Cyprus divided over unity vote

NICOSIA, Cyprus — A hotly disputed U.N. referendum on the future of this divided island has widened the rift between its two main ethnic groups and cast strong doubt on the prospect of Cypriot unity after three decades of division.

Tomorrow’s vote on both sides of the Cypriot barricades is viewed by many in the Turkish-Cypriot minority as paving the way to European Union membership and prosperity. The Greek-Cypriot majority is torn, confused and, according to opinion polls, inclined to reject the complex blueprint closely identified with U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan and strongly backed by the Bush administration.

The 9,000-page “Annan Plan” was drafted in the face of continuing disagreement by the leaders of the island’s Greek and Turkish communities. Mr. Annan’s special envoy, Alvaro de Soto, has said the two sides by themselves would never reach an agreement “even if given an eternity to do so.”

Mr. de Soto described the plan for a loose confederation between the two “constituent states” — one Greek-Cypriot and one Turkish-Cypriot. The plan also calls for the island’s demilitarization as the “realistic basis for a settlement which brings benefits to both sides.”

The United States, the EU and a number of governments back the plan, fearing rejection would condemn Cyprus to years of potentially dangerous stalemate, as well as lead to fresh tensions between Athens and Ankara.

In a final appeal to Cypriots amid noisy antireferendum rallies in the Greek sector, Mr. Annan yesterday acknowledged the plan “does not meet the full demands of either side.”

“There is no magic way of accommodating the maximum demands of one side while at the same time accommodating the maximum demands of the other,” he added in his message.

The Annan plan received an unexpected blow when Russia exercised its first Security Council veto in 10 years Wednesday to block a special security guarantee for Cyprus. Russia, which has major economic interests in the Greek-Cypriot south, said the resolution could unfairly sway tomorrow’s vote.

Regardless of the outcome of the referendum, Cyprus is due to enter the EU on May 1. Tomorrow’s vote will determine if the island as a whole becomes a member of the union or, if Greek-Cypriots reject the deal, just the Greek-speaking portion of the island.

But Guenter Verheugen, the EU’s point man on expansion, said Wednesday he had “little hope” that Greek-Cypriots would approve the reunification package, condemning what he said were misrepresentations of the plan by Greek-Cypriot President Tassos Papadopoulos to ensure a “no” vote.

Many in the Greek-Cypriot community fear the plan legalizes the island’s division and the 1974 Turkish seizure of its northern part after an abortive Greek coup to link Cyprus with Greece.

Rauf Denktash, the 80-year-old president of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, has called for a “no” vote, saying the plan would eventually lead to the island’s annexation by Greece. But most Turkish-Cypriot politicians have campaigned in favor of approval.

The existing U.N. peacekeeping force in Cyprus, first sent to the island in 1964, is now the longest-serving U.N. deployment in the world with 12,000 troops. The force would be considerably increased if the plan is approved.