Prime Minister Mehmet Ali Talat, pointing out that it was inevitable for Turkey not to enter into a customs union with South Cyprus and that they supported the Green Line Regulation, said the Free Trade Regulation should definitely be implemented and they were determined to carry out studies to achieve this and this had also been confirmed by Turkey.

Responding to a question asked regarding an article appearing in the Greek Cypriot press that the Republic of Turkey was going to sign a Customs Union Agreement with South Cyprus under the title of the ‘Cyprus Republic’, the Prime Minister said Turkey would implement the same customs union procedure with the Greek Cypriot side just as it had implemented to nine of the ten new EU member countries.

Pointing out that he believed when Turkey enters into a customs union with the Greek Cypriot side Turkey would request that the Greek Cypriot side carry out its own responsibilities, Prime Minister Talat said the Free Trade Regulation and the Aid Package were two extremely important steps for the TRNC and they had requested that should both be implemented together.

Explaining that the Greek Cypriot side was trying to separate the Aid Package from the Free Trade Regulation and bring them onto the agenda one by one and that then try and postpone the implementation of the Free Trade Regulation, Prime Minister Talat, pointing out that postponing the regulation was wrong, said the Green Line Regulation was not a solution to solving the TRNC’s problems and the basis of the Green Line Regulation was only to ensure the flow of goods from the North to the South and it was unrealistic to change the regulation so that it would comprise all the island’s trade and overseas exports.

"MISSING" PERSONS ISSUE ON THE ROAD TO BEING SETTLED

The issue of the "missing" persons from the communal conflict on the island, which started in 1963 with the Greek Cypriot armed attacks against the Turkish Cypriots, and resulted in "missing" Greek and Turkish Cypriots as a result of the internal conflict between the Greek Cypriots during the Greek-Greek Cypriot junta staged against Makarios in 1974. For years, despite the studies carried out by the Autonomous Missing Persons Committee, which was formed through various agreements and initiatives carried out during different periods and through UN resolutions, the "missing" persons issue could not be solved.

The issue is soon expected to be settled following the European Court of Human Rights’ related resolution and after the Turkish Cypriot side’s request and the UN Secretary-General’s latest letter on the issue, which has helped to speed up the process. While the Greek and Turkish Cypriot sides must put forward their will to open the graves, which constitutes the focal point in the new process and the basis of the problem, the Autonomous Missing Persons Committee will meet next week for the first time in four years.

Up until now, the Greek Cypriot side has given information to the Turkish Cypriot side regarding 22 burial sites, of which 4 are in the North and where 201 people are buried. On the other hand, the Turkish Cypriot side has given information on a map to the Greek Cypriot side regarding the 4 burial sites in the North. However, despite this exchange of information, the impasse between the two sides meant that the graves couldn’t be opened and prevented further steps from being taken on the issue.

Following UN resolutions and the agreement reached between the two sides, the Autonomous Missing Persons Committee was formed in 1981 and Latife Birgen was appointed its first Turkish Cypriot representative. She was succeeded by Rustem Tatar, who was appointed to the position in 1984 and has been the Committee’s Turkish Cypriot representative since then. Speaking to the Cyprus Turkish News Agency (TAK), Rustem Tatar said the Autonomous Missing Persons Committee, which includes one Turkish Cypriot, one Greek Cypriot and one UN representative, had been unable to settle the issue for years and always reached a deadlock in its studies. He said the reason for this was because, for years, the Greek Cypriot Administration didn’t accept that Greek Cypriots who went "missing" were dead and refrained from differentiating between those who died during the Greek Cypriot internal conflict and those who died during the 1974 intervention.

Tatar, reminding that for years the Greek Cypriots prevented the Committee from carrying out its job and took the "missing" persons issue to the European Court of Human Rights, said this has brought a new and different dimension to the issue.