Towards a Property Settlement in Cyprus - PRIO

10 envisioning a future: towards a property settlement in cyprus
enacted in cyprus as a result of displacement, and an international conference on the
property issue that was held in Brussels last year. several publications will issue from this
project. some of the key findings from this project will be presented here this morning. the
website will be launched today; i will tell you about it in a moment.
this event is also an outgrowth of a conference which pcc organized last July in london,
“a sustainable property settlement for cyprus: models for Development and financing”.
funded by the foreign ministries of norway, sweden and Germany, as well as unDp-act, this
was a closed conference that brought together the negotiation teams of the two sides, Greek
cypriot and turkish cypriot, large property owners, financiers and developers, as well as
cypriot and international experts on finance and development. some of the key issues that
were discussed in london will be explored here, in this forum open to members of cypriot
civil society, north and south.
the guiding idea behind the london conference, and which will likewise guide this
afternoon’s program, is that any property settlement will have a significant influence on the
economic and social life of the island. moreover, to be implementable, any settlement will
have to arsenal the developmental potentialities of the island’s communities. While efforts
toward a property settlement can cause hope and fear, as cypriots reflect on how they may
stand to gain or lose; it is also essential to see how any settlement will necessarily require a
vision for what cyprus can be as an undivided island, how the island’s potential can be
developed and channeled in constructive ways. international capital will be attracted to the
island in the wake of a solution only if there is a coherent vision for the island’s future, ‘a story
that can be sold’, but more importantly, cypriots will have a real stake in this process only if
you take ownership of this vision, give careful thought to it and craft it yourselves: not to be
told what it is but to model it yourselves. for this reason this conference will culminate in a
set of parallel break–break up groups this afternoon. i urge you to participate in these groups,
to deliberate with your fellow cypriots and members of the international community who are
here, and to make your voice heard. in order to help us set up three or four groups, i ask that
you register for this afternoon session by putting a check next to your name on the registration
list which is posted in this room or in the entrance area.
Before unveiling our new website, i would also like to express my appreciation for those
who have generously supported this conference: the united nations Development programme
– action for cooperation and trust (unDp-act), and the european union’s funding initiative
cypriot civil society in action.
Website
the website “Displacement in cyprus: consequences of civil and military strife” is intended to
be a resource for civil society and the broader international community, journalists, and
researchers. it will eventually be tri-lingual, english, turkish, and Greek, although it will take
some time before all the translations are in place. this is a long-term project that will be