PRESIDENT TALAT: “PAPADOPOULOS’ STATEMENT IS MANIPULATION”
President
Mehmet Ali Talat in a press conference held yesterday (20 March) described
the Greek Cypriot leader Papadopoulos’ statement, claiming that a progress
was achieved in 8th July process, as a manipulative move and
said: “It is enough! Our doubts about the Greek Cypriot administration’s
sincerity have increased. We will evaluate our stance. There is really a
need for reevaluation with regard to the 8th July process”.
President Talat added that it was on the Turkish Cypriot side’s agenda to
determine a new policy regarding the 8th July process.
Calling
upon Papadopoulos to announce the content of his proposal, which he
claimed that the Turkish Cypriot side rejected, and inviting Papadopoulos
to meet straight away without waiting for a week, President Talat reminded
that at the beginning of 8th July process a principle was put
forward that unless there was an agreement on all issues there would no
agreement on any issue and added that until today there wasn’t any subject
that has been agreed on.
President
Talat explained that the reason behind Papadopoulos’ manipulative move was
to prevent the implementation of the Direct Trade Regulation.
Stating
that the Turkish Cypriot side worked very hard and showed all types of
flexibility for succeeding the commitments agreed on 8th July
when the UN Secretary General’s Former Special Political Adviser Ibrahim
Gambari came to the island, President Talat said they spent intensive
efforts for preventing this process to be wasted by Greek Cypriot side’s
delaying tactics.
Talat
pointed out that the Turkish Cypriot side’s requests for the
re-involvement of Gambari in the process and identifying a route with a
letter was realized after many discussions and the process was shaped with
this letter.
Pointing
to the fact that Gambari’s letter was not open-ended and there were
time-limits for certain steps to be taken, Talat said:
“While
reaching the end of each deadline envisaged in Gambari’s letter, we faced
with a new manipulative move from the Greek Cypriot side. 31st
of March was the end of this process, when the technical committees and
the working groups would have to conclude their studies and the two
leaders would meet to discuss what has been done and what the next step
would be.
The Greek
Cypriot side repeatedly leaked information on the process to the Greek
Cypriot press despite the provision of secrecy agreed upon by the two
leaders. Although, Rasit Pertev on numerous occasions warned the Greek
Cypriot administration to stop doing this, the Greek Cypriot press started
to publish news claiming that the process was successfully continuing.
Later the Greek Cypriot officials alleged that they sent a letter to me
and then turned this letter to be a proposal.” President Talat called upon
the Greek Cypriot side to announce their so-called proposal.
“Papadopoulos’ statement, which coincides with the time when the Direct
Trade Regulation was being discussed in Brussels, is totally a
manipulative move. In other words, the Greek Cypriots giving the message
to the EU that the technical committees and working groups are about to
start their works and a settlement will be reached soon; therefore there
is no need for the implementation of the Direct Trade Regulation. Mr.
Papadopoulos is saying that: ‘I sincerely believe that 8th July
process will bear its fruits and pave the way for the settlement of the
Cyprus issue on the basis of the principles we agreed on 8th
July 2006’.
Mr.
Papadopoulos, who up until now used every type of tactics and tricks to
prevent the formation of the committees and working groups, now all of a
sudden when the Direct Trade Regulation would be discussed in Brussels, is
distorting the realities.”
President Talat called upon Papadopoulos, who claimed that
both sides had agreed on all issues, to meet straightaway without waiting
for a week.
Talat stated that in order to make comprehensive policy
change, there should be exchange of views amongst all the related parties,
Turkey and other countries in alliance. He added that since the Annan plan
was rejected, it was no longer on the table, but its roots, parameters and
philosophy were still alive.
Meanwhile, Papadopoulos in a written statement yesterday
alleged that on the basis of the proposals put forward in Gambari’s letter
dated 15 November 2006, some progress had been achieved between the
representatives of the two leaderships with regard to the implementation
of the 8th July process.
Moreover,
Papadopoulos said that an agreement was reached on which technical
committees and working groups would be established and on what subjects to
be discussed in each of these working groups.
Papadopoulos also stated that the time and the method regarding the
establishment of the technical committees and working groups were also
agreed on.
