New negotiotions For Cyprus
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by brother » Sat Mar 19, 2005 1:52 pm
UN rubbishes claim of talks proposal
By Jean Christou
THE GREEK Cypriot side only proposed the idea of “exploratory contacts” towards resuming Cyprus talks, President Tassos Papadopoulos admitted yesterday, after the UN flatly denied claims that the government had submitted a formal proposal for talks.
On Thursday, observers were taken aback when visiting Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski said Papadopoulos had told him he had asked the UN to launch a new initiative.
Quizzed by surprised reporters, Papadopoulos confirmed: “We have proposed that the Secretary-general start a new initiative, and it was conveyed through our ambassador at the United Nations.”
Government Spokesman Kypros Chrysostomides added later on Thursday that the Greek Cypriot side had conveyed its readiness “to begin procedures of renegotiation” aimed at solving the Cyprus problem. Neither he nor Papadopoulos clarified that this did not constitute a formal initiative until yesterday, and only after the UN had issued a clear denial.
“The UN has noted press reports indicating that a Greek Cypriot proposal for a resumption of talks on the Cyprus issue was delivered during a recent meeting between Ambassador Mavroyiannis and the Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, Sir Kieran Prendergast. The UN would like to clarify that no formal proposals were presented at that meeting,” a spokesperson for the Secretary-general said.
The meeting was held over a month ago.
The UN has made it clear on several occasions that it will not resume a Cyprus initiative until the Greek Cypriot side clearly spells out the changes it wants to the failed Annan plan. It also wants both sides to show genuine political will for a settlement. Until now, the government has declined to submit the changes it wants, because it says such a move would reveal negotiating positions ahead of any talks.
Yesterday, Papadopoulos said the UN was correct in saying the Greek Cypriot side had not submitted a formal proposal for resumption of talks.
“There were contacts to ask the Secretary-general to help create the conditions for the start of negotiations,” said Papadopoulos. “These are exploratory contacts that we make continuously.” The President said this was also what the Polish President meant when he referred to the move by the Greek Cypriot side.
Papadopoulos also said he did not have any obligation to announce every little move that was made on a daily basis. Discretion was necessary so that discussions could take place quietly to ensure results. His comment was in response to criticism that the National Council had not been informed of the government’s initiative, with political parties still attempting to form a unified front on how the Greek Cypriot side should proceed.
Asked yesterday what had actually been proposed, Chrysostomides said: “Our position is that we are ready to begin deliberations and procedures immediately for renegotiation with an aim to solve the Cyprus problem. It cannot be derived from President Papadopoulos’ statement that any proposal was submitted.”
He said the government hoped that a new procedure to resume talks would begin soon.
The spokesman said the UN was anticipating the registering of the positions of the Greek Cypriot side and the Greek Cypriot side’s position was that the general concerns were already tabled and that it would not serve any purpose at this stage to submit negotiating positions.
”We want to persuade the Secretary-general that efforts must continue to create the framework and procedures that would lead to the resumption of the deliberations,” he said.
By Jean Christou
THE GREEK Cypriot side only proposed the idea of “exploratory contacts” towards resuming Cyprus talks, President Tassos Papadopoulos admitted yesterday, after the UN flatly denied claims that the government had submitted a formal proposal for talks.
On Thursday, observers were taken aback when visiting Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski said Papadopoulos had told him he had asked the UN to launch a new initiative.
Quizzed by surprised reporters, Papadopoulos confirmed: “We have proposed that the Secretary-general start a new initiative, and it was conveyed through our ambassador at the United Nations.”
Government Spokesman Kypros Chrysostomides added later on Thursday that the Greek Cypriot side had conveyed its readiness “to begin procedures of renegotiation” aimed at solving the Cyprus problem. Neither he nor Papadopoulos clarified that this did not constitute a formal initiative until yesterday, and only after the UN had issued a clear denial.
“The UN has noted press reports indicating that a Greek Cypriot proposal for a resumption of talks on the Cyprus issue was delivered during a recent meeting between Ambassador Mavroyiannis and the Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, Sir Kieran Prendergast. The UN would like to clarify that no formal proposals were presented at that meeting,” a spokesperson for the Secretary-general said.
The meeting was held over a month ago.
The UN has made it clear on several occasions that it will not resume a Cyprus initiative until the Greek Cypriot side clearly spells out the changes it wants to the failed Annan plan. It also wants both sides to show genuine political will for a settlement. Until now, the government has declined to submit the changes it wants, because it says such a move would reveal negotiating positions ahead of any talks.
Yesterday, Papadopoulos said the UN was correct in saying the Greek Cypriot side had not submitted a formal proposal for resumption of talks.
“There were contacts to ask the Secretary-general to help create the conditions for the start of negotiations,” said Papadopoulos. “These are exploratory contacts that we make continuously.” The President said this was also what the Polish President meant when he referred to the move by the Greek Cypriot side.
Papadopoulos also said he did not have any obligation to announce every little move that was made on a daily basis. Discretion was necessary so that discussions could take place quietly to ensure results. His comment was in response to criticism that the National Council had not been informed of the government’s initiative, with political parties still attempting to form a unified front on how the Greek Cypriot side should proceed.
Asked yesterday what had actually been proposed, Chrysostomides said: “Our position is that we are ready to begin deliberations and procedures immediately for renegotiation with an aim to solve the Cyprus problem. It cannot be derived from President Papadopoulos’ statement that any proposal was submitted.”
He said the government hoped that a new procedure to resume talks would begin soon.
The spokesman said the UN was anticipating the registering of the positions of the Greek Cypriot side and the Greek Cypriot side’s position was that the general concerns were already tabled and that it would not serve any purpose at this stage to submit negotiating positions.
”We want to persuade the Secretary-general that efforts must continue to create the framework and procedures that would lead to the resumption of the deliberations,” he said.
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brother - Main Contributor
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by cannedmoose » Sat Mar 19, 2005 2:14 pm
brother wrote:But seriousley are youn going cyprus this year by any chance moose.
I am indeed bro, sometime in late August as we've got a wedding and christening to go to. Plus I'll probably be over there for a few months early next year to finish off my research
Moreover, this 'proposal issue' continues to spin on... see the CNA bulletin below:
Cyprus President: We are conducting investigative contacts
CNA - NICOSIA-Cyprus - 18/03/2005 20:49:04
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2050:CYPPRESS:14
Cyprus President: We are conducting investigative contacts
Nicosia, Mar 18 (CNA) - The Greek Cypriot side is conducting investigative contacts and has not submitted a proposal to the UN for the resumption of talks on Cyprus, President Tassos Papadopoulos has stressed today.
He told reporters this evening that the UN was right in saying no proposal was made by the Greek Cypriots to the UN for the resumption of negotiations to solve the Cyprus problem.
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cannedmoose - Main Contributor
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by Viewpoint » Sat Mar 19, 2005 3:15 pm
Papadopoulos made the appeal at a press conference after talks with the visiting Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski. "We presented a proposal last month to UN Secretary General Kofi Annan to start a new initiative (of talks)," Papadopoulos told reporters
Yesterday, Papadopoulos said the UN was correct in saying the Greek Cypriot side had not submitted a formal proposal for resumption of talks.
Speaks for itself really.
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Viewpoint - Leading Contributor
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by brother » Mon Mar 21, 2005 4:14 pm
Can anyone believe what the government says?
TOLD BY journalists a few weeks ago that Mehmet Ali Talat had accused the government of “strangling the Turkish Cypriots”, President Papadopoulos responded with the immortal line: “We are strangling them with love”. This delightful example of black humour was delivered by the president with a perfectly straight face, which made it even funnier. Had the president ever shown the slightest inclination for self-irony or self-mockery, his remark would have been regarded as subtle wit, but this is not his style. This is a man who wants to win every argument and will say anything –even if it contradicts what he had said the previous day – in order to prove his point and come out on top.
But talk is cheap, and after a while, when this is not matched by actions, nobody takes it very seriously. This is a problem that Papadopoulos has created for himself and his government – the gulf between the government’s rhetoric and its actions is so huge that only the most naively gullible can take its declarations and promises at face value. Yet the government continues to labour under the illusion that any statement it makes, no matter how far-fetched, will be perceived as reliable and sincere, even if its actions belie the high-sounding words. It seems incapable of understanding that big words not matched by action, simply destroy its credibility and undermine its trustworthiness.
For instance, in his speech on the night of his election victory, Papadopoulos vowed to eliminate nepotism and said he would deal ruthlessly with anyone seeking political favours. Yet there are countless examples of the government engaging in favouritism – what were the promotions of the coup resistance fighters in the police force if not officially-sanctioned nepotism on a mass scale? In January, the Council of Ministers, sneakily, decided to extend the service of senior counsel of the Republic Akis Papasavvas by one year, on the grounds that this was in the public interest.
Yet the only person who could have given legitimacy to this decision – the Attorney-general who is Papasavvas’ boss and was in a position to say if his services were required for another year – was not consulted, as is the practice for extension of service, on the ludicrous grounds that he was abroad at the time. The decision had ‘nepotism’ stamped all over it (Papasavvas is the AKEL chief’s crony), and claims that it was in the ‘public interest’ were negated by the way the government had acted.
Nowhere is this chasm between words and actions more evident though, than in the Papadopoulos government’s approach to the national issue. Barely a day passes by without the Government Spokesman publicising the president’s ‘sincere’ interest in, or commitment to a settlement. “Nobody wants a settlement as much as we do,”
Papadopoulos states regularly. But how sincere is this interest, when all the actions appear to be geared at maintaining things as they are?
Not only has he refused to have any contact with Talat, but his government has been at pains to present him as the new Rauf Denktash. Yet this is a man who supports the re-unification of the island and whom Papadopoulos would have to negotiate with if there was ever another initiative. Is treating him with utter contempt the best way to ensure productive negotiations? Is this the way to create the favourable climate, which Papadopoulos has been setting as a condition for agreeing to a new bout of talks? We say we want a good climate before there can be talks but do our best to poison it.
On Thursday, it was revealed by Papadopoulos, in talks with the Polish president who was here on an official visit that Cyprus’ permanent representative at the UN had, a month ago, called on the organisation to undertake a new peace initiative. But did the UN take this proposal seriously? No, in fact the UN said that no formal proposal had been submitted, forcing the Government Spokesman to qualify what Papadopoulos had said the previous day. This was another example of the chasm between words and action that characterises the government. Had there been no official denial by the UN, the government would have taken the moral high ground, telling everyone who asked about a settlement that it had signalled its readiness for a new initiative to the UN, while in effect sitting pretty and doing nothing. This may have fooled some Greek Cypriots, who seem to be the only people the government’s rhetoric is directed at, but would it have been taken seriously by EU which has been pressing for a new initiative?
No lesser person than the UN Secretary-general has said what needed to be done, for a new peace initiative to be undertaken. The Cyprus government needed to submit a document with the specific changes it wants made to Annan plan, something that Papadopoulos has been flatly refusing to do, on the pretext that this would be betraying his negotiating position. Once again, the rhetoric (sincere desire for a settlement) is negated by his actions. More importantly, he seems to be on a self-destructive course, going out of his way to prove to the international community that it is correct to regard him as untrustworthy.
TOLD BY journalists a few weeks ago that Mehmet Ali Talat had accused the government of “strangling the Turkish Cypriots”, President Papadopoulos responded with the immortal line: “We are strangling them with love”. This delightful example of black humour was delivered by the president with a perfectly straight face, which made it even funnier. Had the president ever shown the slightest inclination for self-irony or self-mockery, his remark would have been regarded as subtle wit, but this is not his style. This is a man who wants to win every argument and will say anything –even if it contradicts what he had said the previous day – in order to prove his point and come out on top.
But talk is cheap, and after a while, when this is not matched by actions, nobody takes it very seriously. This is a problem that Papadopoulos has created for himself and his government – the gulf between the government’s rhetoric and its actions is so huge that only the most naively gullible can take its declarations and promises at face value. Yet the government continues to labour under the illusion that any statement it makes, no matter how far-fetched, will be perceived as reliable and sincere, even if its actions belie the high-sounding words. It seems incapable of understanding that big words not matched by action, simply destroy its credibility and undermine its trustworthiness.
For instance, in his speech on the night of his election victory, Papadopoulos vowed to eliminate nepotism and said he would deal ruthlessly with anyone seeking political favours. Yet there are countless examples of the government engaging in favouritism – what were the promotions of the coup resistance fighters in the police force if not officially-sanctioned nepotism on a mass scale? In January, the Council of Ministers, sneakily, decided to extend the service of senior counsel of the Republic Akis Papasavvas by one year, on the grounds that this was in the public interest.
Yet the only person who could have given legitimacy to this decision – the Attorney-general who is Papasavvas’ boss and was in a position to say if his services were required for another year – was not consulted, as is the practice for extension of service, on the ludicrous grounds that he was abroad at the time. The decision had ‘nepotism’ stamped all over it (Papasavvas is the AKEL chief’s crony), and claims that it was in the ‘public interest’ were negated by the way the government had acted.
Nowhere is this chasm between words and actions more evident though, than in the Papadopoulos government’s approach to the national issue. Barely a day passes by without the Government Spokesman publicising the president’s ‘sincere’ interest in, or commitment to a settlement. “Nobody wants a settlement as much as we do,”
Papadopoulos states regularly. But how sincere is this interest, when all the actions appear to be geared at maintaining things as they are?
Not only has he refused to have any contact with Talat, but his government has been at pains to present him as the new Rauf Denktash. Yet this is a man who supports the re-unification of the island and whom Papadopoulos would have to negotiate with if there was ever another initiative. Is treating him with utter contempt the best way to ensure productive negotiations? Is this the way to create the favourable climate, which Papadopoulos has been setting as a condition for agreeing to a new bout of talks? We say we want a good climate before there can be talks but do our best to poison it.
On Thursday, it was revealed by Papadopoulos, in talks with the Polish president who was here on an official visit that Cyprus’ permanent representative at the UN had, a month ago, called on the organisation to undertake a new peace initiative. But did the UN take this proposal seriously? No, in fact the UN said that no formal proposal had been submitted, forcing the Government Spokesman to qualify what Papadopoulos had said the previous day. This was another example of the chasm between words and action that characterises the government. Had there been no official denial by the UN, the government would have taken the moral high ground, telling everyone who asked about a settlement that it had signalled its readiness for a new initiative to the UN, while in effect sitting pretty and doing nothing. This may have fooled some Greek Cypriots, who seem to be the only people the government’s rhetoric is directed at, but would it have been taken seriously by EU which has been pressing for a new initiative?
No lesser person than the UN Secretary-general has said what needed to be done, for a new peace initiative to be undertaken. The Cyprus government needed to submit a document with the specific changes it wants made to Annan plan, something that Papadopoulos has been flatly refusing to do, on the pretext that this would be betraying his negotiating position. Once again, the rhetoric (sincere desire for a settlement) is negated by his actions. More importantly, he seems to be on a self-destructive course, going out of his way to prove to the international community that it is correct to regard him as untrustworthy.
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brother - Main Contributor
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