BY FERAI TINC
HURRIYET - As soon as the current visit to Cyprus of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was announced, people began talking about it, particularly in the Greek Cypriot administration, which wants to move the process of the Cyprus talks outside UN parameters. Many Greek Cypriot politicians and observers see his visit to the island as supporting the Turkish side and particularly Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) Mehmet Ali Talat, who is up for reelection in April. I think the argument is unfair. Ban is the third secretary-general to visit Cyprus, following Kurt Waldheim and later Kofi Annan, who came to the island to support the peace proposal which was given his name, though it helped little. Ban's visit also has the same aim, namely, supporting the process between the two leaders which has been continuing for many months. Furthermore, his visit has galvanized the talks, which were on the verge of collapse, and led to some progress, according to press reports.
Looking at things after Talat's solution package was rejected, I see that the elements of this package were discussed and progress was made on certain points. But I hesitate to say progress; it's more like baby steps forward. But discussions of the details are continuing. What's more, we're still in the first chapter. The governance issue was discussed, but there are still such issues as ownership, land and security ahead. Considering the impact of the TRNC presidential elections set for April, we can see that movement is needed so the process doesn't collapse.
It's here that Ban's visit is important. Otherwise, I don't think that he would have the sides sign an interim agreement on the governance issue, as some reports predict. He'll probably announce that the talks will continue this month as well. This is important, because the Turkish side, which said it wanted to take a break from the talks due to the elections, changed its mind and stated that Talat would continue them. But something interesting happened: Greek Cypriot leader Dimitris Christofias said he wanted to take a break from the talks too. Maybe he thought that if Talta's opponent Dervis Eroglu wins the elections, the Turkish side will move to a position which is opposed to a solution.
So even if Ban doesn't put propose a solution, set a date or inspire the parties to sign an interim agreement during his visit, it's clear that he's there to galvanize the process. This will be the meaning of his announcement that the talks will continue this month as well. His visit, underscoring UN involvement in the Cyprus issue, is the only platform which provides an equal basis both for the Turkish and Greek sides. Making this platform an issue is very important at a time when European Union reports and European Court of Justice resolutions make a fair solution look difficult."