The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Serdar Denktas, on 28 September addressed the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) Foreign Ministers Annual Coordination Meeting in New York. The OIC is made up of 57 Islamic countries.

In his speech, pointing out that in the OIC’s 31^st foreign ministers meeting last June in Istanbul it was decided to upgrade the status of the TRNC in the meeting to the ‘Cyprus Turkish State’, Serdar Denktas said this was a soveriegn decision made by the OIC itself and there should be no turning back from this decision.

The full text of his speech is as follows:

"It is a great honour for me to address this important meeting on behalf of the Government and the people of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.

First and foremost, let me express our deep gratitude to the Chairmanship and the Secretariat for having made every endeavour to ensure more active OIC response to the broad range of challenges faced by the Islamic world. Through decades of its existence and continuous development the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) has gained substantial political weight at the international arena.

On this occasion, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to the members of th eOIC for the brotherly support given to the just cause of the Turkish Cypriot people and to the adoption of the latest resolution on Cyprus during the 31^st session of the Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers in Istanbul. The invaluable support and firm understanding extended by the OIC provided us with added strength and determination to continue adamantly on our quest for the protection of our inalienable rights and interests in Cyprus.

As we gather today with the aim of coordinating our efforts towards the common good of mankind, in general, and the Islamic world in particular,many persistent issues continue to plaque the member states of the OIC throughout the world, as exemplified by the situation in the Middle East, the condition our Palestinian brethren, the long standing issue of Jammu and Kashmir, the continuing occupation of a part of the territory of Azerbijan, and the plight of the Turkish Muslim minority of Western Thrace.

It is our common desire that these issues are resolved on the basis of the relevant OIC resolutions meeting the expectations of our Muslim brothers. We hope and also believe that as cooperation and solidarity are enhanced between the Islamic countries, our goal to protect and promote the rights, interests and just causes of our Muslim brothers would be successfully accomplished.

Mr. Chairman, allow me to share with you the recent developments regarding the Cyprus issue.

As you are well aware, with the separate simulataneous referenda held on both sides of the island on 24 April 2004, the Turkish Cypriot people demonstrated their willingness to compromise by voting in favour of the comprehensive settlement plan of the UN Secretary-General while the Greek Cypriot people overwhelmingly rejected it.

The Greek Cypriot people have shown clearly that they have no intention to enter into a power-sharing arrangement with the Turkish Cypriot people but would rather continue to enjoy the benefits of the title of the "Republic of Cyprus" which they had usurped through force of arms in December 1963.

The European Union and other international entities encouraged the Turkish Muslim people of the TRNC to vote "Yes" at the referendum and assured us that our goodwill would not go unheeded. The international community also pledged that the inhuman isolations imposed upon the Turkish Muslim people of the TRNC would be lifted regardless of the final outcome.

The Turkish Cypriot people have certainly done their part and demonstrated their strong will in favour of a political solution based on partnership and equality. However, the Greek Cypriot side which rejected the plan with an overwhelming majority has been rewarded by the added benefits of EU membership whereas the Turkish Cypriot side has been left to its own devices as one of the promises made by the international community have been kept so far.

I should also like our friends to consider that this year the people of the TRNC marked three decade of life under freedom, enjoying the liberty to determine their own future and exercising their inherent right to speak and act on their own behalf through independent democratic institutions and government. These institutions not only provided the people with security within their own borders, but also lay the foundations for a vigorous society, an active economy, a democratic life and popular culture. The Turkish Cypriot people, in a word, tasted peace and focused on political and economic development as respectable members of the international community.

Mr. Chairman, Distinguished colleagues,

In light of the above, it is significant to acknowledge that the continued recognition of a purely Greek Cypriot rejime as if it were the sole representative of the whole of Cyprus only encourages Greek Cypriot intransigence. It is obvious that the Greek Cypriot side shall have no real incentive for a political solution unless it is given the clear message that the present stalemate brought about by their rejection of the UN Plan does not give them the right to represent, act on behalf or isolate the Turkish Cypriot any further.

In order to help bring this about, we call on our brothers in the OIC to assist the Turkish Cypriot people in every possible manner in the immediate lifting of the unjust embargoes and isolations over the TRNC in line with the latest OIC resolution adopted this year in Istanbul.

However, recently the Dutch European Union Presidency (EU) has demanded the Turkish Cypriot authorities to drop the title of the "Turkish Cypriot State" which was bestowed by the OIC decision adopted during the 31^st session of the Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers in order to participate in the EU-OIC Foreign Minister Joint Forum to be held in Istanbul between 4-5 October 2004. This demand not only undermines the authority and prestige of the OIC which represents over 1.2 billion Muslims throughout the world, but at the same time questions the decision of more than 50 sovereign member states, which in solidarity with the Muslim Turkish people of Cyprus have voted the above mentioned resolution. The Turkish Muslim people is confident that the brotherly member countries of the OIC will not capitulate to this unjust and disrespectful demand.

In conclusion, I would like to once again renew our longstanding request for upgrading our observer status to that of a full member.

Thank you".

Within the framework of his contacts in New York, where he attended the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) Foreign Ministers Annual Coordination Meeting, the TRNC Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Serdar Denktas, also met with the Foreign Minister of Pakistan, Hursit Mehmet Kasuri.

During the meeting, pointing out that nothing had changed in Cyprus after the 24 April 2004 referendum, Serdar Denktas stressed that although the Turkish Cypriot people had been promised the isolation imposed upon them would end, this had not happened. He underlined that the member states of the OIC should exert pressure on the international community on this issue.

Talking about the importance of Pakistan’s role in this issue, Serdar Denktas said the Turkish Cypriot people would not wait indefinitely for a settlement on the island and if the Greek Cypriot side didn’t adopt a more constructive approach by the middle of next year, the TRNC would request recognition.

Pointing out the continuation of the isolation imposed upon the Turkish Cypriots was meaningless, Kasuri said Pakistan would take initiatives to encourage the international community to end the isolation.

Meanwhile, within the framework of his contacts in New York, Serdar Denktas also met with the OIC Secretary-General on 28 September.

In the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) Foreign Ministers Annual Coordination Meeting’s closing communique issued, pointing out that as envisaged in the Annan Plan, the resolution for the TRNC’s representation in the OIC as the "Turksih Cypriot State" was passed during the OIC’s meeting in Istanbul last June (16 June 2003), it was stated that the OIC would continue to fully support the just cause of the Turkish Cypriot people.

Explaining that, after the 24 April 2004 referendum a new situation had emerged whereby a comprehensive evaluation of the Cyprus issue was necessary, the communique confirmed the full equality of the two sides in Cyprus without giving an opportunity to either one of the sides to administer, dominate, threaten and exploit the other, and to live side by side in security, peace and harmony.

The communique said, in addition to the calls and statements issued by the UN Secretary-General, international organizations and states, while the decision taken by various international organizations to put an end the Turkish Cypriot peoples isolation was welcomed, and called upon the international community to take concrete and immediate steps in this direction.

The communique also called upon the member states to strengthen their solidarity with the Turkish Cypriot people, to establish close partnerships with them and to improve relations with the Turkish Cypriots in all fields, in particular direct transportation, trade, tourism, culture, information, investments and sporting activities with the aim of helping the Turkish Cypriots to overcome the material and political "inhuman isolation" imposed upon them.