 |
Christofias ‘postpones’ start of second round of talks
Greek Cypriot Presidential Commissioner George Iacovou, while announcing the decision to postpone the meeting, cited problems experienced on Wednesday when hundreds of Greek Cypriots aborted a pilgrimage to the north of the ethnically divided island of Cyprus after delays at a United Nations cease-fire line. According to witnesses, some were turned back by Turkish Cypriot border guards, the Reuters news agency reported.
The pilgrimage was seen as a goodwill gesture between the Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities, set to enter a crucial phase of peace talks to end decades of estrangement.
“The manner [used] against the Greek Cypriot worshippers cast a shadow over tomorrow's [Thursday's] start of the second round of negotiations,” Iacovou was quoted as saying by the Anatolia news agency, he also noted that they have informed Alexander Downer, the top UN official in Cyprus, concerning their decision to postpone the meeting.
About 550 Greek Cypriot pilgrims who had waited at a remote mountain outpost for several hours to cross into northern Cyprus turned back after some individuals were not permitted to cross, resulting in a bottleneck of delays for others, Reuters reported. By that time, the church service they planned to attend had ended, the agency said.
“They [Turkish Cypriots] were turning back people even if there was [only] a typographical error in the name they had on their lists,” said Andreas Karyos, a Greek Cypriot.
The Greek Cypriots had been planning the pilgrimage for months to coincide with the feast day of a patron saint. Other pilgrims did make it to the church, but used a different checkpoint to cross into northern Cyprus.
Hasan Erçakıca, a spokesman for President Talat, meanwhile said all necessary measures for facilitating Greek Cypriots' crossing into northern Cyprus had been taken by the Turkish Cypriot officials.
The busses which arrived at the crossing point were full of Greek Cypriot pilgrims whose names had not been conveyed to the Turkish Cypriot side in advance, contrary to an earlier agreement between Greek and Turkish sides, and problems erupted because of this, Anatolia said, citing anonymous sources.
The incident occurred in a remote region in the island's north-west, bordering a UN buffer zone which splits the island from east to west.
“We did all we could to facilitate the process, that was what was requested of us,” said Jose Diaz, spokesman for the UN mission in Cyprus. He declined further comment.
In early August, Talat and Christofias wrapped up the first phase of talks, which commenced in September of last year.
The NTV news channel suggested that the actual reason behind the Greek Cypriot side's decision for the postponement was Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu's visit to the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (KKTC) on Tuesday. During the visit, Davutoğlu warned Greek Cypriots that Turkey will never allow the “assimilation” of Turkish Cypriots by Greek Cypriot administration and will also not allow for the continuation of the current status quo on the island in the event that no resolution is achieved.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| BERİL DEDEOĞLU |  |
||
| Yemen and beyond | |||
| ABDULLAH BOZKURT |  |
||
| Turkey and Mexico: Distant yet so close | |||
| ABDÜLHAMİT BİLİCİ |  |
||
| Google kidnaps Gül! | |||
| İHSAN YILMAZ |  |
||
| The Egyptian elections, Islam and Islamists | |||
| MARKAR ESAYAN |  |
||
| There is need for a new initiative | |||
| EMRE USLU |  |
||
| Operational errors | |||
| HASAN KANBOLAT |  |
||
| Are Russian tourists being discouraged from visiting Turkey? | |||
| CHARLOTTE MCPHERSON |  |
||
| The modern ‘Great Game’: women’s role and status | |||
| KLAUS JURGENS |  |
||
| Back to the ’80s | |||
| KATHY HAMILTON |  |
||
| Random acts of violence | |||
| MERVE BÜŞRA ÖZTÜRK |  |
||
| Adding insult to injury in Uludere | |||
| NICOLE POPE |  |
||
| Shifting responsibility | |||
| YAVUZ BAYDAR |  |
||
| ‘Errorism’ | |||
| ORHAN MİROĞLU |  |
||
| ‘Strategic vision’ | |||
| ORHAN KEMAL CENGİZ |  |
||
| Turkey through Amnesty International’s eyes | |||
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
