Cyprus-Forum.com

[Strahd]

All over the European and Cypriot media even the government sites (PIO) it is clear that the Republic of Cyprus joined the EU with the north occuppied areas having a "suspended" status due to the political situation. However nowhere I can find any mentioning on why the Greek Cypriot population, forming more than 80% of this republic, has voted against the Annan plan leading to this. I will quote something from the BBC to show you what I mean

The BBC's Jonny Dymond says that when it was decided that Cyprus could join the EU, the presumption amongst EU policy-makers was that it would join as a united island, and that the Turkish-sponsored breakaway north would be subsumed into some kind of confederal whole.

But, instead, the south rejected a reunification plan and joined the EU alone - and has subsequently used its veto power to block and delay negotiations with Turkey.

Our correspondent says that partly because of the baggage of history and partly because it feels the north has not been rewarded for agreeing to the reunification plan, Turkey has not budged over recognising the south, and so one of the EU's most ambitious enlargement projects is now at risk.

He adds that EU members that were never keen about taking on Turkey are only too happy to let Cyprus bring the project crashing down

The above is a typical example on the short texts we find in international news agencies as background information on news for Turkey's EU accession talks.

I find that Cyprus deplomacy has failed largly to justify WHY CYPRIOTS AS A WHOLE rejected the Annan plan. I will put some of the reasons have pushed me to vote against it and I will wait for others to follow.

1. Political inequality of citizens regarding their ethnicity
2. Handover of 29% of the Republic to the 18% of the poppulation
3. Army will be dismantled and only armies allowed are foreign.
4. No real independence of the State, Turkey would have the ability to intervene in internal matters

[Kikapu]

I find that Cyprus deplomacy has failed largly to justify WHY CYPRIOTS AS A WHOLE rejected the Annan plan. I will put some of the reasons have pushed me to vote against it and I will wait for others to follow.

1. Political inequality of citizens regarding their ethnicity
2. Handover of 29% of the Republic to the 18% of the poppulation
3. Army will be dismantled and only armies allowed are foreign.
4. No real independence of the State, Turkey would have the ability to intervene in internal matters

The only problem with the rejection of the AP on the reasons you have pointed out is, the present situation is much worse, so how can you accept the present situation, and not the AP.??

No doubt, not everyone was going to be happy with the AP, but would Cyprus, as an island, was going to be better off than present situation. ??

With the AP in place, in time, TC's and GC's would have found more common ground together, to make Cyprus a better place for all Cypriots. There would have been also few bumps along the way, but the will of the people would have taken care of that also. Many other nations have been down this path before, and so could have Cyprus.

[Strahd]

Yes kikapu and if my grandmother had a rotator she would have been a souvla. You do not know what would have happened if Cypriots accepted the Annan plan. What we know is they did not nd you know, I had a discussion with some friend from Europe and when I pointed them out why we said know they totally changed stance... that is what i am looking for in this thread is simple Cypriots saying why they rejected the plan and then maybe we could build a website and let the world know all the details of the plan... Would they accept something like that, would any EU citizen accept this for his country? NO!

[Piratis]

Strahd, pointed just a few of the reasons.

The Annan plan would create a disguised partition. We have agreed on Federation, the article above calls it a confederation (it was based on the Swiss confederation) but in fact it was a loose association(=partition).

So basically for 7% of land that was given back to us (if it was given, there were no guarantees that Turkey would respect her signature, and as we know they almost never do), we would give to the Turks the 29% of our country and materialize their partition dream on our loss.

But it was even worst than the current status since:

1) With Annan plan we would have to compensate ourselves, now even before the solution, Turkey is responsible to pay compensations.
2) Our economy would go broke
3) We would sign away our own country and make it Turkish with our signature.
4) We would lose our veto in EU

The Annan plan was a solution for TCs as it solved their problems (isolation, representation, EU, money) it was a solution for Turkey as it got the partition that it wanted and it removed the Cyprus obstacle for her EU accession process, but for GCs not only it was not a solution, it would create additional problems.

[Kikapu]

Yes kikapu and if my grandmother had a rotator she would have been a souvla. !

For a moment, I thought we were going to have a serious discussion.?

By the way, the AP was a mile long. Did you take your European friends on a long walk, or just to the places you wanted them to see.?? In any case, I do not believe many outsiders can relate to our problems in Cyprus. They want to hear the "simplified version", you know, all the Black and White issues, that is easy to understand and not deal with all the Grey areas, which happens to be larges piece of the pie.!!!

[Strahd]

Yes kikapu and if my grandmother had a rotator she would have been a souvla. !

For a moment, I thought we were going to have a serious discussion.?

By the way, the AP was a mile long. Did you take your European friends on a long walk, or just to the places you wanted them to see.?? In any case, I do not believe many outsiders can relate to our problems in Cyprus. They want to hear the "simplified version", you know, all the Black and White issues, that is easy to understand and not deal with all the Grey areas, which happens to be larges piece of the pie.!!!

Well tell us why should the GCs have accepted the plan?

[Pyrpolizer]

Any new plan has to be precise, clear cut, absolutely definite in each and every aspect. No plan can take away peoples ownership on properties, and no plan can throw people in the streets. The property issue will only be settle through buy-sell-exchange-rent on individuals agreement. TCs and GCs will be concentrated but not limited to the Norther/southern parts.

I voted down the Anan Plan for more than 2000 reasons. Each and every line gave me one reason. The top reason was the property issue.

[Kikapu]

Yes kikapu and if my grandmother had a rotator she would have been a souvla. !

For a moment, I thought we were going to have a serious discussion.?

By the way, the AP was a mile long. Did you take your European friends on a long walk, or just to the places you wanted them to see.?? In any case, I do not believe many outsiders can relate to our problems in Cyprus. They want to hear the "simplified version", you know, all the Black and White issues, that is easy to understand and not deal with all the Grey areas, which happens to be larges piece of the pie.!!!

Well tell us why should the GCs have accepted the plan?

For all the reasons not to lose Northern Part of Cyprus to Turkey, one way or another, which could and can be the case, without a solution. Piratis says, well, that could have happened anyway, because we cannot trust Turkey to keep it's word. You still had the EU, to watch over Turkey's moves, if they tried any "funny business". I hope you did not think, that EU was going to allow one of it's members (Cyprus) to be attacked by Turkey, did you.??

Lets us not forget, how we all got into this mess in the first place. No one has clean hands, as to what has happened in Cyprus. Try to go back to the same, where everything was in 1960, is a foolish dream. In life mistakes are made, therefore price is often paid for those mistakes. It is not relevant that you are innocent of all that has happened, you and me and the next person and so on, will lose something for those mistakes. It is also true, others will gain from the same mistakes. Do you not understand, that keeping Cyprus as whole should be the primary concern for all, than what we each not getting what we want, in order to find a lasting solution.

Maybe this saying will explain what I'm talking about.

"You can't please all of the people, all of the time, but try to please most of the people , most of the time".

It is time to stop expecting to please all the people, because it will not happen.

[Pyrpolizer]

Kikapu with Anan Plan there wouldn't even be a state. It would just be an administrative machine, where the so called central state would run by 6 ministers, where nobody could enforce anything, and nobody would be accountable to anyone. Imo it would be a chaos. Who would send the settlers away, who would prevent any newcomers, who would enforce Turkey to oblidge?
As for the property issue just forget it. Nothing would be enforceable.

A final separation was a matter of not even years. I would give it maximum 6 months life.

There is absolutely no way we can ever agree to such or any similar plan. The current situation is not acceptable, but at least it is not suicidal.

[bg_turk]

You were duped into rejecting the Annan Plan so that your power hungry leader Tasoss could cling onto his power as a president.