Denktas: We Always Accepted Free Movement On The Basis Of Partnership Of Two States

LEFKOSA - Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Rauf Denktas reacted on Wednesday the statements of the United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan's special envoy to Cyprus Alvaro De Soto who said ''I do not understand how Denktas opened the gates''. Denktas said, ''the most important thing what De Soto cannot understand is that we opened the gates as TRNC.''
Denktas who was in Sakarya for various contacts replied to questions of A.A correspondent on the phone regarding those statements of De Soto published in a Turkish newspaper.
Denktas said, ''the declaration of De Soto is a statement which shows how unjust is to put the blame on me in The Hague and eliminates its credibility as well.''
Denktas said, ''he says he does not understand my opening the gates to Greek Cypriots because I emphasized the dangers when Greek Cypriots came among us. There is an issue that De Soto cannot understand or does not want to understand. We have always accepted free movement on the basis of partnership of two states. We insistently emphasized that struggle and danger would come out in the issues of settlement and owning land.''
Emphasizing that the envisaged settlement in De Soto's plan was a ''recipe inviting disaster'', Denktas said, ''the most important thing what he does not understand is that we opened the gates as TRNC.''
Underlining that Greek Cypriots who passed to TRNC were subjected to TRNC laws and police, Denktas said, ''we opened the gates for peace and to balance the basis. If someone from outside do not interfere and encourage Greek Cypriots, this basis can be prepared with the intermingling of peoples. This may require some time.''
Denktas said that the effort for trying to solve the issue without preparing a basis and by rushing sides into the European Union (EU) program was nothing else but an unacceptable fantasy and coercion.
Denktas added that unfortunately De Soto failed in solving Cyprus issue within the scope of fairness and justice and he tried to make the biggest injustice for Turkish people permanent with his plan.
(GC-AÖ) 30.04.2003