A SOLUTION AGREEMENT… RIGHT NOW!

After months of debate over who would, or would not be the candidate, the governing parties have decided to rally for Ersin Tatar in the 2025 presidential elections through a charade, which they named as the ‘Common Sense Agreement.’

The agreement, which was announced with a statement that was clearly not written in Cyprus, read, “As three parties, we support Mr. President Ersin Tatar as our joint candidate.”

This alliance, which will serve no purpose other than being a ‘bad agreement’ for the Turkish Cypriot people, has great potential of causing problems within itself.

Indeed, even before the ink on the agreement dried, the smallest but most influential partner of the coalition, Erhan Arıklı, told the press that if the TRNC was not recognised, it could follow the example of Taiwan, or Nakhchivan.

As a Turkic nationalist, Arıklı’s ultimate goal is to annex the north of Cyprus—and, if he could, the whole island—to Turkey.

That is why, he clearly states that he is against the unification of the island through a federation.

So it is only natural that he will dream of such models as Nakhcivan. Just like Tahsin Ertuğruloğlu’s dreams of the Monaco model, these are actually quite natural things.

What is not natural is the support for Tatar, which is clearly forced, given that Prime Minister Ünal Üstel has told those close to him that he would rather cut off his hand than vote for him.

Let us make one thing clear: the October elections are now a vote of confidence for the government. If Tatar loses, it will be on the Prime Minister’s account. Naturally, it will be impossible for him to remain Prime Minister after that.

Therefore, we can say that the political career of Ünal Üstel, who has been forced to play this political gamble, depends on the outcome of the election from this point onwards.

But this is only one side of the coin. On the other side, there is Tufan Erhürman.

This is because the October elections have taken a turn that Tufan Erhürman would not like at all, that is a turn towards something like a referendum.

In the given context, the October elections are a matter of life and death for Erhürman, who has failed to win any election he has entered.

A new defeat against Ersin Tatar, who has destroyed his position, been ridiculed by a large segment of the public and whose reputation has come close to zero, and also against the government that supports him and has turned the country into a mess, would undoubtedly spell the end of Erhürman’s political career.

I don’t know if there are those within CTP who are playing games to keep Erhürman in the party’s presidential seat even if he loses the election, despite the party’s constitution.

Yet, another defeat for Erhürman, who has never won an election, could be the beginning of the end.

So, what can be done against this front, which has gathered behind Tatar, albeit reluctantly, and which I consider to be nothing more than a simple play on words, devoid of any ‘common sense’?

Mustafa Akıncı, who won the 2015 elections, chose Özdil Nami, one of the prominent figures of CTP, as his negotiator.

Özdil Nami, whom I trust to be sincere about resolving the Cyprus issue, did a good job in my opinion and played a very positive role in the Crans Montana process.

Why am I giving this example? Because I think the same formula for cooperation should be applied again.

In my opinion, CTP should work without delay to form a negotiation committee from within TDP and other federalist groups, and seek ways to unite with strong and reliable figures. In fact, it should not just seek, but also announce these figures to create trust.

This new synergy could certainly be complemented by an alliance for early elections, which will be on the agenda after October, but the obstacle that must first be overcome is the presidential election.

If success can be achieved there, I believe the rest will follow naturally.

On the other hand, when people like us, who can be considered as old leftists, fight within their own circles, we always describe the unification of the left as ‘harder than splitting an atom.’

Furthermore, I find the term ‘unification’ rather UBP-esque, so I prefer the concept of ‘acting together.’

Because it is our duty to fight together for a common cause, namely a federal solution.

It would not be right to label this as ‘leftist consensus’, or something similar, given the ineptness of such jingoistic rhetoric.

Moreover, there is no such term as ‘leftist consensus’ in Turkish [Editor’s note: here, the author offers a play of words. ‘Sağduyu’ is a Turkish word that means ‘common sense’ but when it is split into two (sağ-duyu), it literally translates as ‘rightist sense’. ‘Solduyu’ is a self-invented word by the author as an antonym of ‘sağduyu’, which literally translates as ‘leftist common sense’ in Turkish when split into two (sol-duyu)].

Instead, a ‘Federal Solution Consensus’, or simply ‘Solution Consensus’, would be much more appropriate.

The Turkish Cypriot people have been going through numerous difficulties for decades. Their problems are growing exponentially.

And the Cyprus problem is the main cause of the problematic environment in which they live. It is already clear that without resolving this problem, other problems caused by it will not disappear.

The end of an order that is disconnected from international law is naturally decay, and this decay has grown over the last five years to the point where it is not sustainable anymore.

In this context, the most unsustainable thing is the Cyprus problem itself.

If this synergy can be achieved, the most important promise the result will offer will be the solution itself and the EU membership.

These people, who have lost their way, lost themselves, become addicted to the system, and got trapped in their comfort zones, must be explained about the unsustainable situation we are in, and the solution and the EU vision must be presented with all their aspects.

Take the property issue, for instance.

The most recent example of how far removed from the law and how unsustainable the system we live in can be observed through the developments regarding property.

The solution to the property issue is very clear: the solution to the Cyprus problem itself!

That solution is written in the Guterres Document.

Explain! Explain it clearly!

Explain how the federal solution will work, what form it will take, how the issue of mixed marriages, property and other problems will be resolved to the people!

The ‘bad agreement’ you are signing up to will attack you, accuse you of being a supporter of Greek Cypriots and label you as traitors, and of course report you to Turkey.

Let them do it!

There is nothing to lose from this point on.

Because if, thinking about the internal politics of the TRNC, we fall back into the trap of populism, which is embedded its nature, and the synergy I described above cannot be created, know that we will all lose!

So let us write it here once again, clearly and openly: There is only one candidate in the elections who advocates a federal solution, and that is Tufan Erhürman, the candidate of CTP.

Of course, like others, the author of these lines may have various criticisms of him, which I think is natural.

However, we have not reached the point of a vicious circle; we are fighting to reach the opposite shore, that is, the solution.

At this point, CTP must take the lead, gather the relevant forces for a solution, delegate power, not belittle anyone, not act aggressively, be willing to share, and most importantly, inspire confidence.

With this confidence, it must give the people new hope, present a vision, and create a platform for a struggle worth fighting for.

What will happen if this is not done?

The CTP will remain trapped in its own echo chamber, act selfishly, look down on other solution-oriented groups, waver for the sake of populism, and ultimately be defeated.

To prevent this, I write with good intentions, as someone who desires the reunification of the island, insists that the path to this is a federal solution, knows that the future lies in a United Federal Cyprus, and most importantly, sees that without this reunification, our children will never have a future…

A Solution Agreement, right now!

This article was originally published on 03.06.2025

Source: A SOLUTION AGREEMENT… RIGHT NOW!