Şener Elcil briefs the British about opposition to Turkey's Cyprus policies

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• published: 22 Feb 2013
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Spoken in Turkish with Greek subtitles - CyBC TV 'Biz Emeis' bi-lingual program features an interview with Şener Elcil, General Secretary of the Turkish Cypriot Teacher's Union KTOS, and protagonist of the 'Union Platform' - speaks about their trip to London in order to brief British journalists, unionists and parliamentarians about their opposition to the policy which Turkey has been trying to impose on 'northern' Cyprus. 19.02.2013 - interviewed by Christodoulos Christodoulou and Huseyin Halil Full English translation of the entire interview is available online at: http://aspectsofreality.blogspot.com/2013/02/ktos-turkish-cypriot-teachers-union.html ------------------------ Selected extracts translated into English from the Greek subtitles: SE: "As you know, the trade union platform was created two years ago as a coalition of the unions against the package of measures which is being imposed by Turkey but also the impasse in the Cyprus problem. Two years ago the platform undertook significant initiatives and on 29th January and 2nd March it organised two massive demonstrations which included the participation of 80,000 people. A manifesto consisting of 13 articles was proposed and approved. That manifesto makes reference to the achievement of a solution on the basis of a bizonal bicommunal federation, the demand for respect of the political will of the Turkish Cypriots and the respect of the will of the Turkish Cypriots for self-rule and also the reaction to the policies for the assimilation and integration of the north into Turkey. In order to promote those points we had contacts in Turkey and in Brussels. It was envisaged that there would also be meetings in England, as one of the three guarantors of the Republic of Cyprus in relation to our demands and to the will of the Turkish Cypriots. "Within that context we had accepted the invitation by the Labour Member of Parliament, Mr Andy Love, which was the basis for our visit and the contacts we had. SE: "The policy of the British is known. What is important is what do we do? "The alleged representatives of the Turkish Cypriot community, Misters Eroglu, Kucuk and others, do not allow the will of the Turkish Cypriots to become known to the outside world. What they project to the outside are the policies which are set for them by the Foreign Ministry of Turkey. The trade union platform therefore shouldered the duty to make known to the outside world the thoughts, aims and wishes of our community. In the context of our visit we had the chance to meet with officials of the British Foreign Office as well as as well as with Conservative, Labour and Liberal members of parliament and members of the House of Lords. "We had the chance to experience the relations between the Greek Cypriots and the Turkish Cypriots. We ascertained that the democratic and progressive people think like we do, and that between them there is good cooperation, as long as there are no interventions from Cyprus or from the "mother countries" "As I said at the beginning, the Turkish Cypriot community is facing a problem of its representation. The Turkish Cypriot community can not express itselff. At the negotiating table the negotiator, Mr Eroglu, is acting on the basis of instructions provided to him by the Foreign Ministry of Turkey. There is no projection of the views and intentions of the Turkish Cypriot community. "In going to Britain we wanted to create an opening, What we want is a Bizonal Bicommunal Federation on the basis of political equality. There are relevant agreements of the 23rd of May and 1st July [2006] between Mr Talat and Mr Christofias. We want a Cyprus with one single sovereignty, one citizenship, one international personality. We want reunification of Cyprus. "Therefore we reject all the policies which Turkey is trying to impose in the north. The policy of assimilation, the transfer of population, the 'politicization', the pillage of Greek Cypriot properties, the alienation of the identity and culture of the Turkish Cypriots, of their religous beliefs. ---------------------- Other interviews by Şener Elcil are available on the web at: "Şener Elcil briefs the British about opposition to Turkey's Cyprus policies" http://youtu.be/lBn2fgh02Mg Other uploaded interviews with Mr Şener Elcil with links to yet more previously uploaded videos relating to the Demonstrations by Turkish Cypriots protesting against Turkey's policies on Cyprus are available online at: "Şener Elcil - Turkey does not wish Cyprus solution, wants annexation" http://youtu.be/Gu0EMkXfT4Y