The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Serdar Denktas, yesterday (21 April) received the Italian Ambassador Gherado La Francesca, and during the meeting said the people on the island could not put forward their own views because external pressure was shaping their opinions.

Serdar Denktas said even if 50 per cent from each side said ‘yes’ this wouldn’t be considered to be a complete yes because the Turkish Cypriot people were under pressure from Turkey and the Greek Cypriots were under pressure from the UN and maybe Greece. He said under these conditions he didn’t believe that the plan would work.

Pointing out that he believed the Annan Plan was an imposition of others, Serdar Denktas said a plan not favoured by the two leaders on the island could not be good for anyone.

Explaining that intensive external pressure was being exerted on the two peoples and that by alleging the TRNC would be politically recognized if the TRNC voted ‘yes’ and the Greek Cypriot side voted ‘no’ in the referendum pressure was being exerted on both sides, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs said, a state to be established as a result of this pressure in order to secure a yes vote from the two sides, would pave the way for greater problems in the future and added that both sides would not prefer this kind of a possibility.

Drawing attention to the importance of the territorial rehabilitation process that would be implemented within the framework of the Annan Plan, Serdar Denktas also talked about the financial problems that could emerge.

The European Parliament’s General Assembly yesterday (21 April) voted and approved a draft recommendation resolution on the Cyprus issue. In the resolution, which was approved with 422 yes votes and 30 no votes, the Greek and Turkish Cypriots were called upon to reconcile.

In yesterday’s session, the Greek Cypriot Administration was condemned for its stance on the referendum and for meddling with the media and television stations and barring EU Enlargement Commissioner Gunther Verheugen from Greek Cypriot television.

The resolution, pointing out that it supported all efforts aimed at ensuring unification in Cyprus and emphasising its support for the final version of the Annan Plan that was presented to the two sides in Switzerland, said the European Parliament was aware of the fact that a possible reconciliation would not fully satisfy the two sides.

The resolution, which also emphasized the EU Commission’s support for the peace and reconciliation process, said it shared EU Commissioner member Gunther Verheughen’s opinion that the referendum was a choice between the Annan Plan and non-settlement and called upon the Cypriot people not to miss this ‘historical opportunity’.

Also reminding that the EU had promised to make a financial contribution towards a Cyprus settlement, the resolution said the International Donors Conference preliminary meeting in Brussels was a "cooperation signal".

Following the implementation of the Public Referendum Law (Special and Temporary Rules) Regarding a Settlement of the Cyprus Issue, 143,648 Turkish Cypriot voters will cast their votes in the 563 ballot boxes in the April 24 referendum. The referendum will begin at 08:00 and finish at 18:00 and the unofficial results are expected to be ready by 21:00.