UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has paid tribute to Kofi Annan, describing his former predecessor as a global advocate for peace, eight years after his death.
“Kofi Annan was my mentor and my friend,” Guterres said in a post on X on Tuesday. He described Annan as “a force for good” whose legacy continues to inspire his life and work.
Kofi Annan and the Cyprus problem
Kofi Annan’s tenure as UN Secretary-General was closely linked to one of the most ambitious and controversial attempts to resolve the Cyprus problem: the Annan Plan.
The origins of the plan can be traced to the late 1990s, when the UN sought to revive efforts to resolve the Cyprus problem. Annan played a key role as Secretary-General during a period when Cyprus’ impending accession to the European Union was creating a new political landscape.
A new round of UN-backed talks began in 1999, initially involving proximity talks between President Glafcos Clerides and Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash. Despite efforts by both sides, major differences remained.
The process gained new momentum in late 2001, when Clerides and Denktash agreed to begin direct negotiations. Talks started in January 2002 but failed to bridge the key differences between the two sides.
The Annan Plan
With the deadlock continuing and time running short ahead of Cyprus’ EU accession, Annan presented a comprehensive proposal.
On 11 November 2002, he submitted the first version of a comprehensive settlement plan to the two sides. It subsequently became known as the Annan Plan.
The proposal underwent several revisions over the following two years as the UN sought to narrow differences between the two communities.
The process culminated in 2004, when the fifth and final version was put to separate referendums on 24 April, marking one of the most significant and controversial chapters in the modern history of the Cyprus problem.
The plan included:
- A collective Presidential Council, made up of six voting members, was allocated according to population (per present levels, four Greek Cypriots and two Turkish Cypriots), and selected and voted in by parliament. An additional three non-voting members would be assigned 2:1.
- A president and vice president, chosen by the Presidential Council from among its members, one from each community, to alternate in their functions every 10 months during the council’s five-year term of office.
- A bicameral legislature:
- A Senate (upper house), with 48 members, divided 24:24 between the two communities.
- A Chamber of Deputies (lower house), with 48 members, divided proportionately to the two communities’ populations (with no fewer than 12 for the smaller community).
- A Supreme Court composed of equal numbers of Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot judges, plus three foreign judges; to be appointed by the Presidential Council.
The plan included a federal constitution, constitutions for each constituent state, a string of constitutional and federal laws, and a proposal for a United Cyprus Republic flag and a national anthem. It also provided for a Reconciliation Commission to bring the two communities closer together and resolve outstanding disputes from the past.
It would also have established a limited right to return between the territories of the two communities, and it would have allowed both Greece and Turkey to maintain a permanent military presence on the island, albeit with large, phased reductions in troop numbers.
Greek Cypriots rejected the plan
The Greek Cypriot community rejected the Annan Plan by a wide margin.
Around 75.8% voted against the proposal, while approximately 24% voted in favour.
The plan faced strong opposition from then-President Tassos Papadopoulos. AKEL, which was part of the governing coalition, also withdrew its support for the final version following Papadopoulos’ opposition.
DISY, led at the time by Nicos Anastasiades, supported the plan. DIKO, Papadopoulos’ party, as well as EDEK, New Horizons and the Ecologists’ Movement, opposed it. The small United Democrats party supported the proposal.
The Turkish Cypriot community, meanwhile, approved the plan, with around 65% voting in favour.
Also read: Negotiators to meet Thursday ahead of leaders’ meeting
For more videos and updates, check out our YouTube channel
