Why did Greek Cypriots reject the UN plan to reunite the island?
Phaedon Vassiliades of Workers’ Democracy looks beyond the accusation of nationalism. Last April two separate referendums were held in Cyprus, in the Turkish North and in the Greek South of the island, over the plan put forward by UN general secretary Kofi Annan for the settlement of the Cyprus issue. The Annan Plan (AP) was presented as a unique ‘balanced plan’ for reunification, bringing peace and prosperity in the island. The outcome was that 65 percent of Turkish Cypriots voted yes while 76 percent of Greek Cypriots voted no, and the plan was rejected. Some people’s interpretation is that the Turkish Cypriots’ yes vote expressed an ‘internationalist’ vote while the no vote by the Greek Cypriots expressed their chauvinism and their refusal to accept peaceful coexistence between Greek and Turkish Cypriots. The reality is somewhat different. Most Greek Cypriots rejected the AP because they did not trust George W Bush, the butcher of Baghdad, and his accomplice Tony Blair to promote pe
