President Ersin Tatar addresses a reception in the Parliament
“With my new vision for a settlement in Cyprus, I am asking the international community to help end the isolation of Turkish Cypriot people as it is a great injustice and against our human rights.”
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President Ersin Tatar has addressed a reception that was attended by 18 Parliamentarians, ambassadors, think tank representatives, members of the UK press and representatives of businesses and civil societies.
The event, titled “60 Years of the Cyprus Issue”, was held at The Pavilion in the Houses of Parliament, organised by The Rt. Hon. Lord Taylor of Holbeach and Freedom and Fairness for Northern Cyprus campaign.
President Tatar said: “As the President of the Turkish Cypriots, I demand the lifting of the isolations and restrictions that have had negative effects on the development of my people.. Isolation of my people has no place in this day and age, because my People have put forward arduous efforts in all the negotiation processes to reach a comprehensive solution to the Cyprus issue. The Turkish Cypriot People want a negotiated settlement to the Cyprus issue, which will be fair, practical and sustainable, otherwise we can end up as it used to be prior to 1974 – when there was violence and confrontation.”
The President added: “With my new vision, what we want is for stability and cooperation between the two States in Cyprus. There have effectively been two States in Cyprus for the past 60 years, and the right way forward is to look forward to a prosperous future, whereby the two States cooperate on energy, water, environment, cultural heritage and on natural resources around which can feasibly be transported via Türkiye – which is a big hub for energy, located just 60km from Cyprus whilst Greece is 1,000km away from the Island. . .and through Türkiye connected into the EU.”
Stating that he held a meeting a few days earlier with Cevdet Yılmaz, Vice President of the Republic of Türkiye, President Tatar said: “We held important meetings with Vice President Yılmaz about the interconnection issue. We are proposing a much more feasible project, where we can connect both North and South of Cyprus via Türkiye – which is already interconnected to the EU – that could be a bridge between the Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots, that will foster trust for the future. The way forward in Cyprus is through the cooperation of two States across different areas such as energy, water, demining, and addressing the challenges the Island faces such as irregular migration.”
“Whilst addressing you here, in the Mother of Parliaments, I call upon the international community to encourage the Greek Cypriot Side to cooperate with the Turkish Cypriots because they are refusing to cooperate with us, under the pretext that it will effectively mean the enhancement of the status of the Turkish Cypriot State, the TRNC. However, nobody can deny the reality, which is that the Turkish Cypriots are one of the two co-founders of the Republic of Cyprus, who have self-determination rights, because of their history and culture, and because of the geographic proximity of the Island to Türkiye, we are a Side to the Cyprus issue. Nobody is going to be able to find a solution to the Cyprus problem without the consent of the Turkish Cypriot People and Motherland Türkiye, that is located just 40-miles from the Island, providing us a big opportunity for the prosperity of the Island.”
Explaining that Türkiye is today transporting fresh water to the TRNC at a rate of 75 million m3 per annum via an 80km undersea pipeline, President Tatar added: “Thanks to President Erdoğan, we are transporting fresh water from Türkiye to our drought hit country, which has far less water resources due to global warming and less rainfall. This water is very precious for the Island of Cyprus. This is very important for our tourism, agriculture and other industries.Hence, what we are saying is that we can share this prosperity with the Greek Cypriots. And if we are able to find a fair, practical and sustainable settlement, Türkiye will open her ports to Greek Cypriot vessels and ships as well as other facilities. The airspace of Türkiye would also be opened so that there can be flights direct to Larnaca, Greek Cypriots would be able to enjoy much more prosperity. This will enable us to offer future generations much more prosperity, peace and cooperation.”
“I am sure that the British people will support this vision,” President Tatar said. “The British have retained two Sovereign Bases in Cyprus. We have a shared history, we share a culture, we share British values of justice and equality for all. There are at least 350,000 Turkish Cypriots living in the UK, who have become very successful across different walks of life in the country, who also have strong connections with their Homeland, the TRNC. These all equate to strong bonds between our Peoples. These values should bring us justice, fairness and humanity, so that we can work for the future. We owe it to future generations to come up with a fair, realistic and sustainable solution to the long-protracted Cyprus issue,” President Tatar said.
President Tatar stated that the UN Secretary-General had appointed Maria Angela Holguin Cuellar as his Personal Envoy to explore whether common ground exists or not between the two Sides to start a new process. “We relayed to our Motherland Türkiye what would satisfy us with regards to our sovereign equality and equal international status. We have a new vision for a two State settlement. And on the way to finding a two State settlement, we stated that our sovereign equality and equal international status is critical, and need to be reaffirmed and acknowledged. These are our inherent rights that comes from history and is enshrined in the 1960 treaties that established the partnership Republic of Cyprus. The Turkish Cypriots were co-founders of the republic with equal inherent rights,” the President added.
President Tatar stated that unless the sovereign equality and equal international status of the Turkish Cypriot People is reaffirmed, new and formal negotiations cannot be started.
President Tatar also touched on the history of the Island of Cyprus, stating that the Turkish Cypriot People have always put forward arduous efforts to reach a settlement for more than half-a-century. “In April 2004, following many years of negotiations, a UN Comprehensive Settlement Plan, known as the Annan Plan, was put to separately held simultaneous referenda on both Sides of the Island. The Greek Cypriot Side overwhelmingly rejected the plan by 76 per cent. The Turkish Cypriot People accepted it by 65 per cent. A week later, the Greek Cypriots were admitted as a member of the EU, whilst the Turkish Cypriots were left out in the cold. None of the promises made by the international community to end our isolation, that is preventing direct flights and direct trade with my country has been honoured. Even our athletes cannot participate in important prominent international sports tournaments. A Turkish Cypriot high-jumper, named Buse Savaşkan, could only recently participate in the Paris Olympics, by participating in the national team of Türkiye. Our football clubs cannot even play international friendlies with the clubs of other countries because they will be penalised. Where is the justice and equal treatment of my People? We are making pleas to the international community and to the UK, one of the Guarantor powers, to review these policies and to put an end to our isolation. This is a human rights issue that needs to be addressed,” President Tatar said.
President Tatar emphasised that Jack Straw, former UK Foreign Secretary who was serving in office during the Annan Plan, is today supportive of a two State settlement in Cyprus and is saying that it was a mistake to allow the Greek Cypriot Side to become members of the EU prior to a settlement.
President Tatar thanked Lord Holbeach, the Parliamentarians and ambassadors and think tank representatives and all distinguished guests for attending the event.
Lord Holbeach paid tribute to President Tatar, saying: “President Tatar has made it clear that in his view a two State solution is the only way. And I can see that where our interests lie is to build up the state of Northern Cyprus. I can say that a man of his sharpness and brilliance is a credit to the country and he has done much for the Turkish people. He in many ways represents their Homeland and I am delighted to welcome him here.”
Freedom and Fairness for Northern Cyprus campaign co-chairs Çetin Ramadan and Rikki Williams also addressed the reception about the objectives and projects of the campaign.