Güzelyurt/Morphou Dispute

Akıncı responds to Anastasiadis’s remarks

President Mustafa Akıncı has said that no one should expect life in North Cyprus to be put on hold while seeking a settlement to the Cyprus Problem.

The President was responding to an earlier statement by the Greek Cypriot leader Nicos Anastasiadias that new investments in the Güzelyurt/Morphou area would bring the end of the current negotiations process.

He said that if the Greek Cypriots were looking for someone to blame then they should remember the 2004 referendum.

Speaking during an event yesterday, the President described the Greek Cypriot leader’s latest statement as untimely, drawing attention to the fact that the statements had been made at a time when the territory issue had not yet been discussed.

Reminding that agreement existed with his Greek Cypriot counterpart not to discuss names, percentages, maps, security and the issue of guarantees until the end of the current process, Akıncı said “this was a joint decision…this is something that had been agreed upon by the two sides within the framework of the negotiations process”.

Stating that it was not possible to accept negotiations on the territory chapter to be held through the media, President Akıncı said that he would give the same response to Anastasiadis at their next meeting should the Greek Cypriot Side bring up the issue again.

Pointing out that it was not his desire to enter a blame game but that he had felt obligated to speak up on the issue; Akıncı expressed the hope that their interlocutors display the same sensitivity on such issues in the future.

Also touching upon the three day visit to South Cyprus by the European Commissioner for the Euro and Social Dialogue Valdis Dombrovski, he said that the Turkish Cypriot people felt disappointed and aggrieved that the EU Commissioner had only made room in his schedule for a 15 minute courtesy visit to the TRNC.

“We want to have a close relationship with the EU…We see ourselves within the EU” said Akıncı adding that the Turkish Cypriot Side had felt hurt.

“We are talking about preparing for the EU and we’re talking about an EU Commissioner who is in charge of this. Even if Mr. Dombrovskis’s visit was preplanned he should have scheduled more time for the Turkish Cypriot community” he said.

Note:  Güzelyurt (Greek: Μorphou) is a town in the northwestern part of Cyprus, under the de facto control of Northern Cyprus. It is the administrative center of the Güzelyurt District of Northern Cyprus. Having been a predominantly Greek Cypriot community before the 1974 Turkish intervention in Cyprus, the town is now inhabited by Turkish Cypriots. With a population of 18,000 people, the town is famous for its apples, vegetables, grapefruit and melons, for which a large proportion of the citrus fruits are exported and the remainder are turned into fruit juice and canned for local consumption and export. Morphou is also famous for its annual Orange Festival, which is a major event lasting two weeks.

Source: BRT World News