TRNC News 12.7.2017 Akıncı: "not right to say solution not reached due to security and guarantees issues"

Akıncı: “It is not right to say that a solution was not reached due to security and guarantees issues”

In a speech during an event, President Mustafa Akıncı said that the claim that a solution could not be reached due to the security and guarantees issue is fundamentally untrue.

He said that the parties clarified the reasons why the Cyprus negotiations were left unresolved in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, yet he thinks these reasons should be also clarified by the UN Secretary-General.

Akıncı said, “Both the Turkish Cypriot side and the Republic of Turkey have shown more than enough flexibility to achieve a solution in this process”.

Stressing that they will not spend 50 more years trying to solve the Cyprus problem, Akıncı said that he had expressed several times that the conference had to be a decision conference, but that if the Greek Cypriot side only came to the conference “to produce a slogan”, then there is nothing to be done.

Akıncı added, “Zero troops and zero guarantees has become a slogan”, and emphasized that the Turkish Cypriot side and Turkey have shown more than enough flexibility in the negotiations, and it is time for the Greek Cypriot side to abandon the ‘zero troops and zero guarantees’ approach.

Akıncı criticised Greece and the Greek Cypriot side for refusing to negotiate when Turkey and the Turkish Cypriot side were being flexible and taking steps forward. He said, “They chose to accept the presence of 40 thousand troops rather than only a group of a few hundred soldiers. This is the result”.

Reminding that he had run for office with the promise of working for a bi-zonal, bi-communal federal settlement, Akıncı said that this did not mean that he would accept any settlement at any cost. He said, “I will not sign an agreement that will push our people into uncertainty”.

The President also explained that the UN Secretary-General had come up with criteria to discuss property that would have worked in favour of both sides and that they had accepted it, but added that he could not approve a plan that would push the Turkish Cypriots into uncertainty.

Also referring to the issue of territory, the President said that despite all the sensitivities on the matter, the Turkish Cypriot side, in agreement with Turkey, had taken a step forward on this regard based on the map that they had presented earlier.

Finally, he stressed that an agreement could have been reached to gradually reduce the number of troops on the island as trust, confidence and cooperation between the two sides grew, and said, “Unfortunately, an agreement was not reached due to the ‘zero troops and zero guarantees’ slogan adopted by the Greek Cypriot side”. He added that they will continue to work on plans for the future.

Siber: “If the Greek Cypriot people are not ready for a federation, we should not be asked to wait for a new solution model under isolation and embargoes”

President Mustafa Akıncı received the Speaker of the Assembly Sibel Siber and informed her about the Cyprus Conference in Crans-Montana.

In a statement to the press following the meeting, Siber said, “If the Greek Cypriot people are not ready for a federation, we should not be asked to wait for a new solution model under isolation and embargoes”.

She stated that the negotiation process to form a federation was ongoing for 50 years, and said that the Turkish Cypriot people have always showed will to solve the Cyprus problem.

Siber also said that, as both the Annan Plan referendum and the Crans-Montana conference ended without an agreement being reached, instead of blaming the other side, concrete facts and differences must be considered.

She also noted that there is no data on whether the Greek Cypriot people are ready or not for federation, and that a leader must receive strong support by his people to be able to negotiate the issues and be strong in the negotiation process.

Siber added that the Turkish Cypriot side voted “yes” to the federation model in the 2004 referendum and that the parliament supported the federation as well.

Özgürgün: “Turkish Cypriot people have no intention of being a minority”

UBP Leader and Prime Minister Hüseyin Özgürgün made a statement after President Mustafa Akıncı discussed the Cyprus Conference with the political parties. He said that the discussion with the President was very fruitful.

Özgürgün said that the conference showed that the Greek Cypriot side has no intention of reaching an agreement within the framework of the UN parameters and that the negotiations that have been ongoing for 48 years will continue for another 48 years if they are not intervened. Özgürgün added that the UN, the UK and the EU agree with this.

The Prime Minister stressed that the Turkish Cypriot people will not accept to be considered a minority as the Greek Cypriot side wants.

Özgürgün also said that the TRNC can continue on its way even if there are some problems, and pointed out that it is necessary to make plans for the future.

Çavuşoğlu : “Everyone knows who is responsible for not reaching a solution”

Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu went to Abidjan to attend the 44th session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) hosted by Cote d’Ivoire. Before the trip, he spoke to members of the press and said, “Continuing to negotiate does not mean accepting every demand from the Greek side. We surely refused illogical demands and we will continue to refuse them. Everyone knows who is responsible for not reaching a solution. The UN knows, the UK knows, the EU knows. The EU has seen our sincere attitude there.”

Cavusoglu continued, “We went to the Cyprus Conference with a very constructive attitude. During the 15 years of continued efforts we have been one step ahead of everyone else to find a just and permanent solution based on bi-communality and political equality. We have been 3 steps ahead of everyone else in Crans-Montana and shared our thoughts with everyone involved. All sides acknowledged that Turkey had a constructive attitude there. However, the Greek side only had one wish – to have zero soldiers on the island, to eliminate the Turkish guarantee, for Turkey to have no right to intervene unilaterally and to eliminate the ties between Turkey and Cyprus. It was completely impossible for us to accept such an illogical proposal.”

Saner: “The options to establish a federation within the parameters of the UN good offices’ mission have run out”

During the meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), TRNC Minister of Labour and Social Security Hamza Ersan Saner said that the options to establish a federation within the parameters of the UN good offices’ mission have run out.

In his speech during the 44th Council of Foreign Ministers conference in Abidjan, Republic of Côte d’Ivoire, which he attended as an observer member, Saner said that the OIC-2025 action program offers a good framework for solidarity among member countries and for overcoming the problems faced by the member countries. He added that the Turkish Cypriots are ready to collaborate and do their utmost to help overcome the problems faced by the member countries within the framework of the Organization.

Saner stated that the Cyprus Conference, that took place in Crans-Montana, ended without reaching any agreement because of the unconstructive and uncompromising attitudes of the Greek Cypriot side despite all attempts by the Turkish Cypriot side and Turkey.

Saner also stressed that the Turkish Cypriots have been unjustly isolated from the world for half century now and cannot be condemned to endless negotiations and an uncertain future. He added, “the only thing left to do on the island is for the two equal people to solve their problems and live peacefully and respectfully as good neighbours”.

International Tourism Conference starts at the EMU

The 7th “Advances in Hospitality and Tourism Marketing and Management” (AHTMM) which has been organized every year since 2011 in Turkey, Greece, Taiwan, Mauritius, Japan and China began yesterday hosted by Tourism Faculty of Eastern Mediterranean University.

More than 100 participants from all over the world will have the opportunity to experience the North Cyprus’ tourism potential at the conference which will continue until 15 July 2017.

FIU is represented at the International Economic Union General Assembly

The Final International University was represented by Prof. Dr. Ercan Uygur at the 18th Congress and General Assembly of the International Economic Union which was organized in Mexico with the participation of world’s leading economic organizations and academicians. The International Economic Union is an institution within the body of UNESCO.