Arms an obstacle to deal on Cyprus

ANKARA - Greek Cypriots' armament and property cases opened in the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg lead to concern over the real intention of the Greek Cypriots for a solution, while comprehensive peace talks are still under way

A steady stream of armament and property cases filed by Greek Cypriots at the European Court of Human Rights are posing a serious threat to efforts to bring a solution to the decades-old Cyprus problem.

"The two (Cypriot) leaders are negotiating governance and power-sharing and the next chapter is property. But the increasing number of cases forwarded by Greek Cypriots to the Strasbourg court at such a delicate time are sparking fears over their intention to reach a solution," said a senior Turkish Cypriot official, who declined to be named.

Greek Cypriots recently struck a military agreement with Russia on weaponry acquisitions, another source of concern, according to the Turkish Cypriot side while comprehensive peace talks are under way. The leaders of northern Cyprus and Greek Cyprus, Mehmet Ali Talat and Demetris Christofias, last met Monday.

In remarks this week, Christofias said the Turkish Cypriot proposal looked more like a confederation rather than a federal system, which he said had sparked suspicions in the south.

"We want a virgin-birth state composed of two constituent states of equal status that will not be subjected to past court rulings. That could appear closer to a confederation formula when compared to the Greek Cypriot proposal but it is not," said the Turkish Cypriot official.

For Turkish side June is deadline not a target
According to the Greek Cypriots, the solution lies in the transformation of the Republic of Cyprus into a bi-zonal, bi-communal state with one, single sovereignty and citizenship for all Cypriots.

Talat and Christofias began peace talks in September after a four-year hiatus, marking the first major push for negotiations since the failure of a U.N.-brokered peace plan in 2004, which was approved by Turkish Cypriots but overwhelmingly rejected by Greek Cypriots.

The United Nations sees this year as the last chance to reunify the island but unlike the 2004 initiative, the United Nations said it would not mediate if the leaders failed to reach an agreement by the end of the year.

Turkish Cypriots repeatedly expressed the aim to have a solution before the European Parliament's elections in June."This is not a deadline, but a target," said the official.

The number of delegates from the island represented in the European Parliament has risen to six from four considering the presence of Turkish Cypriots. But as the European Union legislation is not applied on the northern part of the island, all six representatives are currently made up of Greek Cypriots.

"If we cannot have a solution before the elections, we will have to wait another five years to be represented in the European Parliament," he added. European Parliament elections are held once every five years and the next one will take place June 4.

hurriyet.com.tr

16.01.2009