By This post is also available in: ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΑ (GREEK) TÜRKÇE (TURKISH)
I hear this question frequently at the time of election campaigns. It is repeated like a chorus, imposed like an order.
The other evening, on a special broadcast, they asked Professor Tufan again: “How will you convince Turkey?”
This question actually shows how alienated society has become from its own will. A lack of self-confidence is being instilled in society.
So, why don’t we ever ask the question fromn the other way around?
‘How will Turkey convince the Turkish Cypriots?’
Isn’t this a mutual process?
If a certain kind of politics is to be pursued regarding Cyprus, it must first touch the hearts, minds and will of those who live on this land.
If it is going to shape our children’s future, if it is going to bear the traces of our lives, they need to convince us first…
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Just think about it… We are going to make a choice, we are going to express our will, we are going to make a decision… Is Turkey going to come out and say, “I don’t like it, I don’t recognise it”?
Is that what they mean?
According to those who always pursue politics through the same rhetoric, Turkey does not care about the opinions of Turkish Cypriots, or the voters here.
Whatever it says goes!
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There is a notion which is called, ‘learnt fear’. People often learn fear and anxiety not directly from their own experiences, but from others in their surroundings. In other words, emotions are not just biological reflexes; they are also the product of social contact.
Fear and anxiety grow through conditioning.
Societies get used to fear through symbols, images and rhetoric.
These emotions cease to be individual; they become tools for bringing society into line.
The cycle of ‘scare, intimidate, control’ is the oldest game in politics.
We have been a part of this game for years: “Your opinion doesn’t matter, you don’t make the decisions, whatever someone else says goes…”
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Of course, when it comes to Cyprus, deliberation with Turkey is vital.
But if the agenda is reduced down to the question, “How will you convince Turkey?”
Then it means that the community here is ignored.
The will of the voters is belittled.
Turkey must also convince the Turkish Cypriots and pay respect to the will here.
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The real issue is what we want.
We are trapped in uncertainty.
We live in the shadow of a system that has even begun to arrest its own children.
We are held captive in an ‘illegal’ structure as an ‘invisible’ community in the world.
We are surrounded by arbitrariness, lack of oversight, profiteering, corruption, fraud, mediocrity…
The distance between us and the world is widening.
Not only are we living in hightened insecurity, but this order is being maintained due to fears of insecurity.
They instil fear in us by saying, “They will destroy you.” Yet, in reality, they are destroying our identity, our culture, our future, and most of all, our hope.
We are held captive in a ‘hostage system.’
If we want to change this system, those who say “let it stay this way” must first convince all of us…
Let us not forget…
Societies that rely on self-confidence and hope, not fear, are much freer.
This article was originally published on 04.09.2025
