Action at the UN

Speaking at a press conference in New York on Friday, President Christofias said that theoretical support of the negotiations by Turkey is not enough. We need concrete policies which will lead us to a real federation; to the evolution of the unitary state to a bizonal, bicommunal, federal state.

Expressing his desire for a speedy solution, as soon as possible, he said that, Turkey is the key to the solution of the Cyprus problem because of the situation on the ground. "There is the occupation, there are the troops, the settlers, and the problems for which Turkey must take the responsibility. Even if myself and Talat decide for the withdrawal of the troops and the demilitarization which would be a great message, it would depend on Turkey to remove the troops as well as the settlers. And I am very sad to say, speaking with Mr. Erdogan about the settlers, he told me “this problem is solved”. How is it solved? “They are all citizens of the Turkish Republic of Cyprus”.

He said he had made a courageous offer to the Turkish Cypriots and to Turkey by accepting that 50,000 settlers remain on the island for humanitarian reasons, as well as the rotation of presidents, but received no response. "I expect a response from the other side. It is not possible to make more concessions without any answer, without any response from the other side".

Asked about whether his statement in his speech before the UN General Assembly that his goal was to restore the sovereignty, territorial integrity, independence and unity of the Republic of Cyprus contradicts his declared agreement with Mr Talat to achieve the goal of a new partnership on the basis of two constituent states, Mr Christofias said it not a contradiction. "What we decided is the transformation, the evolution, of the unitary state of Cyprus to a bizonal, bicommunal federal state. There are no two states now. There is one single state. This is the Republic of Cyprus, according to the international community and the international law".

Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat yesterday met with the UN Secretary General. A UN press release afterwards said the UN SG welcomed Mr. Talat's commitment to achieving a solution to the Cyprus problem and urged the two leaders to stay in the course and seize the critical and historic opportunity presented by their ongoing talks. As the talks entered the second phase, the Secretary-General stressed the importance of compromise based on a sense of historical responsibility and long-term political vision. The Secretary-General reaffirmed the readiness of the UN, particularly through the work of his Special Adviser, Alexander Downer, to continue to do what it can to assist the process.

Moreover, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, Mr Lynn Pascoe, speaking yesterday during a press briefing regarding the developments in various regional problems made the following reference to Cyprus:

“I just came two minutes ago, five minutes, back from the back door from a meeting with Mr. Talat on the Cyprus issue. As you know the Secretary-General met with both, President Christofias and Mr. Talat and had very good and energetic discussions with both about how we move this process along faster and get to a conclusion. I think, the UN very much wants to help the two sides on the island to reach their own conclusion and will be their conclusion. But we are going to do everything we can do to help. It’s clear that the matter it’s urgent and we want to push forward. There’s never, I think, except of course with the Annan plan, but there has never been a better chance, a better opportunity for the sides to come together and we are pushing very hard on that issue.”

Turkish Cypriot daily Kibris newspaper reported that the Turkish Cypriot leader, Mehmet Ali Talat reacted to President Christofias' speech before the UN General Assembly that the Greek Cypriot side does not accept arbitration and timetables for the solution of the Cyprus problem, by saying that a process without a timetable will have no result and this statement is “negative and a sign of lack of will”.

Moreover, Bayrak television reported that Talat felt Christofias has razed to the ground fundamental principles that the two sides had agreed on through great efforts .

"Christofias said that they were trying to restore the so-called Republic of Cyprus and a federation that consisted of two autonomous regions would be established through the transformation of the so-called Republic. That’s totally the opposite of the principles we had been committed to", Talat added. He said the Turkish side wants neither to establish two autonomous regions, nor to restore the so-called Republic of Cyprus. "Federations do not consist of autonomous regions", he stressed.”

He said that Christofias' views were baseless and meaningless. Mr Talat stressed that the objective of the negotiations being conducted by the two sides on the island was to bring a bi-zonal, bi-communal, federal solution to the Cyprus problem on the basis of political equality.

Mr Talat said that disagreements during the negotiating process arise on points where the Greek Cypriot side submits proposals outside the parameters of the UN and added that this should definitely be prevented. He said that the problem on the property issue, where the most serious impasse is observed, derives from the fact that the Greek Cypriot side is not committed to bi-zonality.

The paper also said that Talat had told a press conference that he had asked Mr Ban Ki-moon for the UN to be involved more actively in the Cyprus problem and bring the negotiations back to the UN parameters when they digress. Mr Talat claimed that the problems which they are experienced in the negotiations are due to the fact that the Greek Cypriot side goes outside the UN parameters. He gave as examples the property issue and the election of the presidency.

Meanwhile Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has told the UN General Assembly that the basis upon which a solution to the Cyprus problem should be built is right here, under the roof of the United Nations, Ankara Anatolia news agency reported.

“If all the parties to the present negotiations were to act constructively, it would be possible to reach a comprehensive solution by the end of 2009. As was the case in 2004, we believe that the UN Secretary-General should play a role in bridging the differences which the parties themselves cannot resolve”, he said.

He added that it should be our common objective to submit the solution to be reached to a referendum in the spring of 2010 at the latest, but that “if a solution cannot be found due to Greek Cypriot intransigence, as was the case in 2004, the normalization of the status of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus will become a necessity which can no longer be delayed”.

He stressed that the negotiations cannot be sustained ad infinitum, that the present window of opportunity cannot remain open forever and that efforts must be deployed for the success of the process.

“I would like to take this opportunity to emphasize once again that a comprehensive solution to be achieved on the basis of established UN parameters, which will secure the founding of a new partnership in Cyprus, will enjoy the open support of Turkey as a guarantor power”, he said.

“A fair and lasting solution in Cyprus will make a major contribution to the transformation of the Eastern Mediterranean into a zone of peace, stability and cooperation. I call upon everyone to do their utmost to help achieve this goal. In the meantime, the Turkish Cypriot side is still subjected to unfair measure of isolation, despite the fact that in 2004 it accepted all the sacrifices that the Annan Plan entailed. It is not fair to expect the Turkish side to pay the price for a lack of solution. The lifting of such restrictions on Turkish Cypriots will not only remove an unjust practice but also accelerate the process of resolution”, he said.

Star Kibris newspaper reported that speaking at a press conference in New York, Erdogan said that the process to try and solve the Cyprus problem has gone on for too long and there are continuously delaying tactics. "We should take a decision to get serious on this job", he said. "During the last year, especially the TRNC president Mehmet Ali Talat and we as guarantor power have said that we will provide every support, as long as we end this job somewhere by the end of this year”.

Moreover, Kibris yesterday disclosed a conversation that Turkish Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan had with President Christofias during which Erdogan had responded to Christofias' call for talks with Ankara by saying: “We are ready for a four party meeting”.

The Government of the Republic of Cyprus in a written reply to Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan's speech at the UN, regrets that the positions he has taken are clearly disconnected, both in letter and spirit, with the ongoing efforts undertaken by the leaders of the two communities in Cyprus.

"What is even more disconcerting is the fact that the Prime Minister of Turkey selectively recalls today his country’s role as guarantor power, only in relation to a so called 'new partnership' in Cyprus, a notion that falls outside the agreed basis upon which the talks are being conducted", the statement says.

It also objects to Erdogan's attempts to introduce elements that are not part of the agreed process, such as arbitration and time tables, which it views as an attempt to alter the nature of the negotiations and would also endanger the end result of that process.

The statement reminds Turkey that its role is to uphold international law and legality and not to call upon the international community to upgrade an illegal entity that has been universally condemned by the UN Security Council itself.

Finally, instead of speaking of the so called isolation of the Turkish-Cypriot community, the Turkish Prime Minister should help the Turkish-Cypriots by allowing the leader of that community to arrive at a solution that would guarantee the legitimate rights of the people of Cyprus, Greek-Cypriots, Turkish-Cypriots, Maronites, Armenians and Latins. The 'isolation' that Mr. Erdogan refers to, is the direct consequence of the ongoing occupation of a substantial part of the Republic of Cyprus by Turkish troops, the statement concludes.

The Sunday Mail’s weekly satirical column Coffeeshop refers to the coverage comrade presidente Christofias visit to New York to attend the UN General Assembly and says the state readio station Trito gave him more mentions than Colonel Gaddafi gets on Libyan state radio. When he is in New York the comrade gets a major ego-boost and suffers serious delusions of grandeur. But even though he thinks he is a great statesman he still speaks with the sophistication of a village mukhtar. His sound-bite, “I am not a plassie (salesman) and I would never sell our country”, perfectly illustrated the point. Despite not being a plassie, he still boasted that he had made “some very generous offers” to the Turkish Cypriots – 20 per cent discount on all electrical appliances they bought in shops in the free areas – which should be appreciated by Turkey and the UN.

Comrade plassie’s activities in the Big Apple consisted of telling people what they should do. He even made a speech giving advice to world leaders on how they should deal with climate change. Sadly, Kyproulla’s environmental policy was “restricted by the Turkish military occupation.”

During his New York meetings, he also had a chance to tell the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon when and where he should arrange to meet him and Talat. The meeting could not take place in New York because he was there as a head of state whereas Talat was not. “I explained to the Secretary General with great objectivity, without fear, but with passion, what is happening at the negotiating table.”

He also had a meeting with Turkish PM Erdogan, during an official lunch, and told him that “Turkey has the key for the Cyprus settlement.” He also told Erdogan that Talat should be helped by Turkey “to change his tune”.

It was always a case of Tofias telling everyone what should happen and what they should do. He was like some emperor issuing instructions. This was because Christofias and his entourage were our only source of information – they were briefing the hacks about the conversations comrade presidente was having. If the people who met Christofias responded to his diktats, it was not reported. The impression was that at all the meetings he spoke while the other person listened and said nothing.

The highlight of his visit was his meeting with British Foreign Secretary David Miliband. As they were preparing to speak to the cameras, the presidente turned round and asked Miliband rhetorically “Who has the key?” Miliband, unaware of our claim about Ankara holding the key to a settlement, replied, in all seriousness: “It must be the head of security.” He obviously thought our man was talking about the key to the UN building.