Cerkez argues that the occupied area of Cyprus is an open prison
Turkish Cypriot daily Kibris newspaper (09.05.12) reports that Gunay Cerkez, chairman of the Turkish Cypriot Chamber of Commerce, has argued that the reports, which the chamber had prepared for the improvement of the economy and “people’s” prosperity, were not taken seriously into consideration by the “officials” of the regime. In statements during a dinner he hosted for journalists, Cerkez said that “there are so many problems in the country that we are experiencing difficulties on the issue of which of them we will touch upon”.
Cerkez recalled that the chamber was established in 1958 and it is the only (internationally) recognized “NGO” in the occupied area of Cyprus. He argued that they still preserve their vision as regards the solution in Cyprus and their accession to the EU. He claimed: “However, in spite of the fact that we are partners of the EU for the solution here, we are experiencing all together that the EU kept none of their promises that they gave to the Turkish Cypriots. Now is the time to raise our voice and express our discontent, our troubles in a constructive manner”.
He argued that the “negative developments” resulted in the decrease of the trust of the Turkish Cypriots in the EU from 65% to 35%. He claimed that the Turkish Cypriots are fed up of being kept in an open prison without having committed any crime.
Responding to a question, Cerkez argued that the Greek Cypriots prevented the approval of the “Direct Trade Regulation” with the Turkish Cypriots, that the “Green Line Regulation” includes contradictions and that it provides for the Turkish Cypriots to trade with a side which wants the continuation of the “embargoes”. “The EU should support us more, we are an EU territory, but we cannot carry our products to EU territory”, he claimed.
Cerkez further noted that they carry out their transactions through banks in Turkey, because the IBAN of the banks in the occupied area of Cyprus is not accepted. He alleged that the EU should find a solution to these problems, even though it does not recognize the “TRNC”, breakaway regime in the occupied area of the Republic of Cyprus.
Referring to the problems which the Turkish Cypriots face at the customs gate of the Turkish port in Mersin, Cerkez said that 70-80% of these problems have been solved, as a result of the initiatives of the chamber. He recalled that Turkey is included in the Customs Union with the EU and it should seriously implement the regulations. Cerkez noted that 100 TIR of oranges passed the other day from the above-mentioned customs gate and 6 TIR were returned back because more than the acceptable quantity of pesticides was established as a result of the necessary analysis that was held. He noted that these oranges might be sold in the local market, that the necessary importance is not given to the human health and that the quality of production should be increased.