TRNC PRESIDENT: ''I HOPE OUR PEOPLE BEGIN TO SEE THE CALAMITY LYING BEHIND THE CURTAINS WHICH GRADUALLY OPEN''

LEFKOSA - President Rauf Denktas of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) said on Monday that people should see the facts from now on and think again against the statements of former Greek Cypriot leader Glafcos Clerides that they sat at negotiation table for tactics and that the tactic they covered on Cyprus issue brought them the European Union (EU) membership. Denktas said, ''the desire to sell this country for money continues. Our people should be extremely careful.''
Denktas said statements of Clerides showed that the concessions made by the Turkish side to reach a compromise did not have any value.
Denktas received Canadian Deputy Foreign Minister Paul Dubois and an accompanying delegation and met with them for more than an hour.
Following the meeting, Denktas responded the statements of former Greek Cypriot leader Clerides that they reached EU membership target by not accepting anything, and without making any concession in Cyprus negotiations. Clerides said they covered a tactic that put the blame on the Turkish Cypriot side for failure to reach an agreement. Statements of Clerides were published in Greek Cypriot media on Sunday.
Calling on the people to evaluate statements of Clerides well, Denktas wanted opposition parties to react against the statements of Clerides in which he said they entered the EU.
''This is the time to shout,'' Denktas said, stressing that Greek Cypriot side could not bring Cyprus to EU by themselves according to 1960 international agreements.
Stating that Greek Cypriot side said that they joined the EU by what they did so far with their tactic, he said that opposition should say that Greek Cypriot side could not take Cyprus, because it could not represent Cyprus only by itself. Denktas said that Clerides gave all of them the opportunity and stated that they should say that the Greek Cypriot side was not legal Cyprus government and their application was invalid.
Denktas said that activities which were carried out in favor of Annan's plan and against those who defended the state in Turkish side encouraged Greek Cypriots.
Stating that Clerides reiterated the statement which he said in Glion in 1997, Denktas recalled, ''a Greek Cypriot journalist said during meetings in Glion that whether or not they made concession to Turkish Cypriot people, Clerides said that they sit at the table to carry out their tactic and the tactic was to show Turkish Cypriot side as if it assumed an uncompromising attitude and stated that it has been a very successful tactic so far. Clerides added that they will continue their tactic.''
Denktas said that Clerides said now that they reached their target to be a member of EU by not accepting anything in negotiations and by not making any concession and they put into practice their tactic which aimed to show as if Turkish Cypriot side were the intransigent side.
''It is a gaffe, which can be committed only by those who are totally sure of themselves. However, there is not any reason to be so sure. Because, the Turkish Cypriots will never give up their state, equal sovereignty, and Turkey's de facto and influential guarantee. We accepted all demands of the Greek Cypriot side during the Cyprus talks between 1968 and 1974; however, we did not make any concessions from the status of founder partnership and Turkey's guarantee. The Greek Cypriot side did not accept it since they sat at the negotiation table for tactical purposes,'' he said.
He kept on saying, ''in fact, the real goal of the Greek Cypriot side is to destroy our equal sovereignty and status of founder partnership. They also aim at eradicating Turkey's guarantee. They are planning to make Turkish Cypriots migrants again and leave them stateless by sending Greek Cypriot migrants back to northern part of the island.''
''We experienced the Crete event in the past. Now, Akritas plan has been carried to the international platforms. As Clerides confessed earlier, some changes were made in the plan of United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan in line with demands of the Greek Cypriot side,'' he said.
President Denktas noted, ''those who say, 'we want peace', should assess all these once again. If the EU norms are implemented in a Cyprus of single nation, our rights can be destroyed easily.''
''Greek Cypriot leader Tassos Papadopoulos said earlier, 'if Denktas had signed the plan, I would have not signed it.' When we were in The Hague, I said that Papadopoulos would not sign the plan. However, I was accused of not signing the plan instead of him,'' he noted.
Noting that opposition gave wrong messages to outside, Denktas said that it was time to think, adding that people started to see hidden disasters and tricks.
When asked his evaluations about Greek Cypriot leaders' confessions about Cyprus issue in recent days, Denktas said, ''they are very sure about themselves. Because they see that they have the full support of opposition. They will wake up when they see who will follow the opposition. But now, what they believe is that they have this support and they can clearly say this.''
Noting that opposition parties were very close with Greek Cypriots, Denktas said that opposition made blunders very much. He added that he was getting more uneasy about the games that were played.
(AY-EÖ-UK-GC-AÖ) 01.12.2003