Cyprus about to make 'tragic mistake', says former leader

Published on Saturday 24 April 2004 01:00

CYPRUS was on the verge of making a "tragic mistake" as the divided island looked likely to reject a reunification plan in today’s votes, a former president warned yesterday.

Polls indicate a United Nations-brokered plan to bring the two communities together ahead of the island’s entry into the European Union next week will be accepted by a majority of Turkish Cypriots but rejected by most Greek Cypriots in separate referendums.

If either side votes no, EU membership will effectively go only to the more prosperous Greek Cypriots, who represent the island internationally.

"I am afraid we are on the verge of making a tragic mistake," said George Vassiliou, who, as a former president, filed the island’s EU application more than a decade ago.

Cyprus has been divided into a Turkish-occupied north and a Greek Cypriot-dominated south since 1974, when Turkey invaded the island following a coup by supporters of a union with Greece.

The UN plan, which is backed by the EU and United States, would reunite the island under a federation of two largely autonomous areas, but many Greek Cypriots feel the deal has made too many concessions to the Turkish side.