London, Thanasis Gakvos

He puts forward his position in favor of a two-state solution in Cyprus again with an article in the British Daily Express the Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar, who is declared by the newspaper as “President of the TRBK”.

He even mentions that the two states in Cyprus could act as a model for the solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, “even if the international community refuses to recognize it”.

Mr. Tatar comments that in protracted and intractable conflicts such as in Cyprus and the Middle East, the two states are not only a justified solution, but a “necessity”.

He mentions that in the period 1963-1974 the situation in Cyprus was similar to the current one in Gaza, with the Turkish Cypriots “under siege” and existing “deprivations”, “persecutions”, kidnappings and murders” until 1974.

He then refers to the safe living of the Turkish Cypriots in their own “state” thanks to the “intervention” of “Motherland Turkey”.

Mr. Tatar states that “the persistent refusal of the international community to recognize these existing realities on the ground is unacceptable and unsustainable” and accuses the “Greek Cypriot leadership” of violating international law as it acts as if it represents the entire island.

He characterizes the situation in the Middle East and the lessons learned from there as another opportunity for the international community to recognize the “reality” in Cyprus and to accept the “mutually beneficial” solution that he supports.

A two-state solution in Cyprus, concludes the Turkish Cypriot leader, could be used as a working model for solving frozen or intractable conflicts of the same nature, as was done in the cases of the former Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia.