Erhurman: Attempts to render Turkish Cypriots invisible do not help solution efforts

Attempts to “render Turkish Cypriots invisible” are unhelpful to efforts to bring about a solution to the Cyprus problem, Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman said on Friday, following political pressure from the Greek Cypriot side causing the cancellation of a music festival in Kyrenia and telephone calls from the foreign ministry discouraging diplomats from attending a briefing given by his undersecretary Mehmet Dana. “Greek Cypriot diplomacy has been conducting a campaign for some time. The summary is this: ‘lifting or easing the isolation of the Turkish Cypriots will eliminate their desire for a solution’ and ‘introducing new confidence-building measures will make the status quo comfortable,” he said. As such, he said, the Greek Cypriot side’s position is “in short, that ‘lifting or even easing the isolation and implementing new confidence-building measures will not serve a solution, but will make it more difficult”. “It seems that attempts to ‘justify’ actions such as preventing Turkish Cypriot negotiators from meeting ambassadors, ensuring the cancellation of a music event in Kyrenia and creating hindrances to the participation of many of our people, from athletes to folk dance groups, in international events, are being made with such statements, among others,” he said. Related Articles • Cancelled Kyrenia concert: ‘music meant to bring people together’ • Organisers withdraw from planned Kyrenia Castle music festival • Fourlas urges Serbia to stop music festival at Kyrenia Castle • Planned music festival at Kyrenia Castle sparks political backlash In light of this, he said, “the reluctance to implement confidence-building measures, the obstruction of manoeuvres to lift or even ease the isolations and the attempts to render Turkish Cypriots invisible, do not benefit efforts for a solution, they harm them”. He added that additionally, “they do not improve relations between Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots, they damage them”. “Indeed, the recent emphasis by the United Nations on confidence-building measures reveals that they, too, essentially share this view,” he said. As such, he said, “regardless of what anyone says, the path to a solution does not lie in merely saying ‘I want a solution’, but in accepting that Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots are equal and have equal rights and opening avenues to improve their relations and build greater trust in each other”. “Otherwise, the situation becomes inconsistent between what is said and what is done and in that case, it becomes our duty to explain this to the international community more effectively and continuously,” he said. This, he added, is because “the Turkish Cypriot people possess the will for a solution, but having the will to find a solution does not mean that they will ever tolerate efforts to isolate their children from the world”. His reference to the UN comes after UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres had during his visit to the island last month said that a new enlarged meeting will be convened “after adequate progress” is achieved on confidence-building measures, the meeting’s methodology and the substance of the talks. This was followed by UN Cyprus problem envoy Maria Angela Holguin saying that the implementation of confidence-building measures is an “indispensable condition” to be fulfilled ahead of an enlarged meeting. “Confidence-building measures should not be seen merely as symbolic steps which improve the atmosphere between the two communities, but rather as practical tools which test the viability of a future political order,” she told Turkey’s Anka news agency. She added that confidence-building measures are “important in demonstrating whether cooperation works in practice” and said that “such initiatives help create the collaborative habits which a future solution will need”. This week, pressure led by Disy member of the European Parliament Loukas Fourlas, who chairs the delegation to the European Union-Serbia stabilisation and association committee in the European Parliament, leading to the cancellation of the Nexus electronic music festival, which had been set to take place in Kyrenia. Meanwhile, sources from diplomatic missions in Nicosia had informed the Cyprus Mail that the foreign ministry had been telephoning them, urging them not to attend a briefing on the Cyprus problem which was given by Dana on Wednesday. The briefing nonetheless went ahead, with sources telling the newspaper that the briefing, which was held at the Home for Cooperation in Nicosia’s buffer zone, was “quite well attended”.