Also helping the dollar, particularly against the West German mark, were reports of political discord in West Germany over reunification plans with East Germany, dealers said.

Currency dealers said the dollar otherwise benefited from continued weakness in the West German mark amid growing concern about the future of the reunification plan.

The overwhelming vote by Greek Cypriots on Saturday to reject the United Nations' reunification plan for their divided island was destructive but hardly a surprise.

It has treated them especially unfairly over Cyprus: Greek Cypriots were rewarded when they rejected the EU's reunification plans, Turkish Cypriots punished when they accepted them.

A reunification plan collapsed last year when Greek Cypriots voted it down and then took their new place in the European Union in the name of the whole island.

He symbolically took soil from two containers representative the divided nation, and mixed them together to promote his reunification plan, under anti-communist rule.

Instead of facing up to these economic imperatives, Chancellor Kohl last week chilled East and West with a 10-point reunification plan.

Opponents of the reunification plan are fearful of change, he added.

After the conclusion of negotiations, a reunification plan would be put to referendums in both communities.

And, they say, judges usually give parents a reunification plan that can involve anything from parenting classes to supervised visits.