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As of February, we go out without SMS
The experts suggest the re-opening of malls but not of restaurants. Relaxations on gatherings and home visits. Up to 50 people in churches. Distance learning will continue in all grades except the third grade of lyceums for which physical presence will be required. The appointments for vaccinations were gone within nine minutes. The president received yesterday the second dose of the Pfizer vaccine. Concerns over the deterioration of the epidemiological situation remain despite the improvement. Another five deaths yesterday and 162 new cases.
Platform-pandemonium
Appointments for vaccines are gone within seconds. Fury over bad programming. The health ministry gives reassurances there will be constant flow. The government is mulling over de-escalation of measures. The situation in hospitals and the intensive care units are the criterion.
- The TCs received the first 1,000 doses
- The UNSG reports on UNFICYP & Cyprus problem remained as is despite our objections
Call by Borrell on Anastasiades-Tatar
The EU is fully committed to supporting the negotiations for the settlement of the Cyprus problem, says Josep Borrell, who had a telephone conversation with Anastasiades and Tatar yesterday. In the meantime, despite the strong representations by Nicosia, no serious changes were made to the final texts of the UN Secretary-General’s reports on UNFICYP and his Good Offices mission.
Hospitalisations expected to rise
Numbers to go up despite recent drop in daily positive cases say health officials.
- Second jab for president – President Nicos Anastasiades on Monday received the second dose of a Covid vaccine some three weeks after the first jab. After spending the mandatory 15 minutes at Latsia health centre where the vaccine was administered, the president urged people to be patient. “We are at the stage where vaccines are being delivered,” he said. “Of course we expect that a higher number will provide the opportunity for us to achieve the immunisation of the largest possible part of the population.” Anastasiades expressed satisfaction with the lower number of infections in recent days but at the same time said he was especially concerned over the rising number of hospital admissions.
(Solidarity leader) Eleni puts her foot down
The government is making progress with EDEK. Solidarity, in order to approve the budget, wants its amendments to be implemented. The result at the House plenum (on the state budget vote) will be a close call.
- Interior minister: Risk of losing an EU grant if the reform on local government does not pass
- Andri Eleftheriou: Sexual harassment of female athletes also in Cyprus
Main News
UNFICYP report unchanged despite Nicosia’s efforts
Haravgi, Phileleftheros
Negotiations Process
OVERVIEW
Phileleftheros and Haravgi report that the UN, despite the intense efforts by the government, did not amend the UN Secretary-General’s report on UNFICYP which is to be presented today to the UN Security Council.
Phileleftheros reports that the mistakes in the UNSG’s reports were not corrected. References in both reports (UNFICYP and the UNSG’s Good Offices mission) aimed to be convenient for the Turkish side’s new rhetoric on two states and a different form of solution to the Cyprus problem, the daily reported.
It points out that in the UNFICYP report, the reference to the contributions by the Cypriot and Greek governments for the maintenance of the peacekeeping mission was removed for the first time. Nicosia believes this has to do with demands by the Turkish side which objects to any reference to the Republic of Cyprus.
This was one of the issues President Nicos Anastasiades raised during his recent meeting with Special Representative of the Secretary-General in Cyprus Elizabeth Spehar who pointed out that it would be very difficult to make changes to the initial text sent to the Security Council members. Spehar, however, reassured Anastasiades that during the oral presentation of the report today, a reference will be made on Cyprus’ and Greece’s contributions. This, however, does not rectify the situation since the text will remain as is and will be the basis for the next report in six months’ time, the daily said.
According to the paper, another negative reference in the report which attempts to give the status of a state to the occupation regime is that concerning the GCs and Maronites living in the occupied areas who are referred to as minorities. In the previous report, they were referred to as communities. The reference to the existence of minorities in the occupied part of Cyprus again raises questions about the expediency that may lie as regards the drafting of this report. According to international practice, the reference to minorities refers to the existence of a state entity and not to an occupied area.
The paper also pointed out the absence of a reference to the sought-after solution, as the only references to a federation are included in the attached comments by the two leaders. Anastasiades wrote that for him, this was the basis of the solution while TC leader Ersin Tatar notes that this option was no longer available.
Haravgi, citing information, reports that the UNSG has given reassurances that nothing has changed as regards the form of a solution, or UNFICYP’s mandate or his Good Offices mission. The UNSG and his associates seem to give reassurances that everything is as per the Security Council resolutions, and promised that they would give the necessary clarifications during today’s session. The UN is thinking of holding the five-party summit, as in the past, just outside New York, in Troutbeck, the paper reported.
Borrell conveys EU’s readiness to contribute to Cyprob talks
Alithia, Haravgi, Phileleftheros
Negotiations Process
OVERVIEW
The dailies report that EU High Representative Josep Borrell, during telephone conversations with the two leaders, expressed the EU’s readiness to contribute to the efforts for a settlement to the Cyprus problem.
The paper cite a statement by Government Spokesperson Kyriakos Koushos, who said that President Nicos Anastasiades told Borrell in a telephone conversation on Monday evening that the EU should have an active participation in the informal meeting on Cyprus, set to be convened by the UN Secretary-General next month in New York.
According to Koushos, Anastasiades briefed Borrell on the Cyprus problem and the initiatives he has taken, his meeting with the UNSG’s envoy Jane Holl Lute, as well as the latest proposals he submitted to Antonio Guterres, including confidence-building measures.
Anastasiades also stressed the need to focus on achieving a comprehensive settlement of the Cyprus issue on the basis of a bizonal, bicommunal federation, reiterating his strong will for the resumption of a productive dialogue from where it left off in Crans-Montana and according to the consensus of the leaders of the two communities following their meeting with the UN Secretary-General in Berlin, in 2019.
The president asked for the support of the High Commissioner for the de-escalation of the situation in the Eastern Mediterranean and the termination of Turkey’s provocations, Koushos said. He added that Borrell conveyed to the president the support of the EU for the resumption of the Cyprus talks and the EU’s readiness to assist to this end.
Alithia also reports that Borrell tweeted that the EU was fully committed to supporting the Cyprus settlement talks. He said he talked to Ersin Tatar and Anastasiades on the resumption of the talks under UN auspices, in line with relevant UN Security Council resolutions. The EU is ready to contribute, he said. The daily also reports that Borrell told Tatar the EU would contribute to a dialogue based on UN resolutions.
Phileleftheros, in another article, also reports that EDEK, the Citizens’ Alliance and the Solidarity Movement, in separate statements, warned of dangers from participation in the five-party summit and called on Anastasiades to reconsider his intention of attending.
EDEK notes that the Cyprus issue is not a matter of a bi-communal settlement but an international problem of invasion and ongoing occupation and ethnic cleansing, adding that the GC side was heading towards an uncharted five-party summit whose context and parameters of discussion were unknown. The party said Anastasiades should avoid engaging in such a procedure but rather call for an international conference to discuss the international aspect of the Cyprus problem.
The Citizens’ Alliance said the GC side has been trapped in participating in the five-party summit so that Turkey does not find an excuse to implement its goals. “Our participation in a conference in which everyone knows in advance that Turkey intends to present the two-state solution as a basis for solution entails many risks, most notably the annexation of the occupied territories by occupier Turkey,” the party said.
Solidarity said Anastasiades should not go to the summit. According to the party, Guterres gave in to the demands of the Turks and the pressure of the British to discuss a two-state solution in the form of a confederation and sovereign equality. This means Turkification-Islamisation of the occupied territories and sovereignty over the now free areas, it said.
KEY ACTORS
Koushos
>> Anastasiades believes it is important to focus on achieving a comprehensive settlement based on a BBF & is willing to resume a productive dialogue from where it left off in Crans-Montana & based on what has been agreed between him and Akinci in Berlin in 2019.
>> Anastasiades calls for Borell’s support for the de-escalation of the situation in the East Med region & the termination of Turkey’s provocations, and the EU’s support for the resumption of the Cyprus talks.
Borrell (EU)
>> The EU is fully committed to supporting & ready to contribute to the Cyprob talks in line with relevant UNSC resolutions.
EDEK/ Citizens’ Alliance/ Solidarity Movement
>> Anastasiades should not go to the five-party summit.
EDEK
>> The Cyprus issue is not a matter of a bi-communal settlement but an international problem of invasion of ongoing occupation and ethnic cleansing. Anastasiades should call for an international conference to discuss the Cyprob’s international aspect.
Citizens’ Alliance
>> Warns of dangers looming from Anastasiades’ participation in a summit where Turkey intends to present the two-state solution, such as the annexation of the north by Turkey.
Solidarity
>> Believes Guterres gave in to Turkey’s demands & pressure by the British to discuss a two-state solution in the form of a confederation and sovereign equality which would mean Turkification-Islamisation of the occupied area & sovereignty over the free areas.
First batch of vaccines from EU delivered to TC community
Alithia, Cyprus Mail, Haravgi, Phileleftheros, Politis
CBMs, Internal Security
OVERVIEW
The dailies report that 1,080 Pfizer vaccine doses, among the ones the EU has reserved for Cyprus, were delivered to the TC community on Monday through the bicommunal Technical Committee on Health.
GC co-chair of the Committee, Leonidas Phylaktou, delivered the vaccines to his TC counterpart Cenk Soydan at the Ayios Dhometios crossing point.
The 1,080 vaccines are the first doses while according to Phylaktou the second doses will be delivered next month since the Pfizer vaccines need to be stored at minus 70 degree Celsius at all times making the transport of the whole batch difficult.
Soydan said they have requested 400,000 doses but there has not been a clear response yet as to the final number that will be delivered.
Cyprus Mail also reports that the UN welcomed the delivery of the vaccines. The UN said this was a positive development building on the ongoing exchange of information of this technical committee and signalling a welcome increase in cooperation between the two sides in their efforts to combat the Covid-19 pandemic on the island for the benefit of both communities.
Alithia, under the subheading, The bill has been sorted out by us, reports that based on information by the health ministry and on what Phylaktou said last Friday, the cost of the vaccines has been covered by the Republic of Cyprus. After roughly calculating the cost of the 400,000 vaccines the TC side has requested based on the prices Belgium’s deputy minister for budget made public through her Twitter account, the Republic of Cyprus is expected to pay around €5m, the paper reported.
The dailies also report that Tatar on Monday met with the TC co-chairs of the technical committees. Tatar said that the work of the committees was on a voluntary basis and requires dedication. Alithia reports that Tatar replaced most of the co-chairs while some remained in their posts.
Cyprus Mail reports that Tatar controversially referred to the bicommunal technical committees as ‘bilateral ones’ in what is seen as another reference to his stated aim of seeking a two-state solution. The daily referred to an announcement issued by Tatar’s office that said the committees would continue their work in the best possible way but referred to them as ‘bilateral’ technical committees instead of bicommunal ones. This reference is in line with Tatar’s position that two separate states ought to exist on the island instead of a bizonal bicommunal federal state, the daily reported.
Occupied municipalities warn they will never agree to partition of island
Alithia, Phileleftheros
Negotiations Process
OVERVIEW
The papers report that the Committee of Occupied Municipalities said on Monday that they would never accept a two-state solution or a confederation that will seal the division of Cyprus.
In a statement, the committee also expressed concern over the fact that Turkey is now openly presenting their divisive demands for a solution to the Cyprus problem, which differs from the framework outlined in various resolutions of the United Nations. “These claims also ignore the fact that Cyprus is a member state of the European Union and therefore the solution should be in line with its principles and values,” the committee said.
On the five-party meeting, the committee said for it to be successful, it must be first made clear that positions of the parties that are outside the established framework will not be discussed.
They added that they will never accept a solution that will seal the division of Cyprus and warned they would use all legal means at their disposal in order to prevent such a catastrophic development.
“The aim is to find a solution that ensures the human rights and, above all, the free return to the currently occupied territories,” the statement said.