President ErsinTatar said that Conservative MP Sir Iain Duncan Smith’s call for direct flights between the UK and North Cyprus is a manifestation of rational politics, which recognises human rights, and moves away from dogmatic obsessions.
In a statement issued by President Tatar reflecting on the Tory MPs remarks, he said the following:
“ This understanding, which will carry the ancient social, cultural and economic relations between the two countries, beyond making the lives of tens of thousands of Turkish Cypriots and British living in the UK and the TRNC easier, is essential at the point reached in the context of human rights . .
“As a guarantor country, England has important responsibilities and has to fulfil these responsibilities with an objective understanding.
“With the establishment agreement of the 1960 partnership republic, the guarantor England, which still maintains its privilege by having two sovereign bases on the Island, can show the political determination to show the stance that the grievances and restrictions suffered by the Turkish Cypriots have reached unconscionable dimensions during the intervening 60 years.
“At this point, our legitimate expectation from the UK as the Turkish Cypriot People, who have been subjected to outdated and inhumane restrictions for years; In accordance with the principle of respect for the sovereignty of the peoples, which has an important place among the basic principles of western democracy, the Turkish Cypriots, who are a separate people in Cyprus, take into account the sovereignty demand and act accordingly.
“Such restrictions, which usurp the Turkish Cypriots’ right to travel, are also a clear violation of Article 13 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
“In this context, British High Commissioner Irfan Siddiq should support the British state to adopt a political stance in line with these realities, as a diplomat who knows the realities of the island closely, regarding the restrictions in question, which are incompatible with international law, to which the Turkish Cypriot people have been subjected for years.
“During the Annan Plan referendum process on April 24, 2004, the promises made by the EU officials, of which the UK was a member, to the Turkish Cypriot people, are still remembered.
“If the Turkish Cypriots say yes in the referendum, they will be rewarded, and if the Greek Cypriots say no, they will be punished. If the Turkish Cypriots say yes in the referendum, the embargoes will be lifted, the Turkish Cypriots will not be left in the open and in the cold.
“At this point, positioning politics as a solution mechanism to problems and fulfilling the promises are essential for both political consistency and the credibility and legitimacy of western democracy.
“As I always underline, our understanding, as the Turkish Cypriot side, is to establish a cooperation based on the principle of mutual dependency and win-win philosophy on issues that are closely related to the reality of the island, especially energy and the daily life of the two peoples.
“If the Greek Cypriot side’s position is positive towards the steps we have taken in this direction, there will be cooperation on the basis of sovereign equality in real terms, and it is clear that this cooperation mechanism will bring indisputable benefits to both our island and our region”.
