Ledra street hitch

1. Ledra Street

It has been reported that there's been a hitch in the opening of Ledra Street. Reports talk of "technical problems" that have prevented the UN from entering the area. The Cyprus Mail says the setback was confirmed by Presidential Commissioner George Iacovou after his meeting with Ozdil Nami, aide to Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat. According to CyBC when Nami was asked during the meeting to set up the technical committees, the Turkish Cypriot aide, said he was not in a position to give an answer about what was going on and would report back on Wednesday. Other sources told the Cyprus Mail it was because someone along the way felt they had not been adequately informed. But it was still something that could be overcome, the sources said. Asked if the Turkish side had changed its mind, Iacovou said he could not comment on that. He said all he could say was “they were not yet ready”. Phileleftheros says the Turkish army is not allowing UNFICYP to enter the buffer zone and begin the demining process because they are questioning whether it is no-man's land or land under their control.
Earlier yesterday the two mayors from both sides of Nicosia were still waiting for the green light from UNFICYP to enter the buffer zone to carry out the work needed to open the Ledra Street crossing. They met for lunch at a restaurant in the Green Line near the Ledra Palace crossing. Both mayors have said that once the UN allows them in, they could be ready to open the crossing within five days.As regards the meeting itself, Mr Iacovou said there had been great progress in the work of setting up the committees and that the meetings would continue tomorrow. “We discussed the issues the committees will deal with. We have made great progress towards the right direction and I believe that at our next meeting on Wednesday we will reach an agreed basis,” he said.

2. UN
In New York yesterday UN Secretary-general Ban Ki-moon congratulated the two leaders on their agreement to start full-fledged negotiations within three months. “The United Nations stands ready to lend its full support to the Cypriot people in their efforts to reach a settlement,” Ban’s spokesperson, Michele Montas, said. Ban “warmly” welcomed the leaders’ decisions to set up a number of working groups and technical committees in advance of talks, and said that their agreement on the opening of a crossing at Ledra Street in Nicosia as soon as technically possible “was a positive step forward".. On Sunday Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Lynn Pascoe will arrive on the island “to help the UN determine how it can be as helpful as possible to the success of the process”, Montas added.

UNFICYP yesterday confirmed that Michael Moller, the Secretary-general’s Special Representative in Cyprus would be replaced by Elizabeth Spehar, the Director of the organisation’s Political Affairs Department responsible for Europe. A spokesman for UNFICYP said Spehar, who is due to arrive in Cyprus on Thursday, would be brought in from New York as an “interim replacement” for Moller, who leaves the island at the end of this month.
3. US
American ambassador Ronald Schlicher also congratulated the two sides yesterday for their renewed efforts to find a Cyprus solution. “We very much hope that the positive spirit continues and that the negotiation process gets up and running and gets to the substance of the issue because we deeply feel that the future of Cyprus is a reunited Cyprus and the sooner we get to that the better,” he said.

4. Politis
Politis' editor Andreas Paraschos in his editorial refers to a comment by Diko spokesman Andreas Angelides on a radio talk show the other day who said that of all five permanent UN Security Council members, Britain is the most ardent supporter of all that has happened since Christofias' election, adding that we must be very vigilant at this joy on the part of the British because for them to be happy means we aren't doing well at all. The writer says that Angelides wasn't the only one to warn about the British. Simerini and Phileleftheros on Sunday both had articles claiming that the British were toying with Christofias but the most virulent attack was in the column of Takis Kounnafis, Phileleftheros' Director, who criticised Christofias for his statement that we look forward to returning to Kyrenia even under T/C rule, saying that he doesn't realise there are some things he just can't say as president now that he is no longer just heading Akel, as they just delight the well-known supporters of British interests. The writer concludes by saying such an attitude is not only insulting for both President Christofias and the people who voted for him but also dangerous because it was precisely these positions that have brought Cyprus to the brink of partition from 1963 up until yesterday when the people sent Tassos Papadopoulos packing. These positions have been tried and tested and brought bloodshed and destruction. So now let's try cooperation, peace and mutual understanding instead.