Ecevit rules out unitary state in Cyprus

TURKISH Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit yesterday ruled out the possibility of Cyprus ever becoming a unitary state.”Our desire is for the Greek Cypriot community to put aside delusions of returning to the past and focus on living side by side as neighbours, as two separate independent states,” he said.Ecevit was in the occupied north for yesterday’s celebrations to mark 25 years since the Turkish invasion, which he ordered as Prime Minister in 1974.Just after dawn, wreaths were laid on behalf of Ecevit and Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash near the landing sites on the beaches of Kyrenia while celebrations in occupied Nicosia focused on a show of military strength.A march-past including units of the 35,000-strong Turkish forces on the island was held while Ecevit told a cheering crowd that the security of the `TRNC’ was vital to Ankara.”Nobody should try to test the strength of the Turkish army again: nobody should test the resistance of the Turkish nation to pressure,” he said.Referring to the invasion, Ecevit said he had no choice but to send in the troops in 1974. “Turkish Cypriots would have been annihilated…. it would have been the biggest genocide since the Second World War, Greece and Cyprus would have achieved Enosis(union with Greece),” he said.Ecevit’s hardline comments come at a time when the international community is launching one of its biggest-ever initiatives in an effort to find a solution to the Cyprus problem. He is himself due in Washington in September, one month before the two sides are expected to meet at the request of UN Secretary-general Kofi Annan.The Turkish side is resisting the move unless talks are held on the basis of two separate states leading to a confederation, rather than the bizonal, bicommunal federation sought by the international community.If a confederation doesn’t happen, there are two options, Ecevit said. The first is that the current situation on the island becomes permanent . The second, if pressures increase, is that ties between Turkey and the ‘TRNC’ are consolidated “to whatever degree is necessary”.On Monday Turkey and the breakaway regime signed a new accord to create a ‘joint economic zone’.Ecevit said the ‘TRNC’ had survived despite the pressures of world boycotts and embargoes, while Turkish State Minister Sukru Sina Gurel said the agreement would make it easier for Turkish Cypriots to obtain residence, employment and property rights, and investment opportunities in Turkey.Under the accord the ‘TRNC’ would offer similar opportunities to Turkish citizens, he said.”Our goal is to quickly provide for and deepen the relationship between the two communities of the two nations by creating a joint economic zone,” he said.

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.