Brussels, 07/03/2003 (Agence Europe) - It appears extremely unlikely that an agreement can be found in The Hague on 10 March on the proposal by the Secretary General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan, for a referendum on 30 March in both parts of Cyprus on the reunification plan proposed by the UN. With Greek and Turkish Cypriot leaders due to give their answer in The Hague, the Turkish Cypriot leader, Rauf Denkash, declared on Thursday evening after a meeting with the Turkish authorities that the plan is unacceptable as it stands. He was supported by a gathering of some 35,000 people, answering to several demonstrations over the last weeks by those in favour of an agreement. "The UN plan is dead in the water. That's it for the referendum", declared Prime Minister Dervis Eroglu, commenting on the counter-demonstration, according to reports by Reuters. In a Press conference in Ankara, Rauf Denkash held the EU responsible for the obstruction. As the EU had promised accession without reunification, "the Greek Cypriots see no further interest in arriving at an agreement", he declared. The response of the Greek Prime Minister, Costas Simitis, was that Mr Denkash's attitude "undermines Turkey's accession process".
Turkey, Greece and the United Kingdom, as guarantors of Cyprus' independence under the 1960 Treaty, were invited to take part in next Monday's meeting. The Greek Minister of Foreign Affairs, Georges Papandreou, indicated that he would attend. Cyprus was divided in 1974 following invasion of the north of the island by the Turkish army in response to a coup d'Etat organised by Greek Cypriots trying to return the island to Greece. The proposed plan, twice revised by Kofi Annan, hopes to create a central state made up of two constituent states with equal rights, with competencies limited by the central state.