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PRIME
MINISTER TALAT RETURNS TO TRNC
Following the completion of
his contacts with EU officials in Brussels, Prime Minister Mehmet Ali Talat
returned to the TRNC on 27 January. Speaking upon his arrival at Ercan
Airport said the EU should put pressure on the Greek Cypriot side, who don't
act like Europeans, to end the isolation imposed on the Turkish Cypriot
side. The Prime Minister said it was the EU's duty to find constructive
formulas to end the islolation and if necessary to push this small
aggressive community (Greek Cypriot side), who were not acting like
Europeans, into a corner.
Explaining that during his
contacts in Brussels one of the most important factors that he had
identified was that the EU had not forgotten and was supporting its promise
to end the Turkish Cypriot side's isolation, Prime Minister Talat said as
well as this the changes that would be made to the Financial Aid, Direct
Trade and Green Line Regulations would continue to remain on the EU's
agenda.
Prime Minister Talat
reminding that in August 2004 the Turkish Cypriot side evaluated to open
the Bostanci gate, said although the Greek Cypriot side had previously
proposed to open further gates, in reality they were against this and
continued to pursue a policy to blame the Turkish Cypriot side for not
opening further gates.
TRNC NEW YORK
REPRESENTATIVE'S LETTER TO UN SECRETARY-GENERAL
The TRNC's New York
Representative, Resat Caglar, in a letter sent to the UN Secretary-General
responded to a letter written by the Greek Cypriot side's Permanent UN
Representative, Andreas Mavroyiannis, who alleged that the flight
information region of Lefkosa and the national airspace of the "Cyprus
Repbulic" was being violated by the Turkish Airforce.
In his letter, Caglar
stressed that
the continuation of such hostile policies by the Greek Cypriot
Administration clearly indicated that it had not moved from its maximalist
policies vis-à-vis a settlement in Cyprus, which resulted in its rejection
of the UN settlement plan on 24 April 2004.
The letter,
which was published as a UN document, stressed that flights within the
sovereign airspace of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus took place
with the full knowledge and consent of the appropriate authorities of the
TRNC, over which the Greek Cypriot Administration had no jurisdiction or
right of say whatsoever. It also stated that allegations of so-called
violations of the flight information region or violations of air traffic
regulations were invalid, as the civil aviation authority of the TRNC was
the only competent authority to provide air traffic and aeronautical
information services.
Caglar said
such allegations were based on the false and illegitimate claim that the
sovereignty of the Greek Cypriot Administration extends over the whole
island, including the territory of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus
and that this claim was divorced from the existing realities in Cyprus,
Caglar also
reminded that in his report submitted to the Security Council on 28 May
2004, although the UN Secretary-General called on the international
community to "eliminate unnecessary restrictions and barriers that have the
effect of isolating the Turkish Cypriots and impeding their development",
the Greek Cypriot Administration, which was required to heed this call and
take steps accordingly, has instead been pursuing an all-out campaign in
every forum against any effort aimed at giving Turkish Cypriots breathing
space.
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