Cyprus-Forum.com

[zan]

A great talent for going nowhere

WE HEARD countless platitudes in the last few days, inspired by the third anniversary of the referendum on the Annan plan, which gave rise to the customary festival of triumphal rhetoric and emotional posturing. The general verdict of the pro-government camp was that we were now in a much stronger position having saved the Cyprus Republic and having joined the EU, while anyone who expressed doubts about this was an enemy of the state and a propagandist for the Turkish side.

Despite the avalanche of words, we did not hear the government or any of its cheerleaders tell us where the national problem was heading or how they would achieve the end of the division, which, supposedly, remained the long-term objective. ‘Long-term’ is the key phrase here, because nobody in the Cyprus government seems to be in a great hurry for a settlement, despite conceding, in rare moments of frankness, that time is working against us.

Most people can see through the government’s conflicting messages. An opinion poll, commissioned by UNFICYP, found that 70 per cent of Greek Cypriots did not believe there would be a settlement of the Cyprus problem in the foreseeable future. Most of the Turkish Cypriots (57 per cent) also took this view, making this the only question on which the majorities of both communities agreed. There is complete disagreement on the most desirable type of settlement – the overwhelming majority of Greek Cypriots (72 per cent) considered a unitary state acceptable, while most Turkish Cypriots (67 per cent) rejected it; 59 per cent of Turkish Cypriots considered a two-state solution satisfactory, while 73 per cent of Greek Cypriots rejected it.

This left us with the much-maligned bi-communal, bi-zonal federation, which according to the survey, is found tolerable, a necessary evil, by the majority of both communities. But it will certainly not be the federation described, in detail, in the Annan plan, as this is no longer on the negotiating table, but, as the Government Spokesman memorably remarked, “on the autopsy table”. This poses a serious problem as far as a settlement is concerned, because the Turkish Cypriots have been labouring under the illusion that the plan was alive and well and on the negotiating table. President Papadopoulos delayed so long in proposing the substantive changes he wanted made to it so the plan would be acceptable to the Greek Cypriots that it died.

But the government and its supporters have now found a new lollipop to suck on – the July 8 agreement, which, in a little over couple of months, will be celebrating its first anniversary. The agreement was supposedly aimed at preparing the ground for negotiations, but the two sides have yet to agree what technical committees and working groups that would have done the preparation work would discuss. A few weeks ago, Mehmet Ali Talat announced he was considering abandoning the agreement, presumably unable to cope with 90-plus chapters Papadopoulos had submitted for discussion by the working groups. As the Annan plan was dead, the president seized the opportunity to negotiate a settlement plan from scratch.

This is never going to happen without the agreement of the Turkish Cypriot side, but the president had no problems presenting the deadlock as a diplomatic victory. “We are setting the agenda for the Cyprus issue,” he boasted in an interview to Simerini last Sunday, adding that Nicosia now had the initiative. But what initiative was he talking about – the initiative in making a settlement impossible and blaming the Turkish Cypriot side for it? He has been successful in this respect, by turning the July 8 agreement into a talks-preparation procedure that would never end; and Talat would pull out of the procedure and carry the blame for not honouring his signature.

The pro-government camp may admire the president’s ingenious plan to turn the peace process into a never-ending procedural squabble and blame-game that leads nowhere. Nowhere is exactly the place Papadopoulos wants to take us and 70 per cent of the Greek Cypriots have recognised this, as the UNFICYP poll suggests. The truth is very few of them were complaining last week as the anniversary of the referendum was marked, which could only be interpreted as a vote of confidence in the government.









Copyright © Cyprus Mail 2007

[Get Real!]

One of the pitfalls of the short sighted is an overwhelming sense of urgency for the Cyprus problem to be “solved” here and now, having no regard whatsoever as to the quality of the solution.

The motive behind this urgency is purely selfish as it stems from pure unadulterated personal gain to be had from disputed land. Some people stand to gain enormous fortune from disputed land handed down by their parents and grandparents so for them, and in today’s materialistic world, the national cause sadly fades into insignificance

Tasos Papadopoulos is a man of international law by profession who appreciates that making the right move at the right time can make all the difference and stalling for time is an old strategy that is sometimes very necessary as in the current case of Cyprus.

At this point in time the outcome of the Turkish elections is a very worthwhile event to wait for before making the next move so it is little wonder if the journalists that write articles like the above are short-sighted.

[zan]

The one thing that most sensible people have realised is that time is not on your side. The longer the TRNC/KKTC exists the more chance of recognition and permanent division. I think the greed of TPap is far greater than that of the pseudo millionaires in which he will be responsible for the loss of both their fortunes.

[free_cyprus]

get real
if as you say ...................Tasos Papadopoulos is a man of international law by profession who appreciates that making the right move at the right time can make all the difference and stalling for time is an old strategy that is sometimes very necessary as in the current case of Cyprus

then how comes he does not recognise that the zurich agreement is unworkable. how comes he is in bed with greece and he does what he is told by greece. how comes he does not stand up and declare we want no army in cyprus , greek or turkish.how comes he does not stand up and say to people we dont want greek and turkish flags in cyprus. when he sits at his desk with a greek flag proudlylooking at his face. how comes he has not come forth and said that cyprus people must take resposibility for what has happened in the pastin cyprus , as well as greece turkey britain and america.how come he does not stand up and say we are one and the same people in cyprus regardelss of speaking turkish and greek. how comes he does not stand up and say its time to write a new chapter in cyprus history we have been occupied for thousands of years. how come she does not stand up and say we will not read greek history anymore. we are cypriots.............................................................................everythign i have said about him i say the same for the leaders in the north............................... and i call the north and the south soo called leaders who cannot make a single decision without cunsulting with greece or turkey................if they are supposed to understand international law and they are lawmakers. then why they dont make new laws that benefit cyprus people

[zan]

get real
if as you say ...................Tasos Papadopoulos is a man of international law by profession who appreciates that making the right move at the right time can make all the difference and stalling for time is an old strategy that is sometimes very necessary as in the current case of Cyprus

then how comes he does not recognise that the zurich agreement is unworkable. how comes he is in bed with greece and he does what he is told by greece. how comes he does not stand up and declare we want no army in cyprus , greek or turkish.how comes he does not stand up and say to people we dont want greek and turkish flags in cyprus. when he sits at his desk with a greek flag proudlylooking at his face. how comes he has not come forth and said that cyprus people must take resposibility for what has happened in the pastin cyprus , as well as greece turkey britain and america.how come he does not stand up and say we are one and the same people in cyprus regardelss of speaking turkish and greek. how comes he does not stand up and say its time to write a new chapter in cyprus history we have been occupied for thousands of years. how come she does not stand up and say we will not read greek history anymore. we are cypriots.............................................................................everythign i have said about him i say the same for the leaders in the north............................... and i call the north and the south soo called leaders who cannot make a single decision without cunsulting with greece or turkey................if they are supposed to understand international law and they are lawmakers. then why they dont make new laws that benefit cyprus people

Because the so called leader of Cyprus does not want to. He thinks he can get more by playing games.

[free_cyprus]

zan
when you say the sooo called leader i hope you mean leaders turkish speaking and greek speakign they are bad as each other

[zan]

zan
when you say the sooo called leader i hope you mean leaders turkish speaking and greek speakign they are bad as each other

No mate I do not. I mean the guy that keeps saying he represents the whole of Cyprus but only works for himself. We, as TCs, have not got that responsibility since we have no aspirations for the whole island. There are some things that I can accept is the responsibility of both sides but this one particular item is solely on the shoulders of the RoC.

[free_cyprus]

zan
we will never have a cyprus while they are in bed with greece and turkey. i do not recognise either of them as legit..................but then again thats me

[zan]

zan
we will never have a cyprus while they are in bed with greece and turkey. i do not recognise either of them as legit..................but then again thats me

Then you are a fair man. Either, niether of them is or they both are.

[free_cyprus]

zan
i have never taken sides in this forum the only side i take is cyprus side. anyting to do with living in peace anything to be independent of turkey and greece. anything to do with our identity as people of cyprus. anything to do with writing our own history. anything to do with cyprus without an army...anything to do with peace and harmony...................then im for it anything else im against it all