Akıncı: “We are not responsible for not reaching a solution”

Speaking during the ceremony held in Lefkosa yesterday to mark the 43^rd anniversary of the 20^th of July Peace Operation, President Mustafa Akıncı said that the Turkish Cypriot side has made huge efforts from the beginning in order to reach a solution based on equality in Cyprus. Akıncı said, “Our vision for uniting Cyprus is very clear, we should be one of two equal partners”

Akıncı said that the Greek Cypriot side has a problem with sharing the recognised state which they have grasped for themselves since 1964, and that they have difficulties accepting the main principle of equality to find a solution.

Indicating that they are not responsible for not reaching a positive result in Crans-Montana, Akıncı said that although they give importance to the security issue in the efforts to find a solution, they believe this is not a threat for the other side, and added, “we cannot accept the notion of ‘0 troop and 0 guarantee’. Our proposal is to decrease the military presence gradually as the agreement is implemented and cooperation and confidence increase”.

He continued, “It is not fair for the Turkish Cypriot people to be living under embargoes due to the unwillingness of the Greek Cypriot side to find a solution. Turkey used her rights emanating from the 1960 agreements and intervened on 20 July 1974 preventing the unification of Cyprus and Greece”.

He also said that after the 20^th of July 1974, the principles of a bi-zonal, bi-communal structure were established, and that these main principles for a possible solution evolved with the summit agreements between Denktaş and Makarios and between Denktas and Kipranou in 1977 and 1979 respectively.

All efforts for finding a bi-zonal, bi-communal federal solution based on political equality since then have been unsuccessful, said Akıncı.

He stressed that they have made huge efforts for the last two years, both facilitating the presentation of maps by both sides for the first time in the history of the negotiations and also the convening of the 5-party conference. Akıncı added that the Turkish Cypriot side and Turkey have been the most determined parties to finding a solution in Cyprus.

He explained that they expected the Greek Cypriot side to give up on their demand of “0 troop and 0 guarantee”, and said, “however, the Greek Cypriot side has not abandoned the notion of ‘0 troop and 0 guarantee’ and could not demonstrate a logical and realistic understanding of the situation.”

Akıncı said, “Turkey and the Turkish Cypriot side had a great role in the convening of the Cyprus conferences last year in Mont Pelerin and this year in Geneva and Crans-Montana. The constructive and result-oriented attitude of the Turkish Cypriot side and Turkey was demonstrated in all these meetings to all the participants, mainly the UN. That is why we are not responsible for not reaching a positive conclusion; we really wanted to find a solution.”

Stressing the importance that equality, security and freedom had for a solution to be reached, Akıncı said that they wanted this for both communities, not just for the Turkish Cypriots, and that they always acted in order to guarantee that one side’s security doesn’t mean a threat for the other side. Akıncı continued, “Of course, we could not accept the notion of ’0 troop and 0 guarantee’. It was clear that what bothered the Greek Cypriot side the most was political equality rather than the security issue. The Greek Cypriot side does not want to share their powers with the Turkish Cypriots. Although we, the Turkish Cypriot side, showed our will to find a solution, made the necessary territorial arrangements as demanded by the UN Secretary-General, and showed flexibility on the issue of Turkey’s guarantee, unfortunately, the Greek Cypriot side did not show determination to find a solution”.

Akıncı also said that the Annan plan was sometimes on the agenda of the negotiations but that the Greek Cypriot side never took into consideration that the Annan plan also considered the sensitivities of the Turkish Cypriot side. Although the Greek Cypriots rejected the Annan plan in 2004, during the final phase of the negotiation process they demanded to keep some parts of the plan, which were favourable to them without taking into consideration the sensitivities of the Turkish Cypriot side.

He also stressed that during the two-years negotiation process, very important progress was made and said that if the Greek Cypriot side had shown a more realistic and reasonable approach in regards to the 8-10 most contested points, it would have been possible to reach an agreement in Cyprus.

Stating that one of the most contested issue was property, Akıncı said that the Greek Cypriot side insisted on some proposals that would have meant uncertainty and would have disturbed the Turkish Cypriot people, as well as on some arrangements that would have hurt our economy. He stressed that the Greek Cypriot side never wanted to understand that uncertainty on the property issue would make many people vote “no” in a referendum.

Furthermore, President Akıncı said that the Greek Cypriot side deliberately made false statements saying that Turkey and the Turkish Cypriot side had demanded the right of residence for 80 million Turks, and that this is not true.

He added that although it had been decided that small changes to the Customs Union Agreement would be enough, and the EU authorities said that would not be a problem during the Cyprus Conference, the Greek Cypriot side continued to exploit this issue.

Akıncı also referred to voices raised after the Cyprus Conference in Crans-Montana in the Greek Cypriot side calling for the Turkish Cypriot side to break relations with Turkey, Akıncı said that for the Turkish Cypriot side, being geographically close to Turkey has always been important and think that this is beneficial not only for Turkish Cypriots but also for Greek Cypriots. He said, “Unfortunately, the Greek Cypriot side never wanted an equal partnership in Cyprus, so they wanted to get rid of Turkey. They never wanted the Turkish Cypriot side’s status to be raised and they did their utmost to make the Turkish Cypriots live under embargoes. They want the Turkish Cypriots to break relations with Turkey, which is the country that opens its doors to the Turkish Cypriots. Is this reasonable?”

He also stressed it is not fair for Turkish Cypriots to continue to live under embargoes due to the Greek Cypriot side’s unwillingness to find a solution. Akıncı said, “As I have always said, we will continue our path, conscious of our responsibilities to build a future in peace. We want to live on this island in peace and cooperation. We will continue our evaluations together with Turkey. We will be realistic”.

At the end of his speech, Akıncı underlined that equality, freedom, and security will always be the Turkish Cypriot side’s essential principles and started the celebrations of the Peace and Freedom Day.