PRO-solution movements and rapprochement groups are engaged in a flurry of activity ahead of the February 28 deadline and the expected submittal of a third amended UN plan.
Larnaca’s American Academy alumni are planning a get-together of all Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots who went to school together from 1970-74. The meeting is scheduled for next Saturday at Pyla village near the demarcation line.
On January 8 a group of former AA students met for the first time after the war, and decided to follow up.
The American Academy and the English School were among the very few schools attended by both Greek and Turkish Cypriot students.
The unusual reunion is being jointly organised by former students on both sides of the island, who communicate via e-mail.
Meanwhile a new movement called “Platform for a Solution: Reunification Now” held its first event on Saturday at the International Conference Centre in Nicosia. Sitting on the panel were prominent psychiatrist Yiangos Mikkelides and Cyprus University professor Niazi Kizilyurek. Following the talk, the group headed to the Roccas bastion at Paphos Gate for a cultural programme and a tree-planting ceremony.
The pro-solution group sees the Annan plan as a solid stepping-stone to a settlement, and has blasted Greek Cypriot politicians for prejudicing the public against it. The Platform’s resolution voiced sympathy for the Turkish Cypriots’ movement, and urged the Turkish government to “change its sterile policy of negativity”.
Adopting a constructive attitude toward the UN-sponsored plan, the Platform focuses on its positive points, for example the return of a substantial percentage of refugees to their homes and the withdrawal of most Turkish occupation forces.
Saturday’s event was covered by eight TV channels in the northern breakaway regime and Turkey, the BBC and a German TV channel.
A number of bi-communal co-operation groups are affiliated to the Platform, which is planning a string of events in the near future.
In a related story, an opinion poll published by Kathimerini in Greece showed that 75 per cent of Greek Cypriots preferred a settlement rather than the status quo. Moreover, 55 per cent of respondents believed the two communities could live in relative harmony after reunification. A breakdown of the statistics revealed that younger age groups (18-35) were more wary of living alongside Turkish Cypriots.
The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.
