LEFKOSA - Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Rauf Denktas asked on Wednesday the United States not to give TRNC ''leadership'' title fearing of the Greek Cypriots and the Greek lobby.
In a meeting, Denktas made harsh criticisms of U.S. State Department's Special Coordinator for Cyprus Thomas Weston and the U.S. administration.
TRNC President Denktas said that there was a state in TRNC and the state had a prime minister and asked the United States not to try to give TRNC ''leadership'' title fearing of the Greek Cypriots and the Greek lobby.
''We want the United States to stop acting like a cowboy, we want statesmanship,'' Denktas said.
Denktas noted that ''a United States, which had undertaken the role of cowboy in a world depending on a single power could cause uneasiness instead of bringing peace to the world.''
''Unfortunately, it will be left in the lurch since it wants to achieve its goals by pressure like it happened in Iraq,'' Denktas said.
Denktas said, ''Mr. Weston tried to appoint a sheriff here as cowboys save a place and appoint sheriff. He needed to give our prime minister leadership title in order not to address him as the prime minister.''
TRNC Prime Minister should continue his mission, making others accept his own title, Denktas pointed out.
Denktas called on the United States to see the realities and said that there was a republic in Cypus named TRNC.
This republic had a prime minister chosen by the TRNC people, Denktas stated.
Denktas pointed out that nobody could change the fact that there were two sovereign nations having self-determination right in Cyprus.
TRNC and Greek Cypriot side voted United Nations (UN) 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.
Thus, Annan plan was not put into practice in the island.
(BRC) 26.05.2004