Greek Cypriots kill reunification plan

Greek Cypriots defied international pressure yesterday, voting overwhelmingly to kill a UN-backed plan to end 30 years of partition and usher a united Cyprus into the European Union.

Greek Cypriot President Tassos Papadopoulos said peace talks are not at the end of the road. But Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, whose government had braved the scepticism of a powerful hardline establishment and military to steer the Turkish north to a "yes" vote, said Greek Cypriot rejection meant partition of Cyprus was now "permanent". In a comment that will cut deep in Greek Cyprus, he said Turkey's 30,000-strong troop presence would remain in place.

Turkish Cyprus, in a simultaneous vote, approved the plan for a loose association of two largely autonomous zones. But the Greek Cypriot "no" effectively slammed the EU gates on the poorer north and meant only Greek Cyprus will accede next month.

It was a result the EU, the United States and the United Nations had urgently sought to avoid. The long-festering Cyprus problem, which has brought NATO partners Turkey and Greece to the verge of war on two occasions, will now be "imported" into the EU with all attendant complexities and emotions. Official results showed Greek Cyprus voted 75.8 per cent against the reunification plan.

The EU executive said in a statement the European Commission regretted the Greek Cypriot rejection. "A unique opportunity to bring about a solution to the long-lasting Cyprus issue has been missed," the statement said.

There was a subdued mood on the streets of the Greek Cypriot side of the divided capital, Nicosia. Smart roadside cafes usually teeming with people were empty, and police cordoned off roads leading to President Papadopoulos's office.

Official results showed Turkish Cypriots, comprising less than 200,000 of the island's 800,000 people and populating a third of its territory, voted 65 per cent for the unity plan.

Gul urged an end to trade embargoes on the north, which is recognised only by Ankara and enjoys a per capita income a third of that enjoyed by the south. "The embargoes must be lifted, the isolation must be brought to an end," he told an Ankara news conference.

Domestic financial analysts said the prospect of political isolation for Greek Cypriots after the rejection, coupled with a possible easing of trade blockades on Turkish Cypriots damaged Cyprus's economic outlook in the short and medium term.

Turkey's centre-right government had hoped reunification would boost its chances of winning a date for Turkish EU entry talks later this year; critical to luring foreign investment. Hope of reunification has passed, but the government has won some goodwill in casting aside past Turkish intransigence over Cyprus. Greek Cyprus may have fences to mend with EU partners.

EU Enlargement Commissioner Guenter Verheugen said on Wednesday he felt "cheated" by the Greek Cypriot government after their call to reject the plan. Cyprus was wracked by ethnic violence in the 1960s and split by a 1974 Turkish invasion after militant Greek Cypriots mounted a coup aimed at union with Greece. Emo-tions rooted in that brief war, which drove hundreds of thousands from their homes, run high on both sides of the island.

The Greek Cypriots in the south of the island believe the UN power-sharing plan did not give them enough territory and guarantees about withdrawal of Turkish troops. Some objected to 19-year limits on Greek Cypriot rights to settle and buy property in the Turkish north.

Turkish Cypriots had sought such exemptions to EU law on freedom of movement to ease fears they might be "swamped" by wealthier Greek Cypriots or, the old Turkish nightmare, be driven from the island.

The EU's eastern border will now be the so-called "Green Line" where 1,200 UN peacekeepers police a mined strip of deserted land.