Cyprus PIO: Turkish Press and Other Media, 04-05-21

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

[A] NEWS ITEMS

[01] Rauf Denktas states that 'there is no Annan Plan'

[02] Cyprus was on the agenda of the Turkish Foreign Minister in Moscow

[03] Sener Levent will take the Cyprus Republic to the European Court of Human Rights because his candidacy for the European Parliament Elections has not been accepted due to his failure to register himself to the electoral registers

[04] Turkish Cypriots to be represented in the Council of Europe's Congress of Local and Regional Authorities

[05] Ali Tuygan to replace Ugur Ziyal in the Turkish Foreign Ministry

[06] US asks Turkey to send troops to Afghanistan

[07] Kutlay Erk stated that the issue of opening the crossing point at Ledra Street is taken very seriously

[A] NEWS ITEMS

[01] Rauf Denktas states that 'there is no Annan Plan'

Commenting further on the Cyprus problem, the Turkish Cypriot leader said that he thanks the Greek Cypriots who said "no" to the Plan and as a result the Annan Plan has been put away.

Asked about the issue of holding early so-called elections in the occupation regime, Mr Denktas said that the political parties of the pseudostate should start a dialogue among themselves to form a stable "government".

[02] Cyprus was on the agenda of the Turkish Foreign Minister in Moscow

The OIC Ministerial Delegation, formed in an extraordinary April session to conduct talks on the Israel-Palestine conflict as well as on developments in Iraq, met yesterday with Middle East Quartet member Russia. Gul is a member of the delegation, along with the foreign ministers of Malaysia, Senegal and Morocco.

Yesterday's meeting in Moscow was the second phase of talks between the OIC Ministerial Delegation and the Middle East Quartet, which comprises the EU, Russia, the United States and the United Nations. The Quartet was created to help in the implementation of the Road Map for peace between Palestinians and Israelis. Gul said issues concerning the situation in Iraq were also on the meeting's agenda.

The first phase of talks was held between the OIC and EU rotating term president Ireland on Wednesday in Dublin. Turkey was represented at the talks by State Minister Besir Atalay.

Ireland's Foreign Minister, Brian Cowen, said after his talks with the OIC: "We will do what we can for the settlement of this conflict. That's why we convened here today. Our joint efforts with the OIC will continue for peace, for stability." Foreign Minister Gul added that the OIC Ministerial Delegation would hold talks with other Middle East Quartet members, namely the United States and the United Nations, next week.

Subtitle: Talks with Lavrov

Gul also had talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov during his Moscow visit, discussing the Middle East and Cyprus issues.

Prior to the Cyprus referenda late in April, Russia, a close ally of the Cyprus Republic, vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution backed by Britain and the United States that aimed to encourage Greek and Turkish Cypriots to back the U.N. plan with the desired security guarantees.

"The main reason for going to Moscow is to engage in discussions on Palestine, but we also want to take advantage of the visit to have a bilateral meeting with Lavrov to renew our ties. I once again have the opportunity to explain recent developments on Cyprus to Russia, which is a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council," said Gul.

[03] Sener Levent will take the Cyprus Republic to the European Court of Human Rights because his candidacy for the European Parliament Elections has not been accepted due to his failure to register himself to the electoral registers

Mr Levent, stated that he cannot accept the reason for his candidacy's rejection and stressed that he will take the Republic of Cyprus to the European Court of Human Rights in order for the European Parliament Elections to be cancelled.

The paper in its first page calls the Parliamentary elections "a complete fiasco". It also criticises the fact that there is not any Turkish Cypriot candidate in the Greek Cypriot Parties candidate lists and stresses that only 503 Turkish Cypriots registered themselves in the electoral registers, 300 of whom live in the free areas of the Cyprus Republic.

In addition, as the paper writes, another Turkish Cypriot Mr Mehmet Hasguler put his candidacy for the European Parliament Elections. His candidacy was accepted because he registered himself in the electoral registers. Mr Hasguler teaches at the Halen Canakalle University of Turkey and he is a writer and a researcher.

[04] Turkish Cypriots to be represented in the Council of Europe's Congress of Local and Regional Authorities

The Council of Europe's Parliamentary Assembly rejected a resolution at the end of last month to permit Turkish Cypriots to attend and address its meetings. Instead, the Council voted on a proposed amendment that called for closer relations with Turkish Cypriot parliamentarians in the assembly and suggested placing them among the delegation of the Cyprus Republic within the Council.

The representation of Turkish Cypriots in the assembly will be discussed once again at its meeting next week in Paris, the Anatolia news agency report said.

[05] Ali Tuygan to replace Ugur Ziyal in the Turkish Foreign Ministry

Tuygan will replace Undersecretary Ugur Ziyal, who has been Undersecretary since 2001. There is speculation that Ziyal is to be sent to Rome. Having served as Turkey's ambassador to Ottawa, Riyadh and Athens, Tuygan was the Foreign Ministry deputy undersecretary for bilateral political relations from 1995 to 1997. Tuygan has been in his current post since 2001.

[06] US asks Turkey to send troops to Afghanistan

Erdogan, who was speaking at a press conference before departing for an official trip to Romania, said there was no certainty over whether Ankara would agree to the request. The Turkish Prime Minister also condemned Israel's killing of Palestinian civilians in the Refah refugee camp in Gaza and of the recent upsurge of violence in Iraq.

"Recent developments both in the Middle East and in Iraq have revealed that the course of events was extremely dangerous in regard to human rights and humankind," he said. "As a human and as a father, I am profoundly concerned about recent developments both in Palestine and in Iraq. These events are totally unforgivable. The real target of all those bombs is peace. Killing of defenceless civilians including children cannot be justified", stressed Mr Erdogan.

[07] Kutlay Erk stated that the issue of opening the crossing point at Ledra Street is taken very seriously

EG/

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