Tatar says government cannot speak for Turkish Cypriots

Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar has again criticised Greek Cypriot leaders, pouring cold water on the idea of reunification as the Republic celebrated 63 years of independence on Sunday.

“Considering the Greek Cypriot leader [Nikos Christodoulides’] rhetoric and his so-called suggestions to the press, it is obvious that his goal is to subject our people to their administration, which has turned into a Greek Cypriot state,” he said.

“The facts of Cyprus are obvious and it is not possible to go back to 1960. Only a compromise based on the cooperation of the two states on the basis of sovereign equality and equal international status can bring a just and lasting solution to the island.”

In addition, he said “the so-called Republic of Cyprus does not have the authority to represent the Turkish Cypriot people.”

One of the most important symbols of the status quo, he added, which is accepted as unsustainable by all relevant parties, is the executive structure of the unfair and unlawful situation created by the United Nations Security Council resolution number 186. This, he sad on Sunday is what “will be celebrated today”.

Tatar was referring to the resolution of 1964 which referenced the “Cypriot government”, even after the Turkish Cypriot representatives were no longer in their posts.

He said, “it should be known that the entity, which has turned into a Greek Cypriot state since 1963, neither has the right to represent the whole island nor the Turkish Cypriot people. It should be known that the TRNC is a 40-year-old reality.

“It is an independent state with all its institutions and the Greek Cypriot state has neither power nor authority over the TRNC,” he said.

An annual military parade was held in Nicosia on Sunday to mark Independence Day. It was attended by crowds of hundreds in addition to Christodoulides, President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola and Greek Defence Minister Nikos Dendias.