Rauf Denktash, the Turkish Cypriot leader who is recovering from heart surgery in New York, will not respond to a United Nations plan to reunite Cyprus until he has returned home and consulted Turkish Cypriots and the new Turkish government in Ankara, a top aide said yesterday.

"The president believes the way forward is through negotiation, but while negotiating one needs a basic strategy and co-ordination on different issues," Ergun Olgun, presidential undersecretary to Mr Denktash, told the Financial Times. "The first priority is to hold the consultations and take it from there." Glafcos Clerides, the Greek-Cypriot president, has already accepted the UN proposal for a loose Swiss-style confederation of "component states" with a weak central state.

Mr Olgun was responding to a question about a Turkish Cypriot media interview in which Mr Denktash, whose Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is recognised only by Ankara, said that "unless the deficiencies . . . are removed, we cannot accept the plan as forming a basis [for negotiation]."

He hoped that Mr Denktash would leave hospital today after responding to treatment for an infection of the surgery wound which "could have killed him" had it spread to his aorta, replaced in a heart operation earlier this month.

Doctors would also have to decide when he would be fit to travel, said Mr Olgun, adding that it was not possible to discuss a 150-page document over telephones which were not secure.

Mr Denktash's stance is of vital interest to the international community, desperate for a settlement before the European Union considers at its December 12-13 summit in Copenhagen whether to admit Cyprus, without a deal if necessary.

The accession of a divided island would exclude the Turkish Cypriots, who control a third of the island, import a messy dispute into the EU, and hurt Turkey's own bid to secure at Copenhagen a date to start EU accession talks.

Kofi Annan, the UN secretary-general, had set a deadline of Monday this week for Greek and Turkish Cypriots to respond to his plan, which aims to use the pressure of the EU deadline to end 40 years of deadlock.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey's unofficial leader, has said that although he supports the UN plan as a basis for negotiations, an accord is "impossible" before Copenhagen because of Mr Denktash's ill-health.

Mr Erdogan acknowledged in London on Wednesday that the Cyprus question was linked to Turkey's bid to secure, at Copenhagen, a timetable for starting accession talks.

Support for the Turkish government's more conciliatory approach came from an unexpected quarter on Wednesday, when Kenan Evren, Turkish land forces commander during the 1974 intervention, pointed out that Turkey had deliberately seized extra land in Cyprus as a bargaining chip in a future settlement.

The Turkish side could therefore afford to give up territory - a notion opposed by Turkish hardliners in a growing domestic debate about Cyprus - as part of an overall compromise solution, said General Evren.

The general cannot be accused by hardliners of being weak-kneed - he led a much-criticised coup in 1980.

FT 22/11/2002

Denktash stalling puts doubt on plan

By George Psyllides

TURKISH Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash said yesterday he was not yet prepared to accept a United Nations plan to settle the Cyprus problem, casting more doubt on the chances for an agreement before the European Union invites Cyprus to join when it meets in Copenhagen on December 12.

Denktash, however, did not reject the plan and insisted he first wanted contacts to determine whether the plan could be a basis for negotiation.

"We will negotiate whether we will accept this foundation.

"For us to accept this foundation we are obliged to say which changes we want, to resist these," Denktash said.

UN Secretary-general Kofi Annan had given Denktash and President Glafcos Clerides until November 18 to accept or reject this plan as a basis for negotiations.

And while Clerides has accepted the plan, albeit arguing the timeframes were tight, the Turkish Cypriot side has yet to reply.

According to the plan a preliminary deal should be struck before the Copenhagen meet, where Cyprus is expected to be given a date for entering the EU.

"We are prepared to meet on whether this can be a foundation; hopefully by that date (December 12), we will be able to pull ourselves together, and Turkey would have made its decision," Denktash said.

Denktash is recovering in New York after heart surgery.

He was due to return to Cyprus last Saturday but was re-hospitalised with an infection just 15 minutes before boarding a direct flight to the island.

But it seemed yesterday that Denktash and Turkey were not on the same wavelength.

Speaking at a news conference in Strasbourg, Turkey's unofficial leader Tayyip Erdogan seemed more prepared to accept the plan than the Turkish Cypriot leader.

If the Turkish side does not accept the plan then "we would remain stuck on the Zurich and London agreements" and the Cyprus problem would drag on, Erdogan said.

He added: "We want this situation to begin with the new plan so that we could arrive at a solution soon.

"This plan would be an important step for Europe and the whole world," Erdogan said.

Annan has expressed concerns over the delays with his envoy on the island, Alvaro de Soto, reiterating a call for a swift response.

"We believe that time is of the essence and that they will come to us with their reactions to the Secretary-general's plan very soon," de Soto said yesterday before departing for The Hague where he is due to meet Annan today.

Asked about the implications if things did not progress as planned, de Soto said he could not predict the future but hoped there would be a settlement before Copenhagen.

According to reports last night, Denktash would be leaving the hospital today.

A hospital source however said that these things changed from day to day.

CYPRUS MAIL 22/11/2002

By George Psyllides

STUDENTS at the University of Cyprus said yesterday they wanted to live with the Turkish Cypriots but expressed reservations as to whether a United Nations plan for the settlement of the Cyprus problem would function.

The students were taking part in a live broadcast by CNN Turk, which was hosted by prominent Turkish journalist Mehmet Ali Birand.

Yesterday's was the third such broadcast.

The first two had taken place in Athens on Tuesday - at the Pantion University - and in Istanbul on Wednesday at the Galatasaray University.

The fourth and final programme will be broadcasted from a university in the occupied northern part of the island.

The aim of the programme was to get students' views on the UN proposals.

Birand told the audience, which included Cyprus' Chief Negotiator to the European Union George Vassilliou that the general feeling he got from the Turkish students was that the problem should be solved, although the plan had negative points for the Turkish side.

Birand said Turkey's former president, Kenan Evren, who led a 1980 coup in Turkey, had also participated in the discussion in Istanbul.

The audience was astonished, Birand said, when the former general said the Turkish side should negotiate because it was a good plan.

The discussion kicked off with Birand asking the $60 million question.

"Should we divide the island - divorce or live together?"

The point was to get students to voice their opinions and though slow at first, discussion soon picked up.

One student said people were fed up with the Cyprus problem, adding the island had no future if the current situation continued.

He said reunion was the best thing and that the aim should be to live together.

"We have a common future but the solution should be in accordance with international and EU laws," he said.

Another student said Turkey and Greece should leave Cyprus alone.

Birand then asked for a show of hands regarding whether Greek Cypriots wanted to live together with the Turkish Cypriots.

The overwhelming majority said they would.

One student said Turkey was not really giving anything back, because the territory they held was not theirs in the first place, while the proposed plan kept the two communities apart when they should have been brought closer together.

But students were unhappy when Birand asked for a show of hands on the plan, arguing it was not proper since the plan contained many negative points.

"We want our government to negotiate the plan so that we can live in peace with the Turkish Cypriots;

"We do not want those who filled the island with chauvinist and nationalist feelings," one said.

Another said both Turkish and Greek troops must leave the island and the solution must be such that the island could function on its own without any dependencies.

Vassiliou said the plan should be seen as a chance because time was not contributing towards getting the two communities together or reuniting the island.

"We would like to see reunification.

"What is important is to enable Cypriots to live together in a federation," Vassiliou said.

Birand then asked him if he thought the plan was a federal one, considering the many voices who said it bore all the hallmarks of a confederation.

"It is a federation," Vassiliou said.

To this a member of the audience - not a student - replied: "Shame on you."

Vassiliou said the main problems for the Greek Cypriot side were the Turkish settlers - around 100,000 - and the provision in the plan that there should be a three-year co-presidency - President Glafcos Clerides and Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash - in the wake of the agreement.

CYPRUS MAIL 22/11/2002

Turkey deserves German support

By Dietrich Von Kyaw

Turkey and Germany have enjoyed a close but uneasy relationship, from allies in the first world war to partners in Nato today. Helmut Kohl never really supported Turkish membership of the European family of nations, but Gerhard Schröder's red-green government has been consistent. For reasons of domestic politics and international stability, it is right to lend its support. Without it, Turkey has little hope of ever joining the European Union. After decades of European hesitation Turkey cannot be condemned for wanting a starting date for accession negotiations. At its Helsinki summit in 1999, the European Union formally recognised Turkey as a candidate for membership, on the basis of groundwork laid by Mr Schröder. Despite heavy criticism from the conservative Christian Democrats the red-green government is maintaining its support for that position. By doing so, it is helping to promote the democratic and pro-western evolution of Turkish society.

In the light of Europe's difficult relationship with the Arab world, Berlin values Turkey as an important strategic partner and as a secular democracy, proving that democracy and Islam can co-exist. Germany is not alone. Greece knows only too well that lasting reconciliation with Turkey, its old enemy, can be made possible only under the roof of the EU.

Mr Schröder's position is also astute politics. There are now more than 2.5m migrant workers in Germany, most of them originating from Anatolia. While many of them continue to prefer to live closely together in big cities like Berlin, their presence helps to remind everybody that with some 15m Muslims, the EU is no longer an exclusively Christian club as some of our politicians would like to believe.

There are, after all, already about 500,000 German citizens of Turkish origin. Each year up to 100,000 more acquire German citizenship. Some conservative politicians refuse to recognise this development and are paying a growing political price for it. In the last federal elections the Social Democrats gained only about 7,500 more votes than the Christian Democrats. But among the voters of the red-green coalition were almost 300,000 German Turks. The conservative opposition and the liberal party won the votes of only 65,000.

Mr Schröder's government deserves credit for its stand. But that does not mean the EU should give in prematurely to Turkey's demands for starting date for accession negotiations. In spite of considerable progress and good intentions Turkey is not yet ready. Recent political and economic reforms have not been fully implemented and, in any case, do not go far enough. Racep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey's unofficial leader, is an astute operator but still has to demonstrate his lasting commitment to secular democracy.

However, to encourage the new Turkish government to advance further with democratic and economic reforms, and to help in overcome the partition of Cyprus, the EU must make it absolutely clear that this time it means business. A "conditional date" as well as a convincing schedule for a regular evaluation of progress made has to be set.

The European Commission will have to make an assessment and the European Council will then have to take a decision about the earliest feasible date for starting membership negotiations. Our Turkish friends should accept such a compromise in a realistic assessment of their remaining shortcomings: the unresolved Cyprus question and of the fact that integrating a big, populous and complex country like Turkey requires careful preparation.