Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhürman issued a strongly worded statement addressing recent tensions with the Greek Cypriot side, arguing that a series of recent episodes, including the Barcelona football camp controversy, the cancellation of a music festival, and attempts to discourage ambassadors from attending a briefing given by his undersecretary Mehmet Dana in the buffer zone, are matters that have already concluded and belong to the past. He said the same applies to what he called the "legal" initiatives on the property issue and to the European Parliament's resolutions on missing persons, which he described as unilateral and biased.
On the ambassadors' briefing specifically, Erhürman argued that regardless of the reasoning behind the attempt to prevent the meeting from taking place, the fact that ambassadors ultimately attended was itself sufficient proof that the international community did not regard that reasoning as legitimate.
'Efforts to render us invisible'
Erhürman said that despite the continuation of talks, he believes the Greek Cypriot leadership intends to keep trying to render Turkish Cypriots invisible internationally, and said he and his side would continue to challenge those efforts and work to ensure the visibility of the Turkish Cypriot community. He described a "two-pronged effort" aimed at pushing Turkish Cypriots to walk away from the negotiating table and sever contact with the international community, arguing that both sides in the south and the north ultimately serve the same underlying interest: those in the south wanting Turkish Cypriots to leave the table so Greek Cypriots can continue presenting themselves as the "victim side seeking a solution," and those in the north wanting the opposite side to leave so that the absence of a solution becomes accepted as the status quo.
"Turkish Cypriots are equal to Greek Cypriots," Erhürman said, adding that any government, organisation or individual unwilling to accept this on equal terms would find it impossible to engage meaningfully with his side. He said international organisations needed to understand that Turkish Cypriots are no longer willing to accept arguments invoking past behaviour to justify present treatment, and said his community has "never accepted, and never will accept, the normalisation of injustice."
Warns against 'the folly' of past isolation
Erhürman said no one should expect Turkish Cypriots to again support policies that isolate them internationally, by freezing diplomatic contacts and refusing dialogue while appearing to stand firm. He said a coordinated effort had been launched to undermine Turkish Cypriot morale because "comfort zones have been disturbed," and called on his community to use whatever means are available to them, invoking what he described as a Turkish Cypriot "struggle for existence" on the island dating back to 1878.
He acknowledged that the timing coincides with election periods on both sides of the island, which he said naturally drives politicians toward rhetoric and visibility, but said elections come and go while the Turkish Cypriot struggle for rights does not end. Erhürman noted that he was entrusted with his current role ten months ago and has more than four years remaining in his term, pledging never to give up on what he called his community's rights, security and equality on the island. "A promise is a promise," he said.
