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The talks procedure
Since the Turkish
invasion of 1974, there have been many rounds of
talks between the Greek and Turkish Cypriot side,
under the auspices of the United Nations, aimed
at finding a permanent solution to the Cyprus
problem. The parameters of the solution were
defined by the UN Security Council resolutions
and the two High Level Agreements of 1977 between
the then President of the Republic, Archbishop
Makarios and the Turkish Cypriot leader, Mr.
Denktash and of 1979 between the then President
of the Republic, Mr. Kyprianou and the Turkish
Cypriot leader Mr. Denktash.
The talks, which
have been carried out on the basis of the UN
Security Council resolutions and the good offices
mission of the UN Secretary General, aim at the
establishment of a bizonal bicommunal federation
with a single sovereignty, a single international
personality, a single nationality, and with the
basic human rights of all Cypriots fully
safeguarded.
The UN led proximity
talks, which started in November 1999 and lasted
one year, were the most recent effort to break
the deadlock. Five rounds of such talks were
conducted alternately in New York and
Geneva.
On the resumption of
the fifth round of proximity talks on Cyprus in
Geneva on 31.10.2000, the French Presidency of
the European Union issued a declaration, which
stated the following:
"The European Union
considers the status quo in Cyprus unacceptable
and supports the United Nations Secretary
General's efforts for a negotiated,
comprehensive, just and lasting settlement
consistent with the relevant UN Security Council
resolutions" and "calls upon the two communities
to conduct substantive talks during this session
and to contribute actively to a
settlement".
On completion of the
fifth round of talks on 10 November 2000, the UN
Secretary General Mr Kofi Annan “invited
the two sides to meet again in late
January".
The Turkish
Cypriot side abandons the talks
As the UN Secretary
General announced the new round of talks (January
2001), the Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash,
with the full support of the Turkish government,
chose to abandon the talks.
On 24 November 2000,
the President, the Prime Minister, the Foreign
Minister of Turkey, the State Minister
responsible for Cyprus Affairs, the Head of the
Armed Forces, the Turkish Cypriot leader Mr
Denktash and the Chief of General Staff took part
in a high level meeting in Ankara, during which
the Cyprus problem was discussed.
After the meeting,
Mr Denktash stated that during the fifth round of
proximity talks it had not proved possible to
find common ground, therefore he considered the
continuation of the talks a waste of time,
stressing that his views were shared by
“motherland Turkey%26rdquo; (NTV Turkish
Channel 24.11.2000.)
Furthermore the
Turkish Prime Minister Mr Bulent Ecevit, in a
statement to the Turkish Press Agency Anatolia on
24.11.2000, fully supported the Turkish Cypriot
leader%26rsquo;s decision to abandon the talks
and underlined that the security of Turkey and of
the “TRNC%26rdquo; were inseparable. He
also reiterated a statement made by Mr Denktash
that no result could be obtained from the talks
as long as the existence of two states in Cyprus
was not recognized.
The Turkish
Cypriot opposition criticizes Mr
Denktash
The leader of the
Republican Turkish Party (RTP) Mr Mehmet Ali
Talat described Ankara%26rsquo;s and Mr
Denktash%26rsquo;s decision to abandon the talks
as “the biggest mistake in history%26rdquo;
and stressed that “it is not a clever move
to withdraw from the indirect talks' (Turkish
Press 27.11.2000).
The Patriotic Union
Movement also expressed its opposition to the
decision. A statement issued by the party
stressed that the fact that the decision was
taken in Ankara and not in Nicosia, indicates
that the Turkish Cypriots have no say in these
matters (Turkish Press 26.11.2000). The decision
was also condemned by the trade union of the
“civil servants
organisations%26rdquo;.
Furthermore, the
leader of the Communal Liberation Party and
so-called “Deputy Prime Minister%26rdquo;
Mustafa Akinci declared that the Turkish side
should continue the talks without any
preconditions (Kibris 5.12.2000.)
In addition, the
Turkish Cypriot newspaper Avrupa in a front-page
article under the title “Denial%26rdquo;
criticised Denktash%26rsquo;s decision to abandon
talks. “Let all of us raise our voice
against a wrong decision by Ankara%26rdquo; the
article says, noting that the decision not to
participate in the proximity talks has shocked
the Turkish Cypriots “who are thirsty for a
solution%26rdquo;.
The Greek Cypriot
side ready for talks
Government Spokesman
Michalis Papapetrou expressed the response of the
Cyprus Government in a statement to the press on
25 November 2000:
%26ldquo;I express
the Cyprus Government's regret over Mr Denktash's
threats to pull out of the proximity talks and
torpedo the efforts for a solution to the Cyprus
problem. There is no doubt that such a decision
causes disappointment both to the Greek Cypriots
and the Turkish Cypriots who expect both sides to
behave in a responsible manner and in a spirit of
compromise so that a solution to the Cyprus
problem may at long last be found.
The Greek Cypriot
side wishes to express its readiness once again
to work in this direction. The framework for a
compromise solution does exist and bears the
signatures of Archbishop Makarios, Mr Kyprianou
and Mr Denktash. There also exists the full
backing of the international community which is
demonstrated through the UN Security Council
resolutions.%26rdquo;
Moreover on 12
January 2001 the Government Spokesman stated that
the President of the Republic, Mr Glafcos
Clerides, had sent letters on the Cyprus problem
and its latest developments to the President of
the Security Council, the five permanent members
of the Security Council, the U.N. Secretary
General and the Prime Minister of Sweden in his
capacity of President of the European Union.
“Through the letters our side reaffirms its
position that it is always ready to continue
negotiations for a solution of bizonal,
bi-communal federation,%26rdquo; he said.
Security Council
fully supports the United Nations Secretary
General
The UN Security
Council dealt with the situation in Cyprus on
12.12 2000. According to the official UN
statement, the Special Adviser of the UN
Secretary General on Cyprus Mr Alvaro de Soto,
briefed the Members of the United Nations
Security Council.
During their
consultations, the Members of the Council
“gave their full support to Mr. Annan's
effort to achieve a comprehensive settlement to
the Cyprus problem%26rdquo;. They “welcomed
and supported the Secretary General's intention
to continue with the process he initiated in
November 1999 and urged all concerned to
cooperate fully with those
efforts.%26rdquo;
Spanish Foreign
Minister and European MEP J. Poos criticize
Denktash
During a joint press
conference with his Cypriot counterpart Mr
Kasoulides in Madrid on 23.01.2001, Spanish
Foreign Minister Mr Josep Pique reiterated his
country%26rsquo;s support for the efforts to
resolve the Cyprus problem and called on the
Turkish Cypriot leader Mr Rauf Denktash to return
to the proximity talks so that a solution might
be achieved on the basis of the UN Security
Council resolutions on Cyprus.
In his statement on
28.11.2000, Member of the European Parliament and
Rapporteur for Cyprus' accession to the European
Union Mr Jacques Poos said that if the Turkish
Cypriot leader carried out his threats not to
attend the next round of UN-led proximity talks,
the UN Secretary General would have to submit a
report to the Security Council noting Mr
Denktash%26rsquo;s reaction and making sure that
responsibility is apportioned where it is
due.
Mr Poos underlined
that the framework for a solution already exists
and is none other than the UN Security Council
resolutions noting that the solution must also be
in line with international law (Cyprus News
Agency 28.11.2000).
Mobilization of
the international factor
In January 2001 the
international factor was mobilized in order to
save the negotiations procedure. In the first
fortnight of January, the United States
Presidential Commissioner Mr Alfred Moses, the US
State Department Special Coordinator on Cyprus Mr
Thomas Weston and Britain%26rsquo;s Special Envoy
on Cyprus Sir David Hanney, visited the
island.
In the last week of
January, the UN Secretary General%26rsquo;s
Special Adviser on Cyprus Mr Alvaro de Soto came
to Cyprus for talks. He had meetings with the
President of the Republic Mr Glafcos Clerides and
the Turkish Cypriot leader Mr Denktash, in an
effort to persuade Mr Denktash to return to the
negotiating table. In a statement on 28.01.2001,
after the second meeting with the UN official,
the Turkish Cypriot leader Mr Denktash explained
why the new round of talks was not necessary and
reiterated his known positions on the idea of
confederation (Turkish News Agency Anatolia
28.01.2001).
On the contrary, the
Greek Cypriot side expressed its readiness to
take part in the talks. The Government Spokesman
said in his statement that the President of the
Republic had a second meeting on 29.01.2001 with
Mr De Soto, during which he categorically
reiterated his position that both the Greek and
Turkish Cypriot sides "have an obligation to
continue the procedure as determined by the
Secretary-General" and that in this direction he
expects the Secretary General to set a date
immediately for the proximity talks to be
continued.
Turkish
intransigence continues
Mr Denktash was not
persuaded by the international mediators to
return to the negotiating table. On the contrary,
he kept repeating his known positions that he
will return to the talks only if the
“Turkish Republic of Northern
Cyprus%26rdquo; was recognized (Turkish News
Agency Anatolia 10.02.2001)
The Turkish Cypriot
leader did not even take into consideration the
appeals of his compatriots to return to the
talks. In particular on 12.04.2001, 41 Turkish
Cypriot non-governmental organizations including
the Republican Turkish Party and the Patriotic
Union Movement (PUM) submitted a memorandum to
the Turkish Cypriot leader Mr. Rauf Denktash,
asking him to return to the negotiating table
without preconditions (Turkish Cypriot newspaper
Avrupa 12.04.2001). The organizations are members
of the platform “this land is
ours%26rdquo;.
The President of the
Turkish Cypriot Businessmen Association Mr Salih
Chekiler also called on Mr Dentash to return to
the talks (Turkish Cypriot Press
06.06.2001).
Moreover the former
Turkish Ambassador Inal Batu stated, in a
programme of Turkish Television (TRT 2), that the
Turkish Cypriot side had made a big mistake by
withdrawing from the proximity talks and
stressed: «You must return to the negotiations
table immediately (Yeniduzen 31.05.2001).
In his report to the
Security Council on the activities of UNFICYP
(S/2001/534, par.15, 30.05.01), the UN Secretary
General says that Mr Denktash had asked that no
date be set for the proximity talks, thus
pointing a finger on Denktash as the person
responsible for the break in of the
talks.
The President of the
Security Council said in a statement on
11.06.2001 that the Members of the Council fully
support the efforts of the UN Secretary-General
Kofi Annan to achieve a comprehensive settlement
to the Cyprus problem. He also made a special
reference to resolution 1251 of 29 June
1999.
The UN Secretary
General in his statement on 21.06.2001, after a
meeting with the British Prime Minister said that
he was not in a position to set a new date for
the resumption of the talks.
The EU Commissioner
in charge of Enlargement Mr Gunter Verheugen said
there is no doubt that the position of the
Turkish Cypriots has been weakened by their
decision to abandon the talks.
This statement was
made at a meeting of the Foreign Affairs
Committee of the European Parliament in
Strasbourg on 3 July 2001, during which Mr
Verheugen briefed the members of Parliament on
the process of the accession negotiations and
enlargement in general.
The Deputy Prime
Minister and Minister of Foreign Affais of
Belgium visited Ankara where he had meetings with
members of the Turkish Government. In a statement
after a meeting with Mr Yilmaz he said: “I
told my colleagues that the solution of the
Cyprus problem is very important and we insist
that Mr Denktash returns to the proximity talks
under the auspices of the UN Secretary General.
This is the best way for a solution to the
problem%26rdquo; (Turkish News Agency
Anatolia).
The renowned Turkish
journalists Semi Kohen and Sedat Sertoglu of
Milliyet and Sabah newspapers respectively, in an
interview to the Turkish Cypriot newspaper Halkin
Sesi (06.07.2001) called on the Turkish Cypriot
side to return to the talks as soon as
possible.
The European Union
Foreign Affairs' Ministers adopted on 16.07.2001,
in the framework of the European Union General
Affairs Council, the EU priorities general text
on issues to be presented at the 56th UN General
Assembly, which also included a reference to
Cyprus.
The text says that
the European Union "considers the status quo in
Cyprus to be unacceptable and strongly supports
the efforts of the UN Secretary General to
achieve a comprehensive settlement on the Cyprus
problem, consistent with the relevant UN Security
Council resolutions and to arrive at a positive
conclusion of the process%26rdquo;. The EU also
expresses regret that there is currently a
standstill in the process and calls on the
Turkish Cypriot side to resume the process as
soon as possible.
Greek Cypriot
side reconfirms its positive stance on the
talks
The President of the
Republic Mr Glafcos Clerides stated on 03.08.2001
that the Government would respond positively in
the case the UN Secretary General would extend an
invitation for the resumption of the talks. He
clarified however that the resumption of the
UN-led peace talks would depend on the outcome of
a meeting between the UN Secretary General, Kofi
Annan and the Turkish Cypriot leader, Rauf
Denktash, on 28 August in Salzburg,
Austria.
Finally President
Clerides said that the government had made no
demands on the United Nations and that it would
accept Mr Annan%26rsquo;s invitation for
talks.
Moreover, Government
Spokesman Mr Papapetrou stressed on 09.08.2001
that the Greek Cypriot side was ready and
determined to participate, in a constructive way,
in the process of talks.
The United
Nations become active
On 28.08.2001 the
Annan - Denktash meeting took place in Austria,
while in the week 30.08.200 - 05.09.2001 Mr De
Soto had a series of meetings with President
Clerides and Mr Denktash.
On 05.09.2001 Mr De
Soto gave a press conference at Ledra Palace in
Nicosia, during which he said the
following:
%26ldquo;In
concluding my visit I wish to make the following
announcement: I wish to announce that on behalf
of the Secretary-General I have conveyed to his
Excellency the Greek Cypriot Leader Mr. Glafcos
Clerides and his Excellency Mr. Rauf Denktash,
the Turkish Cypriot leader, an invitation to
resume the search for a comprehensive settlement
to the Cyprus problem under the
Secretary-General/s auspices. It is our hope that
a new and re-invigorated phase of the
Secretary-General/s good offices will begin with
separate meetings of the Secretary-General with
each of the two leaders on 12 September 2001 in
New York%26rdquo;.
Denktash rejects
the UN Secretary General%26rsquo;s
invitation
Mr Denktash,
following his usual negative stance and showing
utter disrespect for the UN Secretary General,
rejected the invitation for the resumption of the
talks with the excuse that there was no common
ground (05.09.2001 Turkish News Agency
Anatolia).
The Turkish Foreign
Ministry in a statement fully supported
Denktash%26rsquo;s position specifically saying
that it shared the Turkish Cypriot
leader%26rsquo;s views (Turkish Television TRT2
05.09.2001).
Turkish Cypriot
opposition criticizes Denktash
The leader of the
Republican Turkish Party Mr Talat said in a
statement that the policy followed by Mr Denktash
is wrong and that the Turkish Cypriot leader
pushes the Turkish Cypriots in the fire. In
addition the leader of the Communal Liberation
Party Mr Akinci stated that the invitation should
have been accepted and described the policy
“Not negotiating%26rdquo; as wrong.
Moreover, the Patriotic Union Movement in its
statement criticized Mr Denktash, saying that his
decision is not shared by the Turkish Cypriot
majority (Kibris 07.09.2001).
The Greek Cypriot
side accepts Mr Annan%26rsquo;s
invitation
The Greek Cypriot
side%26rsquo;s response to the Mr Annan%26rsquo;s
invitation was immediate. The Government
Spokesman stated on 06.09.2001 that the President
of the Republic would leave for New York on
10.09.2001, having accepted Mr Annan%26rsquo;s
invitation.
The international
community condemns Mr Dentash
The European
Commission through the European Commissioner for
Enlargement Mr Gunter Verheugen in a written
statement issued on 06.09.2001 expressed
disappointment over Mr Denktash%26rsquo;s
rejection of the UN Secretary General%26rsquo;s
invitation on 12.09.2001 for talks aimed at a
finding a solution of the Cyprus
problem.
In his statement, Mr
Verheugen said inter alia: “I am very
disappointed that Mr Denktash has not accepted
the UN Secretary General's invitation to talks on
12 September. The Commission considers that the
window of opportunity for reaching a solution
before accession remains open and encourages all
interested parties to undertake all efforts with
this aim in view%26rdquo;.
The UN Security
Council after a briefing by Mr De Soto, issued on
26.09.2001 a statement in which stated the
following:
The Council Members
“expressed disappointment at the
unjustified decision by the Turkish side to
decline that invitation%26rdquo; adding
“that progress can only be made at the
negotiating table%26rdquo;.
Moreover, they
encouraged the Secretary-General and his Special
Adviser “to continue their efforts, using
the guidelines in Security Council resolution
1250, namely that there should be no
preconditions; that all issues are on the table;
that both sides should make a commitment in good
faith to negotiate until a settlement is reached;
and that there should be a full consideration of
relevant United Nations resolutions and
treaties.%26rdquo;
The Spokesman of the
British Foreign Office in his statement to London
Greek Radio (LGR), expressed his deep
disappointment over Mr Denktash%26rsquo;s
rejection of the talks' process and said that he
found his cause unreasonable and
unconvincing.
The U.K. Permanent
Representative to the United Nations Mr Jeremy
Greenstock said, after closed-door consultations
at the UN Security Council, that the United
Kingdom was “disappointed that the
Secretary General's invitation to resume the
search for a comprehensive settlement in New York
this month, was turned down by the Turkish side,
to these long-standing negotiations and
discussions%26rdquo;.
%26ldquo;It is quite
clear%26rdquo;, Mr Greenstock added, “that
Mr. Denktash, on the Turkish-Cypriot side, is not
inclined to follow the Secretary General's lead
to try once and for all to find a settlement to
the Cyprus problem. “The UK is very pleased
to see that the Council has taken that position
in pointing a finger at the side that has
declined the Secretary General's invitation," he
said.
All the
international news agencies covered this news
item. The most characteristic title was that of a
report by Reuters%26rsquo;: “UN raps
Turkish Cypriot leader for refusing
talks%26rdquo;.
Turkish stance
needs to be changed
The conclusion that
can be drawn from the above is that the lack of
progress in the intercommunal talks is due to the
intransigent stance of the Turkish Cypriot leader
Mr Denktash who, with the support of Ankara,
continuously sets obstacles to the United Nations
peace effort and defies the international
community.
The framework of the
solution of the Cyprus problem exists and is none
other than the UN Security Council resolutions
and the High Level Agreements. What is needed is
for Mr Denktash to respect his signature to those
agreements. This will open the way for
substantive talks, which will lead to a permanent
solution of the Cyprus problem for the benefit of
both communities in a united Cyprus, member of
the European Union. |
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