LEFKOSA - Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Rauf Denktas said on Tuesday that TRNC did not accept passports given by Greek Cypriot administration.
Denktas made some comments on news stories and interpretations about passport published in TRNC and Turkish press recently.
Stressing that every country had its own passport regime, Denktas said that TRNC did not accept passports of Greek Cypriot administration whose name had not been 'Cyprus Republic' since 1963.
Denktas said that TRNC citizens took passports of Greek Cypriot side since they thought they could use passports in the future and stated that but it was impossible to enter and leave TRNC with this passport.
''A person who leave TRNC with passport of TRNC and who enter Turkey with this passport cannot say that 'I will leave Turkey with passport of Greek Cypriot administration.' He/she leaves the country with passport with which the person enters the country. Thus, everyone should first learn passport regime of a country to which he/she will go and then he/she should travel according to it. If he/she has some problems without learning the passport regime of a country where the person travels, this person should not incite people,'' he stated.
Underlining that every Turkish Cypriot person could travel to any country in the world with passport of Turkish Republic like 70 million Turkish citizens, Denktas said that there was not any change in passport implementation between Turkey and TRNC on the contrary to the claims of some press organs that there was a change in this implementation.
Denktas said that Turkish Cypriot citizens could enter Turkey with TRNC passports like before and added, ''the embassy made its statement on the issue on Monday. There is not any change.''
(EÖ-AÖ) 12.08.2003