Cyprus-Forum.com

[insan]

Cypriot speaker slams US allegations as "not objective"

www.chinaview.cn 2005-03-03 05:12:08

NICOSIA, March 2 (Xinhuanet) -- President of the Cypriot House of Representatives Dimitris Christofias on Wednesday reprimanded the US allegations in its annual human rights report as "not objective and arbitrary."

Christofias said such allegations would not help maintain good bilateral relations and indicated that the United States continues its punitive measures on the Greek Cypriots "because they dared reject a UN-proposed solution plan which the US fully backed."

The plan, sponsored by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, was rejected by Greek-Cypriots in an referendum last April because the Cypriot government held that it would solidify the island's division and meet the interests of the Turkish side.

The annual US human rights report also accused the Cypriot government of "continuing to block any effort by Turkish Cypriot authorities or international parties to open Ercan airport or any port in north Cyprus for travel to destinations other than Turkey."

The report also claimed that in the week immediately before the referendum two major Greek Cypriot media outlets "refused to give the UN special envoy and the EU Commissioner for Enlargement programming time on their broadcasts."

Categorically rejecting the US accusations, Christofias said all the four main parliamentary parties at the House of Representatives condemned the US report, describing it as partial, unjust, arbitrary and unfriendly.

Cyprus has been divided since 1974 when Turkish troops took over the northern third of the island following a failed Greek Cypriot coup seeking union with Greece.

The internationally recognized Greek-Cypriot government has regarded the use of all the ports and the airport in the Turkish controlled north as illegal. Enditem