AN EMBITTERED government yesterday expressed dissatisfaction at UN Secretary-general Kofi Annan’s stated intention to bring back to the surface a May 2004 report that was critical of Greek Cypriots’ stance in the referendum and that called for the partial lifting of the northern regime’s isolation.
Following a meeting with Turkish premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan in New York on Thursday, Annan said he would ask the UN Security Council to reconsider passing a resolution on his report.
If adopted, the report would set a precedent and would put the onus on the Republic, portraying Greek Cypriots as the side primarily to blame for the continuing stalemate in efforts toward a settlement.
Annan said on Thursday: “In relation to the report we submitted last year, you have heard the Prime Minister (Erdogan) express his disappointment.”
Turkey’s argument is that Turkish Cypriots should be rewarded for overwhelmingly backing the UN blueprint last April and that they should not be made to pay for the fact they have been left outside the European Union, a direct consequence of failure to reach a settlement because of Greek Cypriots’ rejection of the Annan plan.
Among other things, Annan’s report accused the Greek Cypriot side of “not negotiating (prior to the referenda) what it later put down as its demands.”
For its part, the government reacted almost instantaneously, making strong representations to the UN about Annan’s comments.
Foreign Minister George Iacovou said the comments were “ill-timed and inopportune,” all the more so because they came at a time a new UN peace initiative appeared to be on the cards after Sir Kieran Prendergast’s recent tour of the region.
“We were taken aback by his (Annan’s) statement,” Iacovou said.
Asked by journalists what might be the rationale behind Annan’s move, Iacovou speculated that the Secretary-general may have wanted to “satisfy” Erdogan so that the Turkish leader would return to Ankara with something positive, at least on the PR level.
Iacovou also dismissed widespread reports appearing in the Turkish media claiming the United States were ready to upgrade the status of the breakaway regime; the reports came out after Erdogan’s meeting with US President at the White House during the week.
However, the Foreign Minister played down the possibility of Annan’s report being adopted as a UN Security Council resolution, adding that it was unlikely the council’s five permanent members would consider it.
Russia last year vetoed an Anglo-American resolution on the eve of the Annan plan referendum, and is seen as unlikely to approve the Annan report.
Earlier this week, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov was on the island for talks with the government. He did not have any contacts in the north, annoying Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat.
Almost all parties in Cyprus slammed Annan’s comments in varying degrees. Opposition DISY’s spin was that the government’s policy was partly to blame for the Secretary-general’s stance. DISY spokesman Tasos Mitsopoulos pointed out this was the fourth meeting between Annan and Erdogan this year. He warned these meetings were aimed at upgrading the economic and political status of the ‘TRNC’, describing this development as a “regression” for the Greek Cypriot side.
And ruling DIKO and coalition partners AKEL said the goings on in New York were “disappointing”, but also lashed out at DISY for using the event to gain political points.
Meanwhile Annan did not shed light on his intentions to sponsor a new Cyprus initiative, merely noting that his good offices were “always on offer.”
Following last year’s referenda, he said, a cooling-off period was needed, so that Cypriots could “reflect… so the situation could be allowed to settle down… And this is what we have been doing.”
In response to a reporter’s question whether now was the right time for action, Annan nodded affirmatively, but did not elaborate.
