Ozgurgun delivers a speech on the Cyprus problemTurkish Cypriot illegal Bayrak television (22.05.11, online) reports that Huseyin Ozgurgun, so-called foreign affairs minister of the breakaway regime, delivered a speech at a conference titled “the past, present and future of the Cyprus issue” which was held at Lefkosia Ataturk Cultural Centre on Friday.

Ozgurgun said that the bitter experiences of the past should not be forgotten and detailed the history of the Cyprus issue. Furthermore, he named the political equality of the two “people”, equal status of the two founding “states”, undiluted bi-zonality and active guarantee of Turkey as the main targets of the new partnership.

Touching upon the Annan Plan process, Ozgurgun said that important developments took place during the process as the self determination rights of the two “peoples” of the island were discussed and the unjustness of the “isolation” on the Cyprus Turkish “people” was also realized.

Ozgurgun repeated that the EU did not fulfill its promises towards the Turkish Cypriots who had approved the 2004 Annan Plan in Cyprus and reminded that two seats had been given to Turkish Cypriots at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe without the right to vote and that the “TRNC” was accepted to the OIC as observatory member under the name of “Cyprus Turkish State” as envisaged on the Annan Plan.

He also provided information about the negotiations process and pointed the property issue as the most difficult topic. “We want the continuation of the guarantee system, however the Greek Cypriot side is rejecting this by claiming that the guarantee system is an old-fashioned system” Ozgurgun also added.