Vote for unity

Dimitris Christofias emerges as the President of the island nation promising voters a quick reunification with Turkish Cyprus.

FOR the first time in the history of Cyprus, the small, divided island republic, a candidate of the Progressive Party of the Working People (AKEL) has been elected to the presidency. Dimitris Christofias, the AKEL candidate, easily won the election held in the third week of February, with more than 53 per cent of the votes polled.

Sixty two-year-old Christofias, who completed his university education in Moscow, now becomes the only communist head of state in the European Union (E.U.). The newly elected Presidents party formally subscribes to the principles laid down by Marx, Engels and Lenin and has fraternal ties with communist parties such as the Communist Party of India (Marxist).

AKEL grew out of the Communist Party, which was outlawed by the British during the anti-colonial struggle of the 1930s. AKEL itself was banned during the uprising against British colonial rule between 1955 and 1959.The party still retains the symbols of Marxist ideology, including the red flag. Busts and pictures of Marx, Lenin and other communist icons are on display at its offices.

There were last-minute efforts to sway voters by the Right. Cypriots were bombarded with frantic text messages warning them about the dangers of electing a Stalinist leader, who could superimpose a hammer and sickle on the national flag. During the election campaign, Christofias had to deny accusations that he was a Mediterranean Fidel Castro. The influential Orthodox Church had asked Cypriots to vote against Christofias. AKEL is wary about the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) and free market economics but Christofias has pledged to continue with the economic policies of his predecessors and honour all international commitments.

The President is well known in local politics for his Eurosceptic views. He had wanted a delay in the euro replacing the local currency. Christofias now describes himself as a Eurofighter struggling on behalf of the poor in the E.U.

Cyprus always had a progressive mainstream political tradition. The first President of independent Cyprus, Archbishop Makarios, was a great friend of India and the developing world. Under his leadership, Cyprus played an important role in organisations such as the Non-Aligned Movement. Currently, Cyprus hosts two British bases, which are crucial to intelligence gathering in West Asia. The election of a Soviet-trained academic Christofias is a history professor has rung a few alarm bells in the West.

The surprise loser in the first round was the incumbent President, Tassos Papadapoulos. He was called Dr. No because of his hard-line stance against Turkish Cypriots and the issue of reunification. The candidate who elbowed him out was a Centre Right politician, Ionnis Cassoullidis. He is a former Foreign Minister who had played an important role in ensuring the republics entry into the E.U.

Both Cassoullidis and Christofias campaigned in favour of the reunification plan proposed by Kofi Annan when he was the Secretary-General of the United Nations. Greek Cypriots overwhelmingly rejected the Annan plan in a referendum in 2004. In fact, even AKEL was against the Annan plan at that time. Turkish Cypriots, who voted massively in favour of reunification, had expected AKEL then to vote for the Annan plan.

Christofias has said that his partys decision at that time was necessitated by tactical concerns. The U. N. plan envisaged a loose confederation of separate states. However, its rejection by Greek Cypriots had left Turkish Cypriots even more isolated, undermining their chance of entering the E.U. in tandem with their Christian brethren.

The February elections was viewed as a virtual referendum on the handling of the reunification issue by the former administration. Seventy-two per cent of the electorate voted against Papadopoulos in the first round. During the campaign, his constant refrain was that his rivals would sell out the Republic of Cyprus if they won. Papadopoulos had won the last election mainly on the support of AKEL and the socialist EDEK party. This is the first time that AKEL chose to put up a candidate for President.

The election results have shown that there has been an evident change of heart among the majority of Greek Cypriots. The events in Kosovo may also have had a bearing on the election results. The flimsy pretexts on which Kosovo was bestowed independence by the West was a wake-up call for the Cypriots. For all practical purposes, the northern part of the island, governed by Turkish Cypriots and backed by Turkey, has been a de facto independent state for more than three decades. Almost two-thirds of the island is under the control of Turkish Cypriots and this consists of the most scenic places in the tourist-friendly island. The newly elected President will have to make some compromises while dealing with Turkish Cypriots, or the alternative could be permanent seperation.

Christofias campaigned on a plank that promised quick reunification. Immediately after the election results were announced, the President-elect said that his top priority would be to restart the reunification talks with his Turkish Cypriot counterpart, Mehmet Ali Talat. We will roll up our sleeves and work hard so that our island is united. Enough is enough. Entrenching division is dangerous for our people and our island, he said. The fact that both leaders share a left-wing ideology has improved the chances of a speedy solution.

The issue has stoked the rivalry between two NATO members: Greece and Turkey. The presence of Turkish troops on the island is said to be one of the important reasons for the delay in Turkeys E.U membership. Turkey had invaded Cyprus in the wake of a coup attempt that aimed at uniting the island with Greece. However, most Turks believe that the real reason is because Turkey is overwhelmingly Muslim.

Talat, speaking after the election of Christofias, said that he was optimistic that a solution to the conflict could be found before the end of the year. The Greek Cypriot people decided on change. They chose a person who can make that change. We believe that this decision will be the start of a new era, Talat said. Christofias is among the few Greek Cypriot political leaders who had gone to the Tukish Cypriot side before the election in order to hold talks with Talat. The cease-fire line was opened with great fanfare in 2003 and Cypriots flooded in both directions.

After his victory, Christofias sought an early exploratory meeting with Talat, saying that his goal was to reunite the people of this tragic, afflicted country. He said that his links with the Turkish Cypriot leadership would make it relatively easy to begin bilateral talks. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has also expressed optimism about an early settlement of the dispute. The AK party that rules Turkey, unlike previous governments, does not seem obsessed with the Cyprus issue, which it views as a legacy of previous military-influenced governments. Ankara these days gives much higher priority to Kurdish and Armenian issues.

Christofias, despite his avowed desire for reunification, will find the road ahead difficult to traverse. He has already put some roadblocks of his own by promising to give key portfolios in his Cabinet, including that of Foreign Affairs, to representatives of parties such as the centre-right DIKO and the EDEK party. Both parties, known for their nationalist posturing, are still ambivalent about reunification. They still insist on the withdrawal of all Turkish troops and settlers from the island.

Had the Annan plan been implemented, only a tiny fraction of the 30,000 Turkish troops would have remained on the island. The E.U. had expressed its anger at the rejection of the Annan plan by the Greek Cypriots and had hinted that it would think of lifting the economic embargo on Turkish Cypriots.