PRESS CONFERENCE BY PRESIDENT OF CYPRUS

PRESS CONFERENCE BY PRESIDENT OF CYPRUS

In March, the latest initiative of the Secretary-General concerning the Cyprus problem had failed because of the refusal of Rauf Denktash, the Turkish Cypriot leader, to proceed on basis of that “Annan plan”, the President of Cyprus, Tassos Papadopoulos, told correspondents this morning during a press conference at Headquarters.  Right now, everybody seemed to be waiting for some change in the attitude of Turkey and subsequently of the Turkish Cypriots.

Answering correspondents’ questions, President Papadopoulos said the Secretary-General, in his latest report to the Security Council (S/2003/398) on his mission of good offices in Cyprus, had put the blame squarely on the Turkish and Turkish Cypriot side.  Mr. Denktash had said the plan was “dead and buried”.

He said all decisions regarding the issue were taken by Ankara (the Turkish Government), including who was going to represent Turkish Cypriots to negotiations.  A vote scheduled for December on the Turkish Cypriot side was a parliamentary election, not a vote to elect a so-called “President of the Turkish Cypriots”.  In order for Mr. Denktash to leave office, he must, therefore, be defeated by a substantial margin.  Ankara might then feel obliged to replace him.

The current state of negotiations was not just “manoeuvring” on the Turkish Cypriot part, it was “a difference of attitudes”, he said.  Mr. Denktash had his own “nightmare” vision for a solution, based on two separate States, both members of the European Union.  That would result in the “ridiculous” situation of Cyprus having two votes in the Council of Europe, while France or Germany only had one vote.  On the other hand, Ankara might want support for a solution -- a condition for its European Union accession date.

If no solution was reached before 1 May 2004, Cyprus’ accession date to the Union, a number of practical problems would arise, such as the necessity to place restrictions on the movement of capital, persons and goods, which would further solidify the partition of the island.  Those problems, however, were not insurmountable, and 1 May 2004 was not a day of “do or doom”.  Cyprus’s accession treaty contained a provision for reaching a solution after accession.

Asked what would happen if a solution was reached and the people rejected it in the referendum called for by the plan, President Papadopoulos answered that if on his side the leadership supported a final solution, the people would follow.  The idea of a referendum was mainly conceived as a way to “bypass” Mr. Denktash, because the view prevailed that, although Mr. Denktash rejected any discussion of the Annan plan, the majority of the Turkish Cypriots seemed to think otherwise.

A correspondent, noting that the major European Union countries wanted to proceed with the Giscard d’Estaing plan for a European Constitution without any amendments, asked if smaller- and medium-sized nations that were not happy with that plan stood united.  President Papadopoulos answered that by last count, there were about 30 different views on various provisions of the proposed European Constitution.  It was not a matter of a vote in favour or against.  Different alliances had been formed on different issues.

Asked about the initiative for demining in the buffer zone he had announced in this morning’s General Assembly debate, he said his proposal stemmed from Cyprus’ obligations under the Ottawa Convention it had ratified.  In government-controlled areas, already 11 fields had been demined.  Assistance was needed from the United Nations in order to proceed with demining in the buffer zone.  Even if Mr. Denktash would not agree with that plan, Mr. Papadopoulos intended to proceed unilaterally.  Destruction of anti-personnel mines would proceed in stages.  He hoped that process would be completed within two months or so.

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