he said that a bad solution was relative.

“There are many people who don't want federation”, he went on. “Let them say so openly. And let the people decide. Do you know what not wanting federation means? It doesn't mean partition as many believe. It means that our grandchildren will not live in a Greek Cyprus”.

President Christofias was partially correct in predicting that nothing would come of the talks in Greentree. There was no breakthrough in the deadlocked procedure while the progress achieved, according to the UN Secretary-General, was ‘limited’ despite the ‘intensive and robust’ discussions, says the Cyprus Mail in its editorial today.

What did come out of ‘Greentree 2’ was a change of peace procedure, as the three ‘nos’ Christofias was authorised to utter by the National Council were ignored by Ban Ki-moon. He set definite time-frames for the completion of the talks and the holding of a multilateral conference and implicitly offered UN mediation - if not arbitration - to assist the sides to bridge their differences.

Christofias was extremely naive if he seriously thought that he would be able to secure Ban’s agreement for the indefinite continuation of the talks at Greentree. In fact, Ban’s frustration and loss of patience with the two sides was blatantly obvious in the statement he read out yesterday. The diplomatic wording could not conceal this frustration with Christofias and Eroglu, who had ignored his urging ‘to make decisive moves’ that would pave the way to a settlement.

He would no longer be directly involved in the procedure – there was no mention of any other meeting with the leaders – leaving everything in the hands of his Special Advisor Alexander Downer, who would decide if there was adequate progress by March to justify the calling of a multi-lateral conference in late April or early May.
As Ban stressed, it was down to the leaders to ‘make the decisive steps to move to a final agreement.’ In what was a clear dig at Christofias he said: ‘At this stage of the talks, to maintain the momentum and continue negotiations even in an intensive manner, is not enough.’

The only thing, Ban did not mention in yesterday’s statement is what would happen if Downer reports in March that the leaders did not make the decisive steps, the differences in the core issues remained and that a multi-lateral conference would be pointless. In statements made yesterday, the Turkish side took the view that the failure by Ban to call a multilateral conference by May would signal the end of the procedure.
This interpretation is not unjustified, given that Ban has repeatedly spoken about the ‘endgame’ while also informing Christofias and Eroglu, more recently, that ‘talks have entered the final phase’. Christofias remained oblivious to all these messages, assuring journalists, last night, that there was no time-frame for a multi-lateral conference.

But he conveniently failed to mention the time-frame for the end of the peace procedure.

Road map for Cyprus endgame laid out

2012-01-25T18:02:00.000+02:00

The UN Secretary-General intends to call a multilateral conference on Cyprus either late April or early May, following consultations with the two sides and a review of the process from his Special Advisor, Alexander Downer.

Speaking at the end of two day of meetings he had at Greentree, New York, with the leaders of the two communities of Cyprus, the Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, announced that the two sides have agreed to complete the exchange of data on property within the next two weeks.

He will then be providing a report to the Security Council on the status of the negotiations at the end of February and at the end of March he will seek a review of the process from his Special Advisor, Alexander Downer.

“If his report is positive, consistent with the relevant Security Council resolutions and following consultations with the two sides, I intend to call a multilateral conference either late April or early May”, the Secretary-General said.

He said the two sides came to Greentree with the three main challenges to resolve – the election of the executive, property and citizenship.

“I asked the leaders to use this time to make decisive moves. Discussions over these days were robust and intensive although limited progress was achieved”.

He stressed that at this stage of the talks to maintain the momentum and continue negotiations, even in an intensive manner, is not enough and that he has urged the leaders to take decisive steps to move to a final agreement.

He also reminded the leaders that this process is Cypriot-owned and Cypriot-led. “The UN is not here to impose solutions upon the sides” he added.

Mr Ban Ki-moon concluded by saying that the United Nations remains convinced that it is in the interest of all Cypriots to reach a durable settlement.

“My Special Advisor and his team have been doing their utmost to assist the process. They remain ready to assist the sides in this important task”, he said.

Greentree talks were “intensive”

2012-01-24T18:56:00.001+02:00

The UN Secretary-General spent six hours with the leaders of the two communities in Cyprus at Greentree yesterday, his Special Advisor of on Cyprus, Alexander Downer, said.

He told the press that the discussions focused on three of the core issues - the executive, property and citizenship.

“I think the best way to describe the talks today is that they have been intensive right from the very beginning”, he said.

After the Secretary-General left, Lynn Pascoe, the Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs at the United Nations, and Downer himself, had further discussions with the two leaders and their teams, again focusing on these core issues.

“There is clearly still ground to cover in order to make for a successful outcome for this meeting and we look forward to a constructive day tomorrow”.

Downer added that the Secretary-General made his expectations clear that he is looking for the leaders to make decisive moves. He also reminded the two leaders that they must keep the big vision of a United Cyprus in their sights.

The Secretary-General will return today for a working lunch and then he will conduct meetings throughout the afternoon, spending another six hours or so with the leaders and their teams. In the evening he will be taking the two leaders and their spouses to Manhattan for a social dinner. He will hold a press conference on.

Asked about whether the two sides had provided outlines and data as the UN had requested, Mr Downer replied that “data is being provided and that has been important”. He added that the UN had seen the outlines and discussed them with the two sides.
He also said that Cyprus taking over the presidency of the European Union was a heavy responsibility as the whole of the EU, 26 other countries, including some very big countries, will be looking to the Greek Cypriots to carry forward the presidency.

“We need to try to aim to get this job done before then”, he said.

Asked why the question of territory was left out of the discussion, Downer explained that both sides have agreed that the final question of maps and figures that specifically defines the territorial boundary between the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot federated unitary constituent states will be decided in the period leading up to an international conference.

“But that is not to say that discussions of territory don’t ever cross the lips of any of the participants. Of course there are discussions about property and territory and the relationship between them. As far as the United Nations is concerned, there are no rules barring people from discussing things. People can raise whatever they like. Whether decisions will be made is another question”.

Downer concluded by saying that the job of the United Nations is to urge the leaders to make agreements.

“We cannot do it for them and it’s very important that people understand this. We can’t want this agreement more than the two sides of this debate in Cyprus want it”, he said.

“Ultimately this is a matter for them. They have said throughout this process, since it began, that they wanted it to be Cypriot-owned and Cypriot-led. We are not here therefore to own and to lead it, we are here to help. The success or failure of this process rests on the shoulders of the Cypriot leaders themselves. The longer this issue drags on the harder it is to solve”.

“We urged the leaders to seize this important opportunity to make real and substantial progress toward a settlement reunifying the island as a bi-zonal, bi-communal federation”, the US State Department said in a statement yesterday.

In statements to Turkish Cypriot news agency before the meeting in New York yesterday, Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis, Eroglu described the summit as “turning point”.

He said the Turkish Cypriot side has conveyed numbers on property and citizenship to the UN, as requested by the UN S-G in his letter of 6 January 2012.

He added that except for the issue of guarantees all other issues would be discussed during the summit especially those of property and the election of president. He said that the map and the numbers on the territory issue will be discussed at the very end and after a date for a multilateral conference has been set, and that the UN Secretary-General has been committed to this in a report he submitted to the Security Council. Eroglu said that they would ask the UN Secretary-General to set a date for a multilateral conference.  

Referring to the issue of the cross-voting, Eroglu said that they had told the Greek Cypriot side during the first summit at Green Tree that the cross-voting could have no relation with the rotating presidency.

Eroglu said that President Christofias has been setting conditions and asking for the return of Morphou or the Karpass in order to negotiate.

He also said there would be greater understanding Christofias realizes that his interlocutors are the Turkish Cypriots.   

If no solution is reached by 1 July, when Cyprus takes over the EU presidency, the UN Secretary-General will report to the Security Council whether a solution can be found to the Cyprus problem or not with his good offices mission. Negotiations after 1 July would be meaningless, he added.

“The negotiations have been going on for 43 years. There is no meaning in extending negotiations that lasted so long. There is no aspect of the Cyprus problem that has not been discussed. What is needed is the will for a solution”, he said.

The Turkish Cypriot side does not want a solution to be imposed in Cyprus either, Kudret Ozersay, special advisor of the Turkish Cypriot leader, has said.

He said the Turkish Cypriot side is stressing the need to hold a multilateral conference on the Cyprus problem, not because it wants an imposed solution.   

”The Turkish Cypriot side does not want an imposed solution either. But if we do not complete all the elements of this last stage and we delay the solution of the Cyprus problem, the passage of time will impose another solution on us. When you run away from what you call imposed solution, you impose another solution on yourself, because of time.

He added that the Greek Cypriot side should understand that life goes on, and from the point of view of property, the economy, citizenships, generations change.   

Asked why they had arrived one day earlier in New York, Ozersay said that he had had meetings with the UN Secretary-General’s deputy for political affairs and his advisors and with permanent representatives of the permanent members of the UN Security Council. He noted that these were preparatory meetings aiming at sounding things out before the tripartite summit, understanding what the intention of the UN was, sharing some views and putting forward the “determination of the Turkish Cypriot side regarding the solution of the Cyprus problem”.  

“We saw that the UN is determined. I hope that these will turn into some concrete steps, that real negotiations will be held at Greentree and that these will bring concrete results”, he added.

Bridging documents and the total failure of Denktash

2012-01-22T21:28:00.000+02:00

1. Bridging documents
Press reports from New York say that the UN have prepared a special bridging document which they will present to the two sides during the Greentree meetings.

Politis says that the two sides have not yet exchanged the 20 page documents they were supposed to have prepared, nor have they even handed anything over to the UN itself. According to a report on CyBC, the Greek Cypriot side hasn’t even prepared a document in view of the fact that the Turkish Cypriot side had gone back on previously agreed points.

Politis reports that the UN will focus on three subjects during the meeting. They will try to bridge the overall framework for a solution, they will try to clarify the Turkish Cypriot positions on government and weighted vote, and will try to achieve progress on the property issue. Christofias has said that progress on the property issue would be a prerequisite for the talks reaching an agreement on the framework for a solution.

Rauf Denktash, together with Archbishop Makarios, has left an indelible mark on the history of Cyprus, which shaped the political realities of our country such as they are today, says Makarios Droushiotis writing in the Sunday Mail and Politis.

Eloquent, sharp, hard-working and goal-oriented, it was he who transformed the Muslim population of Cyprus into a Turkish population. While Denktash has been portrayed as the villain in the Greek Cypriot press for his part in the island’s history, in reality, Denktash would never have accomplished much on his own.

Denktash did for his community what Makarios did for the Greek Cypriots. The former sought partition, the latter Enosis (union with Greece). Makarios backed EOKA, while Denktash supported the TMT organisation. Fighters or terrorists, depending on the point of view.

When Denktash began his struggle, the Turkish Cypriots were a minority. By the time he was done, the Turkish Cypriots had become a community of equal political standing with the Greek Cypriots and partners in the bi-communual Republic of Cyprus.

Today, it is a well-documented fact that Makarios signed the Zurich agreements so that he could return to Cyprus as president and subsequently revise the agreements in order to restore the balance to the pre-EOKA period: a majority and a minority.

Denktash read this, and saw the opportunity to gamble for more than what he had won in Zurich. In 1963 Makarios proposed 13 amendments to the Constitution, ostensibly to make it more functional. He had ulterior motives, obviously. Once the system established by the Zurich agreements collapsed, both sides were ready for a new showdown.

Refusing to settle for Greek hegemony, Denktash sought vigorously to turn the tables by integrating Cyprus into broader regional politics. Through their connection to Turkey, the Turkish Cypriots – once a minority – became a majority in the region.
Denktash rejected the concept of a common ancestry; as he once put it, the only truly Cypriot species on the island was the native donkey. To him, the separation of the Greek and Turkish populaces was a lifelong dream, and he succeeded in realising it.
The Turkish deep state was Denktash’s most steadfast ally in this long-running conflict.

Yet it was Greek Cypriot nationalism which did the most to aid his cause. The Greek Cypriot leadership, the church, the media and the education system were all constantly fuelling his ideological struggle. Denktash never wanted for raw material. He could speak and read Greek, and every morning studied the Cypriot press so he knew his adversary inside-out. By contrast, his Greek Cypriot opponents were ignorant about the Turkish Cypriot community. Because of their ignorance, they criminally underestimated the role of Turkey.

One of the core myths of this ignorance, which prevented the Greek Cypriot side from a rational analysis of Turkish policy, was that Turkish policy on Cyprus was monolithic and unwavering.
In reality, Denktash had not always been the favoured son of the Turkish state. He became that along the way, and he had Greek Cypriot nationalism to thank for it. At the beginning of his political career in the 1950s, Denktash had ties to the regime of Turkish Prime Minister Adnan Menderes, with whose help he set up the TMT organisation. The independence of Cyprus in 1960 coincided with a coup in Turkey. Menderes was arrested, sentenced to death and hanged. Denktash then found himself sidelined, and the government of Mustafa Inonu - who supported the implementation of the Zurich agreements in Cyprus - tried without success to disarm the TMT.

Following the events of 1963 the Turkish government forced Denktash into self-exile in Turkey. 1964 was a dramatic year for Cyprus. Georgios Grivas returned to the island. A Greek army division was despatched to Cyprus to keep Makarios' overtures to Moscow in check, while Turkey looked the other way.

After three years in exile, in 1967 Denktash tried to illegally re-enter Cyprus with the help of the army. He was arrested, held at the old mental hospital (at what is now the site of the planned Qatari investment) and finally deported to Turkey, even though he was a Cypriot citizen. To the Turkish Cypriots, he was already a hero.

The next wave of hostilities that broke out in Kofinou in November 1967 led to a reshuffling of the deck. The Greek division was sent packing, and Denktash returned to the island, legally this time. His reception at Inonu Square marked the largest mass gathering in the history of the Turkish Cypriot community.

In 1968 Denktash began talks with Glafcos Clerides aimed at resolving the Cyprus dispute on the basis of the Zurich agreements.

In 1973 Denktash became the leader of the Turkish Cypriots.
The coup of 15 July 1974 that was engineered by the Greek junta changed the situation radically. July 20 1974 was the most important day in Denktash’s life. The Turkish army gained a foothold in Cyprus, forcing out the Greek population from the northern part of the island. It was out of the ashes of this tragedy that Denktash forged his empire. The Turkish state in Cyprus, with or without quotation marks or the prefix "pseudo", became a de facto reality. Makarios, himself in exile in London, proposed an immediate return to the Zurich agreements, but Denktash got his own back by responding that the agreement was now inapplicable. It was his turn to play for time. Denktash's vision from 1974 until his death was the international recognition of the "state".

The status quo became the new point of convergence between the nationalists in Cyprus. Greek Cypriot leaders would continue their "unyielding" struggle, while Denktash enjoyed the fruits of "independence" and would assume the position he always craved as part of the leading clique of the Turkish deep state.

Denktash became the hero of Turkish policy, much like Makarios had been for Greece in the 1950s and 1960s. But the abscess ruptured in the early 2000s when the Turkish Cypriots rose up, having realised after decades of self-delusion that they had no future in a pseudo-state that was under Turkey's shadow. They wanted to be partners in a true European state.

From his office, Denktash could hear the roar of the crowds demanding a solution and accession to the EU, and saw his own vision shaken to its core; the deep state was also being questioned in Turkey itself with the rise of Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The Greek Cypriot leadership at the time persisted in a static analysis of developments, convinced that the clash between Erdogan and Denktash was a PR gimmick. In reality, they dreaded any developments and sought out the safety of the status quo. Tassos Papadopoulos, with the support of Demetris Christofias, fiercely resisted any attempt at tearing down the wall. While everyone else was living a dream of reconciliation and reunification, Denktash, who was extremely savvy of Cypriot politics, predicted that "this honeymoon will not last long".

The year 2004 was the most critical juncture in Denktash's career. For the first time he and the Turkish generals were unable to impose their policies on the Turkish government, and yet Papadopoulos and Christofias continued to speak of PR games.
Not having got wind that changes were afoot in Turkey, Papadopoulos and Christofias wagered on Denktash's intransigence and negativity. When things turned out very differently, they were already trapped at Burgenstock, whereas Denktash refused to attend so as to avoid a clash with Turkey.

The nationalist camp panicked. Instead of conducting negotiations, as he had committed to in writing, Papadopoulos talked to Serdar Denktash behind the scenes in a bid to jointly block the process. Eventually, Papadopoulos found an outlet by tapping into people's fears, and with Christofias' support he maintained the status quo.

Denktash, always a straight talker, expressed his admiration for Papadopoulos, even thanking him in public: "Papadopoulos saved us, and for that I thank him."

At Denktash's funeral, Turkish President Abdullah Gul said of the man that he was "one of the true heroes borne of our nation".
A vindication of the deceased? When it comes to eulogies, perhaps yes, but history is a different matter. In nations such as ours, heroes who brought about national disasters are a dime a dozen, whereas fighters are treated as traitors.
What did Turkey gain from Denktash's policies? Nothing whatsoever. She lost far more than the conquest of a third of the island. Cyprus neither has the strategic value which was once attributed to it, nor did it ever become the unsinkable NATO aircraft carrier - a myth peddled for decades - nor did it add anything of strategic value in the region.

Cyprus is like a stone in the shoe of a giant, constantly nagging at the giant who is unable to remove his shoe and discard it, because the giant (or Turkey) is incapable of abolishing its own national myth. And the threat of partition for the sake of compromise that would salvage Turkish pride is no longer considered a hazard by Greek Cypriots, but rather as security. That which Greek Cypriot nationalists consider to be Denktash's total success, once you scratch the surface you realise, is his total failure. And theirs.

It’ll take a miracle, says Christofias

2012-01-21T20:33:00.001+02:00

It would take a miracle for the New York talks to succeed, President Christofias said in London en route to the Greentree meetings with the UN Secretary-General, the latest effort to solve the Cyprus problem.

Speaking at a meeting with Turkish Cypriots in London, Christofias was pessimistic as to the prospects for the meeting.

He said serious differences between the two sides persisted and no real negotiations were taking place. “We don’t negotiate in fact,” Christofias said. “I don’t believe in miracles but anyway, maybe a miracle will happen at Greentree Two … I hope so.”

He said that Turkish Cypriot leader Dervish Eroglu had reneged on his pledge to continue the talks from the point they had left off with his predecessor Mehmet Ali Talat.

Upon arrival in New York later, Christofias said there was no chance of the Greek Cypriot side agreeing to an international conference without prior agreement on the basic aspects of the Cyprus problem.

He rejected Turkish Cypriot charges that Greek Cypriots were stalling, adding that the way will open if the Turkish side showed good will and honoured what had been agreed.

The UN Secretary-General is looking forward to a productive meeting with the leaders of the two communities in Cyprus, the UN said last night.

The meetings at Greentree will be held on Monday and Tuesday,
the second meeting between the two leaders and the UN chief there and the fifth time that the Secretary-General is meeting with Mr. Christofias and Mr. Eroglu in the framework of the Cyprus negotiations.

“The United Nations is providing all possible support to these Cypriot-led negotiations. The Secretary-General looks forward to a productive meeting and concrete progress,” the spokesperson added.

Ban has conveyed his expectations to the leaders for a resolution of the issue. “He believes that with political will and firm commitment the two leaders can and should reach a much-needed settlement on Cyprus”, the spokesperson concluded.

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso called on the two Cypriot leaders to show the necessary political will and use the opportunity at the forthcoming Greentree meeting for the reunification of Cyprus.

“I share the assessment of the Secretary-General that a window of opportunity currently exists and that an agreement is possible,” Barroso said.

He further said that the two leaders and the United Nations could continue to count on the European Commission's full support.

“All Cypriots, the European Union and the entire region will benefit from a united Cyprus,” Barroso said.

National Council and Denktash funeral

2012-01-18T20:15:00.000+02:00

The National Council convened on Monday and set the framework for the way the Greek Cypriot side will handle the forthcoming Greentree meeting on the Cyprus problem.

“The framework includes the non-acceptance of deadlines, arbitration, or the convening of an international conference without agreement on the core issues related to the internal aspects of the Cyprus problem,” said government spokesman Stefanos Stefanou, in a rare joint statement following the three-hour all-party meeting. “For convening such a conference the consent of both sides is required”.

Stefanou stated that there had been a consensus among most of the parties, however, there were some differing opinions particularly regarding the holding of an international conference.

“When we have the support of the National Council on the talks, the president becomes even more powerful,” added Stefanou.

The statement added that from President Christofias’ briefing it was clear that no progress had been made since the two leaders’ last meeting with Ban.

DIKO head Marios Garoyian, however, said that the party stood firm on its opinion that the Greentree meeting should have been postponed, “because certain essential requirements have not been met, there has not been progress in the negotiations and of course Turkey has not fulfilled its commitments to the UN,” the Cyprus Mail reports. DIKO’S firm position is that a meeting at an international level cannot take place without agreement on internal aspects of the Cyprus problem, he said.

House President Yiannakis Omirou echoed a similar sentiment in giving his full support to the framework under which it was decided that the president would proceed at Greentree, but he described the risks as “huge, very clear and real”.

“We agreed that after Greentree the National Council should meet again to discuss an alternative national strategy to address any deadlocks that we may have been led to unfortunately due to the handling [of the talks] during the last year,” said Omirou.

UN Special Advisor Alexander Downer met with Turkey’s Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu in Ankara yesterday and according to the Turkish News Agency Anadolu discussed possible outcomes of the Greentree meeting.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon sent the letters inviting the two unwilling leaders to New York in what is believed to be his last attempt to force them into an unhappy marriage, says the Cyprus Mail’s satirical column Coffeeshop. The comrade’s camp was so disappointed with letter’s content - asphyxiating time frame and multi-party conference - it was in denial for the first 24 hours.
The Turkish media reported its arrival and contents, giving an opportunity for the comrade’s sidekicks to imply there had been a UN plot - the Turks received the letter before us, they protested as if this were a big diplomatic conspiracy. All the hacks made an issue out of this instead of asking the obvious question, “So what?”
This suited the government’s propaganda purposes, as all talk was about the late arrival of the letter rather than its content. And when politicians or hacks mentioned its content the comrade and his spokesman expressed outrage, that they were citing the interpretations of the unreliable and biased Turkish media.
But they were still not prepared to release the letter so that we could learn the truth and not have to rely on the misinformation spread by the Turks.

Had there been a UN conspiracy? The UN insisted that the invitations were sent out at the same time, so it could be that the comrade’s flunkeys did not check their boss’ Inbox on Saturday morning to see that it had arrived. Or perhaps the plan was to pretend the comrade had never received it and therefore not go to New York next weekend, claiming that he had not received an official invitation. Eroglu messed up this plan by leaking it to the Turkish media. On Friday the comrade wrote back to Ban accepting the invitation, while expressing reservations about the usefulness of the meeting in the light of Eroglu’s intransigence. It was sheer bad lack that Rauf passed away after the reply had been sent. Had he died a bit earlier, the comrade could have declined Ban’s invitation on the grounds that it would be disrespectful to hold negotiations so soon after the death of Denktash, while the Turkish side was still in mourning for him.

Everyone now is terribly worried about what will happen at Greentree. Our entire ruling elite are terrified of what would happen, particularly if the comrade is forced to agree to a multi-lateral meeting. It is difficult to understand why they are taking the whole thing so seriously, given that the cowardly comrade would never sign a deal. The worst thing that could happen would be that our side might be blamed for the collapse of the negotiations and there would not be another UN initiative. This must surely be a cause for celebration, especially by all those who were against the talks from day one and warning that we were heading for the closure of the Cyprob.

The column also bids farewell to Denktator Rauf Denktash, former lawyer, politician, community leader, pseudo president, terrorist, ultra-nationalist fanatic, committed Greek-hater, amateur photographer, big eater, English School old boy and Paphite.

Described as smart and witty by those who met him, he was also a ruthless, hard, arrogant and belligerent personality with dictatorial tendencies and the belief that he always knew best.
Denktash was the most successful politician Kyproulla ever produced as he was the only one who achieved his long term goals - to partition the island and set up an ethnically pure Turkish part controlled by Turkey. His achievement might not have been in the best interests of the Turkish Cypriots who are on the way to becoming a minority in the north, but Rauf never much cared for them, making no secret of the fact that his allegiances were with Turkey and that he would not be bothered if all the Turkish Cypriots were replaced by Turks in the north.

A Greek uber-nationalist skettos drinker referred to Rauf as the “last Greek politician on the island”, because he unwaveringly believed in the centuries-old enmity between Greek and Turk and was convinced that the two communities could never live together peacefully. The bald and overweight warhorse never subscribed to modern ideas like conflict resolution, confidence-building, healing of past wounds and other such nonsense, considering it a national duty to maintain the historic hatred, hostility and suspicion that poisoned Greek-Turkish relations for centuries. Like a true Greek nationalist he never believed there was a Cypriot national identity, memorably saying that the only true Cypriot inhabitants of the island were its donkeys. And he spoke as much on behalf of the Greek Cypriots when he slammed re-unification by repeatedly stating that you could not have a successful marriage between two unwilling partners. The problem was that as long as he was the leader of the Turkish Cypriots and blocked all re-unification attempts, the Greek Cypriots could live under the illusion they were willing partners. Only when Rauf was unceremoniously dumped by Ankara and the way was opened for the marriage, did we realise that he was right - we were unwilling partners as well.

The funeral of Rauf Denktash is the main topic covered by the Turkish Cypriot press today. The papers refer to the participation of a large number of Turkish and foreign officials at the funeral and to the messages of condolences from various organizations.

Turkish daily Hurriyet covers the funeral on its front page under the title “Farewell to a hero” and reports that a crowded delegation of Turkish officials, including President Abdullah Gul, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan as well as other government members, participated in the ceremony.

Kibris reports that Denktash was buried yesterday after a ceremony and a religious service following the noon prayers at Selimiye Mosque. Soil brought from Turkey, from Hala Sultan Tekke in Larnaka and from his son Raif’s gave was sprinkled onto his grave.

In his message in the book of condolences Turkish President Abdullah Gul said Denktash’s death was a great loss for the entire Turkish world and added that the biggest heritage that his life dedicated to the just cause of the Turkish Cypriot people is undoubtedly the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.

Prime Minister Erdogan said that Denktash’s death “is undoubtedly a painful loss for Turkey as much it is for the TRNC people. However, the struggle launched and carried out with courage by Denktash in Cyprus will be become struggle of the citizens of the TRNC and Turkey with the same sincerity and will be carried on with the same determination”.

Turkish Cypriot daily Yeni Duzen reports that no Greek Cypriot politician attended the funeral and only former President Glafkos Clerides and the MP of the Maronites Antonis Mavrantonis sent a wreath.

Kudret Ozersay, special advisor of the Turkish Cypriot leader, has said that the Turkish Cypriot side will go to Greentree following the directions of the course drawn up by the UN Secretary-General, Kibris reports.

Ozersay claimed that the Turkish side could not do this alone and added that what they could do is to force their interlocutor to “dance with them” with the proposals they will submit, even though this interlocutor “is not very much willing to do so”.

Ozersay argued that prior to the Greentree summit both sides know what the other side could accept on specific issues and added: “This food has been cooked long enough. What should be done from now on should be to enter into a give a take in the real sense at the Greentree meeting”.

He said that after the first summit at Greentree many meetings have been held and added that during these negotiations the issues of property, the election of the federal government and the international agreements which could be made by the constituent states were discussed. He further noted that some debates were also made with UN officials on the issue of citizenship.

Ozersay argued that even though not much progress was achieved at the talks held after the first Greentree summit, the preparation which was made could constitute the grounds for a give and take at the second Greentree.

Ozersay said the fact that both sides submitted a document to the UN, which could constitute the basis for a give and take, and some other developments indicate that the procedure has come to a critical point. He recalled that before the Annan Plan the UN had also asked the sides to submit similar documents.

Noting that it is possible for the process to collapse, Ozersay alleged that President Christofias does not want to use the word “give and take” because he sees the give and take process as a point of giving concessions.

Replying to criticism that the Turkish Cypriot side is negotiating on Turkey’s directions, Ozersay said that the Turkish Cypriots are the ones negotiating all six chapters except those of security, the international dimensions of the guarantees and the withdrawal of troops. “We need no one’s permission”, he said.

Denktash dies

2012-01-16T19:02:00.000+02:00

1. Denktash dies
Former Turkish Cypriot leader, Rauf Denktash, who died at the age of 88 on Friday, will be given a state funeral on Tuesday, Bayrak reports.
A week of official mourning has been declared until Friday 20 January. A period of mourning will be observed in Turkey as well.

In a message of condolences, Turkish President Abdullah Gul said that the death of such a heroic leader, was not only a loss for the Turkish Cypriots but a loss for the entire Turkish nation.

"He dedicated his whole life to the rightful national cause of his people. The TRNC is the biggest heritage he left behind. His struggle towards a lasting and fair settlement in Cyprus, reaching to a successful end, will be the most significant gain of his people. Turkish Cypriots will always find motherland Turkey by their side while maintaining their honourable struggle", Gul said.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Denktash has a unique place in the heart of the Turkish nation with his lifelong struggle for the national cause. "He will live forever in the lands of the TRNC" he said.

Former Turkish President and close friend of Denktash, Suleyman Demirel also sent a message in which he underlined the extremely significant role Denktash had played in the establishment of the "sovereign TRNC state".

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon in a message of condolences said: "Mr Denktas was a long-serving and historic Cyprus Turkish leader with whom the United Nations had a long relationship in the framework of UN-facilitated talks for the reunification of Cyprus and related to its peacekeeping responsibilities on the island."

"The Secretary General expresses his condolences to the family of the late Rauf Denktas as well as to all Cyprus Turks," said the message.

The Special Adviser of the Secretary-General, Alexander Downer, and the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Lisa Buttenheim issued a joint statement expressing their condolences to the Turkish Cypriots and the Denktash family.

"Mr Denktash was a preeminent figure whose dedication to the Turkish Cypriot community was steadfast through decades of leadership" their statement said.
President Demetris Christofias contacted Serdar Denktash via the Turkish Cypriot leader, Dervish Eroglu and offered his deepest condolences to the Denktash family.

2. Press reactions
Under the title "Everybody will be here", Turkish Cypriot daily Haberdar reports that Turkish President Abdullah Gul, Prime Minister Erdogan, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and the General Secretary of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, will be attending the funeral.
Turkish Cypriot daily Afrika reports that Denktash’s daughter, Ender Vangol, told the press that Denktash’s last words were: "Tell them… tell Christofias! This is an independent state".

Turkish daily Hurriyet Daily News says that on his deathbed Denktash was talking or whispering to his daughter. "What are we going to do with all those people to be displaced … How are we going to make territorial adjustments?"
Denktash’s death was greeted was met with barely a sound from the Greek Cypriot press and politicians.

"I don’t think it is the time to make assessments of the actions of Rauf Denktash, who was in any case, a big personality. His actions, like those of Greek Cypriots or Greek actors were not the best for the Cypriot people," President Christofias said.

"Denktash was consistent in his vision for partition. We certainly cannot agree with the vision of Rauf Denktash but it would be wrong at this moment to make a general assessment and accuse Denktash," he added.

In this hour of grief for many Turkish Cypriots and Turks, Christofias called for people to show "prudence and respect for the feelings of many of our Turkish Cypriot compatriots".

An obituary in the Financial Times says Denktash was a leader who clung to the idea of partition. It says when the Greek Cypriots rejected the Annan plan in the referendum in 2004, he ironically saw his life’s work vindicated by the Greeks, at the very moment when his own people disavowed him.

3. Davutoglu discusses Cyprus with UN S-G
"We are on the threshold of an important opportunity in the Cyprus issue, and it is significant not to miss this opportunity", Turkish Foreign Minister, Ahmet Davutoglu, has said.
Speaking to reporters in Beirut on Sunday, Davutoglu said that he had held a long meeting with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on the sidelines of a UN conference there and that they had discussed the developments in the region as well as the Cyprus issue, Ankara Anatolia news agency reports.

"Ban attaches importance on making progress rapidly during the Cyprus summit which will be held in New York soon", Davutoglu said, adding that Ban told him that Turkey's initiatives about Cyprus issue were important.

3. Turkish Cypriot side well-prepared for Greentree
Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu told the Turkish Cypriot assembly that each side was preparing a 20 page draft document to take with them to Greentree, Turkish Cypriot daily Havadis reports.

Moreover, Bayrak reports that Osman Ertug has said that the Turkish Cypriot side will soon respond to the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon’s letter that was sent to the two leaders in Cyprus, ahead of the Greentree summit.

"The Turkish Cypriot side has a clear stance. We’ll go to the summit well-prepared, with the aim of successfully finalizing the process."

"We will do our best to push for the launch of that process, bearing in mind Ban’s expectations. The give-and-take is possible if supported by the international community. The European Union’s stance at this point is important in terms of influencing the Greek Cypriot side," Ertug added.

4. Downer says problem could be solved but could also collapse Alexander Downer, UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Cyprus, has said he wants to celebrate a solution which will be reached by the leaders at Greentree with a lunch on the Bosporus.

In an interview with Turkish daily Milliyet, Downer stressed that efforts should be exerted to reach a solution in Cyprus by 1 July 2012 when Cyprus takes over the EU presidency.

"There is no alternative other than a federal solution", Downer said noting that since 2008, the solution process in Cyprus has cost the UN around 10-15 million US dollars.

Downer said that "we could solve the problem by June" and added that "after the problem is solved I want to go to the Bosporus in Istanbul and have a wonderful meal". He said that the Prime Ministers of Turkey and Greece, together with President Christofias and the Turkish Cypriot leader Eroglu should join him at this meal.

"The Greentree summit is a critical stage", he said. "After this summit we should move towards a multilateral conference. If the sides do not achieve progress on the main issues, we, as UN can do nothing more. The UN has no Plan B. There could be no other solution in Cyprus other than a federal solution, because the UN Security Council is exerting efforts towards this solution".
He also said that everyone should be ready for the possibility of a solution not being found. "I hope there will be no collapse. Everybody should know that the collapse is also among the alternatives".

"Both sides should realize that we are entering a very critical phase. We know very well the positions of both sides.

He said a solution is possible with Eroglu and Christofias and that they are both exerting great efforts towards a solution.

"What is important is to find creative approaches for being able to find an agreement, rather than the hope for an agreement. Now is the time for the people to work body and soul for a solution."

Downer said that uncertainty still exists on the most difficult issues, which are citizenship, territory and governance and power sharing. He noted that the Turkish Cypriot side wants all settlers to remain on the island, while the Greek Cypriot side insists they be limited to 50 thousand. He said the Greek Cypriot side wants land back, including Morphou and the Karpass, which will secure the return of 100 thousand Greek Cypriot refugees to their homes, while the Turkish side rejects this. He said that the Greek Cypriot side accepts the rotating presidency but wants election of the president and the vice president with the method of cross-voting, which the Turkish side describes as unfair.

Downer interview and Turkey's plan B

2012-01-13T21:53:00.001+02:00

The talks at Greentree in New York this month between the two leaders and UN chief will either be a success or failure, said UN Special Adviser Alexander Downer on Wednesday, thereby excluding the middle ground assessment that has dominated previous tripartite meetings, the Cyprus Mail reports.

In an interview with the Cyprus News Agency (CNA), Downer said the goal is to get a “good result” on three pending issues: governance, property and citizenship.

Downer repeated the view that an agreement was possible with the necessary “political will”.

“If an outline agreement can be found on the remaining core issues then many of the other details can be sorted out later”, he said.

“There are basically three core issues that the leaders must resolve: first, the method of electing a rotating president and vice-president; second, a way of settling the granting of citizenship, and third, the property issue which cannot be solved until there is agreement on territory,” said Downer.

The UN diplomat said the peace process could be successful but if it transpires that the divergences are too big to narrow the gap, then there is little the UN can do about it.

Asked about the intentions of the leaders in the talks, the special adviser said it would be “unfair” to say that either one or the other did not want to reach an agreement. He suggested, however, that reaching an agreement required an understanding that you can’t get everything you ask for.

Downer described the Cyprus problem as “the most difficult issue” he’s had to contend with.

Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs Ahmet Davutoglu has said that the “bi-zonal bi-communal solution model” in Cyprus will be abandoned if the negotiations process comes to a deadlock because of the stance of the Greek Cypriots, Turkish Cypriot daily Haberdar reports. Addressing a meeting of Turkish Ambassadors held in Ankara, Davutoglu said that a solution model based on two independent states will be adopted by the Turkish side instead of a bi-zonal bi-communal solution. He argued that the negotiations, which will be launched in the future, will be based on two independent states. Moreover, under the headline: “Two separate states”, Turkish Cypriot daily Gunes cites information published by Turkish NTV television and ABhaber website, that Turkey’s Plan B is ready in case the Cyprus talks collapse. Both sources said that if no solution is reached by July when the Republic of Cyprus takes over the EU presidency, Ankara will change the basic parameters of the negotiations.

Turkish daily Hurriyet says that Turkey aims to hold a conference modelled after the Burgenstock talks by March to discuss the Cyprus issue, a Turkish diplomatic source said.“The January 22 to 24 meeting and the follow-up process should be perceived as a turning point”, Deputy Turkish Prime Minister Besir Atalay, who is responsible for Cyprus affairs, told a group of journalists. “If the January meeting of Cyprus leaders paved the way for a higher level meeting such as an international conference with the participation of guarantor states, then there could be relief in the talks”, Atalay said.

Asked if he was optimistic about the success of the process, Atalay said he wanted to be optimistic and still believed a surprise might emerge from Greentree.Asked what kind of surprise, he said a decision to take the direct talks process to a higher-level, an international meeting or conference, very much like the Burgenstock stage of the failed Annan Plan, namely a meeting with the participation of Turkey and Greece, and if it wants a third guarantor country, Britain as well, and with the EU and some other countries making contributions as observers.He added that such a conference would sort out the remaining differences of the sides, particularly on property, territory, refugees, and would put the last touches to the power-sharing scheme and, naturally, the guarantee system.Kibris also reports that asked what would happen in case of failure of the Cyprus talks, Atalay said: “We always have a plan B in our foreign policy regarding Cyprus.”

The Cyprus government has denounced Turkey and called on the international community to tell Turkey that its policy and stance on the Cyprus problem conflicts with the UN resolutions.

“Statements by Turkish officials about a Plan B and a solution on the basis of two separate states again reveal the real intentions of Turkey’s policy on the Cyprus problem which are not a solution and reunification of Cyprus, but partition”, Government Spokesman Stefanos Stefanou said.

“Our response to the Turkish policy is our commitment to the solution of a bizonal, bicommunal federation from which Turkey is trying to disengage, as well as the assumption of sustained initiatives in order not to allow Turkey to invest in the unproductive passage of time to consolidate the faits accomplis of the illegal invasion and occupation”.

Ban warns time running out for Cyprus deal

2012-01-10T12:15:00.000+02:00

U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon warned Cyprus's Greek and Turkish leaders they were running out of time to settle their dispute over the island, and urged them to break a deadlock in talks at a summit in New York later this month, Reuter’s reports.

In unusually blunt letters to both leaders, Ban laid out the differences between the divided Cypriot communities that are still blocking efforts to reunify the country.

"The negotiation ... currently finds itself at an impasse on several issues," Ban wrote in both letters dated 4 Jan, seen by Reuters on Monday.

"I am concerned that opportunities to successfully conclude negotiations will be limited once the Republic of Cyprus takes up the presidency of the European Union on 1 July 2012," he added in the letters.

Diplomats fear Cypriot politicians will be distracted by the presidency of the EU and spend less time on peace talks. They say the presidency could also alienate the island's Turkish leaders and widen differences between the two sides.

But both sides remain divided on how they would govern the island together and demarcate territory. Disagreements have also hit efforts to hold an international conference to hammer out the final phases of a settlement, wrote Ban.

President Christofias yesterday announced that the National Council would convene next Monday to discuss developments in the Cyprus problem in view of the forthcoming meeting in New York, including the latest letter sent by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to the two communities.

Speaking after his meeting with Turkish Cypriot leader Eroglu on Monday, Christofias said he was saddened that everyone had rushed to criticise his government, based on an interpretation of the letter by Turkish Cypriot news agency Anatolia which was circulated yesterday.

He admitted that Ban referred to the talks reaching the final stages and July being a landmark date, but he added this should not be interpreted as a timeframe for a solution to the Cyprus problem.

The president also said the SG underlined the need for convergences on domestic matters, before he meets with the two leaders on January 22.

“(Ban) is effectively noting that we have reached a dead end in these matters and he is calling on both leaders to work intensively in the time that is left, in order to break this dead end. That is the whole essence,” said Christofias.

The president said it would be wrong to turn down an invitation by the UNSG, though he promised the Greek Cypriot side would not deviate from its initial principles of “one state, with one sovereignty, one nationality and one international personality”.

He also said he had made it clear that the Greek Cypriot side cannot be forced to change its positions on issues that have almost been concluded and on which Mr Eroglu has changed position.

“It is Mr Eroglu who should return to the positions that have been agreed and not us to be forced to move further”, he said.

He said he and Eroglu had discussed procedural issues before the meeting at Greentree and that significant differences on the issues of governance, property and territory still remain.

“I again raised the question that, if in these two weeks that separate us from Greentree no convergences are achieved, what would be the point of Greetree?”

The Monday meeting was the last between the two leaders before they go to New York, although not the last of their representatives and their teams.

“If the Leaders wish to meet again before Greentree, they certainly can do that and we would be happy to facilitate that within the next couple of weeks”, Alexander Downer, the UN Special Advisor said afterwards.

Asked if he had seen the necessary “determination” he had talked about the previous week, Downer replied: “They are working at it very hard”, adding that their representatives and their teams are going to meet on two occasions during the course of this week with clear plans for those meetings which they hope would make a solid contribution to the process.

“They want to be able to go into and come out of the Greentree meeting with some solid convergences”, he said. “Every effort is being made to get as much converged before Greentree rather than leave everything to two days in America”.

Determination needed, says UN

2012-01-06T15:21:00.000+02:00

The talks on finding a solution to the Cyprus problem went through a very difficult period recently, UN Special Adviser Alexander Downer said on Wednesday and the leaders of the two communities need to show some determination and make more progress if they want the Greentree meeting in New York this month a success,

Speaking after a meeting between the two leaders, Downer highlighted the short time left to make progress before the two leaders meet with the UN chief in Greentree estate in New York on January 22.

“We don’t have all that long now until the Greentree meeting, so we are working very hard to try to make some progress between now and then and we’ll just have to see how we get on.

“This has been a very difficult period in the negotiations recently and so we need to demonstrate some determination to try to get over some of the difficulties and obstacles,” said the UN diplomat.

He said both sides have prepared and handed over to the UN draft outlines of how they see an agreement. They will exchange those outlines with each other on their completion.

Asked whether the Greentree meeting was coming too early for the two sides to make enough progress, he said this was not an issue of time, but politics.

“The obstacles that stand before an agreement on the core issues at the moment can be resolved, but the question is whether they will be resolved”, in other words whether the two sides were willing to make the necessary political compromises. “Whether they are going to happen or not, I have no idea.”

“We need to make more progress between now and the meeting in Greentree, to make sure that it is a successful meeting. It’s obviously a challenge,” said Downer.

Asked what would happen if there is no agreement, Downer said: “If there is no agreement, then we have complete deadlock. The Secretary-General will obviously have to think about what the next steps would be under those circumstances and discuss that with the leaders”.

The two sides simply “reiterated their positions” at the last meeting on the Cyprus problem between the two leaders, President Christofias said on his return from the talks.

"The differences remain and the UN is calling on us, naturally, to intensify our efforts, to achieve progress, and some results before Greentree”, he said.

He said the Greek Cypriot side was ready to proceed “on condition that one side does not impose its will on the other. It is mostly up to the other side, not to retreat, but to return to what has been agreed”.

He said that the Turkish side cannot be prevaricating and reconsidering issues that have been previously agreed upon.

“We are looking for a compromise on what the Turkish side has moved away from. This is the situation. It is not attractive in any case”, he added.

The Turkish Cypriots are more sincere than the Greek Cypriots in trying to reach an agreement in the island, Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu told reporters after the latest round of talks.

According to Ankara Anatolia news agency, he also said that he wanted to reach an agreement in Cyprus more than Greek Cypriot leader Demetris Christofias and UN Secretary General's special advisor for Cyprus Alexander Downer.

"This is because the Turkish Cypriots need an agreement more than the Greek Cypriots", Eroglu added.

“For us, the Cyprus talks are going well”, he said. “We discussed with the Greek Cypriots the 6th chapter. There is deadlock on the property issue. We submitted a proposal of 60 pages on the property issue alone. The UN embraced it. On the EU issue, so that an agreement isn't undermined through legal challenges in court over its status as EU primary law, we have some problems over enshrining it into the EU constitution. The economy issue has practically finished, the domestic security issue is almost completed. The guarantorship issue will be discussed at the international conference. There is a deadlock on the issue of governance and power sharing. They're trying to backtrack on the issue of the presidency.”

Commenting on the January summit, Eroglu said: “Christofias very clearly opposes arbitration and a timetable. However, the UN Secretary-General declared that the negotiations will have an end. We will try so that we may reach a solution by June, when the Greek Cypriots will take over the EU's rotating presidency.”

Commenting on a recent statement he made that if the Cyprus talks failed, the TRNC would be renamed as Cyprus Turkish State, Eroglu said: “While the negotiations are being carried out, it is not possible to refer to a plan B. Our state exists, our motherland recognizes it. If there is no solution, we will continue the same way, as how the TRNC is today. However, constitutional amendments may be necessary. There are delays at the assembly level. The amendment, regarding the police falling under civilian control is necessary.”

President Christofias said he was eager to meet with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to discuss the Cyprus problem.

“The key to the problem is in Ankara,” Christofias told Turkish Cypriot daily Hurriyet in an interview on Wednesday.

“If he invites me I will go at once. I think Erdogan does not drink raki for religious concerns, but I can drink coffee, raki or anything,” Christofias said, adding that he would meet Erdogan in either Istanbul or Ankara.

Negotiations to end Cyprus’ division are proceeding poorly, he said, noting that if progress isn’t made soon, there would be no reason to go to New York at the end of the month.

He called on Turkey not to call the Greek side of the island a “half country” in reference to Turkish President Abdullah Gul’s statement in November 2011 about the prospect of Greek Cyprus taking over the European Union presidency this year as a “half country” leading a “miserable union.”

“It is very insulting to say this to an EU member country, especially when we are in favour of Turkey’s membership in the EU. This attitude does not demonstrate respect,” said Christofias. Other EU countries do not support Turkey’s attitude either, he added.

Powerful actors in the EU would still have problems with Ankara joining the union even without the Cyprus problem, Christofias said.

Some of these countries are worried about Turkey’s domestic problems, economy and population, whereas others are against Turkey’s membership because it is a Muslim country, said Christofias, but added that he did not agree with the second reason.

Christofias also said natural gas would begin flowing to the island within four years and that would benefit everyone if an agreement were reached.

He called on Turkey to recognize Cyprus as a sovereign state, to contribute to a solution and to leave the island alone.

Turkey’s EU Minister, Egemen Bagis, yesterday said President Christofias could meet with Turkish officials if Dervis Eroglu, the Turkish Cypriot leader was present, Turkish Cypriot daily Haberdar reports, implying that such a request could be realised only with a four-party meeting, where Turkey and Greece are present.

Bagis, reportedly said: “Let President Dervis Eroglu take Christofias by the hand and come. Our Prime Minister will meet them,”

With political will the Cyprus problem can be solved in six weeks, let alone six months time, Turkey’s Foreign Minister, Ahmet Davutoglu, has said, as there is no aspect which has not been discussed or negotiated, he said, according to Turkish news reports.

He added that Turkey will continue supporting the ongoing talks and expressed hopes that a result will come up after the Greentree summit in New York, a result that will be in the framework of the UN’s parameters and which could lead to an international conference on Cyprus.

“We are continually exerting efforts for this. Our message is always directed towards the implementation of a comprehensive solution in Cyprus, the soonest possible”, he said.

“After the January summit, it is possible for an international conference to take place, maybe in February or March, referendums in April or May, and as a result of this, the new state to be established in July 2012. In this case, the President of the new state, which will undertake the EU term presidency, will be from the one side and the Foreign Minister from the other side. In this way, the EU will show that it is a peace project. But if the EU hands over the EU term Presidency unilaterally to the Greek Cypriots, something that will reinforce them, then the EU will lose its dignity. We should speak openly about this”, Davutoglu said.

Asked to comment the possibility for tensions escalating if Cyprus takes on the EU Presidency without a solution, Davutoglu warned that Turkey will not approve the “continuation of this game”.

President Demetris Christofias and Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu last night jointly hosted a dinner in honour of the UN in the mixed village of Pyla.

According to the Cyprus Mail, the dinner was a “jolly affair”, with the two leaders expressing their hope for a comprehensive settlement, saying this could be achieved even within 2012, only a day after it appeared the outlook for the New York Greentree talks at the end of this month was bleak.

The leaders and the UN team, which included Special Adviser Alexander Downer, had dinner at the Greek Cypriot restaurant Trochos and then headed to the Turkish Cypriot restaurant Amnesia, a kilometre away, for coffee.

Downer over dinner waxed lyrical about the “beautiful island” of Cyprus and how “warm friendly and extremely hospitable people were” and that “warmer and friendlier people” could not be found anywhere but in Cyprus.

He continued by saying that he dreamt of the day when the two leaders would be on the front page of Time magazine as the two people who reached an agreement in Cyprus, resulting to the island’s reunification. “I think all this is possible”, Downer said.

Christofias said he hoped 2012 would be ’the year of the solution’, adding that this was possible. He noted that despite the problems, “we shall work more intensively to find a common language, the Cypriot language” in order to overcome the difficulties.

Eroglu said he agreed with everything that Christofias said, although he is insisted that a solution be reached before Cyprus takes over the presidency of the EU in July.

“I do believe that with our strong efforts, both Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots can find a comprehensive settlement in this island,” Eroglu said.

Why is Downer’s warning being ignored?

2011-12-25T20:02:00.002+02:00

The municipal elections last week, says an editorial in the Cyprus Mail, ensured that next to no media attention was given to the interview of the UN Secretary-General’s special representative, Alexander Downer that was published in Kathimerini last Sunday.

Had it been a slow news day, his views would have sparked dozens of newspaper articles, party announcements and angry statements by politicians. Downer has been the target of concerted attacks for saying much less in the past, which is why the absence of a reaction, this time, came as a surprise.

Perhaps the media took note of the Australian’s complaints about the hostility the UN had always faced from the Greek Cypriot side and decided to show restraint. Downer said: “As I said, we have always been attacked here; not by the Turkish Cypriot side but by the Greek Cypriot. The UN since 1963 has been systematically attacked from certain elements in the Greek Cypriot community and some of the political parties. They continuously attack us. But if we left, if we said we are fed up of your attacks and we are leaving, what would they say?”

His frustration is understandable, given the way he has been treated by the Greek Cypriot politicians and media, which invariably describe his public comments as “provocative and unacceptable”. It was therefore difficult to understand why there had been no reaction to Sunday’s interview, in which he castigated the Greek Cypriot hostility towards the UN, blamed the lack of progress on both sides – not on Turkish intransigence as is the official line – and repeatedly stated that the Greentree meeting in January could be the end of the procedure.

“The Secretary-General sent the message that the window of opportunity for a settlement was closing,” he said adding that if by the time the leaders met Ban Ki-moon in Greentree, “we have not reached the desired result, it could mean the end of the procedure.”

Nobody seems to take his warnings that if the leaders failed to overcome their differences over the next few weeks, the peace process would collapse.

Ban spoke about the end-game, when he last met the two leaders in October, but nobody on the Greek Cypriot side seemed particularly concerned; the government was in denial, going as far as to say that no time-frames had been set.

Is it that nobody believes the UN would ever give up on the Cyprus talks, the paper wonders, or would we be relieved if it packed up and left?

Logically, given the hostility we have towards the UN’s envoys, we should be celebrating if the talks collapsed and Downer packed his bags and returned to Australia. Although we have been ignoring Downer’s warnings, this time, we could get what we wished for.

The recent census carried out in the north is causing a bit of a headache for the Kioneli ‘mayor’ after recording 7,000 fewer residents than in the local authority has registered in its books.

According to Turkish Cypriot daily Kibris, which ran the story, Kioneli community leader Ahmet Benli claims there are 23,000 people registered in his municipality.

The recent census carried out on December 3 on the orders of Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu recorded a population of 16,000 for the Nicosia suburb, leaving Benli scratching his head as to where the 7,000 ‘surplus’ residents went.

If not solution then interim agreement and international conference by July

2011-12-18T17:47:00.001+02:00

Makarios Droushiotis writing in Politis today says that while politicians’ attention in Cyprus has been on the economy, talks on the Cyprus problem have been forging ahead, with the UN determined not to let the last five years of negotiations go to waste.

However, reaching an agreement before Cyprus undertakes the EU Presidency now seems unattainable and diplomatic efforts are now focused on at least getting an outline of a solution by then.

The writer says that according to his sources, the UN Special Representative in Cyprus, Alexander Downer, has asked the two sides to prepare a 20-page document outlining their positions on all the aspects of the Cyprus problem which will take the form of an outline of an overall solution. In short he has asked them to present their own solution.

The two sides responded positively and last Thursday handed the documents over to the UN. The entire UN team of experts is currently in Cyprus and is working on the documents and the to and fro diplomacy will continue despite the Christmas holidays.

“With the submission of these documents the talks have entered a new phase and will continue intensively up until Greentree 2”, the source said.

The UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has already thrown some light on how he intends to proceed over the next few weeks at his end of year press conference in New York. He plans to present personally throughout the two days of talks at Greentree, that he intends to maximise progress up until the Cyprus Presidency, and he hoped to be able to move on to an international conference.

A more specific move from the UN S-G is expected in the next few days making is intentions even clearer in view of the tripartite meeting in January with the aim of producing a joint document that may open the way for a conference.

The UN’s aim is to capitalise on all that has been achieved over the four years of talks by incorporating it all in a 20-page document covering all aspects of the Cyprus problem and signed by both leaders.

This document will remain as a legacy to the next President who will be elected immediately after the Cyprus EU Presidency. The details of an overall solution could in the meantime be fleshed out during this current presidency.

As is known, President Christofias has publicly announced that he will not be running again, except if the Cyprus problem is near a solution. At a recent lunch he had with the ambassadors of EU member states, without referring to the possibility of there being an interim solution, he told them that the Cyprus problem cannot be solved now but that they would have to be continued by the next president. “I will not be a candidate, even though the party and others are pressuring me”, he said.

Diplomats who are closely following the Cyprus problem interpret this to mean that Christofias is already preparing the ground to stand again using as a slogan to be allowed to finish the talks. A politician who says he is being pressured to stand for election must be considered to be standing already.

After half a century of experience of the Cyprus problem, and especially after the last ten years, the international community is wise to the rules of the game that Cyprus’ politicians are playing – no president leaves power of his own accord, thereby admitting defeat. This particular president was elected with the mandate to solve the Cyprus problem. Continuing the talks is essential to his political survival.

The international community is willing to help him, but not, thanks to the experiences of the recent past, on empty promises alone, but with clear commitments. The talks can indeed be shelved for 9 months, but only if there is a clear intermediate commitment on the framework for a solution with the signature of both leaders.

As regards the international conference, the writer says that the UN seems determined to call the two sides to such a conference immediately after Greentree 2, in view of the fact that the Turkish side seems unable to discuss the territorial issue without the presence of Turkey, while Christofias refuses to discuss the property issue without the territorial issue being discussed in tandem.

He says the resolution renewing the UNFICYP resolution is not quite as the government spokesman interpreted it, namely that it would require the agreement of both sides to convene a conference. Yes, for a conference to take place both sides would have to agree. There is no way that anyone can force them to go. But this does not preclude the UN Secretary-General from inviting them to a conference. It would be up to them to accept or not. This is likely what will happen at Greentree 2, and given the Turkish position in favour of a conference, the dilemma will be Christofias’, who will have to decide whether to lead the talks to complete collapse, or to accept and find himself before the same dilemmas at a later stage.

Time is short, says UN S-G

2011-12-17T19:27:00.001+02:00

The window of opportunity for further progress in negotiations is very much limited, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in New York at his end of year press conference this week.

“I believe that time is quite limited”, he added as Cyprus is going to take the Presidency of the European Union from 1 July next year.

“It may be politically difficult and sensitive, when the Presidency of the European Union is now going to be part of this. And practically speaking, the Presidency of the European Union will be heavily involved in all other European issues. Therefore, we are trying to maximize this progress in Cyprus”, he explained.

He said he would be spending two days with the two leader at Greentree in late January for “a more intensive consultation, negotiation, than the previous Greentree negotiations”.

“We hope that with the positive result of the January negotiations, we can move ahead towards the international conference to deal with these issues. But let us hope that, before they come to Greentree, both leaders must engage and make progress, accelerating their pace of negotiation”.

The UN Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution extending the mandate of the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) until 19 July 2012.

The Cyprus government described the resolution as sufficiently balanced.

“The resolution does not include the problematic provision, present in the first drafts, for convening an international conference without the prior achievement of an agreement on the internal aspects of the problem”, a spokesman said.

“The wording that was adopted and is included in the resolution’s preamble is based on the Secretary General’s statement at Green Tree, which sets as a precondition the resolution of the internal aspects of the problem, in order to be able to proceed to a multilateral conference”, he said.

He went on: “At the same time, the consent of the two sides for convening such a conference is added as a condition, a position which is in agreement with our side’s position on the specific issue. The resolution contains no form of timeframe. There is an appeal for further work towards the solution of the Cyprus problem in the next few months, a period for which the resolution has been approved. The importance of practical steps by interested parties on Cyprus is underlined, to assist the leaders of the two communities in the negotiations, a reference which indirectly refers to Turkey”.

Kibris reports that the Turkish Cypriot leader, Dervis Eroglu, has said that five out of the six chapters of the Cyprus problem have been discussed.

He added that the Turkish Cypriot side had submitted a 50-page proposal on the property issue to the Greek Cypriot side and had informed them in a very clear manner about the criteria of the Turkish side on territory.

Eroglu claimed that the Greek Cypriots were exerting no effort toward reaching an agreement in this direction said that the Greek Cypriot side should exert at least as much effort as the Turkish Cypriot side in order for an agreement to be reached in the negotiations. He said that even though the chapters are not closed yet, they continue to have hopes.

Eroglu argued that they are taking some steps and try to achieve convergences. He added: “The important thing is to increase these convergences and finalize the chapters”.

Meeting on property “a failure”

2011-12-13T21:56:00.000+02:00

President Christofias yesterday described his meeting with Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu as a “failure”, the Cyprus Mail reports.

Responding to a question on the meeting on his return to the Presidential Palace, the President replied: “Badly. We discussed the issue of properties and there is nothing to say.”

He added: “The meeting was a failure and we must let the people know, unfortunately.”

He elaborated on some of the sticking points on property, which the Greek Cypriot negotiating team has argued should be looked at alongside the question of territorial readjustments in a federal Cyprus.

He argued that during the last meeting with the UN chief in New York, it was decided to set up a committee to look into both these issues. However, “the Turkish Cypriot side is not responding”.

“We gave names, we are ready, we have found the necessary data for the issue of properties but unfortunately there is no response,” he added.

Asked about reports from New York that the British were working hard in the UN Security Council to push for an international conference on the Cyprus issue, Christofias said: “Things have changed.”

Cypriot diplomacy has taken the necessary steps, going as far up as British PM David Cameron, he said.

Regarding the UN Security Council’s upcoming resolution on the renewal of the UN peacekeeping force here, the President said the final draft would be “good” and “fair” and would “reflect what the UN Secretary-General has supported until now”.

Recent reports suggest British diplomats have been pushing for a provision in the resolution calling for an international conference before the internal aspects of a peace solution are agreed between the two communities, something which Christofias is vehemently against.

UN Special Adviser Alexander Downer also confirmed Christofias’ gloomy outlook.
“I think it’s fair to say the meeting was a fairly unsuccessful meeting. There was no progress made in terms of these discussions,” said.

“It is important to be frank with you. This meeting today could have been better. It was not a productive meeting and we look forward to next week’s meeting being much more productive.”

However, he added that the meeting was held in a very friendly atmosphere “as they invariably are”.

The Australian diplomat said the UN would meet with both leaders and their teams during the week to work on some of the issues.

Asked whether the two leaders will meet after the last scheduled meeting on January 9, Downer said this was a possibility since the date for another tripartite with the UN Secretary-General in New York has been set for January 22 until January 24.

However, he ruled out the possibility of cancelling the New York meeting in the Greentree complex should the leaders’ fail to make adequate progress.

He hoped that the meetings between the leaders, their representatives, between the UN and the two sides all “come together with some convergences on the core issues”.

He said he planned to discuss the issues of property, external relations, executive, territory and citizenship with the two sides during the course of this week.

But when asked to give an overall assessment of the peace talks, he revealed: “Overall, it could be going better. It could be going better.”

Game of words

2011-12-11T20:28:00.000+02:00

The discussions over the renewal of UNFICYP’s mandate are becoming crucial for the future outcome of the talks on the Cyprus problem, says Makarios Droushiotis writing in Politis today. He adds that a game of words is being played and if it works out could lead to a solution, at least on paper.

The key battle being waged is over the phrase is “international conference” and in particular whether or not the UN S-G will be able to call one immediately after the upcoming meeting at Greentree on 20-22 January. It is evident that Ban Ki-moon’s intention is to cap the negotiating procedure by calling an international conference and what is occupying the diplomatic scene at the moment is whether or not he will be able to do so without the approval of the two sides.

The UN S-G has already signalled his intention to call an international conference at the meeting in Geneva last January to which Mr Christofias reacted saying he had no right to do so without approval of the two sides or the approval of the Security Council.

The writer says that according to information the paper has acquired, Ban Ki-moon has sought the opinion of the legal department of the UN and was told he could call an international conference on any issue without needing the agreement of the Security Council and it is up to the sides whether to respond positively or negatively. He said as much in his report on the progress of the talks in March this year when he said that when he deems that enough progress had been achieved in the main issues, and after consulting with the two sides, he could call a multilateral conference. This report, which was approved by the Security Council, leaves the decision up to the S-G. He could consult with the sides but their opinion is not binding.

The writer says that the UN had planned to include mention of heading towards a conference in the statement after the talks at GreenTree but Christofias reacted and it was taken out. However, that doesn’t mean that their intention had changed in any way. It seems that now the British and Americans are trying to have this included in resolution extending the UNFICYP mandate. In fact the Security Council is divided with the British and Americans wanted a clear reference to be made for an international conference, while France proposes something vaguer to the effect that it will be called if the sides approve. It is expected that some kind of compromise will be reached by Tuesday, otherwise the mandate won’t be renewed and the UN troops will have to leave, something highly unlikely. But it won’t be to the extent of removing the UN S-G’s right to call one if and when he deems suitable.

The Greek Cypriot side is hoping that the Security Council stops such an eventuality but its powers are limited. The most it can hope to achieve is to include the phrase “consultations with the two sides” but not as a precondition.

The population census conducted in the north is valid, says Politis.

The paper quotes UN sources as saying that both the methodology used for the census, which took place under UN supervision, as well as the results are reliable.

It was announced that the population in the TRNC us 295,000, including the foreign visitors, but excluding the Turkish army officers and personnel.

The paper says that the number sounds too small to be real, at least as regards the numbers of settlers from the mainland that the Greek Cypriots believe to be in the north. The census figures are also being doubted by the Turkish Cypriot opposition.

Commenting on the census before the figures were announced, President Christofias said this matter must be discussed in depth and that figures must be put on the table because “for us the 4:1 ratio is a very important issue”.

If the international community deems the figures to be valid, then the settler problem is not as great as was thought, and the 4:1 ration is possible in a new solution plan.

Time for decisions, not more talks

2011-12-09T13:21:00.001+02:00

The lack of political will is the final obstacle to an agreed solution on the Cyprus problem, says Makarios Droushiotis writing in Politis last Sunday. Acquiring it does not depend on any external factor. The two sides themselves must find the political courage, not just to solve the problem but to make sure it works. This seems to be how the UN sees the future of the talks, he adds.

According to a source involved in the talks, on the level of technocrats the talks are proceeding very well, but as soon as the issues reach the leaders they get blocked as a result of cowardice and lack of political will to break the deadlock.

The attempt of the Greek Cypriot side to play for time and if possible get the talks put on ice has not succeeded. The UN insist that the Green Tree talks were successful, but the commitment that Christofias and Eroglu undertook that in two months they will be able to bridge their differences on the main issues has not materialised in practice.

However, the UN are not watching with arms crossed. Alexander Downer is working on various scenarios in order not to leave a single stone unturned and to make sure that he has exhausted all possibilities for reaching an agreed solution or at least to be able to substantiate that federation is impossible. The UN have no intention of imposing a solution so that if the process fails it will not be the UN that failed but the two sides.

As Downer said in a recent interview on CyBC, what will be decided in the immediate future is whether or not federation is a possible solution or not.

“If there is deadlock then that will be the end of the search for a solution on the basis of a bicommunal, bizonal federation”, he said.

Tuekey sees June 2012 as the deadline for a solution (including a referendum) due to Cyprus taking over the EU Presidency. The UN see things even more simply. If after three years of talks and almost 50 years since the collapse of the Zurich agreement and 40 years since the invasion, the issues have been discussed ad nauseam. It is no longer a question of talks but decisions.

As a Western diplomat remarked, it is interesting that every time the UN tries to push things forwards reactions are hysterical, whereas when the news is bad, this is accepted with relief. After the joint statement issued after Greentree which spoke of progress, panic ensued in Cyprus, but when Christofias gave assurances that “nothing’s happening”, everyone calmed down.

Irrespective of Eroglu’s stance, or whether Turkey is genuine or not, what has become blatantly obvious is that Christofias is afraid to take a step forward and is simply playing for tie. But time is running out and the margins for an agreed solution are tightening. While his interlocutors agree that Christofias doesn’t have a problem with federation per se, his political cowardice prevents him from taking further steps. In diplomacy intentions don’t count, actions do. Eight years since the 2004 referendum the UN have reached the same conclusion as the UN S-G Kofi Anan who said that the plan that the Greek Cypriots had rejected was not just some plan, it was federation itself. Tassos didn’t want it, Christofias does, but hasn’t got the guts. The result is the same.

Federation will be considered unfeasible for Cyprus and the next talks which will be held will be over straightening out the borders and outlining codes of cooperation between the two states.

Talks were ‘long and lively’

2011-11-28T21:50:00.000+02:00

A long and lively discussion on governance and the division of powers was held this afternoon between the leaders of the two communities in Cyprus part of the ongoing talks on the Cyprus problem, as the UN Special Representative in Cyprus, Alexander Downer reported.

He said the discussion would continue on Thursday morning and that afterwards the meetings would follow the schedule whereby the leaders will be more or less meeting every Monday up until the middle of January.

“This may vary from time to time”, he said “depending on the circumstances, but this is the intention at this stage”.

Mr Downer added that further talks would take place with both sides during the week touching on issues that were raised today as well as other questions that the two leaders had in relation to the talks.

Moreover, he said that the two leaders had jointly invited him and Lisa Buttenheim to a dinner in Pyla on 5 January, which he warmly accepted on behalf of the UN and was looking forward to it.

Turkish daily Zaman reports that Turkey’s Chief Negotiator for EU affairs, State Minister Egemen Bagis, warned that the Turkish Cypriot state in the north of the island could be internationally recognized as an independent state if the Greek Cypriots continue to drag their feet in negotiations for a settlement on the island.

“Turkey has a certain amount of leverage. There are countries waiting for a signal to recognize the TRNC, to initiate diplomatic relations with it”, he said.“If the Greek Cypriots really want a solution, they should make good use of the coming six-month period; otherwise they will regret it”, he added.

Turkey has offered to bow to EU demands and open its ports, airports and airspace to Cyprus under what it called a "Taiwanese-style" diplomatic arrangement to help drive Cypriot reunification talks resuming on Monday under U.N. pressure for a breakthrough, the Cyprus Mail reports quoting Reuters.

Turkish EU Minister Egemen Bagis told Reuters he believed that the simple arrangement would help free up talks over Cyprus and would not require recognition of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus but would merely reflect a trade relationship. He said Turkey will open all of her airports, sea ports and airspace to Greek Cypriot planes and vessels as soon as a British Airways, an Air France, a KLM or a Lufthansa airplane lands at the Ercan airport in northern Cyprus.

Solution or two states

2011-11-27T14:43:00.001+02:00

There will either be a solution or recognition of the TRNC, Turkish President Abdullah Gul told British Prime Minister David Cameron during an official visit he paid to London this week.

According to Politis, he urged the British to do all they could now so that a solution can be achieved by June 2012 when Cyprus takes over the EU presidency. Otherwise there will be two states in Cyprus, as former British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said would happen, he added. Many opportunities have been lost, he said, because they had insisted on things that could not be achieved.

Moreover, Bayrak television reported that, speaking at a joint press conference with the British Prime Minister, Gul said that both Turkey and Britain, as guarantor powers in Cyprus, supported the process and both sides in Cyprus needed to be encouraged to go for a settlement.

"I specifically emphasised that if the European Union fails to act with a strong political will, the reunification of the island might become impossible due to the Greek Cypriot side's unwillingness for a solution," Gul said.

Also, according to Turkey’s official website, Gul told members of the House of Commons that the EU Presidency of such a “half government” demonstrates a weakness on the part of the EU.

Reporting on comments Gul made to journalists on the plane on his way back from London, Politis says he said he had told Cameron that he hoped that a decision for reunification of the island would be reached, as this was the right time for this to happen.

“After that we will head towards two separate states when you too will be forced to recognise that which we already recognise”, he is reported to have said.

Gul said his hopes were that agreement could be reached by the end of the year, for there to be a new plan and then a referendum.

Solution possible in January

2011-11-21T18:33:00.001+02:00

Foreign and European diplomatic circles believe that considerable progress in the Cyprus talks was achieved at Green Tree in New York, so much so that important developments will take place in January and possibly even a solution, says Makarios Droushiotis writing in Politis yesterday.

This fits in with the UN announcement as well as information from Turkish sources, but is completely at variance with public statements by President Christofias and Akel. The writer finds it a complete mystery why everyone connected with the Cyprus problem believes that something positive may happen while in Cyprus the picture being painted is bleak.

He says this information doesn’t just come from journalists’ sources, but also from top European leaders. A case in point is Disy leader Nicos Anastasiades who came back from a trip to Europe last week saying that both the British Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary, as well as German Chancellor Angela Merkel all of whom he met with, believe that progress has been achieved in the talks and expect even more progress to come.

Brussels too is of the same opinion. At meetings House President Yiannakis Omirou had with Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, the latter outrightly rejected the view that the talks aren’t progressing due to Turkish intransigence. Barroso, says the paper, is actively involved in the Cyprus problem and is convinced a solution can be reached now. Barroso’s representative, Jorge Cesar das Neves, attended the talks at Green Tree. The fact that EU leaders are firmly convinced that the talks are going well and will go even better in January cannot be a misunderstanding or a delusion.

Confusion, however, reigns supreme from the statements emanating from the Cyprus government. Two things are likely:

1. The talks did in fact go well and there are indeed prospects for a solution, but Christofias is keeping expectations low so that there will not be any preemptive reactions.
2. The two sides see things differently, and the UN and international community don’t share the Cypriot point of view.
The fact remains that the Cyprus government’s credibility is in doubt. No one takes what they are saying at face value. For example, in early 2010 all information indicated that agreement had been reached on the issue of governance, yet Christofias denied it, only today to accuse the Turkish side of reneging on what they had previously agreed.

What is certain is that the time for playing games is over. In January Christofias must either admit there has been progress and agree to an international conference giving rise to reactions internally, or he must lead matters to failure and take responsibility for it, thereby proving the Turks right when they say that the Greek Cypriots have got it good being in the EU and aren’t interested in a solution.

The rhetoric for talks without a timetable or arbitration has become ridiculous and is laughed at in diplomatic circles. Clearly, the talks have already entered their final phase following a very clear timetable and agenda. Last Wednesday Christofias and Eroglu agreed to a all the dates leading to Green Tree 2 which is due to take place around 20 January, as well as on a working programme covering all the chapters. The Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Lisa Buttenheim, informed the two leaders that the UN will expand its role during the final round of talks. The leaders will be meeting only once a week when they will simply confirm what has been agreed during the previous to-ing and fro-ing and there will also be meetings of UN technocrats with each negotiating team. Naturally there will be some kind of mediation and solutions will be put forward, but without each side knowing the other side’s ultimate position. Not allowing the UN to put forward proposals or to play a mediating role is tantamount to showing bad faith. Besides the whole process cannot be completed without the UN’s active involvement. The UN itself believes that the tools are there, the two sides’ positions understood, and all that is needed is political will. If they don’t reach an agreement now, they will never be able to do so, not in a year’s time, nor even in ten. What the UN is trying to do is to see whether a federal solution is ultimately feasible or not.

The UN S-G will outline his intentions in his forthcoming report on the renewal of UNFICYP. He expects that after Green Tree 2 this report will be positive. But if the process fails, he will explain why. Both sides are already urging Ban Ki-moon to point the finger at the other side. Their efforts not to take the blame does have the effect of somewhat pushing the process forward. But if they are doing so under the pressure of not wanting to take responsibility whereas in actual fact don’t really believe in the solution, then the solution will be a shotgun wedding and prospects of it succeeding are dim.

One thing that worries the international community is Turkey’s apparent lack of enthusiasm in a solution compared with before. The Turkish side is convinced that Christofias cannot solve the Cyprus problem. If he didn’t dare go for it when he was stronger internally and had Talat as his interlocutor, how is he going to be able to do so now that he is weak and has Eroglu on the other side? According to Turkish sources, this is why Erdogan changed his tune and hardened his rhetoric on Cyprus, while at the same time keeping tensions high over the natural gas exploration.

Alexander Downer is expected to visit Ankara in the next few days to check out the Turkish government’s intentions and to seek their support for the climax of the talks. Turkey exerted all its influence to get the UN to ensure that January is the endgame and June the date for wrapping up the procedure if the UN S-G proceeds to an international conference.

Turkey has made it clear that if the talks fail it will change policy and turn towards upgrading the TRNC and its economy with development work and will give TRNC citizenship to Turks in order to control local politics better. According to Turkish Cypriot sources, even Eroglu is concerned about the population increase in the north because the Turkish Cypriots will be undermined. That’s why agreement was reached on the citizenship issue in New York whereby those who had already received TRNC citizenship would be covered by international law in a future settlement.

Different things happened in New York to what Christofias says

2011-11-14T22:43:00.001+02:00

President Christofias’ statements in Cyprus and even are in stark contrast to what actually happened in New York and to what the UN S-G himself said, according to Makarios Droushiotis writing in Politis.

Even in his briefing of the National Council he referred to things that hadn’t even been discussed, and when asked to submit the convergences in writing to the Council he refused for fear of leaks.

According to reliable sources, he says that the UN S-G’s statement after the talks, which was approved by both leaders, is the only reliable description of the New York meetings and the only one that binds them.

The government tried to put a different spin on the UN S-G’s statements by claiming he had described the talks more optimistically than events prescribed and that when he talked of “encouraging progress” he just meant that the two sides understood each other’s positions.

A source that is fully informed as to what actually transpired at the talks told the writer that these interpretations are “sophistries” used to serve the needs of the political game being played in Cyprus.

The source said that the UN S-G said exactly what he meant and the Security Council supported this by saying that it is convinced that a solution is possible and that all that is needed is political will.

The source added that to some extent such political shenanigans are understandable in the internal game being played but the talks have now entered an extremely serious phase to be faced with such tactics.

Moreover, the source said, it’s worrisome that not only are false interpretations being made, but information is being leaked that does not correspond with reality.

One such example, the source said, was when President Christofias told the National Council, as was leaked in the press, that Ban Ki-moon was annoyed with Eroglu over the issue of the weighted vote. Apparently Christofias didn’t even raise such an issue and nor did he withdraw his proposal for rotating presidency. This was one of the more positive developments from the talks, and besides nor was the question of the weighted vote even discussed. In fact in his summing up the UN S-G said there were two proposals on the table as regards elections for the executive as follows:
- Christofias’ proposal for separate election for the first term of government and rotating presidency on a 4:1 ratio. Automatic adoption of weighted for the second term
- Eroglu’s proposal for separate elections for the first term and rotating presidency on a 7:3 ratio. Weighted voting in the second term provided it is approved by the Senate.

The differences are not unbridgeable and it was agreed to finish the discussion in Cyprus. Agreement was almost reached on the question of citizenship, while on the property issue it was agreed that the owner of the property would have first say provided that he lived in the property in 1974. Compensation will be given to inheritors.

The writer goes on to say that Western diplomats, who were briefed by the UN as to what happened at the talks, are puzzled by Christofias’ statements that nothing whatsoever happened in New York and that nothing is expected to happen in January either, and are trying to find explanations. If this is all for internal consumption, they wonder, how is he going to win the people over if there is agreement at Greentree 2? If he is afraid of reactions and is just wasting time, what will he do in January when time is up? Or perhaps he truly believes what he says, and if so, then maybe he has a problem of comprehension, agreeing on one thing and understanding something totally different.

Equally unfounded are Christofias’ statements that there will be other meetings with the UN S-G after the January meeting, and that the option also exists to freeze the procedure till after the elections. If anything was made absolutely clear in New York, it was that this is the endgame. Christofias told the S-G that only he can solve the Cyprus problem and complained bitterly about the opposition, particularly about Anastasiades’ transformation and that he would prefer that everything is over before an international conference so that there are no leftovers for the next President. It was in this context that he said he would not be sitting opposite them in 2013.

Despite the fact that it is clear that after New York the procedure is reaching its climax and one would expect that the climate would improve over the next few months, on the contrary what is actually happening is that the blame game is climaxing. According to information, the Turkish side has sent all of Eroglu’s statement and all of Christofias’ statements to Alexander Downer and asked him to compare them in an effort to show evidence for bad will on the part of the Greek Cypriot side in the event of failure at Greentree 2.

An editorial in the Mail on Sunday refers to an interview with former Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat who said that his friend President Christofias wanted a Cyprus settlement, “but he was a coward”, being afraid of his government alliance partners. The paper says this cowardice has been evident through most of the Christofias presidency, which has been singularly unable to deal decisively with any of the big issues it has faced. In these three-and-a-half years, Christofias has exhibited most of the traits of weak leadership from fear of taking unpopular decisions to abrogation of responsibility and hyper-sensitivity to criticism. On the Cyprus talks, his cowardice may have served him well, as the majority of the Greek Cypriots do not seem very keen on a settlement, but the do-nothing approach on public finances has led us to the brink of disaster. We just hope that in a few months’ time defenders of Christofias would not be using a variation of Talat’s observation – he wanted to save the economy but he was a coward.

Never so close to a settlement

2011-11-06T16:22:00.000+02:00

Greek and Turkish Cypriots have never before been so close to an agreed settlement but the next few months will be critical as the United Nations push for a deal before Cyprus assumes the presidency of the EU in July next year, Makarios Droushiotis says writing in Politis and the Cyprus Mail.

According to informed sources close to the negotiations, both leaders gave assurances to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, during their meeting in New York last week that they were committed to producing the convergences he had asked for by the time they meet him next in January.

Significant differences nevertheless remain between the two sides, but Ban made it absolutely clear to them that his good offices mission will be terminated in the next few months if the sides do not break the deadlock.

The timeframe for a solution is June 2012. Until then there must be an agreement; the two sides must hold referenda and a federal Cyprus will assume the presidency of the Council of the EU.
If the deadlock is not broken by February, the UN will shut its good offices mission in Cyprus, the source said.

The option of freezing the talks until 2013 is unrealistic and it is something both leaders have fully understood. In fact, Christofias told Ban that he would not be a presidential candidate for a second term and has no plans to continue the talks in 2013. Once the UN team had made sure that the two sides had clearly understood the time constraint, Downer and Pascoe asked both sides if they believed they could bridge their differences. Both Christofias and Eroglu said they could.

The fact that they understood the time factor is perhaps the biggest achievement of the talks at Greentree. Talks without a timeframe and arbitration no longer constitute valid rhetoric. A very clear roadmap and a new procedure have emerged culminating in the endgame. If there is political will and courage, an agreement is possible.

Talks in Nicosia will start again on Thursday with one weekly meeting between the two leaders.
The leaders’ aides and working groups will take it from there while UN representatives together with their experts will be shuttling between the two sides, enriching discussions with their ideas and suggestions.

The UN has assured that they are not interested in imposing any solution, seeking especially to dispel the fears of the Greek Cypriots who vehemently oppose arbitration. As Downer said after briefing the Security Council, “we cannot want a solution more than the Cypriots themselves”, stressing that the role of the UN is to help the two sides reach a solution not to impose it. “They must be happy with the solution they will have reached”.

According to the new roadmap, the final round of talks in Cyprus will cover all chapters that are still open - governance, territory, property and citizenship.

A new tripartite meeting will be held in New York around January 15. Ban expects that the new meeting would be part of the final phase and not its beginning in the sense that when the leaders go to New York they would have already agreed on the four remaining chapters. If they go to the new meeting empty handed they would just be confirming the deadlock in the talks.

Sources said there is neither time nor inclination for another tripartite meeting. In New York there would only be two possibilities - declaring a deadlock or an agreement on the internal aspects and scheduling a multilateral meeting. If all goes as planned, the multilateral meeting will again be held in New York at the end of February or early March. If the talks reach the point of a multilateral meeting their success is a given, but if they collapse, it will happen in February. However, while a settlement is feasible on paper, it would have no value if it is not approved by both communities.

The UN believes that Christofias can count on the strong backing of the EU in case of a settlement, while Russia has given assurances that it will back a deal that is acceptable by both communities. Turkey is still willing, but less enthusiastic than before. Ban has already asked for support from Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan while his envoy in Cyprus, Alexander Downer is planning a trip to Ankara. The United States will not get involved in the talks but have pledged to provide help backstage. The UN Secretary-general has the backing of the Security Council. Its President, José Filipe Moraes Cabral, said that both Ban’s and Downer’s efforts have the Council’s strong support. He added: “The Council agreed that the sides should make additional efforts and display the necessary political will to move forward and conclude the negotiations in a positive way.”

Ankara believes all options are open as far as the Cyprus problem is concerned and is preparing for all eventualities, an article in Politis says.

Ankara is satisfied with the New York talks and wants it all cleared up by July 2012 when Cyprus takes on the EU Presidency.

“We are optimistic, we hope that the talks on Cyprus will have a positive outcome” and that they will be able to reach a federal solution by January, a Turkish diplomatic source told the paper, although they are also concerned that the internal political situation in Cyprus might create complications.

If the problem is solved, Ankara predicts it will be followed by positive developments. First the road for Turkey’s entry into the EU will open, although it acknowledges that obstacles still remain and that Cyprus is just the excuse for keeping Turkey out. Secondly a solution will smooth out relations with Greece, and thirdly it will put an end to the crisis in the East Mediterranean over exploration for natural gas, as Turkey will stop its exploration efforts in Cyprus’ EEZ and will recognise the rights of a united Cyprus to exploit its natural resources.

However, if there is no solution, Ankara will harden its stance. It already has a plan B namely to turn the occupied part of the island into a kind of Taiwan, as it realises it doesn’t have much chance of getting the north recognised. Above all it will continue its exploration for natural gas and plans to drill in the same area as Noble Energy.

Another ‘thriller’ unfolded in New York last Monday, says the Cyprus Mail’s satirical column Coffeeshop, at least in the eyes of cliché-peddling newspaper headline writers, who are under the illusion they can sex-up a typically dull Cyprob story on their front page by labelling it a ‘thriller’. Let’s face it Cyprob talks are as exciting and suspenseful as a visit to the supermarket.

We seem to witness exactly the same thriller every time the two hillbilly leaders go to Big Apple for three-way handshakes and smiles with the normally poker-faced Ban Ki-moon.

In the run-up to the thriller, all the opposition parties predicted that there would be traps for the comrade – laid by Big Bad Al and his evil Yank backer, Lyn Pascoe, the pro-Turkish Under-Secretary-General, affectionately referred to as ‘an employee of the UN’ - who would be forced to participate in give-and-take, discuss UN bridging proposals, accept arbitration, an international conference and asphyxiating time-frames.

The comrade and his entourage meanwhile insist that nothing of the sort would happen, implying that the meeting would lead nowhere, in short, just another thriller without the thrills. This is the intergalactic scale of the lunacy that the Cyprob inspires. The government considers it a mega political success, a reason to gloat, when a meeting with Ban produces no results.

And the opposition parties, which had been ringing alarm bells about the danger of progress being made, forget about the traps and complain that Ban issued a statement that did not condemn the Turkish side’s intransigence. If, God forbid, Ban reported progress, they start to moan that he is covering up the intransigence and the comrade was to blame, for not taking a tougher stance.

Last week they were outraged about the change of the format of the talks when the UN decided to have proximity talks instead of direct talks with Ban. All our parties protested, fearing that the change of format could produce results, the last thing they wanted. DIKO warned that “there was a possibility proximity talks would lead to indirect arbitration and the procedure would be laden with other dangers” like the danger of progress. All the parties suffered the same proximity talk panic-attacks.

The presidential mouthpiece Haravghi, meanwhile kept reassuring us that nothing would happen in New York, and all the doom and gloom merchants had been proved wrong. ‘Alarmism rejected’ read Tuesday banner headline, the paper quoting Stef-Stef as saying there were no traps, surprises or covert arbitration.

And on Wednesday the paper carried the triumphant headline - ‘There was no big step’ – thus silencing the alarmists. The comrade had once again been victorious, avoiding all Pascoe’s traps and heroically ensuring against anything positive being achieved in New York.

But the Greentree meeting was not the disappointment we were all praying for, according to our establishment’s information. We hate to be the bringer of bad tidings, but apparently Tof and Ero promised to return to the Big Apple in January with convergences on all issues, so that a date for the multi-party conference that would settle security and guarantees, would be set. If they failed to do so, which is entirely possible, Ban told them he would end the talks and close his good offices mission in Kyproulla. When this happens the church bells will be ringing, there will dancing in the streets and the comrade will return to a hero’s welcome, having once again proved the alarmists wrong.

Ban calls for move to the endgame

2011-11-02T12:40:00.001+02:00

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has urged the Cyprus leaders to move forward to the “endgame of negotiations” over the following two months, calling a new three-way summit for January.

“The sides have made some encouraging progress during these two days on some of the remaining core issues,” Ban said yesterday at the end of the talks on the Cyprus problem with the leaders of the two communities Demetris Christofias and Dervis Eroglu.

“This has given me confidence that a comprehensive settlement can be achieved. Both leaders have assured me that they believe that they can finalise a deal,” he added.

The leaders met Ban and senior UN officials in Long Island, New York on Sunday and Monday, the fourth such summit with the UN chief as part of ongoing reunification talks.

Despite the progress made, the UN chief acknowledged that “there is still work to be done”.
He said both leaders agreed that further efforts are essential over the next two months “to move to the end game of the negotiations”.

Ban said that by January he expects the internal aspects of the Cyprus problem to have been resolved “so that we can move to the multilateral conference shortly thereafter”.

Calling the two-day discussions “constructive and intensive”, Ban said considerable progress has been achieved in the areas of the economy, European Union matters and internal aspects of security.

“Much less progress was made in the important areas of governance, property, territory and citizenship,” he added.

President Christofias said yesterday no great progress was achieved during the meetings to allow for a turning point in the efforts for the solution of the Cyprus problem.

“Unfortunately, during the meeting it was not possible to make that great leap to allow for a turning point in the efforts to solve the Cyprus problem”. He said talks would henceforth focus on bridging the outstanding divergences between the two sides on the core issues.

“It will be tough, given the differences. Tough, but not unfeasible,” he noted.

“As long as the talks continue, we will show good will and we will be ready for a solution that will be agreed, be functional, based on principles and serve the best interests of all the people of Cyprus”, he underlined.

He also expressed the surprise the Greek Cypriot delegation had felt when on arrival in New York they discovered that proximity talks would be taking place, whereupon they lodged a complaint asking Ban to become personally and directly involved in the process.

The UN chief oversaw much of the discussion, Christofias said. He stressed that the UN did not engage in any mediation or arbitration attempts nor did it formulate bridging proposals.

Christofias said the Greek Cypriot side wanted a multilateral conference to be convened under UN auspices, with the participation of the five permanent members of the Security Council, the EU and the three guarantor powers.

But his reading of the UN chief’s statement was that such a conference would be held if the internal aspects of the Cyprus problem were first ironed out.

“Of course we want to come back here [in January]” he added. “Why are we conducting negotiations, after all? Is it to kill time?”

For his part, Eroglu appeared satisfied with Ban’s remarks, particularly the UN’s perceived intention to lead the talks into a final stage.

“After the January meeting, the staging of a conference would suggest we are coming to an end. As you know, from June next year south Cyprus will exercise the EU Presidency, and it will be hard to conduct negotiations during this time.”

In Nicosia, DIKO warned that it was clear the UN is working on a timetable to wrap up the talks, while main opposition party DISY called the outcome of the New York summit “disappointing.”

“It is clear that, without any substantive progress having been achieved, we are headed toward the conclusion of the negotiating process, with a very real danger of being faced with the dilemma of choosing between a collapse or a multilateral conference,” DISY leader Nikos Anastasiades said.

Talks begin in New York

2011-10-30T19:36:00.000+02:00

The UN are following a process of proximity talks with the leaders of the two communities in New York in an effort to move the process forward, Politis reports. Each team will have separate contacts with the UN during which the UN experts will also put forward bridging proposals, with neither side knowing how the other side positions itself on the issues put on the table.

The procedure began in the morning with the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the first topic under discussion was that of government, specifically the executive powers. It was followed by the other three difficult chapters, namely the property issue, the territorial issue and settlers.

The UN Secretary-General will not be at the Green Tree Estate in Long Island where the talks are being held during the proximity talks but he will return tomorrow after lunch to continue the procedure with talks together with the two leaders.

One last minute change will be that the UN S-G will issue his final statement on Tuesday morning and not Monday evening. According to reports this was after a request by Mr Christofias that he wanted greater involvement of the UN S-G in the process. Thus Mr Ban will preside over the talks from 3 pm on Sunday to Monday evening (rumour has it they may go on till 10 pm).

It is believed that Mr Ban will submit bridging proposals to overcome any deadlocks.

Last night Mr Ban had a private meeting with his representative Alexander Downer during which he was briefed as to the progress of the talks in Cyprus.

President Christofias said yesterday that he did not have high expectations from the two-day intensive negotiations in New York between himself, the Turkish Cypriot leader and the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon which started today.

“I had hoped we would be close to an agreement. However we are not and I hope that the UN S-G is correctly informed by his advisors and of course has the correct appraisal of the situation,” Christofias said.

Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu said that although the Turkish Cypriot side was working towards a timely solution, the Greek Cypriot side was trying to postpone any possible solution for 2013, the Cyprus News Agency reported.

Eroglu said that his side was entering the talks with a clear strategy and would discuss all chapters except property, territory and guarantees.

Eroglu said that they had not reached convergence on all issues because the Greek Cypriot side failed to respond on certain areas.

Failing to reach agreement on property has being worrying UN circles with one person close to the talks saying that failing to reach agreement on who gets what meant that the future was bleak for the remaining chapters.

Christofias said that Turkey and the Turkish Cypriots were wrongly trying to convey the impression a solution was close.

“Unfortunately, that is propaganda. So I want to believe that during this conference there will be genuine progress, and the condition for that is for the Turkish Cypriot side and Turkey in general to shift away from the intransigent positions they have been putting forth,” Christofias said.

The President of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso on Friday called on both leaders to grasp the opportunity to reach a comprehensive settlement now”.

Barroso said that after more than three years of talks, which started in September 2008, “the time has come to close all outstanding core issues”.

The revelation that President Christofias had withdrawn his proposal for a rotating presidency, because Dervis Eroglu has reneged on the issue of weighted, cross-voting, which he now wants removed, confirms that the only thing that Christofias has achieved with his amateurish handling of the Cyprus problem was to trap himself deep in a labyrinth, from which it is impossible to find a way out, says Loucas Charalambous writing in the Cyprus Mail.

Even his claim that Eroglu has reneged on what had been agreed is incorrect. When Mehmet Ali Talat was the Turkish Cypriot negotiator, he had agreed to cross-voting only if there was a rotating presidency. But this was never put in writing because Christofias was afraid that his allies, DIKO and EDEK would not approve of it and block it. Talat was furious with this behaviour.

And now Christofias is claiming that the Turkish side reneged on the agreement, without being able to document this because the agreement, thanks to his objections, was never formalised.

It also has to be mentioned that this business with weighted cross-voting and a rotating presidency has turned into a farce. Until a few days ago, Christofias considered it his achievement, but nobody else, on either side accepted it. With weighted voting Greek Cypriots, in effect, would be able to vote whichever Turkish Cypriot they wanted. This is the reason why Eroglu is opposed to it. None of the Greek Cypriot parties (apart from the president’s) accept it either (I still have not understood why). What is significant here is that this chaotic mess was created by Christofias’ insistence that the sensible provision of the Annan plan about the establishment of a presidential council, was scrapped and replaced by a president and vice-president.

This dogmatic obstinacy was motivated by one thing - his ambition to become the first president of the federal Cyprus state, when it eventually came into being. And the most ridiculous thing is that he wasted a year and a half of talks, focusing almost exclusively on this proposal, in order to persuade Talat to accept it.

The fact that now he has decided to withdraw his proposal, having wasted so many hours of talks on it, is another indication of how clueless and incompetent he is, not to mention his staggering lack of judgement.

For three years, he was negotiating, supposedly in order to secure a settlement of the Cyprus problem, but his primary concern, which also dictated his stance at the talks, was not to displease DIKO and EDEK in the hope that they would re-elect him president in 2013. Now that this hope has been dashed he has been left to roam alone inside his labyrinth.

We were very close to a solution with Christofias, says former Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat in an interview with Politis’ Makarios Droushiotis.

He says that all the issues on the chapter of government apart from the question of citizenship, had been agreed upon in early 2010, when the UN Secretary-General was due to come to Cyprus and announce what progress had been achieved.

However, nothing was announced, he said because “Christofias was afraid of his partners in government.” He added: “Since we had agreed, what was the problem with announcing it?”

Christofias made various excuses such as that this wasn’t real progress, he said, and now he says that Eroglu is reneging on previous agreements. “For me these things are incomprehensible”.

Asked whether they had ever discussed the question of a change of Turkish Cypriot leadership, Talat said many times. “I told him, Dimitri, you will not find anyone like me who wants a solution to the Cyprus problem. Come let’s solve it now. My mission is to solve the problem, Eroglu’s is partition. My objective in politics was a solution, nothing else. I was not interested in politics without a solution. If we solve the problem, I will withdraw. He was telling me if we solve it we will stay another term to implement it. I said, come let’s solve it first and we’ll see”.

He said Christofias didn’t recognise the danger that Eroglu coming to power presented. He believed that Turkey wanted a solution and that the Turkish Cypriots would just go along.

“But things aren’t like that at all”, he added. “ Turkey cannot impose a solution without the Turkish Cypriots’ cooperation”.

Asked how come in 2004 Turkey turned against Denktash, Talat said “I was the leader in 2004 and the people were out in the streets calling for a solution. Today things are different.

We lost another opportunity in 2010 as we did in 2004, he said. “I assure you in all honesty that we were ready for a solution and Turkey was with us. Now things have changed. It’s a shame because I believe we could have solved it”.

Despite the fact that he acknowledged Christofias had the good intention to solve the problem, he didn’t have the same sense of urgency that Talat had.

“I maintained that if we didn’t solve it now things would get even more complicated. We would all be lost. I tried to convince him that we should involve Greece, Turkey and the international community. The burden of finding a solution was too great for us to carry on our own. Unfortunately he did not respond to this sense of urgency”.

Talat went on to say that Christofias seemed afraid to proceed. “Dimitris wanted, but was cowardly. He wanted to majority of Greek Cypriot to support him, 80%. This is unreasonable”.

He added that possibly his backing off in 2004 was for the same reason. “What he did then, remains an open wound”, Talat said, although they never discussed it. “I felt he didn’t want to”.

“That decision was a black hole in the history of Akel”, he added. “They made many mistakes, for example their support for Enosis. But 2004 was a special mistake. To say no to an agreement which you say was good, was a mistake that will go down in history, especially if the opportunity doesn’t come up again”.

He also admitted that at Burgenstock he had asked Christofias whether he would vote yes for the plan he replied “are you mad, of course yes”.

“He later denied it. Perhaps he forgot. But I remember”, Talat went on. We know that when he came back from Burgenstock he persuaded his Political Bureau to vote yes and criticised Papadopoulos for saying that the Anan plan was partition. Then at the Central Committee they said that I had said that we would not implement the plan. Now that was a big lie and they used it for propaganda to excuse their change of stance”.

Talat also gave his view on the natural gas issue. He said he believes that all the island’s natural resources belong to both communities, as was in the Anan plan. “This is a fair position”, he said. “But you are wrong to think that the nationalists on our side want a portion of the gas. They don’t. They want boundaries. What’s in the south let the Greek Cypriots have, what’s in the north the Turkish Cypriots. That’s their position. Me, I don’t want borders, neither on land nor in the sea”.

Cyprus problem about to blow up

2011-10-09T19:15:00.001+03:00

While everyone on the island is focused on Mari and its aftermath, important developments are coming in a few weeks time that will determine the outcome of the talks and the future of the island, with Cyprus soon having to face ultimate partition, says Makarios Droushiotis writing in Politis today.

At a meeting recently in New York the US Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, Philip Gordon, urged Cyprus’ Foreign Minister Erato Markoulli, to come up with ideas to face the forthcoming developments because it is expected that the Turkish side will aim to upgrade the TRNC in such a way as to make reunification impossible.

The forthcoming meetings on 30 and 31 October may very likely be the end of the road for the talks only this time there won’t be another round of talks with federation as a basis.

A UN source told the paper that what is at stake is whether the Cyprus problem can be solved on the basis of a bizonal bicommunal federation as has been sought since 1974 or whether this has now become impossible with whatever that may entail.

The UN’s roadmap since before Mari has been:
1. Discussion of all chapters (done)
2. Give and take till 20 October (started on Friday)
3. New tripartite meeting (to be held on 30 and 31 October)
4. International conference towards the end of the year (doubtful)

Since then, however, Christofias’ standing amongst the population has totally been shot, falling to 20%, the lowest ever.

The UN had hoped at first that the Mari events would prove to be an incentive rather than an obstacle for a solution. But after the Polyviou report and the almost universal loss of confidence in the President by the whole of society (with the exception of the hard core of Akel), noone has the illusion that the talks can possibly conclude with a conference.

Friday was the start of the ‘give and take’ phase of the talks. According to reliable sources, President Christofias started off by outlining the internal problems he was facing, the House of Representatives’ decision to discuss the Polyviou report and emphasised the difficulty he had in participating in a ‘give and take’ process. His contribution at the table was similar to his reaction afterwards when in statements to the press he said he’d had it ‘up to here’ with the attacks of the parties and that in any case no ‘give and take’ had taken place.

The truth lies somewhere between the statements of the UN Special Representative in Cyprus, Lisa Buttenheim, who said that they had “entered a new phase” and that of Christofias, who said no give and take had taken place, in other words the process has indeed entered a new phase but nothing substantial has been achieved. The leaders wasted a large part of their time reading documents.

The writer says that it is doubtful that this last phase in Nicosia will result in anything with the two sides having different expectations from the New York meeting. President Christofias wants the meeting to take place but to be just a repeat of all the previous ones, namely an evaluation of the talks and their continuation in Nicosia. The Turkish side wants the New York meeting to be conclusive as was agreed in July and for the UN to allocate responsibility for their failure.

According to Turkish sources, the Assistant UN Secretary-General has assured the Turkish side on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly that the procedure will climax and will end either with a solution or total collapse. This seems to be the position of Alexander Downer, who will push the two sides to make a final and effective give and take.

President Christofias’ internal problems don’t affect the UN’s plans, besides there has never been a lack of problems on either side and nor has Christofias’ contribution been any different when he was in full control of the internal situation. It’s up to the leaders to evaluate the timing, a foreign diplomatic source told the paper.

Oil and gas issue must not derail the talks, says Downer

2011-09-29T11:21:00.000+03:00

UN Special Adviser Alexander Downer said that a new phase in the Cyprus talks will begin next week, as all the chapters will have been discussed by tomorrow when the two leaders meet again.

“I will be talking with the leaders tomorrow about how we’re going to handle this new phase”, he said, adding that they had obviously given that some thought.

He said this will be a phase leading up to the meeting with the Secretary-General. Although no date has been confirmed on that yet, it is likely to be towards thee end of October, he said.

“How that meeting will go will depend very much on what’s been achieved by then”, he added. The last meeting between the two leaders is scheduled for 21 October.

Mr Downer was speaking after Tuesday’s meeting between the two leaders during which they discussed European Union matters, one of the less contentious chapters in the negotiations.

He said the meeting would be followed by meetings of experts as happened in the discussion on the economy chapter, which, he said “was pretty successful and they certainly have moved forward”.

Asked how concerned he was that the controversy over the hydrocarbons could derail the peace talks, Mr. Downer replied: “Well, it hasn’t so far, it has to be said. And, indeed, during today’s meeting, there was no discussion about the controversy over hydrocarbons. The process is continuing in exactly the same vein as it had been before this controversy erupted”.

He recalled that the two men had met with the UN Secretary-General in New York and that he had made it very clear that it’s important that restraint is exercised, and that everything must be done to ensure the talks are successful”.

“We don’t want to see anything happen that would derail the talks. So far that hasn’t happened and we hope that that remains the case”, Downer said. “If these talks are successful then the new united federal Cypriot government will have responsibility for resources issues, that is, natural resources and water is the exact language used in a document”.

He added that that is something that has already been agreed and there is already a convergence between the two sides that in the event of an agreement, a solution to the Cyprus problem, once revenues start flowing, it will flow to the federal government.

“Both sides have a real incentive to make sure that they can…lots of incentives; this is not the only one, there are lots of incentives, including this, to make sure they can reach agreement on the Cyprus question, and I think it underlines a simple point, that the stability of the region will be very much enhanced by an agreement here in these negotiations”.
Replying to a question, Mr Downer said that Mr Christofias is aware of certain proposals Mr Eroglu made to the Secretary-General last week about the hydrocarbons and that the UN had received a paper from the Turkish Cypriot side on the issue.

“How the Greek Cypriots respond to this is a matter that I’ll leave to them”, he added. “If we were asked by the two sides to play a role, we’d refer that to the Secretary-General and the Secretary-General would make a decision about that. But that hasn’t happened yet”.

The Cyprus Mail reports that local politicians rounded up on UN and EU officials over comments reportedly questioning Cyprus’ sovereign right to explore and exploit its natural resources.

Drawing most of the fire was UN Special Adviser Alexander Downer for comments made on regarding a possible mediation role for the UN over the oil and gas dispute should both sides request it.

Also under the spotlight was EU Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fule who said on Tuesday: “All problems need to be solved through peaceful means, if needed through arbitration from the International Court of Justice and threats of use of force need to be rejected”.

His statement was not well received by a number of media organisations and public figures.
House President Yiannakis Omirou said yesterday: “Downer’s statement on mediation exceeded the terms of his mandate, which relate solely to the direct negotiations. Not to issues of sovereignty of the Republic of Cyprus.”

Opposition DISY leader Nicos Anastassiades said Downer’s statements were “unacceptable”. He advised the UN Special Adviser to “focus on the work within his mandate” and not try to raise doubts over UN resolutions which make absolutely clear that no one can dispute the sovereignty of a full member state of the UN, like Cyprus.

Asked to comment, government spokesman Stefanos Stefanou said Cyprus’ sovereign right to explore for natural gas was not the subject of negotiation. “It’s clear. It’s a sovereign right.”
He highlighted that Downer’s role as that of a facilitator, not mediator, calling on everyone to stick to their roles.

Speaking after a meeting with President Demetris Christofias yesterday at the presidential palace, Downer tried to set the record straight: “I have looked at what has been said by people in the media. I would say that doesn’t reflect what I said but I spoke in English so I am being generous in saying, if people wish to reinterpret what I say, perhaps it’s a linguistic breakdown and we are happy to get a translation done.”

The Australian diplomat also announced tentative dates for the tripartite meeting in New York next month as being October 30 and 31.

“Just to avoid any further speculations about this, one possibility is we might devote a couple of days to the talks,” he added.

Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu has presented new proposals to the UN as a way of solving the problem regarding Cyprus’ oil and gas explorations in the Mediterranean, Ankara Anatolia news agency reported.

Following a meeting with the United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in New York last Saturday, Eroglu told reporters the proposals contained four topics as follows:

“1. suspend the oil and natural gas exploration simultaneously until a comprehensive solution is found to the Cyprus problem.2. If not, then set up an ad-hoc committee made up of representatives of both sides with authority to discuss issues such as explorations, agreements and licences depending on the written approval of both sides, and negotiate the ratio of sharing the richness which will be found.
3. use the income to finance the comprehensive talks.
4. Adoption of the plan shall not harm the positions of both sides.”
When asked whether the “TRNC could give authorization to explore oil and natural gas only for the north of the island after signing the agreement on the delineation of continental shelf with Turkey”, Eroglu said that the “Turkish Cypriots had rights on all underwater wealth around Cyprus island and so the TRNC had the right to give authorization both north and the south of the island”.When asked how this process would affect the Cyprus talks, Eroglu said that “the TRNC wants to pursue talks”. Eroglu then had a meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister, Ahmet Davutoglu.

Christofias promises natural gas benefits to Turkish Cypriots

2011-09-25T18:06:00.000+03:00

The Greek Cypriots are willing to share the benefits of any natural gas find with the Turkish Cypriots before a peace deal is reached, President Demetris Christofias said in his speech before the UN General Assembly on 22 September in New York.

“We believe that the possible discovery and extraction of hydrocarbons shall constitute yet another incentive for Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots to expedite a just, functional and viable solution to the Cyprus problem, so that both communities can enjoy the natural wealth of our country in conditions of peace, security and prosperity.
He said tensions between the two communities must be solved, but that gas revenues can still be mutually beneficial until then.

“I wish to reassure our Turkish Cypriot compatriots that regardless of the circumstances, they will benefit from the possible discovery and extraction of hydrocarbons”, he stressed.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaking before the UN General Assembly, called on the UN member states to exert active efforts to stop the activities of the Greek Cypriots which, he alleged, might cause tension not only on the island but in the entire region.

“Otherwise we will do whatever is necessary”, he threatened. Turkish Cypriot daily Kibris reports that Erdogan further said that a just, comprehensive and lasting solution should at last be reached to the problem which has been continuing for 50 years now. “The target is for the negotiations to reach a result by the end of this year and after the approval of the solution plan in a referendum in the beginning of next year, the new Cyprus to take its place in the European Union”, he said.

“We as Turkey will continue to provide any kind of support for reaching a solution the soonest within the framework of the above-mentioned timetable. However, in case the intransigent stance of the Greek Cypriot side does not allow this, I want to stress also that as guarantor country we will not allow for the future of the Turkish Cypriot people to be uncertain forever”.

He went on to say that Turkey cannot allow the Greek Cypriot side to act as if it is the only administration of the island or as if it has the authority to decide in the name of the Turkish Cypriots. “The attempt of the Greek Cypriot side to determine alone the areas of jurisdiction in the sea and explore for oil and natural gas in these areas, is an extremely irresponsible attitude from the point of view of its timing and possible consequences”, he said. Moreover, Ankara Anatolia news agency reports that Erdogan told UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon that "if the Greek Cypriots were to end their efforts for exploration of oil and natural gas, the Turkish side would take a step back".Erdogan asked Mr Ban Ki-moon to encourage the Greek Cypriots to end their efforts to explore for oil and natural gas in the Eastern Mediterranean and briefed him on the continental shelf delimitation agreement signed between Turkey and the TRNC on Wednesday.

Erdogan stressed that although Turkey supported a comprehensive solution in Cyprus, if the Greek Cypriots insisted on exploring for oil and natural gas, this would hurt the negotiations process.

Makarios Droushiotis writing in Politis today says that Christofias has a lousy sense of judgement, has no timing and is constantly running after events. Three examples –
- He is the only President of Cyprus who benefitted from the best coincidence of events in the history of the Cyprus problem for solving it in the first two years of his presidency. He had an interlocutor from the Left. He had the support of the opposition Democratic Rally. Turkey wanted a solution. About 70% of Greek Cypriots wanted a solution. He didn’t take advantage of any of these factors and now they have all disappeared.
- He refused to allow what he had agreed with Talat to be documented and announced and led Ban Ki-moon’s visit fail. Now he wishes he had them.
- The government thought Turkey would want a solution after the Turkish elections in June 2011 and rejected all openings. In the end the opposite was true. Turkey was ready for a solution before the elections and changed tack afterwards.

Makarios goes on to say that in his speech in New York, President Christofias admitted that when Talat was his interlocutor there were important convergences in crucial aspects of the Cyprus problem, such as government, economy, EU matters and other issues”. One of the members of the negotiating team, Toumazos Tsielepis was even clearer when he said in an interview that at the time half the chapters were ready for a final round of negotiations. “Frankly, now I really don’t know where we are”, he admitted.

So what we are hearing now from the horse’s mouth is that at the end of Talat’s term of office, in April 2010, the Cyprus problem was to a large extent solved. Then why didn’t the final round of negotiations take place before the end of Talat’s term, the writer wonders.

He goes on to speculate that had a solution been reached, the financial benefits from the natural gas finds would have been enormous. With political stability and good relations with Turkey, Cyprus would be on the energy map of Europe, being able to supply the continent with gas via Turkey. This would also be the best guarantee for our security and prosperity. So why have things gone so badly off track so that instead of stability we are now practically on the verge of war with Turkey?

It was no surprise that Talat was going to lose the elections when he did. In view of this opposition leader Nicos Anastasiades was calling for the time left to be made full use off. But Christofias refused even to consider this possibility and said he would continue the talks with whoever won the elections.

In view of the forthcoming elections the Turkish side on 4 January 2010 submitted a package of proposals accepting Christofias’ proposals for president, vice president, weighted vote. They accepted clearly that the state would be federal, would have a singe nondivisible sovereignty and would have a single national airspace, territorial waters as well as Exclusive Economic Zone. These were the most progressive positions the Turkish side had submitted in writing to date. The UN believed that this would be a breakthrough but Christofias reacted negatively. He put it to the party leaders and in the negative climate that the media had created, it was decided that this was a communications ploy on the part of Turkey. The government spokesman issued a statement saying the proposals were ‘unacceptable’ and were miles from what had been agreed as regards a bicommunal bizonal federation so could not be discussed.

Of course things were not really like that. An open discussion was held on the basis of this ‘unacceptable’ document at the intensive talks in January 2010 ending with an agreement on power sharing which this paper has long said existed but which the government is only now admitting.

With this agreement in mind, the UN S-G decided to visit Cyprus towards the end of January hoping to bind them to what had been agreed and push them to a final round on the property issue and a conference before April. The government and Akel then got going. They asked why is the S-G coming, what sort of a game is Downer playing, we’re not going to play this game, the President won’t agree to pretend progress just to create impressions, etc.

The ‘pretend progress’ was the considerable convergences on important aspects. Ban’s visit, under protest from the government, failed. Then in February, came Erdogan’s interviews to Greek Cypriot journalists in a clear effort to send a positive message so that the talks can finish before the elections. The Turkish side clearly warned that this was a window of opportunity which would not stay open for ever. The government thought these were more communication tricks. In April 2010 a final effort was made through Spain for holding a conference with EU participation. The government called this information the imaginary scribblings of journalists.

In the end what everyone was afraid of happened. Despite the impression that the Greek Cypriots have that Turkish Cypriot leaders are simply pawns for Turkey’s policies, the person sitting on the other side of the negotiating table is very important. As Tsielepis revealed in his interview, Talat would go to Turkey and persuade the Turkish government to make overtures. In contrast, Eroglu follows his own policy.

In view of the fact that Turkey’s EU entry is blocked and Turkey’s belief that Cyprus is being used to prevent them from joining, Erdogan has now changed his policy on Cyprus. According to Turkish political analysts, Erdogan is now preparing Turkish public opinion for the breakdown of the talks. From being a catalyst for a solution, Turkish policy on Cyprus is now becoming a catalyst for partition.

Drilling shouldn’t interfere with the talks

2011-09-21T20:22:00.001+03:00

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has “encouraged” President Christofias to continue efforts to increase convergences on all chapters in the peace talks, reiterating his expectation that the sides will move the process forward, prior to the next tripartite meeting with both leaders at the end of October, a UN statement said.

President Demetris Christofias on Monday also discussed the issue of Turkish threats over Cyprus’ gas exploration at a meeting with the UN S-G who also pledged to raise the issue further.
“The position of the Cyprus Republic is clear”, Christofias told reporters. “We will continue. It is the sovereign right of the Cyprus Republic to explore and hopefully hydrocarbons will be found. Our Turkish Cypriot compatriots have nothing to lose, indeed they have much to gain, and this must be understood by Turkey and Mr Eroglu”.

Christofias yesterday also met Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York where he thanked him for his ministry’s statement supporting Cyprus’ sovereign right to explore for gas. He said the Russian statement acted as a “shield for Cyprus” after which other countries followed suit.

Government spokesman Stefanos Stefanou yesterday hailed as “very important” the US State Department statement supporting Cyprus’ right to exploit its energy resources. He noted the US made it clear “they respect and recognise the right of Cyprus to explore and exploit its own natural wealth, a self-evident sovereign right”. Also, “they disassociate this right from the solution of the Cyprus problem” while also supporting the ongoing peace process.

On Monday US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met with Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu. Speaking to the media afterwards, a State Department official said Clinton reiterated US support to the peace process in Cyprus, adding that the two also discussed issues regarding energy development and gas exploration.

“The United States supports Cyprus’ right to explore for energy. It doesn’t believe that should undermine or interfere with the talks and agrees with all of those who believe that the best way to sort out the question of energy and economic development is through a comprehensive settlement of the Cyprus problem,” the US official said.

Asked whether Clinton made that view clear to Davutoglu, the spokesman said that she was clear on how the United States sees the situation.

President Obama was due to meet Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan late last night and drilling for hydrocarbons in the region was believed to have been on the agenda.

Meanwhile Turkish daily Sabah reported that Turkey will begin drilling for oil and gas after Cyprus starts drilling and Turkey’s national security council will discuss the energy potential of the area in next month’s meeting.

The paper reported that in 2010 the Turkish army’s General Staff asked academics and legal maritime experts whether they thought it was worth going to war over the energy reserves of the eastern Mediterranean. The answer reportedly was ‘yes’.

Citing possession of a government document, Sabah said the Turkish government estimates there are around 15 trillion cubic metres of gas in waters between Egypt, Cyprus and Crete worth around $7 trillion.

According to the document, if Turkey fails to “hinder” drilling in Cyprus’ Block 12, this would lead to an international race for explorations in Cyprus’ remaining unlicenced blocks in its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). The document described the situation as “serious”, noting, “from this point onward we are headed full speed to a breaking point which will test Turkey’s decisiveness”.

Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz yesterday repeated Turkey’s threat to sign a continental shelf agreement with the north of Cyprus and proceed with seismic surveys in the area. He argued that the start of drilling in Cyprus’ EEZ was a provocation, violating international law and the rights of the breakaway state.

Senior member of the Greek Cypriot negotiating team in the peace talks, Toumazos Tselepis, yesterday commented on the possible signing of a pact between Turkey and the Turkish Cypriots, saying: “from an international law point of view, (the pact) will be worth as much as the paper it is written on.”

On Monday, Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said explorations could start off northern Cyprus within the week.

“Of course our steps will be supported by our military air force and navy. This is not a bluff,” Turkey’s deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc said yesterday.

Solution unlikely

2011-09-18T22:22:00.001+03:00

Turkey has begun implementing its plan B for Cyprus problem whereby the occupied north of Cyprus will become incorporated into Turkey.

Makarios Droushiotis writing in Politis today says that Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan has made it clear to the UN team working on the Cyprus problem that the end of the year will mark the end of the road for the talks. As the UN understands it, Ankara does not believe there will be a solution and blames the Greek Cypriot side for wasting time until the EU presidency, and making the natural gas drilling its priority instead.

However, the UN also sees an unwillingness for a solution on the Turkish Cypriot side whose priority has become trying to put the blame on the Greek Cypriot side in order to pave the way for upgrading the north. Turkey’s hardening stance has already become evident through his tough talk (Erdogan’s visit to the north in July and current war mongering over the natural gas drilling), something that has been absent since 2002 when the AKP came to power.

The Turkish Prime Minister, “drunk” from a 50% victory at the polls and from his popularity among the Muslims of the Middle East, believes that the EU tricked Turkey and has turned towards the East. The EU entry negotiations had been Turkey’s main motivator in its change of policy towards Cyprus in 2002. The fact that they have been frozen and that Turkey’s EU prospects have diminished due to France and Germany’s reservations, has made Turkey turn to the East and Cyprus will be the first victim.

It seems that perhaps for the first time since this latest round of talks started, the UN have finally realized that a solution to the Cyprus problem on the basis of a single federal state with two ethnic regions is unlikely, if not impossible. Even though the “intense” negotiations are still continuing, no one believes they will get anywhere. While the UN would like a solution to be reached by the end of the year, there is nothing to indicate on the level of society, that this might be possible. On the contrary, relations between the two communities are cold. The UN team’s plan of action continues to be to push the two sides towards an agreed solution. The three-way meeting in New York continues to be a major landmark. By discussing all the chapters in “intense” talks following a prepared agenda, it will give the two sides a last chance to exhaust all aspects and achieve as many convergences as possible.

In New York the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is also expected to state the obvious truth that bilateral negotiations without a deadline and arbitration borders on the ridiculous, that a solution is possible and that all that is needed is the political will. He will ask them to discuss his document with him, otherwise he will give up his good-offices mission and given his verdict for the failure in a report to the Security Council. As none of the sides wants to be blamed for the failure of the talks, the UN believes that they will both agree, thereby paving the way for convening an international conference.

Nevertheless it’s not enough to force the two leaders to accept a document without them wanting a solution that will lead to reconciliation rather than a shotgun wedding. As former UN Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim used to say, “you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make it drink”.

It’s true that Dervis Eroglu is not desperate for a solution and Christofias has shown he is afraid of his shadow and all he is doing is managing the Cyprus problem without following a specific policy. What’s more he is at his weakest since becoming president. With his political status in tatters and the majority of public opinion doubting his leadership and negotiating abilities, Christofias is in no position to sign a solution and persuade the people to accept it. He is therefore focusing on the blame game, and “Turkish intransigence” as the ultimate strategy. In reality Christofias’ weakness is giving the Turkish side a big advantage to win the blame game. The war mongering over the natural gas has given him some breathing space and at the very least will let him off the hook for the collapse of the talks internally despite the fact that the price would be that it would bring an end to the talks without any prospects of starting them again.

It seems that Turkey has realised that threats of war are not to its benefit and has changed tack, with the Turkish Vice President saying that “Turkey will act with prudence and will not give the satisfaction to those who want tension and crisis”. He repeated that Turkey’s tactic on the Cyprus problem is “one step forward”. Christofias’ weakness allows Turkey to make many steps forward.

Talks on property end

2011-09-09T13:09:00.000+03:00

The leaders of the two communities in Cyprus, Demitris Christofias and Dervis Eroglu, yesterday ended their discussion on property in an effor to build core convergences in that chapter, as UN Special Adviser Alexander Downer said.

Downer said that both leaders come to the table with new proposals at every meeting, something which the UN encourages.

“I hope they will continue to do that and when we get to October we will have a look at some of these issues again. But in the meantime, we are going through this process chapter by chapter,” he said.

The talks will cover citizenship and immigration issues next Monday and Wednesday, while Friday’s meeting will focus on the economy.

Downer also briefed the leaders on the one and a half hour discussion he had on Wednesday night with the UN Security Council (UNSC) via video link.

“I made it very clear to the Security Council that, I make no predictions about what will happen, but an agreement on reunifying Cyprus is possible, it is certainly within the grasp of the leaders,” he said.

“But to achieve it requires a lot of courage and a lot of determination, but it is possible,” he stressed and praised the commitment of the leaders and their engagement to the “tough aspects” of the problem.

However, he noted that time was an issue, and the two leaders had two choices, either to solve the problem now or miss what may be the best chance to do so.

The Australian diplomat said all 15 members of the UNSC spoke during the teleconference and showed great interest in the Cyprus issue, with some asking “very well informed and focused questions”. He said they were very supportive of the process and that there was a strong view that after 37 years the issue must finally be resolved through a successful reunification of Cyprus consistent with Security Council resolutions.

“People shouldn’t underestimate the importance of the strong support of the Security Council for the successful conclusions of these negotiations. I hope everybody understands that,” he said referring to other important issues in the region preoccupying the world’s top diplomatic body, like Libya.

The UN diplomat said “quite a few” UNSC members raised questions and made statements in relation to natural gas exploration but refused to go into what was said.

Asked by the Russian representative why no reference was made in the UN chief's report to remarks by the Turkish Prime Minister during his visit to the occupied north in July, Downer reportedly replied that Turkey does not participate in the talks, adding that all those involved should take a constructive approach.

The Cyprus Mail quotes the Cyprus News Agency as saying that the US representative pointed out that the report calls on the sides to approach the talks constructively and avoid “blame games”, while the French representative said the Turkish Cypriots do not appear to be making any substantive concessions on crucial issues.

Regarding Turkish threats against Cyprus exploring for deposits in its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), the German representative said it was the sovereign right of every member state to delineate its EEZ and carry out explorations within the zone, while the British representative said Cyprus’ explorations were in line with international law but supported that statements should be made to reassure Turkey.

The European Commission yesterday issued its strongest rebuke yet to Turkey over its threatening behaviour towards Cyprus’ efforts to drill for hydrocarbon reserves within its own Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), the Cyprus Mail reports.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan continued to raise the stakes in his row with Israel and Cyprus, vowing yesterday to stop them from exploiting natural resources in the area while also pledging to send warships to escort aid to Gaza.

The EU, through Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fule yesterday “urged Turkey to refrain from any kind of threat, sources of friction or action, which could negatively affect good neighbourly relations and the peaceful settlement of border disputes”.

In a released statement, Fule said, “The Commission regrets any statements that are not conducive to this objective,” noting that it “regularly reiterates these issues in its discussions with Turkey and will continue to monitor Turkey’s commitments to good neighbourly relations in the light of the principle of peaceful settlement of disputes”.

The Commission further highlighted the importance of progress in the normalisation of relations between Turkey and Cyprus and “stressed all the sovereign rights of EU member states which include entering into bilateral agreements, in accordance with the EU acquis and international law, including the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea”.

The Commission underlined the “urgent need” to reach a comprehensive settlement of the Cyprus issue.

“Ahead of the crucial phase of Cyprus talks this autumn, it is essential that all parties concerned exert restraint and do their utmost to ensure a positive climate that will facilitate a successful completion of the process,” Fule’s statement said..

According to the Cyprus Mail, tensions in the eastern Mediterranean are growing by the day as top Turkish officials continue to make cutting comments on Turkey’s plans to beef up navy patrols in the region and secure free navigation of the seas, following its spat with Israel over nine activists killed in international waters last year. Apart from Turkish demands for an Israeli apology, compensation for the families of the dead and free passage to Gaza, the combative tone of the Turkish leadership is also viewed by some analysts as a response to Israel and Cyprus’ plans to explore for oil and gas in their respective EEZs.

According to Reuters, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan went a step further yesterday in an interview with Al Jazeera saying Turkish warships will escort any Turkish aid vessels to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, preventing Israel from attacking them again.
Erdogan also said that Turkey had taken steps to stop Israel from unilaterally exploiting natural resources from the eastern Mediterranean.

“Turkey, as a guarantor of the Turkish republic of north Cyprus, has taken steps in the area, and it will be decisive and holding fast to the right to monitor international waters in the east Mediterranean,” he warned.

Deploying warships to escort aid vessels to Gaza and direct interference in the exploitation of Israel and Cyprus’ natural resources are the boldest statements yet to come from the outspoken Turkish leader.

Former Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat was quoted in theTurkish Cypriot press yesterday criticising President Demetris Christofias for being “insanely brave” in daring to explore the island’s natural resources before a Cyprus solution.

Government spokesman Stefanos Stefanou said yesterday: “Turkey needs to get the message that all states should act within the framework of international law because this safeguards peace and good relations between neighbouring states. Unfortunately Turkey opts to provoke and opts for tension.”

In an interview with Voice of America, Foreign Minister Erato Kozakou Marcoullis called on Turkey to act like a European country and conduct its foreign policy based on the UN Charter and European principles and laws.

Head of the Cyprus Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KEVE) Manthos Mavromatis yesterday said the American company was ready to begin drilling despite the threat. Noble presented its plans at a closed gathering on Wednesday organised by KEVE and the Cyprus-American Business Association, in the presence of US Embassy officials.

According to Mavromatis, Noble plans to move the oil rig to Block 12 for drilling after September 20. He noted that Noble is taking into consideration the threats but is proceeding normally, in coordination with the US State Department and Embassy here.

Ankara objects to Cyprus natural gas drilling plans

2011-08-17T16:55:00.002+03:00

The US has supported Cyprus over gas-drilling plans, Turkish daily Hurriyet says, following reports that Turkey has urged Washington to put off the plans to drill for natural gas off the coast of Cyprus by US firm Noble Energy.

According to a Turkish official, Ankara told Washington “not to sacrifice the political reunification process of Cyprus for the sake of business”.

"We told U.S. officials that the unilateral oil and natural gas exploration activities by the Greek Cypriots were against international law and could lead to the end of the ongoing negotiation process for the reunification Cyprus”, he said.

Turkey has already conveyed its reservations to the U.S. Embassy in Ankara and to the U.S. State Department in Washington and will bring the issue to the attention of higher-level U.S. officials, he said, as well as to the UN Security Council.Ankara claims that Greek Cyprus’ agreements with Israel, Lebanon and Egypt in the eastern Mediterranean region, are invalid because they did not first get the approval of the Turkish Cypriots.

The Greek side is acting unilaterally as if they were the sole owner of the island”, the official said. Ankara also objects to the continental shelf delineation that Cyprus determined in its agreement with Egypt in 2003, saying “islands cannot be considered as if they were part of the mainland” while determining economic zones in territorial waters.

The paper says that the State Department told the paper that it is aware of Turkey’s position on the issue, and reiterated its commitment “to support strongly the efforts of both Cypriot parties to reunify the island into a bizonal, bicommunal federation”. However, the U.S. administration underscored that it views the plans in terms of “securing energy supplies through better energy diversity” and that “is something that the United States strongly supports for all countries”.The U.S. perceives the Greek Cypriot drilling plans, which could reportedly “sustain the energy needs of Europe for the next 100 years”, in terms of an alternative energy source for its European allies to help gain energy independence, despite fierce Turkish objections.”

Following the harsh statements coming from the Turkish administration, and at a time when Ankara is growing increasingly confident in asserting its own foreign policy terms, one that appears to be closely aligned with Washington, the gas-drilling project appears to have the potential to pose some challenges in the relations between the two countries, over and above its already jittery relations with Nicosia, the paper concludes.

Turkish Cypriot daily Bakis reports that rumour has it that the occupied fenced city of Varosha is about to be returned to the Greek Cypriots and that secret bargaining is being held on this issue. Citing a reliable source, the paper says that intensive bargaining is taking place regarding Varosha and all will soon be revealed.

Referring to reports in the Greek Cypriot press that a Camp David type conference will be held in New York, the paper says the Turkish side will use Varosha to corner the Greek side. The source noted that in return for the opening of Varosha, Tymvou airport and Famagusta port will also be opened to international flights and trade under EU or UN administration. It also said that the withdrawal of the lawsuits of the Greek Cypriots at the European Court of Human Rights against Turkey regarding Varosha is on the agenda, but no definite agreement exists on this issue.

The Turkish side is submitting reasonable proposals at the negotiating table, proposals which are peaceful, realistic and provide for a viable solution, Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu has said.

Turkish Cypriot daily Kibris reports that in statements at a ceremony on the occasion of the celebrations for the 37th anniversary since the occupation of Famagusta, Eroglu said that the Greek Cypriots do not accept the geographic realities of Cyprus and want to dilute and eliminate bizonality.

He said they want to “drag to different directions” the constructive proposals of the Turkish side on property and territory, and do not accept Turkey’s active and effective guarantees. Eroglu argued that “if we try to solve the issues with the mentality of the Greek Cypriot side, we will force the Turkish Cypriot people to scatter, or be dominated by the Greek Cypriots, so they will remain without property and migrate”. He said that they will not abandon bizonality, or the right to administer themselves and Turkey’s active and effective guarantees. “By asking for these things we are not harming the Greek Cypriot people”, he said adding that bizonality will prevent possible conflict in the future and nor does Turkey’s active and effective guarantees pose a threat for the Greek Cypriots. Eroglu accused the Greek Cypriot side of preventing a solution by trying to use the EU in order to bring Turkey and the Turkish Cypriots to their knees.

Furthermore, Turkish Cypriot daily Kibris reports that speaking elsewhere Eroglu said that there is no aspect of the Cyprus problem that has not been discussed at the negotiations and added that the negotiations should be intensified and a deal achieved.

“Let us either agree or let the road of the Turkish Cypriot people not be blocked any more. The Turkish Cypriots should not be forced to pay the price for the fact that an agreement could not be signed”.

Eroglu claimed that the Greek Cypriot side has not yet understood that the Turkish Cypriot side cannot water down bizonality, that two states and two peoples exist in Cyprus and that a partnership state could be established only with the above as starting points.

A rise in the number of applications received by the Immovable Property Commission established by Turkey for the occupied Greek Cypriot properties has been observed since March 2010, and as a result the system is working too slowly and should be speeded up, Turkish Cypriot daily Star Kibris reports.

The paper says that most applications concern properties in Kyrenia and northern Nicosia. So far the IPC has received a total of 1601 applications, of which 179 settlements were reached amicably, while another seven cases were concluded in court. The IPC has paid out a total of £58.231.440 sterling in compensation, has returned one property, given exchange and compensation in two applications and return and compensation in a further five applications. The IPC has decided to return and compensation property after the solution of the Cyprus problem for one application and the partial return of property for yet another application.

According to Asim Akansoy, the general secretary of the Republican Turkish Party (CTP) has expressed the view that not only are the people of Cyprus fed up with the Cyprus problem, but so is the international community.

He pointed out that the negotiations started in 1968 and are still going on and this is not an acceptable situation reports Turkish Cypriot daily Bakis.

Akansoy said neither side will be fully satisfied with the outcome of the talks because both sides are negotiating for their ideal.

Referring to a recent statement made by Democratic Rally leader Nikos Anastasiades, Akansoy said that thinking that the TRNC will be recognized if the negotiations fail is a big mistake. “There is no such possibility. Therefore, we have to evaluate well the developments”, he said adding that they should continue the dialogue for reaching a model that will be protecting the interests of the Turkish Cypriots. He said the Cyprus problem is going through a crucial turning point and added that the Turkish Cypriot side should evaluate this process well.

Akansoy argued that after the Mari tragedy it is difficult to foresee what steps will be taken by a leader who faces so many problems and is so weakened.

Can a weakened Christofias deliver a solution?

2011-08-15T11:55:00.002+03:00

Although the Mari disaster and the economy have overshadowed the Cyprus problem, we are rapidly heading towards the October meeting in New York which will decide the island’s future, says Makarios Droushiotis writing in Politis yesterday, because at that meeting the UN S-G will decide whether a bizonal federation is still possible or whether it is no longer realistic.

Quoting well-informed sources he says that at the last meeting between the three, Ban Ki-moon warned the two leaders that if the deadlock is not broken by October then he will go to the Security Council and explain the reasons why his effort has failed and why the model for a solution that has been sought since 1977 is no longer feasible. However, until then he will leave no stone unturned in order to reach a successful outcome.

He has already got the two sides to agree that their next meeting in October will not be a mere three-party meeting but will be like a conference in a secluded spot with no press or other political parties, in the style of Camp David.

Droushiotis says that during their working lunch in Geneva, the UN S-G put several alternatives before the two leaders for moving the process ahead.

First he proposed a meeting lasting several days to be held in Qatar, a country friendly to both sides at which the two leaders and their teams as well as UN experts would take part. Eroglu agreed but Christofias wanted the whole of the Greek Cypriot political leadership to also be present, which Ban Ki-moon rejected as being counter-productive.

Ban Ki-moon then tried to include Turkey and Greece in the process, putting forward an old suggestion for Christofias to meet with Erdogan and Papandreou with Eroglu. Eroglu agreed provided the equality of the two leaders was maintained, but Christofias declined for the same reason.

The S-G then suggested that the procedure be speeded up in Cyprus itself with meetings three times a week. Eroglu agreed but Christofias said that, as President he had too many obligations, proposed meetings twice a week instead.

Having achieved the speeding up of the process with the more active participation of the UN, the S-G then proposed a new three-party meeting to be held towards the end of October in New York. Both leaders agreed.

Having got the two sides to agree, he then returned to his original proposal for a longer meeting lasting over several days to be held somewhere outside New York. Eroglu accepted immediately but Christofias hesitated and asked tentatively: “Are you going to impose a solution on us?” In the end he too agreed and the date was set for 20 October. The UN S-G asked them to keep at least eight days free.

Clearly, Droushiotis says, the UN S-G has lost his patience with the Cyprus problem and feels that time is running out for achieving an agreed solution. He also feels that “Cyprus ownership” of the talks has run its course and cannot be continued without a timetable or arbitration.

The UN is fed up of hearing the arguments of both sides time after time and has prepared bridging proposals which they will put before the two leaders in order to help them reach the framework of an agreement based on the UN parameters that have been set out since 1974. If they do not succeed, the UN S-G will submit his final report to the Security Council leaving each side to shoulder their respective responsibilities.

All this had been planned before the Mari disaster and Christofias’ weakening on the internal front. The international community is concerned as to whether Christofias can negotiate to the end and then convince his community to accept a solution which in the best possible scenario would be very similar to the Anan plan.

Despite underlining that the Cyprus problem is one of his priorities and calling for unity internally, Christofias has done nothing to prepare society for the eventualities to come. His relationship with the opposition is the worst it has ever been and his popularity among the population at the lowest ebb since he was elected.

Turkey, meanwhile, who is fully aware that Christofias is weak, does not seem at all willing to help him in any way and is insisting that the UN S-G continues to follow the road map agreed in Geneva with the end of the year as a deadline.

The UN had hoped that when Erdogan visited the north on 20 July he would have sent some kind of positive message to the Greek Cypriot side, instead of which they were shocked by his hardline statements that Morphou would not be returned and that they should forget Karpasia.

These statements could have been a way out for Christofias without any blame as no leader could sell a solution to the Greek Cypriot community that was worse than the Anan plan as regards territory.

According to Turkish Foreign Ministry sources, Erdogan’s aim was to send a message to Christofias to buckle up, because they felt he was playing for time to take him up to when Cyprus takes on the EU Presidency and then through the preelection period and thereby prolong the talks as long as possible.

According to Turkish paper Zaman, Erdogan’s words were an appeal to the Greek Cypriots to come to their senses. The Turks believed that trying to extend the status quo is a losing game for the Greek Cypriots and that they should instead do as the Turks do and follow a win-win strategy.

Turkey has also toughened its stance as regards the natural gas issue off the Cyprus coast. “Without a solution to the Cyprus problem being found and before a government is established that will represent the whole of the island, no one has the right to manage the island’s natural resources”, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davudoglu said.

What with the Cyprus government’s intention to proceed with drilling in October at the same time as the talks reach their climax and with Turkey warning that it will react, the political scene will be even more charged and the possibility of a solution even more distant, the writer concludes.

The less said publicly the better

2011-08-03T15:19:00.001+03:00

The leaders of the two communities in Cyprus, Christofias and Eroglu, yesterday continued their discussion on governance and power-sharing in a five and a half meeting, the third the two have had following a commitment in Geneva early July to intensify talks on the Cyprus problem.

They will be having one more meeting dedicated exclusively to power-sharing and governance on Friday.

UN Special Advisor, Alexander Downer said afterwards that they were aiming to keep the contents of the discussion “as confidential as possible.”

“The less is said publicly about what happens in these discussions, the more chance we have of having a degree of success in the negotiations,” he said.

He added that the two sides should be allowed “to talk around issues without any prejudice to their final position”.

"I think this is a work in progress and it's important it's understood to be a work in progress," he said.

Downer: out of crisis comes opportunity

2011-08-02T22:01:00.000+03:00

UN Special Envoy Alexander Downer said yesterday that real progress can be achieved over the next few weeks if the talks go well.

“It is important that we really invest a lot of time and energy in the talks this week and we hope that this will be productive”, he added.

Speaking after a one hour meeting with President Christofias, Mr Downer told the press: “I had the opportunity to talk to him about the intensive phase of the talks that we are in. I am looking forward to the talks tomorrow and then there will be another round of the talks on Friday before we have a two-week break for the holidays”.

Asked how it is possible for the talks to move forward when the Turkish Prime Minister Mr Tayyip Erdogan said that he will never give back Morphou, Karpasia and Famagusta, Mr Downer said: “When we get to these issues, the property and territory, all these questions will be discussed and at the moment as you know we are talking about governance and power sharing and we are focusing on those issues and after the holiday break will get back into the territory and property issue and it will be opportunity to canvas on those sort of questions”.

Replying to a question on whether these kind of statements help, Mr Downer said: “Not surprisingly, from our point of view, in the UN, it is probably best if we don't express publicly every sentiment that may rush through our veins, at any particular time”.

“We are more outcome-oriented”, he added. “We don't get into commentary on everything everybody says .I think it wouldn't make sense if we set ourselves up as commentators on everything every Prime Minister in the region says”.The UN yesterday said that progress towards a Cyprus solution would be good for Cypriots amid the difficulties the country is currently going through.

Commenting on the deadly blast on July 11 that killed 13 and destroyed the island’s main power station causing an energy crisis he said obviously this has affected people but it was necessary to look ahead and focus on the future.

“Out of crisis comes opportunity, and it is always worth remembering that no matter how bad the setbacks, you need to march forward, you’ve got to deal with the problems and you’ve got to live in the future, you can’t live in the past and it is important when things do go wrong to try to turn that adversity into opportunity as best as you can”.

Asked if he believes that President Christofias is capable of turning the current crisis into an opportunity and how this can happen given the internal domestic political situation, Mr Downer replied: “I think that if the talks can go well, if we can make some real progress over the next few weeks, particularly between now and the 21st of October, then that will be very positive and I think that will have a positive impact on public confidence as well, which you know at a difficult time like this it is understandably a little bit down; people are very depressed about what happened on July 11th, but this is one of the things that the President and the Government has to do, it has to try to solve the Cyprus problem, a solution has been elusive a long time, and it is important that everything be done to try to achieve a successful solution to this problem, that's what we want in the UN and so it’s tough times in other ways, we don't offer any real comments on that, but we say it is all the more incentive to try to solve the Cyprus problem”.

Meanwhile Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan has promised structural changes and major projects to boost the north’s economy.

In a televised address on Saturday, Erdogan discussed the new Turkish constitution, the economy, terrorism and the Cyprus problem.

“We have very important projects for north Cyprus and they will change the face of the country. I would like to mention once again that Turkey will neither allow efforts targeting the TRNC nor will it negotiate with the EU or any other party on the Cyprus issue.”

He blamed the Greek Cypriots for the lack of progress in the talks, saying: “I made very sincere and fruitful contacts with the TRNC authorities during my visit and I think the Turkish Cypriot side is making sincere efforts at the negotiations to reach a bi-communal, bi-zonal federal solution in the context agreed before. This was proved at the Geneva summit once more but the Greek Cypriot side is not responding positively to the Turkish Cypriot side’s stance.”

Erdogan has made it clear he will not wait forever for a Cyprus solution, setting July 2012 when Cyprus takes over the EU Presidency as an informal deadline. He has promised economic development for the north, and set about implementing an unpopular austerity package to curb public spending in the north as well as privatisation of airlines and universities.

The authorities in the north have also announced new measures to issue ‘green’ and ‘white’ cards for 40 thousand Turkish mainlanders living and working in the north without citizenship. It is believed this will further skewer the already tilting balance between Turkish nationals and Turkish Cypriots residing in the north.

They also announced a number of measures to upgrade Morphou’s infrastructure and attract investment. Turkish Cypriot paper the Star reported that the current residents of Morphou found Erdogan’s statements “encouraging”, adding that they opened the way to investment without fear.

Kibris reports that the white card will be granted to people who have been living in the north for eight or twelve years with a work permit or fifteen years with or without a work permit. The green card will be granted to persons who settle in the occupied area of Cyprus after they retire or people who make big investments of more than $500 thousand.
Turkish Cypriot daily Afrika under the headline “Citizenship step by step”, notes that the decision to grant citizenship to all the settlers started after Erdogan’s visit to Cyprus.

Kibris reports that the chairman of the Republican Turkish Party (CTP) said that the regulation is unconstitutional and that they will not remain spectators of this development but would contest it in court. Moreover the general secretary of the United Cyprus Party (BKP) stated that this decision will annihilate the Turkish Cypriots and was part of the integration policy which is followed by Turkey.

Erdogan comments irk EU officials

2011-07-22T16:56:00.001+03:00

An article in the Cyprus Mail reports that Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan’s tough rhetoric during his visit to the north of Cyprus has raised eyebrows among some European politicians, with one senior German official calling for the EU to cut off accession negotiations with Turkey.

According to Deutche Welle, who is secretary general of Bavaria’s Christian Social Union, which opposes Turkey’s full accession to the EU, said anyone who would stop talking to the EU has no business seeking membership in the bloc.

“The EU cannot continue to tolerate Erdogan's threats and attempts at blackmail,” Dobrindt was quoted saying. “Once again, Erdogan is insulting an EU member, and the only response to that can be to definitively break off accession talks with Turkey,” he added.

Erdogan during his visit to mark the 37th anniversary of the Turkish invasion of Cyprus, where he threatened to freeze relations with the EU when Cyprus took over the EU Presidency in July 2012. Reports suggest Ankara is playing hardball on the Cyprus issue but would not go so far as stopping trade with the EU, its largest trading partner, or direct talks with the Commission.

British MEP Liberal Andrew Duff also released a statement on Erdogan’s comments saying he was appalled at the latest twist in Turkey’s policy towards Cyprus and the EU.

Duff said: “Mr Erdogan and (Foreign Minister) Mr (Ahmet) Davutoglu have missed another great opportunity to reconcile the two Cypriot communities and, by doing so, to resurrect the prospect of Turkish membership of the European Union.

“Not only does the Turkish government cling to outmoded hostile rhetoric but it raises an entirely new obstacle to improving relations with the EU,” he added.

He flagged as a red herring Erdogan’s effort to put July 2012 as a deadline for Cyprus peace talks. “The idea of another referendum on the island next year in advance of the Cypriot EU presidency is ridiculous false trail in the absence of a genuine deal between Christofias and Eroglu, the leaders of the two communities, backed by Turkey and the whole international community. 2012 is a false timetable.

“The reality is that the Cypriot problem is and will remain intractable in the absence of outside involvement. Unless Turkey trusts the EU to help reach a settlement there will be no settlement. The good offices of the UN will not be enough, and they are, in any case, almost exhausted,” he said.

Duff, who had high level talks on both sides of the island recently and who is a member of the EU-Turkey Joint Parliamentary Committee, added: “Instead of moving on from the failed Annan Plan of 2004, the Turks have actually gone backwards – thereby putting themselves alongside the reactionary nationalism of the Greek Cypriot Church.”

According to Duff, Erdogan should have taken the opportunity to express sympathy with the current plight of the Greek Cypriots and Greece, meet with pro-peace activists, and even propose the establishment of a genuine process of truth and reconciliation.

“He could have sunk his enormous pride and arranged meetings directly with President Christofias,” he said.

Instead of preparing the Turkish public for a federal Cyprus and the normalisation of relations with all EU member states, “he sounds increasingly like the worst of the ultra-Kemalists”.
Duff concluded: “By offering Turkey only the crude choice between ‘the EU or Cyprus’, he is likely to end up with neither.”

Meanwhile Cyprus has launched a complaint to the UN Secretary-General, the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and the EU regarding the Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan’s statements.

A meeting of the Cyprus National Council, which met today to discuss the results of the Geneva meeting, unanimously condemned the statements which it considers to jeopardise the ongoing bicommunal dialogue.

Erdogan: window of opportunity will not remain open forever

2011-07-20T16:21:00.001+03:00

According to Bayrak television, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said that Turkey wishes the peace environment in Cyprus to pave the way for peace, development and cooperation in a region much broader than the island.

Speaking today in northern Nicosia, at a ceremony on the occasion of the anniversary of the 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus, Erdogan said that the existing window of opportunity will not remain open forever. “We sincerely believe in the objective of the solution. However, we should not forget that the knife has reached the bone. The current negotiation process, which has exceeded three years with its preparatory period, has come to its final stage”, he said and called on “the other interested parties to support peace and take steps in this direction”.

“There is absolutely no doubt now that the solution within the UN parameters will be found in accordance to the agreements of the leaders in their joint statements during the current negotiation process. The new partnership within this framework will be a bi-zonal, bi-communal federation based on political equality as described in the relevant resolutions of the UN Security Council. In parallel to a federal government with a single international identity, this partnership will have a Founding Turkish Cypriot State and a Founding Greek Cypriot State.”

Erdogan reiterated that an agreement should be reached by the end of the year and a referendum should be held before July 2012, so that the “new partnership

In statements in Ankara yesterday before coming to Cyprus, Erdogan told journalists that the Cyprus problem had entered a new stage and that the Turkish side is not at the point it was in 2004 during the Annan Plan. Varosha, he said, is not on the agenda of the Turkish side, nor will they turn Morphou into a bargaining issue or withdraw any troops from the island. “The conditions of the Burgenstock period no longer exist. The giving period has ended. Giving Morphou is not on my books. We gave it in 2004 and they did not want it”, he said. He added that the Greek Cypriots had lost their chance by not accepting the Annan Plan in 2004 and should not expect him to withdraw any troops from the island.

Erdogan described the transfer of electricity to the south as a “very human” act. He said that they will use this human approach in the international field and they will explain this wherever they go to show the world the good intentions of the Turkish Cypriot side. He said that the danger exists for the negotiations to come to a dead-end, that time is running out and that they expect the Greek Cypriots to take a step. He said the Cyprus problem is approaching its end and they have other alternatives if necessary.

Moreover, an article in Turkish daily Hurriyet Daily on the occasion of Erdogan’s says the north has been decked out in an unprecedentedly lavish fashion for the visit, which is his first since a crisis erupted earlier this year over angry anti-Turkey placards carried by protesters demonstrating against new austerity measures.

The article says that the austerity package has, however, started to help improve the Turkish Cypriot economy. At a time when the Greek side of the island has started experiencing serious economic difficulties, northern Cyprus expects a 5% increase this year in budget revenues, a 15% boost in tourism revenues and annual growth of around 5 - 6% -- a marked improvement over the negative growth rates seen during the past few years.

The key goal of Erdogan’s trip, the article says, is to reassure the Turkish Cypriots of Turkey’s continued support. The visit will also be a message to Greek Cyprus at a time when hopes are building globally that the divided eastern Mediterranean island might be edging toward a resolution by the end of this year.Moreover Turkey has begun to construct a deep-water pipeline to pump some 75 million cubic meters of fresh water a year to northern Cyprus, a project slated to be completed by March 2014. Lately, however, it has started to hint that perhaps instead of one pipeline it might lay down a twin pipeline and double the amount of water provided to the island, and that perhaps the Greek side would also be interested in obtaining water from Turkey.

Meanwhile the leaders of the two communities met yesterday and discussed the programme of meetings they would have in the wake of the Geneva summit.

“We at the United Nations look forward to this period being a very constructive period of negotiations”, the UN S-G’s Special Adviser Alexander Downer told the press.

He said the leaders will have a total of 19 twice weekly all-day intensive meetings beginning from next week 25 July through to 21 October, with a break from 7 – 21 August and another in the third week of September for the UN General Assembly.

Mr Downer expressed the UN’s pleasure at the arrangement whereby the Turkish Cypriots would provide electricity to the Greek Cypriots after the disaster at Mari, adding: “We hope that people in Cyprus overall understand the positive message that that particular initiative sends”, he said.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu said “we have agreed to hold meetings twice a week and concentrate on how we can reach convergences on core issues”. He added that just as the UN Secretary-General had noted in his report, the issue of maps will be the last subject to be discussed.

President Christofias, on his return to the Presidential Palace, said that both the United Nations and Mr Eroglu had expressed their condolences for the victims of the tragedy in Mari and there was also an exchange of views about the electricity supply.

“The procedure followed did not involve any ‘official’ sides, but I conveyed my appreciation for the fact that the Turkish Cypriots were willing to provide electricity at a time of great difficulty without demanding any direct or indirect recognition of ‘authorities’” he added.

Commenting on Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan’s statements on Cyprus he described them as absolutely condemnable, adding that he feels that the United Nations are also offended by these references because the UN wish for genuine progress during the talks.

“If this is the line that the Turkish side will follow there will be no prospect for any progress”, he added.

October deadline for Cyprus talks

2011-07-09T11:11:00.001+03:00

The leaders of the two communities in Cyprus, Demetris Christofias and Dervis Eroglu, agreed at their third meeting with the UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, in Geneva on Thursday 7 July to enter into an intensive period of negotiations on the core issues of the Cyprus problem with the aim of reaching convergence on all core issues by October.

Speaking afterwards the Secretary-General said that he has every expectation that by then the leaders will be able to report that they have reached convergence on all core issues, and they will meet with him again that month in New York.

“This will take the Cyprus negotiations close to their conclusion and would allow me to give a positive report to the Security Council on the matter. It would also pave the way for me to work with the parties towards convening a final, international conference,” he added.

The UN chief noted that “progress has been far too slow” since he last met with the two leaders last January in Geneva, an opinion shared by his special adviser Alexander Downer, who was quoted on the eve of the meeting saying the last three months of talks were the “worst” since they began in September 2008.

Ban highlighted that “some important areas have remained untouched” in the negotiations. On this point, yesterday’s four-hour meeting proved “useful and productive” and that some of the difficulties standing in the way of reaching a comprehensive agreement had been identified. Both leaders made it clear that they are aiming to reach a comprehensive solution as soon as possible.

He also said that while he agrees that the negotiations must be Cypriot-led and Cypriot-owned, he is prepared to offer an enhanced United Nations involvement without prejudice to this central principle. Both leaders have accepted his offer.
In conclusion Ban noted that both sides had agreed “they must begin to build support for a comprehensive agreement”. The fact that neither has started to do so has led the public on both sides to become “weary”, he added.

“Both leaders must renew hope and enthusiasm for a solution. They have acknowledged the need to begin to prepare their respective communities for the compromises required for a settlement and the prospect of living together in a united Cyprus,” he ended.

The Cyprus Mail says that in effect, the UN team has laid out a timetable for the talks to reach their conclusion, with the obvious milestone being Cyprus’ EU Presidency starting in July 2012, by which point, the talks will either be dead and buried or have led to separate referenda in the two communities.

The agreement to an informal timetable, “enhanced” UN role and calling of a final international conference will likely cause many a headache for Christofias who has consistently based his negotiations policy on a refusal to accept “suffocating timeframes” or “arbitration”, the paper says, while Eroglu and the powerful Turkish diplomatic machinery have run a steady campaign for the UN to impose a final deadline in the talks.

All the citizens of Cyprus and the European Union as a whole will benefit from a united Cyprus, the President of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso, said before the Geneva meeting between the two leaders in Cyprus and the UN Secretary-General.

He added that they can count on the strong support of the European Commission and called on both leaders to intensify the negotiations and to rapidly take the next steps towards a settlement.

“A mutually agreed settlement will be the basis for the long expected reunification of the country and end one of the oldest conflicts on European soil”, he said. "More than seven years after Cyprus' accession to the European Union a comprehensive settlement of the Cyprus problem is overdue”.

In order to achieve this goal, he said, a breakthrough in the talks is necessary and expressed confidence in the political will of the leaders of the two communities in making all the necessary efforts to progress towards a satisfactory final solution.

UN expects clear way forward to end negotiations

2011-06-09T14:37:00.000+03:00

The United Nations expect a clear way forward to emerge from the meeting the Greek and Turkish Cypriot sides will have with the UN Secretary-General in Geneva on 7 July in order to conclude the negotiations, UN Special Adviser Alexander Downer yesterday,

“At the moment we are canvassing their views on how they think this can be done,” he told the press after a meeting with President Christofias. “The Secretary General has his own views as well and we want to talk to the two sides about that”.

He said that he will make recommendations to the UN Secretary General based on his discussions with the two sides, but the Secretary General will make up his own mind on how to handle the meeting.

“Part of the discussion we want to have at the moment is about the mutual convergences at some of the areas that have been discussed recently and we thought that these discussions have been quite promising, but also we look forward to the July 7 meeting to see what we can do to make that meeting a success,” he added.

Asked what the agenda of the July 7 meeting will be, Mr Downer said that it is too early for an agenda, adding that they still need to see where the leaders get to in terms of their discussion of the issues which are currently before them, but also to talk to the two sides and have a really good understanding of their thinking on how the meeting could work.

“We had some preliminary discussions with the Secretary General in New York, but we need to place all these together over the next month”, he added.

Replying to a question on whether there is an action plan for the July 7 meeting, Mr Downer said that it is a bit premature for an action plan. “What we need to do is spend a bit more time talking to the two sides to work out what they feel comfortable with. At the end of the day this is their negotiations not ours, they’ve got to feel comfortable with the way forward, but on the other hand we need a way forward otherwise these negotiations will go on for a hundred years. So we do need to find a way forward”, he said.

He said that everybody knows what the issues are. “Both sides know very well until now what the differences are, they have been through all of the issues and they have a pretty clear understanding of each other’s positions. They are still coming up with bridging proposals from time to time. Greek Cypriots have come up with a bridging proposal recently, so both sides need to keep doing that”.

He added that “we look forward to them to continue the process, but at the same time to make sure that they have got a plan on how they are going to move forward”.

Asked on the possibility of convening an international conference, Mr Downer said that the Greek Cypriot side has made it very clear that the internal issues must be dealt with before an international conference takes place. He said that he did not think that the international conference is going to happen very soon.

“The Turkish Cypriot side has a more expansive vision on the international conference”, he said, adding that right now we should concentrate on the 7 July meeting.

Downer also met with Eroglu yesterday afternoon. No comments were made after the meeting The two leaders will be meeting together next week.

Cyprus talks to end soon

2011-05-11T16:06:00.000+03:00

Talks to reunify Cyprus must end by early next year, or the UN will pull the plug saying the two communities cannot reach agreement, Turkish news channel NTV said last night - apparently quoting UN sources, the Cyprus Mail reported yesterday.

According to the report, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon will call the two Cypriot leaders to New York soon after the May 22 Turkish parliamentary elections and tell them he wants reunification negotiations to end by December this year. At a stretch he will allow them to continue until early 2012, but not beyond then.

Official UN sources would not confirm the report last night. The report by the respected NTV news network however said the UN Secretary General would also call on the leaders to begin a process of “horse-trading”, which would start in July with discussions on territorial issues and then proceed through the other chapters of the negotiations. This process should last 12 weeks, the report claimed.

At the end of horse-trading, the Secretary General would then call the Cypriot leaders to another meeting at which he would propose a five-way conference involving the participation of the two Cypriot sides, along with the guarantor nations Greece, Turkey and Britain, NTV said. This meeting would focus on issues of security and guarantees.

The report added that in the case of anticipated opposition from the Greek Cypriot side to staging a five-way conference, the UN would offer EU participation in the talks in a “technical capacity”. If opposition was still not overcome, the UN would then end reunification talks – either by Ban Ki-moon himself declaring them “a failure”, or by the Secretary General’s special advisor Alexander Downer declaring that further discussions would be pointless.

NTV’s report said also that the UN Secretary General would overcome possible objections to his attempt to expedite talks from Greek Cypriot allies and UN Security Council permanent members China, Russia and France by taking “an approach that was not bound by the Security Council”.
A source on the Turkish Cypriot side said last night it believed the views expressed in the article to be “fairly consistent” with those expressed by the UN, and that it was possible the views had been leaked by the UN in order to gauge reaction from both sides.

The UN Secretary-General Mr Ban Ki-moon said at the weekend that both communities in Cyprus would need to work in a spirit of compromise and with a longer-term vision to reach a mutually acceptable comprehensive solution.

He appealed to the two leaders to reduce their differences through a “spirit of compromise and win-win” adding that it was essential for them to “show flexibility and examine the issues in depth”. There had been some progress on the economy and the EU but on the issues of security and property there was still much that had to be done.

The UN chief was speaking in Istanbul on the sidelines of a UN conference and also had a meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and Cyprus Foreign Minister, Markos Kyprianou. He was also expected to meet with Greek Foreign Minister Dimitris Droutsas.

However, the Cyprus Mail reported that there was widespread condemnation of Mr Ban Ki-Moon’s comments. Officials and parties were particularly incensed by the fact that Ban was said to have asked for both sides to show flexibility and a spirit of compromise during the UN-led talks.
All agreed that it was unfair to equate the two sides’ responsibility in the matter and called on the SG to take more care with his public statements.

Speaking before his departure, Kyprianou played down the reactions to Ban’s interview. He said it was to be expected that the Greek Cypriot side would not be too happy with his statements, but added that it was common practice for the leaders of such international organisations to hold as diplomatic a stance as possible. He said the two had exchanged views on how the talks could prove more effective in the future. He said he relayed the Greek Cypriot side’s concerns on the current stagnation in the talks.

“I think we should grasp on to the fact that the Secretary-general shows a special interest in the Cyprus problem and his meetings with the Cypriot, Turkish and Greek governments will be centred on the Cyprus problem,” said Kyprianou. “What is important is for the UN to maintain an objective stance”.

Momentum must be maintained

2011-03-16T21:55:00.001+02:00

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”.

The UN fully in control of the procedure

2011-03-13T16:00:00.002+02:00

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.

It’s now or never, says UN chief

2011-03-06T16:22:00.000+02:00

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.

Two leaders to ‘intensify’ talks

2011-02-10T13:07:00.001+02:00

The leaders of the two communities yesterday agreed to intensify their meetings after they met for the first time since they both saw UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon last month in Geneva.

However, it appears that any intensification appears to be in the meetings between the leaders’ respective aides who will have two half-day meetings a week. The leaders, on the other hand, will meet only once a week on Wednesdays, apart from next week when they will meet on Thursday.

According to UN Special Adviser Alexander Downer, yesterday’s session was once again dominated by procedural issues on how to move forward. He refused to be drawn on what chapters would be discussed saying this would be discussed next week.

Asked how long the “intensified” talks would go on for, he replied: “We’ll have to wait and see. As you know, the Secretary-General wants to meet the leaders again soon. No particular time has been decided at this stage for that meeting.”

Talks on the fundamental issues of the Cyprus problem will continue from where they left off, President Christofias told the press after his meeting with Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu yesterday.

“Our view is that it is necessary to reaffirm everything that has been agreed before with Mr Talat in a clear way, as well as what has been agreed with Mr Eroglu, the few things that have been agreed, on the issues of economy and the EU,” he said.

Asked if he believed Eroglu would agree to link the chapters of territory and property, Christofias said: “They say hope dies when there are no people left... Our position is known and we insist on it.”

Regarding the basis of the talks, Christofias noted that this issue has already been cleared up with Talat but he still wanted Eroglu to clarify the basis of the solution they are trying to achieve.

“He is a new leader and I want to know how he really thinks on all issues,” he said.

The president also stated that he was prepared to continue negotiations up to the eve of elections in Cyprus in May and after. Elections will also be held in Turkey in June.

“Just let me go vote and from there on I’m ready to continue. We will see if Turkey is ready,” he said.

The UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon yesterday briefed the UN Security Council on his recent visits to Europe and Africa, including his meeting in Geneva with the leaders of the two communities in Cyprus.

He said he was “reasonably satisfied” with the two Cyprus leaders and appreciated very much “their commitment to address all the core issues through negotiations”.

“They cleared some of their differences but much more work is needed”, he said.

He added that he would summon “another round of negotiation soon”, the specific date, agenda and venue of which would be decided at a later stage.

Until then, he urged the two leaders to carry on with the negotiations “so that they can bridge the gaps and to have as more convergences as possible”.

An editorial in the Cyprus Mail says that the leaders of the two communities in Cyprus obviously do not share UN special envoy Alexander Downer’s view that two-and-a-half years was a long time for the talks to be going on inconclusively.

Downer was given a dressing down by the Greek Cypriot media for daring to suggest that a deal should have been reached after just two years of talks. Was he party to the foreign conspiracy for ‘a speedy closure of the Cyprus problem’? Had he ignored Christofias’ assertion that he would never accept asphyxiating time-frames?

This unacceptable behaviour by Downer, who was also the target of unsubstantiated newspaper allegations, gave an excuse for an Evroko deputy to demand the Australian’s immediate withdrawal. This demand is made on a weekly basis, by a variety of politicians and journalists, all of whom are opposed to a speedy closure of the Cyprus problem.

More progress needed, says Ban

2011-01-26T23:42:00.001+02:00

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon said that there has been progress since he last met with the leaders of the two communities in Cyprus but more work needed to be done.

“Based on discussions today, it is clear that the two leaders worked to move closer together through a range of bridging proposals, notably in the chapters of Economy, EU matters, and Governance and Power-Sharing. Nonetheless, more work must be done to reach further convergences on the outstanding core issues,” he said.

Speaking after a meeting with Christofias and Eroglu in Geneva today, he said the two sides have also agreed to intensify the negotiations through a series of additional meetings in the coming weeks and that he would make himself available to them again soon to continue to take stock of progress and to encourage the parties in further narrowing the differences.

He added that a number of elements have been identified that are designed to maintain momentum and to address more directly the details of a workable, mutually beneficial solution.

He said the meeting’s “spirited and substantive discussions” contributed to clearing the air on several key issues. “The leaders have discussed the outstanding key issues in a more interrelated fashion, since a settlement proposal will need to consist of an integrated package across chapters. I have encouraged both sides to talk to experts that I can make available on the technical aspects of the property issue”, he said.

The UN S-G mentioned recent surveys that showed that both communities in Cyprus want more than talks: they want a solution. “The leaders have heard that message and they are acting. I welcome the steps that the leaders have taken today which give a clear indication of their commitment to reunifying Cyprus as soon as possible,” he said.

Ban said that he will be submitting a report on the state of the talks to the Security Council at the end of February.

“I will closely follow the efforts of the leaders in the coming weeks as they reach further convergences across all chapters. I am certain that if the constructive spirit that I witnessed today continues, I will have a positive report to submit”.

At the end of the statement no questions were taken because of the sensitivity of the process and the two sides cancelled separate news conferences reportedly for the same reason.

Federation based on language rather than ethnicity

2011-01-25T00:09:00.001+02:00

Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu will negotiate at the forthcoming talks on Cyprus to be held in Geneva on 26 January using the Belgian model of federation as a basis, according to reports in the Turkish Cypriot press.

He will propose that the island will be divided based on language. In this context, Turkish speakers will not be able to settle in an area where Greek is spoken, and Greek speakers will not be able to settle in an area where Turkish spoken. To settle in a Turkish area, a Greek Cypriot would be obliged to learn Turkish. Settlement in this area without knowing Turkish will not be possible. However, both languages will be official languages in Lefkosia.

Eroglu proposals moving away from single sovereignty

2011-01-18T21:29:00.000+02:00

According to reports in the Turkish Cypriot press proposals on governance and power sharing submitted by Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu last week, revise the work done by his predecessor Mehmet Ali Talat, moving away from the notion of single sovereignty of a reunited Cyprus and towards the establishment of “two sovereign areas” where the two “founding states will be sovereign”.

In addition, the rights of the guarantor powers are further increased, by guaranteeing the territorial integrity of the constituent states as well as the state as a whole.

Turkish Cypriot daily Kibris quoted Eroglu on Sunday as saying that the existence of “two peoples and two states” and Turkish guarantees in Cyprus were indispensable conditions or a “sine qua non” for the Turkish Cypriot community.

Eroglu reiterated the view that progress could be achieved next week in Geneva if the Greek Cypriot side “has good will and comes closer to an agreement on the basis of the realities”. Otherwise, he added, the Turkish side expects the UN to “do its duty”.

“There are two peoples, two states, two areas in Cyprus. The active and effective guarantees of motherland Turkey is a sine qua non for us. We have never accepted and we will never accept the bizonality to be watered down and the property issue to be concluded in a manner that will take us to the pre-1974 period and scatter our economy and social life,” said Eroglu.

Also on Sunday, Eroglu’s top aide, Kudret Ozersay was quoted in an interview with Kathimerini making the same comment, that Turkish guarantees are a “sine qua non” for the Turkish Cypriots.

Opposition DISY leader Nicos Anastassiades has said that if Eroglu’s reported proposals turn out to be true and he really is aiming for two sovereignties “which in essence means we’re talking about a confederation, this is certainly a negative and unacceptable step backwards in terms of progress on the Cyprus problem”.

Coffeeshop, the Cyprus Mail's satirical column, says that nobody could have imagined that the first ever visit of a German Chancellor to the People’s Republic of Kyproulla would have sparked the euphoric celebrations we witnessed on Tuesday and Wednesday among the bash-patriotic chattering classes. The day after the visit we expected the state broadcaster to start morning shows on radio and TV by playing ‘Deutschland Deutschland uber alles’ but we were disappointed. Politis won the award for the best front-page headline the following day, with ‘Angelos i Angela’ (Angela the angel) as all papers highlighted the ‘tough language’ directed at the Turkish stance in the Cyprob.

Even the commies of AKEL were prepared to forgive her for turning into a neo-liberal, right-wing capitalist despite being brought up in East Germany and being indoctrinated with the ideals of Stalinism. After all, during her visit, she had publicly praised “the courage, creativity and initiative” shown by our comrade leader.

One paper identified a golden opportunity for turning Germany into an “important strategic partner” of Zypern. But how would France react to the creation of a Cyprus-German axis? The paper obviously forgot the defence agreement that was signed by the Ethnarch’s government a few years ago and was hailed as a new chapter in Chypre’s development as regional super-nuisance. Would President Sarkozy, expected to visit later in the year, not consider it a snub.

The lunatic reaction of the Turks in the end stole the show. A couple of hours after Merkel’s momentous statement, Erdogan launched a public attack on her telling her that she knew nothing about the prob and should have consulted her predecessor before talking. A statement by the German foreign ministry, aimed at appeasing the Turks, failed abysmally. On Friday Erdogan had still not calmed down and raised the stakes by saying “we expect Merkel to apologise to the Turkish side”. These Turks are so insecure they cannot even allow us enjoy a small and meaningless triumph.

Merkel and Papandreou

2011-01-13T14:20:00.000+02:00

President Dimitris Christofias was left “very concerned” with Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu’s views on governance and power sharing yesterday, after the two leaders met at the UN protected area in Nicosia

Speaking after the meeting, which followed a month’s hiatus due to Eroglu having had heart surgery, Christofias said Eroglu submitted some views on the issue of governance and power sharing which were not very inspiring.

“The views were such that we need to study them. I will not make a statement now on Mr Eroglu’s views. This will happen later. In any case, they are not views for someone to be easily excited about,” he said.

The meeting was the second to last before the two leaders head off to Geneva on January 26 to meet with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

He said he didn’t want to make a statement on the issue but added that he was “very concerned”.

UN Special Adviser Alexander Downer said both sides put forward proposals, and both want to go away and consider them.

The leaders’ respective aides will meet next Wednesday and Thursday and possibly this Friday, while Christofias and Eroglu will have their final meeting before Geneva on January 21.

Asked what Ban expected of the two, given that they were unable to meet as frequently as originally scheduled, the UN official said Ban expected them to report on the progress made since the last tripartite meeting on November 18 in New York, and that they “will be able to chart a path forward from January 26”.

Apart from mapping the progress made, the two leaders will be expected to identify the “core issues” that still need to be resolved.

The Australian diplomat noted that the core issues were not difficult to put together as they’ve already been identified. The SG will discuss the leaders’ plans for taking process forward.
He predicted a “very productive meeting” in Geneva.

Asked by if Ban would set a timetable for the talks, Downer replied: “I have always argued that it is not so much a question of having a fixed date, identifying a fixed date by which it must all be concluded. What is important is that the process is a process which has momentum, which is clearly moving forward.”

The UN Special Adviser noted that around mid-October the momentum had been lost, though after the November meeting in New York with Ban, it picked up again.

On January 26, Ban will want to know how the leaders plan to take the process forward. “And he’ll want to be sure that the process has plenty of momentum, without the SG identifying a particular day of the week some time into the future by which time everything has to be signed, sealed and delivered...(but)... he wants to make sure the process has momentum.”

Downer clarified that by momentum, he meant that the two sides actually negotiate, putting forward proposals, then varying them somewhat, introducing ‘bridging proposals’ and generally trying to bridge the differences between the two positions.

“That’s what we look to the two sides to do, and that’s what I call momentum...Just sitting there exchanging views and failing to convince each other, that’s not momentum,” he said.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel gave her full support to President Christofias’ efforts to solve the Cyprus problem during a “historic” five-hour official visit to the island on Tuesday while saying that the Turkish side was not doing enough in this regard.

“We greatly appreciate your courage, creativity shown and initiative taken to solve the problem. We see that you are taking many steps and we also see that the Turkish side is not responding adequately to your steps,” said Merkel during a joint press conference. She added that these steps “show that you are ready to make a compromise”.

“We will support the path you have chosen to solve the problem in every way we can. We know this path is not easy and that the solution must be achieved by the people of Cyprus,” she added.

The German chancellor, the first to visit Cyprus 49 years after Archbishop Makarios paid an official visit to Bonn in 1962, pledged to use her contacts with Turkish officials to promote Christofias’ efforts for a solution.

“Whenever I have the opportunity, I will speak with Turkish officials, the Prime Minister and ministers that I meet so we can help in your efforts,” she said.

Before her arrival, however, press reports speculated that Merkel was coming to let the president know the EU expected to see the problem solved and obstacles to Turkey’s EU accession path and EU-NATO cooperation removed.

The Cyprus Mail said that while the latter issues were both highlighted by Merkel as important, her unambiguous support for Christofias’ handling of the problem and public criticism of Turkey’s failure to match his efforts were clear.

Within hours, the Turkish press was accusing Merkel of continuing the war of words against Turkey reportedly started by Greek premier George Papandreou last Friday.

Merkel, raised in East Germany, said Germany wanted to do its utmost to overcome the island’s partition for two reasons: “First, we understand your position because Germany has also been a divided country. Second, Germany and Cyprus have particularly close relations in various fields.”

Specific reference was made to the recent agreement signed with the Max Planck Institute in the field of science, and the strong economic ties between the two countries.

Merkel said Germany wanted to help strengthen co-operation between NATO and the EU’s Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP), which is currently hampered by Turkey’s refusal to allow the EU, including Cyprus, in on NATO meetings.

“The Cyprus issue must be resolved if we are to untangle ourselves from this problem and Cyprus must be reunited, so the negotiations must continue,” she said.

On his part Christofias said: “We don’t want to hold Turkey hostage.” But at the same time Turkey cannot continue to not recognise an EU member and refuse to implement the Ankara Protocol”. He assured Merkel that he was filled with good will to solve the problem as soon as possible.

“Mrs Merkel knows better than us what a federation is. She lives in a country which is a great federation and is leader of that country. More or less, we want to create this kind of federation in Cyprus too,” he said.

The German Chancellow also got a chance to see divided Nicosia from the rooftop of the Ledra Palace Hotel, with UN Special Adviser Alexander Downer and UN Special Representative Lisa Buttenheim as her guides.

Turkey accused German Chancellor Angela Merkel of “bias” and “forgetfulness” following her comments made during her visit to Cyprus, the Cyprus Mail reports.

“If Mrs Merkel had listened to both sides, she wouldn't have made such biased comments,” Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said during a news conference in Ankara.

A statement released by the Turkish Foreign Ministry reinforced the message to Germany, saying: “Under current circumstances, we find it thought-provoking that Germany, a leading country in the EU and a temporary member of the UN Security Council, has commented on the negotiation process in Cyprus in the light of information provided by the Greek Cypriot side only.”

According to Ankara Anatolia news agency, Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan during a visit to Qatar on Tuesday, suggested Merkel have tea with her predecessor Gerhard Schroeder to learn a thing or two about Cyprus.

“Apparently, Merkel thinks that the Cyprus issue is a process which has begun during her term of office. It is also clear that she does not know about the history of the Cyprus issue. If she has had the chance to talk to former leader of the main opposition party, she would have known those who are responsible for the Cyprus issue.”

Erdogan went on to remind everyone that it was the Turkish Cypriots who voted ‘yes’ in the Annan Plan referenda while the Greek Cypriots rejected it yet still joined the EU.

“I guess Merkel has forgotten what she has said. It was her who said that it was wrong to admit southern Cyprus into the EU. But now, she pays a visit to the Greek Cypriot administration and makes such a statement. I call on the Chancellor to look into the history of the time, and have tea with Gerhard Schroeder,” said Erdogan.

Berlin’s responded to the criticism through Merkel’s spokesman Steffen Seibert who was quoted by Reuters as saying: “The Chancellor knows very well it was the Greek Cypriots who turned down the UN plan in 2004. She doesn't need any historical lectures on this.”

According to the Cyprus Mail, all the Turkish papers ran with the story yesterday with Zaman using the headline, “Statements by Angela Merkel that will anger Turkey”, while Cumhuriyet said, “Merkel has found the culprit for the Cyprus problem”.

The Turkish Cypriot press was less diplomatic, with daily Kibris using the headline, “Merkel’s fiasco”. Kibrisli chose not to mince its words, heading the article with: “Nasty European.”

Vatan ran with “Look what unfounded thing she said” while daily Star Kibris had: “The German queen talked big”. In its article, Haberdar spoke to a number of Turkish Cypriot politicians who voiced their anger, under the banner: “Why don’t you just shut up.”

In the same vein, daily Gunes ran with the simple yet effective: “Merkel bullshitted”.

Unsurprisingly, Merkel’s visit was seen positively across the Greek Cypriot political spectrum, encouraging a rare moment of unity.

Government spokesman Stefanos Stefanou said her statements “were more proof that President Christofias’ policy, initiatives and efforts to solve the Cyprus problem are recognised and appreciated in Europe and internationally.”

DISY said the visit was without a doubt important and the messages “especially positive”. “It confirms that in Europe, particularly within the European People’s Party but not only, there are heads of state, political groups and potential that we must make use of,” he said. AKEL characterised the visit an “absolute success”, while EDEK welcomed Merkel’s statements, saying they “showed up Turkey’s bad faith and intransigence as the reason for the non-solution of the Cyprus problem”. DIKO said it was “perhaps the first time that a European leader has portrayed reality in the right context and with absolute clarity”. Even one of Christofias’ fiercest critics on the Cyprus peace talks, EVROKO leader Demetris Syllouris, described the visit as “very positive”

Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou last week called on his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan to join him in “one final effort’ to find a Cyprus solution, the Cyprus Mail reported.

Papandreou also said he wanted to see Turkey become a member of the European Union. He said he would try to help remove obstacles stalling progress, notably over Cyprus. But he said the international community would not legalise the Turkish invasion of Cyprus.

Speaking during a visit to Ankara, Papandreou said “There should not be any illusions. The international community will not legitimise an invasion, and Turkey’s European path will not be completed as long as the occupation (of Cyprus) continues, which is why we should unite our efforts for one more, I hope, final effort for a solution of the Cyprus problem”.

He added: “It needs a new effort, and Demetris Christofias is the president who can bring a solution on behalf of Greek Cypriots. My vision is for Cyprus to become an example of peaceful and democratic coexistence between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, Christians and Muslims.”

Erdogan responded with an “olive branch” to Greek Cypriots. He said that Turkey with all honesty stretched out its hand peacefully, and proposed a common meeting with the four parties.

“In the same way, my honourable friend Georgios will also be present, and the four of us sit down together. There is another guarantor power, the UK, invite her too. There is also the UN, invite them too. And also if you want, an EU representative, and we all work together,” he said.

“We heard that Greek Cypriots are concerned about whether Turkey will meet its obligations after an agreement. These are groundless concerns.” He called on Greek Cypriots “to take courageous steps to reach an agreement with the Turkish Cypriots.”

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

2010-11-29T19:18:00.003+02:00

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Official contacts

2010-11-23T11:29:00.001+02:00

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

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

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

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

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

Beginning of the end of the talks

2010-11-21T17:40:00.001+02:00

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2010-11-19T14:11:00.000+02:00

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

New York meeting underway

2010-11-18T21:49:00.001+02:00

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Cyprus endgame

2010-11-16T14:24:00.001+02:00

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Plan B will be decided in New York

2010-11-14T17:17:00.001+02:00

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Cyprus could slide towards partition

2010-11-09T19:58:00.001+02:00

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2010-11-03T20:27:00.000+02:00

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Leaders to meet with UN S-G in New York

2010-11-01T21:21:00.001+02:00

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

UN Secretary-General worried about the talks

2010-10-24T23:49:00.001+03:00

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Leaders discussing property

2010-10-19T19:43:00.001+03:00

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Christofias at UN

2010-09-26T18:40:00.003+03:00

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Solution will bring economic benefits

2010-09-19T13:36:00.000+03:00

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Golden formula on property

2010-09-18T16:45:00.000+03:00

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

National Council discusses property

2010-09-15T21:33:00.001+03:00

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

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

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

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