Front Page Headlines
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The Prime Minister met with Archbishop Elpidophoros but the president remained in a disagreement.
He also told it to the UN
From the stand of the (UN) General Assembly he explained the proposal for the return of TCs to the Republic of Cyprus. Reintegration in the institutions of the ’60s, after a ‘strategic agreement’ and pending a definitive solution.
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Bold Turkey ‘plays victim’
In address to UN general assembly Anastasiades says can’t ignore ‘absurd rhetoric’.
I proposed a return to the ’60s to facilitate TCs
Nicos Anastasiades. He raised before the UN that Turkey’s real goal is to transform Cyprus into a protectorate. ‘The aim of my proposal was to help the Turkish Cypriot community reintegrate within the state pending a definitive solution, under the condition that a strategic agreement is achieved so that if fully participates in the evolution of the Republic of Cyprus into a federal state.” For us there is only one Plan, a BBF. The 13 questions posed by the President before the UN General Assembly.
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Main News
Anastasiades explains Cyprob proposals in UNGA address
Alithia, Cyprus Mail, Haravgi, Phileleftheros, Politis
Negotiations Process
OVERVIEW
The main news item of all dailies report on President Nicos Anastasiades’ address at the UN General Assembly (UNGA) in New York, where he explained the reasoning behind his proposal for a return to the 1960 Constitution and reaffirmed his aim for a bi-zonal, bicommunal federation (BBF).
Anastasiades referred to his proposals for a decentralisation of the exercise of powers, considering the option of a parliamentary system with a ceremonial head of state and rotating prime minister, and his invitation to TCs to rejoin the state institutions established by the 1960 Constitution of the Republic of Cyprus (RoC). The latter, he said was meant, not as an alternative to the agreed basis of the settlement but to ease the TC community back into the state pending a final settlement, provided a strategic agreement is reached, thus, fully participating in the evolution of the RoC into a federal state, the dailies report.
Phileleftheros reports that he said that this proposal must be evaluated together with the confidence-building measures (CBMs) proposed last December and which benefit both communities, but which were unfortunately rejected by the Turkish side. He said these CBMs are still on the negotiating table.
Anastasiades also gave reassurances of his determination to set the negotiation process back on track, on the basis of the UN framework and the agreement reached in Berlin on November 25, 2019 for a settlement based on a BBF with political equality, as set out in relevant UN Security Council (UNSC) resolutions and in line with the EU principles. He also called for an end to the anachronistic system of guarantees, intervention rights, Turkish troops and any other foreign dependencies.
He added however that a compromise becomes even more difficult to reach when new ideas put forward by the GC side, as per the UN Secretary General’s (UNSG) request, and in an effort to move the process forward, are blatantly rejected.
Anastasiades said that ever since the 1974 invasion, both the UN General Assembly and the UNSC have issued numerous decisions and resolutions, calling on Turkey to end the illegal occupation and withdraw its occupying troops, establishing at the same time the basis for reaching a comprehensive solution to the Cyprus problem. He added however that in the absence of resolve and the necessary means for their implementation, Turkey has gained the audacity to portray itself as a victim instead of the perpetrator which it is.
He said though it was not his intention to engage in a blame game, he could not ignore “the absurdity of the Turkish rhetoric, which lies in their claim that the efforts for a compromise have been exhausted and the focus should now be on reaching a settlement based on the so-called ‘realities on the ground’.”
Recalling “the true realities on the ground”, Anastasiades said among other things that Turkey continues to occupy 37% of the territory of the RoC, an EU member-state, with more than 40,000 troops still deployed on the island.
Anastasiades also said the narrative put forward by the Turkish side, according to which all efforts to reaching a compromise have failed and solutions were necessary outside the UN framework, “reinforces the valid arguments that Turkey’s end game is not to solve the Cyprus Problem, but to turn Cyprus into its protectorate.”
On the negotiations process, Anastasiades spoke of “blatant interventions” by Turkey by ousting the leader of the TC community, with whom a Joint Understanding was reached in November 2019 as to the principles which should guide the resumption of a new round of negotiations, namely: the Joint Declaration of 2014, convergences reached so far, and the Guterres Framework.
“The evident goal was for him to be replaced by a new leadership which reproduces and adopts Turkey’s position for changing the agreed basis for a settlement, with the ultimate goal being a two-state solution,” he said.
Anastasiades said all the crimes Turkey has carried out in Cyprus have been condemned by the European Court of Human Rights and the Council of Europe in a plethora of decisions, with Turkey failing to comply with even one ruling.
He also said Turkey has established an illegal entity in the occupied areas, which is under its absolute political, economic, societal, cultural and religious control, which is also denounced by the majority of TCs. Turkey, he added, tries to equate the internationally recognised RoC – a UN and EU member – with the illegal secessionist entity condemned by the UNSC and considered legally invalid.
He also referred to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s latest visit to the north and efforts to change the status of Varosha, contrary to UNSC resolutions and to the condemnation by the international community.
KEY ACTORS
Anastasiades
>> His proposal for a decentralisation federation involves the option of a parliamentary system with a ceremonial head of state and rotating prime minister
>> His proposal for a return to the 1960 Constitution was not meant as an alternative to a BFF but as a way to ease the TC community back into the state pending a final settlement, provided a strategic agreement is reached, with TC therefore fully participating in the evolution of the RoC into a federal state
>> This proposal (Constitution) must be evaluated together with the CBMs proposed last December and which benefit both communities, but which were unfortunately rejected by the Turkish side
>> Determined to get back on track with efforts to reach a BBF solution with political equality
>> The anachronistic system of guarantees, intervention rights, Turkish troops and any other foreign dependencies must end
>> A compromise becomes even more difficult to reach when new ideas put forward by the GC side are blatantly rejected
>> In the absence of resolve and the necessary means for the implementation of UN decisions, Turkey has gained the audacity to portray itself as a victim instead of the perpetrator which it is
>> Turkish rhetoric for the need for a two-state solution is absurd and aim towards turning Cyprus into a Turkish protectorate
>> Turkey blatantly intervened to oust the former TC leader & to replace him with a new one that adopts Turkey’s two-state solution goals
>> The crimes Turkey has carried out in Cyprus have been condemned by the ECHR and the Council of Europe in a plethora of decisions, with Turkey failing to comply with even one ruling
>> Change in Varosha status in violation of UNSC resolutions and condemned internationally