TURKISH Cypriot ‘Prime Minister’ Mehmet Ali Talat yesterday set about working towards forming a new administration after his Republican Turkish Party (RTP) secured nearly 45 per cent of the vote in Sunday’s parliamentary elections.
The win gave the RTP 24 seats in the 50-seat parliament, up from 18 in the previous election in December 2003 on a ten per cent increase in votes, though still short of an outright majority.
Second place was taken by the main opposition National Unity Party (UBP) of hardliner Dervis Eroglu, which campaigned last year against the Annan plan. The UBP won 19 seats on 32 per cent of the vote.
The RTP’s coalition partner, Serdar Denktash’s Democratic Party (DP), came in third with six seats, up from five. It is widely believed Talat will forge another coalition with the DP.
The only other party in the new ‘parliament’, with just one seat, is the pro-reunification Peace and Democracy Party.
Speaking to Turkish television channel NTV yesterday, Talat said he would immediately start work on forming a new administration, and commented on the course he would pursue on the Cyprus issue.
“While conducting a more determined struggle to ensure that our isolation is ended, we will also convince the world that this is necessary, absolutely necessary,” he said.
“Either the Greek Cypriot side and Papadopoulos will be convinced or he will not. If he is not, we shall expect the world simply to disregard him and take certain steps. In this way, as in the call of the UN Secretary-general, Papadopoulos will have to list his objections and complaints and start the negotiation process. In this way, he will be placed under great pressure, and finally the negotiations will begin.”
Denktash, also speaking on NTVg said his party was the best option for a new government. “Actually we are the only key party for a strong, stable, and harmonious government,” he said.
While Talat said he planned to pressure President Tassos Papadopoulos, Denktash said: “The Turkish Cypriots do not have patience to wait for Papadopoulos.”
“What we need to do in the short run is to lead this process to a solution. If the Greek Cypriot side accepts, two political equals will mutually agree on a united Cyprus. I think that if the Greek Cypriot side maintains its present stand, nobody has the right to keep us waiting under the current conditions,” he added.
Speaking on Sunday once his victory was apparent, Talat said: “This is an important victory. It is the victory of the Turkish Cypriot people, who want a solution and peace.”
“I want to call the Greek Cypriot side, the Greek Cypriot leadership to catch our hand, which we are extending in peace and for peace to them,” Talat added.
However, he was clear that although Turkey and Greece had an important role to play in any settlement, the solution lay with the two sides. He criticised the Greek Cypriot side for turn the issue into a problem between Nicosia and Ankara issue.
“Papadopoulos has been working to this end but he does not stand a chance, because this is not the essence of the issue. The essence of the issue, even though is an international issue, is the Turkish Cypriots and the Greek Cypriots. It is futile to drag the issue into another area,” said Talat.
He completely ruled out any ‘coffee meeting’ between Papadopoulos and Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan, as Erdogan apparently suggested to DISY leader Nicos Anastassiades in Turkey earlier this month.
“If Turkey agrees to have talks with Papadopoulos, it would be tantamount to admitting that it maintains its presence on this island as an invader,” he said.
“Besides, we would never accept that. Erdogan’s statement that they could resolve the Cyprus dispute over coffee with Papadopoulos had a figurative meaning. Erdogan is the leader of Turkey, which is a major country, and he probably made those comments to show that he was not taking the efforts being made by Papadopoulos, the leader of the Greek Cypriots, who have a very small population, seriously.”
Talat said the most important development that could happen at the moment would be for Annan’s conditions for the return to talks to be fulfilled. Annan wants the Greek Cypriot side to outline the changes it wants to the plan, and he also wants firm political commitment from both sides.
“These conditions are actually an assurance that the talks will not collapse once again,” he said. “It is the Greek Cypriot side, which has to give this assurance, not us. For this reason, there will be a solution if the negotiations resume because this will mean that the assurances have already been given.”
