[01] Denktash returns from Istanbul.

[02] Denktash to US official - No outsider can bridge gaps.

[03] Lack of guarantine regulations in the occupied area endangers island's agriculture.

No.33/96 20.2.96

[01] Denktash returns from Istanbul

According to illegal Bayrak radio (6:00 hours 19.2.96) Rauf Denktash concluded his contacts in London and returned to the occupied area on Sunday night. Denktash delivered lectures in Istanbul where he was hosted by the Marmara Group and in London where he inaugurated a multi-purpose complex built by the Turkish Cypriots in Britain. (LL)

[02] Denktash to US official - No outsider can bridge gaps

According to illegal Bayrak (19.2.96), Turkish Cypriot leader, Rauf Denktash has claimed that if the Greek Cypriot side accepts the existing Turkish Cypriot rights, an agreement can be reached. He added: "If the Greek Cypriots insist on their approach of usurping the government and granting only certain rights to the Turkish Cypriots, then no outside person will be able to bridge our differences."

Denktash met this morning with Gary Cavanaugh, head of the US State Department European affairs desk, and conferred with him for some time. In a statement after the meeting, Denktash said that Cavanaugh did not bring any new proposals and that he tried to learn the views of both sides on certain specific issues. He added the Cavanaugh is trying to determine whether a bridge can be built between the two sides. Noting that both the British and the Americans are well aware of the importance the Turkish Cypriots attach to security, Denktash added that it has been reiterated time and again that the guarantee agreements are not contradictory to the European agreements. He continued: "The EU, however, is not saying this to the Greek Cypriots."

Denktash alleged that the real aim of President Clerides' efforts to join the EU is to eliminate the agreement on guarantees. Recalling that the Greek Cypriots are using the excuse of the absence of a basis despite the proposals made by foreign diplomats, Denktash added: If a basis was not prepared in the last 32 years, then when will it be prepared? Equality, sovereignty, bizonality, and autonomy are the fundamental principles. If they do not accept these principles, no outsider will be able to build a bridge between the two sides.

In reply to a question, Denktash said that the elections in the free areas in May are affecting the negotiating process and that such contacts should be suspended until after the elections.

[03] Lack of guarantine regulations in the occupied area endangers island's agriculture

According to KIBRIS (20.2.96) because of the lack of any guarantine regulations regarding the imports of the agricultural produce in the occupied area, a number of plant diseases appear, for example, on potato plants, citrus trees and vegetables.

The paper gives examples of diseases which previously were unknown to Cyprus, e.g. the disease-a kind of "moth"- which affected the citrus trees last year that caused millions of pounds of damage. This disease was unknown to Cyprus before and agriculturalists were unable to fight it with chemicals or known methods and now they are trying to use other methods. (MY)