Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, supporters of a solution, gathered outside the Ledra Palace Hotel in the UN-controlled buffer zone on Sunday night, to send a message to the leaders to reach a deal as soon as possible.
Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General in Cyprus and Unficy Chief of Mission Elizabeth Spehar received a petition from the group to pass on to President Nicos Anastasiades and Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci who were having dinner insie.
The members of the bicommunal Initiative for Peace “United Cyprus” had originally asked that they deliver the petition to the leaders but Spehar went outside to meet with them.
Takis Hadjidemetriou, a representative for the Initiative said they feared that if the deadlock continued it would benefit no one.
The General Secretary of the Union of Turkish Cypriot Teachers, Sener Eltzil told Spehar that it was time for a solution, without checkpoints or foreign armies.
A young man gave Spehar a 55-page document with signatures collected online, so that the leaders would know what the needs of the people were. It represents a group of bloggers from Cyprus named “Solution Now”.
Hadjidemetriou told the people gathered outside the Ledra Palace that the gathering showed the leaders they were not the only ones speaking about the Cyprus issue.
Speaking on behalf of the Initiative, president of the Turkish Cypriot union of teachers, Selma Eylem called on the leaders to stop looking for excuses and to sit down to talks and conclude the peace process.
The petition said: “We, the civil society, have today gathered here to welcome this social event between you, our two leaders, and express our satisfaction for the readiness shown for this meeting after a prolonged period of frozen negotiations that threatened the whole process.”
They expressed confidence that the leaders “will take decisions aiming at putting the whole process back on track”, adding that “we expect that you will, at this critical juncture, face up to the urgent need of reconvening the negotiating process but more importantly proceed to conclude on all major issues of the internal aspects of the problem the soonest possible”.
They underlined their confidence that the leaders could arrive at “reasonable arrangements on all issues that will allow the two communities to develop and prosper in harmony, emphasising that the peace dividend is more precious than the compromises both communities need to make.”
As civil society, they add, “we stand here ready to support you in this difficult but promising task” and will be actively present to work for the implementation of the Agreement that will reunify our country and ensure that the reunited Cyprus that will emerge will be a peaceful and prosperous island for the generations to come”.
