Cyprus-Forum.com

[halil]

New York meeting vital, UN says

The United Nations yesterday highlighted the importance of a New York meeting on the Cyprus problem next week as President Christofias said his aim was to break potential deadlocks and pave the way for a comprehensive solution, the Cyprus Mail reports.

“It’s an important meeting in the process, it’s not just a run-of-the-mill meeting; it’s going to be particularly important,” UN Special Adviser Alexander Downer said yesterday, following a meeting between Christofias and Eroglu.

Downer said the UN has already started working on their report that will be completed after the leaders’ meeting.

“We’ll obviously update it to take into consideration what’s happened in that meeting; in other words, to put it in a simpler way, it won’t be completed until the meeting has taken place,” Downer said.

The Australian diplomat also sought to clear the air concerning the UN role in the negotiations.

“There is a sort of presumption that the United Nations is anxious to force something upon people; it’s not our objective to force something upon people. It is the objective of the leaders in Cyprus to achieve a bizonal, bicommunal federation with political equality and single sovereignty as articulated in Security Council resolutions,” Downer said.

He stressed that nothing could be forced on the people of Cyprus as ultimately they would have to endorse any agreement.

“Suggestions that we can come here and force something on them, and that the people will be forced to vote yes in referendums is fanciful; that is not possible,” he said.

Asked about the New York meeting, Christofias said he aimed to defend the principles and, as far as possible, break potential deadlocks and open the way for a comprehensive solution.

“This is the aim. I do not aim to go to New York to determine a deadlock and then full stop, nothing further. We want the talks to continue in a creative way and this will become evident in due course,” Christofias said.

After the meeting, Eroglu said the main subject at the New York meeting would be the slow progress on the property issue.

The Turkish Cypriot leader declined to comment on reports that if there are no convergences in New York then division in Cyprus would become permanent.

[Gasman]

He stressed that nothing could be forced on the people of Cyprus as ultimately they would have to endorse any agreement.

Yes - and the same is said of any EU involvement, or of any of the Guarantor Powers or whoever.

So why do they bother to get involved at all? Why not just leave them to it?

Seems to an outsider like me that those who are the least involved in all this are the people that matter. And they are the people who will have to 'endorse' it all at the end. But who seem to be kept in the dark about what's going on most of the time.

[Jerry]

He stressed that nothing could be forced on the people of Cyprus as ultimately they would have to endorse any agreement.

Yes - and the same is said of any EU involvement, or of any of the Guarantor Powers or whoever.

So why do they bother to get involved at all? Why not just leave them to it?

Seems to an outsider like me that those who are the least involved in all this are the people that matter. And they are the people who will have to 'endorse' it all at the end. But who seem to be kept in the dark about what's going on most of the time.

The problem is whereas the GCs can speak for themselves the TCs are merely a mouthpiece of Turkey. The UN, EU and others need to tell Turkey to back off (as Greece has done) and allow the Cypriots to negotiate freely.

Therein lies the problem, Turkey claims that because of its proximity Cyprus is too important for it to just up and leave. I can't see Turkey ever giving up some sort of presence in Cyprus unless serious pressure is applied by EU UN US etc.

Little will change in the next 36 years, except the TCs as a community will cease to exist and the north will become an unrecognised de facto province of Turkey.