Cyprus-Forum.com

[halil]

Caroline Flint, the minister for Europe at the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office has underlined the importance of a settlement in Cyprus and said there was a great chance for peace on the island.

Caroline Flint paid a visit to the Turkish Cypriot Community Center in Haringey area, where mostly Turks are living, and met Turkish Cypriot people.

The Minister faced a small group of protestors on her arrival at the Centre.
They accused the European Union and Britain of deceiving the Turkish Cypriots and leaving them out in the cold.

Officials from the Cyprus Turkish Community Association tried to persuade the group to leave the area, but when they failed, police were called.

Police didn’t try to disperse the peaceful crowd, and instead kept the protest under control.

During the visit, Caroline Flint was accompanied by the British High Commissioner in Cyprus Peter Millet, British Ambassador in Ankara Nicholas Baird, the Labor MP for Enfield North – former British Special Representative for Cyprus Joan Ryan and Haringey Council officer and Labour Councilor Nilgun Canver.

In a statement, Caroline Flint reminded that she paid a visit to Cyprus just three days after being appointed to the job five months ago and met with the two leaders on the island.

Flint expressed her belief that a settlement lied on the hands of the two communities living in Cyprus.

She said Britain, European Union or other countries could only support the process.

The minister said many problems being faced by the two communities and sufferings of the past could be overcomed with a solution.
She noted that a settlement was not so easy but every one had to fulfill his/her responsibilities not to miss the current opportunity.
Stressing that there was a chance for peace in Cyprus, she said `The glass is half full. We should now think on ways of filling it more. We should try to find ways of moving forward`.