Post by Bozur on Apr 28, 2008 21:29:18 GMT -5
Shock defeat opens door to united Cyprus
Monday, February 18, 2008
Hopes of progress towards a united Cyprus soared last night with the unexpected defeat of President Tassos Papadopoulos in the first round of the country's presidential elections.
Mr Papadopoulos, 74, a hardliner on Greek Cypriot rights, was regarded as a barrier to new negotiations to end the 34-year-old division between the island's Greek and Turkish-speaking communities. He was beaten narrowly into third place in a cliff-hanger contest, in which he had been expected to come first.
The two leading candidates, a former foreign minister, Ioannis Kasoulides, and the Communist Party leader, Demetris Christofias, will enter a run-off on 24 February. Both men have called for new negotiations to end the separation imposed after a Turkish invasion following a Greek-cypriot coup in 1974.
The contest almost ended in a three-way dead heat. Mr Kasoulides topped the poll with 33.54 per cent. Mr Christofias scored 33.27 per cent and President Papadopoulos 31.77 per cent.
Opinion polls have suggested that, in a run-off with Mr Kasoulides, the Communist Party leader has the best chance of becoming President. If so, he would be the first ever communist leader of an EU country.
The United Nations put forward a plan to re-unite the island before it joined the European Union in 2004. The proposals were heavily approved by Turkish-Cypriots but overwhelmingly rejected in the Greek-speaking south.
Cyprus joined the EU nevertheless but European law applies only to the south of the island. The north remains under the control of a Turkish-Cypriot government, recognised only by Turkey.
President Papadopoulos led the fight against the peace plan, complaining that it allowed settlers from the Turkish mainland to remain on the island but restricted the rights of Greek-Cypriots to reclaim property in the north.
Failure to resolve the dispute is seen as one of the main obstacles to negotiations on Turkish entry to the EU. Both candidates who won through to the second round have welcomed the idea of new UN-sponsored talks with the Turkish community.
The fact that they both succeeded, at the hardline President's expense, might suggest that the Greek-Cypriot community has become less militant in the past four years. It certainly opens the way to new talks, whoever wins on 24 February. "If you want to extract a political message out of it, 65 per cent of Greek Cypriots voted for clear pro-solution candidates," said a political analyst, Hubert Faustmann. "The Greek Cypriots are back at the negotiation table."
But past experience of false dawns will lead other European governments, and the UN, to be, at best, cautiously hopeful of a settlement. "Our aspiration is to reunite this country and its people, Greek and Turkish Cypriots ... people who deserve better," said Mr Christofias, 62.
Mr Kasoulides, 59, has campaigned for Cyprus to become a united and modern European country. Before voting yesterday, he said: "Today we decide to move Cyprus forward as a modern EU state ... and to start the real struggle to end the [Turkish] occupation."
Middle-class voters appear to have turned against the President. Emerging from a polling booth, Phedra Kyprianides, 42, a businesswoman, said: "I didn't vote for Papadopoulos because I want to live in a state where it is no longer 'them and us' ... and where we all feel safe."
www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/
Monday, February 18, 2008
Hopes of progress towards a united Cyprus soared last night with the unexpected defeat of President Tassos Papadopoulos in the first round of the country's presidential elections.
Mr Papadopoulos, 74, a hardliner on Greek Cypriot rights, was regarded as a barrier to new negotiations to end the 34-year-old division between the island's Greek and Turkish-speaking communities. He was beaten narrowly into third place in a cliff-hanger contest, in which he had been expected to come first.
The two leading candidates, a former foreign minister, Ioannis Kasoulides, and the Communist Party leader, Demetris Christofias, will enter a run-off on 24 February. Both men have called for new negotiations to end the separation imposed after a Turkish invasion following a Greek-cypriot coup in 1974.
The contest almost ended in a three-way dead heat. Mr Kasoulides topped the poll with 33.54 per cent. Mr Christofias scored 33.27 per cent and President Papadopoulos 31.77 per cent.
Opinion polls have suggested that, in a run-off with Mr Kasoulides, the Communist Party leader has the best chance of becoming President. If so, he would be the first ever communist leader of an EU country.
The United Nations put forward a plan to re-unite the island before it joined the European Union in 2004. The proposals were heavily approved by Turkish-Cypriots but overwhelmingly rejected in the Greek-speaking south.
Cyprus joined the EU nevertheless but European law applies only to the south of the island. The north remains under the control of a Turkish-Cypriot government, recognised only by Turkey.
President Papadopoulos led the fight against the peace plan, complaining that it allowed settlers from the Turkish mainland to remain on the island but restricted the rights of Greek-Cypriots to reclaim property in the north.
Failure to resolve the dispute is seen as one of the main obstacles to negotiations on Turkish entry to the EU. Both candidates who won through to the second round have welcomed the idea of new UN-sponsored talks with the Turkish community.
The fact that they both succeeded, at the hardline President's expense, might suggest that the Greek-Cypriot community has become less militant in the past four years. It certainly opens the way to new talks, whoever wins on 24 February. "If you want to extract a political message out of it, 65 per cent of Greek Cypriots voted for clear pro-solution candidates," said a political analyst, Hubert Faustmann. "The Greek Cypriots are back at the negotiation table."
But past experience of false dawns will lead other European governments, and the UN, to be, at best, cautiously hopeful of a settlement. "Our aspiration is to reunite this country and its people, Greek and Turkish Cypriots ... people who deserve better," said Mr Christofias, 62.
Mr Kasoulides, 59, has campaigned for Cyprus to become a united and modern European country. Before voting yesterday, he said: "Today we decide to move Cyprus forward as a modern EU state ... and to start the real struggle to end the [Turkish] occupation."
Middle-class voters appear to have turned against the President. Emerging from a polling booth, Phedra Kyprianides, 42, a businesswoman, said: "I didn't vote for Papadopoulos because I want to live in a state where it is no longer 'them and us' ... and where we all feel safe."
www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/