Cyprus-Forum.com

[Sotos]

I am tired of reading in some foreign newspapers that "Greek Cypriots rejected a plan to unify Cyprus" and how hardliner is Papadopoulos and all that. I think it was a mistake that we accepted for the Annan plan to be in a referendum. Foreigners don't care to read the plan. They just think "there was a unification plan and GC rejected it. So it means GCs don't want unification".

[andri_cy]

I dont think that the whole referendum thing plays a part so much. I think outsiders, are going to believe what they want and what suits them at the moment. So now it suits them to believe that the GC's rejected the plan and maybe next time some solution plan comes around they will blame the TC's because thats what their foreign policies call for at the moment. They couldnt give a rats a$$ for either side.

[reportfromcyprus]

In this particular case, we made our bed and now we have to lie in it. Our choice.

Foreign media, btw, are very often contributed to by local journalists.

Check the bylines when you read international press. And they have every right to their opinion. As you do to yours and to making up your own mind.

[Sotos]

Maybe. But i think they just don't care to read 9000 pages to see for themselves what kind of thing the Annan plan was. They just think it was a unification plan from the UN so it should be good and the GCs are bad because they rejected it.

[Sotos]

In this particular case, we made our bed and now we have to lie in it. Our choice.

what do you mean? Annan plan was not made by us.

[reportfromcyprus]

What I mean is that the government has been in negotiations for decades to reach a solution.

The plan was put together over a long period of time, based on negotiations. Negotiations are defined as a process of discussion to reach a mutual agreement that serves the interests of both parties involved.

We did make our bed. We empowered our government to negotiate on our behalf. When the majority in the government controlled areas disagreed with the negotiated solution, it rejected it.

But please don't say we didn't participate in creating this solution. That's disingenuous as best and denial at worst.

[Sotos]

But we didn't reach an agreement Annan and the Americans filled in all the huge gaps between the two sides in favor of their beloved Turkey So don't say we made they Annan plan because we did not.

[reportfromcyprus]

That's a very broad generalisation and inaccurate, historically speaking.

The UN plan was the closest possibility we have had so far to a compromise on the future of power sharing in the country. It was based on decades of negotiations, and prior to the current administration, it was contributed to by our government over a period of years.

We expressed the desire for a solution, the relevant international authorities attempted to create one. We rejected it. It's our bed and we lie in it now. Getting them back to the table will be a big challenge. Will they trust our good faith again?

Bottom line: we live in fear and anger. Fear of change. Anger at injustice. And it's blinding us to future possibilities.

I'm not talking about an automatic hand-over of power to an enemy. I'm advocating responsible negotiations and serious diplomacy to achieve stability and peace for this country. Where are they? Who's going to undertake them?

[michalis5354]

The leadership has never taken time to communicate to people what type of solution we are searching for! What does federation mean and what are the pros and the Cons of federation! What alternatives do we have? What are the consequences of (not) accepting a solution now? etc.

So when the A plan was firstly introduced it got everyone by suprise!

[michalis5354]

I'm advocating responsible negotiations and serious diplomacy to achieve stability and peace for this country

This is what is missing responsible and serious negotiations!