AFTER three days of bargaining, stalling, manoeuvring and posturing, President Tassos Papadopoulos and Rauf Denktash yesterday agreed to the procedure proposed by the UN Secretary-general that could lead to the solution of the Cyprus problem by April 21. It is the first real breakthrough in the peace process since negotiations between the two sides began some 40 years ago.
After decades of false starts and deadlocks, people thought there would never be a settlement, but the procedure proposed by Kofi Annan has completely eliminated the possibility of deadlock, by the setting of strict deadlines for each part of the process. Negotiations, which start in Nicosia on Thursday, have to be completed by March 22. If a finalised text for a comprehensive settlement is not agreed on by then, the Secretary-general will convene a meeting, at which representatives of Greece and Turkey will be present, in an effort to resolve remaining differences by March 29. If there is still no agreement, the Secretary-general will finalise the text for the settlement that would be submitted to referenda on April21.
It is the first time that both sides have agreed to a peace procedure that cannot collapse or grind to a halt. Delaying tactics would be meaningless and the digging in of feet, which had become a trademark of past negotiations, would be completely futile. It is the first time the two sides have a real incentive to negotiate constructively, because time will be working against them. If they want to negotiate improvements to the plan, they will have just four weeks in which to do so. And for any change to be made, both sides must agree, which may allow some give-and-take. The deadlines and lack of escape clauses are certain to focus the minds of Papadopoulos and Denktash on the negotiations.
This was Annan’s master-stroke. Irrespective of what happens at the talks and the quadripartite meeting on April 21, the people of Cyprus will be given the opportunity, for the first time, to decide whether they want a settlement. Turkey and Greece have given their go-ahead. Annan’s initiative has the full support of the international community, including the United States. But most importantly, the final say on a settlement has been taken out of the hands of the politicians, who have contributed more than anyone to the intractability of the problem, and been given to the people.
Annan may have imposed a rigidly structured process, based on strict deadlines, but it is the only hope of arriving at a comprehensive settlement to the Cyprus problems after four decades of deadlock.
