Μακαριος Δρουσιώτης

GUNTER Verheugen's statement before the European Parliament on Wednesday that he felt "deceived by the government of Cyprus" because it did not keep its commitment to accept the Annan plan was received with bemusement. Tassos Papadopoulos' spokesman, Marios Karoyian, first responded by saying the president had never made any pledge to Verheugen. Some investigation was put toward the statement and today we present the political commitments Papadopoulos made to the international community and Verheugen concerning the acceptance of the Annan plan:

After his election, Papadopoulos represented the Greek Cypriots in the Hague conference on March 10. During the conference, UN Secretary-general Kofi Annan asked the president and Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash whether they were committed to putting his plan to two separate referenda on March 30, 2003.

 

At The Hague

 

According to Annan's statement at The Hague on March 11, the president had replied that he was prepared to do it if:

• The gaps concerning the federal legislation, as well as the constitutions of the constituent states were completed.
• More time was given to conduct a proper public campaign for the referendum.
• Turkey's and Greece's commitment on the security provisions of the plan were secured.

Annan announced president Papadopoulos had said he was "prepared not to reopen the basic provisions of the plan if the other side was prepared to do the same".

 

In contrast to Papadopoulos, Denktash replied that he was not prepared to put the plan to a referendum. Denktash said he had "fundamental objections on basic points of the plan" and believed that "further negotiation would have a chance of success only if they commenced from a new starting point and if the parties agreed on the basic principles".

The UN had then pressured for the March 30 referenda so the leaders of the two communities could sign the EU accession treaty in Athens on April 16 and the United Cyprus Republic would join the bloc.

 

Looking back, it seems Papadopoulos had set the above conditions knowing that it was impossible to fulfil them because of the very tight time constrictions.

 

Papadopoulos assumed the political commitment not to negotiate the plan anew, backed by Denktash's intransigence, while Denktash took full blame for the collapse of the talks. Annan included the March 11 statement in his report, which was filed at the Security Council.

 

After signing the accession treaty in Athens, the timeframe for the solution of the Cyprus problem was pushed to May 1, 2004, when Cyprus would join the EU.

 

The planning of the Annan initiative - and everyone knew this - was to combine the solution with accession and Turkey getting a starting date for accession negotiations.

Even after signing the Accession Treaty, the president considered himself committed to the statement made at The Hague. On May 20, 2003, the Government Spokesman said: "the position of the President and the Greek Cypriot side has not changed and continues to remain the same, as stated in The Hague".

 

In other words, Papadopoulos did not want to negotiate the third Annan plan again, unless the other side asked to renegotiate too.

 

Pressure on Turkey

 

With Papadopoulos' positive approach secured, all pressures were directed on Turkey and Denktash.

 

On behalf of the EU, the role was assumed by Verheugen who often came at loggerheads with Denktash, who just last month described him as a Nazi.

 

On June 17, 2003, Verheugen visited Cyprus and discussed the Cyprus problem with Papadopoulos who assured him he would exert every effort to find a solution before May 1, 2004.

 

In statements made after their meeting, Papadopoulos said they had agreed that it was "everyone's desire for a united Cyprus to join on May 1".

 

"As concerns us, we want to stress to our Turkish Cypriot compatriots that our door is open. We'll do everything we can to achieve a solution before May 1."

 

Papadopoulos said he had the chance to express his admiration (for Verheugen) as well as that of the Cypriot people "for the correct positions he has taken on the Cyprus problem for so many years".

 

He also said, "without exaggeration he was one of the important factors, which led to the successful conclusion of Cyprus' accession negotiations".

 

Full agreement

 

Concerning his meeting with Papadopoulos, Verheugen expressed satisfaction for the fact that there was "full agreement" concerning the island's political situation. "President Papadopoulos made it clear that his desire for a solution to the Cyprus problem was a clear commitment, and his was ready to hold talks on the basis of the Annan plan to achieve a solution".

 

Thus, president Papadopoulos pledged to discuss the third Annan plan without touching its major points. The European commissioner, who never disputed Papadopoulos' intentions, turned the pressure on Denktash.

"It's up to Mr Denktash, his people and his friends in Ankara to seize the opportunity before May 1, 2004," Verheugen said after the meeting.

 

Commenting on Verheugen's critical approach, as well as that of US envoy Thomas Weston on Denktash, Papadopoulos declared on June 19 in Limassol: "They didn't say anything else but reality and I am happy because from our talks I see that they both agree with the line we follow."

 

At the end of the summer of 2003, Verheugen intensified his pressure on Turkey. In a meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, Verheugen urged Turkey to contribute immediately towards resolving the Cyprus problem and warned her not to hope for a last minute exchange in order to get a date to start accession negotiations.

 

Commenting on Verheugen's position on October 1, 2003, Papadopoulos said: "Mr Verheugen always supported Turkey's change of position in the Cyprus problem so that a peaceful solution would be achieved as soon as possible".

 

On October 16, Papadopoulos again discussed the Cyprus problem with Verheugen in Brussels. According to his spokesman Jean Christof Fillori, Verheugen was convinced about "the positive role and the will of the Cypriot government for solving the Cyprus problem before the island's accession to the EU".

 

At the same time, Verheugen never hid his positions on the Cyprus problem - with which Papadopoulos never disagreed. Speaking on December 3, before the Belgian senate, he stressed that with the Annan plan a window had opened and there was no other alternative. "Anyone who thinks some other plan could be acceptable is condemned to fail," he said.

 

Papadopoulos ready

 

Replying to question, he said "Papadopoulos is telling all his visitors that he is ready to restart negotiations and he is looking to find a solution in the framework of the Annan plan" and put the responsibility exclusively on the other side. "Unfortunately I cannot say the same about Mr Denktash who clearly said the Annan plan was dead and no solution could be found in the framework of this plan." The solution "cannot be found with Mr Denktash, who thinks he can still drag the rest of the world by the nose for a long time".

 

Even after the New York agreement, when Verheugen visited Cyprus on the day the talks started he said, after meeting Papadopoulos, that their meeting was brief because of "full agreement".

 

Verheugen had no idea that Papadopoulos' views on the plan were the ones the president outlined in his speech two weeks ago.

 

Neither did he expect such treatment. This is why in his speech before the European Parliament he said "the government of the Republic of Cyprus under President Papadopoulos has surprised everyone by wanting the UN plan rejected".

The German commissioner had put his faith in the political commitment assumed by Papadopoulos in The Hague and did not dispute his intentions when he was assured that he desired a solution before May 1. The commissioner gave all the necessary battles for a united Cyprus to join the EU. He bent the Turkish intransigence and dislodged Denktash, only to discover at the very last minute that Papadopoulos had other ideas.

 

Verheugen thinks he was deceived because the Cyprus government pretended it wanted solution under the Annan plan only to achieve EU accession and when accession was achieved they went back on their commitments.

Makarios Drousiotis

Cyprus Mail

23/04/2004