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The Deputy Prime Minister and
Minister for Foreign Affairs, Serdar Denktas, yesterday morning (26
September) departed for New York to attend the Organisation of Islamic
Countries (OIC) Foreign Ministers Meeting, which will start today (27
September).
The
TRNC, which has an observer status, will be represented as the ‘Cyprus
Turkish State’ in the OIC meeting and Serdar Denktas will give a short
speech on the latest developments in the Cyprus issue. Serdar Denktas will
request the support of the Islamic countries in contributing towards efforts
to end the Turkish Cypriots’ 40-year long unjust isolation and stress that
it’s time to upgrade the TRNC’s status from an observer status to a full
member.
Within the
framework of his contacts in New York, Serdar Denktas will also have
bilateral contacts with the Turkish Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign
Affairs, Abdullah Gul to discuss the Cyprus issue. Serdar Denktas is also
expected to have bilateral contacts with his Arab counterparts.
He will also
attend the 59th Term Meeting of the UN General Assembly, which
will take place in New York between 17-28 September.
GREEK CYPRIOT SUPREME COURT DECIDES TO RETURN FORMER PROPERTY TO TURKISH
CYPRIOT
On 24 September, the Greek
Cypriot Supreme Court decided that Turkish Cypriot, Arif Mustafa, who
resides in South Cyprus, could reclaim his former property, which he left in
1974, in Piskopu.
Speaking to
journalists about the decision President Denktas stressed that if the
Turkish Cypriot in question resided in the TRNC and had bought the property
in exchange for what was left behind in the South he should act in line with
the knowledge of the government and committee that was established to deal
with property issues. President Denktas said it was understood that the
Turkish Cypriot in question resides in the South and if he hadn’t obtained
any property in exchange for what he left behind then he was someone who had
been patient for 30-years.
Continuing,
President Denktas said he hoped that the European Court of Human Rights
would carefully evaluate the Greek Cypriot Supreme Court’s decision and thus
understand that the property issue was not an issue of ‘invasion’, that both
sides had been affected by the same issue and that the issue can be solved
through a political decision.
Meanwhile,
referring to the issue the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign
Affairs, Serdar Denktas, said this was an important development for all the
other Turkish Cypriots and he believed that there would be further
applications.
Serdar Denktas
said: “This is an important decision. The Turkish Cypriot in question had
been trying to return to his former property for approximately 8-months and
he finally won his case two-days ago. Naturally, this is an important
development for all the other Turkish Cypriots and this decision will enable
Turkish Cypriots to file new cases. I think further applications will be
made and there are a few that we’re already aware of”.
Pointing out
that the Greek Cypriot side had negative reactions, Serdar Denktas said he
recently visited Limassol to listen to the problems faced by Turkish
Cypriots living in the region and the main problem was that there was no
Turkish Cypriot school for the 65 Turkish Cypriot children living there. He
said immediately after this visit the Greek Cypriot Administration started
to exert pressure and threaten the Turkish Cypriots living in the region.
Stating that the Greek Cypriot Supreme Courts decision was announced one day
after his visit to Limassol and that Greek Cypriots reacted strongly to this
decision, Serdar Denktas said the crux of the problem was that the Greek
Cypriot administration did not want to share anything with the Turkish
Cypriots and they openly demonstrated this.
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