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PRESIDENT
DENKTAŞ: “I DO NOT MAKE CONCESSIONS ON THE
POLITICAL EQUALITY OF THE TURKISH CYPRIOTS AND THE
TURKISH GUARANTEES ON THE ISLAND”
Speaking
at the “2002 Cyprus Education Seminar” in Girne
yesterday, TRNC President Rauf Denktaş, has said the
solution of the Cyprus problem will become easier if
it is accepted that the Turkish Cypriots have equal
rights to that of the Greek Cypriots.
President
Denktaş said the Greek Cypriot Administration must be
told of the fact that it is not the Cyprus Government.
Complaining
that some circles are ready to bargain on Cyprus
for the sake of EU membership, President Denktaş
warned these circles that in case Cyprus is sacrificed
now, a lot of other things will have to be sacrificed
by the Turkish side in the future.
President
Denktaş reminded the warning by the founder of Modern
Turkey, Kemal Atatürk, that losing Cyprus will mean
the blocking of all supply routes in and out of
Turkey.
President
Denktaş said
the violation of the 1960 Agreements in Cyprus, is as
important as a possible violation of the Treaty of
Lausanne; and that’s why the Turkish Government is
very sensitive on Cyprus.
Reminding
that he has been holding negotiations with the Greek
Cypriot Leaders since 1968, President Denktaş said
the reason for the failure of years of attempts to
solve the Cyprus problem is the Greek Cypriot’s
refusal to respect the Turkish Cypriot side’s
political equality, and Turkey’s continued
guarantees.
Reminding
that he does not accept to make concessions on the
political equality of the Turkish Cypriots and Turkish
guarantees on the island, President Denktaş said it
has become clear that the Greek Cypriot’s aim is to
dilute the Turkish guarantees and upset the balance
established by the Treaty of Lausanne.
President
Denktaş stressed that the Greek Cypriot side’s
national goal, is
to achieve ENOSIS and cut the ties between the Turkish
Cypriot People and Turkey.
President
Denktaş reiterated that the Greek Cypriot
Administration’s unilateral application to the EU is
illegal because international agreements on Cyprus do
not allow the island to become a member of any
international organisation which does not have both
Turkey and Greece among its members.
President
Denktaş said the Greek Cypriot Administration’s
final aim is to take control of the whole of the
island through EU membership.
Criticising
the EU’s policies on Cyprus, President Denktaş
stressed that any solution cannot be found to the
Cyprus problem within this inequality.
President
Denktaş warned that Cyprus could become another
example of Palestine, unless an agreement based on
statehood and equality of the two sides is achieved.
TRNC
Prime Minister, Derviş Eroğlu, yesterday received
the representatives from the Çukurova Municipalities
Union.
In
his speech during the meeting, Eroğlu expressed his
expectation that
a solution to the Cyprus issue will be reached,
and said, however, as far as we have seen from the
first two rounds of the direct negotiations, the Greek
Cypriots have no incentive to compromise.
Eroğlu
said that the Greek Cypriots specially by bringing to
the negotiating table the issues that the Turkish
Cypriots could
not give concessions over, try to show the Turkish
Cypriot side as “intransigent”.
Stressing
that they are the recognised state which will enter
into the EU, and which are supported by the world for
improving their economy, Prime Minister Eroğlu said
under these conditions the Greek Cypriots will
continue with its intransigence and wait at the
negotiating table for the date that they will enter
into the EU.
DE SOTO BRIEFS U.N. SECURITY COUNCIL ON CYPRUS
The
United Nations Secretary General’s Special Adviser
on Cyprus, Alvaro de Soto, yesterday briefed the
United Nations Security Council about the latest and
present developments at the direct talks process aimed
at finding a lasting solution to the Cyprus problem.
In
his briefing, de Soto expressed his view that the
direct talks process is slowly progressing.
Following
the completion of the briefing by de Soto,
members of the Security Council voiced concern over
the current pace of progress in talks on Cyprus and
urged the leaders to intensify their negotiations and
resolve their differences in order to reach a
settlement of the Cyprus problem by June this year.
In
a written statement, the
President of the UN Security Council, Sergey Lavrov,
said “The members of the Council continued to
give their full support to the negotiating process
undertaken by the two leaders pursuant to their
agreement of 4 December 2001; and to the spirit of
cooperation shown by their involvement in the
process."
Lavrov
also stated that “But they expressed concern that
progress was slow and that a great deal of ground
remained to be covered for the June target date for
agreement, which the Council again strongly endorsed,
to be met.”
Ambassador
Lavrov said the members "urged the leaders to
intensify their negotiations in the period ahead and
to bring to them the urgency, political determination,
flexibility and spirit of give and take needed for
differences to be resolved." He added that the
leaders should "focus without delay on narrowing
the differences between them on all issues that must
be resolved, as part of a comprehensive settlement
which takes full consideration of relevant UN
resolutions and treaties."
Plümer:
“June target date for agreement is artificial”
TRNC
New York Representative, Ambassador, Aytuğ Plümer,
referring to the June target date for reaching an
agreement, said that it is an artificial date.
Plümer
said “TRNC is spending effort to comply with this
date. However, this does not mean that the talks
process will definitely end in June. If not, the
negotiations will continue.”
5TH
EURASIA ISLAMIC BOARD ORGANIZATION MEETING WILL BE IN
TRNC
5th
Eurasia Islamic Board Organisation
meeting organised by Turkish Direction of Religious
Affairs, will take place in TRNC between April 15-19
at Salamis Bay Conti Resort Hotel.
The
meeting that will be attended by 58 religious leader,
mufti and representatives from different countries,
will start on April, 15, at 10:00hrs.
During
the meeting 12 statement will be presented.
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