ANKARA - Turkey, which has set its priority as lifting of embargoes imposed on Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) after Saturday's simultaneous referenda in the island, continued its diplomatic initiatives, Turkish diplomatic sources said on Tuesday.
Turkish Foreign Ministry, which had briefed ambassadors of European Union (EU) and United Nations (U.N.) Security Council member countries to Turkey on the Cyprus issue on Monday, informed members of Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) about the recent developments in Cyprus on Tuesday.
Turkish Foreign Ministry Deputy Undersecretary Baki Ilkin briefed OIC representatives about the situation in Cyprus and asked the Islam countries to lift embargoes imposed on TRNC and do their best to revive TRNC's economy.
Diplomatic sources stated that Islam countries were saying that they could start exports to TRNC or send their ships to TRNC ports.
Ankara will also brief ambassadors of several countries on Tuesday which do not have any links with international organizations like EU, U.N. or OIC and give them the same messages. The countries include Japan, Australia, Latin American countries, Norway and Switzerland.
Diplomatic sources drew attention that embargoes on TRNC continued in accordance with the resolution taken by the European Court of Justice.
The same sources noted that there was need for a new resolution of the European Court of Justice to lift the embargoes legally.
The diplomatic sources pointed to difficulty in European Court of Justice's taking such a new resolution and stressed that therefore, embargoes should be actually lifted.
The Greek Cypriot side had ensured EU member countries to impose embargo on TRNC products at the beginning of 1990s. The process launched against TRNC products by the Greek Cypriot side in the British Supreme Court was then carried to European Court of Justice, the judicial organ of the EU. And, the resolution that the European Court of Justice took on July 5, 1994 against Turkish Cypriot side laid the legal ground for the embargoes imposed on TRNC.
The resolution of the European Court of Justice foresees that export documents given by the Turkish Cypriot authorities should be considered invalid since TRNC is not officially recognized by the EU.
On the other hand, diplomatic sources stated that embargoes imposed on TRNC did nothing to do with the U.N. resolutions on Cyprus.
U.N. Security Council resolution no 541 passed on April 18, 1983, three days after TRNC was founded, condemned TRNC's foundation and called on all countries not to recognize any Cypriot state other than the ''Republic of Cyprus.''
The resolution expressed concern over unilateral declaration of TRNC and stated that this move was incompatible with the treaties signed in 1960 concerning the establishment of the ''Republic of Cyprus.''
The U.N. resolution said that ''this attempt should be considered invalid and the mentioned attempt would create a worse situation in the island.''
The resolution stressed the support extended to the U.N. Peace Force in Cyprus.
The nine-article U.N. resolution was adopted with 13 to 1 votes. Pakistan cast a negative vote while Jordan abstained in the voting.
The first article of the resolution deplored ''the separatist formation of Turkish Cypriots'' while the second article considered the declaration as legally invalid and called for its withdrawal.
The sixth and seventh articles of the resolution wanted the island to be turned into its old status and called on all states to ''respect the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of the Republic of Cyprus and not to recognize any Cypriot state other than the Republic of Cyprus.''
The U.N. resolution no 550 adopted on May 11, 1984 expressed ''grave concern about the further secessionist acts in the occupied part of the Republic of Cyprus.'' This resolution listed ''the purported exchange of ambassadors between Turkey and the legally invalid TRNC and the contemplated holding of a constitutional referendum and elections' as such acts.
The 11-article resolution expressed deep regret over the non-implementation of the resolution no 541 and called upon all states ''to respect the sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity, unity and non-alignment of the Republic of Cyprus.''
Pakistan again cast a negative vote to the resolution while the United States abstained in the vote. The resolution was adopted by 13 to 1 votes.
The resolution called on all the states ''not to recognize TRNC and not to facilitate or in any way assist it.''
Meanwhile, Ankara expects that the Cyprus regulations expected to be taken up in the EU on Wednesday should be changed in line with demands of the Turkish Cypriot side.
Diplomatic sources think that the regulations will definitely be changed, adding that what was important is the extent and way of the changes.
TRNC and Greek Cypriot side voted U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan's plan for a comprehensive settlement of the Cyprus problem in simultaneous referenda held on April 24.
Sixty-five percent of Turkish Cypriots voted ''yes'' to the Annan plan while 35.09 percent voted against the plan in the simultaneous referenda. A total of 75.83 percent of the Greek Cypriots said ''no'' to the plan while 24.17 of them voted ''yes.''
The rate of participation in the referendum was 84.35 in TRNC and 96.53 percent in the Greek Cypriot side.
(BRC-AY) 27.04.2004
ANKARA - Turkey, which has set its priority as lifting of embargoes imposed on Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) after Saturday's simultaneous referenda in the island, continued its diplomatic initiatives, Turkish diplomatic sources said on Tuesday.
Turkish Foreign Ministry, which had briefed ambassadors of European Union (EU) and United Nations (U.N.) Security Council member countries to Turkey on the Cyprus issue on Monday, informed members of Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) about the recent developments in Cyprus on Tuesday.
Turkish Foreign Ministry Deputy Undersecretary Baki Ilkin briefed OIC representatives about the situation in Cyprus and asked the Islam countries to lift embargoes imposed on TRNC and do their best to revive TRNC's economy.
Diplomatic sources stated that Islam countries were saying that they could start exports to TRNC or send their ships to TRNC ports.
Ankara will also brief ambassadors of several countries on Tuesday which do not have any links with international organizations like EU, U.N. or OIC and give them the same messages. The countries include Japan, Australia, Latin American countries, Norway and Switzerland.
Diplomatic sources drew attention that embargoes on TRNC continued in accordance with the resolution taken by the European Court of Justice.
The same sources noted that there was need for a new resolution of the European Court of Justice to lift the embargoes legally.
The diplomatic sources pointed to difficulty in European Court of Justice's taking such a new resolution and stressed that therefore, embargoes should be actually lifted.
The Greek Cypriot side had ensured EU member countries to impose embargo on TRNC products at the beginning of 1990s. The process launched against TRNC products by the Greek Cypriot side in the British Supreme Court was then carried to European Court of Justice, the judicial organ of the EU. And, the resolution that the European Court of Justice took on July 5, 1994 against Turkish Cypriot side laid the legal ground for the embargoes imposed on TRNC.
The resolution of the European Court of Justice foresees that export documents given by the Turkish Cypriot authorities should be considered invalid since TRNC is not officially recognized by the EU.
On the other hand, diplomatic sources stated that embargoes imposed on TRNC did nothing to do with the U.N. resolutions on Cyprus.
U.N. Security Council resolution no 541 passed on April 18, 1983, three days after TRNC was founded, condemned TRNC's foundation and called on all countries not to recognize any Cypriot state other than the ''Republic of Cyprus.''
The resolution expressed concern over unilateral declaration of TRNC and stated that this move was incompatible with the treaties signed in 1960 concerning the establishment of the ''Republic of Cyprus.''
The U.N. resolution said that ''this attempt should be considered invalid and the mentioned attempt would create a worse situation in the island.''
The resolution stressed the support extended to the U.N. Peace Force in Cyprus.
The nine-article U.N. resolution was adopted with 13 to 1 votes. Pakistan cast a negative vote while Jordan abstained in the voting.
The first article of the resolution deplored ''the separatist formation of Turkish Cypriots'' while the second article considered the declaration as legally invalid and called for its withdrawal.
The sixth and seventh articles of the resolution wanted the island to be turned into its old status and called on all states to ''respect the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of the Republic of Cyprus and not to recognize any Cypriot state other than the Republic of Cyprus.''
The U.N. resolution no 550 adopted on May 11, 1984 expressed ''grave concern about the further secessionist acts in the occupied part of the Republic of Cyprus.'' This resolution listed ''the purported exchange of ambassadors between Turkey and the legally invalid TRNC and the contemplated holding of a constitutional referendum and elections' as such acts.
The 11-article resolution expressed deep regret over the non-implementation of the resolution no 541 and called upon all states ''to respect the sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity, unity and non-alignment of the Republic of Cyprus.''
Pakistan again cast a negative vote to the resolution while the United States abstained in the vote. The resolution was adopted by 13 to 1 votes.
The resolution called on all the states ''not to recognize TRNC and not to facilitate or in any way assist it.''
Meanwhile, Ankara expects that the Cyprus regulations expected to be taken up in the EU on Wednesday should be changed in line with demands of the Turkish Cypriot side.
Diplomatic sources think that the regulations will definitely be changed, adding that what was important is the extent and way of the changes.
TRNC and Greek Cypriot side voted U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan's plan for a comprehensive settlement of the Cyprus problem in simultaneous referenda held on April 24.
Sixty-five percent of Turkish Cypriots voted ''yes'' to the Annan plan while 35.09 percent voted against the plan in the simultaneous referenda. A total of 75.83 percent of the Greek Cypriots said ''no'' to the plan while 24.17 of them voted ''yes.''
The rate of participation in the referendum was 84.35 in TRNC and 96.53 percent in the Greek Cypriot side.
(BRC-AY) 27.04.2004