Chances dim for Cyprus referendum

NICOSIA, Cyprus, April 23 (UPI) -- A double referendum on a U.N. reunification plan for Cyprus has little chance of passing Saturday because Greek Cypriots are expected to vote against it.

The plan, devised by U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, was aimed at uniting the Greek and Turkish Cypriot parts of the divided Mediterranean island prior to Cyprus' entry into the European Union.

But while Turkish Cypriots are expected to vote "yes," ethnic Greeks were told to vote against it by leading Greek Cypriot politicians who maintain it fails to provide sufficient security guarantees.

If the U.N. plan is rejected only Greek Cyprus will join the European Union May 1. Turkish Cyprus will be left in the cold.

Cyprus has been partitioned into an ethnic Greek south and a Turkish north since 1974, when troops from mainland Turkey invaded to block an attempted coup by a Greek Cypriot group. The U.N. plan proposes a loose federation, with each side preserving a large measure of control over their own affairs.

The Greek Cypriot opposition has sparked a row with EU officials who believe the Greeks pretended to be interested in reunification only to achieve EU membership. Once that was accomplished, the Greek Cypriot government turned against the plan.

Guenter Verheugen, the EU commissioner in charge of enlargement, complained to the European Parliament, "I feel taken for a ride by the Greek Cypriot government."