RECOGNISE THE TRNC
TURKISH PRESIDENT ERDOĞAN MAKES ‘HISTORIC’ CALL FOR WORLD LEADERS TO
THE world should “recognise the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus as soon as possible”, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said in his speech at the 77th United Nations General Assembly in New York.
Addressing delegates, diplomats, and dignitaries from across the world on Tuesday, President Erdoğan also said that the international community should “put an end to the oppression towards the Turkish Cypriots and to the efforts to isolate them from the world through embargoes, contrary to the principles of the United Nations”, before explicitly telling the General Assembly for the first time to recognise North Cyprus as an independent state.
The call came after he had spoken about relations with Greece, and the Eastern Mediterranean, with Mr Erdoğan saying: “Together with the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, we have always shown goodwill and have displayed constructive efforts to reach a just, lasting and sustainable settlement to the Cyprus issue.”
He added that “in fact, anyone who is willing to see the truth is aware that there are two distinct states and two distinct peoples on the island today” and that “the reaffirmation of the rights of equal sovereignty and equal international status of the Turkish Cypriot people is the key to a settlement on the island”.
TRNC President Ersin Tatar was jubilant at the speech, releasing a statement lauding it as “historic”.
He praised Mr Erdoğan for conveying “the demands and expectations of the Turkish Cypriot people and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus from the international community”.
Mr Tatar also disclosed in his statement that he had telephoned Mr Erdoğan following his speech to “express gratitude for himself as well as on behalf of the Turkish Cypriot people”.
He added: “I sincerely hope that the international community will listen to President Erdoğan on the matter, and the way is opened for the TRNC to reach its deserved place in the international arena, free from isolation and restrictions.”
Foreign Minister Tahsin Ertuğruloğlu said: “These statements of President Erdoğan point out that we are at a turning point regarding the Cyprus issue [and] are a declaration to the world that the official recognition of the existence of two states that will live in tranquillity on the island of Cyprus is the only solution to the Cyprus issue.
“We expect the injustice done to the Turkish Cypriot People, who have been subjected to many
atrocities, to be ended as soon as possible.
“We invite the international community to heed the calls of President Erdoğan. The time has come . . . for the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus to take its rightful place in the international community. I would like to express my deepest gratitude to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.”
Reaction to the idea of “recognition” elsewhere, however, was mixed. Main opposition Republican Turkish Party (CTP) leader Tufan Erhürman, referencing the farce surrounding the postponed local government elections and the violation of the Constitution on the part of the government, wrote on social media: “I think the first move to recognise the TRNC should come from those who claim that they ‘govern’ this country and that there is a ‘government’ in this country.”
He added: “It should not be easy to claim that you ‘recognise’ a country when you do not care about the will of its people, its Constitution, its legal order, or its institutional structure.”
UN PARAMETERS
The CTP’s general secretary Asım Akansoy said in an interview on BRT TV that “we should put forward a policy that will strengthen our hand on the table during the negotiation process regarding the Cyprus problem”, and that “we must act within the framework of the United Nations parameters” otherwise other countries “will want nothing to do with us”.
He also suggested that Mr Erdoğan’s calls for the TRNC to be recognised were aimed at the “domestic audience”.
Kudret Özersay, the leader of the People’s Party (HP) and a former foreign minister, said that while Mr Erdoğan’s call at the UN General Assembly for the TRNC to be recognised is an “important and positive step” the “most important thing is whether or not this call will be fulfilled”.
He continued: “If we really want the TRNC to be recognised, we must insist on the formation of governments based on the will of the people.
“The selection of prime ministers, ministers, and cabinets by foregoing democratic practices and ignoring the will of the people; and the fact that the Turkish government is decisive in determining these, even its appearance, harms the Turkish side’s assertion that [the TRNC] is a separate state.”
Dr Özersay added that “the relationship between Turkey and the TRNC should be reviewed and it should be shown that this is an independent state, not only in words, but also in practice”.
Meanwhile President Tatar is due to meet with United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in New York today.
Ahead of that meeting, Mr Tatar said he will tell Mr Guterres that the “position of the Turkish Cypriot side has not changed” from the one he put forward at a meeting in Geneva in April last year.
Meanwhile, Greek Cypriot leader Nicos Anastasiades was due to give his speech to the General Assembly yesterday.
PRESIDENT Ersin Tatar travelled to New York ahead of the 77th annual United Nations General Assembly.
As the TRNC is not recognised by the UN as an independent state, Mr Tatar did not make a speech at the General Assembly, but busied himself with a number of other engagements.
His first engagement of note was to attend the annual gala dinner of the Turkish American National Steering Committee (TASC) at the Rockefeller Centre.
He was joined by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and First Lady Emine Erdoğan, as well as other Turkish ministers.
Mr Tatar then met with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu for a meal, where he was joined by the TRNC’s Foreign Minister Tahsin Ertuğruloğlu and presidential special representative Ergün Olgun.
President Tatar later met with the secretary general of the Organisation of Turkic States, Baghdad Amreyev, at the Türkevi (Turkish House) skyscraper in Manhattan.
The meeting was also attended by Mr Ertuğruloğlu, his undersecretary Kemal Köprülü, the TRNC’s New York representative Mehmet Dana and the TRNC’s Washington DC representative Mustafa Lakadamyalı.
At the meeting, the attendees discussed the issues of improving relations and increasing solidarity between the TRNC and the Organization of Turkic States (OTS).
Mr Tatar spoke of how the OTS holds “great importance” for the TRNC, and expressed his hope that the bond between the TRNC and the OTS be strengthened.
On Wednesday Mr Tatar met for a second time with Mr Erdoğan, at the Turkish House, together with their respective foreign ministers and officials.
No statement about the content of the discussion, which was “closed to the press”, was released.
Meanwhile Mr Olgun held a meeting with Anna Evstigneeva, the Deputy Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the United Nations.
Mr Olgun told Ms Evstigneeva that there should be a two
state-based solution to the Cyprus problem.
The pair also discussed “regional developments” and the “improvement of bilateral relations”.
In addition to his meeting with Ms Evstigneeva, Mr Olgun also held a meeting with the United Nations undersecretary general for political and peace-building affairs Rosemary DiCarlo. Mr Olgun informed Ms DiCarlo about the six “cooperation proposals” or confidence-building measures proposed by the Turkish Cypriot side, and also reaffirmed his commitment to a two-state solution to the Cyprus problem. Mr Ertuğruloğlu also made himself busy in New York, holding a bilateral meeting with his Pakistani counterpart Bilawal Bhutto Zardari. Mr Ertuğruloğlu thanked Mr Zardari for “the support and solidarity that friendly and brotherly country Pakistan has given to the TRNC within the framework of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation”. The pair also agreed “that the existing relations between the two countries should be developed and taken forward”.