Calm down, you’re in a tense state, Clerides tells Kyprianou
By George Psyllides
RELATIONS between House leader Spyros Kyprianou and Glafcos Clerides soured dramatically yesterday when Kyprianou called on the president to resign, labelling his policy a danger to Cyprus. Clerides responded by advising Kyprianou to calm down because of his state of health.
Kyprianou’s outburst came just hours before the 67-year-old former president was due to fly to London, and from there to the United States for a heart operation.
For the first time since the New York proximity talks and the EU’s Helsinki summit, Kyprianou yesterday openly attacked Nicosia and Athens, saying their policies were dangerous. He also disclosed that during a meeting with Clerides earlier in the day, he had advised him to call fresh presidential elections.
The political row deepened when government spokesman Michalis Papapetrou claimed Kyprianou was scheming with other parties to take power. Papapetrou revealed that Kyprianou had approached political parties asking that if Clerides resigned he (Kyprianou) could have their backing as the new president, not for 45 days as the constitution stipulates but for the rest of Clerides’ term, until February 2003.
Earlier Kyprianou told reporters about his meeting with Clerides. “I cannot say I am happy from our meeting,” he said. “No one can ask the president to resign, but if he wants to continue with the existing climate he should call fresh elections; that is what I would have done.”
Responding to Kyprianou’s comments through a statement read by Papapetrou, Clerides said that, during the meeting, he had “diagnosed that Kyprianou was in a tense state and, because of his health condition, he advised him to calm down”. The president wished him a safe journey, full recovery and speedy return to the island, said Papapetrou.
“During (yesterday’s) meeting (with Clerides), Kyprianou was obsessed with the idea that Greek Prime Minister Costas Simitis follows a dangerous policy that will eventually hurt Cyprus,” Papapetrou said.
“The president tried to put his fears to rest, but it was clear that Kyprianou had made his mind up. He told President Clerides to remove from his environment all individuals who pushed him toward Simitis’ policy,” added Papapetrou.
In a parting shot before boarding a plane at Larnaca, Kyprianou said Papapetrou had revealed to him that Simitis and Clerides had agreed, in the run-up to last month’s Helsinki summit, to allow Turkey to become an EU candidate without Ankara making any Cyprus concessions.
He also revealed that the Simitis supporters he had advised Clerides to remove were Cyprus’ chief EU negotiator George Vassiliou, Agriculture Minister Costas Themistocleous and government spokesman Papapetrou.
Kyprianou’s first reaction to the Papapetrou statement was to question from where the president had got his information. He added: “Let him resign and I pledge not to run as a candidate in the presidential elections.”
The spat started around noon yesterday when Kyprianou held a news conference ahead of his trip for surgery on a weak heart valve. Kyprianou based his accusations on two recent articles in the Athens press, written by associates of Simitis.
The first article, published in Exousia newspaper, sparked accusations in Cyprus that its author, George Pandayias, was advocating confederation as a solution to the Cyprus problem. In the second article published in Vima, Stathis Efstathiades, who according to Kyprianou is Simitis’ close associate, asks Cypriots to give up on the principle of a bizonal federation, claiming that his positions are shared by high-ranking members of the Greek government.
Kyprianou also commented on Germany’s invitation to Rauf Denktash to visit Berlin, and wondered about the European Union’s role in the Cyprus problem. “We do not want a Europe of interests but a Europe of rights,” he said. “As far as Helsinki is concerned, we need to be psychic to find the positive aspects of the decision taken there.”
