Turkish Cypriot speaker defines water project as Turkish Cypriots' dream

ANKARA (A.A) - The parliament speaker of Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) said on Saturday that project to transport water to TRNC from Turkey was Turkish Cypriots' dream. Hasan Bozer said that there had always been water problem in Cyprus, and Turkish Cypriots expected this problem to be solved. "This project is Turkish Cypriots' dream since 1960s," Bozer told AA correspondent in an exclusive interview at the Turkish Parliament in Ankara. Bozer's remarks came after the Turkish Parliament adopted a bill on January 4 that envisaged transporting potable water from Turkey to TRNC. "This project will raise living standards of Turkish Cypriot people and improve them economically and even politically because water is a power for us," Bozer said. Moreover, Bozer said that the fact that Greek Cypriot administration would take over the rotating presidency of the European Union (EU) as of July 2012 was neither ethical nor legal. "The Greek Cypriot administration carries the title 'Republic of Cyprus', however they are the semi-partner of the Republic and the Turkish Cypriots own the other half of the Republic. They have been usurping our rights for 50 years," Bozer said. Bozer said the Greek Cypriots were urging international community to impose embargoes on Turkish Cypriots, and it was not possible for them to accept the Greek Cypriots as the representative of entire Europe. (Reporting by Kubilay Celik)