SELECTIVELY distorting convergences reached in the peace talks is only doing harm to Greek Cypriot credibility, said government spokesman Stefanos Stefanou yesterday, in reference to criticism of leaked convergences.
The government was on the back foot yesterday as all parties unleashed a wave of criticism regarding a leaked document of convergences reached on January 29, 2010.
President Demetris Christofias recently gave the parties a general outline of the positions of the Greek Cypriot negotiating team that has been submitted to the UN along with the convergence document of 2010, ahead of next week’s series of National Council meetings on Wednesday and Friday.
Within the day, the document had been leaked and parties cherry-picked clauses they did not like. One particular clause related to the rights of Turkish nationals in a united federal Cyprus.
“The opposition’s claims regarding the freedom of establishment and employment for Turkish nationals are groundless,” said government spokesman Stefanos Stefanou, who accused the opposition of doing nothing all day “other than comment on selective and targeted leaks to the press on the Cyprus problems negotiations,” said Stefanou.
The spokesman said by trying to undermine the president’s policies, they were essentially “undermining the credibility of the Greek Cypriot side and the prospects of a solution”.
For his part, opposition DISY deputy Ionas Nicolaou said Christofias had crossed red lines for his party in the convergence document.
DIKO spokesman Fotis Fotiou said the latest leaked convergences and other proposals made by the president need to be withdrawn.
EDEK spokesman Demetris Papadakis questioned how it was possible that the parties had to wait two years to be informed of the details of the 2010 document.
Stefanou rejected the notion that the parties were kept in the dark, adding: “By commenting on fragmented and selective leaks, they distort the positions of the Greek Cypriot side, are scare-mongering and trying to cause panic to the public.”
The 2010 document secured the exercise of the EU’s four freedoms for Cypriot citizens across a united federal Cyprus republic for the first time in the history of peace talks, he said.
“That is the essence of the convergence in this specific document.”
