Reviving Peace Efforts

The Cypriot President will meet with U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan in Paris on February 28 to discuss reviving efforts to reunite the war divided island nation. U.N. spokesman Mr. Stephane Dujarric today confirmed the Cypriot government’s announcement of the meeting. The spokesman said the agenda will include reviewing the Cypriot issue and discussing ways of moving forward on reunification. Please read below for more details.

Tassos and Annan to meet in Paris

BY ANDREAS HADJIPAPAS

PRESIDENT Papadopoulos and UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan will meet in Paris on February 28 to explore ways of reviving the stalled Cyprus peace talks.

The crucial issue is whether the UN chief will be persuaded to appoint a special envoy for Cyprus who will shuttle between the two sides in order to see if there is enough common ground allowing the UN to launch a new initiative.

So far, the Secretary-General has been reluctant to do so, noting that there remained a wide gap between the sides.

He now wants to make sure any new effort will have reasonable chances of success.

Presidential Under-secretary Christodoulos Pashiardis said yesterday the President was "ready to listen but also to make concrete suggestions." This was seen as an indirect reply to critics, who have been claiming Papadopoulos is not keen to resume the peace process.

Papadopoulos, who has dismissed the Turkish "action plan" announced by Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul last month, is expected to present counter-proposals, involving the return of the deserted town of Varosha and the joint operation of Famagusta port under EU supervision.

The official announcement about the forthcoming Paris meeting said Papadopoulos and Annan had agreed to meet "in order to review and take stock of the situation in Cyprus and discuss ways of moving forward the process of reuniting the island."

Pashiardis said the two men would examine "effective ways of preparing the ground for the launching by the United Nations of a new effort to conduct meaningful talks with serious prospects of success".

Foreign Minister George Iacovou said that as a means of preparing the ground, the S-G could either appoint a resident representative, or send a high ranking UN official to the island periodically to carry out proximity talks between the sides and report back to him.

He stressed that this did not mean new talks were "imminent."

Reports suggest the aim is to see whether settlement talks, which grounded to a halt two years ago, can get off the ground by the summer, even th0ough most observers believe chances of a possible breakthrough will be better after the Turkish elections next year.

Iacovou said the important thing was to see whether the Turkish side was ready for "substantive" negotiations, after agreeing to consider "substantial changes" to the Annan Plan.

The Greek Cypriot side has already submitted to the UN a detailed list of changes to the Plan, which was rejected by the vast majority of Greek Cypriots in the May 2004 referendum.

The National Council will be meeting today under President Papadopoulos to review developments, following requests by the Opposition who have been expressing concern about the lack of movement, stressing that the protracted stagnation helped cement the island’s division. Iacovou said the Paris rendezvous showed that "there is mobility."

Papadopoulos is likely to tell Annan that any new UN brokered peace process musts see the full involvement of all five permanent members of the UN Security Council, not just of Britain and the US.

He also wants the European Union to play an active role in any new negotiations, since he insists that a settlement must be based on Security Council resolutions and the principles upon which the EU is founded.

President Papadopoulos leaves for Vienna on Sunday for a two-day working visit to Austria, which holds the rotating EU presidency.

He will meet Chancellor Wolfgang Schussel and Federal President Heinz Fischer, to explain Cyprus’s views on EU matters and efforts to resolve the problems of the divided island.

Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat said yesterday he was ready to resume negotiations "on the basis of the Annan Plan".

He added: "The Secretary General will probably decide after his meeting with Mr Papadopoulos whether he will take a new initiative. I believe the S-G will take this initiative, if the Greek Cypriot leader really desires this, if the meeting is not just for creating positive impressions in view of the election period."

Greek Prime Minister Costas Caramanlis, speaking during a brief visit to Germany, said his government’s policy on Cyprus and other national issues "does not change, is stable."

He said Greece was willing to contribute to efforts to find a just, workable and sustainable solution to the Cyprus problem. The solution should conform with international law, UN resolutions and the principles and values of the European Union, of which Cyprus is already a member.

Meanwhile, US deputy assistant Secretary of State Mathew Bryza has again put off his planned visit to the island, originally set for last summer. Although he said in Brussels he hoped to visit the region later this month, the US Embassy informed the Foreign Ministry this week that Bryza would probably be coming "some time in the spring."

Cyprus Weekly, 18 - 25 February 2006

The Common Vision

Matthew Bryza, U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs will be paying a visit to Cyprus in the coming weeks. The U.S. official will be bearing a message and that is ... Turkey's membership process will not be slowed down because of Cyprus. His arrival to the region at this time is no surprise. He will be promoting Turkey’s “new” action plan. The government of RoC has already rejected the Turkish offer, describing it as reheated food ... which it is, but the plan is skillfully packaged, widely advertised and sold as fresh delicacy by Ankara. Mr. Bryza and the secessionist statelet in the North share a common vision over direct trade, and it appears Mr. Bryza was promoting Turkey’s new action plan before Turkey announced that it had a new action plan. During Mr. Bryza’s visit, the Turkish leadership (guided by allies) may entertain a different proposal as it seeks to corner the government of RoC and portray it as being intransigent. There are 36 chapters that will be negotiated with Turkey during its EU process. Any EU member can veto any of 36 different chapters of negotiations. It is believed that Cyprus will not be able to use its right to veto a relevant chapter if Turkey is being seen as doing something on the Cypriot issue, even if that something is meaningless. That is why i expect more superficial proposals to come out of Ankara.

Cyprus Protests Airspace Violations

From the Financial Mirror:

Cyprus protests to UN over Turkish violations of air space

Cyprus’ Permanent Representative at the United Nations, Andreas Mavroyiannis, has protested to the UN over new violations of international air traffic regulations and the national airspace of the Republic of Cyprus by Turkish military aircrafts, that took place between November 9, 2005 and January 4, 2006, calling for their immediate cessation.

In a letter sent to UN Secretary General Kofi Annan on January 11, 2006, that circulated yesterday as an official UN document, Cypriot Ambassador stressed that “Turkey’s policy of persistently breaching international law and defying international rules and regulations gravely jeopardizes the safety of international civil aviation and the stability of the region”.

He also noted that “Turkey’s systematic attempts to undermine the sovereignty and unity of the Republic of Cyprus by promoting an illegal secessionist entity, arrogating, inter alia, to itself the right to have a national airspace, further complicates the efforts to build trust and confidence between the two sides and resume negotiations”.

Ambassador Mavroyiannis added that “such actions are yet further evidence of Turkey’s sole objective, namely to consolidate the existing division of the island and maintain thus its military presence in Cyprus in perpetuity”.

Meanwhile, Government Spokesman George Lillikas has said “The Cyprus issue is a European problem as well, and a European problem for Turkey.”

He added that “it is up to Turkey to stop having the Cyprus issue as an obstacle for its EU accession course”.

Complacent attitude to Blair’s Oram's defence

Blair has not visited occupied northern Cyprus in connection with her defence of a British couple who have been ordered to tear down a built on house on property belonging to a Greek Cypriot refugee, British Minister for Europe Douglas Alexander has confirmed.

In his written response to Theresa Villiers MP, Alexander said nor was Blair the guest of the British Consul-General when recently visiting Istanbul in her professional capacity.

The Government warns British citizens, through its online travel advice and in response to enquiries, of the risks purchasers face when buying in northern Cyprus, said Alexander.

Cherie Blair’s decision to defend the Orams has already caused a diplomatic outcry from the Cyprus Press and Government. In April last year EU newcomer Cyprus warned it would use courts in other EU countries to enforce decisions against property investors who had bought property in northern Cyprus that Greek owners had been forced to abandon when Turkey invaded the island. This followed a European Court of Human Rights decision upholding the property rights of one such Greek owner against the Turkish Cypriot occupiers of her property.

It put the number of Greek Cypriots affected at over 200,000 and estimated that between them they hold valid titles to approximately 82 per cent of the privately owned land in the occupied areas. UK property investors have been prominent buyers of properties in northern Cyprus where prices have tended to be cheaper than in the south.

Villiers said that although it was a relief to hear Blair had not visited Turkish occupied Cyprus in relation to the case, she was still dismayed at the complacency of Alexander’s letter. The Government was trying to bring the two sides together in Cyprus, but the Foreign Office did not seem even to be worried about the controversy caused by Blair's involvement in case.

'In defending the Orams, she is flatly contradicting the advice of the Foreign Office by actively supporting those who have gone against this advice and “bought” land owned by refugees’, she said, vowing to campaign for the Government to strengthen its advice to those thinking of purchasing property in occupied northern Cyprus.