Erdogan’s statements are unacceptable
Statement by AKEL C.C. Spokesperson Stefanos Stefanou
AKEL C.C. Press Office, 6th October 2020, Nicosia
Erdogan’s attack yesterday on other countries in the region, including the Republic of Cyprus, is an outrageous distortion of reality and the situation in the Eastern Mediterranean. The last person who can talk about piracy in the region and the undermining of stability is Mr. Erdogan himself. His government is violating human rights and the rule of law inside Turkey. Internationally, Turkey is an occupying and colonial power in Cyprus and an invading force in Syria and Iraq, as well as an interventionist force in Libya.
If the world and the region of the Eastern Mediterranean are to be free of pirates, as Erdogan declares, then the first country that is called upon to change its behavior and policy is Turkey and to comply with what the international community, the UN and the EU are calling for.
That is to say, Turkey needs to comply with international law and the UN law of the sea, to respect the sovereignty and sovereign rights of its neighboring states.
Turkey also needs to contribute to a solution to the Cyprus problem for the reunification of our country on the basis of the agreed framework of a bi-zonal-bi-communal federation and to accept the resumption of talks from the point where they had remained at Crans Montana.
After all, the rights of the Turkish Cypriots, which Erdogan claims he is defending, can only be safeguarded through the solution of the Cyprus problem within the agreed framework.
