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TURKISH
AMBASSADOR Mr.GÜVEN “A SOLUTION WHICH DOES NOT TAKE
INTO ACCOUNT THE REALITIES ON THE ISLAND WILL NOT
LAST”
The Turkish Ambassador to Lefkoşa
Hayati Güven has said that a solution, which does not
take into account, the realities on the island will
not last.
Receiving a delegation from the
Platform of Struggle for National Objectives,
Ambassador Güven stated that President Denktaş is
defending the rights of the Turkish Cypriot people
with great care.
As to the economic relations
between the two countries, Mr. Güven said a
160-million-dollar-package aimed at providing
incentives for investment projects, will be made
available within a five year period.
Mr. Güven gave an assurance
that the future of the TRNC - together with Turkey -
is bright and there is no ground for concern.
For
his part the leader of the Platform, Faik Koyuncuoğlu
spoke highly of Turkey’s policies on Cyprus, and
said that a settlement on Cyprus should safeguard the
rights of existence and sovereignty of the Turkish
Cypriot people, and Turkey’s status as a
guarantor power.
A BUST OF Dr.KÜÇÜK WAS UNVEILED
A
bust of the late Turkish Cypriot leader Fazıl Küçük
was unveiled at a ceremony in Akdoğan yesterday, as
part of the continuing events to mark the 96th
anniversary of the late leader’s birth.
Addressing the ceremony, Prime
Minister Mr. Derviş Eroğlu expressed the hope that Küçük’s
bust will cast light to the young generations.
Turning to the Cyprus problem
itself, the Prime Minister said it was through the
unwavering support from Turkey that the Turkish
Cypriot people managed to reach Statehood on the
geography created after the 1974 Peace Operation.
As to the ongoing direct
negotiations with the Greek Cypriot side, Mr. Eroğlu
said it was essential that the Turkish Cypriot people
maintained its unity at a time when critical talks are
taking place between President Rauf Denktaş and the
Greek Cypriot leader Glafcos Clerides.
He said it is important that the
Turkish Cypriot people display its determination to
stick to its freedoms and Statehood, as the talks
continued.
Mr. Eroğlu said any settlement
with the Greek Cypriot side must be based on the
existence of the TRNC as a State, and on the
sovereignty and equality of the two sides.
He said the Turkish Cypriot
people is equally entitled to live in freedom and
independence, to enjoy its own sovereignty, and to
exist under its own flag.
The Prime Minister also
criticized the European Union for showing the green
light to the Greek Cypriot side regarding its
membership application. “This” he said,
“has only helped encourage the Greek Cypriot side in
its intransigence”.
He
warned that foreign intervention like this might cast
a shadow and undermine the continuing negotiations
process in Cyprus.
THE UN SECRETARY GENERAL KOFI ANNAN “I
EXPECT SUBSTANTIAL PROGRESS TO BE ACHIEVED BY JUNE”
The United Nations Secretary
General Kofi Annan has said he expects substantial
progress to be achieved by June at the ongoing
face-to-face negotiation between the two leaders in
Cyprus.
At
a press conference at the UN Center in New York, Mr.
Annan referred to the continuing news black out at the
talks, which, he said, was recommended to the two
parties by the UN; and said he himself would stick to
this principle and not elaborate on what has – and
what has not – been achieved.
TURKISH
FOREIGN MINISTER İSMAİL CEM HAS SAID THAT THE TWO
SIDES IN CYPRUS SHOULD RESPECT EACH OTHER’S
SENSITIVITIES
In an article published in the
International Herald Tribune, Mr.Cem said in order to
achieve progress on the ongoing direct negotiations in
Cyprus, the two leaders must first define their final
destinations and try to create a common vision ground.
Mr.Cem said if an agreement can
be reached on a common vision and final destination,
then it would be easier for the two sides to cope with
each remaining vital difficulty. Otherwise, he
said, the new negotiations process will collapse.
He reminded that if concrete
targets were made known before, then sides would be
encouraged on the path of an agreement on main issues.
Turkish Foreign Minister said if
the Turkish and Greek Sides in Cyprus cannot create a
common vision, then the two sides should not waste the
other’s time.
He
said it is not too late for Cyprus and he believes the
two sides on the island can achieve progress.
According
to Greek Cypriot paper
Politis, South Cyprus became an international
center for drug and tobacco smuggling. The paper
stated that the South Cyprus based companies Audech
and IBCS have been smuggling tobacco from South Cyprus
to Iraq in collaboration with international market
leaders Phillip Morris and R.J:Reynolds.
The
paper commented that it became a custom for South
Cyprus to act as a center for at each international
illegal act like tobacco and drug smuggling and black
money laundering.
TRNC
will be promoted at the world’s biggest tourism
fair, which will take place in the capital city of
Germany, Berlin during 16-20 March 2002.
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