Al-Ahram Weekly On-line 28 Sep. - 4 Oct. 2000 Issue No. 501
Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875

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Law and order

By Tanya Goudsouzian

The foreign minister of the Republic of Cyprus, Ioannis Kasoulides, addressed the 55th session of the United Nations General Assembly on 21 September highlighting his government's concern over the increasing number of refugees and internally displaced persons throughout the world. While he cited the example of Kosovars and Palestinians, the issue is very much close to home. Successive UN resolutions have called for the reinstating of the territorial integrity, unity and independence of Cyprus, which has been forcibly divided for 26 years. The international community has demanded the withdrawal of Turkish troops who have maintained an illegal permanent presence over the island's northern third since 1974. Kasoulides asked all concerned parties to look to the future and not the oft-repeated past in order to achieve a "mutually acceptable solution." On 12 September, a fourth round of proximity talks were started, between Cyprus President Glafkos Clerides and Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash.

Below are excerpts from an interview conducted by Tanya Goudsouzian with Kasoulides from New York.

What are you hoping to achieve with the fourth round of UN-sponsored proximity talks that began on 12 September?
Well, we have come to New York with the main goal of achieving a settlement on the long-standing question of Cyprus. By settlement, we mean a solution that will be mutually acceptable to both communities in Cyprus and one that will establish, as specified by United Nations resolutions, a bi-zonal, bi-communal federation, involving one country with a single sovereignty, international personality and citizenship. I think that within this scope there is great room for compromise, great room for give-and-take, if the other side is ready to negotiate, without preconditions, with all issues on the table, taking into full consideration the resolutions of the Security Council.

What will be made of the precondition set by the Turkish side, demanding that the Cypriot government recognise it has no jurisdiction over the Turkish-occupied north?
This is a precondition. The precondition that has been set by the secretary-general is that there be no preconditions. If you ask one side to accept something before the talks, this is not negotiation, but capitulation. I think that everything will be settled, who is representing whom, and what the future of the federal republic is going to be, through negotiations. So the best way to move forward is without preconditions.

It was announced that if the talks do not revolve around the "core issues," they would not last beyond the end of September. Is this true?
No, I'm not saying that I'm putting any time limits on the talks. I'm saying that if we begin negotiating on the core issues, there is great room for concessions from either side and great room for compromise. Of course, I cannot anticipate how long these negotiations may take. What is important is to demonstrate that they are on an upbeat road, that work is being produced and results are being produced. And if we conduct these talks with the same patience and wisdom as Egypt's [late] President Sadat and Israel's [late] Prime Minister Begin, I think we will get there.

What are the core issues?
They have been defined by the secretary-general himself. The distribution of powers and functions of the central government and of the two federated states, how much territory each federated state will have, the issue of the refugees and of security for both communities. I think this echoes some aspects of the Palestinian question.

What role should Greece and Turkey play in the negotiations?
Greece and Turkey are two guarantor powers under the London and Zurich agreements that established the Republic of Cyprus in 1960. They can play a role in assisting the respective communities in finding a mutually acceptable solution. I think that the rapprochement that is now taking place between Greece and Turkey is very helpful. It has created a new climate in respect to the tensions on the island and we hope that Turkey will understand that there are three tracks independent from -- and parallel to -- each other: the Euro-Turkish relations, the Graeco-Turkish relations and the Cyprus issue. I think if there is progress on each and every one of them, each one will be reinforcing the other, but if there is stagnation on one of these three tracks, there are negative effects on the others.
The Cypriot government has drafted its negotiation strategy and tactics together with Greece. Is this true?
Yes, today [8 September] Prime Minister Simitis and President Clerides met here in New York and they have agreed on the strategy and the tactics.

Can you comment on those?
Obviously I cannot.

What should be the role of the international community in resolving the dispute?
It is very important that international legality, by way of Security Council resolutions, be observed, upheld and implemented. It has been demonstrated time and again that actions taken against international legality cannot remain forever unresolved. I have in mind here resolution 425 regarding Lebanon. It is therefore very important that everybody work within the parameters defined by Security Council resolutions. In this regard, Egypt has taken a principled stance regarding the respect of UN resolutions on Cyprus.

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