ISLAMABAD
\nThe European Union (EU) and the United Nations (UN) have failed to deliver justice to the Turkish Cypriot people by maintaining \u201cdouble standards\u201d in the decades-old Cyprus dispute, TRNC Minister of Labour and Social Security O\u011fuzhan Hasipo\u011flu said this during a media interaction here Sunday.
\nHe urged the international community to recognise the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) as a sovereign state.
\nAddressing the journalists in Islamabad a day before the 9th Ministerial Conference on the Role of Women in the Development of OIC Member States, Hasipo\u011flu viewed the Turkish Cypriot people had been subjected to historical injustice for over five decades despite their commitment to peace and democracy.
\nAccompanied by TRNC Representative to Pakistan Ms Buket Kop, the minister maintained that Turkish Cypriots had endured years of violence, discrimination and political exclusion before the island\u2019s division in 1974. He said T\u00fcrkiye\u2019s military intervention that year prevented further bloodshed following a Greek-backed coup aimed at annexing Cyprus to Greece.
\nReferring to the 2004 UN-sponsored Annan Plan, Hasipo\u011flu said Turkish Cypriots overwhelmingly voted in favour of reunification, while the Greek Cypriot side rejected the proposal. Despite that, he noted, the Republic of Cyprus was granted European Union membership.
\n\u201cThe EU rewarded the side that rejected reunification while continuing to isolate the Turkish Cypriot people. This is a historic injustice and a clear example of double standards,\u201d he said.
\nHasipo\u011flu regretted that around 400,000 people in the TRNC continued to be denied international recognition.
\n\u201cOur athletes cannot compete under our own flag in the Olympic Games or FIFA competitions. This is discrimination and a denial of our identity,\u201d he said, adding that the Cyprus issue had remained unresolved for 52 years because of the international community\u2019s unequal approach.
\nThe minister said he had earlier held a productive meeting with Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar, describing the discussions as useful for strengthening bilateral cooperation.
\nHe said Pakistan and the TRNC enjoyed exemplary relations and appreciated the contribution of the Pakistani community living in Northern Cyprus to its economy and development.
\nReferring to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif\u2019s recent meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdo\u011fan, Hasipo\u011flu welcomed Pakistan\u2019s continued support for the Turkish Cypriot cause and expressed hope that Islamabad would formally recognise the TRNC in the future. He also called for stronger backing from the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), where the TRNC currently holds observer status.
\nHighlighting the role of women in Northern Cyprus, the minister said women actively participate in political, economic and social life, adding that the TRNC believes in an inclusive society based on equal opportunities and representation for all citizens.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ISLAMABAD The European Union (EU) and the United Nations (UN) have failed to deliver justice to the Turkish Cypriot people by maintaining \u201cdouble standards\u201d in the decades-old Cyprus dispute, TRNC Minister of Labour and Social Security O\u011fuzhan Hasipo\u011flu said this during a media interaction here Sunday. He urged the international community to recognise the Turkish …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":100177,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-100162","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-national"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100162","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=100162"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100162\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":100185,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100162\/revisions\/100185"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/100177"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=100162"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=100162"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=100162"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}