GOODWILL FORWARD

city · Posted: Fri Oct 10, 2008 10:40 pm Post subject:

If Talat and Christofias do not stop making strange statements in public and accuse each other of whatever, they will get nowhere! They should stick to the news blackout that has been agreed and stop trying to please their respective parties/communities/politicians.
If they really want to reach a settlement they will have to live with the fact that they can not please everybody.

repulsewarrior · Deputy Joined: 06 Jan 2006 Posts: 1734 Location: Canada

CYPRUS LEADERS AGREE TO MEET ON A WEEKLY BASIS

President Mehmet Ali Talat and the Leader of the Greek Cypriot Administration Demetris Christofias have agreed on a change in the procedure of full-fledged peace talks.
From now on, the two leaders will meet on a weekly basis to keep the momentum of the peace process going.

Next meeting between Talat and Christofias will come on Monday.
The agreement came during today’s meeting between the two leaders which took place at the UN protected area in Lefkosa.
The meeting lasted for nearly three and a half hours where the two leaders had a private meeting for an hour.

Upon the request by Talat and Christofias, the UN Special Advisor for Cyprus Alexander Downer, who was also present at the meeting, made a short statement about today’s progress.
Downer said the leaders have achieved progress on the issue of federal governance and they also began discussions on the structure of the federal executive.

The two sides will continue their discussions on Monday with their proposals prepared on relevant issues, he said.
The next issue awaiting the negotiations agenda is the property issue- one of the most critical core issues of a comprehensive settlement- once the current issues of governance and power-sharing are closed.

_________________
bayrak

stavrizatz · Posted: Sun Oct 12, 2008 11:42 am Post subject:

repulsewarrior · Deputy Joined: 06 Jan 2006 Posts: 1734 Location: Canada

http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/newsroom/latest-news/?view=PressR&id=7455125

Cancellation of military exercises in Cyprus (13/10/2008)
Minister for Europe, Caroline Flint, commented on the decision by leaders in Cyprus to cancel military exercises and parades. She commented that this was a 'very positive development'.

She said:

'I applaud the decision of the two leaders in Cyprus to cancel the military exercises and parades that were due to take place later this month, and in November. This a very positive development which shows what can be achieved through trust and co-operation. I encourage the leaders to continue to conduct negotiations in the same constructive manner'.

Notes for Editors
UKinCyprus.fco.gov.uk

repulsewarrior · Deputy Joined: 06 Jan 2006 Posts: 1734 Location: Canada

city · Posted: Tue Oct 14, 2008 10:22 pm Post subject:

stavrizatz · Posted: Wed Oct 15, 2008 3:21 am Post subject:

repulsewarrior · Deputy Joined: 06 Jan 2006 Posts: 1734 Location: Canada

repulsewarrior · Deputy Joined: 06 Jan 2006 Posts: 1734 Location: Canada

repulsewarrior · Deputy Joined: 06 Jan 2006 Posts: 1734 Location: Canada

double post

repulsewarrior · Deputy Joined: 06 Jan 2006 Posts: 1734 Location: Canada

The silver lining behind the mistrust
(archive article - Saturday, November 1, 2008)
RESEARCH conducted by the Centre for European Policy Studies has found that Greek and Turkish Cypriots are remarkably similar in their attitudes, values and aspirations.

“Cypriots share, as citizens, many important similarities in terms of their political values and aspirations, with differences between them appearing to be rooted more in their different contexts and historical trajectories than in fundamental divergences in values and ideologies,” the report concluded.

On the surface, this would seem to be encouraging for a common future: from the moment we share the same basic values and priorities in life, it should not be that difficult to function in a common society.

The problem is that within the context of a major political/ethnic division, those shared values are more likely to drive us apart than bring us together.

The vast majority of both Greek and Turkish Cypriots attach prime importance to security and tradition, most view themselves as religious, they shun adventure, and place little store on imagination, creativity and altruism. In other words, both are deeply conservative, risk-averse societies.

In many ways, this stands us in good stead, ensuring both social and economic stability (indeed our financial conservatism may well protect us from the worst effects of the current recession). But in terms of resolving the Cyprus problem, it is a recipe for continuation of the status quo. Imagination and risk are precisely what we need if we are to reunite the island after so many years of separation and mistrust. At some stage, we will have to take a leap of faith, grit our teeth and sign a blank cheque for the future. Indeed, if we want our lives to come clad in cast-iron guarantees, then we should forget about striving for a solution that will invariably bring considerable change and uncertainty.

This pessimistic scenario is further reinforced by another shared trait: our lack of trust. Over 95 per cent on both sides trust only their most immediate family and a similar proportion are constantly on their guard for people out to cheat them. If this is true within our own communities, then what hope do we he have in terms of trusting people for so long (and in many cases still) portrayed as our enemies?

Indeed, the same survey reported widespread gloom over the prospects for reunification, with only 18 per cent of Greek Cypriots and 13 per cent of Turkish Cypriots hopeful for a solution through the current peace process.

But while our shared fear of the risky unknown is unlikely to deliver us a solution, it does have one very big advantage: nearly 90 per cent on each side are “absolutely opposed to the idea of ‘solving’ the conflict through armed struggle”, and for that we should be grateful.

Copyright © Cyprus Mail 2008

repulsewarrior · Deputy Joined: 06 Jan 2006 Posts: 1734 Location: Canada

Small steps will make a big difference
By Erol Kaymak, Alexandros Lordos and Nathalie Tocci
(archive article - Sunday, November 9, 2008)
IN THE editorial (‘The silver lining behind the mistrust’, Cyprus Mail, November 1) on Building Confidence in Peace, the first public opinion survey in Cyprus carried out by the Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS), the Cyprus Mail chose to reflect on the book’s results through a physical metaphor, the proverbial ‘silver lining’.

That bad news exists is the less newsworthy part of our story. If the glass were entirely full, there wouldn’t be a “Cyprus problem” to talk about. The newsworthy part of our survey is precisely that ominous storm clouds may be followed by more clement conditions.

The silver lining in our results not only lies in the fact that in Cyprus there is little appetite for violence or there is readiness to accept past mistakes and revise historical narratives. The silver lining lies also in the fact that Cypriots appear willing to act and embark on concrete measures in order to fill the glass further and enhance prospects for a comprehensive settlement.

It is in this context that CEPS launched this project investigating, through successive polls, what Cypriots think of each other, of the peace process and of possible solutions to the conflict.

The results of the first survey conducted simultaneously in the northern and southern parts of the island in April-May 2008 are presented in Building Confidence in Peace. The book begins by exploring who the Cypriots are and what their political values and attitudes are.

The picture that emerges – as the Cyprus Mail editorial highlights – is a mixed one, with a readiness to compromise, a rejection of violence or a convergence on a bizonal and bicomunal federal solution being counterbalanced by attitudes of mistrust, risk aversion or divergence on other elements of a comprehensive settlement.

Yet our study also shows that while mistrustful, risk averse and only several issues divergent, people in Cyprus advocate action to overcome inertia and blockage. This is critical for a negotiation process that is meant to be ‘Cypriot’ and so less reliant on third party mediation than previous attempts to cut the Gordian Knot that is the Cyprus problem.

Hence, the point of our book was to advocate concrete measures, which meet the consent of the two communities, in order to build confidence in the future.

On the grounds of these results a double need emerges starkly. First, it is essential to act, in parallel to the negotiating process, to raise public confidence in the peace process and in each side, in order to ensure that as and when an agreement is reached, the people will go along with it and make its ratification and implementation a success.

Second, precisely because of persistent areas of divergence, a set of confidence-building measures (CBMs) could be envisaged to help narrow the gaps separating the two communities.

This does not entail attention being shifted from comprehensive settlement negotiations to CBMs, a strategy that has often either intended to or has had the effect of sinking negotiations over a comprehensive settlement.

In contrast, unilateral CBMs or non-controversial CBMs oriented towards inter-societal reconciliation may have a very positive impact and may add momentum to the peace process within a strategic context of renewed negotiations.

Our survey revealed a first set of CBMs that could be easily agreed and implemented in so far as they meet wide support and little resistance from both communities. These include:

l Jointly fighting organised crime on the island

l Joint participation in international sporting events, drawing upon the formulas devised by other countries bedevilled by problems of contested sovereignty and recognition

l Joint protection of each community’s cultural heritage

l Establishing a social reconciliation committee

l Supporting Turkish Cypriot-EU harmonisation

l Renovating and making joint use of buildings in the Buffer Zone near the Ledra Street/Lokmaci crossing.

Alongside this, we note strong convergence on the theme that the negotiations should be supplemented by fact-finding activities, many of which could be encouraged, supported by or organised by the EU. These include:

l Conduct an analysis of threats and threat perceptions to serve as a foundation for further negotiations around the security issue.

l Produce an economic development plan for post-settlement Cyprus

l Conduct an internationally monitored Cyprus-wide census of all properties – Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot – affected by the conflict in order to assess their current use and condition

l Engage in consultations with individuals affected by the property issue, to identify their preferences and priorities regarding the resolution of their property claims

l Conduct an internationally monitored population census, on both sides of the Green Line, as a foundation for further negotiations around the issues of citizenship and immigration

A second category of CBMs, which we define as more challenging, would be those which enjoy narrow majority support in both communities, while also meeting resistance from sizeable minorities in either one or both, and which would thus require careful packaging and negotiation between the leaderships.

Yet as in the case of the first set of CBMs, these measures could also be pursued alongside the peace process aimed at reaching a comprehensive agreement. These include:

l Including the Turkish Cypriots in the EU customs union, hence contributing to inter-communal trade and common enterprises

l Including Turkish Cypriot higher education institutions into the European higher education system, while creating joint academic institutions where Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriots can work together

l Exploring forms of transitional justice.

Finally, there are other important yet far more contested CBMs to be considered and worked on, including questions such as direct trade, direct flights and Varosha.

Given the divisive nature of these issues, we suggest that these measures be discussed within both communities in order to prepare the ground for future agreement. However, in the current political context, these measures should probably not be the subject of negotiations between the leaderships in so far as within a comprehensive agreement, all these questions would automatically be resolved.

The story we’d like to tell is therefore an action-oriented one. Cyprus like any other conflict is inevitably ridden by divergences, contestation and mistrust. Yet Cypriots appear keen to reverse these realities by engaging in a series of concrete measures that if pursued alongside the ongoing negotiation process would greatly enhance its chances of success.

n Erol Kaymak, Alexandros Lordos and Nathalie Tocci are the authors of Building Confidence in Peace, which is available for free download from the Centre for European Policy Studies website: http://shop.ceps.eu

Copyright © Cyprus Mail 2008

city · Posted: Wed Nov 12, 2008 2:46 pm Post subject:

rw, we are talking about this survey here: Smile

Cypriot view about the other and the Cyprus Problem

repulsewarrior · Deputy Joined: 06 Jan 2006 Posts: 1734 Location: Canada

i know city, but i have posted these articles here as a matter of record. i hope this thread will be interesting, and valuable in a year, (or two) as a chronological description of the present negociation process. also, it would not surprise me if some of the readers enjoy the thread much like they enjoy a newspaper.