Greek Cypriots Reject UN Peace Plan, Jeopardizing Cyprus Reunification

An historic bid to reunify Cyprus after more than three decades of division was decisively thwarted yesterday, as the majority Greek Cypriot population overwhelmingly voted against a United Nations peace plan, despite considerable international pressure.

Appeals from global leaders, including President Bush, Tony Blair, Kofi Annan, and the European Union, fell on deaf ears as three-quarters of the Greek Cypriot community rejected the proposal.

Diplomats warned that the scale of the rejection severely limits the possibility of a second referendum, solidifying concerns that Cyprus will join the EU on 1 May as a divided nation. Consequently, the EU's eastern frontier will terminate at the contentious 'dead zone.'

In stark contrast, 69.1 percent of Turkish Cypriots voted in favor of the complex deal, potentially paving the way for the international community to lift stringent trade embargoes.

In a significant blow to decades of Greek efforts to prevent the international recognition of Turkish Cyprus, EU Enlargement Commissioner Gunter Verheugen announced plans to explore ways to ease the embargoes immediately.

The reality of the EU's borders ending at a heavily fortified frontier casts a shadow over upcoming celebrations marking its eastern expansion.

'It seems as if the Cyprus problem is going to continue and that makes us very sad,' said Feder Soyer, deputy leader of the breakaway Turkish Republic's ruling Socialist Party, speaking from his office in northern Nicosia. 'We Turkish Cypriots want reunification. A "no" from the Greek Cypriots will be very bad news. It will lead to all kinds of frightening scenarios being played out, here and in Turkey.'

Signs of a political crisis appeared in the self-declared Turkish Republic as Rauf Denktash, its veteran leader and opponent of the UN plan, insisted he would retain his position despite the outcome.

UN officials and diplomats, who had invested extensive efforts in devising the 9,000-page peace plan, had hoped for approval from both sides before Cyprus's EU accession.

Responding to international disappointment, Dimitris Christofias, leader of the largest party in the Greek Cypriot coalition government, stated: 'The result does not mean we don't want a settlement... What is needed is to resume negotiations to clarify points [in the plan] to make it acceptable and provide the security guarantees we feel are essential.'

Although European law will technically apply across the entire island under its treaty of accession, EU laws and benefits will remain suspended in the northern enclave until a resolution is achieved.

The UN plan proposed a loose federation of two largely autonomous and politically equal states on the island, governed by a weak central government. However, Greek Cypriots criticized the plan as impractical and unjust.

'It breaks my heart to have to vote no. We want a solution but not this one,' said Panayiota Panayidou, a baker's wife, after casting her ballot. 'We are the majority on this island, the Turks are a minority. Under this UN scheme we'll have to share everything 50-50 with them and I don't think that's fair.'

EU officials and politicians supporting the plan had hoped for a strong enough vote to warrant a second referendum in the autumn, ahead of a crucial decision on Turkey's EU membership talks. Ankara had been warned that cooperation over Cyprus was essential for progressing with EU membership talks. This implicit threat had led to Ankara's unexpected reversal of its long-standing hardline policy on Cyprus.

'It is true that the Greeks have had to confront the reality of a solution for the first time and that the whole process has been very quick, but frankly there's also been a lot of misinformation about the plan,' said an EU diplomat based in Nicosia. 'This is a huge, huge disappointment. The EU, after all, is meant to be the biggest peace project on earth. Sandbags and barbed wire are not what it is about.'

Foreign Secretary Jack Straw expressed his sadness over the Greek Cypriot vote, while the European Commission issued a statement expressing deep regret over the rejection of the plan by the Greek Cypriot community.