Akinci: we should send two deputies to European Parliament

MUSTAFA Akinci’s Peace and Democracy Movement (BDH) has called on the Turkish Cypriot ‘government’ to consider sending two deputies to the European Parliament in Brussels to take up two of the six seats allocated to Cyprus by the EU.

The proposal came as a result of the refusal by the Greek Cypriot side to allow two of the six seats Cyprus holds in the European Parliament to be formally allocated to Turkish Cypriots.

The four to six set-up was envisaged in the Annan plan, but despite its rejection by Greek Cypriots, the BDH believe the Greek Cypriots are unjust in not handing over the seats.
The BDH’s statement called on the Turkish Cypriot ‘parliament’ to select two of its members to send to Brussels to highlight the fact that Greek Cypriots do not represent the interests of Turkish Cypriots living in the north.

The statement also said that with 65 per cent Turkish Cypriot backing for the plan, it would be unjust to deny the community its democratic rights.

Along with the rest of the EU, Cyprus will be electing European Members of Parliament (MEPs) on June 13.

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.