Yıldırım: “The solution should be fair, based on bi-zonality and meet the expectations of both sides”
30 January, 2017Akıncı: “I am responsible for two things: my conscience and my people”
30 January, 2017
The Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister, Serdar Denktaş, has said that the Turkish Cypriot people lay claim to the TRNC for themselves and do not aim to become a province of Turkey or Southern Cyprus.
Speaking at a panel event titled “The Cyprus Issue and the latest developments in the Negotiations”, organized by the Ankara Forum Association, Deputy Prime Minister Denktaş said that the TRNC is very often confronted with the rhetoric of becoming the 82nd province of Turkey. He said that if the same rhetoric had come to light in 1974, 99, 8% of Turkish Cypriot people might have said “yes”, but today, this is out of question.
Denktaş added: “I have been advocating an agreement with the Greek Cypriot side. I have no intention of joining with the Greek Cypriots in any way. Likewise, it cannot be the right approach to abolish the TRNC and become a province of Turkey. I lay claim to my state because it is necessary for the continuation of the Turkish Cypriot identity. That is why the independent state should continue to exist. I do not aim for the TRNC to become a province of Turkey or Southern Cyprus. However, our bilateral relationship with Turkey should come to a much better point.”
Pointing out that the Turkish Cypriots have spent the last 50 years living in uncertainty due to the non-solution of the Cyprus Problem, Denktaş said that no one had the right to sentence the Turkish Cypriots to live under such conditions. If the current talks are to be unsuccessful, and it seems that they will be, this negotiation process must end, he added. He stressed that the Turkish Cypriots must have a clearer picture for the future, and that Turkish Cypriots no longer want to live in isolation or uncertainty.
Denktaş pointed out that the 3rd party countries could pressurise the sides into holding a referendum. Denktaş stated that the Turkish side would say ‘no’ in this condition. “The issue of guarantees is one of the most sensitive and uncompromising issues for the Turkish Cypriot people. While military presence is the greatest power for us, our people’s response to this concession will be ‘no’. “