President Rauf R. Denktas, stating that the Greek Cypriot side was engaging in intensive lobbying efforts for the settlement of the Cyprus issue and was being effective, said the Turkish Cypriots should respond by saying that they would protect their state.

President Denktas, on visiting the Experimental Medical Research Vakif (DETAV) yesterday (15 September), pointing out that the UN had stated that the study of missing persons should be carried out in one centre, said the Neurology and Genetic Institute should be used jointly. President Denktas pointed out that although the UN had promised to open a Cardiological Centre in the North it had not kept its promise.

Stating that the Turkish Cypriot side had spent every effort to help the Missing Persons Committee to solve the missing perons issue, President Denktas said the Greek Cypriots did everything to prevent the Committee from carry out its works and getting results.

President Denktas pointing out that during the Committee’s studies the Turkish Cypriot side brought witnesses to prove that some of the missing persons who were on the list were actually killed, said however, their names were not deleted from the list and the Greek Cypriots had asked for the location of these persons’ bones and even, took the issue to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).

Yesterday (16 September) the Missing Persons Committee met with the participation of the Greek Cypriots, UN representatives, and the Turkish Cypriot delegation, which included, Rustem Tatar, Ahmet Erdengiz, the Director / Representative from the TRNC’s Deputy Prime Ministry and Ministry of Foreign Affairs and lawyer Hakký Onen. In a written statement issued after the meeting, it was stated that during the meeting they had agreed on the issue of organizing medical experts to observe the opening of the graves.

According to the statement, during the meeting, the sides put forward their studies regarding the experts and agreed on completing these studies as soon as possible and also carefully evaluated the proposals and methods on opening the graves and identifying the dead.

Prime Minister Mehmet Ali Talat, stating that the European Parliament’s decision to delay the regulation envisaging the development of the TRNC’s economy and financial aid package until October was not a loss and that priority should be given to the Free Trade Regulation.

Prime Minister Talat pointed out that the Turkish Cypriot side was insisting that the Direct Trade Regulation and Financial Aid Regulation should not be separated from each other and that priority should be given to the Trade Regulation because, if the Financial Aid Regulation was first approved and the Free Trade Regulation was prevented, this would be very damaging for the Turkish Cypriot side.

Responding to reporters’ questions before yesterday’s (15 September) Council of Ministers’ meeting, the Prime Minister said news to the effect that the package was postponed were not true, because the real decision-making authority was the European Council.

Referring to the UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan’s recent statement, Prime Minister Talat said Annan had requested that Greek Cypriot leader, Tassos Papadopoulos, clarify the Greek Cypriot side’s stance on the Annan plan.

Explaining that Annan had observed that the conditions in Cyprus were a result of the Greek Cypriot Administration’s and Papadopoulos’ negative stance, Prime Minister Talat said once the Greek Cypriot side clarifies its stance and Papdopoulos decides not to run away from negotiating, then the Secretary-General would start a new mission.

The TRNC was represented for the fifth time in the "Mediterranean Travel Fair" in Cairo, Egypt.

1,403 representatives from 36 countries attended the "Mediterranean Travel Fair" and the TRNC was represented by the Undersecretary of the Economy and Tourism Ministry Yalcýn Vehit and Latif Ince from the Tourism Promotion and Marketing Department. The Fair will end today (16 September).

The ‘Voice of Blood’ documentary by Greek Cypriot researcher Antonis Angastionotis which shows the genocide carried out against the Turkish Cypriots by Greek Cypriots in the villages of Murataga-Sandallar-Atlýlar and Taskent in 1974 was censored by the Greek Cypriot media and permission was not given for its showing in the South.

Angastionotis, explaining that documentaries made in the South about missing persons and mass graves were one-sided, said it was for this reason he chose to just include the Turkish Cypriots in his documentary.

Stating that interviews were carried out with witnesses to these genocides and that during the interviews he only became aware of the events which hapenned 30-years ago, Angastionotis said with this documentary he wanted to show the Greek Cypriots that Turkish Cypriots also suffered in 1974 because, this was never shown in South Cyprus.