Three members of The Elders group, Desmond Tutu, Jimmy Carter and Lakhdar Brahimi, will visit Cyprus next month to lend their support to the leaders of the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities for their efforts to reunify the island, the UN announced on Friday.
Elders Chairman Archbishop Tutu, former U.S. President Carter and former Algerian Foreign Minister Brahimi will travel together to Nicosia on 8-9 October for meetings with the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot leaders.
The three will urge greater international recognition of recent progress towards a lasting settlement and will commend President Demetris Christofias and Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat for their efforts to reunify the island.
They will also call on the international community to embrace the fact that a lasting settlement is within reach, and to actively support the leaders and the peace process.
''After decades of division, this is a time of hope for the people of this beautiful island. These opportunities don't come around very often,'' said Archbishop Tutu.
''The Elders will not be involved in the negotiations themselves; that is for the Cypriots to do,'' Tutu stressed. ''However, we will do what we can to ensure that the foresight and courage of Mr Talat and Mr Christofias are acknowledged and supported in Cyprus, in the region and around the world. We also hope to meet political and civil society representatives from both communities, as well as the UN officials facilitating and assisting the process”, he concluded.
The Elders, formed in 2007 by Nelson Mandela and Graca Machel, are a group of globally respected leaders who offer their collective experience and independent voices to support innovative and cooperative approaches to addressing the global challenges of our time.
The other members of group are Kofi Annan, Ela Bhatt, Gro Harlem Brundtland, Fernando Henrique Cardoso, Graca Machel, Mary Robinson and Muhammad Yunus. Aung San Suu Kyi is an honorary Elder.
Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third.
A fresh attempt to reach a solution of the Cyprus problem began this September when the leaders of the two communities on the island, began substantive negotiations with a view to reunify Cyprus.
