ISTANBUL - Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said that he believed Turkish Cypriot people would be no more exposed to isolation policies of the international community.
Speaking to reporters in Istanbul on results of the synchronous referenda in Cyprus on Saturday, Erdogan said that as a guarantor state, Turkey had displayed its good will in international diplomacy.
Stressing that Turkey had proven that it was a country which had always shown positive attitude at the table and sought solution, Erdogan said, ''now nobody has the right to show a negative approach towards Turkey. And the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus people has shared the political will in Turkey and displayed their attitude together with this political will.''
''What will be the next process? It should be very clearly put forward that also other guarantor state Greece has shown its good will since the beginning and said, 'I want to contribute to good will'. However, the democratic will in southern Cyprus has brought about a different result,'' he said.
Noting that European Union (EU) member countries, the United States, friendly countries and U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan had personally witnessed Turkey's good will, Erdogan said, ''so fat they have seen our good will regarding the Cyprus issue which has been a de facto situation on EU path. This de facto situation has been removed. The Turkish side has always sought solution.''
''Everybody knows about our stance which will continue in the same way. This result was not the result that the international community expected, of course. However, respecting people's will is an indispensable principle of democracies. I believe that isolation policies imposed on Turkish Cypriots have ended as of today. It is the thing I want to underline. I believe that Turkish Cypriots will be no more exposed to isolation policies of the international community,'' he said.
''What should be done? I believe that the world will embrace the Turkish Cypriots whom it has isolated for years. I think that it should make it by sharing whatever necessary at point of human rights, supremacy of law, education, art, history and tourism;'' Erdogan noted.
(MS) 24.04.2004