The reasons for not responding positively to the proposal for a trilateral meeting submitted by Ms. Holguin, in accordance with the request of President Nikos Christodoulides, are very clear and based on principles, stated Ersin Tatar after the meeting with the Personal Envoy of the UN Secretary-General, raising the claim that President Christodoulides is an unreliable interlocutor.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, which lasted a little over an hour, and reading from a written text, the Turkish Cypriot leader said that his decision was not made as an emotional reaction, but with an approach that prioritizes “the security and rights of our people. As long as the Greek Cypriot leader continues to attack us, he will receive a similar response. I will never give in to threats and blackmail.”
Mr. Tatar said that he had clearly expressed his warnings on this issue, not only today, but also at the expanded informal meeting in Geneva in March, to the President of the Republic, Nikos Christodoulides, in Nicosia on April 2 and May 5, and to the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General, Colin Stewart, on the same day. He added that he had reiterated it last Monday and in his meeting with Ms. Holguin.
He continued, he has great respect for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. "I appreciate his interest in the Cyprus issue and his constructive approach to cooperation between the two sides. I would also like to thank his Personal Envoy, Maria Angela Holguin, for the approach she demonstrated during her contacts. However, it is clear that Mr. Christodoulides, who targets our people by using the property issue as a tool of pressure through the judiciary, cannot be considered a reliable interlocutor unless he changes his approach. This policy of the Greek Cypriot leader, which increases tension, does not serve dialogue but a dead end."
In the face of the isolation and human rights violations that have been imposed on the Turkish Cypriot "people" for a long time, it is unacceptable for certain circles among us to remain silent in the face of the rhetoric and practices of the Greek Cypriot leadership, or even to adopt a stance of support for it, he added.
“This behavior does not ignore a mentality that persecutes our people and treats them as criminals, but tacitly supports it. Trying to legitimize these oppressive policies for the sake of everyday political interests means contributing to the continuation of ongoing injustices against our people. This is not politics, but a tradition (in Greek Cypriot politics) disguised as politics. I reject this perception. I resolutely defend the rights, honor and future of our people and I will continue to do so.”
According to Ersin Tatar, "this attitude towards the legitimate rights of the Turkish Cypriot people has nothing to do with the law. Individuals who invest or carry out real estate transactions within the borders of the TRNC are presented as committing crimes for political reasons, and in this way an atmosphere of fear is sought to be created."
This is a “dangerous approach,” which targets not only the rights of individuals, but also the trust between “the two peoples” and the possibility of future reconciliation, he argued. As long as this attitude continues, it is not possible to talk about a healthy environment for dialogue, he added. “Therefore, showing respect to such a mentality means both normalizing these activities and burdening the new atmosphere that the UN Secretary-General expressed,” he said.
"The period of tolerance for this hostile policy," as Mr. Tatar said, "which targets the freedom, prosperity and peace of the Turkish Cypriots is over."
Speaking orally, the Turkish Cypriot leader said that Ms. Holguin's task is to be able to make progress on the six points agreed upon in Geneva in March so that there can be cooperation between the two sides and to prepare a meeting "in a 5+1 format, again likely to take place at the end of July." He explained to her, he said, that while everything that has been happening recently in the property issue is happening, it is not possible for him to be in a photo of a tripartite meeting.
In the meeting with Ms. Holguin, he said, he saw her sincerity and that satisfies him. He added that he shared with her his concerns and worries, which he again asked her to convey to the Secretary-General.
Mr. Tatar said that Ms. Holguin will have a meeting next Monday with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, then she will have contacts in Athens. “And then, before a possible 5+1 meeting in July, she will come back here” and will inform them, as she said, about the results of her contacts.
Asked about the steps that are said to be taken on the property issue, Mr. Tatar said that a series of studies are being conducted. "We, of course, are the ones who founded the TRNC, kept it alive and have maintained the structure for years."
Stating that his predecessors were Talat and Akinci, while the president of the RTK, Tufan Erhürman, served as "prime minister", he criticized them for criticizing him on this issue and giving different messages to the Greek Cypriot side.
"We're all in the same boat. Regardless of political views in this country, there are real estate investors, people own property, have investments, have bought and sold properties, and everyone is in this boat."
Mr. Tatar said that he asked the "speaker of the parliament" to inform the body about the issue, to discuss it and "to be a united voice."
He argued that the pseudo-state's property titles are valid and referred to the "real estate committee" created based on the ECHR's Demopoulos decision, which to date has awarded over £600 million in compensation to applicants.
The greatest prospect, said the Turkish Cypriot leader, is "the exchange of properties", indicating that in the free areas there are 200.000 acres belonging to Turkish Cypriot owners, many of them by the sea. "The properties, he said, were left and in return the Turkish Cypriots were given properties of equal value in the occupied areas. According to Ersin Tatar, the Greek Cypriot side is now targeting these properties of equal value".
"Therefore, I call on everyone once again to be one voice. In this country, it is in the interest of all of us to be one heart and one voice on this issue and to be able to inform the whole world of this great injustice being done to us," he said.
Source: KYPE
