Published: January 16, 2012
Former Turkish Cypriot Leader Rauf Denktash Dies at 87
By Mina Fabulous 
Former Turkish Cypriot President Rauf Denktash died on Friday due to multiple internal organ failure in Nicosia. He was 87 years old.
Mr. Denktash was first hospitalized in May 2011 following complaints stemming from high blood pressure. He later underwent brain surgery in Ankara. He was admitted to a hospital in Nicosia on 5th of January following complaints of diarrhea and fatigue.
Mr. Denktash had maintained the Turkish Cypriots needed a separate state to preserve peace and avoid a return to what he called massacres of Turkish Cypriots at the hands of the majority Greek Cypriots.
Rauf Raif Denktash was born 27 January 1924. He was a barrister, jurist and the founding President of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), holding that position from 1983 to 2005. Photo: Wikimedia Commons
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Top UN officials today voiced sadness at the passing of Mr. Denktash. Mr. Denktash was a "long-serving and historic" Turkish Cypriot leader with whom the UN had a long relationship in the framework of UN-facilitated talks for the reunification of Cyprus and its peacekeeping responsibilities on the island.
The two sides Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities have launched the talks in 2008 and committed themselves to working towards a bi-communal, bi-zonal federation with political equality, as defined by relevant UN Security Council resolutions.
The UN has maintained a peacekeeping force on the island (UNFICYP) since 1964, when inter-communal fighting erupted. The mission has a current strength of some 920 uniformed personnel and over 150 international and national civilian staff.
The Secretary-General, his Special Adviser on Cyprus, Alexander Downer, and his Special Representative for Cyprus, Lisa Buttenheim, expressed their condolences to the family of Mr. Denktash.
Mr. Downer and Ms. Buttenheim described the former leader as "a pre-eminent figure." They reaffirmed the UN's commitment to reaching a comprehensive solution on reunification of the Mediterranean island.
The leaders of the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities are set to meet this month to continue efforts to reach agreement on core issues especially at reunifying the island.
Mina Fabulous follows the news, especially what is going on in the US State Department. Mina turns State Department waffle into plain english. Contact Mina through NewsBlaze.
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