Turkey ‘will use Ocalan to derail Cyprus talks’

TURKEY will use the Ocalan affair to “excuse” its intransigence over the Cyprus problem, Government Spokesman Christos Stylianides warned yesterday.

He was echoing earlier statements by President Glafcos Clerides, who said Turkey could try and use developments in the Ocalan case to create tension in Cyprus, but that they would be blocked by Europe, America and Nato.

Turkey has accused Cyprus of harbouring PKK training camps, a charge the government vehemently denies. Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash for his part has said that Cyprus’ alleged backing for the Kurdish rebels was proof that Greek and Turkish Cypriots could not live together in a single state.

Replying to journalists’ questions, Clerides said that, if Turkey tried this, it “would not succeed because Europe, the US and Nato would not swallow it.”

Speaking in Athens, Stylianides added that he hoped the international community would find ways to pressure Turkey into resuming dialogue on Cyprus.

Stylianides also referred to the US and UN making “certain commitments” to undertaking efforts to break the deadlock on Cyprus after the Turkish elections in April.

In his statements, Clerides said America had reaffirmed that it saw the Cyprus problem as a high-priority issue, and was very interested in a solution.

Stylianides yesterday again stressed that there were no connections between the Cyprus government and the PKK led by Ocalan. However, he said Cyprus “always supports the protection of human rights and cultural identity” and like other countries, called for Ocalan to be given a fair trial in line with international regulations.

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.