The ENGAGE-Do Your Part for Peace project which is being implemented by the Management Centre and the NGO Support Centre, with the co-operation of the United Nations Secretary-General’s Good Offices in Cyprus, hosted a public discussion on the 18th October in northern Cyprus. The UN Secretary General’s Special Adviser Mr Alexander Downer was the guest speaker of the evening, which was titled Towards a Federal Solution-What does this mean to you? Mr. Downer, who believes the only structure that the two sides can agree on, is a bi-communal, bi-zonal federation said that “the predicted outcome at this point in the negotiations is a federal structure with limited authorities, which will be discussed when the constitution is formed. In this federal structure there will be Cyprus Greek and Cyprus Turk partial government.” Further he underlined that there are many different federal structures in the world, and the system that will be formed here will be unique to Cyprus. Mr. Downer, who reminded that ownership, security and guarantor ship are the hardest issues to discuss, stated that the sides were getting closer to an agreement on the topics of ruling, sharing of power, EU and internal affairs.
The event provided an opportunity for the Turkish Cypriot Community to take part in an open discussion with a representative directly involved in the negotiations process and ask questions related to the concept of a Federal Cyprus. Those that attended the meeting included mayors of Local Authorities, local business men, non-governmental organization representatives, politicians, foreign residents in Cyprus, people living in the region, and a multitude of media representatives.
For more information about the project please visit the official website or contact Jale Canlibalik jcanlibalik@mc-med.eu
Information provided by Jale Canlibalik, The Management Centre and NGO Support Centre
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