Cyprus PIO: News Update in English, 96-12-12

Cyprus Press and Information Office: News Updates in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article

From: The Republic of Cyprus Press and Information Office Server at <http://www.pio.gov.cy/>

News Update

12/12/96

CONTENTS

• [01] Cyprus hopes EU Dublin summit will reconfirm that accession talks will start after end of intergovernmental conference
• [02] The situation in Cyprus has deteriorated in the past six months, says UN Secretary-General
• [03] Permanent Committee of Co-operation between Greece and Cyprus set up

[01] Cyprus hopes EU Dublin summit will reconfirm that accession talks will start after end of intergovernmental conference

He said there is a period of over a year before the conclusion of the intergovernmental conference and stressed that "our aim is to use this period so that a solution can be found," noting that accession talks will begin even if this does not occur.

Mr Michaelides flew to London yesterday from where he will fly to Dublin on Friday to attend a working lunch on the sidelines of the EU summit, to be held from December 13-14, and to have meetings with his EU member-states counterparts.

President Clerides had also been due in London and Dublin but was forced to cancel the first part of his trip due to ill health. A doctors' announcement said that the President is suffering from bronchitis and will be examined later today to see if he has recovered enough to go straight to Dublin. He was also given a precautionary heart test, which was normal. If he is ruled too unwell to travel today, he will be represented in Dublin by the Foreign Minister.

Speaking before his departure yesterday, Mr Michaelides said that at the working lunch in Dublin on Saturday, offered by the President of the EU Council, Irish Foreign Minister Dick Spring, in honour of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the EU and of associated countries including Cyprus, Central and Eastern European states, the representatives of the eleven associated countries will be briefed on the decisions of the European Council.

He noted that Cyprus' participation is "important" as it consolidates that it will be at the head of the list of countries waiting to join Europe.

"Of special interest to us will be to obtain another EU confirmation of its decision that Cyprus' accession negotiations will begin six months after the end of the Intergovernmental Conference," he added.

Mr Michaelides also said that in London he will address a Greek Cypriot community function in the place of President Clerides.

[02] The situation in Cyprus has deteriorated in the past six months, says UN Secretary-General

"There was violence along the cease-fire line, including unnecessary and disproportionate use of lethal force by the Turkish/Turkish Cypriot side, to an extent not seen since 1974," he says in the report.

There is an urgent need for leaders on both sides to make a serious effort to reverse the negative trend of recent months and to lead their communities in a more positive direction. "In word and deed, efforts must be made to build trust and goodwill between the two sides", he added.

He urges both sides to agree on a UN package of practical measures (extending of unmanning, prohibition of loaded weapons along the cease-fire line and adoption of a code of conduct) as this would be 'a significant step forward to reducing tension along the cease-fire line. He recommends a renewal of UNFICYP's mandate for a further six months as he considers the presence of the force as "indispensable."

Referring to last August's demonstrations, Ghali is critical of both the Cyprus police and the Turkish forces who allowed demonstrators to cross into the UN buffer zone.

"Cyprus police were on hand, but remained largely passive," he says and acknowledges the presence of "a significant number of members of the Grey Wolves, an ultra-nationalist Turkish organisation, who had arrived from Turkey during the demonstration. Turkish forces, he says, allowed counter- demonstrators and "Turkish Cypriot police" to enter the buffer zone who "proceeded to beat the Greek Cypriots with batons and iron bars, killing one civilian."

The report refers to the killing of a second Greek Cypriot demonstrator by "Turkish and/or Turkish Cypriot uniformed personnel" who fired 25 to 50 rounds "indiscriminately into the crowd inside the buffer zone."

It also records the killing of a Turkish Cypriot soldier "by unknown persons" in an area patrolled by the British sovereign area police and the wounding of a second soldier in the same area.

During the demonstrations, the report says, UNFICYP was placed in an "invidious position" and points out that "controlling the civilian population must remain the exclusive responsibility of the local authorities."

The authorities on both sides are "perfectly capable of fulfilling this task and the political leaders have both the formal and the informal means to provide guidance on important security issues and to ensure that it is heeded."

The UN Secretary-General in his report also expressed serious concern about the excessive levels of military forces and armaments in Cyprus and the rate at which they were being expanded, upgraded and modernised.

[03] Permanent Committee of Co-operation between Greece and Cyprus set up

This was announced yesterday at a press conference at the end of the official visit to Cyprus of the Deputy Minister on Internal Affairs and the Deputy Minister on Public Administration and Decentralisation.

From the Republic of Cyprus Press and Information Office (PIO) Server at http://www.pio.gov.cy/

Cyprus Press and Information Office: News Updates in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article