Billions
to pay if Cyprus talks fail, UN special envoy warns.
Billions to pay if Cyprus talks fail, UN special envoy warns26 March 2011, Saturday / AP WITH TODAY’S ZAMAN, NICOSIA Failure in long-running talks to reunify divided Cyprus would saddleboth sides with a massive wave of property claims that could runinto “tens of billions of euros,” the United Nations envoyoverseeing the negotiations has said. The continued stalemate would spur compensation litigation forproperty lost since the island’s ethnic division in 1974, whenTurkey intervened after a coup by supporters of union with Greece,Alexander Downer told The Associated Press in an interview onThursday. Downer said he hoped to wrap up negotiations by the end ofthe year, adding that the rival parties’ positions are “notirreconcilable.” The 1974 intervention that split the island along ethnic linesdisplaced some 170,000 Greek Cypriots and about 40,000 TurkishCypriots. Around 80 percent of private property in the TurkishCypriot north is owned by Greek Cypriots. Turkish Cypriots,meanwhile, own 15 percent of private property in the internationallyrecognized Greek Cypriot south. “To resolve all of this will cost tens of billions of euroseventually, and they will be bills that will fall on Turkey and theGreek Cypriots,” said Downer. “They will be shelling out tens ofbillions of euros if you make any half-reasonable assessment of thevalue of these properties.” Reunification talks between Greek Cypriot leader Dimitris Christofiasand Turkish Cypriot leader Derviş Eroğlu are now in their third yearwith only limited progress to show, and faith in a successful outcomehas sharply waned on both sides. Disillusionment has led around 1,000 Greek Cypriots to apply to theTurkish Cypriot Immovable Property Commission, a body set up fiveyears ago to adjudicate property claims through a mixture ofrestitution, compensation and exchange. Only 161 claims have beensettled so far, with 65.5 million euros ($92.5 million) paid out. Downer said market confidence in Greek Cyprus would be shaken if thetalks collapse, while foreign investment in the island’s reboundingeconomy would suffer. International frustration at failure after a“massive investment” in yet another round of talks would bring itsown political costs, he said. “If people want to just bury theirhead in the sand and say, ‘It’s just a threat, nothing will everhappen,’ well, they’re wrong.” Downer was critical of recent dour assessments of the talks from bothsides, insisting that a deal to forge a federation composed ofTurkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot constituent states was withinreach. “There’s no reason why they can’t solve all theseproblems, their positions are not irreconcilable,” said Downer.“But I think it is very important to work at it, not to be makingforecasts of doom, but to be demonstrating determination to succeed.” Downer said significant progress has been made on how the twocommunities will share power under a federal roof, as well as oneconomic and EU matters. But much work remains on issues includingthe territorial boundaries of the constituent states and on propertywhich he said was “without any doubt the most difficult issue.” “If you want to reunify Cyprus, the only way you can do that isthrough a federation. That is the only way, there isn’t any otherway,” Downer said. The UN envoy said he expects negotiations to slow down in the run upto Greek Cypriot and Turkish parliamentary elections in May and Junerespectively, but expects things to pick up quickly after that.Although there are no deadlines in the open-ended process, Downersaid the aim is to wrap up negotiations by the end of the year,adding that the two sides “don’t have the luxury of time.” Tasoula Berggren, Honorary ConsulConsulate of the Republic of CyprusTel: 604 936 2268Fax: 604 936 2168tberggre@sfu.ca
