"The Greek Cypriots Denktashized me"

[brother]

Turkish Cypriot daily YENI DUZEN newspaper (27.09.05) publishes the following interview by the Turkish Cypriot leader, Mehmet Ali Talat to Turkeys Dogan News Agency (DHA), under the title Talat: The Greek Cypriots Denktashized me:

DHA: While the Turkish Cypriots expressed their will for a solution at the referendum, the Green Line Regulation came into force for the development of the economy of the Turkish Cypriots, but it has not been functional. There are statements regarding the need for the lifting of the isolations in the report that the UN Secretary General submitted to the Security Council after the referendum. There was no development on this issue as well. The financial aid and the direct trade regulations are shelved as well. While looking to all these, what should we do? Does everything end to South Cyprus? Do we always get stuck on South Cyprus?

TALAT: Of course, South Cyprus is a member of the EU. This was our warning the correctness of which was proved in the process. We have warned regarding the accession of the Greek Cypriot side into the EU. Very serious mistakes have been committed. We had said that the Greek Cypriot side will become an equal member of the EU and push us into very difficult circumstances by using its power. Today this is being realized. Meanwhile, a change of leadership took place in South Cyprus and a fanatic leader came to power. And with this influence, he is putting before us every obstacle he can at any event and any development. This will happen in the future as well. Do not forget, the EU has 25 members. South Cyprus is only one of them. If we take out Greece as well, we have 23 members, which in the end will not become hostages of the Greek Cypriot side with the population of 700 thousands. And in the process the negative stance of the Greek Cypriot side will cause its isolation in the EU. When this happens, our dependence on the Greek Cypriot side and the obstacles put to us by the Greek Cypriot side will be reduced and minimized. A certain time is needed. There will be developments connected to the isolation of the Greek Cypriot side which uses the EU membership to its favour. The policy formulated in the past and with which we lost, is a policy that collapsed. The Cyprus cause we had lost is now formed again. It is formed again in the new conditions with a new understanding. We are living this process of reforming this moment. Therefore, from time to time we are simultaneously being hopeless, feeling uncertainty for the future, anger and joy.

DHA: There is a serious uncertainty on the island. What do you think about the time which passes regarding the solution?

TALAT: The serious dangers for us have been reduced. One of them and the most important are the cases filed at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). There are dangers and opportunities in Turkeys EU process. Turkeys EU process will not be a process that will destroy us seriously. I do not worry from this point of view. The important thing is the legal aspect of the property cases. The political aspect of our problems is not very big and dangerous. As Turkish Cypriots we are not facing very serious problems. There will be dangers, opportunities and possibilities within the process that is before us. It is not easy to make a time forecast.

DHA: You are continuously saying that you extend your hand of peace to South Cyprus. There is no signal from South Cyprus in the direction of meeting with you. The Greek Cypriot leader, Tassos Papadopoulos says that you are not his interlocutor for a solution on the Island and that they consider Turkey as their interlocutor. In the current situation what will the Greek Cypriot side expect? What policy is the Greek Cypriot side following in this process?

TALAT: The Greek Cypriot side thinks that it could take Turkey as its interlocutor at a stage within Turkeys EU process. Furthermore, it thinks that it will ensure the support of the 24 member states of the EU and corner Turkey. However, things are not like this. Even if it seems like this in theory, in the EU practice and the EU law, it will not be like this in practice, because when the discomfort and the boredom created by the Greek Cypriot side in the EU process reach a certain limit, there will be reactions against the Greek Cypriot side, instead of acting together with the Greek Cypriot side. Therefore, the Greek Cypriot side is not making a good assessment. They are talking about normalization of the relations. Some times, the Greek Cypriot side, the diplomats of some countries and even some Turkish opposition leaders are talking about normalization of the relations between the Republic of Cyprus and Turkey. Such a thing is not possible.

Mutual understanding is necessary for the normalization. The Greek Cypriot side and Turkey having mutual understanding is not possible. The Greek Cypriot side behaves towards Turkey as a country that occupies the 37 % of its territories, while Turkey, with its position of the guarantee rights deriving from the Treaty of Guarantee, is looking to the Greek Cypriot side as an aggressive community because of the Greek Cypriot attacks against the Turkish Cypriot community and as a community that seized Cyprus with violence. How will this relation be normalized? It will be normalized when this situation ceases to exist. The normalization of the relations between Turkey and the Republic of Cyprus is possible only with the solution and making steps in the direction of the solution. Therefore, demanding this is not very reasonable. We have to evaluate the opportunities and look at things with an understanding that will put the dangers aside, because Turkeys EU process will be a dynamic process. We will be facing new opportunities, new dangers, and new developments every day.

DHA: What kind of dangers are there in the process until 3 October?

TALAT: There is no danger until 3 October. The substantial period is after 3 October. Because there will be a dynamic process in this period, there will be some issues which Turkey will face and on which it will quarrel with the Republic of Cyprus and Europe. With reasonable and correct moves the opportunity of isolating and putting aside the Greek Cypriot side within the EU could easily occur. It cannot be said that in this process we are silent or inactive, as some people allege, because on the contrary we are very active.

DHA: For years Rauf Denktas has been at the negotiations. It was said that he was intransigent and that he is running away from the table. As a politician, how do you honestly find the policy of South Cyprus?

TALAT: Honestly it is the following: I am seeing a very clever policy, which knows and uses the details very well, and therefore it is different than the one followed during the Denktas period, but from the world point of view it is the same as Mr Denktas opinions on the Cyprus problem. That is, I am seeing a Denktas who is very clever, can make a lot of maneuvers, and evaluates and uses the details a lot. The Greek Cypriot side does definitely not hesitate in being hard. The Greek Cypriots are trying to dominate over the Turkish Cypriots, to take the Turkish Cypriots under their sovereignty. And they are decorating this with very clever maneuvers. Sometimes you are surprised, sometimes I am surprised as well, but afterwards I understand what the development is, because I am expecting that they would do it like this and that they should do it like this. They are very expert and this expertise smoothes their hard policy or covers it. Therefore, the world does not see them and does not react. It shows milder reactions.

The Greek Cypriots want the opening of gates. They want the two communities to have contacts with each other. And on the other side they are threatening the people who want to have contacts saying do not have contacts. They say that they support the bi-communal activities (the common activities of the Greek Cypriots and the Turkish Cypriots). They threaten one by one the people not to participate in the bi-communal activities. And they influence or put pressure on those who intend to participate so as to follow their own state policy. I will use a very delicate and correct expression: South Cyprus follows a sly and schemer policy. In addition to all these, it follows a rough, extremely oppressing, hard and intransigent policy. From this point of view this is a version of our old policy. It is a version, much more sophisticated, much more detailed, much more decorated and with higher quality.

DHA: You are coming from the Republican Turkish Party, which has the best relations with the political parties in South Cyprus. Now they are comparing you with the former Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus President Rauf Denktas. Have the expectations of the Greek Cypriots changed after you became a President, or have you changed?

TALAT: The best Turk for the Greek Cypriots is the Turk who thinks like the Greek Cypriots. There is no such Turk. Therefore, whoever comes to this duty they will create a Denktas, a Talat out of him. The example before this was Denktas and they are comparing (me) with Denktas. They will attack whoever sits on this position and they will exclude him. Be absolutely sure about this. They will treat in the same way whoever sits at this position, no matter who he is. My statements have not changed. I have said in many of my speeches in Europe, and in various countries of the world that the real aim of the Greek Cypriot administration is to take the Turkish Cypriots under its sovereignty. These are not new for me, but now I am living in them. Because I am a supporter of the solution, I disclosed the policy of non-solution followed by the Greek Cypriot side. The whole world has begun seeing these. This is really a big success. I have not changed. They have taken off the masks. This is the difference. The Greek Cypriot people knew the real situation, because they live in the south. Therefore we took off these masks and their true face appeared. There is another reality: The current Greek Cypriot administration, the Greek Cypriot leadership, is much more fanatic than Mr Denktas and has a much more sovereign understanding.


Interesting interview

[Bananiot]

Ever since Denktash was forced to step down we have been looking for a new Denktash to represent the Turkish Cypriot's because it was easy to lay the blame on him for the stalemate and fool the rest of the world.

Yesterday I crossed to the north and on returning, the policeman at our end took my name, address and phone number. Apparently he was doing this for every driver. I asked him why, but he would not say. I told him that if this an intimidation to frighten people that cross to the north he was in serious breach of government assurances that bicommunal contacts are encouraged. I am only doing my job, he replied and you are lucky I am not searching your car thoroughly ...

[brother]

[Xenos 2Fan]

Sounds like it to me bro.

[brother]

[Xenos 2Fan]

[Birkibrisli]

Going back to the original post,the real question must be: Who Denktashised Denktash in the first place? And Why???

[brother]