By This post is also available in: ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΑ (GREEK) TÜRKÇE (TURKISH)
The declaration signed by The Organization of Turkic States (OTS) with the EU in Samarkand on 4 April brought with it debates that will go down in the history of Turkish Cypriot politics in every respect.
If I were to start with what I intended to write last, I would say once again, perhaps for the thousandth time, that the fairy tale of the recognition of the TRNC has ended in failure.
There is no recognition, no introduction, and no consideration whatsoever. The OTS has acted in line with its own interests under the guise of international law, and Turkish foreign policy has suffered a major blow to its credibility.
Meanwhile, yesterday’s news reported that the TDT’s Council of Elders had decided to hold this year’s meetings in the TRNC! It’s like trying to fix a broken heart!
But there is nothing left to fix, neither a heart nor anything else! There is only a huge mess!
Furthermore, the ‘establishment of a separate state in Cyprus’ thesis, which was brought back into circulation as an old and stale trick after the 2020 elections, has once again ended in disappointment.
We already knew it would end this way, but let’s say we did not expect it to happen in such a disastrous way!
Because the Turkic States, in the declaration they signed with EU Commission President Von der Leyen, explicitly supported UN Resolutions 541 and 550, which are perhaps the most important decisions the UN has ever made regarding the TRNC and Turkey.
For those who may not be aware, Resolution 541, adopted on 15 November 1983, prohibits the recognition of the TRNC.
Resolution 550, on the other hand, declares Turkey an occupying power, emphasises the restoration of the territorial integrity of the Republic of Cyprus, and calls for the transfer of Varosha, now known as a ghost town, to the UN administration.
Resolution 541 has been in effect since that day, and along with Resolution 550, all other resolutions have remained null and void for both Turkey and the TRNC administration.
The Cyprus issue and all the international decisions taken in relation to it, which have ruined, perhaps even ended, Turkey’s Westernisation project and turned it into an authoritarian, anti-democratic Middle Eastern country, are unfortunately the biggest problems facing the Turkish society.
Despite this, the right-wing representatives of TRNC politics who discussed this issue in the parliament the other day continued to lie to the people, saying, “Resolution No. 541 is not binding; it is not the word of God,” even though everything is very clear and obvious.
This lie, which has been told for such a long time, remains unmatched in the history of Cyprus, perhaps since the Neolithic Ages!
Decision No. 541 was adopted exactly 42 years ago and has remained valid ever since.
If a decision that has kept the Turkish Cypriot people locked in a cage for 42 years, severed them from international law, condemned them to live in isolation, and deprived them of even the most basic human freedoms like engaging in international sports events is not valid, then one must ask: What else is valid?
Just as UN Resolution 186, adopted on 4 March 1964, has pointed to a single legal entity on the island for 61 years, Resolution 541 defines the state that was unilaterally declared and banned against this legal entity!
The federal solution model based on political equality that has been pursued for years, with two regions and two communities, is nothing other than the struggle of Turkish Cypriots to establish an internationally recognised partnership state, which would end this ban.
The issue is actually simple: either you are a separatist, or you are a unifier!
Being separatist has led us to the point of being labelled an ‘illegal separatist entity.’
Seeking reunification, on the other hand, has paved the way for some to label us as traitors.
If you want a solution, you are a traitor; if you don’t, you are a patriot!
On the other hand, the Turkish press has been making various claims and putting forward various arguments regarding the Cyprus issue over the past month.
Almost all of the claims made by the nationalist left/leftist circles in Turkey have a common theme that has remained unchanged for years: “They are selling Cyprus!”
This slogan, which is constantly repeated like a broken record by nationalists who love conspiracies, undoubtedly attracts the attention of a large segment of the population.
Of course, this rhetoric has become part of the overall language of the opposition and has been turned into a weapon against the government. I don’t need to say that it can still be a very useful rhetoric in the future, if the roles of power are reversed!
That is why, almost every night on TV screens, so-called ‘experts’ on the Cyprus issue gather to discuss the problem, accusing Turkish Cypriots and political organizations who seek a solution of being ‘the puppets of America,’ ‘pro-Greeks deceived by imperialism,’ or ‘paid staff of the EU.’
Other kinds of ‘gatherings’ take place on pro-government media channels, where Turkish Cypriots are portrayed as ‘godless and faithless pork-eaters,’ subjected to various insults and targeted for attack.
In short, Turkish Cypriots, who fail to please almost everyone, are not considered sufficiently Turkish, or Muslim by the groups I have described above.
It is as if these people have a measuring device and we fail every test on offer!
Moreover, the author of these lines and thousands like him have no obligation to prove anything. They never will! That is absolutely nobody’s business!
Another slogan repeatedly chanted by these circles, that is, “Cyprus is our red line,” is a statement that disregards Turkish Cypriots and their will, and reduces them to nothing.
Of course, we are not anyone’s red line! So, we are not a red line at all!
Cyprus and the Turkish Cypriot community cannot be treated as a pawn within the power struggles in your own ranks.
These debates are not more valuable than the will, or dreams of the Turkish Cypriot people.
Yet, look around you: there are a significant number of collaborators and opportunistic politicians among the Turkish Cypriot people.
These groups, whose sole purpose is to prevent the structure in the north of the island from standing on its own feet, are deeply entrenched in the system. The only concern of the opportunistic politicians they elect is to secure benefits for themselves and their cliques.
Today, this system—infested with corruption, turned into a haven for criminals where laws to launder money are passed to no end in the parliament—is undoubtedly kept afloat by these collaborators.
So naturally enough, these groups have a position against a solution, or reunification on the island, and unfortunately, they have so far fulfilled their duties with great success.
The point we have reached is the point of extinction, the moment of demise for the Turkish Cypriot people.
That is why, the necessity of a solution is not a vision but a vital condition!
I hope that the recent rumors about new plans turn out to be true, so that we at least have something to hope for!
Because the Turkish Cypriots, who are far from a solution plan and international law, have no time to lose.
If things continue this way, it is not unlikely that they will soon have nothing left to lose…
This article was originally published on 23.04.2025
Source: THE OTS FIASCO AND POINTLESS DEBATES…
