Denktash to bow out of politics

VETERAN Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash has said he “absolutely” would not be running for ‘President’ during the April 2005 elections after over 40 years in politics, Anatolia News Agency reported yesterday.

In an interview with the Turkish news agency, Denktash said: “I will not run for the presidency and this is my definite decision. Change is beneficial.

However, the person (successor) should protect the state. It should not be forgotten that the president is the person who takes oath to protect the state and its sovereignty. A person, who cannot take this oath or will act differently afterwards, should not be brought into office.”

Denktash said that current ‘Prime Minister’ Mehmet Ali Talat told Turkish Cypriots before the referendum in April that if they voted ‘yes’ to the Annan plan, the TRNC would be recognised by the international community. “Today Talat experiences extreme difficulty,” he said. “Those who made promises to Talat deceived him.”

The veteran Turkish Cypriot leader said the Annan plan was not in the interests of Turkey or the Turkish Cypriots. “Turkey’s national cause should be decided at the Turkish parliament and should include our sovereignty,” he said. “Greek Cypriots cannot be our government. We insist on our sovereignty and recognition. Holding two separate referenda in Cyprus proved that only Greek Cypriots cannot determine the future of Cyprus.”

When asked whether he was expecting a new initiative to solve the Cyprus problem or any form of pressure, Denktash said: “They will start exerting real pressure just before December.”

December is when the EU is to review Turkey’s accession aspirations with a view to giving Ankara a date for the start of talks.

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.