Delay possible for Cyprus vote, Annan says

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today left open the possibility of delaying the simultaneous referendum on a plan to reunite Cyprus before its entry into the European Union on 1 May, but said the proposal's prospects were "really up to the people."

"There has been suggestion by one of the parties that the referendum be postponed to give them more time to campaign, but this has not been taken up by the other parties who were in the agreement," the Secretary-General told the press at UN Headquarters in New York.

"If the Greek and Turkish Cypriots, with the support of the Governments of Turkey and Greece, were to ask for a postponement, that is something we will have to reflect on," he said. "But there has been no such request."

Voters are scheduled to head to the polls on 24 April to cast their ballots a plan that would create a United Cyprus Republic, composed of a Greek constituent state and a Turkish constituent state and linked by a federal government.

The Secretary-General was forced to step in last month to finalize the proposal after six weeks of negotiations - with the help of Mr. Annan's Special Adviser, Alvaro de Soto, Greece and Turkey - failed to yield an agreement between the Greek Cypriot leader, Tassos Papadopoulos, and the Turkish Cypriot leader, Rauf Denktash.

Asked today what he can do to turn the situation around as both leaders have said they opposed the proposed plan and are urging their voters in some cases to vote "no," Mr. Annan said, "It's really up to the people at this stage."

The understanding was that the plan would be put to a joint, simultaneous referendum, the Secretary-General added. "If one side votes against it, the Greek Cypriots go in alone, then really, we will need to see what happens," he said.