Changing Trains

Serdar Sits on the Fence

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Turkish Cypriot “foreign minister” Serdar Denktash said his party would not take a stance on an upcoming referendum on a UN process to reunite Cyprus but signalled he did not back the plan.

Serdar Denktash's father, veteran Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash, has led the opposition among Turkish Cypriots to the UN plan which sees reunification before the Greek Cypriot side enters the European Union on May 1.
Without a deal, only the internationally recognised Greek Cypriots join the bloc.

Serdar Denktash, whose support for the plan could have proved pivotal in the face of his father's opposition, told reporters after meeting members of his Democrat Party on Friday he would not push Turkish Cypriots to vote one way or the other.

"I will carry out a campaign to tell the people the truth ... The latest version of the plan is better than previous ones but I don't believe it will make things better for the Turkish Cypriots than they are today," Serdar Denktash said.
"If I had said 'no', people would have accused me of being under my father's influence. But if I said 'yes,' people would say, 'Not even his own son listens to Rauf Denktash.'"

The Democrat Party forms part of a coalition government led by a pro-settlement party.

Turkish Cypriots Seek $3.8 Billion from Donors

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CYPRIOTS ask international donors this week to dig deep into their pockets to help fund the island's possible reunion, even as a UN-brokered peace plan hangs in the balance.
The European Union, keen to see a united island join the bloc on May 1, hosts a preparatory donors conference in Brussels today to secure funding from its members, the world's richest nations and institutions such as the World Bank.

Turkish Cypriots say they want almost $4 billion over five years -- roughly half of what was pledged for three years at last month's donors conference on Afghanistan, which has a population of more than 20 million and is more than 20 times the size of Cyprus.
"We will be asking for $3.8 billion. International financial assistance is very important for sustaining peace on the island," said Erhan Ercin, the Turkish Cypriot EU co-ordinator who will be at the conference with Turkish Cypriot ‘prime minister’ Mehmet Ali Talat.

Greek Cypriots, who have estimated the total cost of stitching the island together after 30 years of partition could top $20 billion, have yet to come up with their request, but said the commitments they wanted were "significant".

The money will flow only if both communities vote in favour of the Annan plan.
Today’s conference is not expected to lead to firm pledges, focussing on assessing the needs and lining up potential donors, but the United States said it would make a "substantial commitment" and urged others to follow suit.

State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said on Tuesday Secretary of State Colin Powell planned a round of phone calls calling for large financial contributions.
Most of the funds are expected to pour into the poor north, where the reunification plan already enjoys solid support.

But the plan's backers hope financial pledges could also help soothe fears of Greek Cypriots that their thriving tourist economy could end up saddled for years with reunification costs.

"If people see there are concrete financial commitments, perhaps they will be more ready to support the plan," said an official in Ankara, which will be represented by deputy prime Minister Abdullatif Sener at the talks.

Commentators in Nicosia are sceptical Greek Cypriots could be swayed by pledges of aid, given their disappointment with the outcome of last month's talks in Switzerland.

"The time for being able to encourage Greek Cypriots to vote 'yes' through financial incentives seems to have passed," said James Ker-Lindsay at the Civilitas Research Centre think-tank.

'We Will Never Accept Greek Cypriots' Representing Us' - Talat

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BRUSSELS - Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) Prime Minister Mehmet Ali Talat said on Wednesday that they would never accept Greek Cypriots' representing whole island.

Talat, who is currently in Brussels to participate in preparatory meeting of International Donors' Conference on Cyprus, held a press conference.

Stating that any change could not be made in timetable and process which was determined by U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan's plan on Cyprus, Talat said that no one had victory and Annan plan put forth a compromise. He stressed that postponement of referenda could not be accepted.

Replying to a question on his view about Greek Cypriot deputies' attitude against Annan plan in the meeting of European Parliament Foreign Affairs Commission, Talat said, ''the issue has developed very interestingly. Greek Cypriot side had seemed in favor of solution for years. It benefited from attitude of Turkish Cypriot side which was not in favor of solution and which did not want negotiation. Therefore, (Greek Cypriot) side seemed good to the world. When Turkish Cypriot policy changed its direction and when it has become closer to European values based on modern and peaceful facts, the image that Greek Cypriot side created messed up. Greek Cypriots believed that Turkish Cypriot side would have blocked negotiations and left the negotiation table in New York. In the end, a decision was taken on holding referendum. When Greek Cypriots faced with the fact, they have got into an impossible situation. Greek Cypriot people saw the solution not as a imaginary thing, but as a fact. I understand them. It is not easy to face with facts. They are searching for an excuse now.''

Noting that Turkish Cypriot side would continue its determination, Talat said that they should help Greek Cypriots. He said that the side which would block solution would suffer a lot.

Talat noted that a single 'yes' in referendum would not solve the problem, there was need for two sides' saying 'yes' in the referendum and stressed that Turkish Cypriots were bored with postponements and it not possible for them to accept postponement. He recalled that U.N. Secretary General Annan set a date.

Stating that if Greek Cypriots voted 'no' to the Annan plan in referendum, Turkish Cypriot would expect that tolerance should be showed to Turkish Cypriots, Talat said that Greek Cypriots should assess the situation in this process.

When reminded that if Greek Cypriot side voted 'no' to the Annan plan, the European Union (EU) would accept the Greek Cypriot side as a full member and Greek Cypriots would represent whole island, Talat said, ''we never accepted Greek Cypriots' representing whole island. U.N. Secretary General has also confirmed it many times. We don't accept this attitude of the EU. We show actually that we don't accept it, but we also suffer from it. This situation causes Turkey problems in its international relations and it also causes isolation of Turkish Cypriots. We are paying the cost of it. Despite this, we will never accept Greek Cypriots' representing us.''

Turkish Cypriots Rally for Peace Plan

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NICOSIA (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of Turkish Cypriots have rallied in favour of a United Nations plan which aims to reunite the island of Cyprus before it joins the European Union on May 1. Turkey's business elite also threw its weight behind the peace plan, urging a 'yes' vote in an April 24 referendum on both sides of Cyprus which will seal the island's future...Yes campaigners danced to rock music and waved EU flags, the newly-designed tricolour flags of the putative United Republic of Cyprus and peace banners in bright spring sunshine on the Turkish side of the island's divided capital Nicosia.

"Yes to the Annan plan, yes to the world," read one banner. U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan commissioned the peace plan. "It has been 40 years (since the island split) and now is the time for peace, for the sake of our children and our grandchildren," said retired headmaster Cemal Ozyigit.

Rally participants urged veteran Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash, a strong opponent of the plan, to resign. His prime minister Mehmet Ali Talat backs the plan and flew to Brussels for an international donors' conference on Cyprus on Thursday.

Officials estimated that about 40,000 people attended the rally, of a total Turkish Cypriot population of about 200,000.

"I want to live on this island and I want to die here. For this to happen there has to be an agreement, otherwise I will be forced to emigrate," said Pinar Yengin, a female student...

'We Have To Reach Compromise To Live On This Island' - Talat

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LEFKOSA - Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) Prime Minister Mehmet Ali Talat said on Tuesday that Turkish and Greek Cypriots should reach a compromise to live together on Cyprus and he believed Annan's plan would provide such a compromise.

After their meeting in southern Cyprus, Talat and communist AKEL party's secretary general and Greek parliament speaker Dimitris Hristofyas held a joint news conference. Talat said that holding referendum on schedule, resolution of the Cyprus issue and accession of whole Cyprus to the European Union (EU) on May 1 were very important to them and they had expressed these opinions at the meeting. ''We put forward our belief that postponement of referendum would have serious consequences for both the Turkish Cypriot side and it would create a deviation from the time table set by the United Nations,'' he said. ''Any side should not perceive Annan's plan as a victory. Annan's plan is just a document of compromise. Signals which are observed in the Turkish Cypriot side and mostly display positive feelings of Turkish Cypriot people should be perceived as the desire of a community that has lived under isolation and in an atmosphere of insolubility for long years,'' Talat said.

Stressing that there were many factors which they wanted but could not obtain, Talat said, ''similarly, we could not have many factors included in this plan to reach a livable agreement and solution.'' Noting that an ''acceptable'' plan had been put forward despite everything, Talat said, ''according to me, this 'acceptance' with contentment is not only for Turkish Cypriots but also for Greek Cypriots. We have never had the opinion of removing rights of Greek Cypriots and not recognizing them. Because we know that we have to reach a compromise to live on this island. We have acted upon the understanding that rights of a side should not be taken...If we mutually display good will and respect each other's rights, desires and feelings, there is no reason that prevents us from living together on this island and I believe that the result and this plan we reached is a plan that can provide it,'' Talat said. TRNC Prime Minister Talat added that their meetings would continue and they would hold another meeting soon to continue their evaluation.

Talat said on Tuesday that they understood the concerns of Greek Cypriots in the implementation of Annan Plan and they wanted to assure that there would not be a problem in the implementation of the plan in the aspect of Turkish side. Talat and Greek Cypriot main opposition party DISI leader Nicos Anastasiades held a joint press conference after their meeting. Noting that they mainly provided a consensus with Anastasiades, Talat said, ''we understand concerns of Greek Cypriot people. We want to assure that there will not be any problem in the aspect of Turkish side during the implementation of the plan. Of course we demand the same assurance from Greek side.''

Talat said that they wanted ''yes'' from both sides during referendum and added that Turkish and Greek Cypriots could live together and Annan Plan was not a victory for any side and they wanted solution. Anastasiades said that their efforts for solution would continue and added they would exert efforts for the accession of a united Cyprus to the European Union (EU).

Talat said that it was impossible for Turkish Cypriot side to accept the postponement of referendum. Noting that the situation after May 1 was not certain, Talat said that Turkish Cypriot side had a big reaction to Greek Cypriot side's demand for delaying the referendum. Talat said after his meeting with Greek Cypriot main opposition party DISI leader Nicos Anastasiades that Greek Cypriot parties should evaluate the future well and added that Turkish side was loyal to its responsibilities on Annan Plan.

Talat said that he believed that the results of referendum in Greek Cypriot side would be ''yes'' if the parties in Greek Cypriot side would convince people. Noting that they considered the solution as inevitable, Talat said that the side which delayed the solution would be imposed more difficult conditions in the future.

Talat said that he was optimistic and believed that Greek side would also be positive and added that the chance to make Cyprus a common country was continuing. Noting that there would not be any problem which could not be solved when there was good will, Talat said, ''unfortunately, Annan Plan has not been negotiated since the beginning. A face to face give and take process could not start.'' He added that if they could fulfill this, a better plan would emerge.

Talat said that the attitude of the United Nations about the postponement of referendum was not clear. Anastasiades said that they had a very beneficial meeting and shared concerns, adding that the re-unification of the country was their common wish.

Rauf Denktas to Retire if 'Yes' Results

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Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Rauf Denktas conceded yesterday that if the referenda result in a 'Yes', he would not announce his candidacy for the United Cyprus elections to be held on June 13. "I will retire as the person who protected the country to the final moment," declared Denktas.

Denktas participated in the Ceviz Kabugu program on Star TV the previous night, where he defended that he was not the leader of 'No' front in the referendum. He asserted, however, that it was not a reaction, but a job for him to say 'No' to an agreement that would annihilate the state.

Denktas also remarked upon the methods used during the negotiations, leveling some of his heaviest criticisms at UN Special Envoy to Cyprus Alvaro de Soto. Denktas told about how De Soto attended the talks with his tiny notebook and pencil as an observer, and about how De Soto said, "I am a fly on the wall." Denktas contended that De Soto later turned into a scorpion on the wall and that the tiny notebook turned into an encyclopedia.

The TRNC President then commented on his son, Serdar Denktas, whose party has a key role to play in the April 24 referendum. Denktas said, "If my son's party says 'Yes' it would be a disaster for me. But I do not have a right to ask anyone 'Why did you do this?' Whatever his party says, I do not want to believe that Serdar will say 'Yes'."

Denktas also warned against turning the disagreement on the island into violence. Denktas then became self-critical, admitting that the mistakes he made in the education systems weakened young people's feelings for their religion and country. Finally, Denktas claimed that Girit Plan has been practiced on the island.

Erdogan to Denktas: Say What You Want, But Say it in Cyprus

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Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan told Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Rauf Denktas, 'I would not want to see you in those pictures,' by referring to a meeting held last week at the Bursa bar in which Denktas made a speech. When Denktas asked if Erdogan or deputies would be coming to Cyprus for the campaign, Erdogan said, no, 'but I forgot to ask whether or not he will be coming to Turkey, because I needed to ask him to do that too."

Erdogan reminded those who criticized the latest Annan Plan of the Lausanne Treaty which also contained concessions. Some compromises were made in Lausanne, Erdogan asked, "did the people who gave away those islands betray the country?" The Prime Minister continued: "Excuse me but you have a mutual agreement before you. In the making of this agreement, nobody said 'here it is, take whatever you want'." He said although they considered Cyprus to be a national matter, it was 'ugly and inappropriate' to react against the Annan Plan to that extreme. Erdogan noted that Turkish has become an international language. The Prime Minister continued to say: "I personally set a goal to have Turkish in practice at institutions that have no technical problems by May 1. There was a record for 5 years in other places, we surpassed it." Erdogan acknowledged that they would train nearly 200 people as Turkish experts and send them to international institutions.

Erdogan is critical of the opposition's methods and style when criticizing the government's Cyprus policy. He expressed his trouble saying: 'they carried the thing to a very ugly situation. There are insulting words. There are very ugly things that marginal parties there and leaders of political parties related to our country have done. Of course, the Turkish Foreign Affairs closely follows these developments. The steps taken should not have brought us to this point, because the Turkish Government is at least as sensitive as them about the interests of both the Republic of Turkey and the TRNC."

Talat Responds to AKEL Demand

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Mehmet Ali Talat, the Prime Minister of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) said Sunday, 'it is not possible for us to accept such a delay.' He was responding to a demand by the Greek Communist AKEL Party that the United Nations (UN) postpone the referendum a few months.

Talat said that such a delay would mean the Greek side would join the European Union (EU) for all of Cyprus and that this was objectionable in the interest of Turkish-Cypriots. When asked if the AKEL's proposal to postpone the referendum was ill intended for Turkish-Cypriots, Talat replied that he needed to meet with AKEL officials to understand that and he hoped to know their intentions by meeting with them soon. Talat stressed that no matter what Southern Cyprus says in the referendum, a 'yes' from the Turkish side will connect Turkish-Cypriots to the world.

Meanwhile, according to a public poll conducted on April 2, 63 percent of the TRNC public will say 'yes' in the referendum. The public poll was conducted by Nokta magazine and included 1,003 participants. While 17 percent plan to say 'no', a high rate of undecided people was noteworthy at 19 percent.

Gul Urges Recognition if Greeks Votes ‘No’

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TURKEY will demand international recognition for breakaway northern Cyprus if the Greek Cypriots reject the Annan plan in a referendum, Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul was yesterday quoted as saying.

If either side votes 'no' on April 24, only the internationally recognised Greek Cypriot government will join the bloc, leaving the sanctions-hit Turkish Cypriots out in the cold.
"If the Greek Cypriots reject it, I will tell the world with great confidence to recognise the TRNC," Gul told Hurriyet newspaper in an interview on his way to an EU-Turkey conference in the Netherlands.

Turkey's influential National Security Council of top political and military leaders is widely expected to give its final thumbs-up to the UN. Some Turkish press reports, however, suggested yesterday the armed forces may dig in their heels, unhappy with the Turkish side’s failure to obtain permanent derogations from the acquis communautaire. Diplomats say recognition for the Turkish Cypriots would not be automatic if the referendums threw up a 'yes' vote in the north and a 'no' in the south, but the question of the enclave's isolation would inevitably be thrust onto the world agenda...

...Pro-settlement Turkish Cypriot Prime Minister Mehmet Ali Talat said yesterday if a majority in favour fell short of 60 per cent, it would be harder to implement the plan.
"If we go to a 'no', then we will go back to 1974. I don't even want to think about it," he told Greek newspaper Eleftherotypia in an interview.

The "Yes" Camp Up and Running in the North

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Turkish Cypriot ‘prime minister’ Mehmet Ali Talat signalled at the weekend that he would soon be starting a campaign in favour of a yes vote in the referendum on the Annan plan. His comments came on the north’s local Genc TV on Saturday night, during which he said he had called on all other parties to join him in supporting the plan.

On the programme, Talat criticised Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash for not having ratified ‘parliament’s’ approval of the forthcoming referendum on the plan pending its approval by the ‘constitutional court’. “This is not a matter for the courts. It is nonsense for the president to ask whether he can ask his people to say ‘yes’ or ‘no’. Which court in which country would say ‘no you can’t ask’?” He added: “The will of the people is paramount. If the people say ‘we want change’, who has the right to obstruct them?” Asked whether coalition partners, the Democratic Party (DP) led by Serdar Denktash, would be joining Talat in his ‘yes’ campaign, Talat said: “I will be saddened if they decide to say ‘no’- especially after the work they have put into the plan.” He added that the DP would play a “key role” in the referendum and that their support would reduce friction within the Turkish Cypriot community.

But Talat hinted that Serdar Denktash would be under great pressure if his father continued with his anti-Annan stance. He said that despite theoretical differences between the DP and Rauf Denktash, a decision to go against the plan on the part of Denktash senior would put the DP in “a very difficult position”.

Talat said he had also appealed to Rauf Denktash to join him in support for the plan.
“I asked him to join us. I also asked him not to use inflammatory tactics if he is going to campaign against the plan because if he does, we will for obliged to do the same.” Talat added that Denktash, despite having consistently spoken against the plan, had recently been “more restrained” in his criticism of it.

Commenting on whether the main opposition party, Dervis Eroglu’s National Unity Party (UBP), might switch from opposing to supporting the plan, Talat said he was not hopeful.
“Of course, I’ve called on them for support. If they did [support us], I think we’d get the biggest landslide in history”.

Talat’s call for support has, however, received the official backing of the Solution and EU Party (CABP) led by Chamber of Commerce head Ali Erel and the Peace and Democracy Movement (BDH) led by Mustafa Akinci. In a written statement to the press, the CABP said it would be voting ‘yes’ in the referendum, adding that the party’s mission – to see Turkish Cypriots inside the EU – would be achieved on May 1. Akinci, giving his backing to the ‘yes’ campaign this weekend, warned that rejection of the plan would constitute a “historic mistake”.

Speaking at a conference on the Annan plan at Cyprus University, Akinci said: “It’s wrong to seek an ideal plan. This plan does not present either side with victory.” He added that the UN Secretary-general had assembled the plan by taking into account the interests and sensitivities of the two communities. Denktash, despite Talat’s call for moderation, continued his vehement opposition to the plan on Sunday night. Before departing from the island for a visit to the Bar Association in Bursa, Turkey, he told reporters:

“We are against the watering down of Turkey’s guarantee rights. We want time to build an honourable, permanent solution that will not turn the two communities against each other,” he said, adding that the plan as it stands will, “completely remove Turkey from Cyprus, bring Greeks into our community and thereby destroy bizonality”. He warned the plan could eventually lead to Greek and Turkish Cypriots “killing each other” and added that signing such a plan would also harm Turkey’s interests.