The Speaker of Parliament Zorlu Töre said that the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus will continue to expand its visibility within the international arena.

Condemning the so called Greek Cypriot House Speaker’s letter of protest to the President of the Bahrain House of Representatives due to the unfurling of the TRNC flag at the Inter-Parliamentary Union Meeting, Töre stated that such behaviour undermines their pursuit of negotiations in Cyprus.

Issuing a written statement, the Speaker of Parliament Zorlu Töre stated that he was saddened to hear of the protest letter but not surprised.

“The letter by the Greek Cypriot House Speaker is the usual manifestation of the Greek Cypriot leadership’s intolerance towards the Turkish Cypriots, but this has no merit” said Töre and stressed that such behaviour undermines the pursuit of negotiations on the island.

“If we are to speak of an invasion or illegalities then we must speak of the Greek Cypriot leadership which through violation of international agreements, usurped the rights of its equal founding partners, the Turkish Cypriots, forcing them out of the state through the force of arms and gained control of the so-called Republic of Cyprus,” said Töre.

“What they refer to as UN Resolutions is in fact the biased UN resolution 186, which was adopted in violation of international law and which legitimized the occupation of the Greek Cypriot side. The Greek Cypriot leadership, which has abused the UN resolution for decades, continues to ignore the realities in Cyprus” said Töre.

He added that in light of these facts, and despite the Greek Cypriot leadership’s refusal to acknowledge it, there is an independent and sovereign Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus created by the Turkish Cypriot people who exercised their right to self-determination.

Töre stated that the TRNC will continue to increase its visibility within the international community each passing day and will take its well-deserved place in the international community.