The role of the civil society and the importance of confidence building measures (e.g. demilitarization / disarmament / re-settlement (Maronite villages, Varosha etc.) during the negotiation process (2009)
The long lasting Cyprus question became a very complicated question because many UN Secretary Generals and their special representatives were involved but still no one saw its solution or there are no irreversible changes. All changes of good nature are subject to changes.
Is the question complicated or it is seemingly complicated because the leaders cannot accept a solution not accepted by both communities and probably by the parties supporting one of the communities. Therefore a change is needed in the minds of communities to encourage the leaderships to find acceptable formulas by both of them.
Every offer or every formula proposed by parties or UN officials failed to convince all parties to accept until today. Therefore we need to reframe our necessities and transform the problem to find formulas acceptable by all parties.
Civil society is there to influence people, to bring new ideas and to bring to the surface what are not necessary that once in a while were necessary. But just conferring is enough. We need some measures and facilities to check what is said such as the re-opening of Varosha as a proof of goodwill, separating the armies as a trust to the other party that it is not as adventurous and beginning to reduce the arms and forming demilitarized regions etc.
We all know what confidence building measures are. We call you to be more creative about their kinds and propose different kinds of measures. Such as a memorandum on sales or construction on properties belonging to the other community members or change of demographic structure of a part of Cyprus etc. and measures to inform civil society immediately including their representatives in committees and working groups.
We cannot accept that Cypriots are full of enmities about the other Cypriots and that their leaderships can not control extremists. Therefore any excuse for rejecting a sensible proposal needs to be considered and repelled for an urgent and early solution. We know how urgent the solution is, because of the demographic change.
What we propose is:
- Stop the entry of new or more sophisticated weapons to the island and enable its active control.
- Immediate demilitarization of the walled city of Nicosia and the entire Nicosia as soon as possible.
- The distancing of military forces (de confrontation) in the buffer zone away from each other.
- Immediate demilitarization of Varosha and housing allocation to the legitimate owners.
- Making the necessary arrangements so that Maronites return to their pre-1974 settlements and demilitarization of the region.
- Initiation of the required operations to dissolve the Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot armed forces.
- Making an agenda for withdrawal of the foreign armed forces and immediately starting the necessary work for its implementation.
- Immediate opening of all the crossing points (e.g Lefka, Famagusta Gate (Nicosia), Athienou) and especially the one in Tylliria area. At the same time, smoothing of the required procedures at the checkpoints for easier passage of people (similar to the passage of 500 million Europeans inside the EU)
New Cyprus Party
16/04/2008
