President Anastasiadis referred to the issue of settlers today, in his statements after the meeting he had with Mustafa Akinci.
President Anastasiadis stated that based on the 4: 1 ratio that had been agreed with the number of registered Turkish Cypriots, it is estimated that around 90 thousand, those who were included in the Annan plan.
Specifically, the President explained that "according to the Population Archive so far there are 117 Turkish Cypriots who have obtained an identity card or passport or have registered as Cypriot citizens. There is an equally large number of Turkish Cypriots who have not been deported. Therefore, if we calculate that at least about another 545 thousand have not registered, it means that the number reaches 12,5 thousand (Turkish Cypriots). The maximum number of settlers who may be in mixed marriages or are children from mixed marriages, does not exceed 130 thousand. It is the same analogy with the plan that was proposed and rejected. "
Regarding today's meeting, the President said that "the issues of citizenship, the issue of legal residence, the issues of fundamental freedoms and the right to vote were discussed. I must say that in a constructive atmosphere it seems that there are most of the convergences of the issues, some issues remain to be clarified which have been sent to the negotiators for further study ".
Asked if Mr. Akinci accepts the application of the right of establishment and the acquisition of property, the President said that this is already agreed and does not fall within what is mentioned (to the negotiators), hence the definition of legal residence, the right to practice, business activities, etc., these are now considered data. That is why I say that there is significant progress. "Some details remain to be determined for some of the other issues."
Asked if the right to settle and acquire property has been agreed without restrictions or if the restrictions that will exist have been agreed, the President said that "we have not gone into this detail. There is a perception that for the acquisition of, for example, property possibly for a transitional period there may be a restriction on the extent of the estate, residence, property, business premises that one can acquire. But it is always a transitional period until the Turkish Cypriot state reaches the level of the Greek Cypriot state. But they are not restrictions on the exercise of the right. They are technical limitations in terms of size ".
Asked if these were quotas, the President replied in the negative, adding that "quotas exist on the issues of those entitled to exercise their right to vote in local elections. In other words, the right to vote is guaranteed ", said the President, noting that a weighting will be done.
He added that this regulation is also done in our own municipal elections, for example, in Pegeia where "the law allows some restrictions to be set to ensure that local communities have the first say, without implying that others who will participate in policy-making ".
Asked to comment on Mr. Akkinci's statements that he has reservations about whether the Greek Cypriots want a bi-zonal bi-communal federation and whether they understand the term bi-zonal bi-communal federation, the President said "and of course we understand that some people do not with the federation when they introduce constituent elements of the confederation. And there are many other things to consider. "
Asked to comment on a statement by a party leader that the Republic of Cyprus is in danger, the President said that "the Republic of Cyprus will remain in danger until the Cyprus issue is resolved."
Source: Phileleftheros / KYPE