16 April 2004
U.S. Pledges $400 Million for Cyprus Reconciliation
USAID's Natsios at April 15 pre-donors' conference in Brussels
The United States has pledged $400 million to support reconciliation in Cyprus.
Speaking at an international preliminary donors' conference in Brussels April 15, Andrew Natsios, administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), said, "We are here today ... to offer a concrete demonstration of support."
Natsios said the U.S. aid is contingent on "a positive outcome" from the April 24 referenda in the Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities on U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan's comprehensive settlement plan, as well as on U.S. congressional authorization. He said $100 million would be available "to meet immediate needs" and that the remaining $300 million would be appropriated in future budgets.
Natsios urged the Cypriot communities to look beyond the "imperfections and disappointments" of the Annan plan and to have faith in the "promise of reconciliation and hope" that the proposal offers.
"[T]he status quo is not sustainable," Natsios said, and if a divided Cyprus enters the European Union (EU) on May 1, "it is all but certain that the gap between the two communities will grow deeper and wider," and finding a viable solution to the 40-year-old conflict "will grow more difficult with time."
That is why, he said, the United States believes the Annan plan "presents the best and last opportunity" for a united Cyprus to join the EU.
A press release on U.S. assistance to Cyprus is available at the USAID Web site: http://www.usaid.gov/press/releases/2004/pr040415.html
Following is a transcript of Natsios' remarks in Brussels provided by the U.S. Mission to the EU:
(begin transcript)
U.S. Mission to the European Union
Brussels, Belgium
Remarks by Andrew Natsios, Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)
Cyprus Pre-Donors Conference
Brussels, Belgium
April 15,
The United States supports the comprehensive settlement of the Cyprus problem that UN Secretary General Annan presented in Switzerland on March 31. As Secretary Powell said earlier this month, this settlement plan opens the door for a united Cyprus to secure its future in Europe on May 1. It offers the way for Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots to set aside the bitterness of the past, move forward in peace, prosperity, and partnership, and share together in all the benefits of European Union membership. I would like to thank United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan and his team headed by Alvaro DeSoto for bringing us to this point and the European Commission for its work in organizing this preliminary Donors Conference. I would also like to recognize the work of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, which have provided valuable expertise under unusual circumstances.
On April 24, the people of Cyprus will go to the polls and make a decision of historic importance for the future of the island. In simultaneous referenda, Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots will decide whether to end the decades-long division of Cyprus, enable a united Cyprus to enter the EU on May 1, and make it possible for all Cypriots to enjoy the benefits of membership. This is a momentous opportunity for Cypriots. It is an opportunity to change their future and to create a better Cyprus for generations to come. We also acknowledge the reservations and hesitations that come with any significant change to what has become a familiar status quo.
While Cyprus is a small island, its effect on the region has been significant. The second-longest running UN peacekeeping mission in history -- lasting over 40 years -- is in Cyprus. Conflict on the island has been a major source of tension between Greece and Turkey, and at times has threatened the stability of the region. The division of the island has affected Turkey's prospects to accede to the EU. Entry of a divided Cyprus into the EU on May 1 would pose a whole new set of challenges and complications. Ending the division of Cyprus is of critical concern to Cypriots, as it is for the international community.
Granted, that is not a typical humanitarian crisis -- life and death no longer hang in the balance. After thirty years of estrangement, the wounds of the division remain unhealed. They cannot be allowed to fester for another 30 years. At present, Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots live apart, divided by the Green Line. Refugees are unable to return home and are unable to claim compensation for the loss of their property.
There is no prospect of this changing without a settlement. Let me be more precise: without acceptance of this settlement.
After three decades of involvement by the UN and the international community, it is clear: Cypriots do not face a choice between this settlement and something better. As UN Secretary General Annan and EU Commissioner Verheugen have both said, they face a choice between this settlement and no settlement for the foreseeable future. Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots will continue to live separately, with no prospect for the communities to reconcile unless they support the Annan Plan. That is why the United States has worked so long and so hard in support of the Secretary General's Good Offices Mission. In less than two weeks, Cypriots will decide whether or not to accept the plan that sets out a new beginning for Cypriots. The UN proposal provides for common institutions and structures so that Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots can take decisions together. As Cypriots learn to live and work together again, the motherlands can take a step back. Peace on the island will be a further spur to the improved bi-lateral relations between Greece and Turkey and will remove an important obstacle to a further deepening and broadening of that relationship.
The U.S. Government believes that this plan presents the best and last opportunity for a united Cyprus to join the European Union on May 1.
Like all worthwhile endeavors, this new beginning holds uncertainty and risks. For all its drawbacks, the status quo is familiar, and therefore, manageable.
But the status quo is not sustainable. United -- or divided -- Cyprus will enter the EU on May 1. If that happens without a solution, it is all but certain that the gap between the two communities will grow deeper and wider. Finding a viable solution to the island's division will grow more difficult with time. Make no mistake about it -- Cypriots must make a heroic decision. No compromise solution can bring complete satisfaction for all. Indeed, there are those who will be disappointed. But the right thing to do is to move forward, to vote for a change that over time, and with the right spirit of reconciliation, can produce a united, stronger, and peaceful Cyprus. To miss this opportunity is to bequeath to the children of Cyprus a future more thorny and fragile than any disappointments present in the proposal under discussion.
All of us fear the unknown. Secretary General Annan and the leaders of the two communities have worked long and hard to manage the risks of change.
UN led negotiations produced a document that balances the needs and desires of both sides and provides a common framework for a secure future.
We believe the UN has gotten the balance right.
The plan provides for:
- A United Cyprus Republic that will speak and act with one voice internationally and in the EU;
- Solid functional federal institutions, with a transitional government and all key federal laws in place from Day One;
- The return of 120,000 Greek Cypriots to their former homes under Greek Cypriot administration within three and a half years, and an enhanced UN role to ensure the smooth and timely implementation of these provisions;
- A lifting of all restrictions on residence and right of return after a set period of time, balanced by safeguard measures to protect the identity of each constituent state;
- A comprehensive property settlement, including the return of one third of their property to every dispossessed owner and payment of compensation in a form readily convertible into cash for the rest;
- Protection of the Cypriot identity of Cyprus, with measures to regularize the status of long-term residents of the island and to permit non-discriminatory safeguards for Greek and Turkish immigration;
- Enhanced security through an expanded UNFICYP mission to support implementation of the settlement, ensure compliance and maintain a secure environment, coupled with a dramatic reduction in non-UN troops by 2007 and further significant reductions within the next four years;
- Economic and financial security through an independent Central Bank meeting EU rules; safeguards to ensure macroeconomic stability; a Taxation Council to ensure efficient management and apportionment of federal taxes; and, a revised Property Board and Compensation Scheme, reviewed by international financial experts to ensure its financial viability; and, finally,
- Respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, enshrined in the Constitution, a Reconciliation Commission to promote understanding, tolerance and mutual respect between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, and a commitment to resolve the issue of Missing Persons without delay.
Implementing the terms of the plan, especially the critically important provisions on territorial adjustment, property compensation, and reinstatement of property will require sizable financial and technical resources -- resources not available to Cypriots alone. These are unique, not recurrent costs.
International funds are needed to:
- Provide housing and other forms of relocation assistance to persons required to move out of areas subject to territorial readjustment, or to return properties to dispossessed owners;
- A comprehensive property settlement must necessarily disrupt the lives and livelihoods of many individuals and families;
- If we expect them to relinquish the homes they are living in, we must see to it that they have suitable homes elsewhere or we will simply trade one problem for another;
- Support the return of persons to their country of origin;
- The plan recognizes the importance to Cypriots of preserving the identity of the island and its constituent states;
- Thousands of families are expected to return to their country of origin and will require our assistance for a smooth transition;
- Establish unique institutions required by the plan: The Property Board and Compensation Fund; the Relocation Board, and the Reconciliation Commission. These institutions are essential to the implementation of the plan yet exist outside and in addition to the normal structures of government. They must be established quickly and function effectively to implement the initial and transitional elements of the plan.
In addition, the Turkish Cypriot economy must undertake significant structural reforms affecting everything from the civil service to the banking sector. While many of these reforms are needed to meet EU norms, the breadth of the reforms and speed with which they must be accomplished will require resources and technical expertise beyond even the generous support available under EU regional assistance funds.
Today, donors and international organizations must show the people of Cyprus that they will ensure that those who must relocate will be satisfied with their new housing and will benefit from economic opportunities; that those who are able to return to their homes do so quickly and securely; and that the institutions established by the plan to deal with compensation and exchanges are operating efficiently.
The people of Cyprus want to know that the international community stands with them to ensure the stability of the new United Cyprus Republic. Our obligations to the people of Cyprus will extend well beyond April 24 or May 1.
We are here today to offer a concrete demonstration of support. Given a positive outcome from the April 24 referenda in both Cypriot communities, the United States pledges a total of $400 million, pending congressional authorization, to support peace in Cyprus. $100 million of that amount would be available to meet immediate needs. We recognize that the need for international support will continue during the early transition. And so, we pledge the remaining $300 million, to be appropriated in future budgets, for a total of $400 million. We will also continue both our long-standing bicommunal development and educational programs in Cyprus.
We urge all other donor governments and international organizations to make a similar commitment. True, our main purpose here today is to plan for the full Donors Conference, later this year, to support a settlement.
But, Cypriots do not vote later this year. They vote on April 24, a few short days away. We ask Cypriots to look beyond the imperfections and disappointments inherent in any proposal, including this one, and to have faith in the promise of reconciliation and hope, which that proposal offers.
Together we can finally put the decades of frustration and pain behind us and move forward towards a united, prosperous, and peaceful Cyprus.
(end transcript)
(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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