American, British and EU donations would fall well short of amount needed
AMERICA, Europe and Britain yesterday promised aid totaling almost three quarters of a billion dollars for the reunification of Cyprus at a pre-donors’ conference in Brussels, but the offer came with dire warnings for the Greek Cypriot side in the event of a ‘no’ vote in the referendum on April 24.
In addition to over $300 million already pledged by the EU, most of which will go to the Turkish Cypriot side in a settlement, the US yesterday offered $400 million and the UK $37 million to help reunite the island based on the provisions of the Annan plan. EU experts have estimated that in total Cyprus will need $2.4 billion in aid over the next five years and the UN has calculated that $1 billion would be needed to fund initial reconstruction.
The US was represented at the conference by Andrew Natsios, the administrator of the US Agency for International Development and Britain by Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott. Natsios said $100 million in US aid would be available to meet immediate needs for relocating Turkish Cypriots who would have to move under the terms of the plan.
If the Annan plan passes the referenda on both sides, the EU will convene an official pledging conference in early autumn but estimates by the international community fell far short of the calculations worked out by both sides. The Turkish Cypriot side says it needs $3.8 billion over five years and Planning Bureau Director Panicos Pouros, said the government’s assessment totalled about £6.5 billion ($13.3 billion).
The international community made it clear that if the Greek Cypriots, the majority of whom reject the Annan plan, say ‘no’ on April 24, not only would the money not be made available but all efforts in future would focus on aiding the Turkish Cypriot side, which would be seen as the injured party.
“It has to be understood that a majority of ‘no’ votes in the referendum would have immediate effects and the situation on the island would change, and not for the better of the people, because then the so-called green line would be de facto an external border of the EU and the present situation, which is relatively easy for people, would change. There will be consequences,” EU Enlargement Commissioner Gunther Verheugen said at the close of the Brussels conference yesterday.
He said assuming the Greek Cypriot side rejected the plan in referendum, it would be the EU’s responsibility to guarantee that the Turkish Cypriots would not be punished. “My personal conviction is that I will make proposals in the Commission, which will guarantee the continuation of our support for the Turkish Cypriot community and I will make a new initiative to overcome the economic isolation of the Turkish Cypriot economy. I would find it rather unfair that, as a result of the peace process, the Greek Cypriot community would enjoy the benefits of membership, Turkey would enjoy the benefits of a country in the pre-accession phase, and only the Turkish Cypriot community would get nothing”, he said.
Verheugen also said that it was clear that if there was no solution by the end of this month, there would be no solution for a very long time. He also criticised Greek Cypriot attempts to postpone the referendum, a proposal endorsed by the communist party AKEL on Wednesday. The fact the Greek Cypriot side did not attend the Brussels conference at a senior level did not endear the government to the international community either.
“Nobody should have the illusion that delaying tactics can help. A decision must be made now,” Verheugen said. “There was a clear view this morning that the Kofi Annan plan is the best possible solution, it is fair and balanced, and takes into account the needs of the two communities. We are not working on the assumption that there will be a ‘no’ in the referendum, we still hope that the Greek Cypriot community will make a decision based on the clear understanding of the long-term interests of the Greek Cypriot community”.
Verheugen said that after decades of negotiations, there could not be a “miracle solution” and that the international community was aware of the difficulties and worries that people in Cyprus have.
But he said the Annan plan would “get rid of barbed wire, barrels and minefields”.
“In contrast, the absence of a solution would damage everyone: it would not only destroy the hope of many Cypriots. The status quo would deepen the island’s division and the dividing line would become de-facto an external EU border. I have to inform you that in case of no solution a regulation would define the terms under which EU law would apply to the dividing line,” he added.
The US also issued warnings to the Greek Cypriot side on the consequences of a ‘no’ vote. UN State Department Coordinator Thomas Weston, who spoke to journalists after the conference, said that members of the international community had been very clear in their view that this was a unique opportunity for a settlement, “which is consistent with our view that it is this settlement or no settlement.” He said that in the event of a rejection of the plan on the south of the island the US would “do everything we can to ameliorate the ill effects on the Turkish Cypriots”.
“It was the unanimous view that it was very important that this opportunity be seized, be taken now, and that a settlement be reached, which of course means advocacy of the ‘yes’ vote by both sides in the referenda,” Weston said. “And because those issues have been brought up by some of the political leadership on the Greek Cypriot side, I think it is very important to note that the views being expressed by some of the political leadership on the island on functionality and financing are not views which are supported by the experts in the Commission, the member states and the international financial organisations.”
UN envoy Alvaro de Soto, who mediated the Cyprus negotiations, told the conference the support of the international community would send a clear message.
“At this critical juncture… your expression of support will send to the people in Cyprus the clear message that the international donor community stands shoulder to shoulder with them in their desire for a viable and lasting peace,” he said. “They deserve to be able to make this choice in the knowledge that if they vote in favour of a solution, international backing for its implementation will be in place from the moment it enters into force and will help ensure a sustained and sustainable peace.”
