CYPRUS: They came in little family groups and clutches of friends. They came carrying small green flags bearing the word "NAI" - "Yes" to the UN plan for the reunification of Cyprus. They came walking into Eleftheria - Freedom Square - cleared of traffic for the rally: young mothers arrived with babies in push chairs decorated with nai stickers, teenagers with wide banners proclaiming nai, well dressed matrons with nai badges pinned to their coats, and men with the flags of the EU, Greece and Cyprus.
But above the gathering throng, looming on a tall office block towering above the square, were two black five-storey banners proclaiming "OXI" - "No". Many years ago this wide plaza between two bastions of Nicosia's 16th century Venetian walls was called Metaxas Square for the Greek dictator who said "Oxi" to the Italian Fascists in 1940.
From the loudspeaker system blared a catchy song calling for a yes to the return of occupied towns and villages and no to the nay-saying heads of the two communities: the Cyprus president, Mr Tassos Papadopoulos, and the Turkish Cypriot leader, Mr Rauf Denktash.
Once the speakers assembled on the platform, the European anthem was played, reminding those gathered below that, on May 1st, Cyprus, along with nine other countries, would enter the EU. Amongst the worthies were two former presidents, Mr Glafkos Clerides and Mr George Vassiliou, and Mr Takis Hadji- demetriou, who was in charge of EU harmonisation until yesterday, when he resigned in protest against the government's stance against the plan. Mr Clerides called for a "big nai" in Saturday's referendum. Mr Ali Erel, the chairman of the Turkish Cypriot Chamber of Commerce appealed: "We must move together now." The former mayor of Nicosia, Mr Lellos Demetriades, remarked that "everyone wanted the Greek Cypriots to vote yes - the UN, the EU, Ireland.."
But when I asked people whether they thought those in favour of the plan would succeed, none said they would. Mr Caesar Mavratsas remarked: "We expected more people." There were some 2,000 only. Last week the Turkish Cypriot pro-plan rally was attended by 40,000. Perhaps more people did not come because, as Mr Mavratsas said, "There was never a chance of success". He went on: "It's a sad evening. We're basically performing the funeral of the solution."
While one speaker after another addressed the rally, the UN Secretary General, Mr Kofi Annan, was delivering a televised message to the people of Cyprus. "This Saturday, each one of you has a difficult decision to make - on that will determine the destiny of your country." He said the plan that will be put before them was only partly the work of the UN.
"Most of its 9,000 pages were drafted by hundreds of Greek and Turkish Cypriots. Their extraordinary efforts produced one of the most comprehensive peace plans in the history of the United Nations." He acknowledged that the plan does not meet all the demands of either side but warned that "there is no other plan out there".
He argued that the plan is based on the formula agreed by both sides since the 1970s - a bizonal, bicommunal federation and "ends the division of the country". He said the two sides would "largely run their own affairs" and the rights of those who lost their homes would be respected. Mr Annan said the "world stands ready to help" the Cypriots "make this plan work". This is the message, he asserted, of the donors' conference which met last week in Brussels, the EU, and the UN Security Council. He pledged that the violent events of 1963 and 1974 would not be repeated.
"After 40 years of conflict and 30 years of division," he concluded, "the choice before you this Saturday is one of truly historic importance.
"The vision of the plan is simple: reunification and reconciliation, in safety and security, in the European Union."