COEPA TURKISH DELEGATION CHAIRMAN MERCAN: ''REPORTS CAST SHADOW OVER ESTEEM OF COE''
STRASBOURG - Council of Europe Parliamentarian Assembly (COEPA) member Turkish parliamentarians on Wednesday harshly reacted against the reports of COEPA adopted on Tuesday about Cyprus.
COEPA Turkish delegation Chairman Murat Mercan told A.A. correspondent that Cyprus reports of COEPA cast shadow over esteem of COE.
Mercan said adoption of the reports created disappointment in Turkish delegation, adding that, ''Cyprus reports are biased and fail to reflect the truths. There are many aspects in the reports that contradict with international relations literature.''
COEPA member Republican People's Party (CHP) parliamentarian Gulsum Bilgehan said reports would not help solution of Cyprus question, and noted that the reports did not well reflect the important developments that had been experienced on Cyprus in the past one month.
Bilgehan said TRNC administration removed the borders and brought freedom of movement, and that it granted Greek Cypriots to apply courts in TRNC for claims of property.
Bilgehan said she had difficulty to understand the failure to update the reports within the scope of the recent developments.
DENKTAS REACTS TO CYPRUS REPORTS: ''RAPPORTEURS SHOULD OPEN THEIR EYES AND SEE THE REALITIES''
Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Rauf Denktas criticized on Wednesday Cyprus reports adopted by Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (COEPA) and asked the ''rapporteurs to open their eyes, see the realities and write their reports that way.''
Replying a question, Denktas pointed out that reports were one-sided and added, ''if the aim of these reports is to bring peace and compromise to Cyprus, they don't serve that aim.''
Denktas said that organizations like COEPA did not serve the aim as long as they took such decisions by only listening to the Greek Cypriots.
''These one-sided decisions gave strength to only one side and hurt the other and forced the other to more strongly defend its rights,'' Denktas said.
Denktas stated that he once more saw that that view was right when he read the newspapers in the morning.
Upon another question, Denktas said that ''reports were not a sanction but helped one of the sides to continue its untrue world for some more time.''
Emphasizing that ''the Greek Cypriots who had been living in their untrue world for 40 years made the world believe in that untrue world,'' Denktas said that ''years were passing by lies and reports prepared on those lies.''
Denktas noted, ''therefore, the Greek Cypriots refrain from settling the issue on the basis of a partnership formed by two new states and think that they could reach somewhere with false reports.''
''If they had some mind, they will see that these false reports don't bring Cyprus to anywhere and they will start listening to us,'' Denktas added.
FOREIGN MINISTRY SAYS CYPRUS REPORT OF COEPA IS ONE-SIDED REPORT WHICH DOESN'T REFLECT FACTS
The Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday that the Cyprus report of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (COEPA) was a one-sided report which did not reflect facts.
Foreign Ministry Spokesman Huseyin Dirioz told the weekly press briefing that the report was a one-sided report which had no more been current in the light of latest developments regarding Cyprus issue.
Dirioz added, ''this issue was strongly expressed by our deputies in COEPA and our deputies gave motions for an amendment.''
(BRC-AÖ) 25.06.2003