A Cyprus connection to Ergenekon?

Hurriyet Daily News with wires

refid:11394806 ilişkili resim dosyası

According to reports, the former president and the prime minister are going to be investigated for their links to the head of a Turkish labor union, Mustafa Özbek, a suspect in the case.

Özbek is being held in Turkey, accused of being a member of the alleged ultra-nationalist gang Ergenekon, which is accused of attempting to topple the government by inciting chaos and mayhem. Meanwhile, Northern Cyprus will hold its general elections April 19.

"I do not take these seriously. This is an intervention from Turkey to the upcoming elections," said Denktaş, talking to private news channel CNNTürk. "I have not been called to testify yet. But I would if they call either here or in Turkey." Saying that Soyer has a report in his hands about some allegations, Denktaş said: "The report is leaked. Soyer said last night on a TV program that he would give it to the prosecutor’s office if he would be re-elected. As he gave the report 10 days before, it means he expects a benefit from it." The Ergenekon case is ongoing, and many prominent names are being tried in the case. Some parts of the Ergenekon indictment took part in the media, and there are serious allegations about Eroğlu and Denktaş, leading to the inevitable inquiry for public benefit, said the statement from Prime Ministry’s press office.

Two sides of the island of Cyprus

The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, or its Turkish acronym KKTC, are the names used in Turkey and in the northern third of the island to describe the Turkish-controlled portion that declared its independence in 1983. Internationally, the Greek administration in the south is recognized and the island is referred to as the Republic of Cyprus.

Once part of the Ottoman Empire, the island formally became a British colony at the end of World War I with Turkey relinquishing its sovereignty in 1923. In 1960, the island became an independent republic. Turkey, Greece and the United Kingdom were made guarantors of that independence under the accord that granted the island its status.

After repeated outbreaks of violence between the Greek and Turkish populations, the military government of Greece launched a coup in 1974 seeking to annex the island to Greece. After a failed bid to gain UK intervention to turn back the coup, Turkey intervened itself. That division of the island has remained to this day.

In a 2004 referendum, Turkish Cyprus accepted a European Union-backed plan to unify the island. The ethnic Greek community rejected it. The legally awkward result was entry of the Greek-led Republic of Cyprus into the EU as representative of the whole island while the KKTC was subjected to a continuing EU economic blockade. For purposes of clarity, the Daily News generally uses the terms Turkish Cyprus and Greek Cyprus to refer to the two administrations.