Cyprus PIO: Turkish Cypriot Press and Other Media, 99-03-17

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

TURKISH CYPRIOT PRESS AND OTHER MEDIA

[A] NEWS ITEMS

[01] Denktash arrives in Turkey to deliver lecture, hold meetings

[02] Denktash claims right over Varosha, blames US, UK, EU

[03] People entering/leaving the pseudostate in February

[04] Mainland Turks to celebrate holiday in occupied area hotels

[05] ``Association '' meets Eroglu

[06] Demirel repeats ``Two-state'' solution thesis

[A] NEWS ITEMS

[01] DENKTASH ARRIVES IN TURKEY TO DELIVER LECTURE, HOLD MEETINGS

Denktash was welcomed by Foreign Minister Ismail Cem and other officials at Esenboga Airport.

Rauf Denktash will presented with a conference on ``Cyprus'', open his photograph exhibition in Istanbul, later proceed to Kocaeli and Gebze to participate in various meetings there on March 18.

Denktash who will be presented with the ``1998-Golden Grey Wolf Award'' by Suleymaniye Cultural Centre on March 19, Friday, will return to the island the same day.

[02] DENKTASH CLAIMS RIGHT OVER VAROSHA, BLAMES US, UK, EU

Replying to reporters´ questions Denktash referred to the closed Varosha region and said:''Varosha is just standing idle and is becoming increasingly more dilapidated. The UN Security Council still says that we cannot touch it. Varosha is a region that belongs to us. If one should want to open it now, it would require a lot of money''.

In reply to another question on the Cyprus problem Denktash inter alia said:

``In this latest phase the Turkish Cypriots´ struggle is vis-a-vis the United States, guarantor Britain, Germany and the EU countries. We are constantly explaining to them the injustice in this issue. They have no legal or de facto right. They are telling the Greek Cypriots that they can colonize the Turkish Cypriots''.

[03] PEOPLE ENTERING/LEAVING THE PSEUDOSTATE IN FEBRUARY

During this period, 263 airplanes landed and 264 airplanes took off from the occupied Tymbou airport .

Of the companies which fly to the occupied area, the so-called Cyprus Turkish Airlines made 176 landings, Istanbul Airlines 49, Turkish Airlines 27 and other 11 airlines made single landings.

(MY)

[04] MAINLAND TURKS TO CELEBRATE HOLIDAY IN OCCUPIED AREA HOTELS

KIBRIS says that for five days of the Holiday almost all hotels are fully booked.

(MY)

[05] ``ASSOCIATION OF EXPATRIATES'' MEETS EROGLU

Eroglu promised to extend them every possible help.

The delegation headed by Brian Safe , speaking to reporters about their visit, said that they have 120 members from 12 different countries and that they wanted to brief Eroglu about who they are and what are their objectives. Safe said that in October they want to bring in a theatrical group from Germany. He said that they are looking for a sponsor for the group in the occupied area. The Association has also started publishing a ``News Letter'' in English and in German.

(MY)

[06] DEMIREL REPEATS ``TWO-STATE'' SOLUTION THESIS

``Question: There is a scenario that the United States is giving guarantees to Turkey that it opposes a Kurdish state in northern Iraq, it has helped to convince the Greek Cypriots not to deploy the S-300missiles and in return it will push the government to be formed after the elections to solve the Cyprus issue, to implement democratic reforms in Turkey and prepare the groundwork for structural changes in northern Iraq. What do you say to all this? Demirel: As you said, this is a scenario. In foreign policy if you have a problem the only durable solution is a solution which has been accepted by all concerned parties. Solutions obtained through pressures are not durable. As a matter of fact, solutions based on pressures create more complicated problems and lead to new explosions. You may end up with a greater problem than the one you are trying to solve today. That is why Turkey cannot be pressured into accepting something that is not fair and hurts is national interests.

Question: What kind of a solution in northern Iraq would satisfy Turkey´s national interests?

Demirel: A solution that respects Iraq´s territorial integrity.

Question: What about Cyprus?

Demirel:A two state solution.

Question: A federation or a confederation for the two states to live together? Demirel: The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is a state. There is no turning back after 20 years. The goal is to keep it going. It has a population of 180,000. There are much smaller states than the Turkish Cypriot state in the world. The solution lies with the recognition of this state. The island has been split intoTurkish and Greek Cypriot states. Whether people can live together and how they can do this is another issue. They may set up a confederation or make another arrangement. But the real issue is the recognition of the Turkish Cypriot state.

Question: Could Turkey utilize the situation that Greece has recently fallen into in favor of Turkish candidacy in the EU? Can pressure be put on Greece and force it to adopt a softer approach towards Turkey´s membership bid? Demirel: It could .......But of course, time will tell what result would be obtained from that.

Question: Lately it appears that Turkey has lost its European perspective... Demirel:Definitely not...

Question: Is EU accession still a foreign policy priority?

Demirel: Definitely...But, there is not much that we can do for the time being. First of all, the customs union is functioning well. Over 70 percent of our trade is with EU countries. Had the customs union not been functioning, Turkey would have severely felt the (Asian) (and Russian) economic crisis. Our trade with Russia and the Far East would have placed us in a very serious economic crisis if over 70 percent of our trade was not with the European countries''.

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

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