Denktash plan as bad as UDI, says Akel

THE AKEL central committee yesterday described Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash’s latest proposals for a confederation as “politically equivalent” to the unilateral declaration of independence (UDI) of the so-called Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus in 1983.

The communist party’s central committee also criticised American Ambassador Kenneth Brill’s “lukewarm” reaction to Denktash’s proposals.

Speaking to reporters after the session, Party leader Demetris Christofias said the proposals obviously emanated from Ankara, and he accused Turkey of deliberately attempting to derail intercommunal talks and return the focus on the government’s controversial deployment of Russian-made S-300 missiles.

Christofias said the government should report “Turkey’s separatist policy” to the UN Security Council, the EU and other international organisations. He also said that diplomatic efforts should be intensified to bring a resumption of substantive bi-communal talks.

The central committee said it would suggest the government undertake an information campaign abroad, and stressed the importance of preventing the Cyprus problem from turning into “a missile question.”

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.