Nicosia, Cyprus. Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman said the Greek Cypriot rejection of the Annan plan in a 2004 referendum was a serious loss for the whole island. He said the process had been a major opportunity for a settlement.
Comments on the 2004 referendum
Erhurman, speaking in an interview with the north’s Tak news agency on Wednesday, said the April 24, 2004 referendum was a great opportunity for a solution and could have been a major turning point. He asked how life on the island might have changed 22 years later if a solution had been reached and said that while 2004 did not become a turning point, it was a very important lesson.
Crossing points anniversary and daily life
Erhurman also referred to the opening of crossing points between the two sides, with Thursday set to mark the 23rd anniversary of their first opening in 2003. He said the 2003 opening was a very important turning point in the island’s history and an unimaginable development for his generation, adding that north-to-south and south-to-north crossings transformed daily life and meant younger generations no longer experienced an impassable border.
He said the crossings gave people the chance to see villages and towns that previous generations feared they would never see. He said discussions about new crossing points should take into account how the change affected both communities.
Vote results and continuing division
Friday will mark 22 years since the Annan plan referendum. Nearly two-thirds of Turkish Cypriots voted in favour, while more than three quarters of Greek Cypriots voted against it, and the plan was not implemented.
Cyprus remains divided and the Cyprus problem remains unresolved, with subsequent efforts to reach a solution not producing results. The first crossing point opened a year and a day before the 2004 referendum, allowing the public to cross between the two sides for the first time since 1974.
What do you think the opening of crossing points has changed most in daily life for people on both sides?
