EIGHT OF ERHÜRMAN’S TEN PROPOSALS CAN BE RESOLVED IN A FEW SECONDS, BUT TWO ARE DIFFICULT!
‘The right to citizenship for children born of mixed marriages’…
What is this right about?
Whose citizenship does it concern?
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President Tufan Erhürman frequently raised this issue before and during his election campaign and promised to follow up on it as soon as he was elected…
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And in his very first meeting with the President of the Republic of Cyprus, Nikos Christodoulides, he demanded a solution to this issue…
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The Republic of Cyprus naturally grants citizenship to every child born to a Cypriot mother and/or father…
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So, to whom does it not grant citizenship, or make it difficult to access one?
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The procedure they officially follow, that is, the ‘reason’ they refuse to grant citizenship, or make it very difficult to access one is that the mother, or father ‘entered the country illegally’…
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However, everyone knows very well that the real reason is related to the ‘spiritual’ realm!
The ‘incurable disease of nationalism’ imbued with ‘Turkish’ hostility should never be underestimated!
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When you look at the issue of ‘citizenship’—which is a human right—through the lens of sick nationalism, we must not blame the authorities of the Republic of Cyprus, or what we might call the Greek Cypriot mentality!
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Let me give an example…
We must also look at the issue through the lens of ‘Turkish nationalism’!
Right now, in the TRNC, there are thousands of mothers and fathers, grandchildren, and even great-grandchildren of racist Turkish nationalists, who are five times worse than the racist Greek Cypriot mentality, who would like to become citizens of the ‘Republic of Cyprus’!
These same people are the ones demanding ‘two separate states’!
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The streets of the TRNC are full of people who say, “You can’t live with the Greek Cypriots, they are EOKA members, they are Enosis supporters, they slaughtered us, they carried out the Akritas Plan, you can’t make a friend out of a Greek Cypriot,” but at the same time walk around with the documents of the Republic of Cyprus citizenship—that is, their identity cards and passports—in their pockets!
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In short, yes, Greek Cypriot nationalism is definitely ‘immoral’ in terms of human rights, but the attitude of Turkish nationalists is not even ‘immoral’; it is beyond that!
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So, how should the ‘right’ and the ‘wrong’, the deserving and the undeserving, be ‘singled out’?
If we are to discuss this through the lens of ‘nationalism’, the Greek Cypriots are right! The demand for passports by Turkish nationalists is beyond unethical!
Moreover, if we look at the issue from a technical and legal perspective, the ‘law’ is clear!
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So, what is the solution?
We should not wait for the European Court of Human Rights to decide on this issue…
Can the two leaders resolve this?
Yes, it is a subject that needs to be discussed—negotiation is essential—but the two leaders cannot find a solution to this problem!
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A change in the law is required, and a parliamentary majority is essential…
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I don’t think it’s difficult to say this; this issue, alone, is perhaps more challenging than finding a comprehensive solution!
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Let’s move on to the second ‘problematic’ proposal!
Arrests related to property ownership…
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While Şimon Aykut was on trial, I had a chance to discuss this issue with both Greek Cypriot colleagues and top-level politicians…
I can summarize my view at the time as follows: “Don’t do it, this issue will cause tension, we will overcome the property issue with a comprehensive solution, why are you getting worked up now, what were you thinking all this time?”…
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The response I received from the highest level was, “… there is judicial independence in Cyprus; we cannot intervene!”
I even said, “Tell that to the marines,” but the result is clear!
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As you can see, eight of the President’s ten proposals could be resolved in just ten seconds, but the two I mentioned above are as difficult and problematic as a comprehensive solution—perhaps even more so, extending beyond a possible comprehensive solution!
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Increasing the number of booths at the Agios Dometios checkpoint to three and having staff on duty in each booth at all times; facilitating crossings by granting road tax permits at the Astromeritis and Deryneia checkpoints; taking steps to allow children under the age of 14 to play friendly football matches; a joint visit by the two leaders within the context of the work of the Committee on Missing Persons; the authorisation of Bureau Veritas Paris on the issue of halloumi and the establishment of a new technical committee; paving the way for the EU Ethics and Compliance Committee to resume its work; the establishment of a communication channel between the security forces of the two sides, and the joint participation of the two leaders in the start of the road widening works in the buffer zone at Agios Dometios are not even issues!
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Let me repeat: the topics, or proposals titled ‘The right to EU citizenship for children born to mixed marriages and the problems these individuals face when crossing to the South’ and ‘The negative impact of arrests and trials related to property ownership, and the need to take action on this issue’ are problematic!
Very problematic indeed!
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Oh, and before I finish this article, a friendly reminder to President Erhürman; I read it in yesterday’s Özgür Gazete headlines and it really broke my heart… What our 20-year-old stateless sister had to go through is very sad [Editor’s note: reference to a recent incident whereby a 20 year old woman, born to a mixed marriage, was arrested on the grounds of ‘statelessness’ in the north of Cyprus]… But there are many people in the same situation as this woman; it is inevitable that this issue must also be addressed… In other words, there are serious citizenship crises within the TRNC itself…
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Furthermore, our dear lawyer Aslı Murat stated on 20 November, World Children’s Rights Day, that child abuse in Northern Cyprus has increased by 900 per cent in the last 10 years, while the number of children involved in crime has increased by 170 per cent in the last five years…
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This issue must never fall off the agenda…
It should not remain as a simple ‘matter’ mentioned in the statements made on 20 November!
This article was originally published on 20.11.2025