ONE thing is certain about the Cyprus plan put forward by the UN yesterday and that is that neither side the Greek Cypriot nor the Turkish Cypriot sides will get what it wants.
The Greek Cypriot side has been pushing for a bi-zonal, bi-communal federation in line with UN resolutions on Cyprus, while the Turkish Cypriot side wants a loose confederation of two separate states.
According to speculation on what is contained in the 150-page plan submitted yesterday, the blueprint includes elements from both visions and covers the four core issues of the Cyprus problem — governance, territory, property and security.
The plan is understood to provide for a central sovereign government and international Cyprus identity, with each side looking after its own internal affairs.
Under the new constitution, Cyprus would have a rotating presidency and prime ministership to guarantee that when one was a Greek Cypriot and the other a Turkish Cypriot.
Parliament would consist of an upper and lower House with 50-50 representation in the upper house and 60-40 in the lower house in favour of the Greek Cypriot majority.
In addition a court made up of three members from each community and three neutral members not from any of the guarantor countries, Greece, Turkey and Britain, would sort out any governance disputes within a 10-day period.
Cyprus would have one international Cypriot nationality under the plan, while each constituent state would also hand out its own Greek or Turkish Cypriot identity.
Concerning territory, the Turkish Cypriots, who now hold 37 per cent of the island, would reduce their share to between 36.5 and 30.5 per cent. This would include the return to Greek Cypriot administration of the ghost town of Famagusta, as well as Morphou and possibly some villages in the greater Nicosia district. According to some reports, the maps drafted by the UN envisage that the line dividing the two administrative areas will run through the northern mountaintops of Morphou. In addition, while Famagusta would come under Greek Cypriot control, its port would not.
The plan reportedly allows for around half of the 200,000 Greek Cypriot refugees to return to their homes, while some Turkish settlers would be granted Cypriot citizenship, depending on how long they have lived in the north. The UN’s aim is for the arrangements to involve as little population transfers as possible.
Plans for security provide for the gradual demilitarisation of the island and the deployment of a multinational force under the UN.
The new Cyprus would have a new constitution, flag and national anthem, while Greek and Turkish would be compulsory in all schools.
The two sides will have 30 days to come up with an initial agreement, preferably before December 12, to tie in with the EU summit in Copenhagen. The final deadline for the take-it-or-leave-it plan is February 28, the date of the 2003 presidential elections, with a referendum to be held by the end of March.
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.
