Cyprus president condemns US statements on referendum

Cyprus President Tassos Papadopoulos on Tuesday strongly condemned the US statements about alleged manipulation by the Cyprus government in the run-up to a referendum last week.

Speaking to reporters before his departure for Athens, Papadopoulos expressed his great regret over the unfavorable impressions overseas about blackmail, threats, oppression, vilification and misleading before the referendum.

In a briefing Monday, US State Department spokesman Richard Boucher talked about manipulation by the Greek Cypriot leaders in the run-up to the referendum on Saturday, saying "the outcome was regrettable but not surprising, given those actions."

Papadopoulos refuted the allegations Monday by saying that the "no" camp and "yes" camp shared the television time on a 50-50 basis and himself only spent two hours and 45 minutes on TV since April 1.

He said that he did not make any interventions on TV shows, radio programs or newspapers.

The president also said that any intervention aimed at influencing the outcome of the referendum did not originate from within Cyprus, but from abroad through statements calculated at instigating sentiments of fear, insecurity and uncertainty among the voters.

In Saturday's referenda, the Greek Cypriot south voted against and the Turkish Cypriots voted for UN chief Kofi Annan plan, which means that only the world recognized Greek Cypriot-controlled south can enter the European Union on May 1.

The international community has given the Greek Cypriots a chilly reaction to their "no" vote against the backdrop that a united Cyprus is favored.

Cyprus, an east Mediterranean island, has been divided into the Turkish-Cypriot north and the Greek-Cypriot south since 1974 when Turkish troops entered the north of the island after a failed Greek-Cypriot coup seeking union with Greece.   

Source: Xinhua