PM Hüseyin Özgürgün has visited Lefke, the sixth district of TRNC

Özgürgün, gave a lecture during the conference entitled “Past, Present and Future of Cyprus” in European University of Lefke (EUL) Faculty of Law building. The Conference was attended by the Minister of Public Works and Transportation, Kemal Dürüst, Minister of Interior Kutlu Evren, EUL Rector Prof. Dr. Mehmet Ali Yükselen and some MPs.

During his speech Hüseyin Özgürgün emphasized that EUL with its number of students and quality, succeeded to be the ‘honor’ among the universities of TRNC.

Emphasizing the fact that Turkish existence since 1571 making Lefke a special place, Özgürgün indicated that Lefke was a district 42 years ago therefore, the district status was “a right terminated for Lefke”.

In his presentation, Hüseyin Özgürgün described the process of colonization of the island to Britain, attempts to unite with Greece, the processes of establishing EOKA and TMT, and ongoing negotiations.

Özgürgün said that the statements of  Greek Cypriots that the island was divided into two with the arrival of Turkey in 1974 did not reflect the reality as the Green Line in Nicosia which was drawn on December 30, 1963, and the United Nations Peace Force which had been in the island since 1964, was a proof to this. The Prime Minister also stressed that the United Nations resolution 186 dated 4 March 1964 is the starting point of isolations applied to Turkish Cypriots.

Bearing in mind the fact that the Suez Canal, which connects the Mediterranean and the Red Sea, is at the exit of the island; increasing the strategic importance of the island of Cyprus, Özgürgün said that the bases on the island of England were equipped with very powerful weapons.

Pointing out that Sotiri Sampson, the son of Nikos Sampson, who organized the coup attempt in Cyprus in 1974, was one of the four parliamentarians elected in Southern Cyprus, Özgürgün remarked that Sampson was among the most popular of the Greek Cypriots, thus he emphasized the importance of knowing ‘yesterday’ while talking about ‘today’.

Noting that Turkey has intervened in Cyprus in 1974 with the right of Security Treaties and that the Greek Cypriot side and Greece would want to remove this right of Turkey during the negotiations that will be held in Switzerland on 9 January 2017, Özgürgün emphasized that the abolition of the right of intervention would be a problem.

ANNAN PLAN

Özgürgün stated that, The Annan Plan presented that 1 in 3 of the Turkish Cypriot-controlled lands should be given to Greek Cypriots, but the plan was rejected by 75 per cent of the Greek Cypriot side on the basis of demanding more land and that the UN Security Council had rejected the decision to remove the isolation on the Turkish Cypriots.

Bearing in mind that the Annan Plan had two communities in the island and that the Greek Cypriots and the international community were not ready for a settlement, Özgürgün said that the Greek Cypriot side was used as an obstacle to Turkey’s EU negotiations.

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Özgürgün stated that during his Presidency, Derviş Eroğlu sent a letter containing the request to secure the agreement to be the primary law, and stated that the agreement to be reached constituted a threat to be “penetrated” due to the fact that it was not regarded as the primary law in the European Union.

NATRUAL GAS ISSUE

Özgürgün noted that natural gas resources are one of the most important reasons why the Cyprus issue has not yet been resolved, pointing out that natural gas resource discovered in the southern sea of the island are one of the factors causing distress in Cyprus.

RELATIONS WITH TURKEY

Referring to the water supply project constructed from Turkey to the TRNC, Özgürgün said that this is one of the “great” contributions of Turkey to the economic development of the TRNC. Özgürgün said, “The relationship between TRNC and TR will always continue at the highest level.”

Özgürgün noted that the development in the TRNC will not end, even if there shall be no settlement in the island.

At the end of his speech, a plaque was presented to the Prime Minister in commemoration of his visit.