A NEW organisation called ‘Platform for a Solution: Reunification Now’ yesterday accused Greek Cypriot politicians of not being interested in solving the Cyprus problem.
The group, which has planned a series of events for tomorrow in Nicosia, is led by prominent psychiatrist Yiangos Mikellides and other professionals and believes that the Annan plan is a good stepping-stone to a solution.
“We’re meeting to say it’s high time to solve this problem,” said Philipos Patouras, a member of the secretariat for the coalition.
But Mikellides told the Cyprus Mail that politicians were not interested in a solution.
“All they are interested in is electing themselves as presidents and they are messing up the Cyprus problem,” he said. “On top of that they are reinforcing the phobias and the fears of the Cypriot people about the Annan plan by telling them it is no good.”
Mikellides said none of the Greek Cypriot politicians was objective on the plan and although he admitted the government might be a little more positive, “even they didn’t bother to get down and explain to people”.
He said presidential runner Alecos Markides had tried, but his approach was too intellectual. “It didn’t really explain to people that they have nothing to fear,” he said.
“All these politicians in Cyprus have been making a living out of the Cyprus problem since 1960.
“If the Cyprus problem didn’t exist they would need another problem.”
“We don’t want to say that this is the last chance for a solution,” Patouras said, “but we’ve missed so many good opportunities in the past and we don’t want to see this happen again.”
The Platform will be organising a talk at the International Conference Centre in Nicosia tomorrow afternoon and afterwards the group will head to the Roccas bastion at Paphos Gate for a cultural programme and a tree-planting ceremony, Mikellides said. The organisers are expecting an attendance of up to 1,000 people.
“The event is non political. The group does not belong to one party. They are from all parties from left to right and they want to express their bitterness about the Cyprus problem not getting as much attention as it ought to be,” he said.
“Cypriots are more mature about making sacrifices than they were in the 1960s,” Mikellides said. “We already went through hell and I think now we will be ready to negotiate.
“The Annan solution is a stepping-stone. We believe that we will find a way to communicate with the Turks and improve the Annan plan between us and create an independent Cyprus. We want to show the Turkish Cypriots that we support their movement and try to let them know that in the south there are people who feel for them and are prepared to help them in their cause.”
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.
