NICOSIA: The key UN envoy seeking to break a deadlock in Cyprus’s long-running division said she was cautiously optimistic about a breakthrough but that it would be premature to convene a multi-nation summit on the conflict.
In an interview with Cyprus’s Phileleftheros daily, envoy Maria Angela Holguin said she was hopeful after meeting with Greek Cypriot leader Nikos Christodoulides and Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman on December 11. She said their discussion, which agreed to focus also on confidence-building, was “deep, sincere and very straightforward.”
“While encouraging, the dialogue process between both leaders is at its early beginning. More will need to be done in order to strengthen the nascent momentum and establish a real climate of trust that would allow the Secretary-General to convene a 5+1 informal meeting,” said Holguin, a former Colombian foreign minister.
A 5+1 meeting would be an informal summit of the two Cypriot communities with United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and representatives of Britain, Turkiye and Greece to define how to move forward and break a seven-year stalemate in peace talks. The three NATO nations are guarantor powers of Cyprus under a treaty which granted the island independence from Britain in 1960.
A power-sharing administration of Cypriot Greeks and Turks crumbled in 1963. Turkiye invaded the north of the island in 1974 after a brief coup engineered by the military then ruling Greece. The island has been split on ethnic lines ever since.
Turkish Cypriots live in a breakaway state in the north, while Greek Cypriots in the south run an internationally recognized administration representing the whole island in the European Union.
UN envoy hopeful on Cyprus, says multi-party summit premature
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UN envoy hopeful on Cyprus, says multi-party summit premature
- Holguin said she was hopeful after meeting with Greek Cypriot leader Nikos Christodoulides and Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman
- “While encouraging, the dialogue process between both leaders is at its early beginning”
British tourists ordered to leave India over ‘free Palestine’ stickers
- Pushkar, an ancient temple site, has lately gained popularity among Israelis
- British nationals whose visas were canceled are still in town, police say
NEW DELHI: Two British nationals have been ordered to leave India after their visas were canceled for pasting Palestine stickers in a popular temple town in the western state of Rajasthan.
Ajmer district police, who oversee Pushkar, one of the oldest Hindu pilgrimage sites, issued on Feb. 2 “leave India” notices to a British man and woman for violating tourist visa regulations “by pasting stickers against another country.”
Photos of the stickers, which were shared by the local media, read: “Free Palestine,” “Boycott Israel,” and featured the Palestinian flag.
According to the police, they were plastered at “two or three locations” in Pushkar, and on Jan. 21 a complaint was filed with the local police.
“In Pushkar lives an Israeli religious guru, and they have a prayer house. Pushkar is a tourist place and if people start indulging in such activities, then the message goes wrong,” Additional Superintendent of Police Rajesh Meena, who issued the “leave India” notice, told Arab News on Thursday.
The couple were still in Pushkar, but the police had given them a deadline to leave the country.
“They have one and a half months’ time, they have booked their return tickets, and they will leave,” Meena said.
Abhishek, a journalist in Pushkar who documented the stickers, said that the town had gained in popularity among Israeli tourists over the past few years.
“They prefer this place because of the cost-effective hostels and accommodation. In 2019, they opened a religious place for themselves, and they worship there,” he said.
“In 2019-20, they played loud music and there was resistance from the locals initially, but later on the locals adjusted.”
