Changing Trains

'Iraqi scientists tested by Mossad - in Cyprus'

A rather bizzare claim surfacing in Bahrain's Akhbar al-Khaleej newspaper:

The pro-government daily quoted Iraqi diplomats who used to work in the Iraqi embassy in Rabat, the Moroccan capital, as saying the network was led by a Jewish Moroccan religious leader with support from the Israeli secret service, the Mossad, and with the cooperation of an Iraqi representative in Morocco. They said that scientists and their families were smuggled into Cyprus where they would be "tested" by Mossad agents. If they were up to the qualifications Israel was seeking, they would be taken to Israel; if not, they are reportedly granted asylum in another European country. The unidentified sources said that about 35 Iraqi families were taken to Israel and that more than 80 other families received asylum in Belgium and other European countries.

Propping Up Talat

With the EU Commision failing to deliver on aid promised to the north and with elections only a matter of weeks away this article suggests a direct attempt by the Commission to offer Talat a helping hand:

In an apparent bid to back the pro-European forces among the Turkish Cypriot community, ahead of the upcoming election procedure in the north, the EU Commission has suggested it might be willing to make changes to its package for the Turkish Cypriots.

Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn told MEPs during a discussion with the Foreign Affairs Committee that he would consider a change to the legal basis for a regulation on direct trade.

He also said the Commission could issue a statement on the headquarters of the Reconstruction Agency that would be handling 259 million euros spearheaded for the Turkish Cypriots. Sources said the agency would be based in the government-controlled areas, as Nicosia has sought.

The EU executive is trying to convince the Cyprus government to agree on a package of regulations after the failure of last April’s referendum for a settlement on the island.

Public Opinion and the Negotiations Process

This from a letter by Ramadan Salih in Nicosia north in today's Turkish Daily News where the author suggests a way of incorporating the views of citizens into the negotiations process. An interesting suggestion which was attempted with some effect in Northern Ireland in the run up to the Good Friday Agreement:

If the common approach shared by both sides in Cyprus is to take up the Annan plan once more and bring about changes that would be acceptable to the majorities, then breaking down the number of "No" votes cast in the referenda with respect to different concerns of the people on both sides and prioritizing them for the purpose of defining and adjusting the dose of necessary changes to the Annan plan in line with common concerns to be expressed by both sides will be a realistic starting point.

The task of defining and breaking down different concerns can be undertaken by the mediators through the aid of a comprehensive public survey (questionnaire) that would demand from its subjects a prioritization of their concerns. Different concerns that spring to mind at first glance are: the degree of functionality, the degree of power sharing, the rigidity of property arrangements, the credibility of compensation arrangements, the degree of intermingling of people from the two sides and the credibility of the security arrangements. The list can be enlarged.

If, for example, the results of the public survey revel that a low degree of functionality is a real common concern for both sides, then it may seem that any change to the Annan plan to the effect of increasing its functionality will create a win-win situation. But given the fact that a federal system of governance, political equality and bi-zonality have been the three agreed fundamental parameters since 1977, one should come to the understanding that any change to the Annan plan should exclude a deviation towards a unitary state (which can also bring about functionality) because a unitary state highly excludes all of the three agreed fundamental parameters, whereas achieving a higher degree of functionality through a deviation towards a looser federation seems to be a more viable and acceptable alternative because this can better accommodate the three parameters.

Time to Re-Engage

This blog went into abayence just as Cyprus headed for an historic decision on April 24th last year....we all know the result and what has followed. Time to get back in the saddle in anticipation of new efforts to reactivate the negotiations process....