ACADEMICS yesterday branded criticism of conflict resolution workshops as blatant political manoeuvring at a time when face-to-face talks between Greek and Turkish Cypriot leaders heighten the immediacy of a solution to the Cyprus problem.
Last week, Government Spokesman Michalis Papapetrou, Communications Minister Averoff Neophytou and the President’s daughter Katie Clerides were condemned for their involvement in the “Harvard Group” – a conflict resolution workshop.
On Sunday, Politis went front page with “shocking” details from the “Oslo Report”, written by a group of 52 Greek and Turkish Cypriots who met in Norway in 1998.
A report that was circulated to the press three years ago was effectively ignored until last weekend.
Frequent criticisms slam participants for being “hand picked by the Americans” and “betraying the pain” inflicted by the Turkish invasion.
Others claim such workshops are pointless psychological efforts to deal with a geopolitical problem.
Yet for years, bi-communal activity and conflict resolution projects have continued on the sidelines, before being whipped up into periodic press frenzies.
Academics and participants see the most recent storm as linked to the face-to-face negotiations between President Glafcos Clerides and Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash and the 2003 Presidential Elections.
“I guess the reason it erupts at certain times depends on how journalists and politicians perceive the immediacy of a solution. People feel now is a crucial time, whereas two years ago nothing was happening,” said Nicos Peristianis, sociologist and dean of Intercollege.
Member of the Oslo Group and chartered accountant Michalis Avraam sees the attack as a direct attempt to slander the Government Spokesman.
“Papapetrou is part of the negotiating team and quite a few people are annoyed by that. They are using this as a weapon to play against him,” he said.
President of Intercollege Sofronis Sofroniou agrees, as does Oslo participant and human rights lawyer Achilleas Demetriades.
“There’s nothing much in it. The people who accuse others take part in similar seminars. I know that for a fact. They exaggerate their importance and distort what happens,” said Sofroniou.
“There are political reasons behind it. They’re going for people in government,” said Demetriades.
The other major bone of contention is American input, often seen as seeking to promote unacceptable compromises. The US Congress approves $15 million every year for efforts to help solve the Cyprus problem. As a result, the US Embassy in Nicosia and the American Fulbright Commission are the major sponsors of conflict resolution groups.
But is there any truth behind the complaints, or is conflict resolution valuable?
Participants and financiers certainly think so.
“They are valuable in free exchange. They are run by academics and I don’t think they have a hidden agenda, other than bringing the sides together. I participated and benefited without having to change my ideas. Instead, I had an opportunity to project my ideas,” said Sofroniou.
He referred to it as second track diplomacy, working hand-in-hand with top-level contacts.
“There are three ways to solve the Cyprus problem. We can kill them. They can kill us or we can live together. If we live together, the least we can do is talk to each other. If we don’t, how can we live together?” said Demetriades.
The prominent lawyer has been accused of “hypocrisy” in prosecuting Turkey’s abuses of human rights before the European Court in Strasbourg, while being willing to come together with Turkish Cypriots. Demetriades sees no conflict.
For him, human rights are intrinsic to a solution, so that each minority has those rights guaranteed, just as it is his right as an individual to talk to who he likes.
“The US embassy doesn’t think it’s a waste of time,” said press officer Walter Douglas and chairman of the Fulbright Commission.
Asked to comment about allegations about American propaganda, he said: “We have no doubts about our programmes, nor does Congress.”
UN spokesman Brain Kelly admitted such contacts could be misunderstood.
“Conflict resolution comes with certain connotations and you have to be careful about overloading your story. Our emphasis has always been on encouraging bi-communal activity, which leads to heightened awareness, sensitivity and understanding,” he said.
But perhaps the real irony is that conflict resolution workshops tend to align more with the Greek Cypriot side’s vision of a bi-communal, bi-zonal solution, rather than the confederal system advocated by Ankara.
This is what infuriated Avraam.
“The process is more important than what’s being discussed,” he said, referring to 25 people from both sides coming together for the first time and agreeing on a document.
“It just shows that when there is a will there is a way,” he said.
So is he depressed for the future in a country with so much squabbling about a productive process?
“I don’t feel that society at large has rejected it, only that society is not informed.”
And for that he blames “ignorant” press frenzies.
The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.
