PRESIDENT yesterday defended his positions on the property issue in talks with Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat, saying he was “genuinely saddened” by the continuous criticism against him.
“I regret to observe that some have contractually undertaken to continuously criticise…but it is sad because they undermine our efforts,” said President Demetris Christofias.
He is facing criticism that he has made concessions of principle on the property issue, probably sparked by last week’s comments by Talat and Christofias that some convergence had been found on the contentious property issue. Similar condemnation was echoed during discussion of the last chapter on governance regarding the rotating presidency and weighted votes, despite the fact no final agreement has been reached on that topic.
Speaking before his departure for Berlin yesterday, Christofias felt compelled to clarify that no concessions have been made in the talks on the property issue. The fact that the leaders’ respective aides are writing down what properties exist “means nothing in relation to the essence of the issue”, he said.
“At the end of the day, the Cypriot people will have the final word, not me…but I want to assure the Cypriot people that no concession of principle has been made,” Christofias noted.
The president said neither he nor AKEL were responsible for the coup, invasion and occupation of 1974, adding: “I don’t want to get into this discussion but certain contracted people are constantly provoking…and I am genuinely sad about this situation”.
Christofias also rejected reports that he had proposed to Talat to suspend the talks until after the April “presidential” elections in the north.
Nicolas Papadopoulos, deputy head of DIKO, a coalition partner, continued his long-standing critique of Christofias yesterday, calling on him to finally decide whether he is following the policies of past presidents or trying to correct them.
The DIKO deputy said Christofias blamed Archbishop Makarios for accepting a federation, former presidents Georgios Vassiliou for weighted voting, Glafcos Clerides for the rotating presidency, and Tassos Papadopoulos for accepting a certain amount of settlers in a future agreement.
“To be specific, Tassos Papadopoulos is to blame for everything,” he said, adding “(Christofias) must decide, either he’s following the policies of his predecessors or he’s correcting them, the President of the Republic can’t have both.”
EVROKO leader Demetris Syllouris accused Christofias of going against decisions of the National Council through his discussions on property in the talks.
On the property criticisms, government spokesman Stefanos Stefanou yesterday said: “I think everyone needs to get serious…”
Meanwhile, DISY spokesman Haris Georgiades, refused to comment on a statement by DISY number two Averof Neophytou, where he said that Christofias’ positions on the Cyprus problem are worse than those in the Annan plan.
“The official positions of DISY are well known and I have no intention of commenting on any specific interview,” said Georgiades.
