JOINT STATEMENT

 We would like to declare to the Turkish Cypriot people, to our state officials and the diplomatic institutions that, we are observing with anxiety the “package of  proposals to usurp the rights of the Turkish Cypriots”  prepared by the EU Term President Finland lately, for the sake of preventing a train crash in the process of Turkey’s EU membership negotiations.

 We would like to underline primarily that, the Turkish Cypriot people are one of the two equal peoples in Cyprus. The Greek Cypriot administration has joined the EU through menace and extortion and, they are now in an effort to usurp, by using the EU countries, the rights of the Turkish Cypriots by pretending as if they are representing us.

The EU Term President Finland’s proposals (as it took place in our press) have been entitled as following:

1-       Handing over Varosha to the UN

2-       Operation of the ports by the EU

3-       Approval of the Direct Trade Regulations

4-       Openning of Republic of Turkey’s ports and airports to Greek Cypriot transportation

The above mentioned issues are the initial concessions expected from the Republic of Turkey, which has ten years of  process of negotiations ahead. Noone guarantees whether more will follow these or not. It is concrete that Greek Cypriots, who have the intention to seize the whole of Cyprus, will never stop demanding.

We believe that openning of Varosha will provide Gazimagusa considerable gains however, we are also aware that this should take place  after a comprehensive settlement in Cyprus.

Therefore, we neither accept the proposal of transferring or operating jointly our ports with third parties. Although they (EU) know that, there exists a problem in Cyprus and underline that it should be solved between the two peoples, it is difficult to understand the attempts of usurping the rights of the Turkish Cypriots.

Everybody should know that, apart from the misleading expressions and activities of the Greek Cypriots, the Gazimagusa port is open to international transportation and it has been merely in operation under the Turkish Cypriot administration, since 1974. 

Our port has welcomed flagged vehicles from all over the world and trade has been underway with all the countries including the Greek Cypriot administration.

Whilst the situation is as such and they (EU) think to ban even the entrance of passenger ferries to our ports, they are trying to impose us the sophistry that isolations would be lifted. The EU has not fulfilled its responsibilities to Turkish Cypriots following the referandum. Both the EU and the USA gave promices to the Turkish Cypriots that they have to keep.

The proposals prepared by Finland are sly proposals aiming to exploit the Republic of Turkey’s sincerety.

We request those, who show the carrot in a jam calling it “EU aid” whilst they keep the mace above our head, to go over their views and proposals with more realistic thinking. We also would like to ask them, if they have the courage to forward the same proposals for Limassol and Larnaca ports, too.

We, as the main institutions in the Gazimagusa port, with our signatures below, will not allow in all costs the power sharing of our port with others.

CYPRUS TURKISH SHIP AGENCIES ASSOCIATION 

CYPRUS TURKISH DOCKERS’ COMPANY 

CYPRUS TURKISH INTERNATIONAL TRANSPORTATION ASSOCIATION 

ÖZKAM TRUCK OWNERS ASSOCIATION 

Gazimagusa, 27 September 2006