Erdogan flew over occupied Varosha and Morfou on a helicopter
Turkish Cypriot daily Halkin Sesi (20.07.11) reports that the Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan flew yesterday over the occupied city of Varosha, which is closed for 37 years, and the occupied area of Morfou. The paper writes that Erdogan visited occupied Famagusta and addressed a joint opening ceremony of six projects. He said that the “TRNC”, as he described the breakaway regime in the occupied area of the Republic of Cyprus, will stand on its own feed and added: “The economic situation of Greece is known. Let no one be surprised if south Cyprus [Tr. Note: This is how Erdogan described the Republic of Cyprus] comes to the same situation. They will get mad at me, but such a situation exists. You should target for year 2015. In 2015 a very different country will exist in the place of the TRNC”.
Erdogan said that Besir Atalay, Turkish State Minister Responsible for Cypriot Affairs, will often be visiting the occupied area of the island and hold joint evaluations of the situation with Turkish Cypriot “officials”.
Referring to the protests against him during his illegal visit to the occupied area of Cyprus, Erdogan alleged that some “marginal groups” are those who create the tension in the occupied area and added: “We know very well who they are. They cooperate with those coming from the south [Tr. Note: The Government- controlled area of the Republic of Cyprus] and put obstacles to the development of the TRNC. We have to oppose to them. We will not leave northern Cyprus to them”.
The paper writes, inter alia, the following: “?Extraordinarily, Prime Minister Erdogan toured Famagusta, which was the last stop of his visit to the TRNC. In parallel to his messages to south Cyprus and the EU, Erdogan has clearly put forward for the first time what Turkey could do for the TRNC to stand on its own feet as a separate state?”
Halkin Sesi reports that the following six projects were inaugurated yesterday by Erdogan during a ceremony in occupied Famagusta: Noah’s Ark Hotel in occupied Vokolida area, the second stage of the 50-kilometer long road between occupied Lefkoniko village and Vokolida, a floating shipyard in the occupied Famagusta port, a multifunctional education block building project at the illegal European University of Lefka, the social residences project of occupied Lefkosia’s “Turkish Municipality” in Mia Milla area, and the open amphitheatre of the so-called municipality of occupied Morfou.
In his statements, Erdogan said that the projects will minimize the negative influences of the so-called isolation implemented on the “Turkish Cypriot people”. He noted that they will continue to take any necessary diplomatic steps for ending this “injustice”, but “with projects such as these we will provide the maximum support to the solution of the problems of our Turkish Cypriot brothers and to the development of this country”.
Erdogan said he flew over occupied Morfou on a helicopter to observe the area where a dam will be built for bringing the water from Turkey’s Alakopru region to the occupied area of Cyprus. He noted that this project will be ready in three years.
