Turkish Forum

Tag: Water

  • Cyprus Peace Operation Ended Pain Of Turkish Cypriots, Erdogan

    Cyprus Peace Operation Ended Pain Of Turkish Cypriots, Erdogan

    ANKARA – Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Tuesday “the Cyprus Peace Operation of July 20th, 1974 ended the pain suffered by Turkish Cypriots.”

    Speaking at a group meeting of the ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party in the Turkish parliament, Erdogan said, “the Cyprus Peace Operation helped protect the Turkish Cypriots from a possible genocide in the island.”

    Reminding that July 20th was a day of celebrations for peace and freedoms in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), Erdogan said, “the Cyprus Peace Operation ended the violence perpetrated towards the Turkish Cypriots. The Peace Operation was a proof that the motherland, Republic of Turkey, would stand by the Turkish Cypriots at all costs. The Peace Operation was based on international agreements and helped Turkish Cypriots attain freedom and peace. The whole world must understand this reality. Those who are resisting to understand the realities would see the facts sooner or later. We have always been on the side of peace in Cyprus. Both before and after the Peace Operation, we maintained our posture supporting peace and dialogue.”

    “A comprehensive solution in Cyprus should be based on the political equality of Turkish Cypriots. The new partnership should be bi-zonal and based on political equality and be under the active guarantee of Turkey,” Erdogan said.

    “Despite their peaceful stance, the Turkish Cypriots have been subject to unfair isolations. The Turkish Cypriots voted for the Annan Plan on April 24th, 2004. While the Greek Cypriots rejected the Annan Plan, they got rewarded by the European Union (EU) with full membership. The Turkish Cypriots got punished although they had approved the Annan Plan,” Erdogan said.

    “Closing eyes to the isolations imposed on Turkish Cypriots in the 21st century is a shame for all of humanity,” Erdogan said.

    “We expect all parties, including the EU, to fulfill their promises made to the Turkish Cypriots,” Erdogan stressed.

    “Regardless of what the conditions may be, the AK Party government would continue to stay on the side of the TRNC and our brothers and sisters living there,” Erdogan said.

    “Cyprus is our national cause. We would carry this matter on our shoulders at all costs,” Erdogan said.

    Touching on the water need of the TRNC, Prime Minister Erdogan said that Turkey would build an underwater system to carry 75 million cubic meters of potable water from the southern town of Anamur to the island soon.

    “Water is essential for the Turkish Cypriots and this project may turn into a ‘peace water’ project. With God’s help, we would complete this project by the end of 2008,” Erdogan also said.

    Source: www.turkishpress.com, 22.07.2008

  • Turkey stands by its offer to give Greek Cypriots water on drought-hit island

    Turkey stands by its offer to give Greek Cypriots water on drought-hit island

    The Associated Press
    Published: July 19, 2008

    NICOSIA, Cyprus: Turkey’s offer to provide drinking water to Greek Cypriots on ethnically-divided Cyprus still stands, even though it has been publicly rejected, the Turkish Cypriot leader said Saturday.

    Mehmet Ali Talat said Turkey’s prime minister, Tayyip Erdogan, “made it very clear that Turkey is ready to help” to alleviate a water crisis lashing the island.

    Talat told a news conference with Erdogan that he has made the water offer to Greek Cypriot officials “on different channels.” He said although they have publicly spurned the offer, “no official answer” has been given yet.

    The Turkish Cypriot leader said water tankers making the 75-kilometer (45-mile) trip from Turkey to the breakaway Turkish Cypriot north would be shared with Greek Cypriots in the internationally-recognized south, if they accept the offer.

    Greek Cypriot government spokesman Stefanos Stefanou has said water diplomacy is not possible as long as the Cyprus issue remains unresolved. Cyprus was split in 1974 when Turkey invaded in response to a short-lived coup by supporters of uniting the island with Greece. The self-proclaimed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is recognized only by Turkey which does not recognize the Greek Cypriot-dominated government.

    Many U.N.-led reunification efforts have since failed, including the most comprehensive bid in 2004 when Greek Cypriots rejected — and Turkish Cypriots approved — a U.N. plan.

    Talat and Cyprus President Dimitris Christofias agreed in March to revive the dormant peace process after a preparation period.They are scheduled to meet on July 25 to decide a date for the start of full-fledged negotiations.

    Erdogan said Saturday that he hopes a reunification deal based on “a new partnership” between “two equal peoples” and “two constituent states” would be found soon.

    A rainless winter has dwindled dam reserves to crisis levels, forcing the government to ration water to Greek Cypriot households and import quantities from Greece aboard tankers.

    Fresh water produced from two desalination plants is not enough to cover a 17 million cubic meter (600 million cubic feet) shortfall in water reserves. The south needs 66.7 million cubic meters (2.35 billion cubic feet)of water a year to meet its needs.

    Erdogan said work to build an undersea water pipeline linking Turkey to the north would begin in 2009 and be completed three years later.

    The Turkish prime minister is midway through a three-day visit to the north to attend invasion [sic.] celebrations on Sunday. The Greek Cypriot government condemned the visit as illegal.

    Source: International Herald Tribune, July 19, 2008