PRESIDENT Tassos Papadopoulos yesterday described the decision by the authorities in the north to release eight men suspected of being involved with the murder of a Turkish Cypriot businessman, his wife and daughter as “a very unpleasant development”.
Speaking on his return from a three-day visit to Hungary, Papadopoulos said: “By releasing the suspects, the authorities of the occupying regime encourage illegality and give the impression that the occupied north is a refuge for suspects and criminals.”
The President questioned why the authorities in the north refused to hand over the suspects, a mixture of Turks and Turkish Cypriots, when they had handed over suspects – Greek Cypriots or foreigners – in the past. He noted that the reason was because their constitution did not allow the extradition of suspects holding the nationality and citizenship of the pseudostate.
“They ask from us to do what no other country in the world has done except Turkey, to recognise that there is a separate state with separate nationality,” said Papadopoulos.
Commenting on reports that Turkish Cypriot ‘prime minister’ Mehmet Ali Talat will meet with new US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and European Commission President Jose Barosso, Papadopoulos said this was a clear effort to give political support to Talat in view of the elections in the north, to show he had the blessing of the British and American governments.
Asked to comment on a conference underway in Larnaca, organised by the British Foreign Office, where the majority of those invited apparently voted in favour of the Annan plan, the President said everyone could make their own conclusions. He questioned, however, why it was being held behind closed doors. “What for? What they want to say, do they want to say it in secret?” he asked.
Asked to comment on AKEL leader Demetris Christofias’ comments that Britain was the nemesis of Cyprus, Papadopoulos replied that it was not only Christofias who held this view. He noted that Cyprus found itself in conflict with Britain on many crucial issues, giving a recent example of the Green Line Regulation that was agreed between Cyprus and the Commission.
Papadopoulos went on to criticise Talat for obstructing the Commission proposal for providing financial assistance to the Turkish Cypriots to the tune of 259 million euros.
“In an effort to make political impressions rather than gaining advantages, Talat deprives his Turkish Cypriot compatriots from the use of these funds,” he said.
He added that despite the recent agreement between the Commission and the government on the Green Line Regulation, Talat still prohibits products from the government-controlled areas to be sold in the occupied areas.
Finally, the President confirmed that he would be seeking re-election as head of DIKO party during party elections on March 19.
