"Turkish Cypriots to hold census this month
By Simon Bahceli
POPULATION figures in the Turkish Cypriot-controlled north of the island will come under the spotlight again later this month when a general census is carried out on March 26.
Turkish Cypriot population figures have remained a contentious issue since the ethnic partition of the island in 1974, with argument raging over the number of Turkish Cypriots still living in the north. Greek Cypriot sources insist the number of Turkish mainland settlers on the island exceeds those of indigenous Turkish Cypriots. Such assertions are strongly contested by the Turkish Cypriot side.
Before the referendum on the Annan plan in 2004 the Turkish Cypriot authorities gave a list of 41,000 Turkish settlers it wished to see remain on the island after a solution to the Cyprus problem. The Annan plan actually allowed for 45,000."
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