ISTANBUL - Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) Secretary General Abdelouahed Belkeziz said on Monday that initiatives should be launched to end international isolation against Turkish Cypriot side.
Speaking at the 31st session of Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers in Istanbul, Belkeziz said, ''the Turkish Cypriot side has voted in favor of the international plan while the Greek Cypriot side has rejected it, thus positioning the Turkish Cypriots on the side of international legitimacy and opening the door to ending their international isolation, with both the European Union (EU) and the United States, starting a promising cooperation with Turkish Cypriots including providing them with assistance of various forms.''
''It is particularly gratifying for me to congratulate the Turkish side on this diplomatic position which will enable it to win greater international sympathy. Just a few days ago, I carried out a visit to Cyprus where I held useful talks with the leaders of the Turkish side on what should be done to take advantage of this international detente in their favor and win them even greater support to guarantee their legitimate rights as a fundamental component of the Cypriot people represented by the Turkish Cypriot state. Therefore, I would call upon the member states to bear these recent developments in mind and take appropriate measures thereon,'' he said.
Referring to last year's meeting between the Islamic countries and the EU, Belkeziz said, ''next autumn, Istanbul will be the venue for a ministerial conference of the official representatives of the Islamic world who will be meeting their EU counterparts. This is the second such meeting with the EU and comes as the fruition of the worthy and wise efforts graciously deployed by the Turkish government towards building bridges of understanding, rapprochement, cooperation and dialogue between the Islamic and Western worlds in consecration of the ideas of dialogue among civilizations transmuted from an intellectual exchange to a political interaction. That will be an opportunity to coordinate views and directions on major international issues and common causes. We look forward to the Turkish leadership of joint Islamic action in the next twelve months.''
''As the political situation in the Islamic world today represents a depressing, disturbing reality. What is taking place in Iraq, in Palestine and elsewhere calls for urgent action and international initiatives to defend our just Islamic causes. Our top priority should be to take immediate and effective initiatives to support the Iraqi people so that the transfer of power and sovereignty to the Iraqi interim government in about two week's time can secure for the Iraqi people tight, full and true control over their territories, just like any independent, sovereign state,'' he said.
Belkeziz noted, ''Palestine has been the scene of successive crises arising from the Israeli prevarication designed to stall the peace process and thwart the many proposed plans and initiatives by means of well-known political maneuvers coupled with the escalation of tensions through military practices that fall within war crimes or state terrorism.''
''We must express our rejection of the unjustified threats and sanctions and the false accusations directed against Syria and Lebanon while proclaiming our full solidarity with these brotherly countries,'' he said.
Belkeziz stressed, ''we hope that the notable improvement in Pakistani-Indian relations in recent weeks and the expected continuation of this improvement with the advent of the new Indian government will be conductive to finding a suitable solution to the issue of self-determination in Jammu and Kashmir.''
Referring to the Upper-Karabakh dispute, Belkeziz said, ''I must reaffirm the solidarity of the OIC with Azerbaijan on recovering its territories occupied by Armenia.''
Referring to role of women, Belkeziz said, ''many of problems of Muslims today arise from the marginalization of women which itself the consequence of the survivals of misguided thinking patterns that have fossilized through obsolescent yet dying customs and traditions. Yet, it is imperative that we should give high priority to this issue which affects half of our society and negatively impacts on the future of upcoming generations who are raised by women. Accordingly our aim should be to guarantee women's full intellectual and marital rights and needs in order to empower them to accede to the standing reserved to them by Islam on a par of full equality with men. The tenth session of the Islamic Summit Conference accorded particular attention to the issues of women, children and the family. Child scheduled to be held later this year in collaboration between ISESCO and UNICEF.''
(UK-AÖ) 14.06.2004