RULING DIKO yesterday slammed the United Nations Secretary-general’s report on Cyprus, describing it as unbalanced and inaccurate.
Kofi Annan’s report was widely viewed as negative by the political leadership, though some interpreted it as leaving a window open for a future initiative to solve the Cyprus problem.
DIKO deputy chairman Nicos Cleanthous suggested the report contributed to the division of Cyprus and not its reunification.
He said Annan had drafted his report under emotional stress and had exceeded his mandate, which was the provision of good offices to find an agreed solution on the basis of the UN resolutions.
“DIKO rejects as an insult Mr Annan’s claim that the Cypriot people do not want a solution of the Cyprus problem and did not accept a bi-zonal, bi-communal federation,” Cleanthous said.
The party urged the Secretary-general and the Security Council to concentrate their efforts on implementing UN resolutions, while expecting the members of the Security Council to discuss the report objectively, and note the clearly imbalanced contents.
Annan steered clear of any self-critique and wrongly attempted to absolve Turkey, Cleanthous said.
He noted that the tendency to punish the Greek Cypriots after they said ‘no’ in the referendum originated from the failure of the foreign powers to enforce their plan within the specific timeframe.
Cleanthous added that the Greek Cypriot side asked for a solution on the basis of the Annan plan but with certain changes that would result in the Greek Cypriots’ acceptance of the plan.
DISY chief Nicos Anastassiades said he was concerned by the very negative report, which dictated that it was time for the political leadership to set common targets and tackle the dangers faced by the country united.
“What is important is that it is quite negative and this worries us; for this reason, it is in order to realise that the time has come for common goals and for confronting the dangers faced by the country collectively,” Anastassiades said.
Asked whether he felt vindicated in relation to the criticism he had voiced concerning the way the negotiations and the campaigning had been handled, Anastassiades stressed that what was important at this point was for Cyprus not to be treated unjustly.
He added that the report would be studied in depth by the party’s political bureau on Saturday and that the necessary announcements would be issued later.
AKEL’s initial reaction was to point out that, despite its negativity, the report left an open window for future initiatives.
Party spokesman Andros Kyprianou stressed, however, that there was no mention whatsoever of the real state of affairs in Cyprus.
The Secretary-general could not forget that the Turkish side was responsible for the division of the island, he said; “and it is they who are stationing 40,000 troops illegally, it was Turkey who invaded”, and all this could not be written off just because the Turkish Cypriots had accepted the Annan plan and the Greek Cypriots said ‘no’.
In a written statement later in the afternoon, AKEL said the report also had contradictions, inaccuracies, and wrong assessments of positions and intentions of the Greek Cypriot side.
“AKEL disagrees with the Secretary-general’s assessment that the Greek Cypriot side has rejected the solution itself in the referendum.
“The Greek Cypriots voted ‘no’ in the referendum not because they reject the bi-zonal, bi-communal federation solution but because their concerns on security issues and the implementation of the solution were not met and also because they judged that the Secretary-general’s refereeing was unfair,” AKEL said.
“It is time that the UN did some self-criticism concerning the reasons, which led the Greek Cypriot community to be negative to the Annan plan,” the statement added.
Government partners EDEK said that the negative tone of the report was disappointing.
“I think, however, that most importantly the Secretary-general gave the message that the Greek Cypriot reply should have been a ‘yes’ and nothing else,” said EDEK chairman Yiannakis Omirou, suggesting that Annan had exceeded his authority regarding the issue of ending the Turkish Cypriot isolation.
“He cannot suggest deviating from the contents and framework set by the Security Council resolutions 541 and 550; in reality this is what he is suggesting when saying that ways should be found to develop bilateral relations with the Turkish Cypriot regime,” Omirou said.
Former president and leader of the United Democrats party George Vassiliou stressed that the situation was much more difficult than could have been imagined.
He stressed that he had not had the chance to study the complete report but it was clear that Annan criticised President Tassos Papadopoulos and raised an issue concerning the peacekeeping force’s presence on the island.
“It is clear that internationally, they do not have a clear view of what it is exactly that we’re asking, and we do not have the luxury to leave it for later on because in such a case we will lead things to de facto partition,” Vassiliou said.
But Green Party deputy George Perdikis suggested that the report contained one positive point since it was the first time that the UN Secretary-general left open a window of opportunity to continue negotiations.
“It is the first time when the view that the fifth plan was the last chance was abandoned and a window was created to continue the negotiations, “Perdikis said.
