Denktas Says They Will Be Minority No Matter What Is Given To Them, If They Do Not Claim State And Sovereignty

LEFKOSA - Turkish Republic and Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Rauf Denktas said on Monday that Turkish Cypriot people would be on minority status no matter what was given to them, if they did not claim state and sovereignty.
Releasing a statement, Denktas said that a newspaper published in TRNC wrote that ''Bush will build 20 thousand houses'' and he added that this news confirmed that at least 80 thousand Turkish Cypriots would be migrants when the United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan's Plan was fulfilled. Denktas said that rather than doing that, the United States or other countries could give the money of those houses to compensate for the goods of Greek Cypriots here and so Cyprus issue would be solved.
Denktas said that if Greek Cypriot side was ready, they could rapidly solve property issue by compensation.
Denktas said that a rich Greek Cypriot friend of him visited him recently, adding that his friend from British school told him about his properties that he wanted compensation for the things he left in TRNC and told Denktas that ''I searched for the things I left here, I could not find some of them. Houses have been built on the places. What will I do if I come here, I only want compensation.'' Denktas said this was told by many Greek Cypriots who saw the realities on the island.
Denktas said that some of the properties which Turks left in South Cyprus were either demolished, or expropriated and this could only be sorted out by compensation. Denktas stressed that the issue of property could not be sorted out by giving the right to return to Greek Cypriots, because Turks didn't have the right to return.
Some foreigners wrote to him asking ''what will happen if a change of regime occurs?'' said Denktas, noting that ''I tell them whether there is a change of regime or not, a state in the North will exist. There can be no compromise unless the rights given by that state, agreements made by that state and the title deeds it gave to date are accepted as valid. Why? Because if this is not the case, there will be chaos. Half of the Turkish people will be forced to leave their homes.''
Denktas said that the Greek Cypriot side always mentioned ''fake state, fake police, fake court'' but Greek Cypriots who came to TRNC saw who did the falsity. Denktas said ''I am pleased,'' adding that ''many sensible Greek Cypriots saw the realities.''
(GC-Öª) 02.06.2003