ATTEMPTS to draw together the warring communities on the divided island of Cyprus are having mixed success. Today Turkish Cypriots will mark the end of the Muslim haj festival by crossing the Green Line on a pilgrimage to the Greek Cypriot south. But an extraordinary concert to demonstrate friendship between young Cypriots and Turks was stymied when the Turkish Cypriot authorities refused permission to those wishing to cross the line for the event.
The bicommunal concert on Thursday night featured mainland Turkish and Greek musicians. It was sponsored by the youth wing of the Communist Party Akel and other left wing Turkish and Turkish Cypriot groups.
The 3,000 Greek Cypriots gathered at the Eleftheria (Freedom) gym in the capital, Nicosia, were deeply disappointed by the nonappearance of their compatriots. Greek Cypriot teenagers waved the white Cyprus flag as well as the red and green standards of Akel. Members of its youth movement cheered the dissident Turkish Cypriot poet, Nese Yiasin, when she read one of her poems.
The Akel secretary general and member of parliament, Mr Dimitris Christofias, was sharply critical of the Turkish Cypriot leader, Mr Rauf Denktash, for refusing to permit Turkish Cypriot participation. "He is expressing a lack of good will towards rapprochement and, unfortunately, a lack of good will for a settlement," he said. "Nevertheless, we will continue to strive for both."
Thursday's event was the first of three intercommunal concerts scheduled for the island in springs and early summer. According the UN spokesman, Mr Waldemar Rokoszewski, Mr Denktash has agreed that Turkish Cypriots might attend the other two, to be held under UN auspices in the buffer zone in May and June. The Greek composer and conductor, Mikis Theodorakis, will perform at the last concert, as will the popular Turkish musician, Zulgi Zivanelli.
Popular get togethers are meant to complement ongoing proximity talks between President Glalkos Clerides of Cyprus and Mr Denktash. The object of these UN brokered discussions is to establish enough common ground to convene before the end of June direct negotiations on a comprehensive settlement package involving the reunification of the island in a bicommunal, bizonal federal republic.
Today's pilgrimage, to the Hala Sultan Tekke at Larnaca, is the first time ordinary Turkish Cypriots will make the journey since the island was divided by the Turkish army occupation of the north in 1974.
The Tekke is a small mosque situated in a cypress grove on the edge of a salt lake frequented by flamingos. It houses the tomb of an aunt of the Prophet Muhammad.
Next Sunday, Orthodox Easter, Greek Cypriot pilgrims will travel in the other direction to the monastery of Apostolos Andreas (the Apostle Andrew) in the Turkish occupied Karpass Peninsula.
