{"id":14340,"date":"2024-06-11T09:36:45","date_gmt":"2024-06-11T06:36:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/penna.cydialogue.org\/?p=14340"},"modified":"2024-06-12T09:29:30","modified_gmt":"2024-06-12T06:29:30","slug":"kizilyurek-and-panayiotou","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/penna.cydialogue.org\/kizilyurek-and-panayiotou\/","title":{"rendered":"KIZILY\u00dcREK AND PANAYIOTOU"},"content":{"rendered":"
The European Parliament elections held in Cyprus gave us two important messages.<\/p>\n
The effects of Niyazi K\u0131z\u0131ly\u00fcrek’s failure to be elected and Fidias Panayiotou<\/a>‘s victory will be felt for a long time.<\/p>\n Niyazi K\u0131z\u0131ly\u00fcrek’s victory in the previous election and the work he carried out had managed to revive the hopes that had faded following the Annan referendum period.<\/p>\n At a time when the voice of Turkish Cypriots had not been heard on international platforms for decades, K\u0131z\u0131ly\u00fcrek conveyed the problems experienced by Turkish Cypriot individuals to Europe, on account of them being Cypriots.<\/p>\n This disturbed some left-wing politicians as well as nationalists in the north and south of Cyprus.<\/p>\n K\u0131z\u0131ly\u00fcrek, who was censored for 5 years while trying to get his voice heard in the south, was the parliamentarian with the rarest appearances in the Greek Cypriot media. He was widely accused of not attacking Turkey enough. He repeatedly argued that the solution to the Cyprus problem could only be achieved by winning Turkey over and that pushing Turkey away from the EU was equivalent to continuing the deadlock, but this was never accepted.<\/p>\n He came a close third in the polls. There was an expectation that the small gap between him and second place would close with the votes coming from Turkish Cypriots. However, it transpired that AKEL voters did not want K\u0131z\u0131ly\u00fcrek this time. One indicator was the fact that 1\/3 of the votes he received were from Turkish Cypriots.<\/p>\n Him voicing the problems of Turkish Cypriot youth \u2013 the victims of the Cyprus problem \u2013 also caused discomfort in the North. The fact that he fought for issues that were on the agenda of only a few Turkish Cypriot politicians was disturbing to those who did not include these issues on their agenda in a sincere manner.<\/p>\n The failure to elect the “Intellectual Beyond Nation” [Editor’s note: reference to Kizilyurek’s book titled ‘Ulus Ka\u00e7a\u011f\u0131’<\/em>], who disturbed most in politics, is a big blow for those who still believe in a solution in Cyprus.<\/p>\n The bridge in between has collapsed, and the ground is now created for the Republic of Cyprus and European Union to remain even more silent against the problems being faced. The absence of someone to convey the problems of Turkish Cypriot youth to platforms outside the island will pave the way for the further entrenchment of existing conditions.<\/p>\n