02/11/2010 President
Strasbourg, 02.11.2010 – Mevlüt Çavusoglu, President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), has welcomed the continued negotiations between the leaders of the two Cypriot communities under UN auspices, and called on both parties to show “political courage and firm determination to find a fair, lasting and comprehensive solution for a peaceful and united Cyprus”, one which would guarantee the legitimate rights of both Greek and Turkish Cypriots in full compliance with the values and principles of the Council of Europe.
Speaking at the end of a three-day visit to the island, the President said both parties must be ready to make compromises to achieve progress, in particular on the most difficult questions, such as the property issue.
There are urgent humanitarian issues which should not be politicised, such as the search for missing persons, the President said: “The families of those who went missing many years ago deserve to know what happened to their loved ones.” He called on European states and international organisations to provide more financial support for the work of the Committee on Missing Persons (CMP).
Mr Çavusoglu also called on all political forces and civil society in both Cypriot communities to multiply bi-communal activities, to build confidence and trust between them. He said the Council of Europe and its Parliamentary Assembly could make a useful contribution to this, in particular through promoting people-to-people contacts. He cited the example of the European Forum , a joint Council of Europe-EU programme, which brings together young leaders from both communities.
The contribution of churches to the creation of an atmosphere of tolerance was highlighted during the joint meeting with religious leaders, the Primate of the Orthodox Church of Cyprus, the Archbishop of Nova Justiniana and All Cyprus Chrysostomos II and the head of religious affairs of the Turkish Cypriot community Mehmet Emin Yeltekin. The President invited both leaders to take further steps to promote respect for places of worship in all parts of the island. He also called on politicians and religious leaders to refrain from incitations to intolerance and hate.
During his visit, Mr Çavusoglu met President Demetris Chrofias, the Speaker of the House of Representatives Marios Garoyan, and Foreign Miner Markos Kyprianou, among others. In the northern part of the island he met Dervis Eroglu, leader of the Turkish Cypriot community, and elected representatives of the Turkish Cypriot community, as well as representatives of political forces.