Cyprus PIO: Turkish Cypriot Press and Other Media, 98-02-11

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From: The Republic of Cyprus Press and Information Office Server at <http://www.pio.gov.cy/>

[01] Pseudostate has 162,950 "citizens".

[02] Pseudo-Assembly to debate Cyprus on 12 February.

[03] Turkish Minister signs health accord with pseudostate.

[04] Cem on Turkey's policy toward EU. NEWS ITEMS

[01] Pseudostate has 162,950 "citizens"

"SEC" said in its statement that according to the preliminary results obtained during Sunday's (8 February) census the number of "citizens" eligible for voting at the "local elections" has reached 117,430.

Pointing out that there are also 43,520 "citizens" still not of voting age, "SEC" announced that the total number of "citizens" in the pseudostate stands at 162,950.

[02] Pseudo-Assembly to debate Cyprus on 12 February

The Latest Developments in the Cyprus Problem is said to be the agenda item of the session planned to open at 1000 on Thursday.

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[03] Turkish Minister signs health accord with pseudostate

"The Health Ministry has taken all the necessary measures and formulated all the necessary plans against all eventualities and scenarios at the onset of the Gulf crisis. There is no reason to worry or feel concern", he said.

In the meantime, the agreement signed by Ozsoy and Ertugrul Hasipoglu, so- called minister of health and environment, envisages to unify and expand the health systems and conduct a mutual exchange of information and experiments.

At the signing ceremony, Ozsoy said that the agreement will contribute to promoting the friendly relations between Turkey and the pseudostate.

[04] Cem on Turkey's policy toward EU

During a meeting on the EU issue organized by the Turkish Research Center in Ankara, Cem said that Turkey should analyze itself correctly before relations with the EU can be furthered.

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Cem claimed: "The fact that Turkey has shortcomings does not mean that it will accept every precondition. With its economy, deep-rooted democracy, and powerful army, Turkey is in a much better position than all the other 11 EU candidate countries. It is not that Turkey is not on speaking terms with the EU, although it was subjected to discrimination at the Luxembourg summit.

Bilateral relations will continue as well."

Cem continued claiming: "We did not say that we will not be on speaking terms with the EU or that we will not engage in a political dialogue. All the statements issued by the Foreign Ministry clearly say that we will not discuss and talk about certain issues that are of great importance for Turkey. Only an EU candidate country that assumes its place within the participation process, not the expansion process, can discuss important issues such as Cyprus, the Aegean, and internal affairs with the EU. Turkey can talk with the EU, which seeks to keep Turkey at arm's length and not have it come any closer. Turkey cannot discuss its most important issues under these circumstances." EF/SK

From the Republic of Cyprus Press and Information Office (PIO) Server at http://www.pio.gov.cy/

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