President Ersin Tatar receives the delegation of the Türkiye - TRNC Inter-Parliamentary Friendship Group
Photos
President Ersin Tatar received a delegation from the Türkiye-TRNC Inter-Parliamentary Friendship Group, headed by the Konya deputy Orhan Erdem.
Speaking during the meeting held at the Presidency on Friday, January 12, President Tatar stated that he had held a meeting with Vice President of the Republic of Türkiye, Cevdet Yılmaz and his delegation, who participated in the opening of the Dr. Suat Günsel Mosque and Night of Wishes (Regaip Kandili) prayers yesterday.
President Tatar paid tribute to the Türkiye-TRNC Inter-Parliamentary Friendship Group as he welcomed the delegation to the Presidency and asked them to convey warmest of greetings from the TRNC to all parliamentarians in the Grand National Assembly of the Republic of Türkiye.
President Tatar said: “We have a joint national cause. We are continuing to work for justice, equal treatment and equal status of the Turkish Cypriot People, which we are pursuing with full support of Motherland Türkiye. The unjust isolation on the Turkish Cypriot People, preventing us from being able to trade directly as well as flying directly to our country, is outdated and has no place in the present day.”
Stating that the Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, President of the Republic of Türkiye, had called for an end to the isolation of Turkish Cypriot People during his address at the session of the UN General Assembly in New York, President Tatar said: “President Erdoğan has called upon the international community to form diplomatic, economic and political links with our country, and to put an end to the isolation that is tantamount to the persecution of our People. I wish to reiterate our gratitude to President Erdoğan for his calls.”
Explaining that a settlement in Cyprus can be found on the basis of sovereign equality and equal international status of the Turkish Cypriot Side, President Tatar added: “My vision, our position, is that a settlement can be found on the basis of two States, co-existing as good neighbours, in a cooperative relationship. The Greek Cypriot Side has proven time and again that they are not ready to share power and prosperity on the basis of equality with the Turkish Cypriot People under a federal basis, and they have rejected at least 15 settlement plans over the past half-a-century.”
Emphasising that the Greek Cypriot Side had rejected the UN Comprehensive Settlement [Annan] Plan in the separately held simultaneous referenda in 2004 by 76 per cent, the President drew attention to the fact that the Turkish Cypriot People had accepted the settlement plan by 65 per cent.
“However, despite this outcome, the Greek Cypriot Side were admitted as a member state, in the name of the whole island, to the EU. The Greek Cypriot Side have no democratic legitimacy to represent the Turkish Cypriot People, who elect their own President, Parliamentarians and have their own State apparatus," President Tatar said.
The President added that any settlement in Cyprus has to be found on a freely negotiated and freely reached settlement between the two Sides.
Stressing that the TRNC “is the southern-most Turkic State located in a geostrategic region in the eastern Mediterranean, only 40-miles from the Turkish coast," President Tatar said that the TRNC has been accepted under its constitutional name as an observer member to the Organisation of Turkic States. “We are participating in many international summits following this membership, and working to develop our relations in different areas with other countries of the Turkic World,” President Tatar said.
President Tatar underlined that the presence of Turkish forces on the island and the continued guarantee of the Republic of Türkiye “is the real provider of peace and security for the Turkish Cypriot People. . .which has become even more evident as we witness other conflicts.”
Referring to the February 6, 2023 earthquakes that occurred in Türkiye, President Tatar said: “We continue to feel the deep pain, following the devastation experienced and the loss of lives of so many people, including our Champion Angels. Türkiye is a strong country, and work is continuing to rebuild the lives of thousands of families affected by the earthquakes.”
President Tatar thanked the delegation for their visit and wished them success in the future.
Mr. Erdem stated that the Türkiye-TRNC Inter-parliamentary Friendship Group is continuing to work with the aim of communicating the injustices faced by the Turkish Cypriot People and expressed his pleasure of the efforts of the group and the cooperation of different institutions between the two countries.