2004 articles
22 DEC 2004 Politis
Nicosia court issues arrest warrant for Linda Orams
"David and Linda Orams, the British couple sued by a Greek Cypriot refugee for building on his property in the occupied north will have to appear before court next month or face the risk of losing their UK assets." read more>
21 DEC 2004 Simerini
About Karamanlis
"We reminded him that we find those agreements, which his uncle had signed, as the root of all evil Cypriot Hellenism suffers... while he was fighting to get Turkey date to open accession negotiations, Ankara sent combat aircrafts to fly over Greek islands." read more>
20 DEC 2004 Washington Times
Greek Cypriots bitter over EU's talks with Turkey
"Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan was hailed on his return home from Brussels as "the conqueror of the EU." read more>
19 DEC 2004 Cyprus Mail
Mixed reactions in Europe
"[Irish Prime Minster] Ahern said Erdogan’s comments that Turkey was not recognising Cyprus were unnecessary... Ahern said he fully backed the angry Cypriot reaction that this barbed comment was an attack not on one country but on the entire Union of 25 member states..." read more>
18 DEC 2004 Sabine Herre Die Tageszeitung
"The EU is the loser in all the haggling. That none of the heads of government dared to let the 'historic' summit break down taught Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government an important lesson: if you hold out long enough, the EU will cave in ... The 25 heads of state and government have not suceeded in conveying to Turkey what the basic principles of the EU are." read more>

EU Business
How the West was won: hard-bargaining by Turks at EU summit
"Erdogan's shrewd bargaining did not go across well with many EU leaders, however, with one accusing him of behaving like an aggressive "carpet trader". "We were gobsmacked," Luxembourg Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn said, describing the mood. "What many colleagues say, (that) Turkish politicians still have things to learn, is quite right. We are not carpet traders here in Europe." read more>

Kathimerini
The EU and Turkey
"The way in which Ankara officials bargained during the two-day Brussels summit is an indication of Turkish intentions, and the Europeans ought to take the signs into serious consideration. It is not just the arrogant statements voiced by Turkish officials. More importantly, it is Ankara’s demand to start down the path of EU membership on its own terms and not be subject to the conditions that have applied to all previous candidates... Beyond diplomatic issues, Ankara’s demeanor is a sign of a broader mentality. Turkey wants the benefits of EU membership without the obligations. Its attitude demonstrates that it is a complete stranger to European civilization. It is showing the true distance that separates it from being a full EU partner." read more>

Kathimerini
Turkey gets a date for EU talks
"Following intense haggling in Brussels yesterday, European Union leaders gave Turkey an October 3, 2005 date for the launch of open-ended accession talks - which, however, will offer Ankara no guaranteed outcome." read more>

Independent
Deal on Turkish membership of EU saved by compromise over Cyprus
"As [Irish PM] Mr Ahern put it: "When Erdogan stood up he put in the bitter pill that they do not recognise Cyprus." Mr Papadopoulos hit back with a fiery statement." read more>

The Independent
Historic breakthrough: way clear for Turkey to join EU
"Austria joined France in saying that it would not ratify membership for Ankara without a referendum, raising new doubts about Ankara's chances of ever joining because any nation could veto Turkish accession... worries about admitting a poor, mainly Muslim country of 70 million, whose borders stretch to those of Iraq, Iran and Syria, were overriden. Despite popular opposition in France, Germany, Austria and the Netherlands, EU leaders decided the risk of saying no to Turkey was greater than that of bringing it into their club." read more>

17 DEC 2004 EU Business
Turkish PM attacked for 'carpet trader' style with EU
" "We were gobsmacked," said Luxembourg foreign minister Jean Asselborn, describing the mood when Erdogan bluntly told EU leaders that there was no way he could recognize Cyprus." read more>

EU Business
Torture treatment agency urges Turkey to tackle torture issue
"The International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims (IRCT) said that its Turkish partner, the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey, treated 924 people, including 225 women and 33 children, at its five centres in 2003. From January 1 to September 14, 2004, 596 people were treated. "More than half of these torture victims, 306 to be precise, are victims of recent torture, claiming to have been tortured in 2004"... Turkey "may have fulfilled all legal reforms in line with the EU's ... criteria, (but) with regard to torture, the reforms have yet to be implemented." "There is still impunity for torturers and torture is still widespread," she said. The Human Rights Foundation of Turkey and the Human Rights Association of Turkey have "often been subjected to intimidationn and harassment by the authorities,"..." read more>

16 DEC 2004 Reporters Sans Frontieres
Turkey's press freedom far from EU standards
"...the new criminal code that becomes law on 1st April 2005... [Article 305]... punishes alleged "threats against fundamental national interests". It specifically targets freedom of expression, particularly on issues involving Cyprus or Armenia. The European parliament voted on 15 December for a resolution calling, among other things, for the immediate repeal of this article, viewed as incompatible with the 1950 Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms" read more>
13 DEC 2004 Hellenic News
US double standard for Turkey damages US interests
"The undemocratic, unworkable and not financially viable UN Annan Plan was influenced and drafted primarily by Lord David Hannay of Britain and the U.S. The undemocratic features of the British and U.S. maneuvered Annan Plan, whereby an 18 percent Turkish Cypriot minority has a veto over all legislation and executive decisions makes a mockery of the U.S. `Initiative for Democracy in the Middle East' and elsewhere." read more>
10 DEC 2004 Cyprus Weekly
Hannay revels in Machiavellian glory
"It would be a good thing if the "exalted Lord," as a true representative of the now outdated "perfidious Albion,'' realised that we now live in the 21st century with its international War Crime and Human Rights Courts, which defend the rights of ordinary people against the intentions of neo-colonialist super powers." read more>
09 DEC 2004 Africa (Turkish Cypriot newspaper)
Moving towards a million illegal Turks in the north
"Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots will be living in the South and Turks from Turkey in the North." read more>
07 DEC 2004 Info Turk
11 days before the summit of December 17... and yet, repression reigns in Turkey
"Ankara does not show any intention to recognize the injustices and atrocities committed in the Turkish history and follows an absolutely policy of negation. According to the statement of reasons for Article 306 of the new Turkish Penal Code, a citizen who demands the withdrawal of Turkish soldiers from Cyprus or declares that the Armenian genocide actually took place during the First World War, can be pursued by Justice." read more>
22 NOV 2004 The Times
Britons face losing homes in Cyprus as refugees reclaim land
"A BRITISH couple who built a “dream” holiday home on Greek Cypriot land abandoned under force in northern Cyprus have been ordered to demolish it, return the plot and pay the original title-holder damages of nearly £10,000." read more>
18 NOV 2004 Kurdistan Observer
The Kurds, Turkey's metamorphosis to a European state
"However, it seems that Turkey' military and civilian leaders do not realize, just like Ataturk didn't, that being a European means more than wearing a suit and a tie... And acting like one is certainly nothing to do with the fact that their country has a bit of a territory within the European continent, which in fact was an integral part of Greece ... By contrast, the present Turkey, which is a by-product of Ataturk supremacist, Kurdish-hating and jingoistic mentality still has a very long way to go to convince even its ardent supporter in Europe that it has changed, but not on the cosmetic level." read more>
29 OCT 2004 Cyprus Weekly
'Unacceptable interference' Papadopoulos blasts US over 'yes' vote funding
"I consider this amounts to a violation of Article 2.7 of the UN Charter which forbids this international organisation to intervene in the internal political developments of its member states." read more>

Cyprus Weekly
Ochi parade. Celebrating the 'No' of 1940
"GREEK Cypriots, yesterday celebrated, along with Hellenism, throughout the world, the anniversary of Greece's refusal to surrender to Fascism in 1940, with the famous 'Oxi' (No)" read more>

Cyprus Weekly
Washington admits spending millions to swing decision
"UNITED States interference in Cypriot internal affairs with the specific aim of influencing voters to accept the controversial Annan Plan is clealry admitted in a special official report" read more>

Cyprus Weekly
"Direct Tymbou flights against world law – Tassos
"... it was within the Cyprus Republic's jurisdiction to determine which sea and airports were illegal and Tymbou airport, as well as Kyrenia and Famagusta ports, are illegal because of the continued Turkish military occupation of the island's northern third." read more>

28 OCT 2004 Simerini
Metaxas’ ‘no’ vs the ‘no’ in the referendum
What would have become of Greece if Metaxas hadn’t said ‘no’? What would have become of Europe without a heroically resistant Greece... What would have become of Cyprus if we had said ‘yes’ to the Annan monstrosity? read more>
27 OCT 2004 Haravghi
The pseudo-state was used as a pawn
"What happened in Cyprus with the Annan plan in reality has nothing to do with the Turkish Cypriots, but the main issue was Turkey's accession into the European Union and the pseudo-state was used as pawn." read more>

Politis
Recommendations on Cyprus. European Parliament: solution-Turkish troops in draft resolution

"Turkey is called to start withdrawing its occupation forces soon, on the basis of a specific timeframe and as foreseen in UN resolutions" read more>

25 OCT 2004 Simerini
Request to inspect Tymbou airport rejected
"Eurocontrol, the European Organization for the safety of air navigation, rejected the request of Turks to inspect the illegal Tymbou (Ercan) airport" read more>
22 OCT 2004 Cyprus Weekly
MacShane's bloopers
"But when Cyprus insists that a settlement must be based on respect for the EU acquis, without any derogations, the Annan Plan backers, including the British government counter that the Greek Cypriots are being too legalistic, or are making "unrealistic demands."" read more>

Cyprus Weekly
UK sees Cyprus demands reasonable – says Iacovou

""I am aware that our policy on Cyprus since the referenda has caused concern among Greek Cypriots..." read more>

15 OCT 2004 Cyprus Weekly
Turkey must recognise Cyprus, says CoE Cyprus rapporteur
"The Annan Plan was voted down by a great majority of the people of Cyprus and we must respect that." read more>

Enlighten us, Mr Klosson
"...a settlement must be based on respect for human rights and the restitution of the refugees rights as demanded by international law and the judgements of the Rights Court." read more>

13 OCT 2004 Phileleftheros
You have every right to get angry (and you should)
"If the Greek-Cypriots say 'no' to the Annan plan, we will take them to a new referendum, until they say 'yes'. " Lord Haney, architect of the Annan plan." read more>
10 OCT 2004 Sunday Mail
Papadopoulos: solution must respect right of return
"PRESIDENT Tassos Papadopoulos said yesterday the government would not abandon the rights of its citizens as the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) had confirmed them." read more>
04 OCT 2004 Sunday Mail
Talat: customs union is 'bitter news'
"The agreement is seen by many as the first step towards Turkey’s eventual recognition of the Republic..." read more>
01 OCT 2004 Cyprus Weekly
Devastating blow for Annan plan backers
"The proposed settlement could not have been very good, because it had been rejected by the Greek-Cypriot community in the April 24 referendum" (Josep Borrelll, new President of EU Parliamentary Assembly) read more>

Cyprus Weekly
Plan a recipe for disaster, says president
"There is no country in the world that has more than one monetary policy..." read more>

28 SEP 2004 Cyprus Mail
Withering attack on 'absurd' plan
"... when 76 per cent, freely, democratically and fully-informed voted 'no', in deed and words, they do not respect the verdict of the people or the majority but instead mock the decision and exercise psychological terror and project real or invented dangers..." read more>
22 SEP 2004 Guardian
In 1683 Turkey was the invader. In 2004 much of Europe still sees it that way
14 SEP 2004 Independent
Divided island
"Turkey will never become an EU member as long as Turkish troops continue to divide Cyprus." read more>

Guardian
Patriach Petros VII

27 JUNE 2004 Sunday Mail
Official protest over Talat’s UK visit
"...Papadopoulos said it was not the first time Britain had shown its intentions to upgrade the illegal authorities in the occupied north, without taking into consideration the recognised government of the of Cyprus." read more>
25 JUNE 2004 Cyprus Weekly
Council of Europe faults Annan Plan
"...the adoption by the Assembly of a resolution, despite fierce Turkish opposition, which urged the Turkish government to cooperate with UN agencies for the return of displaced persons or refugees... "ethnic cleansing must be condemned wherever it takes place"... Annan not only condones the ethnic cleansing conducted by Turkey against the Greek Cypriot population of north Cyprus but goes as far as to ignore Security Council resolutions which specifically demand the return of these Cypriot refugees by ruling out the exercise of such a fundamental human right." read more>

Cyprus Weekly
Refugee developments underline Annan Plan's grave flaws
"The second is that the introduction of such illegal settlers by an occupying power in a state under its military control amounts to a violation of the Geneva Convention, and as such is a war crime that should never be condoned, never mind, rewarded!" read more>

Cyprus Weekly
Turkish rights record ‘must continue to be examined’
"Erik Jurgens, the CoE’s Rapporteur on the European Court of Human Rights, said that it was “important for the credibility of the CoE that the Committee of Ministers resumes consideration of outstanding questions in the Loizidou case and that this should be done as soon as possible.”... [British MEP Terry Davies] said that ethnic cleansing “must be condemned whenever it takes place... I learned from Cypriot friends what roots mean. You can understand that if you ask a Cypriot the village he came from.”" read more>

09 JUN 2004 Cyprus Mail
Tassos lashes out at UN
"PRESIDENT Tassos Papadopoulos has accused UN Secretary-general Kofi Annan of exceeding his good offices mission and contravening international law... Papadopoulos said that throughout the negotiations process Greek Cypriot concerns had been ignored to a great extent while Turkey, but not the Turkish Cypriots had achieved their goal, which he listed in detail focusing on the Treaty of Guarantee as a priority..." read more>

Cyprus Mail
Letter by Cyprus President Tassos Papadopoulos to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan which was handed to Security Council members
"there have been serious inaccuracies, as well as wrong assumptions, in your Report, which are pointed out in the attached Annex. The most serious of them is the erroneous interpretation of the choice of the Greek Cypriot community at the referendum of April 24, namely that by the disapproval of this specific Plan Greek Cypriots have voted against the reunification of their country. Such a claim is unfounded and insulting. It should not be forgotten that a substantial number of those voting were refugees, 70 per cent of which voted ''no'', and who for more than thirty years have been deprived of their human rights, particularly their rights to return and to property, due to the presence of 35,000 troops and 119,000 illegally implanted Turkish settlers." read more>

03 JUN 2004 Cyprus Weekly
Need for reflection
"Reading through the detailed 26-page [Annan] report there is a total absence of any reference to the basic cause of the Cyprus problem, the Turkish invasion, the 30-year-occupation and its consequences, whose legitimisation through the Annan plan is the basic reason for its rejection by the Greek Cypriots in the referendum." read more>

Cyprus Weekly
Turkish Cypriot journalists face military court for insulting army
"FIVE Turkish Cypriot journalists and a media group official face a military court on charges of insulting the Turkish army that could see them serving prison sentences ranging from 10 to 88 years." read more>

02 JUN 2004 Cyprus News Agency
Cyprus President: solution must serve interests of Cypriots
"What is important is to find an agreed solution between Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots for our own interest, rather than serve the interests of the outsiders, mainly of Turkey, or the Europeans, or the US or other countries,'' he said, adding that the Turkey had nearly all its demands met during talks in Switzerland... "nobody can be or is more disappointed than ourselves that we did not find a solution" ...He said one could not have a fair solution, when one was negotiating under the guns of 35.000 troops which occupy one's country... "this one, offered to us, was neither functional nor it would achieve the reunification of our country"... Papadopoulos said any measures to be taken should aim at reunification and pointed out that the government would never agree to two separate states in Cyprus, and said he did not believe that the EU would accept it either." read more>
24 MAY 2004 Simerini
Mediation fabricated a political monstrosity
"...THE FIFTH VERSION OF THE ANNAN PLAN was already seriously one-sided and unbalanced, even before Bürgenstock. After the inspired mediation it was turned into a political monstrosity." read more>
23 MAY 2004 Cyprus Mail
Annan Plan serves everybody’s interests but our own
"...all we want any more is peace and justice; instead of an unfair and in most aspects racist regime imposed on us. We want democracy...Why should we, the Cypriots as a whole, be considered second-class human beings... Is it really possible finally to have peace in a country where settlers from occupying Turkey will in fact rule it? Or in a country where the historical citizens are denied the basic human rights and fundamental freedoms, including not only ownership, but also the right to vote and be voted for in the affairs of their place of residence? Or by imposing the will of a minority on the majority of 80 per cent? Or where foreign powers will continue having the right to intervene in our internal affairs..." read more>
21 MAY 2004 Cyprus Weekly
Stop blaming Tassos
"...the Annan Plan was anything but balanced, or fair, and that it was unacceptable above all because it violated basic human rights and ignored both the relevant Security Council resolutions demanding the wirthdrawal of the Turkish troops and settlers and the return of the refugees, something also backed by the judgements of the Human Rights Court of the Council of Europe, which were also ignored." read more>

Cyprus Weekly
Refugees' right to return stressed in Strasbourg
"As a matter of general principle every person who has been deprived of his personal property and forced to become a refugee has the human right to return and to recover his/her property. Nothing can annul this right because it also has to do with the roots, the dignity and the identity of a person,'' Chenard said... In a clear reference to the Annan Plan, Giovanni di Stasi of Italy, the newly elected CLRAE president, said: "I do not believe in formulas prepared elsewhere but in formulas prepared with the people concerned. Nobody can impose a settlement of the Cyprus problem by a strategy elaborated elsewhere, in Strasbourg, in Brussels or in New York." read more>

Cyprus Weekly
AHI spearheads drive to change Washington's views on Cyprus
"In his detailed reference to the Annan Plan before the Subcommittee, Rossides said “the British had the primary influence in drafting the proposal, with US support and acquiescence” and noted that the plan “perpetuates the undemocratic features and ethnic divisions of the London-Zurich agreements... the Annan Plan was undemocratic because it gave minority veto powers to the 18% of Turkish Cypriots in both the executive and the legislature. Furthermore, its complicated provisions made it unworkable, it violated the UN Charter and UN resolutions, subverted property rights, perpetuated the militarisation of the island, kept 100,000 illegal Turkish settlers there and proposed clearly unfair territorial adjustments"" read more>

14 MAY 2004 Cyprus Weekly
EU equality above all
"...any settlement must comply fully with the EU acquis and respect for human rights, without any derogations. This is imperative to ensure that the people of Cyprus, whatever their ethnic origin, become EU citizens equal in every respect to the citizens of the other 24 members of the union... so that Cypriots may then feel they are not some sort of second class citizens denied the basic rights enjoyed in every other EU state. If nothing else, this would do away with some of the most outrageous provisions of the Annan Plan that in effect grant non-Cypriot EU citizens greater rights in Cyprus than those of the native Cypriots themselves." read more>

Cyprus Weekly
EU must warn Turkey over heritage crime
"...the EU Parliament must also be reminded of a resolution it adopted in 1988, which called on the Council of Ministers to warn Turkey that it must respect international agreements on the protection of the European cultural heritage in Cyprus as a necessary step to ensure its progress towards joing the EU... scores of vandalised churches and the destruction of other cultural treasures in the occupied north, as well as a long list of the numerous international agreements violated by Turkey..." read more>

01 MAY 2004 Cyprus Mail
Welcome to Europe
"President Tassos Papadopoulos: “Our great joy for our accession to the European Union is overshadowed by our grief because we could not celebrate this moment together with our Turkish Cypriot compatriots and our great disappointment for the absence of a solution to our national problem.”" read more>
30 APR 2004 Cyprus Weekly
Annan must follow his own advice
"...Secretary-General of the United Nations appears so abysmally ignorant about this basic tenet of the Cyprus problem, or of the dreams, the feelings and the perfectly legal demand of the Greek Cypriot population... and is forced to depend too much on the advice of intermediaries like Messrs Hannay and Weston, whose objective is not the upholding of UN principles and respect for human rights and international law, but the defence of their national interests... what is right is not the cumbersome plan whose basis is the circumvention of the basic Security Council resolutions calling for an end to the Turkish occupation and the return of the refugees." read more>
28 APR 2004 Providence (Rhode Island) Journal
Why Cyprus said No
Turkish admission to the E.U. cannot reasonably go forward so long as its troops occupy a sovereign E.U. member... the Annan plan was an insult. It was not really a design to reunify the island, but a gesture to enshrine the 1974 Turkish invasion and occupation... Most Greek Cypriots, driven into exile by the Turkish army, would not have been allowed to return to their homes and villages.. the Turkish army, 40,000 strong, would have stayed on Cyprus indefinitely... the Annan plan not only allowed illegal Turkish colonists to remain on the island, but dramatically restricted the movement of Greek Cypriots in northern Cyprus. In the European Union, where citizens are free to live and work wherever they like, Greek Cypriots would have been prevented from traveling freely in their own country. This last provision might have mollified Ankara, but was a stunning betrayal of every principle the U.N. and E.U. stand for." read more>
27 APR 2004 Financial Times
Realities behind the failure over Cyprus
"it appeared that the UN and the European Union were bent on
legitimising at least some of the consequences of the Turkish invasion of 1974, because the EU wanted to take the Cyprus issue off the table in order to facilitate negotiations on Turkey's accession to the EU... Greek Cypriots would not have freedom of movement in their own country. In a way, the Greek Cypriots would have been ghettoised" read more>
26 APR 2004 Hellenic News of America
Cyprus - The Conscience of the West
"The Annan Plan is in violation of the Geneva Convention in not calling for the return to Turkey of all illegal colonists" read more>
23 APR 2004 Cyprus Weekly
Sealing our fate
"...Is there anyone who really believes that the United States, Turkey's favourite Uncle Sam and its other friends, will lift a finger to admonish their cosseted and beloved ally if it lives up to its well earned reputation of ignoring international law and respect for human rights with complete impunity, as it has been doing all these years?" read more>
16 APR 2004 Cyprus Weekly
Principles, dignity and the Annan Plan
"Cypriots have every right to get not just emotional, but deeply angry over this highly prejudiced and unprincipled EU approach... De Soto is certainly economical with the truth... " read more>
01 APR 2004 Guardian
Long division
"It's like being raped, and having to pay the rapist compensation" read more>

BBC
Referendum set after Cyprus deal
"A reduction in the number of Greek Cypriot refugees allowed to return..." read more>
31 MAR 2004 BBC
Annan Cyprus plan sets press ablaze
"The Greek Cypriot press is against the plan and urges voters to reject it in any forthcoming referendum" read more>

Reuters
Annan Announces Referendum on Cyprus Plan
"The United States and Britain have key strategic interests in settling the issue. British bases there were important staging areas in the U.S.-led war on Iraq and house listening posts serving London and Washington that monitor communications through the Middle East and beyond." read more>

Kathimerini
EU acquis
"A settlement of that sort does not guarantee a workable solution while, at the same time, it legitimizes the partition, forcing the Greek side to fund and bless the exemption of the occupied section of the island from EU law" read more>
30 MAR 2004 Simerini
The "No" of Annan
"The final plan is far off democratic values and the acquis communautaire; from which Turkey now request permanent derogations, in order to establish a purely Turkish state in the Northern part of Cyprus that would control the Southern part" read more>
27 MAR 2004 Times
Britons could lose homes if Cyprus is reunited
"All these people who are rushing now to buy property at what they think are reasonable prices from non-owners will be in trouble sooner or later" read more>
24 FEB 2004 Kathimerini
Complications nip at Cypriot unity talks
"Turkey complicated the issue by saying it would ratify an agreement only after it has been approved by the island’s people in referenda..." read more>

Kathimerini
Archbishop castigates UN plan
"...politicians are under pressure to accept a solution which, deep down, they do not want..." read more>
22 FEB 2004 Sunday Mail
No one can afford not to read the Annan plan
"It is not complete gobbledygook... and the devil really is in the detail..." read more>

Sunday Mail
US talks up prospects for a solution
"This map certainly includes the strategic ‘aircraft-carrier’ island of Cyprus... The success of a solution, whatever form it may take, was virtually guaranteed from the time Bush told Erdogan in the Oval Office, 'Solve the Cyprus problem'..." read more>

Sunday Mail
Negotiators ignore the economy at their peril
"It is morally unjust to expect the Greek Cypriot taxpayer to pay compensation to people who had been deprived use of their property for 30 years by Turkey..." read more>
21 FEB 2004 Kathimerini
UN’s Cyprus plan in the public eye Poll: Greek Cypriots oppose it
"...the overwhelming majority of Greek Cypriots would vote against Annan’s plan as it stands, according to a poll..." read more>
20 FEB 2004 Cyprus Weekly
Talks process draws fierce criticism
"...the masses of the Cypriot people would be asked to vote on a huge document of 600-700 pages, which they had neither the time nor the ability to study and understand fully..." read more>

Cyprus Weekly
Doubts among Papadopoulos's own party
"...the veneer of cross-party support for President Papadopoulos is showing some cracks..." read more

Cyprus Weekly
Movement re-emerges to raise 'public concern'
"...we will accept no settlement that is unfair and will make us second-class citizens in the European Union. What else is someone who cannot go and live in his or her own home?" read more>

Cyprus Weekly
Denktash to fight for maximum sovereignty
"Turkish observers see Erdogan’s Cyprus gambit as key to achieving Erdogan’s primary goal of reasserting its dominance in the region..." read more>

Cyprus Weekly
'Goodwill' from all as talks get under way
"Greek Cypriots are insisting on freedom of movement and settlement, rights that are guaranteed by EU laws... Cyprus's entry as a split country could be a disaster for Turkey's EU bid. EU leaders have made it clear that the 35,000 Turkish soldiers in the north could be considered as occupying EU territory..." read more>

Cyprus Weekly
Long, difficult road to a solution - Tassos

Times
Britain keeps last outpost in UN scheme to reunite Cyprus
"One reason why Cyprus is so important to Britain is its role in gathering military intelligence, which antennae suck from the ether. It is widely believed that much of it is shared with America, giving Washington a high-value asset..." read more>

Cyprus Mail
‘No’ campaign gears up as talks begin
"If the Turkish settlers don’t leave and the army don’t leave and if the EU acquis is not followed, in our opinion we will say ‘no’ to the vote... we stress we can’t accept arrangements that will turn us into second class European citizens... referring to a list of derogations..." read more>

Cyprus Mail
Sigma poll predicts doom for solution
"The majority of Greek Cypriots would vote against UN Secretary-general Kofi Annan’s plan for a Cyprus settlement as it stands..." read more>
12 MAR 2004 Cyprus Weekly
Insatiable Denktash
"... [while] Mehmet Ali Birand points out that the Annan plan grants the Turkiish Cypriots more than 90% of their demands, acting like a petulant child Rauf bawls out he will be left with nothing. His loud protestations are part of his standard strategy aiming at 100% percent satsifaction of his demands. read more>
19 FEB 2004 Times
Cyprus: Mike Theodoulou on a shotgun wedding
"Greek Cypriots are insisting on freedom of movement and settlement, rights that are guaranteed by EU law..." read more>

Cypriot leaders end first day of 'constructive' talks
"The leaders of Cyprus's Greek and Turkish communities traded barbs today after a first round of talks on reunifying the divided island..." read more>

BBC
What is the UN's Cyprus plan?
"Separation in disguise?..." read more>

Guardian
Cypriot reunification talks begin
"For Turkey, Cyprus' entry as a split country could be a disaster for its own EU bid... It is just suicidal for any [Turkish] political force to appear as if they are standing between Turkey and the EU..." read more>

Cyprus Mail
Tell us more about the Annan plan
"Cypriots ...are clamouring for information on the Annan plan..." read more>
17 FEB 2004 Guardian
Success is anything but guaranteed'
"The compromise reached ... signals a clear retreat by the Greek side..." read more>

Politis
What President Papadopoulos requests from Kofi Annan
"The aim of the President of the Republic is to negotiate the issue of the settlers from scratch..." read more>

Politis
Refugees’ problems

Haravgi
We are entering the last and most difficult phase
"there are aspects in the plan in need of improvement to make the solution more functional and compatible with the European preconditions, with the so-called 'European Acquis.' This will be the focus of the negotiation. And it will be a very tough negotiation." George Papandreou, Pasok leader read more>

Cyprus Mail
Relatives bring bodies back from the north for identification

16 FEB 2004 BBC
European press review
"Many Greek Cypriots... fear that Mr Annan's draft constitution will give legal force to the separation of the island into two autonomous states..."
"German opposition leaders are right to reject Berlin's stance that Turkey should be allowed to join the EU..."
"Turkey... is a problem case which would stretch the EU's capacity for integration too far... you cannot on the one hand support EU accession and on the other refuse to supply tanks because of insufficient compliance with human rights..." read more>

The Times
UN blueprint sets Cyprus on course to be reunited
"Greek Cypriots were more cautious. Many fear the UN plan is vague, unworkable and gives the Turkish side too much territory and influence. Key questions for the Greek Cypriots include the number of refugees to return, which villages and towns now under Turkish control will be ceded to them, and how many settlers from mainland Turkey will be allowed to stay." read more>
15 FEB 2004 Sunday Mail
Papadopoulos warns of tough times ahead
14 FEB 2004 Guardian
Cypriot leaders hand over to UN
"...until the end of March to try to iron out some of the plan's thornier details. These include the right of return for nearly 200,000 Greek refugees... The island's predominantly Greek northern third was seized by Turkish troops who have occupied it ever since..." read more>

The Times
Breakthrough in last-ditch efforts to reunite Cyprus
"Without a settlement by May...Turkey, which has 35,000 troops in northern Cyprus, will be left occupying part of a new EU member..." read more>

Independent
Cyprus talks raise hopes of vote on unification

BBC
Press cautious on Cyprus talks' progress

Cyprus Mail
A hollow victory? How a 90-minute meeting turned into an unholy trial
13 FEB 2004 Cyprus Weekly
Taking the blame and proud of it
"The Annan plan regretfully, as Annan himself admitted, is an attempt to strike a balance between the illegal Turkish approach and the perfectly legal one of Papadopoulos..." read more>

Human Rights situation in north 'most disturbing' says CoE Commissioner
"The Commissioner is also strongly critical of the situation and living conditions of the 'enclaved' Greek Cypriots in the north..." read more>

Unbelievable, but true
"Turkey's determination to impose a clearly partitionist settlement based on acceptance of the imposed ethnic separation which is completely contrary to the unification structure of the EU... For while it is insisting on an ethnic structure for Cyprus it is rejecting the same for Iraq..." read more>

Cliffhanger in New York

Top European officials ready to Assist Annan

Haravgi
When contradiction bears madness…
"The alleged mutilation of human rights of a tortured people that has been trying for centuries now to hold on to this rock at the southeastern Mediterranean is infuriating and outrageous...When a Cypriot will be able to move freely and have the right to work, invest, live all over Europe, is it acceptable that he be banned from living in the house he was born?" read more>

BBC
Breakthrough at UN Cyprus talks
02 FEB 2004 Simerini
Schizophrenic phenomenon
"Instead of Turkey being democratized so as to join the European Union, Cyprus will be de-democratized. And it shall join the EU in a political system that bears little connection with the acquis communautaire..." read more>
01 FEB 2004 Sunday Mail
Europe: the catalyst that has transformed the Cyprus problem
31 JAN 2004 Guardian
Hopes rise for Cyprus peace deal
Cyprus Mail
Annan remains cautious despite the pressure
30 JAN 2004 Cyprus Weekly
Emphasis on human rights
Moving ahead or falling back?
Tassos to Annan: Try again!

Turkey has key role in search for a settlement says CoE
Talat vows to work with Ankara on solution
29 JAN 2004 BBC
Pressure mounts for Cyprus deal
24 JAN 2004 Guardian
Turkish generals back talks on Cyprus
23 JAN 2004 Guardian
Turkish army is main bar to one-nation Cyprus, say Greeks
15 JAN 2004 Guardian
Europe asks Turkey to help unite Cyprus
13 JAN 2004 Guardian
Denktash puts Cypriot deal back into play
12 JAN 2004 Guardian
Turkey's pivotal role
08 JAN 2004 Guardian
Greek PM calls early election
06 JAN 2004 Guardian
Israeli 'water for arms' deal with Turkey
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