By Elias Hazou
THE LEADERSHIP of socialists EDEK has openly rejected a bi-zonal, bi-communal federation (BBF) as the model for a settlement of the Cyprus issue, though the matter will be put before the party base before it is adopted as the official party line.
On Sunday, EDEK’s Central Committee issued a statement, denouncing both the terminology as well as the substance of the BBF, which it described as a “racist” arrangement.
“The BBF…promotes segregation along ethnic and community lines, is undemocratic as it equates the majority to the minority, violates citizens’ political and human rights, deprives citizens the right to stand for election at their place of residence, and introduces restrictions on the freedom of establishment and the right to property.”
It added: “As it is being proposed, bi-zonality provides for borders, and moreover it incorporates guaranteed majorities of people and property, restricts political and human rights, as well as fundamental freedoms, elements that are incompatible with a federation, but compatible with a confederation.”
In short, EDEK says the BBF is a contradiction in terms, and would stoke tensions between the two communities rather than resolve them, thus encouraging secessionist tendencies.
“It makes Cypriots second-class citizens within the EU, legitimises and enhances settlement and thereby distorts the island’s demographics, establishes a state that is not independent but under custodianship, is riddled by complexity in decision-making and in terms of international representation, and as a result creates deadlocks, and provides that foreign troops shall remain in Cyprus.”
New EDEK leader Marinos Sizopoulos had planned to put the new position to a vote, but balked once it transpired this did not garner support from the majority of the Central Committee members.
Several leading cadres, including MEP Dimitris Papadakis – who otherwise had backed Sizopoulos in the recent party elections – were reluctant to follow suit, signalling a possible rift at the top.
Despite the absence of a vote and the lack of common ground, the leadership put out the above statement regardless, with Sizopoulos later claiming the Central Committee had taken a ‘decision’.
The matter will next be put to a party congress. The congress is planned for June 14, where party members will vote to endorse the new stance, reject or amend it.
Former EDEK leader Yiannakis Omirou was among those wary of the hard turn engineered by his successor.
“These are dangerous acrobatics, which only serve to sow confusion. When was EDEK ever trapped by names? We were always focused on the content,” he tweeted.
The Citizens Alliance, however, hailed the development, welcoming EDEK aboard the overtly rejectionist camp.
In a statement, the party said that rejection of the BBF was part and parcel of its own founding charter – taking credit for leading the way.
Asked to comment, government spokesman Nicos Christodoulides told the state broadcaster the administration “respects” but does not agree with EDEK’s stance.
“I wonder, is this shift…a first-rate opportunity for some who seek non-solution of the Cyprus problem or who seek a two-state solution, or a solution perpetuating the status quo?”
A departure here from the long-agreed formula for a settlement – the BBF – might give quarters abroad just the pretext to promote their ‘Plan B’ for Cyprus, added Christodoulides.
Significantly, EDEK’s move came just 24 hours before the leaders of the two communities were due to announce a date for the resumption of reunification talks.
On the recent election of Mustafa Akinci as leader of the Turkish Cypriot breakaway regime, EDEK said this creates “guarded optimism for better rapport, provided however that he [Akinci] can break free of Ankara’s tight grip and absolute control.”
Sizopoulos, who represents the hard-line wing of the party, was among the loudest and fiercest detractors of the 2004 UN peace plan, which Greek Cypriots eventually rejected in a referendum that same year.
Last week Sizopoulos met with DIKO chief Nicolas Papadopoulos, agreeing to work closely together on the Cyprus issue.
Whereas DIKO has likewise been critical of what it says are continuous Greek Cypriot concessions to the other side, for the moment it has stopped short of taking the plunge and renouncing the BBF.
EVROKO is the other party which disavows the BBF outright.
EDEK’s depleted fan base is likely a key reason for their move. In the 2011 legislative elections, the socialists grabbed just 8.93 per cent of the popular vote, and their numbers are believed to have further plummeted since.
“They’re playing their last card. Their objective is to tap the anti-solution section of society, leading the way,” political analyst Louis Igoumenides told the Mail.
By going super hard-line, EDEK hope to one-up Giorgos Lillikas, head of the Citizens Alliance, whom they see as a threat.
In political terms, the socialists fear that progress in the peace talks, possibly leading to a solution, will spell the end for them.
“Plus,” added Igoumenides, “this time the rejectionists don’t have a Tassos Papadopoulos figure to rally behind. It’s panic stations, so extreme steps are called for.”
“But I think they’ll lose the gambit. The mood among Greek Cypriots, especially with the financial crisis, has swung. Many who in the past were against now feel a solution can bring economic benefits.”
