24 AUGUST 2007, Lefkoşa

STATEMENT BY THE DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER AND MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS ASSOC. PROF. TURGAY AVCI

Notwithstanding the well deserved response to her rather incongruous remarks by the Turkish Armed Forces, Erato Kozakou Marcoullis who is acting as the mouthpiece of Papadopoulos for the elections is continuing with her rhetoric, slandering the Turkish Foreign Ministry and the Turkish Forces which has brought peace and stability to the island of Cyprus since 1974. 

Underlying the behaviours of Marcoullis and the leadership of the usurper Greek Cypriot Administration is the encouragement derived from the Greek Cypriot side’s unilateral and illegal admission to the EU. The failure of the EU to keep its promises to the Turkish Cypriot people, while maintaining the inhumane and shameful embargoes and isolations in the 21^st  century is emboldening the Greek Cypriot administration under the leadership of a bloody handed money launderer to be more audacious.

It is a well known fact that Turkish Peace Forces which has been in Cyprus for 33 years in accordance with international agreements is the real guardian of peace and independence in this island. The only regret of Papadopoulos and his mouthpiece Marcoullis is that they could not complete the massacre and ethnic cleansing of the Turkish Cypriots in 1974 which they had started in 1963.

The Greek Cypriot Administration’s (GCA) continued rearmament efforts worth millions of dollars with the assistance of Greece as well as the initiatives launched for exploration/extraction of oil and natural gas are steps taken towards disturbing the stability in Eastern Mediterranean and Cyprus. We would like to stress that the GCA, which does not refrain from actions posing a threat for the stability in the Eastern Mediterranean, should be warned by the international community not to overstep its limit. It is amply clear that Papadopoulos is aiming for ostentatious heroism in order to win the elections and hopes to gain advantage from policies of escalating tension.

 Marcoullis who fails to recall the death and destruction suffered by the Turkish Cypriots during 11 years, and talks about tragedy and human rights, is not in a position to make any positive contribution to a possible peace process in Cyprus. However, as long as the Turkish Forces are present on the island, it will never be possible for the bloody handed usurper Greek Cypriot administration to re-enact new tragedies.

21 August 2007
Lefkoşa