Denktash says he may resign
The dispute between Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and veteran Turkish-Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash continued yesterday, with Erdogan saying that he will not attend the parliamentary session that Denktash is to address in Ankara today. Erdogan on Saturday criticized Denktash for campaigning in Turkey against the Annan plan. Denktash said in Ankara yesterday that he will resign as «president» of the breakaway Turkish-Cypriot state if his people vote in favor of the plan, the newspaper Milliyet reported. «If there is a ‘yes’ I will not stay. I will quit my post… I know that the referendum also implies a vote of confidence in me,» he told the paper. «It will be meaningless for me to stay on as president if there is a ‘yes,’ particularly now that I have such disagreements with the Turkish government,» he added. A majority of Turkish Cypriots appear to support a «yes» vote. The Turkish military voiced concern over the plan.
