President should now resign

Sir,

My wife and I have had the privilege of living in Cyprus for the last three and a half years. My only regret is that I have not learnt as much of the Greek language as I would have liked to. There is one word however that I have learned.

In Cyprus, OXI means NO:

· NO reduction in the number of Turkish troops in northern Cyprus,
· NO return of Turkish settlers to mainland Turkey,
· NO return of property in the north to Greek Cypriot owners,
· NO compensation for what was lost in 1974, and
· NO united island of Cyprus. EVER

We heard on Wednesday night that President Tassos Papadopoulos can not bring himself to support the Annan Plan which is the last and only opportunity to reunify the island of Cyprus. In making this statement, he must know that he is encouraging thousands of Greek Cypriots to vote NO. He knows that a NO vote in the referendum will lead to:
·Permanent division of the island,
·Sympathy and eventual recognition from the rest of the world for northern Cyprus, and
·Recognition by the rest of the world that Greek Cypriots have chosen the status quo over reunification.

Presumably, after having done what he can to ensure the destruction of the dream of a united Republic of Cyprus, he will now take the only honourable course which is open to him and resign.

Yours with sincere regret,
Richard Norris,
Nicosia

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.