Denktas: The New President Of N Cyprus Must Keep His Promise And Warmly Hug The Turks

LEFKOSA - President of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) has stated on Saturday that the new president of the TRNC must keep his promise and warmly hug the Turks.
Denktas indicated that his family and he will move to Girne during his retirement.
Denktas stressed that the Greek Cypriots want to be the sole owner of Cyprus. ''The only cure against such desires is the existence of the TRNC. We must continue discussions under the leadership of the United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan.''
President Denktas will end his active political life after the presidential elections in the TRNC on Sunday.
Denktas was born in Baf on January 27th, 1924. 18 month after his birth, he lost his mother. He was fostered by his father, grandparents and aunt.
He graduated from the English High School in Cyprus in 1942 after which he worked as a court clerk, interpreter, and teacher. In 1944 he went to Britain to study law and graduated from the Lincoln's Inn in 1947. That same year, he returned to Cyprus to start his own law practice.
After his return to Cyprus, Denktas met Dr. Fazil Kucuk. In 1948, he served as a member of the Consultative Assembly in search of self-government for Cyprus and became a member of the Turkish Affairs Committee. He was appointed as a prosecutor at the Attorney General's Office in 1949, a job he held until 1958.
After resigning from his government duties, Denktas started to play a more active role in the affairs of the Turkish community. He was elected as the chairman of the Federation of Turkish Cypriot Associations from 1949-1957. Meanwhile Denktas took interest in journalism and wrote many articles on the problems of the Turkish Cypriots on the island in the newspaper, Halkin Sesi, published by Dr. Fazil Kucuk. When the ENOSIS movement, trying to incorporate Cyprus to Greece, turned to terrorism and started to attack the Turkish Cypriot community, Denktas assumed a leading role in organizing the Turkish Cypriot resistance movement.
Denktas advised the Turkish Government on the rights of the Turkish Cypriot people during the preparation of the Zurich and London Agreements in 1958, which paved the way for the creation of a bi-communal partnership state after the British withdrawal in 1960. He was also the head of the Turkish Cypriot Delegation of the Constitutional Committee drafting the Cyprus Constitution.
With the establishment of the Republic of Cyprus in 1960, Denktas was elected as the President of the Turkish Communal Chamber. After the unconstitutional expulsion of the Turkish Cypriots from their public posts and the collapse of the partnership state in 1963, Denktas went to Ankara to continue with his struggle in consultation with the Turkish government. Since his entry to the island was prohibited by the Greek administration, he could only return in 1968 and took up duties as the vice President of the Republic of Cyprus and President of the Turkish Cypriot Administration.
Following the Greek coup in Cyprus on June 15th, 1974 and the landing of the Turkish troops on the island in July 1974, Denktas played a key role in the proclamation of the Turkish Federated State of Cyprus. He is the founder of the National Unity Party in 1975. In the presidential election of 1976 he was elected as the President of the Turkish Federated State of Cyprus and was re-elected for a second term in 1981. In 1983, President Denktas was the ''architect'' of the proclamation of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. He was elected as the President in 1985, 1990, 1995, and 2000. He has also been the chief negotiator in the U.N. sponsored peace talks since 1968.
President Denktas is married with two daughters and a son. He is fluent in English and Greek. He is a very keen photographer. His photographs have been exhibited in many parts of the world. He is the author of 46 books. He has been awarded honorary degrees by more than thirty universities.