Greek Cypriots Reject a U.N. Peace Plan

Divided as ever as Cyprus limps into the European Union, Greek Cypriots rejected a United Nations peace plan on Saturday that would have reunited the Turkish and Greek sides of the island, while Turkish Cypriots approved it.

Three of four Greek Cypriots rejected the plan put forward by Secretary General Kofi Annan that would have allowed tens of thousands of Cypriots to return to homes they lost in 1974 when Turkish troops occupied the northern third of the island in response to an attempt by Greece to annex the entire island.

In contrast, about 65 percent of Turkish Cypriots approved the United Nations plan in the hopes of ending their international isolation and shaking off the effects of a 30-year economic embargo.

The Mediterranean island is only 35 miles from Turkey's coastline, closer than it is to Greece. It has twice in the past half-century brought Greece and Turkey, ancient rivals and NATO allies, to the brink of war. The prime ministers of both countries, as well as the United States and the European Union, had supported the reunification plan, and said their improved relations would not be affected by the outcome of the Cyprus vote.

But without an endorsement from both Cypriot sides, which voted in separate referendums, the peace plan is effectively dead. Both Mr. Annan and Secretary of State Colin L. Powell have warned the Cypriots that no other settlement effort is on the horizon.

Mr. Annan had stepped in personally last month to propose the plan after negotiations between the parties once again broke down.

As a measure of its disappointment, the United Nations announced after the vote that it was closing the office of its peace envoy here. ''I will be paying farewell calls at the beginning of the week,'' Alvaro de Soto, the envoy, said at a news conference. He said the international community would act to improve the situation of Turkish Cypriots.

Turnout for the vote was high, with 90 percent of the 480,000 registered Greek Cypriots and 75 percent of the 143,000 Turkish Cypriots voting. It was the first time citizens had the opportunity to vote on any peace plan since the partition of the island.

European officials sharply criticized the Greek Cypriot leadership last week, accusing it of misleading Europe into believing that it would support reunification after Cyprus was invited to become a member in 2003.

But the Greek Cypriot president, Tassos Papadopoulus, spurned the Europeans' advice and instead urged voters to reject the plan, telling them they would have another chance at a better deal if they voted no on the Annan plan.

His government will represent the entire island when it enters the European Union on May 1 as one of 10 new members, although it does not control one-third of its territory and a quarter of its population. All Cypriots, however, have the right to Cyprus passports, which will give all of them status as European citizens.

In the northern part of the island, the Turkish Cypriot leader, Rauf Denktash, reacted to the vote by calling for an end to the longstanding economic embargo on his self-declared republic and for its international recognition. Only Turkey now recognizes his government.

''For more than 40 years, Turkish Cypriots have been subjected to physical and economic deprivation and debilitating uncertainty,'' he said. ''It is time to put an end to this.''

In an interview earlier in the day, Mr. Denktash had predicted that his deeply held suspicions about Greek Cypriot intentions would be confirmed by a no vote in the south. ''They won't need a settlement as long as the world treats them as the government of the whole island,'' he said, calling the Annan plan a prescription for Greek dominance over the Turkish minority.

Turkey, the only trading partner for the Turkish Cypriots, also has some 35,000 troops stationed in northern Cyprus. Under the United Nations plan, the number would have gradually dropped to 600, the size of the Turkish garrison on Cyprus at the time of its 1960 independence from Britain. Greek Cypriots critical of the peace plan said they doubted whether the troops would leave as required. Turkish Cypriot opponents, citing violence against them in the 1950's and early 1960's, questioned whether they could ever feel safe without the Turkish soldiers.

''Which institution would protect me and make sure I still sleep in comfort?'' said Gizem Bahri, a law school student, after casting a vote in northern Nicosia against the plan.

But most Turkish Cypriots said they saw the Annan plan as a way to end their isolation. ''I want to travel freely, I want my mail to come to me directly, without going through Turkey,'' said Mehmet Cemal, 34. ''I want to show the world to my children, open their lives to the outer world.''

Mr. Denktash, who is 80, said he would continue to hold out for separation. ''I see Palestine, I see Kosovo and I say, 'not again,' '' he said. ''You can't create one nation out of two. You can allow them to begin living together by treating them as equals, allowing trust to grow between them and allowing them to create an atmosphere where they won't forget, but they won't emphasize, that they are two peoples on the same land.''