Turkish Cypriot politician urged Erdogan to respect the institutions of the North, calling for a “real” recognition
Turkish Cypriot main opposition Republican Turkish Party (CTP) deputy Doğuş Derya urged Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for a real recognition of the administration in the north first, before asking the international community to do so.
“Mr. Erdogan called for TRNC’s (Turkish Republic of North Cyprus) recognition. But first, Turkey needs to recognize it,” Derya said in her parliamentary address on Wednesday.
“You need to acknowledge that there is a separate state in this country, that this country has its own institutions, that this country has a parliament. Please, you recognize it first,” she said.
KKTC'de CTP Milletvekili Derya'dan sert eleştiri: Sarayları olan ama sosyal devlet olmayan bir yer Türkiye
— Gerçek Gündem (@gercekgundem) October 6, 2022
Last month, Erdogan called on UN member states to formally recognize the northern administration as a legitimate, sovereign state.
The Turkish Cypriot administration was established in the northern third of Cyprus after Turkey’s military invasion in 1974, in response to a Greek Cypriot coup d’etat, aiming to unify the island with Greece (ENOSİS).
Internationally recognized Republic of Cyprus, governed by the Greek Cypriots, controls the south of the island, and the Turkish Cypriots, the north. The administration in the northern part of Cyprus is only recognized by Turkey.
However, Turkish Cypriot opposition circles argue that Turkey’s recognizing the structure, just takes place in theory, but not reflected in practice. They blame Turkey for interfering its internal affairs, especially politics, underestimating its institutions.
“Do you know what such country like Turkey does ahead of its elections? It Increases the threat of war in order to consolidate its electorate,” Derya said.
“Sometimes it's Syria, sometimes it's Greece. Cyprus is also a repertoire in this sense,” she said.
The future of the children of Cyprus is at stake, just because “someone” entered a race of nationalism, Derya said.
“I speak as a patriotic Turkish Cypriot,” said Derya, calling on Turkish Cypriot lawmakers to turn around and look what's going on with their country.
“And please question them too. You are the representative of this country,” she said.
Derya said they will continue to defend a bi-communal, bi-zonal federal solution based on political equality, against armament, against any militarist movement in the island.
