President Derviş Eroğlu paid a visit to Kemer in Antalya last week and spoke at a ceremony which was held to name a boulevard after him, ‘Kibris Postasi’ reports.
The TRNC President said that they had struggled to create a Turkish Cypriot state and argued that their aim is to perpetuate the existence of the TRNC, to ensure that the Turkish Cypriots can carry on living on in peace and security and to continue their cooperation with Turkey at the highest level. The Mayor of Kemer Mustafa Gül and the Deputy Governor of the District of Antalya were also present at the ceremony.
In his statements in the Turkish city, the President said the following: “No one has the right to keep us under the roof of the Republic of Cyprus, which is occupied by the Greek Cypriots. We are exerting efforts for a state which will be composed of two founding states in Cyprus and its citizens will have equal rights”.
Eroğlu stated that the Turkish Cypriots have been excluded by force from the Republic of Cyprus and alleged that this is the reason for why the Greek Cypriots, who call Turkey “occupier” in Cyprus, are the actual occupiers. Declaring that there are “two separate states” now in Cyprus, Eroğlu added:
“We are looking for an agreement at the negotiating table taking into consideration these realities. There will be no return to the pre-1974 period. Turkey’s active and effective guarantees will continue. The citizenship of all those who have taken the TRNC citizenship will remain and they will become citizens of the partnership state, if we can establish it”. Eroğlu said that these were the TRNC’s “red lines”.
