President of the Republic of Turkey Abdullah Gul after completing his two-day visit to the TRNC, returned to Turkey yesterday (19 September). Within the framework of his contacts in the TRNC President Gul addressed the Republic’s Assembly yesterday.

Before speaking at the TRNC Assembly, Turkish President together with President Mehmet Ali Talat met with the Speaker of TRNC Parliament Fatma Ekenoglu and then with political party leaders represented in the Assembly.

Later the TRNC Assembly held an extraordinary meeting for the speech which was going to be delivered by President Gul.

Speaker of the TRNC Parliament Fatma Ekenoglu who delivered an opening speech expressed the pleasure and honour of the Turkish Cypriot people for seeing Abdullah Gul paying his first official visit to the TRNC. Ekenoglu stressed that President Gul’s visit had once more approved at the highest level the solidarity between Turkey and the TRNC. Ekenoglu added that Gul’s visit gave moral and motivation to the Turkish Cypriot people for looking more safely to the future.

“It is Turkey’s support and solidarity that brought Turkish Cypriot people to these days and helped them to carry out a successful struggle for existence. Turkey also had an important financial and moral support for the institutionalization of the TRNC and in reaching to current economic and social level. This support is still continuing”, said Fatma Ekenoglu.

For his part, Turkish President Abdullah Gul pointing out that the basic parameter of the Cyprus problem was the political equality and balance, said a solution was only possible by accepting the reality of two separate peoples, democracies and states in Cyprus and with the establishment of a sensitive balance based on political equality of the two sides.

Gul stated that the TRNC, which was established in the Republic’s Assembly, symbolizes the Turkish Cypriot people’s success in using their self-determination right.

Stating that the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus was based on the rule of law and respected to human rights and freedoms and had a popular democracy, Gul said the TRNC which was progressing on the basis of these principles would contribute to peace and stability in the region.

Abdullah Gul said Turkey and the TRNC were located strategically in one of the most important regions of the world where Europe, Balkans, Eastern Mediterranean, Middle Asia, Caucasus, Middle East and Africa intersected and this region had a great potential for stability, peace and prosperity.

Continuing President Gul said:

“It is evident that the solution of the Cyprus problem would further strengthen this potential. Both in terms of pipe-lines and sea transportation, Eastern Mediterranean has an increasing strategic importance. Baku-Tiflis-Ceyhan pipe-line is an example to this.”

President Gul saying that Great Leader Ataturk’s principle of “peace in the country, peace in the world” was the basis of the Turkish foreign policy, said in line with this principle Turkey’s aim was to first eliminate the conflicts and disagreements in the region by peaceful means and create peace and stability. Gul said: “Turkey is a guarantee of peace and stability in the region and as a Motherland and a Guarantor power will continue to spend efforts with the TRNC towards finding a solution.”

Pointing out that Turkey’s foreign policy’s basic goal was becoming an EU member, Gul said because EU membership would have an important contribution in securing peace and prosperity in the region. He said: “Therefore, Turkish Cypriot people’s determination to reach its rightful place amongst the international community and become an EU member was in harmony with our efforts.

“Today, expecting the Turkish Cypriot people to give up their equal status and partnership right and accept to become a minority is just an empty dream. Turkish Cypriot people and the TRNC should be one of the equal and founding sides of a comprehensive settlement. In this context, a new partnership can only be built on vital principles such as bizonality, political equality and Turkey’s guarantorship”, said the Turkish President.

Stating that the platform to solve the Cyprus problem was the United Nations Gul said the solution should be within the framework of the Good Offices Mission of the UN Secretary-General and be based on the two people’s will and desire.

Drawing attention to the fact that the Greek Cypriot side was rejecting a solution based on equality and power sharing, Gul said the Greek Cypriot side, which was not making any initiative for a solution but sabotaging the existing processes, recently displayed its intransigent stance in 5 September 2007 meeting.

Gul stated that the Turkish side, which always spent every effort for reaching peace, continued with this stance even after April 2004 referendum.

Stressing that a historical opportunity was missed when the Greek Cypriot side rejected the comprehensive UN plan at the referendum, Gul said Turkish Cypriot side by voting in favour of the plan exploded the Greek Cypriot propaganda that the Turkish Cypriot side was intransigent and proved the whole world that Turkish people were always in favour of conciliation, solution and peace.

Pointing to the fact that President Talat’s proposal envisaging to resume the comprehensive negotiations with the aim of reaching an agreement by the end of 2008, was rejected by the Greek Cypriot side, Gul said for reaching a solution both sides should be equally good-intentioned and follow a constructive approach. However, we haven’t seen such an approach by the Greek Cypriot side until today.”

Referring to the Greek Cypriot side’s statements to the effect that ‘Turkish Armed Forces were the enemy”, Gul said: “Indecent statements against our Turkish Armed Forces which brought peace to the island for both peoples are unacceptable. Turkish Armed Forces will continue to be the guarantee of peace and tranquility in the island.”

Stating that it was wrong to have a link between Turkey’s EU membership and the Cyprus issue, Gul said: “This is a wrong judgment. Cyprus problem should not be used for slowing down or preventing Turkey’s EU accession process. We are determined to resist such initiatives.”

Gul called upon the international community to end their discriminative and restrictive policies against the Turkish Cypriot people and said: “It is a great injustice to make Turkish Cypriot people to pay the cost of the intransigent policy of the Greek Cypriot side. It was not the Turkish Cypriots who committed a crime against humanity, tried to carry out an ethic cleansing and ousted its founding partner from the state by force of arms.”

Continuing, Gul said:

“Despite all these, Turkish Cypriots who have been living in the island for five centuries and struggled for equality and preserved their rights, are able to successfully complete this struggle with their determination and self-confidence.

Up from my youth I have been closely and directly interested in the Cyprus problem and I am proud of the point reached by the TRNC in political, social and economic terms.

TRNC has a self-confident state structure. It is also improving its relations with the world and with its modern principles it is becoming more acknowledged by the international community.”

Turkish President Gul pointed out that achieving peace and stability in Cyprus was based on strengthening the TRNC’s economic and social position. Pointing to the fact that significant progress was achieved in this direction, Gul said there has been a noticeable increase in the TRNC’s prosperity level in the last couple of years as a result of investments made by Turkey and the third countries.

Stating that after Middle East Technical University (ODTU), Istanbul Technical University (ITU) also started studies to set up a campus in the TRNC, Gul said it was vital to give primary importance to the quality in education for improving the education sector.

Continuing Gul said:

“Increase in touristic facilities and bed capacity is continuing. Tourism infrastructure has been reached to an enviable level in a short time. Being one of the important sectors of the economy, universities are progressing towards achieving identified goals. In the next 10 years, it is our primary aim to make the TRNC an attractive place in the areas of tourism and higher education and double its current national income. Turkey is ready to provide all means to achieve these.”

Gul concluded by saying:

“Turkish Cypriots are an integral part of Great Turkish Nation. Every citizen of Turkish Republic feels Cyprus in their hearts and feels happy when you are happy and worry when you are worried. The only aim in our legal and human rights struggle is to provide the Turkish Cypriot people with high living standards they deserve. We will continue with our struggle in cooperation and we have every confidence in achieving success.

Turkey as it was in the past will continue to be the biggest guarantee of Turkish Cypriots’ peace and well-being. Motherland will be by the side of the Turkish Cypriots forever in order to protect political, economic and social interests.”