HURRIYET- Columnist Oktay Eksi comments on Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Rauf Denktas’ view of UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s Cyprus proposal. A summary of his column is as follows:
Appearing on television, Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Rauf Denktas finally said, ‘If Ankara puts pressure on me to sign [UN Secretary-General Annan’s] proposal, I would step down. I wouldn’t sign it, they’d have to find someone else.’ Perhaps Denktas is now experiencing the most difficult days in his struggle to ‘provide Turkish Cypriots the chance to live freely in their national identity.’ If the people call upon a leader who had reached the stage of establishing an independent state from a society that was about to lose its national identity to then resign, he would feel betrayed. Is Denktas being called on to resign because he has lost his ability to negotiate? Or due to a change in his beliefs of 40 years standing? No, neither of these. It’s interesting that the people calling on him to resign are those who are looking after their own interests and those who would like to serve the Greek Cypriot administration. Is this the first time that people seeking Denktas’s resignation have seen him calling for recognition of the Turkish Cypriots’ right to sovereignty? If they knew this before, why do they oppose him when he says, ‘As long as our right to sovereignty isn’t recognized, I won’t sign Annan’s proposal’? Denktas might resign. Then those who replace him can put their own signatures to Annan’s plan. This way the people would be very pleased at the prospect of shortly becoming a European Union member with the Greek Cypriots and an improved economy. Of course there are those who curse Denktas. However, they would understand their mistake in 10 years’ time. Because then they would remember that they are Turks, but by then it would be too late. If Denktas is still around at that time, how could they go and apologize to him? If he has already passed away, how could they erect a statue honoring him?

SOURCE: OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER, DIRECTORATE GENERAL OF PRESS AND INFORMATION