PRESIDENTIAL SPOKESMAN  ERCAKICA “WE CONSIDER 5 SEPTEMBER MEETING AS A SIGNIFICANT OPPORTUNITY”

At the weekly press conference held by the Presidential Spokesman Mr. Hasan Ercakica, information regarding the meeting that will be held today between Mr. Talat and Mr. Papadopoulos has been provided. Ercakica said:

“As it is known, a meeting will be held in the buffer zone between President Mr. Mehmet Ali Talat and the Greek Cypriot Leader Mr. Tassos Papadopoulos in the official residence of the Special Representative to Cyprus of the UN Secretary-General.

As a result of the preparatory work carried out between the sides, it has been decided that the meeting will take place at 16:00 hours. President Talat will be accompanied by the Presidential Undersecretary Mr. Ražit Pertev.

The Turkish Cypriot side is attending this meeting with the purpose of enabling the resumption of the comprehensive settlement negotiations that will be carried out to reach a comprehensive and just settlement for the Cyprus problem. As it is also known, this purpose was the primary purpose of the Agreement signed by both leaders on 8 July 2006, as well. One of the principles decided on by both leaders on the same date was “to remain committed to the fact that a comprehensive settlement is desired, possible and should not delay any longer.

Turkish Cypriot side is still committed to this principle. It has already been established in the Set of Ideas that the framework of a settlement would be “a bi-communal and bi-zonal federation based on political equality.

Tomorrow, we are attending the said meeting within this frame of reference to maintain our search for an urgent settlement and to pave the way for a settlement that will serve to the interests of both the Turkish Cypriots and the Greek Cypriots.”

COMMITTED TO A FEDERAL SETTLEMENT

Replying a question concerning the ongoing federal settlement discussions in the Greek Cypriot side, Presidential Spokesman Ercakica said that:

“I would like to reiterate that Turkish Cypriot side is committed to a bi zonal federal settlement based on political equality of Turkish Cypriots and the Greek Cypriots. We follow the discussions in the Greek Cypriot side as well. We are also aware that some circles supporting Mr. Papadopoulos have started claiming that a federal settlement would not be functional. We would like to remind those circles that in Cyprus, a federal state would function as it does in other countries.

Our faith in a federal settlement is an indication of the fact that we posses the will to protect the interests of both the Turkish Cypriots and the Greek Cypriots.

We should not be afraid of compromise. Compromise means producing concrete solutions instead of lingering with abstract principles. Establishing a Federal Republic of Cyprus is such a meaningful compromise. In order to make this happen, we would like to work together with the Greek Cypriot side.

We must consider this meeting of the leaders as a step forward taken towards a lasting settlement.

Both the Turkish Cypriots and the Greek Cypriots have endured painful experiences. We must establish a new future in light of these experiences. The Europe we follow was able to renew itself as a result of quite painful experiences as well. This should set a lesson for us! We are not able to correct our fighting past but we can establish our future together. We must act in accordance with this.

Turkish Cypriots do not have the intention of harming the Greek Cypriots. We truly support a federal state in which no one can claim hegemony over the other. We also think that this is to the advantage of the Greek Cypriots as well. Therefore, we consider the 5 September meeting as a significant opportunity in that direction

REMAINS OF ANOTHER GROUP  OF MISSING PERSONS TO BE RETURNED TO THEIR FAMILIES

The Autonomous Missing Persons Committee is planning to hand over the remains of another group of missing persons to their families at the beginning of October after the completion of identification tests.

The remains of 57 missing persons, 19 Turkish Cypriot and 38 Greek Cypriots, have been returned to their families by the Committee until now.

In a statement, the Turkish Cypriot  Member of the Committee on Missing Persons Gulden Plumer Kucuk said the Committee is still continuing work to identify the remains of 320 missing persons unearthed during the excavations carried out in both sides of the island.

She announced that the remains of another group of missing persons – after the completion of DNA tests – will be handed over to their families at the beginning of next month.