NEW MAYOR OUTLINES PRIORITIES, AMONG THEM TIP

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 NICOSIA 000080

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/SE, G/TIP

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL UNFICYP TIP CY
SUBJECT: NEW MAYOR OUTLINES PRIORITIES, AMONG THEM TIP


1. (U) SUMMARY: The fight against trafficking in persons
"ought to be a priority," new Nicosia Mayor Eleni Mavrou told
the Ambassador January 26. Revealing the municipality had
not yet finalized its strategic plans, Mavrou promised her
team would search out areas where it could take action on
TIP. Turning to other initiatives, she hoped to revitalize
the Old City by eliminating red-tape that hurt business,
penalizing absentee landlords whose properties lacked upkeep,
and luring former residents back home. Dedicated to
bi-communal interaction, Mavrou already had engaged her
Turkish Cypriot counterpart and pledged intent to identify
additional areas of cooperation. She lamented the slow pace
of UN-brokered negotiations on the Cyprus Problem, however,
believing a grand gesture -- such as opening the checkpoint
at Ledra Street, the historic center of Nicosia -- was in
order. Improved party-to-party contacts might also bring the
communities closer, and Mavrou claimed positive atmospherics
surrounded the recent meeting between her AKEL and the
ideologically similar Turkish Cypriot CTP. END SUMMARY.

A Full Plate Awaits
--------------


2. (SBU) Mavrou won the mayorship in December in a bloody
four-candidate race. A former AKEL MP, she is perhaps the
RoC's most prominent "Yes" voter, referring to the failed
2004 referendum that sought to reunify the island. Despite a
current political environment that favors hard-liners, she
maintained a pro-solution slant in the election run-up,
despite it costing her votes. To offer congratulations and
the Embassy's hopes for a close relationship with the
municipality, the Ambassador January 26 called on the
engaging mayor.


3. (U) Experience as a municipal councilor ten years earlier
had made her learning curve less steep, Mavrou asserted. Yet
a desk as cluttered as any political officer's betrayed hopes
of afternoons off. The city's needs were many, she
explained: better roads, cleaner streets, and economic
growth. Certain problems were shared with the dozen
municipalities comprising greater Nicosia; a high priority
involved improving coordination with her fellow mayors and
lobbying the central government with a common voice. Other
maladies were her city's alone, however. Old Nicosia, for
example, while benefiting greatly from the partially
USG-funded Master Plan, still suffered economic hardship.
Wealthy residents had left for the suburbs and in their place
had arrived third-world immigrants, heavy consumers of
municipal services.


4. (U) One only had to walk Nicosia's streets to realize
Cyprus suffered a TIP problem, Mavrou admitted after the
Ambassador had raised the subject. A former MP whose
committee had prepared a well-received report on trafficking,
she had interacted with Embassy personnel and knew first-hand
our interest in combating the problem on the island. "This
ought to be a city priority," Mavrou exclaimed. City
leaders, consumed with preparing strategic plans, had not
focused on TIP, but Mavrou pledged to seek out areas where
the municipality might take action. (Note: Like other
jurisdictions, the City of Nicosia regulates licensing for
businesses operating within city limits and could act to
sanction and/or shut "cabarets" for various violations. End
Note.)


5. (U) Growth in greater Nicosia favored the suburbs, Mavrou
allowed; she hoped to reverse the trend. As long as the city
remained divided, however, hope for development at the city's
northern extreme looked scant. Further south possibilities
seemed better, but Old Nicosia continued to suffer from
scores of vacant, decaying properties. The municipality was
considering tax breaks for developers and subsidies to
attract new residents. Additionally, municipal leaders were
considering imposing tax or other penalties on landlords who
failed to maintain their buildings or left them vacant.

Ledra a Key to Development
--------------


6. (U) Historic heart of the old city and of Nicosia proper,
Ledra Street has been blocked for traffic since
inter-communal violence broke out in 1963. "Far more than
the other checkpoints, Ledra represents a tie between our
communities, and opening it to pedestrian traffic would prove
tremendously symbolic as well as a boon to local merchants,"
Mavrou asserted. By meeting a Greek Cypriot demand and
ordering an offending footbridge demolished, Turkish leader
Mehmet Ali Talat had taken a welcome first step. The
continued presence of Turkish Forces patrols near the

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northern edge of the buffer zone remained problematic, she
worried. That said, were both sides to gather the requisite
political will, she thought a compromise was within reach,
following the precedents and policies established when
Cyprus's other checkpoints opened.


7. (U) Already, the new mayor had reached out to Turkish
Cypriot counterpart Mayor Cem Bulutogullari, appearing with
him on a mid-January Turkish Cypriot television program.
They had jointly engaged the UNDP to discuss the Nicosia
Master Plan, a USAID-funded program tapped with restoring
historically/culturally significant areas of Old Nicosia.
Day-to-day issues like electricity and sewers too looked ripe
for inter-municipality cooperation, Mavrou ventured; she had
tasked her city councilors with engaging their Turkish
Cypriot counterparts. European Union monies were available
for restoring or demolishing structures in the buffer zone,
and she hoped Bulutogullari and she might demarche the EU
jointly. "Semantics" could prove problematic with the Greek
Cypriot hard-liners and a hindrance to inter-communal
cooperation, however, should the Turkish side insist on using
titles, waving the "TRNC" flag, and the like.

Talks on the CyProb: Slow Going
--------------


8. (SBU) The Ambassador opined that, although all sides
should be pressed to produce progress toward reunification,
the election calendar in the region worked against major
movement on the Cyprus Problem in 2007. Regardless, both
sides needed to "prepare the ground" for what looked like
better prospects for 2008 through an immediate kick-off of
work in the UN's so-called "technical committees" process.
Mavrou agreed it was time that community negotiators get to
work. "Seven months have passed since (UN Political Under
Secretary Ibrahim) Gambari's visit," she figured, "and the

SIPDIS
people want a solution." While the municipality had only
limited abilities to affect movement, a "grand gesture," like
Ledra Street's opening, could act as a catalyst. Commenting
upon the current environment in the government-controlled
areas, which is far from pro-solution, Mavrou claimed that,
since the 1974 conflict, public opinion regarding
inter-communal contacts had been cyclical and better times
might arrive soon. It was vital to expand such contacts, she
thought, targeting rank-and-file from both communities and
not just elites. Focusing on practical issues of genuine
concert to both communities would yield better public
response than efforts focused on the theoretical need for
bi-communal rapprochement.


9. (U) Mavrou voiced optimism over improved party-to-party
contacts. Her own AKEL had just concluded a fruitful meeting
with the Turkish Cypriot CTP, Talat's party. She hoped a
follow-up gathering would occur shortly, bringing an end to
the CTP-AKEL cooling-off period that had followed the failed
2004 referendum.

Comment:
--------------


10. (SBU) Eleni Mavrou won the top slot in our recent list
of Cyprus's most influential women, attesting to her
intelligence, track record, and electability. From her perch
at the mayorship, we hope she proves a willing and able
interlocutor on the CyProb and issues that affect both
communities, like TIP. Her fervent support of the 2004 Annan
Plan makes her damaged goods to some, however, and Benedict
Arnold to others. To build the relationships she will need
to govern effectively, she likely will feel pressure to adopt
more "centrist" positions, which in the current environment
mean harder-line stances. So far, positively, she seems to
be maintaining her pro-solution stripes. End Comment.
SCHLICHER