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Cyprus PIO: News Update in English, 03-12-16
From: The Republic of Cyprus Press and Information Office Server at <http://www.pio.gov.cy/>
[01]Tuesday, 16 December 2003 Cyprus Government satisfied with result of
voting in occupied areas
[02] Reactions by the international community on the Turkish Cypriot
voting
[03] Result of voting a "positive development", says Greek Prime Minister
[04] US Ambassador on the outcome of T/C "poll": "This is a vote of hope
over fear"
[01] Cyprus Government satisfied with result of voting in occupied
areas
The Government Spokesman, Mr Kypros Chrysostomides, has said the Cyprus
Government was satisfied with the outcome of the voting process in the
Turkish-occupied areas of the island, which constituted a sign of
disapproval of Turkish policy, and in particular the Turkish Cypriot
leader's policy, on Cyprus. Speaking yesterday at the daily press briefing,
Mr Chrysostomides noted the following:
"The Cyprus Government expresses its satisfaction because the result of the
voting in the occupied area, which in any case is an internationally
illegal and secessionist act, is a disapproval of the up to now Turkish
side's and particularly Mr. Denktash's policy on the Cyprus issue. The fact
remains that Turkey determines the policy on Cyprus and the result of the
voting gives the message to Turkey to alter its up to now policy on the
form of solution it pursues concerning the Cyprus problem and to lift the
obstacles for the reunification of Cyprus. We hope that the result of the
voting and the procedures that will follow will create the conditions that
will soon allow the resumption of the talks about the Cyprus problem on the
basis of the Annan plan, which can lead to a solution in time so that when
Cyprus accedes in the EU on the 1st of May 2004 should do so united.
It has been proven once more that the participation to the voting of
settlers and others from Turkey, who are the majority, makes the expression
of the Turkish Cypriot's true will impossible. We express our appreciation
towards those Turkish Cypriot parties and our Turkish Cypriot compatriots,
who have worked hard, systematically and under difficult conditions, in a
hostile and oppressive environment, in order to create the conditions for a
better tomorrow for the Turkish Cypriot community and the Cypriot people as
a whole. We have repeatedly expressed out political will for immediate
resumption of the talks on the basis of the Annan plan for the solution of
the Cyprus problem. This was and remains our position and it is not altered
by the result of the voting."
[02] Reactions by the international community on the Turkish Cypriot
voting
<STRONG>UN
</STRONG>The Spokesman for the UN Secretary-General, Mr Fred Eckhard, has
made the following comments yesterday on the outcome of Sunday's voting in
the Turkish-occupied areas of Cyprus: "The Secretary-General has seen the
reports of the Turkish Cypriot voting. It appears that it may take some
time for a new political dispensation to be established.
The Secretary-General takes this opportunity to restate his position, which
is that his plan for a comprehensive settlement of the Cyprus problem
remains on the table but that he does not propose to take a new initiative
without solid reason to believe that the political will necessary for a
successful outcome exists. The Secretary-General hopes that the Turkish
Cypriot side - and indeed all parties - will soon be in a position to make
the necessary commitment so that a reunited Cyprus may accede to the
European Union on 1 May 2004." Asked to comment further on the results of
the voting, the UN Spokesman noted that they were very close.
<STRONG>EU
</STRONG>At yesterday's daily press briefing of the European Commission,
the Spokesman for Enlargement Commissioner Gunter Verheugen, Mr Jean-
Christophe Filori, stated the following regarding the voting results:
"Even if the distribution of seats is even, it is 50%-50%, there was a
majority of the citizens of the northern part of Cyprus who expressed a
clear will to put an end to the status quo in Cyprus. This shows that it is
about time to come back to the negotiations table and in the name of
Commissioner Verheugen, I want to stress this quite clearly: We urge the
authorities of northern Cyprus to draw their conclusions from this poll and
to assume, as it is possible, to come back to the negotiations table, on
the basis of the Annan plan as it was supported and expressed by the
majority of the citizens of northern Cyprus. There is still time before the
1st of May and we hope that the authorities in the north will understand
that and that they will grasp this opportunity." Asked whether the European
Commission recognised the results of the voting, Mr Filori replied, "No. We
do not recognise any results, but we have to acknowledge a political
reality. There is a piece of land there and there are people living there.
It is a territory where people live and they have expressed a very clear
desire yesterday. We have to take this in to account. Once again, it is
time now to put an end to the status quo. We really hope that this
opportunity will not be missed. There is a window of opportunity before the
1st of May. We consider that it is still possible that a reunited Cyprus
joins the EU by the 1st of May 2004." Replying to another question, he
noted, "I just noticed that there is a majority of people, despite all the
maneuvers, a majority of people in the northern part of Cyprus, who
expressed a clear desire." Asked to comment on a statement by the Turkish
Foreign Minister that Ankara had the final say on the matter, Mr Filori
said, "As Mr Verheugen stated repeatedly as well, certainly one of the main
keys of the whole issue lies in Ankara. But certainly what plays also a
role is that a majority of people expressed their will yesterday, and this
should be considered helpful for the government in Turkey to support even
more the efforts of the UN to find a comprehensive settlement in Cyprus,
off course on the basis of the Annan plan."
Invited to say whether there would still be enough time for a reunited
Cyprus to join the EU in May 2004 in case of a rerun of the voting in two
months time, as the Turkish Cypriot leader had suggested, Mr Filori noted,
"I do not want to enter in a speculation game if new polls will be
organised or not. We just invited the authorities of the north to take in
to account the will of the people. The European Commission is ready to
accommodate the terms of the settlement, to organise a donors conference.
Please do not forget that as a result of the accession negotiation, there
are 206 million euros foreseen for the economic development of northern
Cyprus in case of a settlement." <STRONG>UK
</STRONG>The UK Foreign Secretary, Mr Jack Straw, urged yesterday all sides
to re-engage in the UN peace process following the voting in the occupied
areas of the island. Mr Straw said:
"A majority of the Turkish Cypriot people has voted for a Cyprus settlement
and EU accession. The will of the Turkish Cypriots has been clearly
expressed albeit by a narrow margin- despite the widespread concerns
expressed by many about the way in which the campaign was conducted. It is
important that this desire is fully respected. We hope that a new
administration will be in place as soon as possible to allow Turkish
Cypriots to grasp the opportunity available to reach a settlement to the
Cyprus Problem before 1 May 2004. We call on all sides to signal their
willingness to meet the United Nations Secretary-General's criteria for the
resumption of negotiations without delay. A comprehensive settlement on the
basis of the UN Secretary-General's proposals and accession by a reunited
island would be in the best interests of all Cypriots and of the wider
region. The UK Government stands ready to assist in anyway it can to help
achieve that historic goal." <STRONG>US
</STRONG>The Turkish Cypriot voting of 14 December expressed the people's
"desire for a comprehensive Cyprus settlement that will enable them to join
the EU next May 1 alongside Greek Cypriots", US State Department Spokesman
Mr Richard Boucher has said, adding that "this vote advances the cause of
peace in Cyprus". Mr Boucher's statement is as follows:
"In their vote on Sunday, Turkish Cypriots expressed their desire for a
comprehensive Cyprus settlement that will enable them to join the EU next
May 1, alongside Greek Cypriots. A pro-solution party won the greatest
number of votes, and more than half of all voters supported candidates who
favor having a settlement approved by the Cypriots in referenda before May.
We hope that a new administration will be in place as soon as possible that
will carry out the will of the majority of Turkish Cypriots. This vote
advances the cause of peace in Cyprus. It's a vote for hope over fear, and
it's all the more noteworthy, given the pressures that are faced by Turkish
Cypriot voters during the pre-election period. The United States will
continue to promote a just and durable solution to the longstanding
division of the island on the basis of UN Secretary General Annan's peace
plan. We hope the Turkish Cypriot desire for a settlement will be honored
by the swift resumption of UN-brokered negotiations, beginning with the
necessary expression of political will to Secretary General Annan by all
the parties."
[03] Result of voting a "positive development", says Greek Prime Minister
The Greek Prime Minister, Mr Costas Simitis, has pointed out that the
outcome of Sunday's voting in the Turkish-occupied areas of Cyprus had
indicated that the majority of Turkish Cypriots wanted a solution of the
Cyprus problem on the basis of the Annan plan and did not agree with the
policy followed so far by their leadership. Speaking yesterday after a
meeting in London with his British counterpart Mr Tony Blair, Mr Simitis
said the results of the voting constituted a positive development which had
to be carried on. "It is up to the Turkish Cypriots how this development
will be carried on but Turkey has a role in it too, as it dominates
occupied Cyprus through its positions, views and policy", he added.
The Greek Premier referred to the Brussels European Council last Saturday,
which had concluded that the solution of the Cyprus problem would greatly
influence Turkey's EU membership aspirations, and noted, "It is therefore
time for Turkey to do something before 1 May 2004 so that we can overcome
this problem that has been torturing the divided island for over 30 years."
Asked about the British government's stance on this phase of the Cyprus
problem, Mr Simitis said he had discerned the British Prime Minister's
willingness to push for a solution.
[04] US Ambassador on the outcome of T/C "poll": "This is a vote of hope
over fear"
The Minister of the Interior, Mr Andreas Christou, had a meeting yesterday
with the US Ambassador to Cyprus, Mr Michael Klosson, with whom he
discussed the issue of the implementation of various support measures for
the Turkish Cypriots. After the meeting, the Interior Minister and the US
Ambassador made statements to the press regarding the outcome of Sunday's
"parliamentary elections" in the Turkish occupied areas of Cyprus.
Mr Christou said that the results of the voting cannot be underestimated
despite the fact that the Turkish Cypriot opposition did not achieve a
clear majority and a majority of "seats". "The results offer the possibility
for new struggles by our Turkish Cypriot compatriots for a new effort aimed
at finding a solution to the Cyprus problem" he said, adding that, the
results "seriously question the whole theory on which Mr Denktash had
lately built his arguments, namely that the majority of Turkish Cypriots
are against the Annan Plan and that they show distrust in their cooperation
with Greek Cypriots. "The election outcome also sends a message to Ankara",
he said, and noted that with the necessary political will on the part of
the Turkish Government the messages deriving from the elections could be
used to change Turkey's present positions on the Cyprus problem. Replying
to questions as to how the efforts of the Turkish Cypriot opposition could
be supported, Mr Christou pointed out that the Cyprus Government supports
the efforts of the Turkish Cypriot opposition by underlining its willingness
to search for a solution and a compromise and by supporting the Annan Plan
and the view that through a dialogue with the Turkish Cypriot powers that
want a solution, answers could be found to questions on which there are
still different approaches. This is the essence of the difference between
the Turkish Cypriot opposition and Mr Denktash, he said. Commenting on the
outcome of the "elections", the US Ambassador said that what is quite clear
about the vote is that by popular margin Turkish Cypriots expressed their
desire for a comprehensive settlement that would enable them to join Europe
by May 1 together with Greek Cypriots. "This is a vote of hope over fear"
he said, adding that it is all the more noteworthy given the pressures that
Turkish Cypriots have faced. Mr Klosson reiterated the readiness of the
United States to continue to assist the process of finding a solution to
the Cyprus problem and noted the visit to Athens, Nicosia and Ankara of US
State Department Special Coordinator Mr Thomas Weston.
''We will do what we can to help move the settlement process forward based
on the Annan Plan,'' he said. The US diplomat further said that the results
of the elections have sent a very strong political signal that the Turkish
Cypriots are looking to the future with hope instead of fear and that the
majority of voters have voted for the parties that support the Annan Plan
and EU membership at the same timeframe as Greek Cypriots. This is a very
strong signal that should be respected, he said.
On the Cyprus problem, Mr Klosson said that the way forward has not changed,
and that the Secretary General's mission of good offices and the Annan Plan
remain on the negotiating table. He stressed that what the United States
wish to see is the resumption of the talks based on the Annan Plan, adding
that the first step in this direction would be for the parties concerned to
express their political will as requested by the UN Secretary General and
endorsed by the UN Security Council.
From the Republic of Cyprus Press and Information Office (PIO) Server at http://www.pio.gov.cy/
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