All Changes To Annan Plan Regard Rights And Interests Of Turkey And T.R.N.C.

ANKARA - All changes to the annex of the United Nations (U.N.) Secretary General Kofi Annan's plan for a comprehensive settlement of the Cyprus problem regarded rights and interests of both Turkey and Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) in the Mediterranean, Turkish Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday.
A statement of Turkish Foreign Ministry said that the Ministry and concerned institutions closely monitored issues mentioned in the annex of the Annan plan, especially the federal laws of the United Cyprus Republic ''on the maritime and shipping'' since the preparation phase of the plan.
The statement noted that the Ministry exerted efforts to reach a conclusion on those federal laws in line with its views.
Those laws authorized the Parliament of the United Cyprus Republic to decide on establishment of economic zones, the statement said.
The statement pointed out that economic zones could be established after the United Cyprus Republic signed some restrictive agreements with its neighbor countries in line with international law.
Touching on issue of territorial shelf, Turkish Foreign Ministry said, ''the federal law regarding the continental shelf of Cyprus says that the provisions of this law are applicable only on submarine areas where the continental shelf of Cyprus is delimited by agreement or those uncontested areas adjacent to the coast of Cyprus beyond the territorial waters on the basis of depth of exploitability. All these changes are changes which regard rights and interests of Turkey and Turkish Cypriot side in the Mediterranean.''
The U.N. resolution no 47 authorized the concerned ministry of the federal government to allow the transition of war ships through territorial waters of Cyprus, the statement noted.
The statement said that Turkey had objected to that permit which was against international law from the outset.
Turkey had drawn attention of the U.N. to that issue in written, the statement pointed out.
The statement said that it was stated that not only Turkey but any other country would not be subject to that permit.
In its statement, the Ministry recalled that ''undangerous transition from territorial waters was a right used by all countries without any need for a special permit under international law.''
The second article of the mentioned law made ''the permit of the minister'' invalid, the statement emphasized.
The statement recalled that the second article said that ''if the provisions of the mentioned law contradicted U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea, provisions of the mentioned convention would be valid.''
The United Cyprus Republic would be a side to that convention, the statement noted.
The statement added that therefore, not only war ships but also merchant ships would continue to use their rights to undangerous transit through territorial waters of Cyprus without any need for permit.
(BRC) 21.04.2004