Cyprus-Forum.com

[GAVCARoCOM]

i dont think solution happen . new news


Christofias and Talat speak to the media.Greek Cypriot leader Dimitris Christofias has accused Turkey of meddling in ongoing negotiations between Greek and Turkish Cypriots and called on Ankara to halve its troop presence on the divided island.
Christofias, speaking in Brussels on Thursday at a think tank discussion on the Cyprus reunification process, said interference by Turkey is harming efforts to end the 34-year division of Cyprus between Greek and Turkish Cypriots. The Greek Cypriot leader stated that Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat should be allowed to negotiate independently without having to check with Ankara for final approval.

"The continuation of the status quo is harming ... all Cypriots," Christofias said. "So I request Talat to [come and] sit together [to negotiate] without any commitments from the outside, from foreign countries and forces."

Talat and Christofias agreed at a key meeting in late March to resume reunification efforts in Cyprus. Technical committees bringing together officials from Turkish and Greek Cyprus have been working since then on contentious matters to pave the way for direct talks between the leaders. But the Greek Cypriot side has been dissatisfied with the course of the technical talks, claiming that Turkey is meddling in the process.

Christofias stated that as a gesture of goodwill, Turkey should remove half of its troops stationed in Turkish Cyprus. He said the number of troops stood at 43,000. "We could really as soon as possible solve the problem, but ... unfortunately we are dependent on the will of Turkey. Turkey is key. A country which has in Cyprus 43,000 well armed soldiers has to take some decisions," he said.

The Greek Cypriot leader, whose election win against former Greek Cypriot leader Tassos Papadopoulos earlier this year boosted reunification hopes on the island, also said Turkey should drop its demand to remain a "guarantor" of the security of Turkish Cypriots, saying that once a reunification deal is reached the European Union would guarantee the rights of ethnic Turks on the island.

Neither of his demands is expected to be welcome in Turkey, which says its troops guarantee security for the Turkish Cypriots, who were subject to a massive ethnic cleansing campaign by the Greek Cypriots seeking unification with Greece in the 1960s and '70s. The Turkish Cypriot leaders also oppose any troop withdrawal, saying the Turkish Cypriots do not feel safe in the absence of Turkish military presence.

Christofias and Talat were expected to start reunification talks this month but disagreements later emerged between the two as to the date of the meeting. Christofias said yesterday he will meet Talat this month and in July to assess whether direct peace talks can start soon.

"We want to pass to this phase of our common efforts but we must not work for the sake only of these face-to-face negotiations. We have to prepare ourselves ... because if we fail this is a very, very serious failure," he said.

Nominally, both sides support reunification as a bizonal, bicommunal federation but there are deep-rooted disagreements on how it will work in practice.


Christofias said there had been some "misunderstandings and contradictions" which needed to be clarified with the Turkish Cypriot leader. "It is really time to solve the problem," he said.

Turning back to Turkey, Christofias accused Turkey of seeking a solution that would include a separate state in northern Cyprus, something unacceptable for the Greek Cypriot side. He said main sticking points in the ongoing preparatory talks remain property rights, security arrangements for both communities and how to share power under a federal state.

‘AK Party closure may harm Cyprus reunification efforts’

Greek Cypriot leader Dimitris Christofias expressed concern on Thursday over a possible decision by Turkey's Constitutional Court to close down the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party). Speaking in Brussels, he said he was concerned that attempts to outlaw the AK Party for alleged Islamist activities could hurt the Cyprus peace process.

Many observers fear the case against the AK Party undermines Turkey's democracy and could bolster the military's influence. "This will be a very important step backwards for the people of Turkey and the accession process," Christofias said. "We want the military to return to their camps." The AK Party, soon after its first election victory in 2002, launched a taboo-breaking Cyprus initiative and, reversing a decades-old policy, backed a UN plan to reunite Cyprus, agreeing to a unified Cyprus state of the Turkish and Greek Cypriots and eventual troop withdrawal from the island. But the plan, approved by the Turkish Cypriots, was rejected by the Greek Cypriots.

[Tim Drayton]

Seriously, would it not serve as a very useful good will gesture if Turkey withdraw half of her troops from Cyprus? If 20,000 troops remained, this would still constitute a serious presence on such a small island.
Millions of ordinary Turkish Cypriots have now ventured across the divide, without a Turkish soldier holding their hands for protection, and suffered no harm. Surely the discourse of "We will all be butchered without the protection of the Turkish army" has taken a serious dent now that there is free movement in Cyprus.

[Bill]

Millions of ordinary Turkish Cypriots have now ventured across the divide, without a Turkish soldier holding their hands for protection, and suffered no harm. Surely the discourse of "We will all be butchered without the protection of the Turkish army" has taken a serious dent now that there is free movement in Cyprus.

I don't know about being butchered but I can confirm that there is a certain amount fighting, name calling and ill feeling in the ROC .

To see the TC's fighting for a place in the office for ID cards amongst their fellow TC countrymen is not a pretty sight

Bill

[CanDiaz]

Seriously, would it not serve as a very useful good will gesture if Turkey withdraw half of her troops from Cyprus? If 20,000 troops remained, this would still constitute a serious presence on such a small island.
Millions of ordinary Turkish Cypriots have now ventured across the divide, without a Turkish soldier holding their hands for protection, and suffered no harm. Surely the discourse of "We will all be butchered without the protection of the Turkish army" has taken a serious dent now that there is free movement in Cyprus.

I would say less than half is still manageable. We are living in a different world now than in 74, even though some people here are still living in the dark ages, but I'm sure they are a minority.

[soyer]

Seriously, would it not serve as a very useful good will gesture if Turkey withdraw half of her troops from Cyprus? If 20,000 troops remained, this would still constitute a serious presence on such a small island.
Millions of ordinary Turkish Cypriots have now ventured across the divide, without a Turkish soldier holding their hands for protection, and suffered no harm. Surely the discourse of "We will all be butchered without the protection of the Turkish army" has taken a serious dent now that there is free movement in Cyprus.

Makarios --"Until this small community forming part of the Turkish race, which has been the terrible enemy of Hellenism is expelled from Cyprus the duty of the heroes of EOKA can never be considered as terminated." (1962)--

[pantheman]

Seriously, would it not serve as a very useful good will gesture if Turkey withdraw half of her troops from Cyprus? If 20,000 troops remained, this would still constitute a serious presence on such a small island.
Millions of ordinary Turkish Cypriots have now ventured across the divide, without a Turkish soldier holding their hands for protection, and suffered no harm. Surely the discourse of "We will all be butchered without the protection of the Turkish army" has taken a serious dent now that there is free movement in Cyprus.

Makarios --"Until this small community forming part of the Turkish race, which has been the terrible enemy of Hellenism is expelled from Cyprus the duty of the heroes of EOKA can never be considered as terminated."[size=24][color=blue] (1962)--[/size][/color]

Look at the date, moron.

In case you hadn't realised, Makarios has been for decades and this is 2008. Idiot

[Viewpoint]

People die not ideologies, you still have GCs who conceal their sympathies towards expelling TCs out of Cyprus and haivng the whole island for themselves, they stay silent just like they did back in 1963-1974 while we were suffering and being discrimiated against.

[repulsewarrior]

...and somehow, i suppose VP, this is an exclusive problem of "Greek Cypriots".

[GAVCARoCOM]

we can never know when the greeks can come and kill us. as you can see on this forum as well not many GCs are friendly either. WE NEED 2 DIFFERENT COUNTRIES and a GUARANTOOR



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X82a0LiOWB8

[repulsewarrior]

Gav, your paranoia is just too easy. It does not solve our Problem, which boils down to the archaic Intolerance that flourished before the likes of Ghandi or Martin Luther King. Your "enemy" is not "Greeks" but the Ignorance which is an evil unlimited, against Humanity.

Do you honestly think, that you are secure because of the Turkish Military? Aren't there thousands dead in Turkey from the terror which is the Kurdish fight with the Turkish State. Do you believe that in Cyprus things will be any different with our isolation from each other, as "Greeks" and "Turks"?