AN OPINION poll in Politis newspaper has revealed that almost 30 per cent of the population is still undecided about the Annan plan to solve the Cyprus problem.
Last week, a similar poll on Sigma TV had shown 61 per cent of those asked would vote ‘no’ to the plan as it stood. But the ACNIELSEN/Politis poll published on Sunday was far more nuanced.
Asked if they would approve a version of the Annan plan very similar to the one currently on the table, only 40 per cent said no, 31 per cent said yes and 29 per cent said they were still considering the situation.
The survey interviewed 546 people in the free areas of Cyprus between February 19 and 20.
The breakdown by age groups made for interesting reading: most of those between the ages of 18 and 25 backed the Annan plan, while a majority in the 25-44 age bracket opposed it – with the paper suggesting young people were more idealistic, while the 25-44 group were settling into jobs and family and more afraid of change. Over 45s, however, were evenly split.
There were surprises too in the breakdown by political affiliation. A narrow majority of DIKO voters backed the plan (36 per cent ‘yes’ to 34 per cent ‘no’), despite the ruling party’s marked reticence about the document in its current form. Meanwhile, most DISY voters (44 per cent) opposed it with only 32 per cent backing the plan, despite the leadership’s clear backing for it. Most AKEL voters backed the plan (44-32), reflecting the party’s historic commitment to rapprochement.
Questioned on which points of the Annan Plan were most satisfactory, 41 per cent said the fact that more than half the refugees would be allowed to return to their homes; 28 per cent were satisfied that the plan would see a phased withdrawal of most Turkish forces from the island, while 14 per cent said that the plan would bring the possibility of co-operation between Greek and Turkish Cypriot political parties to form a federal government.
On the down side, 40 per cent of those asked were unhappy with the territorial settlement, while 28 per cent were unsatisfied that the plan would allow Turkish settlers to remain on the island after a solution; 22 per cent were concerned that the new state would not be functional.
Despite general dissatisfaction with quotas imposed on Greek Cypriot refugees returning to homes under Turkish Cypriot control, the poll suggested very few – only 16 per cent – actually wanted to go back under such conditions, compared to a stark 72 per cent that said they would not return.
The poll also showed significant concern about the cost of a solution. Asked whether a solution to the Cyprus problem and the island’s accession to the EU would improve or worsen the economic situation, 60 per cent believe it would get worse, compared to 26 per cent who thought it would improve and five per cent who said it would make no difference.
In spite of this, 45 per cent of respondents were optimistic about the future for Cyprus, while 37 per cent were pessimistic.
Moreover, 66 per cent of those asked believed Tassos Papadopoulos’ had played his cards correctly in the New York talks that led to last week’s resumption of negotiations, to only 18 per cent who disagreed.
NICOSIA municipality is to ask a resident to remove a giant ‘no’ banner draped over the edge of his balcony on Eleftheria Square.
The Permanent Secretary of the Nicosia Municipality, Christos Athanasiou, told the Cyprus Mail that he had seen the banner and that such displays required permission from the local authorities.
“We are talking about an individual who is expressing his own opinion. However, we will ask him to remove it as it is not politically correct,” said Athanasiou.
He admitted the matter was bordering on a very fine line as the individual was not insulting anyone, but insisted procedures must be followed and the banner taken down.
