Select Committee on Foreign Affairs Written Evidence


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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