Denktas: Annan Plan Cannot Be Changed As Long As Greek Cypriots Are Accepted As Legitimate Government

LEFKOSA - Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Rauf Denktas said on Wednesday that he would be proud of himself until eternity for not falling into a trap by accepting Annan Plan and added that a change in the plan would not be possible as long as Greek Cypriot administration was accepted as legitimate government in the name of whole Cyprus.
Association of Cooperation and Solidarity for Turkish Refugees Chairman Enver Dincoglu paid a support visit to Denktas.
Denktas said that in no place of the world, an opposition party would leave aside the other parties and oppose the President as if he was a candidate during the elections. He added that he was representing the people while carrying on national case and if he went away, another person from the people who would carry on the case would come into rule.
Noting that opposition parties did not consider state important, Denktas said that if there was not a state and if Greek Cypriots gave Turkish Cypriots the right to open a party, it would be a party of a minority. He added that opposition parties were asking him why he formed a state and defended sovereignty and why he insisted on equality instead of asking Greek Cypriots why they were doing .
Denktas said that people had a big support to the national case and added that he believed that people would give the necessary lesson in the elections in December.
Denktas said, ''elections are an issue of rights and freedom. It will be an election between those who protect their rights and those who give up their rights, freedom, cause, state and Turkey. It will not be an election of parties. It will not be an election between those who want the European Union (EU) and those who did not want. It will not even be an election between those who accept Annan Plan and do not. It will be an election between those who claim the state and those who accept to be a minority among Greek Cypriots who did not have state. It is necessary to think everything very well.''
Recalling that Greece and Greek Cypriot administration supported the Annan plan that removed the Turkish Cypriot state and rights of Turkey on Cyprus, Denktas said that Greek Cypriot side and Greece targeted to reach their Enosis (union with Greece) goal indirectly through the EU and stated that when they reached this goal, a Greek Cypriot crowd would rush to places where Turkish Cypriots lived, and they would have the right to take back their former lands, and 100,000 Turkish Cypriot people would be turned into migrants. Because the properties of the Turkish Cypriots in the south of Cyprus were taken from them, they would be left to the EU winds without home and land.
Noting that he would be proud forever because he did not fall into a trap by not accepting Annan plan that removed the sovereignty of Turkish Cypriots and the rights of Turkey on Cyprus, Denktas said that voices coming from Turkey also said that Annan's plan could not be accepted.
When reminded the statement of Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Gul who said that ''the plan should be turned into a an acceptable plan by changing it'', Denktas said that the message given by Gul was that ''the plan could not be accepted''. He said, ''I did not accept this plan and I can't accept it. We exerted efforts for one year to change this plan and make it based on realities, but we failed. Because, its philosophy is similar to the philosophy of Greek Cypriot side. Its philosophy is to give Turkish Cypriot people some rights under the Greek Cypriot domination by constitutional changes. That's why, we failed to make them accept our proposals. That's why, it is impossible to make changes on this plan. It is possible only when big countries who told Greek Cypriots that they were the legitimate government and discriminated and acted unjustly against us for 40 years tell the truth to Greek Cypriots.''
Denktas said the solution of the problem was not possible unless it was accepted that Turkish Cypriots constituted one of the two peoples of the island and TRNC existed.
Stating that the statement of Greek Cypriot leader Tassos Papadopoulos who said that ''Denktas wanted two states and two votes in the EU'' was a lie, Denktas said, ''we have exerted our efforts to create an environment that would pave the way for the two states to set up a new partnership under new conditions and emerge as partners in the world. Two states still exist. The target is a politically united Cyprus with friendship and good neighborhood between them.''

DENKTAS SAYS THEY DO NOT KNOW ABOUT ANY SECRET AGREEMENT BETWEEN TURKEY AND THE UNITED STATES
Denktas told reporters, ''if Turkey and the United States are making secret things, I think they give information neither to me nor to newspapers. We have not seen such a secret report. We do not know. This is wrong because Ercan Airport is not being used.''
A newspaper in Turkey has been claiming for two days that Turkey and the United States have reached an agreement prior to Iraq operation and according to this agreement Ercan Airport is envisioned to be used in the operation. The newspaper claimed that the agreement was not put into effect as the motion was not adopted at Parliament on March 1.
Denktas also replied former British special representative to Cyprus Lord David Hannay who said, ''solution is not possible with Denktas.'' Denktas who resembled Hannay to an old British commonwealth governor who snobs all Cypriots said, ''Hannay is a diplomat who tried to carry on Cyprus issue according to interests of Britain. He accepted whatever Greek Cypriots wanted so that they would not intervene in British bases. And they gave us some shallow rights. He took (U.N. Secretary General's former Cyprus Special Representative Alvaro) De Soto under his influence and made a plan that was envisioned together by Greek Cypriots and Britons be accepted.''
Denktas said that Hannay did not take into consideration the rights, laws and fears of Turkish Cypriots at all, adding that he did not drag Turkish Cypriots into the trap prepared by Hannay. He said Hannay continued to blame them because they did not fall into the trap that Hannay prepared.
(GC-AÖ) 24.09.2003