Denktas: We Won't Give Up Our State, Equality And Sovereignty

LEFKOSA - Rauf Denktas, the President of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) said on Sunday that Turkish Cypriots won't give up its state, equality and sovereignty and never accept Greek Cypriots as the legitimate government of the whole Cyprus.
Denktas said that he explained these facts with its reasons and documents to U.N. Secretary General.
Denktas said that he expects U.N. Secretary General to warn the U.N. Security Council about this issue, adding that Annan is the most objective U.N. Secretary General whom he worked together to date.
Speaking at Ercan Airport after returning back to TRNC, Denktas said that they had an assessment meeting about Cyprus issue in Paris and they saw that the information Annan has is within the framework of the information submitted to the U.N. Security Council by Cyprus Special Representative Alvaro De Soto and that he gave the necessary response to that on basis of realities.
''We've determined that there are great and deep differences of opinion between the two sides,'' Denktas said adding that the two sides have to be treated equally to overcome that.
Noting that it is not possible to forget the past, Denktas said that ''humanity can't forget incidents such as the Sept. 11 attacks. We can't forget the things done to us by Greek Cypriots. Even if we don't forget, we have made a great opening for peace by telling that we are ready to set up a new partnership, to form a new state with them. They must understand the value of that.''
Underlining the fact that he can't leave Turkish Cypriots alone with Greek Cypriots, Denktas said that ''a new state will be set up in Cyprus. The founders of this state are two equal and sovereign sides. This is the principle, if this is accepted, the remaining issues are only details.''
Denktas said that it is not possible to sort out the Cyprus problem without taking into consideration the vital interests of Turkey on Cyprus and the Turkish-Greek balance stemming from 1960 treaties. Denktas remarked that Turkish Cypriots continued to work with good will to date, adding that a result has not been taken due to the policies depended on the U.N. Security Council Resolutions which are not based on realistic approaches.
Denktas said Clerides told during the meeting in Paris that ''I don't have the intention to be the government of Turkish Cypriots. I don't have such a claim,' but he still has the claim of 'Cyprus government,' adding that ''if he is not our state, government, he must tell these realities to the whole world. He must help in the formation of a new agreement, new formation between two sovereign peoples. I hope we will focus on the method of overcoming the difficulties in our meetings with De Soto in the coming 3-4 weeks.''
Denktas stressed that he is pleased with the contacts in Paris and that he is hopeful about the future. ''You must all know that we won't return back to the period of 1963, 1974. We will continue to work. We'll see if we can record progress until we meet with U.N. Secretary General in October or will they again tell us the story that 'the Turkish Cypriot side does not still recognize the Cyprus government, the single state, the single sovereignty.''
When asked his view about the statement of Greek Cypriot leader Glafcos Clerides who said that ''U.N. Secretary General can submit a new document if no compromise is reached between the two sides,'' Denktas said that ''I don't think that the Secretary General will do such a thing as he knows all the incidents and realities. The matter is simple, we also told this to him: they should diagnose the matter and we will sort it according to that.''
Upon another question, Denktas said that he will call the parliament to a meeting after examining the programme of De Soto.

RELATIONS BETWEEN GREEK CYPRIOT SIDE AND GREECE DEEPEN

ANKARA - While the negotiations between the Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot side in Cyprus continue, the deepening of the relations between the Greek Cypriot side and Greece which speeded up with the EU membership process of the Greek Cypriot side, continues.
Diplomatic sources said on Sunday that the policy of ''Greek Cypriot administration takes decisions and Greece supports them,'' which was seen in the last ten years, has recently changed into the policy of ''Greek Cypriot administration and Greece take decisions together and implement them together.''
Defense field constitutes an important dimension of the deepening of the relations between Greece and Greek Cypriot administration. Developments such as giving the air base in Pafos - Papandreou air base - to the use of Greece, the purchase of the S-300 missiles which drifted Turkey and Greece to crisis, the building of the Zigi naval base are the evidences of the Joint Defense Doctrine which was started to be implemented in 1993.
It is also known that the Greek Cypriot side bought 12 MG-35 attack helicopters from Russia within the framework of the same doctrine. Diplomatic sources say that keeping attack helicopters on the island is against international agreements.
The close relations between Greece and the Greek Cypriot side are not only limited to military field. The Greek Cypriot side carries out negotiations with concerned countries in cooperation with Greece about the project of bringing Egyptian and Syrian natural gas and oil to Lebanon with pipelines and then to Greek Cypriot side by pipelines or tankers from Lebanon.
Greece and the Greek Cypriot side which also decided to have economic cooperation in the Balkans, plan to allocate 278 million Euro to implement their common decision to regulate transfer of economic source, technical information, humanitarian and development aid to third countries which need urgent aid.
Greece and the Greek Cypriot side also make cooperation in other fields such as the joint committee founded between the two health ministries on May 22, 2002 to monitor the developments in health systems, the common activity programme signed on July 9, 2002 in agricultural field, the agreement signed with a French company to serve the needs of Greece and the Greek Cypriot side for launching of the first Greek satellite Hellas-Sat in March 2003.
The exports from Greece to Greek Cypriot side increased by 50 percent in the last four years. Greek Cypriot side earlier announced that exports of local products to Greece increased by 65 percent.
The improvement of the relations between Greek Cypriot side and Greece can be seen in the following developments:
-Greek Deputy Foreign Minister and Greek Cypriot Administration's Transportation and Public Works Minister decided to establish a committee to protect cultural heritage between Greek Cypriot side and Greece on May 24, 2002.
-Joint assessment committee studies under ''Aegean, Thrace and Cyprus Programme'' which was realized within the framework of culture and economy doctrine which Greece and Greek Cypriot Adminstration announced in 1995 continue. Meanwhile cooperation and joint activities in environment and culture fields also continue.
-Greek officials still discuss the issue of giving citizenship to Russian, Ukrainian and Georgian people who live in Greek Cypriot side upon their demand to be Greek citizens. If those people are given Greek citizenship, the issue of giving so-called ''Cyprus'' citizenship to Greek people who live in Greek Cypriot Administration can also come to the agenda.
Meanwhile 40,000 Greek Cypriots living in Greece have also acquired Greek citizenship in the last years within the scope of dual citizenship.