PRESIDENT Demetris Christofias yesterday began informing party leaders about his meeting with Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat last Friday.
Christofias faced a barrage of criticism from some of the parties over Friday’s joint statement, and was accused of selling out Cyprus’ sovereignty because the statement used terms identical to those in the rejected Annan plan.
The European Party and the Greens were particularly scathing while coalition partners DIKO and EDEK were a little softer in their criticism.
Christofias was supported by opposition DISY and the United Democrats, which together with AKEL represent nearly 70 per cent of voters.
The President was clearly furious with the reaction from the mainly non-representative parties, and particularly with former President, and past DIKO leader, Tassos Papadopoulos, the architect of the Annan plan rejection in 2004.
Reports yesterday suggested Christofias would confront his coalition partners and ask them to not only clarify their positions but to warn them that they cannot remain in government if they keep shooting down every step he makes on the Cyprus issue.
The only thing they were accomplishing, in the President’s view, was to sow confusion among the public and creating a polarised climate reminiscent of the referendum in 2004, sources told Politis.
Christofias began his contacts yesterday by first meeting House President and DIKO leader Marios Garoyian who submitted his thoughts and proposals to the President, which aimed at strengthening the Greek Cypriot negotiating position.
Speaking after the meeting, Garoyian said there were positive elements in the joint statement but there was also some “constructive ambiguity”, which was causing “reasonable concerns”
The new phrase “constructive ambiguity” was coined by DISY leader Nicos Anastassiades last week to describe the idea that even though there were differences and difficulties, the leaders had obviously decided to maintain the good climate so that they could move forward and keep up the momentum for discussion.
It was described yesterday in Politis, by sources close to the President, that the policy allowed the sides to remain at the table and to seek convergences even in difficult subjects, rather than risking an impasse.
“The biggest danger there is that Turkey will utilise these ambiguities to promote its own strategic interests,” said Garoyian.
After his meeting with Garoyian, Christofias met Anastassiades who said the Greek Cypriot side had not gone back on its positions on sovereignty and citizenship.
“The constructive ambiguities were on issues, that I perceive, whose time had not come for discussion and cannot be sorted out until an overall picture of a solution is completed,” he said. The minute they are ready to enter a dialogue of substance, we will be ready for a real dialogue.”
EDEK leader Yiannakis Omirou met the President late in the afternoon. He said afterwards that Christofias had explained his views and positions and had gone a long way to easing the party’s concerns.
Early in the day the party’s founder and honorary chairman Vassos Lyssarides issued a statement that spoke of “negative consequences” from Friday’s joint statement.
Lyssarides spoke of the “complicity of silence” and how he would not “succumb to the intellectual terrorism” that accompanied bad planning.
“The aim is not to criticise but the correction of a course of action. I am afraid we are witnessing developments with extremely negative consequences,” he said.
He said the current course of action would lead to two separate states, partition and Turkey’s guarantee rights over the whole island.
“There is mention of a single international personality but sovereignty and citizenship have been omitted,” he said, suggesting all this had come about because the working groups and technical committees were made up of “fanatical supporters” of the Annan plan.
