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I was genuinely hoping to find that Tassos Papadopoulos would shine light on the path to be followed in his article ("Cyprus: the way forward", Commentary, Oct.26).

Unfortunately, his vision does not address U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s advice that "if the Greek Cypriots are ready to share power and prosperity with the Turkish Cypriots in a federal structure based on political equality, this needs to be demonstrated, not just by word, but by action". (Report to the U.N. Security Council, May 28, 2004). Instead, Mr. Papadopoulos produces a maximalist wish list, preferring to denigrate the United Nation’s "Comprehensive Settlement of the Cyprus Problem".

In contrast to his current view, Mr. Papadopoulos once led the international community to believe that he endorsed the plan which the Security Council considers a "unique" basis for negotiations (Resolution 1475, 2003).

Indeed, at one critical juncture Mr. Papadopoulos claimed that he was "prepared not to re-open the substantive provisions of the plan if the other side was prepared to do likewise" (Mr. Annan’s report of April 1, 2003).

He reneged on his commitments in the run-up to the referendum, pulling all the stops to orchestrate a "no" vote. Gunter Verheugen, the European Union commissioner responsible for expansion, said in despair that "I feel cheated by the Greek Cypriot government, Mr. Papadopoulos must respect his part of the deal! Under no circumstances was a resolution to the conflict to fall as a result of opposition from the Greek Cypriot authorities".

Mr. Papadopoulos contends that the Greek Cypriots simply "rejected this particular plan". This conclusion lies in stark contrast with that reached by the U.N. secretary-general who finds that "what was rejected was the solution itself rather than a mere blueprint. Benefits for the Greek Cypriots which have been sought for decades ... have been foregone." (Mr. Annan’s report of May 28, 2004).

Now Mr. Papadopoulos claims that the democratic will of the Cypriot "people" must be respected, but Mr. Papadopoulos misses the point. The will of the Turkish Cypriot people, who approved the plan, has been thwarted, and his government continues to pursue policies that are designed to isolate the Turkish Cypriots from the international community.

Surely the way foward is not rehashing old maximalist positions in the cloak of European or American values. The way fowards is to return to the negotiation table with the Annan plan as its basis, a plan that acknowledges the political equality of the Turkish Cypriots and includes transitional features that satisfy human rights conventions, as well as the EU acquies.

EROL KAYMAK

Chair
Department of International Relations
Eastern Mediterranean University
Famagusta
North Cyprus