LEFKOSA - Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Rauf Denktas said on Thursday that they wanted an agreement based on grounds ensured in 1974, their sovereignty, equality and state.
A ceremony to commemorate martyrs of Taskent was held on the second day of the celebrations to mark 28th anniversary of the second stage of Cyprus Peace Operation.
Denktas, who opened Taskent Martyrs Museum, said that they knew that freedom could not be easily acquired and noted, ''you either surrender or you gain your freedom by saying that you will pay the price of it.''
Turkish Cypriots resisted to Greek Cypriot people who got armed secretly in order to turn the partnership republic into a Greek Cypriot republic, Denktas stated.
Denktas stressed that Turkish Cypriots did not yield to the Greek Cypriots and protected their rights even under the most difficult conditions.
Stressing that they wanted an agreement based on the ground ensured in 1974, their sovereignty, equality and state, Denktas said that agreement was dependent on the behaviors of the Greek Cypriots.
Denktas pointed out that for an agreement which would not be damaged by Byzantine intrigues, they wanted to put a strong ground for a state, sovereignty and territory under 1960 agreements.
Denktas also referred to the initiative of certain non-governmental organizations which started a signature campaign under the name of Common Vision to announce what kind of peace they want in Cyprus.
Denktas said that he would meet with U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan on Sept. 6 with a great deal of signatures collected to support him.
''They have collected a great deal of signatures, when you read them, you see that there is nothing in them. The thing they want is not clear. They say they want peace and EU. Is there anybody who does not want peace? All of my people want peace. But the basis of this peace will be the thing created by those people lying in these mass graves with their blood and life. The basis will be sovereignty. If this is the case, the people will sleep in peace here and we can leave a sound future and lasting peace to our children.''
''However, there are certain groups within us saying that 'Denktas does not represent Turkish Cypriot while we try to defend the right of our people on the negotiation table and the principles of that cause which we adopted together with the motherland Turkey. Because an EU representative called Madam Fogg ordered the journalists whom she supported by paying money and the agents she trained in Turkey to write that Denktas does not represent Turkish Cypriots,'' said Denktas.
Denktas said that if two sovereign states reach an agreement and set up a partnership, they can join the EU on condition that Turkey's rights on the island are protected, its consent is taken, and if Turkey's accession to EU is also kept on the very agenda. ''If Turkey wants that, this can come true. If not, we don't have the right to end the basic right of Turkey, to disturb the Turkish-Greek balance by only thinking about EU membership and its advantages. If Greek Cypriots spoil the Turkish-Greek balance in Cyprus and if we get on the EU train only thinking of EU, this will be very bad for us.''
Denktas said that the people are tried to be deceived by EU membership, adding that the Greek Cypriots applied to the EU not due to economic reasons, but due to do the ambitions they could not achieve with weapons and embargoes.