Greek side turns down U.N. plan

The Turkish northern third of the country approved the plan to unite the country.
LOS ANGELES TIMES
NICOSIA, Cyprus -- Ignoring international pressure, Greek Cypriots voted by a huge margin Saturday to kill a U.N. plan that would have united their war-divided island, and instead chose to send a fragmented nation -- without its Turkish Cypriot citizens -- into the European Union.
Turkish Cypriots in the breakaway northern third of the country voted in favor of the plan. But both sides, voting Saturday in parallel referendums, had to approve the U.N. solution for it to take effect.
U.S. and EU officials said they regretted the result. Washington, D.C., and the union had pledged millions of dollars to help Cyprus unite after three decades of division.
"A unique opportunity to bring about a solution to the long-lasting Cyprus issue has been missed," the EU's executive body said in a statement.
Awash in ethnic violence throughout the 1960s, Cyprus has been split since Turkey invaded and occupied the north in 1974, after an Athens-backed coup by Greek Cypriot military officers. An estimated 200,000 Greek Cypriots fled their homes to the south, while Turkey settled about 50,000 additional Turks in the north.
Atmosphere
Cypriots on both sides of the line went to voting stations Saturday under sunny skies and heavy police guard -- and amid scattered episodes of intimidation and threats, mostly by people opposing the U.N. plan.
Greek Cypriots interviewed said they voted no as a way to vote against Turkey. Turkey aspires to be the EU's first Muslim member and has been told that if it helps resolve the Cyprus conflict, it may apply to join.
"Turkey cannot be trusted to behave like a European partner," Lucas Constantinou, a Greek Cypriot resident of Nicosia, said after he voted. "We cannot trust Turkey without more safeguards."