Letter to the Chairman of the Committee
from the High Commission of Cyprus, 9 June 2004
Further to my letter of 7 May 2004, regarding
the reasons for the Greek Cypriot side's rejection of the Annan
plan in the referendum of 24 April 2004, I thought you would be
interested in reading the attached letter, dated 7 June 2004,
which President Tassos Papadopoulos sent to the UN Secretary General,
Mr Kofi Annan, in which he deals with his Report on the Mission
of Good Offices in Cyprus (S/2004/437).
Attached to President Papadopoulos' letter to
the UN Secretary General, was the Annex, entitled "Comments
by the Government of Cyprus on the Report of the UN Secretary
General on his Mission of Good Offices in Cyprus" (S/2004/437
of 28 May 2004), a copy of which I also enclose with my letter.
As you will see, President Papadopoulos goes
into some detail about the legitimate concerns of the Greek Cypriot
side. These mainly refer to the question of Turkish mainland settlers,
the permanent stationing of Turkish military forces in Cyprus,
even after Turkey's eventual accession to the European Union and
the expansion of the guarantor powers' rights emanating from the
Treaty of Guarantee, through the inclusion of an additional protocol.
Moreover, President Papadopoulos emphatically
reiterates the determination of the Greek Cypriot side, as well
as his strong personal one, to strive for a solution of a bizonal,
bicommunal federation. He also categorically refutes the allegation
that the Greek Cypriots, at the referendum of 24 April, have voted
against the reunification of their country and states that they
have simply voted against the specific plan put to the referendum.
I will be pleased to provide you with any further
clarifications on these documents, should you require them.
HE Mrs Myrna Kleopas
High Commissioner of the Republic of Cyprus
9 June 2004
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