ACTIVITIES OF SECRETARY-GENERAL IN BURGENSTOCK, SWITZERLAND 27 MARCH – 1 APRIL 2004
Secretary-General Kofi Annan arrived in Switzerland on Saturday, 27 March.
On Sunday, in Bürgenstock, he met with his staff who briefed him on the Cyprus talks which were ongoing since 25 March.
On Monday, 29 March, the Secretary-General handed over to the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot leader a draft of the proposed Comprehensive Settlement of the Cyprus problem.
Just prior to handing over more than 9,000 pages of text, the Secretary-General said that he expected them to make a commitment here and now. “There is a sense of destiny”, he said.
Also receiving the plan were the representatives of the “motherlands”, Turkey and Greece.
The text was the result of “the Herculean efforts of Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot leaders”, he went on, “working intensely and in unison for the reunification of their country.” He added that they pooled their great talent in search of common ends, while respecting each other’s identities.
In conclusion, he called on the leaders to act on a vision of a Cyprus, working for all of the people, with the leadership the people deserve. (See Press Release SG/SM/9228 of 29 March.)
The ceremony was attended by His Excellency Tassos Papadopoulos, His Excellency Memet Ali Talat, and His Excellency Serdar Denktash.
The “motherlands” were represented by Greek Foreign Minister Petros Molyviatis and Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul.
Early the following day, the Secretary-General met separately with the Greek Cypriot delegation headed by His Excellency Mr. Tassos Papadopoulos and the Turkish Cypriot delegation led by Their Excellencies Mr. Mehmet Ali Talat and Mr. Serdar Denktash to receive their reactions to the draft plan.
Alvaro de Soto, the Secretary-General’s Special Adviser on Cyprus, met with the Greek Deputy Foreign Minister, His Excellency Yiannis Valinakis, for the same purpose. He had received the reaction of the Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan after the Prime Minister’s arrival in Bürgenstock the previous evening. The Greek Prime Minister, Costas Caramanlis, also participated in the talks.
Contacts at the working level continued, while the Secretary-General and his team evaluated those reactions to see whether further adjustments could be made in the time remaining.
The Secretary-General also met that day with the European Commissioner for Enlargement, Günter Verheugen, and later in the afternoon with the Foreign Minister of Switzerland, Micheline Calmy-Rey, who paid him a courtesy call.
The Secretary-General met on Wednesday with all sides to discuss further revisions to the proposal on Cyprus, with a view to finalizing the text that would then be put to simultaneous referenda in April.
In the morning, he met with the Prime Minister of Greece.
That was followed in the afternoon by a meeting with the Greek Cypriot delegation, and then one with the Turkish Cypriot delegation.
In the late afternoon, he saw the Turkish Prime Minister.
The Secretary-General aimed to bring the proceedings to a conclusion that evening, in accordance with the agreement by the two Cypriot parties reached in New York on 13 February.
Late in the day, Secretary-General Kofi Annan met with the Prime Ministers of Greece and Turkey to assess the state of play regarding the unification of Cyprus. He asked the Greek Prime Minister and the Turkish Prime Minister to encourage the Cypriot leaders to work towards reunification of the island and entry into the European Union. He thanked them for their support in this process and said that their presence in Bürgenstock was proof of their engagements, and he hoped that engagement would continue.
The Secretary-General then invited the Greek Cypriot and the Turkish Cypriot delegations to meet with him for the presentation of the plan. He also invited the Greek and Turkish delegations, as well as representatives of the United Kingdom, which, along with Greece and Turkey, is a guarantorState in the peace process. And he invited a European Union delegation, headed by Enlargement Commissioner Günter Verheugen.
With him was his Special Adviser on Cyprus, Alvaro de Soto, who had led the negotiations for the last four years.
The meeting got under way at about 11:45 p.m. against a midnight deadline. The six delegations were presented with copies of the final version of the plan, which ran some 9,000 pages, including annexes.
“The hour is late”, he said, “but the cause is urgent. The time for consultation is over. The time for decision and action has arrived.”
Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots would decide whether or not to accept the plan in referenda to be held in about three and a half weeks’ time, or 24 April. “You have the responsibility to inform the people about the plan”, he told the leaders of the two communities, “on which they will be asked to say yes or no.”
“Let us be clear”, he warned. “The choice is not between this settlement plan and some other magical, mythical solution. In reality, the choice is between this settlement plan and no settlement.”
“The plan is fair”, he asserted. “It is designed to work. And I believe it provides Cypriots with a secure framework for a common future.”
“This is a moment of high drama”, he concluded.
“There have been too many missed opportunities in the past. For the sake of all of you, I urge you not to make that same mistake again. Let us seize this chance for peace in a UnitedCyprusRepublic”. (See Press Release SG/SM/9239.)
The Secretary-General departed Bürgenstock for Vienna, Austria, on Thursday morning.