THE TWO leaders must tell people the truth about what is and is not possible if a Cyprus solution is finally to be found, said UN Special Adviser Alexander Downer last night.
Speaking at the Nicosia launch of PRIO’s third report on the Cyprus peace dividend, Downer urged the two leaders to tell the people what they needed to hear, not what they wanted to hear.
“Great leaders are all brave people and they change the paradigm. They don’t just tell people what they want to hear, they tell people what they need to hear. They tell people the truth, they level with people,” he said.
“They’re fair on their societies by being honest about the challenges that they face, about what can be achieved and what can’t be achieved, what hopes can never be fulfilled, what hopes can be fulfilled, that’s leadership,” he added.
The Australian diplomat said that after two years on the job, he still believed that the two leaders could “do the deal”. He noted that the UN, international community and Cypriot people have proved over the decades that the previous ways of handling the Cyprus problem have not worked.
“The way it was done in the past did not work, and there is no point in repeating the mistakes of history. There is a deal that can be done here. But it can only be done by doing things in a new way, a fresh way, and learning from the mistakes of the past.”
Downer said he wouldn’t still be here, travelling back and forth from Australia via Dubai, experiencing jet lag and reading all the things that are said about him in the press if he didn’t think it was worthwhile. A deal could be reached on the island if the issue was approached differently, with a sense of hope and the need for change, he said.
“Nothing will change if people in Cyprus keep dealing with this issue the way it’s always been dealt with. If they keep saying the same things about each other, if they still keep thinking the same things about each other, because we know about the failure of the past.
“You must change in order to succeed. You must do things in a new way and take a new approach. You must have a new conversation with each other. You must have a new ambition to work together. You must have new optimism that by doing things differently, by changing attitudes, by changing your conversations, by changing your outlook, you can achieve some of the things that are outlined in these sorts of papers,” he said referring to the PRIO reports on the economic benefits of a solution for all Cypriots, Greece and Turkey.
“I know economics isn’t everything. I’ve learnt over the years as a diplomat and foreign minister that you can’t buy peace with money. You can buy peace with leadership, courage, strength, optimism, hope and hard work.”
The UN official proceeded to outline the characteristics of the greatest leaders in history, which included a vision for their country, the ability to understand different points of view and to empathise with their adversaries. “They may not agree with them, but they can understand why they have that point of view.”
“And I think you have an opportunity here in Cyprus to set an example to the world, of how Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots, for all the tragedy of the past that there has been, can come together and agree on building a new federation.
“It would be a great moment for this country, for this island, to put behind it the tragedy of the past. It would be a great moment for the world if Cyprus could lead the way and show that differences can be settled, solutions can be found to those differences and that a common vision can be pursued for the future,” he said.
