Greek Cypriot Socialists quit govt over peace talks
The socialist EDEK decided on Monday by majority vote to leave the three-party administration, formally placing them in opposition for another three years until presidential elections in 2013 and ending a two-year partnership fraught with problems over a difficult peace process.
“We cannot endorse damaging strategies. … Leaving this government is the politically responsible and morally right thing to do,” EDEK Chairman Yiannakis Omirou told a party conference. The departure does not mean early elections since Greek Cyprus has a presidential system of government with a strong executive.
It does, however, reinforce an isolation Christofias may be sensing in peace talks with Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat. Christofias, a communist party leader, was elected with votes from his own party, EDEK and the centrist Democratic Party in February 2008.
There was no immediate comment from Christofias on Monday, though aides had earlier urged EDEK not to take any rash decisions on leaving the government.
“It doesn’t weaken [his position] because EDEK have been de facto opposition, anyway; now it has become formal,” said Hubert Faustman, a political analyst. “As far as negotiations are concerned, he never had their support,” Faustman told Reuters.
Greek and Turkish Cypriots are attempting to reunite Cyprus as a two-zone federation, ending a partition in place since a Turkish military intervention into north Cyprus in 1974 after a brief Greek-inspired coup.
The division of the island impedes Turkey’s admission to the EU, where Greek Cypriots represent the island, and is a source of friction between Greece and Turkey, NATO allies.
Christofias has been trying to balance delicate peace negotiations with growing discontent from his partners at what they see as concessions, particularly the extensive power sharing he has apparently agreed to with Turkish Cypriots in the event of a peace deal.
Some members of the centrist Democratic Party, still in the government, share the Socialists’ opposition to Christofias’ offer of a rotating presidency with Turkish Cypriots and complain he started talks without finding a common basis for discussions.
“When a minority, through use of force and blackmail, demands a role in the state of equal weight with the majority, then any constitution which reflects such an undermining of historical realities will have an expiry date,” Omirou said. Peace talks are further complicated by presidential elections in northern Cyprus this April, which Talat, perceived as a moderate, could lose.
Any deal the two sides reach must go to referendum. EDEK’s departure will cause a government reshuffle. The party had two representatives in the island’s 11-member cabinet, holding the agriculture and transport portfolios.
REUTERS WITH TODAY’S ZAMAN ANKARA
10.02.2010
This is another excuse to not wanting continue to talk or putting the blame on Turkish side. We are very use to this sort of scenarios my peace loving neighbor. |
By:Minus7 - UK on Şub 20, 2010
Political side of the southern Cypriot leaders makes no difference in the process of talks what so ever. Whether it's a communist party, like Christofias himself, or anything. I think the best thing to do is stop those talks, it's waste of money and time. I have never heard of the word 'PEACE' from |
