Cyprus PIO: Turkish Cypriot Press and Other Media, 97-11-18

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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

No. 214/97 -- 18.11.97

[A] NEWS ITEMS

[01] Turkish Chief of Staff, Presidential Secretary leave occupied area.

[02] Plumer: "Solution based on separate sovereignties of two states".

[03] Denktash tired in view of celebrations; Resting at residence.

[04] Turkey's Gurel promises continued cooperation with pseudostate.

[05] Denktash on President Clerides' speech on UDI anniversary.

[06] Pseudostate's "budget" for 1998.

[A] NEWS ITEMS

[01] Turkish Chief of Staff, Presidential Secretary leave occupied area

[02] Plumer: "Solution based on separate sovereignties of two states"

Plumer claimed that the "TRNC" should be granted recognition before the path to negotiations can be paved. Plumer added claiming: "Any partnership to be established in Cyprus should b based on the separate sovereignties of two states. We will not let the Greek Cypriot side deceive the world. The TRNC is firmly established and is the guarantee of our future."

[03] Denktash tired in view of celebrations; Resting at residence

Having canceled all his appointments, including his routine weekly meeting with "prime minister" Dervis Eroglu, Denktash is now resting at his residence.

Denktash is preparing for his meeting with Diego Cordovez, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan's special adviser to Cyprus who is to come to the island today.

Denktash will meet Cordovez on 19 November and then fly to Ankara on 20 November in order to undergo an angiography.

Denktash will undergo his angiography which he has been postponing for weeks, on 21 November and return to the occupied area on 22 November.

[04] Turkey's Gurel promises continued cooperation with pseudostate

Gurel who was in the pseudostate for the UDI celebrations returned to Turkey yesterday. In a statement to the press at occupied Tymbou airport, Gurel said that he and Eroglu used this opportunity to further develop the close cooperation that has already started to deepen between Turkey and the "TRNC". Gurel said that at the meeting with Eroglu they discussed very important cooperation issues and assessed the current levels of cooperation. He stressed that very soon the "TRNC" economy will be revived in a way that will enable the Turkish Cypriots to gain the place they deserve in the region and in the world. He added that the signs of this revival are beginning to appear.

In a statement at the airport, Eroglu said that they also consulted each other regarding the Cyprus problem which is currently on the international agenda. He added that he was very pleased to see that they share the same views with the 55th government in Turkey in connection with the Cyprus problem.

Eroglu said: "As usual, Gurel promised once again that Turkey will cooperate with us and do its share in order to improve the TRNC economy, strengthen the foundations of the state, and increase the prosperity of the Turkish Cypriot people. This gives us pride and security and enables us to look to the future with hope. The aim is to develop the young republic and to ensure that the people live in peace and security. To achieve this, cooperation with Turkey will continue."

[05] Denktash on President Clerides' speech on UDI anniversary

In a statement to illegal TAK, Denktash claimed that the "TRNC" was established with the free will of the Turkish Cypriots as a defense shield. "It exists and this is a fact. You must be blind if you do not see that the TRNC exists. Clerides is neither blind, nor stupid. So, he continues to describe the TRNC as illegal because he wants to deceive and console himself. This attitude, however, will not lead Cyprus anywhere", he alleged.

Denktash reiterated his claim that Cyprus has two owners and called on the Greek Cypriots his claim "to stop dreaming". He said that if a unified Cyprus is really desired, then the existence of two equal and sovereign units must be accepted. He claimed: "If a union is desired, then the recourse to the EU must be frozen, and a basic formula must be found based on the existence of two states and on the equality between Turkey and Greece."

[06] Pseudostate's "budget" for 1988

Cosar explained that the economy reached the current point thanks to Turkey's aid, without taking any internal or external loans. He stressed that despite the EU resolutions, the embargoes, and the drought, the economy registered a growth rate of 2.5 and 3 percent in 1995 and 1996 respectively. A growth rate of 2 percent is expected this year, he said.

Cosar noted that "national" income per capita has reached $4,234 and that even though they have not reached the desired levels, imports and exports will reach the targets.

He stated that the deficit this year is expected to be TL 3.5 trillion. He said that TL 20 trillion have been allotted for investments, additional loans will be received from Turkey, and Turkey will extend a loan of $120 million for next year. This will give momentum to the economy, and income per capita will rise to $8,000, he said, adding that TL 22 trillion of the TL 29.3 trillion allotted for transfer payments will go to social transfers.

Commenting on the "budget", Republican Turkish Party (CTP) so-called deputy Salih Usar criticized the fact that the "1998 fiscal year program" was distributed to the so-called committee members only yesterday. On the census held in the occupied area Usar said that it was a fake census. "Even so", he stressed, "the results have not been announced and nobody knows anything about the TRNC's demography", adding that you cannot formulate a sound economic policy if you do not know the demography of a country.

Usar pointed out that the "budget" shows that the "government" intends to increase indirect taxes. The situation is to the detriment of the private sector in terms of income distribution, he noted, and the inflation calculations will not help.

Usar charged that sufficient revenues cannot be collected from the casinos, which are really establishments for laundering money, he said.

On the Cyprus problem, Usar said that the world envisages a biregional and bizonal federal solution. The Turkish Cypriot side must strive for a solution that is based on political equality and Turkey's guarantees. Usar criticized the approach that says that the Turkish Cypriots will not participate in the EU process as long as the world refuses to recognize the "TRNC". He stressed that the Turkish Cypriots must participate in the process without ignoring the principle of political equality. Usar also said that the approach of not joining the EU unless Turkey joins it first will help only the Greek Cypriot recourse to the EU.

He added that a stable accounting unit must be adopted to run the economy and recalled that Turkey worked for the introduction of this unit for a while.

Speaking after Usar, Huseyin Angolemli, Communal Liberation Party (TKP) secretary general, said that "the budget is an election budget".

Angolemli also said that the demographic structure of the occupied area is unknown and that the pseudostate does not run its economy. "So what are we going to discuss?" he asked. The TKP secretary general stressed that everything is expected from Turkey and certain things are done only if Turkey gives money.

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

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