Cyprus News Agency: News in English, 05-09-18

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From: The Cyprus News Agency at <http://www.cyna.org.cy>

CONTENTS

[01] Cyprus problem discussed at Women's Socialist International Conference

[02] Cyprus President: Cyprus problem at a ''critical juncture''

[03] Weather and Temperatures for Cyprus

[01] Cyprus problem discussed at Women's Socialist International Conference

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Cyprus problem discussed at Women's Socialist International Conference

Limassol, Sep 18 (CNA) -- Prospects for a Cyprus settlement and the role of Cypriot women in efforts for a solution, the situation in the Middle East and women's role in political, economic and social development are the issues discussed during regional conference ''Women for Peace'' organised here today by the Women's Socialist International.

Representatives from the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities, from Greece, Israel, Lebanon, Palestine, Cameroon and Canada attend the conference.

Speaking at the conference, Pia Locateli, Women's Socialist International President and Member of the European Parliament (MEP) said the participation of Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot women at the conference was a particularly important step. He also noted the participation of women from Palestine and Israel at the conference.

Regarding the Cyprus problem, she said the result of the referendum on the Annan plan in April 2004 proved that people did not trust this plan for a Cyprus settlement. People must feel safe and we must try to create the preconditions for this human security, she added.

She said that people were not against peace but against the solution suggested by this plan.

[02] Cyprus President: Cyprus problem at a ''critical juncture''

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Cyprus President: Cyprus problem at a ''critical juncture''

by Maria Myles

United Nations, Sep 18 (CNA) -- The Cyprus problem is at a ''critical juncture'' that calls for particular caution and resoluteness towards achieving a political settlement, Cyprus President Tassos Papadopoulos stressed here today, as he reiterated his firm commitment to seeking a bizonal, bicommunal federation, through negotiations, that would meet the concerns and expectations of the people of Cyprus as a whole.

Addressing the 60th session of the UN General Assembly, that began here Saturday, he said Cyprus expects the UN to broker a negotiated settlement without arbitration and without deadlines directed by exogenous elements and with European Union contribution which, as he noted, would be catalytic.

The President also said that there must be a change in Turkey's political aims towards Cyprus to accept a single reunified state on the island and pointed out that a radical shift in Ankara's mentality, as a result of its European Union accession course, would mark the single biggest development in the question of Cyprus for decades.

Papadopoulos referred to the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Gaza strip and parts of the West Bank and urged ''other occupying powers'' to follow suit.

He called for concerted action to achieve the goals set out by the High Level Summit and to meet world challenges, in particular to security and stability, endorsed fully the statement delivered by the British Presidency of the European Union and congratulated Jan Eliasson on his election to the GA presidency.

In his statement to the Assembly, the President reiterated that in rejecting a UN-proposed solution plan (Annan plan), the Greek-Cypriots did not reject finding a solution that would reunify Cyprus nor the urgency of achieving this, but they rejected that particular proposed solution plan because ''it did not provide for and could not bring about the reunification of the country, its society, economy, and institutions.''

Papadopoulos said that since April 2004, when the plan was turned down in a referendum, the priority of the Greek Cypriot side has been to ''revisit the content, product and shortcomings of the last negotiation process, which led to the referenda'' and at the same time ''dispel certain misconceptions that were solidified as a result of the last negotiation process.''

''One such misconception was that our constant and keen pursuit of peace and of achieving the reunification of our country has been diminished or that we have come to terms with the unacceptable division of our country,'' imposed by the 1974 Turkish invasion and occupation of the island's northern part, he pointed out.

He referred to another misconception concerning the UN role and it's good offices mission which, as he said, has entered a new phase with the end of the referenda in which the overwhelming majority of the Greek Cypriots (76 per cent) rejected the plan but 65 per cent of the Turkish Cypriots approved.

''Through this mission, which is an ongoing sustained process, we expect the UN to broker a negotiated settlement without any arbitration. The active contribution of the European Union in this regard would be catalytic,'' he said, underlining that ''only an agreed settlement, endorsed by the leadership of the two communities, can be put to referenda.''

The timetable for seeking a solution, he said, should be determined by the parameters of the Cyprus problem and as such, there should be no deadlines embedded in the process that are dictated by exogenous elements.

''We remain committed to holding negotiations under the umbrella of the United Nations and to working for the creation of those conditions that will render fruitful negotiations feasible,'' the President stressed, adding that in this context the government has been implementing substantial practical measures on the ground to build confidence and promote the economic development of Turkish Cypriots.

He expressed hope that enhanced co-operation between Greek and Turkish Cypriots would be conducive to achieving progress on different aspects of the Cyprus problem and especially the elements composing its humanitarian dimension, such as the fate of the missing persons and the welfare of enclaved Greek Cypriots in Turkish occupied Cyprus.

He explained the Annan plan was distant from the raison d' etre of the Cyprus problem and said that actors involved in the process were ''apparently willing'' to concede a disproportionately large amount of politically driven demands at the expense of those principles that should govern the solution.

A settlement in Cyprus must be formulated on the basis of the concerns and expectations of the people of Cyprus as a whole and not aim at accommodating the interests of foreign powers on the island, he warned.

''The Cyprus problem is at a critical juncture. Time may not be working favourably towards reaching a settlement, but we must keep in mind that we cannot afford any more failed attempts,'' the President stressed and called for ''particular caution and resoluteness'' in working towards this goal.

He said that thorough preparation and an honest assessment that the prospect of success is at least credible are required before another effort begins.

''This in turn, requires confirmation that the Turkish political aims have now changed and that Turkey has reconciled itself with the fact that achieving a settlement is synonymous with the concept of a single, reunified state,'' he stressed.

He said that a radical shift in Turkey's mentality towards Cyprus, as a result of Ankara's accession course to the European Union, would be ''a prospect that would mark the single biggest development on the Cyprus problem in decades.''

''The fulfilment of Turkey's obligations emanating from its accession course to the European Union will ipso jure rid the Cyprus problem of some of its most intractable components and facilitate a settlement. Simultaneously, the existence of the UN negotiating framework cannot serve as a pretext for postponing or refusing to fulfil these obligations,'' the President said.

''On our part, we remain committed to a bizonal, bicommunal federal Cyprus, in line with what we consider to be the pillars of the survival of this model of settlement: the High Level agreements, UN resolutions, international law and the acquis communautaire,'' he said.

He told delegates to the Assembly that ''the time has come to go back to basics and realise that as long as the basic aspects of the problem are not truly tackled, progress will be difficult.''

He said there can be no solution without putting an end to the military occupation, the massive violations of human rights, the plight of the refugees, and by effectively addressing the question of settlers deliberately and illegally transported to the occupied part of the island.

He said that for more than a year there has been a tendency to entrench the faits accomplis on Cyprus, particularly through the illegal exploitation of Greek Cypriot property in the occupied areas.

The President said that long transitional periods should be avoided in the effort to establish the new constitutional and institutional set up, adding that a functional and working democracy must be sought through a solution that would integrate the currently occupied areas to EU standards.

On the outcome of the UN High Level Summit, he said achieving the goals set out in the declaration adopted may very well judge the UN relevance and standing in the decades to come.

He urged member states not to lose sight of those realities on which the UN must remain primarily focused, pointing out that a comprehensive approach is required for peace and security to prevail worldwide.

The 21st century, he said, has to deal with new scourges, which jeopardise collective security, and this requires an action-orientated strategy to encompass the appropriate, institutional framework, appropriate decision making mechanisms and the efficient implementation of our commitments.

''The assessment of the current state of the world leads to the conclusion that long-standing conflicts, with all their ramifications, remain a primary source of concern for the international community. Their capacity to influence entire regions as well as the wider stability and security is testament to the necessity of containing the outburst of even seemingly superficial unrest,'' the President noted.

Cyprus' experience in this respect, he pointed out, has amply shown that where there is security, there is potential.

He referred to Africa and the Middle East as prime examples of this and said that in the case of the Middle East it has been proven in the recent weeks that reciprocal gestures do have the capacity to construct common ground, even where that does not seem on the surface to exist.

''Israel's withdrawal from Gaza and parts of the northern West Bank is an important development that should lead to the implementation of the Quartet Roadmap. Israel's paradigm to remove settlers is one to be followed by other occupying powers using settlers as a means of warfare,'' he concluded, in a thinly veiled reference to the presence of some 120,000 illegal settlers from Turkey in occupied Cyprus.

[03] Weather and Temperatures for Cyprus

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Weather and Temperatures for Cyprus

Nicosia, Sep 18 (CNA) - Today's weather and temperatures for Cyprus,
according to the Meteorological Service at Larnaca International
Airport are:

Temperatures (degrees Celcius)
---------------------------------------------------------------
Station               Maximum     Minimum       Weather
(At 1200 UTC)
---------------------------------------------------------------
Nicosia                 33          22          FINE
Larnaca                 31          22          FINE
Limassol                32          21          FINE
Paphos                  29          21          FINE
---------------------------------------------------------------

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