TAYYIP Erdogan, whose Justice and Development party (AKP), won Turkey's November 3 elections, yesterday welcomed a United Nations plan to settle the Cyprus problem, but warned the timetable for an agreement was much too tight.

Erdogan was speaking on a short visit to occupied Cyprus, where he had been due to meet Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash who was supposed to return yesterday arrive from New York, where he underwent heart surgery last month. But Denktash had to postpone his trip following an infection.

"In general, we see the plan is something that can be discussed, although there are many points that we dispute," Erdogan told reporters upon his arrival at Lefkoniko airstrip.

He said some points in the plan were negative for the Turkish Cypriots but it could nonetheless be accepted as a basis for negotiation.

The solution must be based on sovereignty, equality, and the existence of two component states, Erdogan added.

But he said the process of building a new government in Turkey and the poor health of the Turkish Cypriot leader meant the December 12 deadline set by the UN for the two sides to strike a deal was ambitious.

The new Turkish strongman - who cannot become prime minister because of a conviction for sedition - gave a hint of how Ankara was planning to treat the plan, saying Cyprus should be accepted in the EU at the same time as Turkey was given a starting date for accession negotiations.

The UN submitted its plan on Monday, hoping to end a 30-year stalemate on the island.

Ordinary people in the north yesterday on the whole felt that the plan should be accepted. Many saw European Union accession as their way out of the desperate economic crisis in the north, forcing thousands to migrate in a hope for a better future.

One Turkish Cypriot told the Cyprus Mail his two sisters had left Cyprus because there were no jobs.

He said the plan should be accepted by the people, but complained that almost a week after it had been submitted, it had still not been translated into Turkish.

He disagreed with some voices in the north, which said the Turkish Cypriots were giving up too much territory.

"Most of the areas are military so we cannot go there anyway," he said.

He was adamant that the two peoples could live together just as long as they succeeded in marginalizing the fanatics on both sides.

Erdogan's flight touched down in Lefkoniko at 3.25pm.

Lefkoniko, previously used solely for military purposes, was recently opened for civilian flights due to repair works at the main airport in the north at Tymbou southeast of Nicosia.

Another Turkish Cypriot suggested that repair work at Tymbou was taking too long and wondered if the airport was discretely being abandoned as it had been included in the areas to be returned under Greek Cypriot administration under the UN plan.

By Alex Mita

TURKISH Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash, whose return to Cyprus form New York was put on hold on Friday after he contracted a flu-like infection, is expected to fly back to the island in a couple of days, his doctors said.

Denktash, 78, was recovering in New York after undergoing heart surgery in October, and had been due back on the island to give an answer tomorrow on whether the plan submitted by Secretary-general Kofi Annan was acceptable as a basis for negotiations.

However, his doctors told journalists yesterday that Denktash had been hit with a flu-like infection and it was therefore impossible for him to travel in his condition.

Denktash spokesman Ugur Karazoglou told journalists in Nicosia that the Turkish Cypriot leader's doctors would have to carry out further tests before allowing him to fly to the north.

"It is suspected he may have a flu-like infection, but doctors have said that with this condition it would be impossible for him to travel," Karazoglou said.

"His doctors will wait at least a couple of days for test results before giving Denktash the all clear to fly."

Denktash's personal doctor, Deniz Kumbasar, told the Anatolia news agency the veteran leader would be back Cyprus in a couple of days.

"We did not want to take the risk, we preferred to be sure of his condition," he said.

Denktash's advisor Ergun Olgun said the Turkish Cypriot side had aksed for an extension to tomorrow's deadline to reply to Annan's plan for a settlement in Cyprus.

"We were able to talk to the UN and have asked for an extension," he said.

"(The delay) is not going to be anything significant, it comes to the weekend basically."

Olgun added that an answer to the plan would be given upon Denktash's return to the occupied north.

By Alex Mita

PRESIDENT Glafcos Clerides yesterday held high level talks in Athens with Greek Prime Minister Costas Simitis to fine tune the strategy the Greek Cypriot side will follow ahead of Monday's deadline for a response to UN Secretary-general Kofi Annan's plan for a Cyprus settlement.

Speaking at a news conference after their meeting, Simitis said the two leaders had analysed and evaluated the proposals and discussed points the two governments believe need extensive negotiations as well as points that require clarification in order to proceed to negotiations.

"Any decisions we take will be made after we have weighed the outcome of the negotiations," he said, adding that Greece and Greek Cypriots would not accept any provision in the plan that was unsatisfactory.

Asked whether a deal could be in place by the December 12 summit in Copenhagen, Clerides said it all depended on when the negotiations would start.

"I believe if there is good political will from the other side then maybe a solution can be reached, but it depends when negotiations will start," he said.

"We don't now when Mr. Denktash will come back so we don't know how long the negotiations will last," he said.

"I am sure there are issues that the Turkish Cypriots want to have clarified and therefore it is expected that they would want changes to be made."

By Jean Christou

Two presidents - at least initially - three anthems (one national), three flags, and an innumerable amount of commissions and boards are just some features of the new Cyprus as outlined in the UN's 137-page draft solution, the full text of which the Cyprus Mail obtained yesterday.

As is already known, Cyprus will comprise one common state and two component states, with Greek and Turkish as official languages. Each state will have its own separate citizenship, anthem and flag.

The common state, which for the first three years will have co-presidents who will be the signatories of what will be known as the Foundation Agreement, will be responsible for handing out the single Cypriot citizenship and will govern external affairs.

It will also report to the EU, control Central Bank functions, state budgets and taxation, economic and trade policy, meteorology, aviation, international navigation, territorial waters, postal and electronic communications, citizenship, passports and immigration, deportation and extradition, combating terrorism, drug trafficking, money laundering, organised crime, pardons and amnesties, intellectual property and antiquities.

The component states will be expected to strive to co-ordinate and harmonise their policies and legislation through agreements, common standards and consultations in relation to tourism, protection of the environment and conservation of energy and natural resources, including water, fisheries and agriculture, industry and commerce, including insurance, consumer protection, zoning and planning and overland transport, sports and education, health, including veterinary matters, social security and labour, family and criminal law.

New committees and commissions will include the Joint Investigation Agency, reporting to the Attorney-general's Office comprising police from both states, a Citizenship Board, Aliens Board, Reconciliation Commission and a Property Board and Court to oversee the complex issue of exchange and compensation due to the territorial adjustments.

The Reconciliation Commission will be set up to promote dialogue regarding the past, which will give Greek and Turkish Cypriots the chance to express their historical perspectives, experiences and memories. A comprehensive report on the Cyprus problem will also be drawn up and the Commission will report regularly to the UN.

A common state police force, which will co-operate with the Joint Investigation Agency, will control the Cyprus border, official buildings and property as well as guarding foreign dignitaries and diplomatic missions. Each component state police will comprise no more than 700 plus five police personnel per 1,000 inhabitants of the component state.

At the time an agreement will be signed, common state Cypriot citizenship will be granted to anyone who held Cypriot citizenship in 1960 and their children, those born and residing in Cyprus for seven years, and those married to a Cypriot and residing on the island for two years.

Thereafter, citizenship will be only given by birth or by naturalisation, which would require residency on the island for seven years plus knowledge of one of the official languages.

As regards Greek and Turkish nationals, the Aliens Board will not authorise further immigration of either if their number has reached 10 per cent of the populations of their respective component state. That would mean, for Greeks, mean a maximum of 65,000.

Other provisions in the plan include the prohibition of religious functionaries from holding political or public office, the banning of all weapons except hunting guns, and an additional three official holidays per year.

Public holidays would be January 1, May 1, December 25, Good Friday, Easter Monday and the first days of Ramadan and Bayram plus the Prophet Mohamed's birthday. Component states could also retain their own existing public holidays, although it is not clear what would happen to the October 1 Cyprus Independence Day and the Greek March 25 and October 28 days and the Turkish Cypriots' November 15 'breakaway state' holiday.

Once the agreement is signed, the Central Bank will authorise the acceptance of Turkish lira by Cyprus banks, and religious sites sacred to both sides will be returned to their rightful administrators.

As regards freedom of movement, the plan says that a number of crossing points will be agreed upon, areas must be clearly marked and each component state may opt to construct underpasses or over passes in specific areas.

Civilian traffic travelling on direct connecting roads may only be restricted by a Supreme Court injunction.

Also on signing the agreement, a flag raising ceremony will be held, the existing flags lowered, and the new Cyprus flag, to be determined by a competition along with the new anthem, will be raised at UN headquarters in New York

The plan also calls on the sides, after signing the agreement at the end of February next year, and before a referendum in March, to take steps "without delay" to lift restrictions on trade, movement of tourists, and participation in international sporting and cultural events. The missing persons issue must also be resolved without delay, it says.

Jean Christou

THE U.N.'s plan for territorial adjustments have caused uproar on the Turkish Cypriot side, with newspapers yesterday outraged over the proposal to hand back between eight and nine per cent of the island to the Greek Cypriots.

In its comprehensive settlement proposal, the UN included two maps, one reducing Turkish Cypriot controlled territory to 28.5 per cent, and returning Famagusta, Morphou, the enclaved Maronite village of Kormkitis and 30 other villages to the Greek Cypriots.

The second map reduces the Turkish Cypriot share to 28.6, giving back, in addition to Famagusta, Morphou and Kormakitis, the 500-strong Greek Cypriot enclave of Karpass, the island's easternmost point. This map also returns around 25 other villages.

Both maps are designed to return around 85,000 Greek Cypriot refugees, but involve relocating around 42,000 people from Turkish-controlled areas. The maps, based on mathematical formulae, seek to minimise the dislocation of Turkish Cypriots and maximise the return of Greek Cypriots to their rightful homes.

However, the Turkish Cypriot side has balked at the proposed adjustment from the outset and yesterday the issue was the main focus in the Turkish Cypriot newspapers. Vatan carried the headline; "This is a scandal, this cannot be accepted". Kibrisli said: "Would it not have been better to compensate the Greek Cypriots and let everyone carry on living where they are?"

Outgoing Turkish Prime Minster Bulent Ecevit, who ordered the 1974 invasion, had already said that the territorial adjustment was not something the Turkish side could stomach.

Ankara's outgoing Foreign Minister Sina Sukru Gurel also said it was unacceptable, while another former Turkish foreign minister, Isamil Cem, said the issues of territory and return of refugees would create serious problems. The acceptance of elements of the document was close to "impossible" he said and the problems that would arise from a humanitarian standpoint alone would "wreck the island". Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash also made it clear on Thursday: "A map has been put forward even though they know we do not want to discuss maps before recognition that our land, our people will be sovereign," he said.

A non-Cypriot political observer on the island said he had noticed that the Turkish Cypriot side had not commented much on any other aspect of the plan. "It's starting to become clear that the issue of territory is concerning them," he said. "To be blunt, the thing I find distasteful about all this is that they are talking about a reduction to 28.6 per cent. That's not a bad deal for the Turkish Cypriots. They keep referring to Turkish Cypriot villages but before 1974 these were Greek Cypriot villages and 30 years ago they weren't so worried about shifting those people out of their homes."

He said the difference was that now the relocation would take place over a three-year period and that the plan stipulated that no one would be moved until they had been found an alternative.

"It's not a case of 'here's a solution pack your bags'. It's not gong to be an uprooting process like 1974. I think they are making a fuss but they must have known it was on the cards."

The analyst said that if Morphou and other villages were not ceded to the Greek Cypriots, the whole deal would be "a pointless agreement" for them.

"It's important to the Turkish Cypriots that political equality has been recognised in the plan so there's got to be something territory-wise that's handed back," he said. "What would be the point of the Greek Cypriot side signing an agreement that forces them to share decision making with Turkish Cypriots without some people getting the chance to go home."

He added that handing back Varosha could not be counted as a concession because the ghost town was always going to be given back under any settlement.

"Famagusta was a bargaining chip. Morphou did need to be included in any viable agreement. By giving back Famagusta they are only giving back a bargaining chip. Morphou means they are entering this in good faith and it would be read as such," the analyst said.

According to a column in Turkish Cypriot opposition newspaper Afrika yesterday, some settlers allocated Greek Cypriot properties rent free "do not even whitewash the houses they are living in".

"They live in houses which have been turned into ruins," the paper said yesterday referring to Morphou. "Have you ever gone around the villages where those from Turkey have been brought and settled? It's as if they have no affection for this place and they do not consider it as their home." The paper added that the Turkish embassy representatives in the north only remembered the settlers "during the elections".

"The villagers from Turkey have always been treated as if they will go someday. For years they have only been used for political reasons. Now bargaining is taking place regarding who will stay and who will go. However no one has asked them or us. Only lies are said to the people on the Turkish side. This country does not belong to us but to others. This land is Turkish territory. They are the owners and we are the refugees."

CYPRUS MAIL 15/11/2002