Erdoğan to replace ‘slum’ Presidential building
TURKEY will build a new “Presidential Complex” for North Cyprus to replace the current British colonial era “slum”, Turkish President Recep Tayyip announced.
Mr Erdoğan made the comments during a highly anticipated speech to the TRNC Parliament in Lefkoşa on Monday at the start of a two-day visit to take part in events to mark the 47th anniversary of Turkey’s Peace Operation in Cyprus. He also said that the TRNC should have a new Parliament building and that the existing one should be turned into a museum.
Referring to the “good news” that he had promised to give in his speech, Mr Erdoğan told MPs: “The . . . Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus has neither a proper Presidential building or a complex, nor a proper Parliament building. This is our Parliament building.
“We do not think this suits the TRNC. Likewise, the building in the Presidential Complex, you know, it’s a slum that
belongs to the British. We don’t think that suits [the TRNC] either.
“The . . . project work for this Presidential Complex has been completed and I hope we will start its construction soon. Where are we starting? In the Metehan area [of Lefkoşa].
“In consultation with our armed forces, we have allocated 500 dönüms of land for this work, and within this 500 dönüms of land, we will build these complexes . . . and a truly magnificent national garden there. . . This is the expression of being a state.
“I hope that by realising this project, people will see what kind of a state exists that belongs to the Turkish Cypriots of Northern Cyprus.”
He added: “We don’t have much time. I say let’s get rid of these places as soon as possible. I say let’s get rid of where the Presidential office is. Let’s have a magnificent Parliament building with everything.
“Let our MPs have their own working spaces in the Parliament building, along with a conference hall, and so on. . . I think it would be right to turn this historical building, where the TRNC was declared, into a museum and leave it to the next generations.”
Mr Erdoğan gave no further details about the plans for the new Presidential Complex, which he first announced during a visit to the TRNC on November 15, 2020.
The current building used by the TRNC President, located in Lefkoşa’s walled city near Girne Kapısı (Girne Gate), was built in 1939.
It was used as an office by the late Turkish Cypriot leader Dr Fazıl Küçük as the Vice President of Cyprus when the island gained independence from the UK, and has continued to be used by Turkish Cypriot leaders since.
Mr Erdoğan also said in his speech that Cyprus is a cause for the Turkish nation.
“The Cyprus cause is a great cause,” he said. “It is great in terms of its history, its conscience, its struggle.
“It is the cause of a great nation that made history with its epic heroism in 1974. The Cyprus cause belongs to the entire Turkish nation.”
Mr Erdoğan’s speech was overshadowed, however, by a “boycott” by the main opposition Republican Turkish Party (CTP) and the Social Democracy Party (TDP).
President Ersin Tatar said that the parties should be “ashamed” of their actions.
The CTP replied that “the ones who should be ashamed are those who have reduced Turkish Cypriots to nothing in front of the world by remaining silent to all kinds of foreign intervention and antidemocratic methods for their own interests”.
They also accused Mr Tatar of attacking a “significant part of society”.
PART of the Lefkoşa bypass road and a “Museum Ship” in Alsancak were officially opened on Tuesday during a “group opening” and launch of a number of Turkishfunded projects in the TRNC.
President Ersin Tatar, Prime Minister Ersan Saner and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan made use of video link technology to connect to four locations around the country, which also included the ground-breaking ceremony for a “Public Data Centre” e-Government building, and the opening of the Bilal Ağa Mosque and “National Garden” in Maraş.
Speaking at the event, Mr Tatar said: “It gives us strength to share all the work carried out for the future, infrastructure and economic development of the TRNC and for us to look to the future with hope. It is the assurance that we can look to the future with hope and confidence.”
Mr Erdoğan noted that 96 million TL has been transferred from Turkey to 19 municipalities and various organisations in the TRNC for areas such as road construction, infrastructure services, education and training activities and industrial support.
He stated that 60 million TL of the 90 million TL in aid that has been allocated to approximately 14,000 individuals and institutions, as well as directly to households and legal entities, has been spent so far.
“We are reinforcing our fraternity at the local level with the sincere cooperation established between Turkey and the TRNC municipalities,” he said.
Mr Saner said: “With the National Garden and Bilal Ağa Mosque [opening], we are clearly showing the whole world that our aim is to make Maraş a living city instead of a ghost town.
“We hope that the whole world and all our neighbours will assess this humanitarian message well and take the necessary steps. Otherwise, we are determined to continue down the path we have laid together with Motherland Turkey.”
Mr Saner emphasised that the sooner the “health, road, port, water, electricity, and communication infrastructure” of the TRNC progresses to modern levels, “the sooner it will be possible to reach the targets”.
“The e-Government building we laid the foundation for will make a significant contribution,” he added.
Referring to the pipeline that supplies fresh water from Turkey to North Cyprus, Mr Saner said that the “Turkish Cypriot people, with Erdoğan’s support and leadership, reached Anatolian water with a project that is rarely seen in the world”.
He said that with Mr Erdoğan’s support, the “fault in the sea section of the pipeline” which occurred last year, was “fixed in a short time”.
Mr Saner noted that in line with Mr Erdoğan’s directives, the tender prepared for the “water coming from Anatolia to reach Güzelyurt first and then Mesaoria plain has come to life”.
He continued: “Hopefully, as
this year’s irrigation season starts, the water coming from the Motherland will increase our production activities and will add abundance to the Güzelyurt plain and when the day comes, our Mesaoria plain will switch from dry agriculture to irrigated agriculture.”
Mr Saner said that Turkey and the TRNC have taken “many steps” over the last two years to improve the country’s infrastructure, such as a new terminal at Ercan airport, which has yet to be opened.
“We have begun to implement these projects and we have started working on new projects. Some of our unfinished highway projects are starting to be completed one by one.
“We have come to the point of laying the foundations of our eGovernment building, which will contribute greatly to the increase in efficiency in the public sector and to provide modern state services. By opening the e-Government door, we will start to offer our citizens a wide range of services.”
Museum Ship
First, the “Museum Ship”, a landing craft used in the 1974 Cyprus Peace Operation, was opened. Mr Erdoğan connected by video link with Turkey’s National Defence Minister Hulusi Akar, who was at Yavuz Landing Beach in Alsancak.
Mr Akar talked about the importance of the beach and paid his respects to those who lost their lives during the military operation.
He said it is of “great importance that the young people know about the [Peace] Operation and the suffering” and that turning the “Ç 1974” vessel into a museum
would help young people to understand what happened.
Mr Erdoğan said: “Young people, do not neglect to visit this museum ship. This is very, very important in terms of seeing the conditions under which the ‘74 Peace Operation was accomplished.” Upon Mr Erdoğan’s instruction, Mr Akar and his entourage cut a ribbon and officially opened the
Museum Ship.
Lefkoşa Northern Ring Road
Then Mr Erdoğan opened the
Lefkoşa Northern Ring Road with Mr Tatar and Mr Saner.
“As you know, I am a president who attaches great importance to transportation projects and sees them as the basis of a country’s development and advancement,” Mr Erdoğan said.
“Likewise, my dear brother Ersin is involved in this effort. As part of the TRNC Highway Master Programme, 602km of main roads have been built so far.
“Currently, the village roads project, with a total length of 322km, along with four crossroads projects of 55km, continues. The Lefkoşa Northern Ring Road Project will greatly ease Lefkoşa’s traffic and save time and fuel.”
Mr Erdoğan then connected via video link to Turkish Transport and Infrastructure Minister Adil Karaismailoğlu and TRNC Public Works and Transport Minister Resmiye Canaltay, who were in the area to cut the ribbon for the opening of the Lefkoşa Northern Ring Road.
In his speech, Mr Karaismailoğlu said: “The Lefkoşa Northern Ring Road is 20km long in total, we are putting 11km of it into service. An alternative road has emerged for Lefkoşa’s daily traffic of 40,000 [vehicles]. We are inaugurating a very important project that reduces a 25-minute journey to nine minutes.”
Mr Erdoğan, noticing that landscaping around the road has not been completed, said: “I say all sides should be green. . . Cyprus is green, North Cyprus is green.”
He asked Mr Karaismailoğlu and Mrs Canaltay why the landscaping has not been completed. Mr Karaismailoğlu said: “We couldn’t do it due to the season. We are planning for it in November, then it will be completely green.”
Mr Erdoğan said: “Adil, turn over the project to Mrs Canaltay. She will follow up on this too.” Mrs Canatay promised to complete the area’s landscaping.
Public Data Centre building
Next followed the ground-breaking ceremony of the Public Data Centre. Mr Erdoğan stated that in the “age of information and technology, data, data production and protection has become one of the most important factors of state security”.
“Thanks to our national technology move, we have covered significant distances to best adapt to digital transformation with our human capital, software, hardware and infrastructure,” he said.
“In this context, we launched the TRNC ‘Electronic State Project’ in 2012. We aim to continuously improve digital public services, expand them throughout the country, make them user-friendly, increase access methods and enhance the number of valueadded services.
“This project endeavours to improve the daily life of the Turkish Cypriot people. It will make it easier, will prevent them from waiting in government offices and will ensure that they receive fast and effective service.
“Thanks to the centre, the infrastructure needs of public institutions and organisations regarding information technology services will be safely and effectively met 24/7 without interruption. . . I would like to thank our Digital Transformation Office who played a leading role in this work.”
Connecting via video link with Turkey’s Digital Transformation Office head Ali Taha Koç and the TRNC e-Government executive board chairman Suat Yeldener, Mr Erdoğan instructed the foundations of the Public Data Centre to be laid.
Afterwards, Mr Erdoğan said: “North Cyprus is now standing up. Hopefully, we will expand the digital era in North Cyprus in its best and most ideal form.”
Bilal Ağa Mosque and Maraş National Garden
Lastly Mr Erdoğan opened the Maraş National Garden and Bilal Ağa Mosque, whose restoration was completed.
“In this new phase, we are excited to reopen Bilal Ağa Mosque, which is one of the few works of Turkish-Islamic architecture that
has survived in the area,” Mr Erdoğan said.
“On behalf of myself and my nation I would like to thank the Cyprus Foundations’ Administration [Evkaf], which completed the restoration work in a very short time, for its sensitivity in protecting it.”
Recalling that he and Mr Tatar announced the opening of the Maraş coastline in October last year, Mr Erdoğan continued: “We know that the people of the island have had an intense interest in the area since then.
“Based on this, new projects that will bring vitality to the area are also being implemented. By preserving its original structure and architecture, the park with a swimming pool, which is put into service as a tea garden, is one of them.
“I congratulate those who have contributed to the preparation of the garden, which has been rearranged to be among one of the most beautiful parks of not only Maraş but of the whole island.”
Mr Erdoğan then connected via video link with Turkish Religious Affairs Minister Ali Erbaş and Evkaf head İbrahim Benter, who were at the Bilal Ağa Mosque.
Mr Erbaş said: “On the occasion of Kurban Bayram [Eid al-Adha], I hope that this auspicious opening will bring blessings and prosperity to Cyprus and Maraş.
“From the day Maraş opened last October, the call to prayer began to be read in this mosque.”