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Friday, 22 November 2024
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Cyprus PIO: News Update in English, 97-05-16Cyprus Press and Information Office: News Updates in English Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The Republic of Cyprus Press and Information Office Server at <http://www.pio.gov.cy/>News UpdateFriday, 16/05/97CONTENTS[01] UN Under Secretary-General meets with Cypriot leadershipUnited Nations Under Secretary-General for Political Affairs Sir Kieran Prendergast had his first meeting on Thursday with Cyprus President Glafcos Clerides but refused to comment on its content:"I am not going to make any substantive statement, I just would like to say I have had an hour of very valuable talks with his Excellency, and these will be helpful in the advice I will have to give the UN Secretary-General when I get back to New York," he told the press afterwards. He said he will reserve any substantive comments for the press conference he will give on Friday (16.5.97) afternoon for the Greek and Turkish Cypriot press. The UN official is in Cyprus to examine progress in bridging the differences before UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan decides to invite President Clerides and Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash for face-to-face talks. Sir Kieran had talks with Foreign Minister Ioannis Kassoulides and later met with Mr. Denktash. [02] US State Department: Focus on those directly involved to make compromisesUS State Department Spokesman Nicholas Burns, replying to a question on Cyprus on Wednesday (14.5.97) said: "We think the United Nations has a central tole, the United Kingdom, the United States, the European Union. The problem is not the number of negotiators or the goodwill of the negotiators from outside. The problem is 22 years later we still don't have a resolution of the problem. So we need to look inside to the Cypriot Government and the Turkish community to see if they can make progress. We will be glad to help them. But I think you ought to really focus the efforts on the people who need to make the compromises.[03] Cyprus Government welcomes peaceful bicommunal pop concertThe Cyprus government feels very positive about a bicommunal pop music concert by Greek singer Sakis Rouvas and Turkish singer Burak Kut scheduled for Monday 19.5.97.Governement Spokesman Manolis Christofides said on Thursday (15.5.97): "We look forward to the concert with the wish that it will open a window of hope. Youth is the golden hope of all nations, something we want the youth of Cyprus to be," he said. The UN has organised a concert for Greek and Turkish Cypriots, in a bid to build bridges between the two communities, kept apart since the 1974 Turkish invasion of the island and the subsequent occupation of 37 percent of its territory. A total of 6,000 tickets - 3000 for each side - are being distributed free of charge, for the concert taking place in a vacant football field in the buffer zone separating the free from the occupied areas of the Republic. Christofides stressed that the young people of Cyprus "have been kept apart for decades, contra natura (against nature) and their own interest". "Greek and Turkish Cypriots will come to the concert proud of their descent and to declare they want peace and peaceful coexistence," he added. Commenting on planned "counter-events", by certain organisations opposing the concert, the Spokesman said "they are free to do so, but being negative is wrong, particularly in this case which provides a good opportunity for the young people of Cyprus to get together." "We expect that everyone will act responsibly and will rightly judge the true interest of this place, which does not permit these kinds of demonstrations," he added. Meanwhile, the UN peacekeeping force's spokesman Waldemar Rokoszewski, has welcomed the support from the Greek and Turkish Cypriot sides for a bicommunal concert. Referring to security arrangements, Rokoszewski said "400 UN military and civilian police will take charge of security on the night of the concert", which will be attended by UN top envoy in Cyprus, Gustave Feissel. This, he said, means one UN to 12 participants, a ratio which any police force dealing with crowd control would envy. 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 |
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