Two significant developments took place that were not given much attention due to the election atmosphere. There is a direct link between these two developments and UN Secretary-General Mr. Guterres’s decision not to call for three, or five-party meetings at the opening of the UN General Assembly in New York. We learnt of this link from President Erhürman’s statements.
Firstly, the UN Secretary-General had given the two leaders a ‘homework’ on seven points to convene a five-party conference… This did not bring any results due to Mr. Christodoulidis’ ‘stalling tactics’. Nor did the UN Secretary-General convene the five plus one conference. We learnt from the statement by Mr. Letimbiotis, the Government Spokesperson for Mr. Christodoulides—who claimed “these are not confidence building measures”—and from President Erhürman’s response to him, that one of these ‘homeworks’ concerned the issuance of identity cards and passports to children born of mixed marriages. Mr. Erhürman explained to Mr. Letimbiotis: “Yes, these are not confidence building measures, but they constitute a deprivation of rights and are therefore eroding confidence.” The need to address this was demonstrated by its inclusion amongst the seven headings for confidence building measures presented to the leaders by UN Secretary-General Mr. Guterres. The issue has thus been incorporated into a UN document for the first time.
The second point emerged when Mr. Erhürman sent a letter of complaint to the European Commission regarding the actions taken by Mr. Christodoulidis’ administration to cancel a concert in the North and a sporting event for children organised by Barcelona Football Club. The European Commission’s reply is a second important matter that cannot be overlooked. In his letter, Mr. Erhürman noted that these actions constituted “confidence-eroding measures”. This was addressed in the Commission’s response, which stated that “the concerns have been carefully noted”. Furthermore, in this response, the European Commission emphasised the decisions it had taken in 2004 to lift the isolation of the Turkish Cypriot Community. Everyone knows that these are the Green Line Regulation and the Financial Assistance and Direct Trade Regulations. Of these, only the Direct Trade Regulation remains on hold due to the vetoes of the South.
After all these years, it is highly significant that the European Commission, in this response, has demonstrated its commitment to the decisions taken in 2004. In particular, regarding Mr. Erhürman’s criticism of the South’s imposition of isolation in humanitarian matters such as music and sport, the Commission’s statements in this letter of response demonstrate that such isolation does not find a place in the European Commission’s conscience either. In short, it is significant that the issue of mixed marriages has been addressed in a UN document and that the European Commission has stated, in a letter of official status, that such isolation is problematic. These are important points for a new beginning.
These developments demonstrate to us the importance of following a political line based on the UN Parameters. Mr. Erhürman’s reliance on this foundation has demonstrated the sensitivity of two key international institutions towards these issues. In other words, we must be in harmony with the UN Parameters.
