Turkish Cypriot Leader Ready to Negotiate on Reunification

Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash informed U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Wednesday that he was prepared to negotiate on the basis of a U.N. plan to reunify the divided island of Cyprus.

Denktash replied to Annan’s Nov. 11 request for an initial reaction to his 137-page plan to unify the Mediterranean island into a single country with two equal states and a loose federal government with a rotating presidency, U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.

Greek Cypriot President Glafcos Clerides had already accepted the plan as a basis for negotiations.

Annan had been waiting for a reply from Denktash, who is recovering from surgery in a New York hospital.

“The important thing is we now have an answer from Mr. Denktash saying he is willing to move forward to negotiate on the basis of the plan,” Dujarric said.

Annan on Tuesday made a new request to both leaders to provide more detailed comments, suggestions and requests regarding the plan by Saturday “to enable the process to move forward,” Dujarric said.

The secretary-general is pushing for an agreement before a key European Union summit Dec. 12 to approve the entry of Cyprus and nine other prospective EU members by 2004.

Cyprus has been divided into a Greek Cypriot south and a Turkish-occupied north since Turkey invaded the island in 1974 after a short-lived coup by supporters of union with Greece. A breakaway Turkish Cypriot state in the north is recognized only by Turkey, which maintains 40,000 troops there.

If the two sides fail to agree, the European Union is committed to admitting only the Greek Cypriot part of the country. Turkey has warned that Ankara then might annex the north.

In the Turkish sector of the divided capital, Nicosia, meanwhile, a crowd estimated at between 12,000 and 20,000 marched to urge Denktash to accept Annan’s plan.

Speaking on Turkish television, Denktash discussed his plans to relay points he opposes in the plan: “They’re forcing us to create one nation from two nations; what I’m seeking is a partnership with two sovereignties.”