Cyprus-Forum.com

by **brother** » Fri Dec 10, 2004 11:31 am

Five parties urge Papadopoulos to veto Turkey

FIVE parties urged President Papadopoulos to veto Turkey’s accession course next Friday, but the big ones - Akel and Disy - as well as the United Democrats, backed the opposite view during Wednesday’s National Council meeting.

As for the President, he couldn’t keep his cards closer to his chest when it comes to this crucial issue.

But insiders believe Papadopoulos has "received" the Greek government’s "crystal clear" message that a veto is out of the question.

One of them told The Cyprus weekly yesterday: "It’s obvious the President is not seriously considering exercising Cyprus’ veto right, even though Diko, Edek, Adik, the Greens and the New Horizons are on their high horses, urging him to do so...But Athens has made it crystal clear this would be against everyone’s interests."

"Then again, Papadopoulos is unpredictable. You never really know what his final move will be," added the insider.

Sound out

Government Spokesman Kypros Chrysostomides’ laconic statement after Wednesday’s National Council meeting which only lasted for two hours, even though it’s probably the last before Friday’s EU summit during which Turkey is expected to get a date for its accession negotiations, was:

"The President thoroughly briefed Council members over his meeting (on Tuesday) with Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende (the current President of the European Union)... an exchange of views followed."

Balkenende had come here to sound out the Government’s intentions on the summit, since voices in support of vetoing Turkey’s accession course are growing louder in Nicosia.

The Government is pushing hard to include a clear reference to the normalisation of relations between the Cyprus Republic and Turkey in the conclusion of the summit.

But it appears that Nicosia’s demands cannot be met easily as EU members do not want to impose more conditions on Turkey.

Welcoming

It seems that Cyprus will have to accept the reference included in the second draft conclusions welcoming Turkey’s decision "to sign the protocol regarding the adaptation of the Ankara Agreement, taking account of the accession of the 10 new member states.

This is considered as an indirect recognition, but falls short of Nicosia’s expectations.

Chrysostomides would not say whether a decision had been taken to veto or not, and was also vague on the possibility of Council meeting again before next Friday’s summit. "Only if the President deems it necessary," he said.

Reliable sources said Akel - the main partner in the coalition government - is "extremely" concerned over the consequences of a possible veto by Cyprus. So is opposition Disy which also demands that Nicosia and Athens coordinate action on the 17th.

Moreover, United Democrats’ leader George Vassiou who was the Republic’s EU negotiator, believes the consequences of a veto would be both "disastrous and unbearable".

Other politicians, however, such as socialist Edek’s Yiannakis Omirou and Nicos Kleanthous of Tassos Papadopoulos’ Diko party, have clearly stated that, if it does not make any concessions, Turkey should not get a date for starting accession talks.

Echoed

They are echoed by Adik’s Dinos Michaelides, New Horizons’ Nicos Koutsou and the Green party’s George Perdikis who seem to play down threats, especially from the US, that "a ton of bricks" would fall on Cyprus’ head if it vetoed Turkey’s accession course.

The Government also tried to play down the US threats, with Chrysostomides saying they had not heard such a thing from any "official mouth".

However, the Spokesman stressed: "If such remarks were made, they are counter-productive and what the US should do is to persuade Turkey to behave in a European manner, acknowledging the fundamental rules that govern EU member states in order to help itself get closer to Europe."

The Americans seem to bypass the issue of recognition, claiming it was an issue between Ankara and Nicosia and openly support the unconditional start of accession negotiations between the EU and Turkey.

Moreover, Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash’s son, Serdar, who is also the so-called ‘foreign minister’ in the Turkish-held north, said this week: "There is no way Turkey can recognise the Cyprus Republic in its current form...At present, the issue of Turkey’s recognition of the Cyprus Republic has been shelved. The issue will only come off the shelf if a negotiated solution is found."

Denktash junior also said that although no formal policy had been devised, "what Ankara wants is to recognise a country - whatever its name might be - that embodies what the Cyprus Republic was in 1960".