Greek Cypriots favour reunification, poll finds

More than half of Greek Cypriots want a new reunification referendum provided their security concerns are met, according to a…

More than half of Greek Cypriots want a new reunification referendum provided their security concerns are met, according to a poll published today.

Greek Cypriots rejected by a 76 per cent margin, a United Nations reunion blueprint which was put to a vote on both sides of the divided island on April 24th.

It was accepted by 65 per cent of Turkish Cypriots, but a divided island acceded to the European Union on May 1st, represented only by the internationally-recognised Greek Cypriots.

Some 51 percent of Greek Cypriots would support a second referendum on the UN plan provided they had guarantees that the reunification proposals would be implemented and security concerns were met, the RAI Consultants poll published in the newspaper, Politis.

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Doubts that the plan could be enforced and security concerns on the lingering presence of Turkish troops in Cyprus were seen as key reasons for Greek Cypriot rejection of the plan.

UN officials have been non-committal on the possibility of a new referendum.

The United Nations proposals called for the loose reunification of Cyprus as a federation with a gradual scaling down of troops from both sides of the heavily militarised island.

It envisaged power-sharing between Greek and Turkish Cypriots at a central government level but with both sides having large degrees of autonomy on home affairs.