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Downer more optimistic after leaders’ dinner
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CyprusTHERE IS every reason to have “positive sentiments” and hope for the future of Cyprus, said UN Special Adviser Alexander Downer yesterday.
Speaking at the opening of the bicommunal Joint Communications Room (JCR) in the buffer zone in Nicosia, Downer said Wednesday night’s dinner between the two leaders in the north of Nicosia left him feeling hopeful for a Cyprus solution.
In recent weeks, the Australian diplomat has called on the leaders to show the courage and bravery needed to push ahead with a solution, and even called on Cypriots to question what would happen the day after, if there was no solution.
According to reports, the two leaders are no closer to reaching agreement on the tricky property issue in the talks with President Demetris Christofias insisting on linking it with the issues of territory and settlers, something that Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu has rejected outright.
However, the latest social event at Eroglu’s house appears to have lifted spirits on both sides and among the UN team.
Downer said as a foreigner and outsider, he would describe Wednesday night’s dinner as “a truly Cypriot occasion”.
“The two leaders, their wives, the representatives talking about Cyprus in ways that only Cypriots can talk about their own island and sharing such a passion and love for their own island,” he added.
The UN diplomat said he did not want to sound “excessively optimistic but I came away from that dinner thinking that these people can work together, they can solve the Cyprus problem…it is not beyond their reach.”
He called on Cypriots to think about the future of the island, not just the past. “Yes we have learnt from history, yes it is important to understand history but at the same time we can only live at the present and look at the future.”
He noted the importance of everyone having a “sense of forward looking hope”, adding, “I think from my experience (on Wednesday night) there is every reason to have positive sentiments and some sense of hope for the future of this very, very beautiful island”.
Downer also met with Foreign Minister Marcos Kyprianou yesterday to discuss the course of the negotiations.

James JH lockhart comments:
Fevzi
Nothing So Far from the Lunatic Fringe, to your requests ???
Fevzi from London & Kyrenia comments:
DOES ANYONE THINK there is going to be an agreement between the Greek and Turkish Cypriots this year, or ever? Come on, Christoph, John Alexander, Dave The Impaler, JT, Val...............
What are your views?
If you don't think there's going to be a solution, why are we wasting our time discussing history, food, etc.
Let's go our separate ways and be done with!
Good luck to all.
ANDRE CRUYWAGEN from JOHANNESBURG comments:
Correspondence with JT is now closed, As closed as his mind.
STAVROS, it must be tough to live in two places at the same time.Jokes aside, the Transkei had "independence" foisted on it by the apartheid regime.The TRNC is somewhat different. Your truth and reconciliation commitee proposal has merit but given the past, do you really think a bi-communal/zonal republic will work? I doubt it.Let go of the past and live side by side but separate.
Loriot from Lapta comments:
"Christoph from USA" is in fact a North London electrician who sometimes poses as "Has(s)an Kemal from Kyrenia".
His comments are best ignored.
Christoph from USA comments:
James and Loriot, please stop salivating over each other in the forum. It's a little disturbing, you know? You can continue this love affair during your own time-in your own way.
Christoph from USA comments:
Loriot keeps on getting in deeper and deeper with his ignorance. Now I am no only possing as Hassan Kemal, I am also NOT located in the USA! My goodness, he is building a personna for me that is really amusing to watch develop. LOL
gibratsi from London UK comments:
Everybody involved in the theatre of 'negotiations' and in particular our Aussie friend Downer is finely tuned now after all the months of experience.
What does “sense of forward looking hope” mean cobber? Was hope missing so far in the 'negotiations'.
The only hope left is the fixing of the date for the 'amicable separation' of the South and North.I can only see negotiated partition on the horizon.
jt from uk comments:
andre, do you remember when you referred to the blacks as caffers? and you say you lost your job , probably due to racist remarks.
lorioot i feel sorry for you due to your incapacity to have any logic of thought, i know its not your fault that you are of one braincell thats also deformed, but thats why your a fig seller and goat herder. dont you get bored talking to goats all day?
andre doesnt recognise truth, aparthied existed in his own home and now tries to distance himself to clear his name, a little like lorioot the traitor, are you a traitor also?
Stavros from Larnaka & London comments:
I'd remind Andre that about 34 years ago the Transkei was given 'independence' and recognised by only South Africa. Nobody else in the world was fooled then, and nobody is fooled by the 'TRNC' either.
Cyprus is at a turning point, does it renounce past hostilities and look to a new future as South Africa did after 1994, or does it remain stuck in the past?
Perhaps South Africans who brokered the deal after Mandelas release could advise Cyprus today. Maybe we too need a Truth and Reconcialiation Commission in the new bi-communal bi-zonal Republic?
ANDRE from JOHANNESBURG comments:
I think the carrier of JT's key is a zoo keeper.
JT: aparthied is spelt apartheid.
I note that you did not respond meaningfully to the criticism that your comments are racist, instead you revert to stereotyping.
I am from South Africa in Africa. Your knee jerk refernce to Africa makes me think you dislike anything from Africa including and probably especialy black people.
For the record,I opposed apartheid, and it even cost me a job.I am impressed by your view that I was solely responsible for apartheid, but even for me it would have been too much of a burden to be the only person in charge.
I accept that not everyone has a fluent grasp of English but at least try to marshall your limited knowledge of the language into reasoned debating instead of the type of mindless insulting ranting so beloved by the Nazis.Unfortunately you represent the type of racist that thinks insults are a substitute for intellect.
The TRNC is only recognised by Turkey as you say, but that does noy detract from the physical reality of its existence and the need for partitioning so that all of Cyprus can carry on with the daily business of living and building the economies of the South and the North without the distraction of endless and sterile negotiations which fogs the reality that partitioning is the only long term viable solution for the Cyprus issues.
Loriot from Lapta comments:
My god, JT, has the warden come with the key, at last?
jt from uk comments:
phillip your english isnt that good so dont criticise others.
hagis jockhart stop bickering about inabilities.
andre from africa, racist what world do you live in? your the racist you are the one who commited aparthied.
pseudo is the word because it means what the word says.
is the trnc recognised by the world apart from turkey? exactly so its deemed to be pseudo.....wake up aparthied and read before you speak
James JH lockhart comments:
JT Clearly you Challenge Darwins theory
ANDRE CRUYWAGEN from JOHANNESBURG comments:
JT from the UK is either having a merry time provoking outrage with tongue in cheek comments or he or he is a particularly virulent racist who would have had Adof Hitler fawning on him in admiration.
The TRNC is a fact of life. Its legality in Law is open for debate but it functions on de facto basis as a Republic and this cannot be wished away by calling it pseudo.
Phil from uk comments:
JT from the UK. I dont know how long you have been in the UK but your English is terrible.
jt from uk comments:
jock, thats what i like to see loriot the nodding dog......how can a traitor voice his opinion when he has sold out. i believe you too as a disguise hagis hiding away from the authorities on a false identity.....
jt from uk comments:
loriot you see how childish you are, if i were you i would stick to selling figs, hagis, looking after your herd or selling your body to the male sector.
in respect of hagis jockstrap you have to have a brain to understand what i have written, your only braincell is burnt out and of special needs.
Fred comments:
I seem to remember Clerides saying "we could have solved the Cyprus problem if we wanted to, dut did not want to".
Can one of your reporters please ask him to explain explain this statement he made in the past, before he dies.
I have no hope that these two men will get anywhere near a settlement even if they try for a thousand years. If there was such reality the Greek Cypriot anti-solutionists would be on fire by now.
They are just playing for November and the final report by Downer before he leaves.
Loriot from Lapta comments:
Agreed, James!
James JH lockhart comments:
Loriot,
To my mind they are worse, preaching hatreds, using multiple idenities, and they Do not reflect the vast majority of greek Cypriots.
As I have stated before if they are Paid Agitors, There paymaster
Should try and Upgrade. Christoph/HaSSan Saga, etc.
Shame because these people stop Many GCs actually posting Giving there Views and allowing constructive Discussion.
Same as the DINNER How many people Even a year ago Would have imagined ERGOGLU having the ROC President in His own House for a family meal ????
Loriot from Lapta comments:
Well, James, all what these loonies want is to create animosity. When you analyse it, it's just a handful of idiots that give the RoC a bad name.
James JH lockhart comments:
Loriot,
Take heart that they are using your name to post Same As mine at times, It means your postings Are to factual for there liking !!
As to Christoph being in the USA I doubt it, From the postings JT done today I just cannot See one With Any relevance to the Thread ??
Loriot from Lapta comments:
My advantage, JT, is that I can leave the shade of my tree anytime I wish whereas you have to wait for the warden with the key.
jt from uk comments:
the walls in my office are luxuriously decored, is the tree you shade yourself under good enough for you
Loriot from Lapta comments:
JT, are the walls of your 'luxurious office' heavily padded?
jt from uk comments:
whats happened to the iron fist reaction???
In an article entitled "A Turkish-Israeli Probe May Be the Only Solution," Milliyet columnist Semih Idiz says that an investigation to be conducted by a panel of experts appointed by the United Nations about the Israeli raid on an aid flotilla, is unlikely to produce a satisfactory result meeting Turkey's expectations. He comments: "The best solution could be the establishment of a joint Turkish-Israeli committee in order to investigate the matter in a rapid, impartial, convincing and transparent manner in accordance with international standards.
oh i see they could squash turkey like a beetle, thats why its please and may i etc....your gutless!
jt from uk comments:
loriot leave gibratsi alone cant you see he is working in the local kebab shop, unlike you selling figs on the side road......whilst i am busy in my luxurious office
jt from uk comments:
loriot, why do you hurt so much, we all know you are a bitter and twisted traitor, accept it and stop going on with yourself. if you dont like anything simply scabooshh back to turkey where i am sure you natives will laugh at you.....
i have only displaye dwhat the turkish press displays and made comments , this must be embarrassing hence why you react the way you do....
if my representatives said silly things i too would be upset, the difference is that your reps are just trying be heard because nobody listens to them they are nothing...
Loriot from Lapta comments:
Yes, gibratsi, I agree. It only needs infantile posters like JT to confirm this.
gibratsi from London UK comments:
Christofias and Eroglu together with their wives are just like parents who are meeting to arrange an 'amicable separation' for their children .Stop dreaming and stop hoping for 'reunification'.It's not going to happen.
Loriot from Lapta comments:
gibratsi, Christoph is clearly not posting from the US, previous timings confirm this as well as his non-American diction.
Last night he hijacked my identity on another subject at 4.00am
(probably coming home from a North London disco).
Whatever the case, there are definitely people posting under different identities and all of them are RoC leaning maniacs.
jt from uk comments:
what an idiot,
Agia Triada Church will not be turned into a mosque
Turkish Cypriot daily Kibris newspaper (29.07.10) reports that the self-styled Director of Religious Affairs, Yusuf Suicmez, denied that the church of Agia Triada in occupied Karpaz peninsula will be turned into a mosque. Suicmez said that it is not an established practise to use Christians churches as mosques.
guess it will be turned intoi another stable for the cows, this is the usual practice......
jt from uk comments:
loriot i realise that factual info must be very unwelcoming but this is how it is, you are a minority with no recognition, i simply said the kurds who carry more weight are not given equal status, and you get upset, the germans dont want to associate with you, you have to accept fact, you live under turkish occupation fact, trnc equals (territory under occupation)
gibratsi from London UK comments:
Loriot,
jt cannot be Christoph of USA because of the time difference.It is now in the middle of the night in the US.
Perhaps Christoph stays up all night ,just to annoy everybody with his jibes.
jt from uk comments:
why would anybody want to contact a none recognised body?????
Davutoglu calls on Germany to approach both sides in Cyprus equally
Turkish daily Todays Zaman newspaper (29.07.10) reports that the Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ahmet Davutoglu, speaking during a joint news conference with his German counterpart Guido Westerwelle visiting Turkey, said that Germany has to approach both sides in Cyprus equally regarding an urgent solution of the protracted conflict. He said that it will be helpful if Germany has contacts with Turkish Cyprus, also. Mr Davutoglu said that British and German support is important for progress in the Cyprus dispute.
i have announced that I am a president of a new state will the turks please second me????this is exactly the same, the echr have agreed you dont exist you are like thin air, nothing , zilch, dust that is blown here and there, turkey is the other side, hence why eroglu answers to them...
jt from uk comments:
another numpty,
Ankara Anatolia (A.A) news agency (28.07.10) reported from Kocaeli that the Turkish State Minister and Chief Negotiator, Egemen Bagis, said on Wednesday that Turkey will not renounce Cyprus in favour of its EU accession. Mr Bagis was delivering a speech at the Kocaeli Chamber of Trade.
why do you keep on the road to the eu????
i havnt heard anybody asking the turkish eu negotiators to stop partaking in eu talks....clearly this chap must be suffering with sun stroke due to the summer season....this kind of attitude must be very embarrassing in deed........its known as dribble talk./..
Loriot from Lapta comments:
JT, have you taken over the role of Christoph by making stupid comments? Or are you Christoph? Wouldn't be surprised!
Whoever you are, Kurds do not really mean a thing to you as long as your brethren are well off!
jt comments:
will somebody please tell this idiot to wake up and smell the grass
Ozgurgun: The international community should warn the Greek Cypriots that the TRNC will be recognized if an early agreement is not achieved
Illegal Bayrak television (28.07.10) carries on its website a statement by the self-styled foreign minister, Huseyin Ozgurgun that the international community should warn the Greek Cypriots that the TRNC will be recognized if an early agreement is not achieved.
Ozgurgun told BRT that the Turkish side wanted to reach an agreement by the end of 2010 and complained that the Greek Cypriots have been hampering the talks by trying to include the issues of migrants and territory in the agenda of the negotiations which now focus on property.
The Greek Cypriots have been avoiding an agreement. They had never accepted a partnership agreement based on the political equality of the two sides. Their objective is to claim ownership over the whole island by presenting the Cyprus Turks as a minority, he said.
first of all if recognition was at the fore why would the gc's need to be warned? next point he should be worried that the kurds would be first in the queue, the minority issue is fact the gc's are a majority and the tc's minority numbers equal the answer, are the kurds a minority?? of course they are but turkey doesnt give them equality, this is why the pseudo trnc will never see good days, it will only get worse....
jt from uk comments:
eroglu is in a puppet position and does as told otherwise he will be told off by his boss, turkey is his governor and follows strict guidelines. christofias can only watch and nod as he is unsure whether turkey will instigate a proposal or withdraw it from the table, like i said eroglu is the puppet simply trying to portray a leadership style face....what should happen, turkey should either step in and do its own dirty work and resolve the cyprus problem or allow the cypriots to find a resolution and remove all turkish mainlanders who have been given free land, unknown anywhere in the world other than the occupied areas.....however onec the cyprus problem has been resolved what will happen to all the pseudo deeds???surely they will become invalid and turkey will want to reclaim the spoils.....
Welchy comments:
Better not hold your breath
Gavin Jones comments:
I wonder whether we'll be spared the vitriol which is usually heaped upon 'Western lackey' Downer from the usual suspects but I expect that it's wishful thinking on my part. Here's hoping.
At least he's doing his best in a complex situation and it's no less difficult for Christofias and Eroglu.
ALL concerned need our support.