President Ersin Tatar visited İstanbul for a one-day visit, where he took part in a conference organised by the Turkish Cypriot Cultural Association.

Speaking at the event,  President Tatar: “We are sovereign due to international agreements, but we want our sovereignty to be reaffirmed. The UN also needs to take a step in this regard as soon as possible.”

Within the framework of his contacts in  İstanbul, President Ersin Tatar met with association Chairperson Zehra Bilge Eray and the officials  of the Cyprus Turkish Cultural Association, İstanbul Branch. The President was briefed about the activities carried out by the association. 

President Tatar, in reference to the Cyprus issue, stated that a “negotiations under a federal basis has been exhausted and no longer possible in Cyprus.   We also sincerely want a compromise, an agreement in Cyprus for sustainable peace and stability for the benefit and future of both peoples. This agreement needs to be mutually agreed, fair, permanent and sustainable, where everyone can be happy,  both within Cyprus and for the stability of the region.”


The President underlined, however, the need for “new factors” in the eastern Mediterranean to be considered when looking forward, where the “there is a settlement that is based on the sovereign equality and equal international status of the two sides, and on the basis of two States which coexist side-by-side and in a cooperative relationship. This is a realistic and practical settlement which will be able to address all the issues”.

“We are struggling for this. We want an agreement on this basis in Cyprus,” the President said.


Expressing that he has many memories of the İstanbul Turkish Cultural Association, which he chaired for many years, President Tatar paid tribute to Prof. Dr. Derviş Manizade and emphasised the importance of his works. 
Mentioning all the names who chaired and were in the administration of the association, President Tatar wished God's mercy on those who passed away, and noted that all the chairman and members of the association put their best efforts for the struggle and existence of the Turkish Cypriot people.
President Ersin Tatar, expressing his gratitude to the staff and members of the association, noted that they organise and host very important events and meetings, and instrumental in shaping public opinion about the TRNC and Turkish Cypriot people. 

The President pointed out that the events held here, especially before 1974, influenced the policies and decisions taken by the Turkish governments at the time, and he explained that the messages given by former late Turkish Cypriot Leader Dr. Fazıl Küçük and Founding President Rauf Raif Denktaş were conveyed to the appropriate authorities via this platform.
Reminding that some of the Turkish Cypriots, who came to İstanbul from Cyprus to study at high education at universities, the President said that hundreds of students had stopped attending their educational programmes at university and had made their way to Cyprus to participate in the legendary Erenköy Struggle in 1964. “Some became martyred, others survived and became veterans. But they fought with great belief for the freedom of the Turkish Cypriot people. Again, your association had played a major part in this struggle,” the President remarked.


President Tatar also touched upon the other activities of the association from past to present so that the Turkish Cypriot people can live in independence, freedom and dignity, where he added: “The association played a pivotal role, and worked day and night, and prayed, during the 1974 Turkish Peace Operation.”  
He emphasised that the existence of the Turkish Cypriot people in Cyprus will continue and stated that the struggle of the Turkish Cypriot people to coexist as sovereign equals on the island is a position being adopted together under the national cause together with Motherland and Guarantor Turkey.

Reminding that the position of the Turkish Cypriot people in Cyprus is clear, that  the Turkish Cypriot people have been struggling  and fighting for their independence and  freedom since 1571, President Tatar said that a functioning federation that was based on the equality of the Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots had been established which formed the Republic of Cyprus.

President Tatar explained that  the treaties also had the objective of preserving the Turkish-Greek balance in the eastern Mediterranean, where two separate peoples can live separately but together, with  both the Republic of Turkey and Greece as  the guarantor countries.
President Ersin Tatar said that the Republic of Cyprus did not last very long and that Turkish Cypriots were forced out of the state apparatus through force of arms and they were expelled from 103 villages across the island during the period between 1963 to 1974. “The Turkish Cypriot people endured 11 years of suffering and persecution, which started with the incidents of 1963 and culminated with the proclamation of the ‘Hellenic Republic of Cyprus’ on July 15, 1974.
“The 11 years were very hard for the Turkish Cypriots who tried to survive without any income with nearly 50,000 people living on donations and forced to migrate.”


Expressing that the Turkish Cypriots had  always been waiting for Turkey to liberate them and that the Turkish Cypriot people gained their freedom with the July 20 Peace Operation, President Tatar noted that the Turkish Cypriot people fought hard and gave many martyrs for the sake of the national sacred cause. 
President Tatar said: "We currently have a state in the north of Cyprus," and pointed out that this week marks the 38th anniversary of the proclamation of the TRNC. President Tatar said that after he was elected as President, a new page has been opened in Cyprus and a new policy is  now being carried out.

Stating that the expectations for Turkish Cypriots to make concessions in every meeting, which yields no results in Cyprus, has been abandoned, President Tatar emphasised that they are now working towards a settlement that is based on the sovereign equality of the two sides and on the basis of the cooperation of two States that coexist side-by-side.
Referring to the negotiations made in the past, President Tatar pointed out that in the negotiations held in Cyprus for more than half-a-century, it has become apparent that no ground could be found for an agreement based on a confederal and federal basis.


President Tatar noted that the Greek Cypriots did not agree to an agreement on the basis of equality in Cyprus, because of the hegemonic mentality of wanting to be superior in Cyprus, and for their perception that Cyprus forms an integral part of Greece. “This mentality and approach does not conform to any will or intention in sharing this island based on equality with the Turkish Cypriot side. This mentality has prevented any settlement on the island and has exhausted federal based negotiations.”

The President highlighted the importance of Turkish Cypriots maintaining their existence on the basis of equality, and not as a minority. He said a “majority ruling the minority, under a basis of single sovereignty. . .will make the Turkish Cypriots weaker over time and that it would not be possible to maintain their existence on the basis of equality. This approach has prevented an agreement under a federal basis from being reached”.

President Tatar said that if we can reach a state model whereby the Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots live side-by-side in Cyprus with an agreement based on sovereign equality, then Turkish Cypriots will be able to continue their lives in the EU.


Expressing that the support for the new policy has increased, President Tatar explained that the Maraş opening is also an aspect of this new policy. Expressing that the 1974 title holders can seek a remedy for properties inside Maraş through the European Court of Human Rights sanctioned Immovable Property Commission which is in line with international law, President Tatar stated that the “Maraş initiative is a step in the right direction and one which conforms to human rights principles and enabling claimants to seek a legal remedy. This has been conveyed to the whole world and has been put on record.”

Explaining that Maraş has been closed for 47 years, but now it has been cleared and infrastructure work is taking place in the city, President Tatar emphasised the importance of developing the Maraş initiative.

Emphasising that the position and stance of the Republic of Turkey gives us strength and enables the Turkish Cypriot people to maintain their existence, President Ersin Tatar said: "The fact that the Republic of Turkey adopts us as an international cause and it gives us strength."
Expressing that despite the pandemic conditions, the TRNC has managed to survive with the support of the Republic of Turkey and that the Turkish Cypriot people have developed themselves in the fields of tourism, education, agriculture and the economy, President Tatar emphasised that “Turkey always supports us even in the most difficult days, as it has done so in the past.”

Mentioning that the pandemic conditions have been “well managed” in the TRNC, the President expressed his gratitude to the President of the Republic of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Minister of Health of the Republic of Turkey Fahrettin Koca.   The President also referred to the contributions made by the Republic of Turkey, including the emergency hospital and provision of vaccines which has enabled the Turkish Cypriot people to be inoculated at large, and emphasised that the TRNC has taken a place in the world as being one of the countries which has successfully managed the negative conditions arising from the pandemic.