Our View: Predictable negativity from parties on Cyprus conference

Even if we had not heard the statements by the party leaders after Thursday’s national council meeting that discussed President Anastasiades’ participation in the informal five-party conference on the Cyprus problem next month, we would have known what they said. The predictability of their negative sentiments is at the level of self-parody, although they might not be aware of it.

Edek’s Marinos Sizopoulos believed the five-party conference “increases the dangers that loom for the Cyprus Republic” and the main aim should be to “avert possible capitalisation of additional political benefits by Turkey and the occupation regime.” His new ally Giorgos Lillikas saw “very many dangers looming at the conference and the environment is not at all favourable for our side,” with a deadlock being “inevitable.”

They stopped short of arguing that Anastasiades should turn down the UN Secretary-General’s invitation, in contrast to the more patriotic Solidarity and Elam. Solidarity leader, Dr Theocharous said she “firmly believed” the conference “constitutes a well-laid trap, in which we will fall as the Cyprus Republic.” The Elam deputy, Linos Papayiannis said his party disagreed with Anastasiades attending because “huge dangers are looming.”

At least none of them repeated the cliché, favoured by newspaper columnists, who dismiss all initiatives as attempts at a “rushed closure of the Cyprus problem,” while also seeing dangers looming on horizon. The Greens and Akel, like Disy, believed Anastasiades should attend the conference, while the Diko leader avoided taking a strong stand as nowadays he is preoccupied with eliminating corruption.

The informal UN conference was put into its proper context by Disy leader Averof Neophytou in an interview he gave on Cybc television on Thursday night, in which he introduced some much-needed realism to the debate. “If (UNSG Antonio) Guterres’ initiative is not successful and if through an official summit, we do not find a solution to ensure the future of all Cypriots, we will have a summer tsunami [of developments] and we will lose Varosha,” he warned, not for the first time.

This is the only looming danger, which ironically, most party leaders are blind to because the only things they can see are traps for the Republic. If we do not go to the conference, even the small probability of reaching a deal would be eliminated and the only option left would be the two states as the default solution by which the Turks will return no territory. “If we do not have a settlement, we will all line up issuing statements and crying over Varosha,” said Neophytou.

It is astonishing that there are party leaders that cannot, or refuse, to see this danger that is staring them in the face, because their priority is avoiding imaginary traps.