UN plan D-Day comes and goes

IT WAS a hectic day for the Greek Cypriot delegation in Copenhagen yesterday as pressure mounted from all sides for some sort of agreement to be reached before the end of the summit. By sunset, all the day had brought was the end of any hopes of signing a peace deal in the Danish capital.

The day started with renewed hopes for a solution and foreign envoys converged on President Glafcos Clerides at the Marriot hotel in an effort to strike a last-minute deal.

Five rooms were reserved at a conference centre next to the Danish Foreign Ministry where representatives from the Greek and Turkish Cypriot sides, the three guarantor powers - Greece, Turkey, and Britain - as well as the United States and the UN, struggled to find common ground.

But as time passed, hopes for striking a deal began to falter as Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash declared early, from an Ankara hospital, that no one could force his side to sign.

Denktash said the EU should simply not admit a divided Cyprus and wait instead until the island was reunited after serious negotiations about details of the UN peace plan. "You can postpone (Greek) Cyprus' application till the next meeting," he said. "No one can pressure us... to sign a document we have not negotiated with the Greek Cypriots."

Turkish Cypriot envoy Tahsin Ertugruloglu, who was in Copenhagen said the Turkish Cypriots would refuse to sign up to a document which had not been properly negotiated. "A scenario is being played as if the Greek Cypriots are ready to sign and the breakthrough is becoming impossible because the Turkish side is not signing," Ertugruloglu said. "This has nothing to do with the reality," he said, while accusing the EU of engineering a fait accompli to admit only the internationally recognised Greek-Cypriot government to the bloc in the absence of a reunification deal."

Journalists gathered at the Marriot trying to get any information they could on the developments. Most of the information came from official lips, albeit off the record, but the situation was so fluid that things changed from one moment to the next. Any party leader or government official seen walking in the lobby was immediately grabbed for information while speculation was rife.

UN Cyprus envoy Alvaro de Soto called in Turkish and Greek negotiators for last-minute talks on the margins of the summit. But there were doubts even that Denktash's envoy was empowered to take decisions, let alone sign a deal.

At 1pm, Clerides appeared in the lobby and was immediately surrounded by a crowd of reporters thirsty for information. The President however remained tight lipped and proceeded to the dining room to have lunch with the rest of the delegation.

Meanwhile, Attorney-general Alecos Markides was sent to the conference centre next to the foreign ministry and was reportedly engaged in hard bargaining. But Greek Foreign Minister George Papandreou was already doubtful for a deal. "Time is running out and negotiations haven't even really started. So I can't say we have much of a hope," Papandreou said.

Gradually it began to sink in that there would not be any solution, at least not during the summit.

Whatever the case, the three days in Copenhagen were probably the most testing for the political leaderships.

Reports said there was bickering among the Cypriot political leadership, but the most interesting piece of information, which emerged from the Marriot, was the feeling that Clerides was not willing to sign an agreement in Copenhagen.

The other two opponents were reportedly DIKO chief Tassos Papadopoulos and AKEL leader Demetris Christofias. Papadopoulos maintains that there should be further negotiation on the plan while Christofias apparently wanted to confer with the party's political bureau before giving an answer.

But everything was over when Denktash's representative Tahsin Ertugruloglu eventually left the conference centre declaring that "nothing had been signed".

Shortly afterwards Markides officially declared that it was all over.

He said that during his two-and-a-half hour meeting with the participation of the Turkish Cypriot side and the two guarantor powers, there had not been any negotiations. "De Soto told me that after talking with Turkish Cypriots he concluded it was impossible to have a solution of this problem today. Therefore as far as today goes, his efforts stop here and therefore Cyprus accedes to the EU without a settlement," said Markides as he left the venue of the meeting.

With Copenhagen behind them, the two sides would now have to continue the negotiations in order to meet a February 28, 2003 deadline in accordance with the UN plan.

Turkey, one of the key players in the Cyprus problem, though disappointed by the EU decision to let it wait two years for another review, said it would continue to work towards finding a solution by February. "Our efforts for achieving a solution continue and we continue to show our goodwill," Turkish Prime Minister Abdullah Gul said.

Concerning the Turkish Cypriots who yesterday demonstrated in favour of a solution and EU accession, Gul said that discussions for the "accession of the Turkish part of Cyprus do not end here". "We have until February 28; our approach on this matter is positive.

"If we had more time to deal with the issue here, we also had a few things to say about this.

"We will do everything to solve the problem within the framework of the UN plan," Gul said.
CYPRUS MAIL 14/12/2002

Turkish Cypriots rally after talks collapse

THOUSANDS OF Turkish Cypriots yesterday took to the streets of occupied Nicosia calling on Rauf Denktash to resign after the Turkish Cypriot side refused to sign the UN's settlement deal at the EU summit in Copenhagen.

Calling for Denktash to resign and "to go", the Turkish Cypriots, some carrying banners reading "We are not Turkish. We are not Greek. We are just Cypriots", marched to Denktash's offices clapping and chanting: "For 30 years you are telling us Mr Denktash to be patient and negotiate. Is that what you are telling us now too?"

The gathering was organised by trade unions and people supporting the island's accession to the EU. "For years the separatist politics of the so called community leaders have brought our community to the brink of extinction by refusing to act with accordance to the actual community interests," said a written statement from the protestors said.

"Despite that, a big majority of the Turkish Cypriot community desires a solution, peace and EU accession. These key community interests are persistently avoided. We refuse the separatist politics, which aim to erode the Turkish Cypriot community, applied by Mr Denktash and his accompanying authorities. This country is ours".

Republican Turkish Party (RTP) leader Mehmet Ali Talat, who joined the demonstrators told CyBC television that the protest was a "spontaneous response of Turkish Cypriots to the intransigence of the Turkish side in general.

"It is a response to them not coming to the point to agree and sign an agreement," he said adding that he had heard news from Copenhagen of a 'goodwill agreement' signed with Greek Cypriots obliging Denktash to continue negotiations until February 28.

Talat admitted there was a rift between Denktash and Ankara and suggested that it was in Turkey's best interests to find a solution.

"Cyprus' accession to the EU without Turkish Cypriots would make Turkey's EU prospects difficult."

Attorney-general Alecos Markides told reporters in Copenhagen that by not signing a Cyprus agreement, Denktash and Ankara had once more "left the Turkish Cypriots out in the cold". Markides made it clear that the EU wanted a united Cyprus and that "the quicker people understood this the quicker we will have a solution."
CYPRUS MAIL 14/12/2002

We're in: Eu clinched but no UN deal

A DIVIDED Cyprus was given the green light for EU accession in Copenhagen yesterday but last-ditch efforts to sign the UN settlement plan failed.

Both sides said they would continue talking and a new deadline was set for February 28, the date of the presidential elections.

The historic EU expansion deal admitting Cyprus, Malta and eight East European states came at the end of a two-day summit when Poland, the biggest and most demanding candidate, accepted a financial package.

Turkey grudgingly agreed to wait two years before the EU decides whether it is fit to start entry talks. The bloc decided at the Copenhagen summit to review in December 2004 how far Turkey had met human rights and democracy standards and pledged to start accession talks "without delay" if it passes.

Erdogan's government had sought a firm start for talks in 2003 but eventually settled for the conditional date, although it did win a clear pledge that the union is committed to letting Turkey in if it can meet the criteria.

In a written statement welcoming the EU's decision to admit Cyprus, but expressing regret at the lack of a much-hoped for solution, President Glafcos Clerides also announced a package of measures designed to support the Turkish Cypriot community.

"It is with great satisfaction that I announce to the Cypriot people that the big national goal of joining the EU has today been completed with the invitation to the Republic of Cyprus to become a member-state," Clerides said in the statement in Copenhagen, read out by government spokesman Michalis Papapetrou.

"We are deeply saddened because an agreement for a comprehensive solution of the Cyprus problem has not been achieved despite all our efforts all these years; efforts, which reached a dramatic climax in the last weeks," the statement added.

In a message to the Turkish Cypriots, Clerides urged them not to lose faith in the need for the two communities to live together in a reunified and prospering Cyprus, which was a member of the EU. He said that the Greek Cypriot side's commitment towards achieving a solution remained, as always, strong and that the government would work towards the February 28 deadline, as set out in the UN plan and endorsed yesterday by the EU.

The president also revealed that in the next few weeks the government would be taking bold measures aimed at helping the creation of a positive climate for the solution of the Cyprus problem. Among the measures was the free movement of goods, Papapetrou said, but declined to comment further on the matter.

"I want to assure you that pending a settlement of the Cyprus problem, the government of Cyprus would do its utmost so that all Cypriots - Greek and Turkish - can enjoy the rights and benefits stemming from EU membership," Clerides said.

In its conclusions on Cyprus, the EU Council said it welcomed the commitment of the two sides to continue negotiations, stressing that there was a unique opportunity to reach a settlement in the coming weeks if both sides "seize the opportunity".

If no agreement is reached by the February 28 deadline, "the acquis to the northern part of the island shall be suspended until the Council decides unanimously otherwise", it concludes.

Reports of a possible "goodwill" document or "letter of intent" that the leaders would sign as an agreement to continue negotiations were later dismissed by both sides.

Earlier, mediators scrambled furiously in a last-ditch attempt to persuade the Turkish Cypriot side to sign. Early in the day hopes were high that a deal could still be struck by the EU's 5.30pm deadline but statements by Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash outside the hospital in Ankara where he was undergoing tests after his October heart surgery in the US set the stage for failure.

Stung by the EU's latest rebuff to Turkey, when the member states offered only a review in December 2004 of Ankara's progress on such issues as human rights rather than a date for accession talks to start, Denktash said the EU was seeking to build a "Christian fortress" around Turkey. "The European Union's interest is to delay Turkey and to take Cyprus, to possess Cyprus and to build something like a Christian fortress around Turkey," Denktash said likening EU efforts at the Copenhagen summit "to holding a gun to the head".

"If there is going to be an understanding between the Turks and Greeks on Cyprus, and God willing there will be, you must accept that implementing this understanding will be incomplete until Turkey is admitted into the European Union," Denktash added.

While Turkish Cypriots in the north took to the streets calling for his resignation, Denktash also blasted the UN for rushing to have a settlement signed at Copenhagen. "It is against the (UN's) good offices and humanity to pressure us to give an immediate answer to this version when we called for negotiations on the second version," he said.

In the absence of Denktash in Copenhagen, his envoy Tahsin Ertugruloglu also made it clear early in the afternoon that nothing would be signed. Asked by Turkish state television whether it would be possible to sign an accord yesterday, Ertugruloglu replied: "Absolutely not."

He rejected suggestions that the Turkish Cypriots were to blame for the lack of an agreement and said Clerides was also not ready to sign. "A scenario is being played as if the Greek Cypriots are ready to sign and the breakthrough is becoming impossible because the Turkish side is not signing. This has nothing to do with reality," he said.

"But fait accompli is being put in front of us, a foregone conclusion to admit the Greek Cypriot state into the European Union under the name of Cyprus, with or without a solution is being implemented. We are not at the point of sacrificing such a long-standing cause to faits accomplish."

The official announcement that the talks had collapsed was made by Attorney-general Alecos Markides before the EU made its final decision. ''There were no negotiations. This issue is finished. The question of Cyprus cannot be resolved today. Cyprus moves ahead with accession without a political settlement,'' Markides said on his way from a two-hour meeting with Ertugruloglu and UN special envoy Alvaro de Soto, who leaves Denmark today for the US to brief UN Secretary-general Kofi Annan.

In New York, Annan admitted he was disappointed at the outcome but denied that the talks had "collapsed". He also declined to apportion blame saying it was "too early".

"We were very close and I was very hopeful that we could get an agreement," Annan said, adding that he had told Turkish Justice and Development leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan that "for a known soccer player like himself the game is not over until the final whistle. And it looks like we are not going to get there.

"I wouldn't call it collapse," said Annan. "By collapse you mean we don't have an agreement yet. I think we will assess where we are and then see how we move forward. But, I wouldn't say the talks collapsed. We hadn't had an agreement, but we will continue."

Annan said what needs to be done now is "to take stock, reassess and analyse what happened and decide how to move forward". He added: "I hope the work that has been done will not be wasted and that the people of Cyprus, both Turkish and Greeks, will see an advantage in pursuing this effort and bringing it to a fruitful conclusion."

An official UN statement delivered in New York by Annan's spokesman Fred Eckhard said that "unfortunately" it was not possible to achieve a comprehensive settlement. "However the parties' positions have never been closer and agreement seemed possible up until the last minute," Eckhard said. "It is very important that the unprecedented progress that has been made should be consolidated, and that all concerned redouble their efforts to achieve a settlement in the coming period."

De Soto said: "I think obviously an opportunity has been missed which is a pity but that doesn't mean all is lost. What we do when an opportunity is lost is look to the next one; Cyprus has been invited to accede to the EU but the accession doesn't take place till April 2004 so it is still possible for a united Cyprus to sign the treaty of accession.

"It's going to be very tough. Success is far from guaranteed. It's somewhat more difficult now we believe but it can probably be done."

Britain also expressed regret that it was not possible to reach a negotiated settlement, a spokesman for the British Foreign Office told the Cyprus News Agency. He expressed the hope that negotiations would continue and said it was important that all parties contribute to the effort for a settlement. ''It is a shame that the talks did not produce a settlement. UN Secretary-general's special adviser on Cyprus Alvaro de Soto has worked hard towards this goal,'' the spokesman said.

The unflappable Peruvian diplomat who oversaw peace accords that ended the civil war in El Salvador, may end up joining the small army of former Cyprus mediators, suggested a Reuters report from Nicosia quoting diplomatic sources commenting on past efforts to resolve the Cyprus dispute. "Ask me how difficult it is and I will say '37 years difficult'," said one diplomat. "It's not so much the complexity, but the infinity of it all," said another.
CYPRUS MAIL 14/12/2002