TRNC News Today 13th September 2013
EROĞLU: “WE ARE STRONGLY AGAINST DOWNER’S CONVEYANCE OF VAROSHA ISSUE TO ANKARA”
TRNC President Dervis Eroğlu has said the Turkish Cypriot side is strongly against the UN Secretary-General’s Special Advisor on Cyprus Downer’s conveyance of the Varosha issue to Ankara.
Stating that the Greek Cypriot Leader Anastasiadis’s counterpart is himself, President Eroğlu said: “If Anastasiadis has a proposal, he brings it to the negotiation table and we discuss it. Behaving as if he does not have a counterpart here, using Downer as a postman and Downer’s acceptance of this case worry me”.
President Dervis Eroğlu made statements to the press at the reception he gave for the 18th term MPs.
In the statement he made to the press, Eroğlu stressed that the Turkish Cypriot side has the same idea with Turkey regarding the Varosha issue and recorded that any manner apart from that has not been up to now and he does not think it will be from now on.
The reception started with President Eroğlu and his wife welcoming the guests at 19.30pm in the Presidency garden. The reception was attended particularly by the Speaker of the Republic’s Assembly Sibel Siber, Prime Minister Ozkan Yorgancıoğlu and the new MPs who have taken office in the Republic Assembly in the new term.
Pointing out that a hard period has been gone through, President Eroğlu recorded that for the first time as the Presidency they gathered together the MPs who have taken office in the parliament in a social event.
Noting that a multi-party parliamentary system has been predominated since 1975 in the TRNC, President Eroğlu said that maturity period has been started between the parties from now on.
President Eroğlu stressed that there are duties not only for the President, but also for the politicians in a period when negotiations begin.
WE SHOULD ACTED WITH UNITY AND SOLIDARITY
Pointing out that if they acted with unity and solidarity, the Cyprus problem can be solved, President Eroğlu stressed that he will exchange ideas about Cyprus negotiations not only with the ruling parties, but also with the opposition parties.
Mentioning that he feels that a critical period is entered, Eroğlu said: “External intervention is starting to be talked about”.
Reminding that he met with the UN Secretary-General’s Special Advisor on Cyprus, Alexander Downer, President Eroğlu recorded that the Turkish Cypriot side is strongly against the UN Secretary-General’s Special Advisor on Cyprus Downer’s conveyance of the Varosha issue to Ankara.
Stating that if Anastasiadis has a proposal, he should present it to him, and he will evaluate the proposal with his team and government in the assembly and then he can give his response, President Eroğlu continued: “It is not possible to consider positively the UN representative who acts with an understanding as if the counterpart he would like to see at the negotiation table is Turkey. I warned him about this issue. Downer has not presented us any proposal, but he expressed that he will convey this issue to Ahmet Davutoglu today. We told him that it is wrong”.
WE HAVE COMMON OPINION WITH TURKEY ABOUT THE VAROSHA ISSUE
Emphasizing that when the territory issue will start to be discussed, Varosha will come on the agenda and the territory issue is the last one to be discussed, Eroğlu stated that when the territory issue will start to be discussed, the quartet or quintet meetings at which 3 guarantors and 2 sides shall attend will be held.
TERRITORY IS THE LAST ISSUE TO BE DISCUSSED
Pointing out that discomfort and economic collapse can come out if the territory issue is discussed before discussing the other issues, President Eroğlu stressed that in order not to cause these problems it was decided to discuss the territory issue at the end.
Indicating that Downer is expecting a gesture from Turkey, but the Turkish Cypriot side made the biggest gesture by voting ‘yes’ for the Annan Plan, Dervis Eroğlu said: “It is weird to expect a gesture from us, while a gesture is expected from them”.
ERTUĞ AND MAVROYANNIS MET AT BUFFER ZONE
President Dervis Eroglu’s Special Representative Osman Ertuğ and Greek Cypriot negotiator Andreas Mavroyannis met at the buffer zone yesterday. Ertuğ and Mavroyannis are preparing ground for the meeting planned to be held in October.
It was stated that the meeting was held in a very fruitful atmosphere under the auspices of the UN Secretary General’s Special Representative to Cyprus and Head of Mission, Lisa Buttenheim.
AUSTRALIAN SAVED
TRNC Coast Guard Command saved an Australian citizen who was in a boat with a British flag which was sinking 8 miles offshore at 
Kormacit.
According to the information given by the Coast Guard Command, upon the danger signal received by the Coast Guard Command Information Centre, The Australian was saved and handed to health teams in Girne port.
EXPERTS: “REINSTITUTION OF MARAS BEFORE A COMPREHENSIVE SETTLEMENT WILL COMPLICATE SOLUTION OF THE CYPRUS PROBLEM”
The National Existence Council-National Forces organized a conference on the closed city of Maras. The conference was held at the Youth Centre of the Cyprus TMT Fighters Association. Delivering an opening statement at the conference, the coordinator of the National Existence Council-National Forces Vedat Çelik said the reason behind the conference was to inform and raise public awareness regarding the closed city of Maras.
Noting that the Cyprus Turkish people and the state had suffered great injustices, Çelik said South Cyprus being recognized as the government of Cyprus is unacceptable.
Explaining that South Cyprus had the support of the world, Çelik said “even 
though we are right on subjects relating to property, politics and legality on the issue of Maras these issues are not put on the Cyprus negotiations table.’
The former President of the Supreme Court Taner Erginel, Vakif expert Mustafa Haşim Altan and Lawyer Ergin Ulunay all delivered speeches during the conference.
Ulunay said that it should be recorded at the negotiations that Maras is a Vakıf property and added that the issue could also be transferred to the European Court of Human Rights.
The former President of the Supreme Court, Taner Erginel, said that the great part of property in Maras belongs to Vakıf and its reinstitution before a comprehensive settlement will complicate solution of the Cyprus Problem. Evaluating the global exchange method under the property issue as the ‘best method’ at the negotiations Erginel indicated that the best practice for that was the agreement signed between Turkey and Greece in 1923.
Source : TRNC Public Information Office
