The Greek Cypriot Administration has informed us of its decision with regard to renovations and repair works it would make at some police stations and border gates.
Within the framework of the aforementioned renovations and repair works the Greek Cypriot side is planning to make, Lokmacı border gate will be closed to crossings on 1-2 November 2021 (including both dates).
The fenced-off area of Maraş and developments in the Eastern Mediterranean have been discussed at the EU Foreign Affairs Council, held in Luxembourg on 18 October 2021, with the participation of Foreign Affairs Ministers of the EU member states.
Despite of the fact that there exist so many other urgent matters which could have been on the agenda of the Council, the EU has opted to include the issues of fenced-off area of Maraş and the Eastern Mediterranean within the agenda items with the sole aim of pleasing the Greek Cypriot side. The biased attitude of the EU under the guise of “membership solidarity” serves no purpose but to deepen the Turkish Cypriot people’s mistrust towards the EU.
The constructive proposals of the Turkish Cypriot side remain to be on the table. In this context, our decision regarding the fenced-off area of Maraş/Varosha, which respects the private property rights; as well as our proposal dated 13 July 2019, which aims to establish cooperation in the Eastern Mediterranean, are unfortunately disregarded by the EU.
It is clear that the relevant UN Security Council Resolutions have not yielded any positive result. Bearing this fact in mind, the Turkish Cypriot side has put forward a fresh perspective for cooperation based on sovereign equality of the sides. It is crucial to remind once again that this proposal is the only realistic way for an agreement, as it reflects the facts on the Island of Cyprus.
We strongly condemn the false statements by a Greek Cypriot parliamentarian to the effect that “the pages of the books taught in the Greek Cypriot schools in Dipkarpaz are torn”. The Greek Cypriot parliamentarian made this statement in relation to the fact that the page containing the part about our Great Leader Mustafa Kemal Atatürk was to be torn from a book used in the secondary education in South Cyprus and then the book being assessed as “inappropriate” and having it collected outright.
The Greek Cypriot officials’ attempts to attribute their own racist activities to the Turkish Cypriot side by distorting the truth with false statements, is the most obvious example of the well-known distorted mentality of the Greek Cypriot side.
The Turkish Cypriot side has never displayed such an approach towards the textbooks taught in the Greek Cypriot schools in Dipkarpaz, which have been operating in our country for many years. On the contrary, it has always shown a constructive approach on the books that are taught. We are faced with an Administration that is trying to instill racism in the youth, who are the future of a country. We consider the Greek Cypriot officals’ statements, which amount to slander and lie, the aim of which is to cover their shame in history, to be beneath contempt.
