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Kaz
Carol Blackwell-Gibbs
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UN Secretary General's visit to the TRNC - written on the 1st Feb 2010 - 11:50 - Message #1
Monday Feb 1st 2010 Some board members may be interested in this Press Release. Kaz
01/02/2010
Statement by the Presidential Press Office
Speech by President Mehmet Ali Talat at the luncheon he hosted for UN
Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon
I, my wife, the Prime Minister, the Foreign Minister and the leaders of the
Political Parties that are represented in the Parliament would like to
extend our warmest welcome to H.E. Secretary General Ban, Madam Ban and the
members of the UN delegation
We are indeed honored to welcome H.E. Ban today. His visit clearly
demonstrates the continued interest of the international community to bring
the Cyprus issue to a mutually acceptable solution and reinforces our
commitment to achieve this goal without further delay.
Your Excellency,
Turkish Cypriot people have long suffered from a conflict that started
almost half a century ago. Just three years after the establishment of the
1960 partnership Republic we have been ousted from the government by force
by Greek Cypriots. These attacks reached their climax in 1974 when a coup
d'état was attempted to annex the island with Greece. Our very existence was
saved only when Turkey, invoking her rights and obligations under the 1960
Treaty of Guarantee, intervened through the Peace Operation.
Turkish Cypriots suffered from what happened from 1963 to 1974. Our goal now
is to establish a new partnership state in Cyprus that will ensure that the
bitter experiences of the past will not repeat. The structure of this
partnership has been well defined in the past and more recently by the 23rd
May 2008 Joint Statement between the two Leaders which states that our goal
is to establish a bi-zonal bi-communal partnership with political equality
between Turkish and Greek Cypriots and that this partnership will have a
Federal Government with single international identity as well as a Turkish
Cypriot Constituent State and a Greek Cypriot Constituent State of equal
status.
Our efforts have since been concentrated on how to build this Federal
structure. The full fledged negotiations of the past year and a half had
produced significant convergences in some aspects of the problem, yet some
other crucial issues remain. Yet the recent two rounds of intensified talks
were productive and I hope we agree on their continuation.
Your Excellency,
As you well know, the 2004 UN Comprehensive settlement plan was supported by
the whole international community. The UN, the EU and motherlands Turkey and
Greece were all in favor of its acceptance. Until attaining unilateral EU
membership so was the Greek Cypriot leadership. Turkish Cypriot people by
exercising their free democratic will in their own referendum overwhelmingly
said "Yes" to this UN plan but the Greek Cypriot resounding "No" prevented
the solution. Today we are still faced with inhumane isolations despite the
call for its end by the UN Secretary General, despite the 26 April 2004
decision of the EU Council, despite the resolution of the Parliamentary
Assembly of the Council of Europe, decision of the Organization of Islamic
Conference and the others. This is simply unacceptable. We expect much more
from the international community. We can not be held responsible for the
Greek Cypriot "No" while they enjoy all the benefits of international
recognition and EU membership.
Mr. Secretary General,
Time is working against the settlement. External developments like court
cases as well as growing disillusionment among Turkish and Greek Cypriots
make the solution more complex and difficult to attain. Therefore we need an
urgent solution. I am ready to shoulder my responsibility to achieve this
goal and am confident that we will have your continued support in this
endeavor. I also would like to take this opportunity to thank your Special
Advisor and the whole UN team in Cyprus for their invaluable contributions
in this effort.
Your Excellency and Mrs. Ban,
I would once again like to welcome you and raise my glass for your well
being and wish that 2010 will be the year of solution.
_____
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Kaz
Carol Blackwell-Gibbs
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UN Secretary General\'s visit to the TRNC - written on the 2nd Feb 2010 - 8:28 - Message #2
The Secretary General's reply.. CYPRUS,1 FEBRUARY 2010
> Good afternoon. I am pleased to be joined by His Excellency Mr. Christofias
> and His Excellency Mr. Talat. I want to pay tribute to them both for their
> strong commitment and resolve. As you know, I have come to Cyprus to show my
> personal support to the Cypriot-led and –owned process to reunify the island.
> And I wanted to be here now because I recognize how important it is to
> continue to build momentum on what the leaders have achieved up to now. This
> has been a productive and constructive day. I have said that the world is
> watching. Today the world is seeing two leaders who are rising to the
> challenge. Cyprus needs commitment, vision, and flexibility. That is what I
> have sensed here today – two leaders striving to forge a better future for the
> people. I am encouraged that the two leaders personally assured me of their
> shared commitment to a comprehensive solution as early as possible. We will
> need even more courage and determination in the period ahead to bring these
> talks to a successful conclusion. No one is under the illusion that any of
> this is easy. Peace negotiations never are. But the time is ripe to push
> ahead. I am convinced that these two leaders can achieve a mutually beneficial
> solution. For decades, the world has heard about the Cyprus problem. Now is
> the time for the Cyprus solution. The United Nations will continue to provide
> all the support we can. But this is a process that is by the people of
> Cyprus, and for the people of Cyprus. I carry the world’s support for Cyprus
> in my heart. But the future of Cyprus is in your hands. After intensive
> negotiations, the two leaders have asked me to read the following statement on
> their behalf. ***
>
>
>
>>
> Statement by the Presidential Press Office
>
>
> JOINT STATEMENT
>
> We, as the two leaders, express our gratitude for the visit of the United
> Nations Secretary General to Cyprus, which demonstrates the continued
> interest of the United Nations and the international community for a
> comprehensive settlement of the Cyprus problem under the Secretary
> General’s Good Offices Mission.
>
> Taking this opportunity, we express our appreciation to the Secretary
> General for his Good Offices Mission as approved by the Security Council
> and for the efforts aimed at finding a mutually agreed solution.
>
> Working groups comprising Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots have devoted
> time and effort to thoroughly discuss all aspects of the Cyprus problem.
>
> We ourselves, together with our Advisors and our teams, have been working
> diligently for more than a year on all Chapters of the Cyprus problem. We
> have worked on the basis of the integrated whole approach that is “nothing
> is agreed until everything is agreed”. Good convergence has already been
> achieved in some Chapters. For the rest, we are determined to work hard to
> achieve the desired progress.
>
> Over the last three weeks we have worked hard during our intensified
> negotiations, mainly on the Chapter of Governance and Power Sharing and
> achieved important progress.
>
> We express our strong commitment to continue to work on this and the rest
> of the Chapters. We express our confidence that with good will and
> determination, we can achieve a solution in the shortest possible time.
>
> It is our common conviction that the Cyprus problem has remained unresolved
> for too long. We are also aware that time is not on the side of settlement.
> There is an important opportunity now to find a solution to the Cyprus
> problem which would take into full consideration the legitimate rights and
> concerns of both Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots. We are aware that
> such a settlement is in the interest of all and that it will finally bring
> peace, stability and prosperity to our common home Cyprus
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