The UN doesn’t take sides

Sir,
As a Greek Cypriot, I am dismayed by the letter from Andreas Droussiotis (‘We can’t accept just any solution, April 28). Even though Mr Droussiotis sounds like a reasonable person, he says: “The majority of Greek Cypriots want a just solution, not just any solution to the Cyprus problem. The Annan plan fails to take into consideration the sensitivities of the Greek Cypriots as the victims of Turkish aggression and brutality.”

This may be reasonable, but it’s unrealistic. It is not the UN’s job to apportion blame, punishing the ‘bad’ and rewarding the ‘good’. In fact, the opposite is true.

The UN can only be effective as mediators if they treat both sides equally, making sure they both get what they want, as far as possible. In the real world, a solution can’t be judged by how “just” it is, but by whether it provides a workable framework for the future, which the Annan plan does.

It provides our side with what we want (return of land, return of refugees, etc.) but also provides the Turkish side with what they want, even if that seems “unjust” to some people. No UN plan could succeed if it condemned “Turkish aggression and brutality”. We will never solve our problem with this kind of attitude.

We should also remember that both sides bear some responsibility for the events of 1960 to 1974. There are Turkish Cypriot ‘sensitivities’ to be taken into consideration as well.

Stavros Kyriacou,
Nicosia