F.M. Denktas: The Cyprus Issue Should Have Still Been On Top Of Turkey's Agenda

ANKARA - Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Serdar Denktas of Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) has said, ''we have a period of 2.5-3 months at the most to turn the acceleration we acquired as a result of the referendums in Cyprus on April 24, 2004 into concrete consequences. The Cyprus issue should have still been on top of Turkey's agenda.''
Speaking at a meeting organized by Ankara's Gazi University International Relations Society, Denktas said on Wednesday, ''if we fail to come to some concrete results in the next three months, we will return to beginning point again.''
Noting that both Turkish and TRNC governments made some mistakes about the Cyprus issue in the last four decades, Denktas said, ''when the Greek Cypriot side applied to the European Union (EU) membership, Turkey and TRNC should have been more insistent that the application of the Greek Cypriot side was not legitimate at all.''
''Referendums in which United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan's plan was put to people's votes, have proved the fact to the whole world that Cyprus has two owners. Greek Cypriot people said that they did not want to form any partnership with Turkish Cypriots by voting 'no' in the referendum,'' he emphasized.
Denktas said that steps to be taken in the coming period about the Cyprus issue would be discussed in detail at a summit meeting in Ankara next week.
When asked to summarize the Cyprus issue in a sentence, Denktas said, ''the Cyprus issue is that two owners of the island could not share it.''
''Most of Turkish Cypriot people voted 'yes' in the referendum not because they certainly believed in the Annan Plan, but because they have been tired of international isolation,'' he said.
Highlighting importance of keeping empty the two seats at the European Parliament that belonged to Turkish Cypriot people, Denktas called on Turkey to launch immediate initiatives to this end.
When recalled that U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell addressed TRNC Prime Minister Mehmet Ali Talat as ''Mr. Prime Minister'' during his visit to Washington D.C., Denktas described those words a gesture.
''However, this gesture did not continue. The world has still been recognizing the Greek Cypriot side as representative of the whole island. They plan to create a new leader by leaving President Rauf Denktas aside,'' Denktas added.
(UK-AÖ) 12.05.2004