By Jean Christou
SHUTTLE talks aimed at kickstarting the stalled Cyprus negotiations will begin tomorrow.
UN chief of mission Dame Ann Hercus has fixed a meeting with President Clerides for tomorrow morning, but Unficyp spokesman Waldemar Rokoszewski warned yesterday that the entire process would take place in a shroud of secrecy.
“The shuttle talks will take place in absolute confidentiality as far as the Secretary-general’s representative on the island is concerned,” Rokoszewski said.
“She does not intend to comment on any aspect of this matter.”
The international community is hell bent on bringing the two sides to the negotiating table in any way possible, but the Cyprus government fears that Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash will push his plan for a confederation once he gets back to the negotiating table.
The government has said it would be seeking some clarifications at the first meetings.
Foreign Minister Yiannakis Cassoulides yesterday repeated the government’s stance that under no circumstances was the idea of a confederation acceptable for discussion.
“Confederation or division are clearly not within the mandate of the Secretary-general’s good offices mission,” he said. “Cyprus wants a bizonal bicommunal federation.”
Cassoulides was responding to statements made in London by the UN Secretary- general’s special envoy for Cyprus, Diego Cordovez.
Speaking at a seminar organised by the European-Atlantic Group on Monday, Cordovez described Denktash’s confederation proposal as “substantive”.
In his speech, Cordovez said some commentators and analysts “have been saying for some time that Cyprus is heading slowly towards partition.
“In fact several analyses affirm that partition has already taken place. Other commentators have seen Mr Denktash’s latest proposal as confirmation that at least the Turkish Cypriot side has decided to formalise such a political and legal situation. I do not agree,” Cordovez said.
“It is much less important to argue about the name of a particular constitutional system as it is jointly to define what it means. It is something that must be considered across a negotiating table.”
“All kinds of ideas can then be exchanged and all sorts of proposals can be advanced. That is part of any negotiating process,” Cordovez said.
According to Turkish Cypriot press reports yesterday, Cordovez said the resumption of negotiations was more important than trying to find terminologies.
Speaking at the same seminar, Britain’s special representative for Cyprus Sir David Hannay said partition would not be in the interest of either Greece or Turkey, nor of the Greek and Turkish Cypriots.
It has been reported that the initiative being started by Dame Ann to bring the two sides together is a Anglo-American plan and that she will put some proposals for confidence building on the negotiating table, such as a reduction of troops along the dividing line.
UN Secretary-general Kofi Annan on September 30 mandated Dame Ann to develop a process for on-island contacts with the goal of reducing tensions and promoting progress towards a just and lasting settlement.
