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Sunday, 22 December 2024 | ||
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Turkish Cypriot Press and Other Media (Cyprus PIO Review) 96-07-03.From: Panayiotis Zaphiris <pzaphiri@glue.umd.edu>Republic of Cyprus Press and Information Office DirectoryTURKISH CYPRIOT PRESS AND OTHER MEDIANo.118/96 3.7.96NEWS ITEMS
MEWS ITEMS[01] Erbakan receives US delegationAccording to TRT television network (17:00 hours, 2.7.96) new Turkish Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan has said that the United States is an important world state, and that the new Turkish Government will try to protect and further promote Turkish-US friendship and cooperation.Erbakan received Peter Tarnoff, US under secretary of state for political affairs, and Jan Lodal, principal deputy under secretary of defense for policy. The one-hour meeting was also attended by State Minister Abdullah Gul and Foreign Ministry Under Secretary Onur Oymen. Abdullah Gul issued a statement on the meeting. Gul said that in the meeting Erbakan pointed out that cooperation with the United States must not run counter to Turkey's interests. He also said that at the meeting, the prime minister noted that Iraq's unity and territorial integrity must be ensured and that peace and reconciliation in the Middle East cannot be achieved through unilateral efforts, that to do this, Isarel must abide by the UN resolutions and withdraw from the occupied territories including the Golan Heights. He added: "It is necessary for the sake of regional stability for turkey to establish closer relations with all the brotherly Muslim countries in the region." Erbakan also said: "We want to have good relations with Western Europe as well." He pointed out that if it serves mutual interests, the Customs Union can be a useful tool, but that the EU's failure to extend financial aid to Turkey is upsetting the balance of mutual undertakings. Regarding relations with Greece and the Cyprus problem, Gul said: "The prime minister said: We want to resolve our relations with Greece in peaceful ways, but we cannot tolerate Greece's faits accomplis or its policy of blackmail. Turkey does not covet any Greek land. However, we cannot tolerate the violation of agreements by Greece, or Greece's claims on places that do not belong to it." Erbakan said that Cyprus is a national cause for Turkey and that any changes that may endanger the security of the Turks on the island are unacceptable. He alleged that nothing can be achieved in Cyprus through propaganda, pressure, or through resolutions passed by international organizations. [02] Denktash says military integration with Turkey necessaryAccording to illegal Bayrak radio (10:30 hours, 2.7.96) addressing representatives from various organizations on the occasion of Gratitude to Turkey activities, Rauf Denktash claimed that steps must be taken to balance the steps taken by the Greek-Greek duo, as he called it. He stressed that cooperation with Turkey must be developed and the Turkish Cypriots must be able to benefit from the same opportunities as the Turkish citizens. He added that through a military integration, defense must be left entirely to Turkey, that foreign relations must be attached to Turkey, and economic integration with Turkey must be further developed.[03] Ozgur accuses NUP and DP deputies of blocking the St. Barnabas robbery investigationAccording to KIBRIS (3.7.96) Ozker Ozgur, chairman of the so-called pseudostate's Assembly Investigation Committee that is investigating the armed robbery at the St. Barnabas Monastry, has accused the NUP and DP memebrs of the committee of blocking the investigation work.Ozgur said that the NUP and the DP members of the Committee by not attending the deliberations of the committee are rendering the committee unable to fulfil its duty. He said that the committee two times only was able to convene and do some work. (MY) |