OXI
! NO !
Cyprus President says ''No'' to Annan plan in
view of referendum
Nicosia, Apr 8 (CNA) - Cyprus President Tassos
Papadopoulos called on the people of Cyprus to say a ''loud no'' in the
referendum of April 24 to be held in the Greek Cypriot side, simultaneously
with a referendum in the Turkish Cypriot side, on a Cyprus settlement plan
proposed by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan.
President Papadopoulos gave his position in a live
televised proclamation, during which he explained that the consequences of
accepting the Annan plan would be ''heavier and more oppressive'' than those of
its rejection.
He added that he received an internationally
recognised state and could not deliver a ''community'', noting that by
evaluating all the facts with calmness and objectivity and with a total sense
of the historical significance of the moment and the weight of his
responsibility, he was ''sincerely sorry'' because he could not accept and sign
the Annan plan.
President Papadopoulos said ''every people forms
its own history,'' adding that ''the people of Cyprus is called on, each one of
us separately and collectively, to write the history of the future of Cyprus.''
He noted that ''our homeland is going through
dramatic times in its long history through the centuries,'' which will affect
the future generations.
He said ''the decisions we take today form and
determine the fate of the generations to come.''
President Papadopoulos expressed certainty that the
political leadership of the island and each citizen separately was ''fully
aware of the seriousness of the decision we are called upon to take in the
referendum of April 24.''
He pointed out that the decision was up to ''the
people of Cyprus alone'' and expressed hope that ''our foreign friends will
respect the people and the Republic of Cyprus and understand that interventions
and pressure insult the dignity of the people of Cyprus, are against the
provisions of the UN Charter and in the end are unproductive.''
The Cypriot President said various assessments
emerged from examining the Annan plan provisions, both short-term and
long-term, and called on all ''to function in a spirit of mutual respect,
without fanaticism.''
He said ''safeguarding our unity is a high duty to
our country'' and whatever the outcome of the referendum ''we must respect it
and the next day must find us united and strong.''
President Papadopoulos then explained his views
regarding the Annan plan, stressing that this was not an effort to impose his
opinion. ''The final decision always was and is yours,'' he told the people of
Cyprus.
He said that following the UN-led talks in
Burgenstock, Switzerland, from which the final Annan plan emerged, he examined
the text and evaluated it with ''the sole criterion to serve the interests and
rights of the people of Cyprus as a whole, Greek Cypriots and Turkish
Cypriots.''
''This is what my conscience tells me. This is what
the office of President of the Republic demands,'' he added.
He pointed out that when he was elected President a
year ago, he took on the commitment ''to struggle with all my might, on every
level, to achieve improvements to the then version of the Annan plan, aiming at
making it more functional and thus more viable.''
President Papadopoulos elaborated on the events
that led to the Burgenstock talks and the policy of the Greek Cypriot side at
the talks. ''We confined ourselves to the minimum but very important aim of
reuniting our country and our people. We sought institutional changes that on
the one hand strengthened the functionality of the solution and on the other
hand created the preconditions for the reunification of institutions and
functions,'' he said.
Due to the negative stance of the Turkish side and
the tolerance shown by the UN, substantive talks did not take place, the
President said, noting that the UN chief drafted the fifth Annan plan without
the prior consent of the parties.
President Papadopoulos said this fifth and final
Annan plan contains improvements that ''do not meet the minimum demands we had
submitted on the functionality of the plan, the readiness to implement it the
day after the referenda, the substantive reunification of our country in the
economic, public finance and monetary sectors.''
He said he did not wish to go into a detailed
analysis of the plan, as this would take place over the next few days leading
up to the referendum of April 24, but referred to some points that caused concern,
such as the functionality of the solution.
He said the Greek Cypriot side's proposals covered
the functionality of the presidential council, the courts, the EU cooperation
agreement, legislation, Central Bank, common monetary and fiscal policy, reduction
of period to regain property, reduction of transition periods, management
structure of federal government, election of parliamentary body members,
decision making legislation and mechanisms, territory, missing persons, to name
a few.
''I wish to stress with emphasis that all our
demands that were submitted will full arguments were within the parametres of
the Annan plan and did not remove rights granted to our Turkish Cypriot
compatriots through the Annan plan,'' the President pointed out.
On the other hand, ''the Turkish side submitted 11
demands that adversely affect the interests of the Greek Cypriots and which are
all adopted in the final text of the Annan plan,'' he said.
''Now we are called upon to judge if the final
Annan plan meets the minimum aims we set. With objectivity and a sense of
responsibility, we are called upon to judge if the reunification of our country
is achieved in a federal state that will be functional, viable, will safeguard
fundamental human rights and will create conditions of security and economic
welfare for both Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots. If the Annan plan
provisions, as they have been definitively been formed, allow us to participate
actively in the EU and to utilise the subsequent benefits,'' he said.
He added that even with the most flexible judgment,
the final Annan plan ''does not meet the minimum aims we set'' but furthermore
gives reason for concern.
The Cypriot President noted that the Turkish
Cypriot community gains all the fundamental demands it sought ''24 hours after
the referenda.''
He said the 1974 Turkish invasion and occupation of
the island's northern third are erased, the Turkish Cypriots obtain equal
participation in the new federal state, while the Greek Cypriot expectations
from a painful compromise are left hovering without guarantees and projected
into the future, depending solely on the goodwill of Turkey to meet its
obligations.
Among other adverse points, the Cypriot President
noted that, according to the Annan plan, all Turkish settlers remain in Cyprus,
as do Turkish troops, the cost of compensating displaced persons is shifted to
the Greek Cypriot side, the refugees that return under Turkish Cypriot
administration do so in a way that does not provide any security.
''The final Annan plan does not satisfy the
Cypriots but fully satisfies Turkey's aim to control Cyprus,'' he stressed.
Regarding the economic aspects of the Annan plan,
the President said it is doubtful that the proposed solution will be viable,
while Cyprus' activities within the EU are jeopardised.
''In other words, the Annan plan does not dissolve
the de facto division but on the contrary legalises and deepens it. So the
question is not if we want a solution and reunification of our country. Because
to this question our answer is 'yes'. The real question is if the Annan plan
brings about the reunification or if it prolongs the division and this with our
consent and signature,'' he added.
The Cypriot President pointed out that ''the Annan
plan does not lead to the reunification of the two communities but instead
promotes the permanent division with limitations in movement, settling, right
to property, exercising political rights,'' among other points.
''They are asking us to accept these adverse
adjustments in spirit of compromise. They are telling us that a solution could
not emerge if there were no such painful compromises and that a solution must
be found. However, there are matters of principle and human rights where the
'middle solution' is not the right answer,'' he said.
Papadopoulos said that it was reasonable to wonder
what would happen if the people voted ''No'' in the referendum.
''If the people with their vote reject the plan, in
one week the Republic of Cyprus will become a full and equal member of the EU.
We will achieve a strategic aim that we mutually set to upgrade and politically
safeguard the Republic of Cyprus,'' he pointed out.
He added that ''we will not stop striving for a
solution of the Cyprus problem,'' noting that ''history does not end on May
1.''
Addressing the Turkish Cypriots, he stressed that
the aim is ''a solution that will serve their interests as well,'' noting that
the proposals he made at the talks and the measures to support the Turkish
Cypriots ''are proof of this.''
''The guarantee of the sincerity of our orientation
is our accession to the political system of and the principles of the EU. This
guarantee covers the Turkish Cypriots in a trustworthy manner, as well as
security needs of Turkey,'' he added.
The Cypriot President said his aim is to serve the
interests of the people of Cyprus ''and nothing else,'' adding that ''the final
decision was and is yours, your decision will be expressed in the referendum of
April 24.''
''Evaluating all the facts with calmness and objectivity
and with a total sense of the historical significance of the moment and the
weight of my responsibility, I am sincerely sorry because I cannot accept and
sign the Annan plan as it finally emerged,'' he said.
He added that ''I received an internationally
recognised state and I cannot deliver a 'community' without a right of speech
internationally and seeking a guardian, and all this with empty, deceiving
expectations, with the unfounded illusion that Turkey will honour its
commitments.''
OVERVIEW
OF THE 5th ANNAN PLAN
AN OXI-NO VOTE IS A VOTE
FOR A JUST AND SPEEDY SOLUTION
OXI
! NO !
to
the Annan Plan