Turkish Cypriot Leader Ersin Tatar said that the games played in the last quarter of the century had emerged during the period of the Annan Plan. Tatar reminded that promises made to the Turkish Cypriot people, who had said ‘yes’ to the federal solution plan in Cyprus, had not been kept and that the Greek Cypriot people who said ‘no’ to the plan were admitted to the European Union (EU) without any consultation.
Tatar delivered a speech on the ‘Blue Homeland and Cyprus in the Framework of Developments of the Eastern Mediterranean’ held at the Dicle University in Diyarbakır.
“We have witnessed the games played in the last quarter of the century during the period of the Annan Plan,” Tatar said adding that, for years all agreements to date have been negotiated for a federal solution in Cyprus but that no conclusion could be achieved due to the stance displayed by the Greek Cypriot side who see themselves as the sole owner of the island and the Turkish Cypriots only as a minority.
Reminding of the promises made to the Turkish Cypriot people not being kept during the Annan Plan, Tatar said that friendly countries that wanted to recognize the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) were pressurized and even threatened.
The TRNC, as an independent country, with its democracy, boards and institutions have all of the qualities, Tatar said.
“Ties have become stronger with the Project of the Century”
Tatar gave examples of countries that have established states despite having a low population rate stating that the Turkish Cypriot people had made great sacrifices to come to where they are today but added that the end of this struggle will be victorious.
“In the mornings when I look from Girne, I see the Taurus (Toros) Mountain. When looking from the Taurus Mountains, one can see the Five Finger Mountain,” Tatar said while referring to the ‘project of the century that has further strengthened the ties between the two countries.
Referring to the TRNC being accepted as an observer member of the Organization of Turkic States, Tatar underlined that this was a very important development.
