Five of Cyprus’ six members of the European Parliament abstained from the final vote on the parliament’s annual report on Turkey on Wednesday, with independent Fidias Panayiotou voting to reject the report.
Disy’s Loukas Fourlas and Michalis Hadjipantela, Akel’s Giorgos Georgiou, Elam’s Geadis Geadi, and Dikos Costas Mavrides all recorded abstentions, but the report was passed notwithstanding the Cypriots’ votes, with 381 MEPs voting in its favour, 107 including Panayiotou rejecting it, and 171 abstentions, including the five Cypriots.
Following the day’s vote, the parliament’s rapporteur Nacho Sanchez Amor warned that “Turkey continues to move rapidly towards a fully authoritarian model”, and highlighted a court’s removal of opposition party CHP leader Ozgur Ozel as “the latest example of a broader erosion of democratic pluralism and the rule of law”.
He added that it exhibited “the role of a judiciary which is weaponised for political purposes”.
“In the face of such a grave situation, we are deeply concerned by the muted response of the [European] Commission, the European External Action Service, and the member states, which continue to turn a blind eye to the ongoing dismantling of democracy in Turkey,” he said.
He then said that this “silence” serves to “undermine the EU’s image and credibility”, as well as “further alienating the most pro-European and pro-democratic segments of Turkish society”.
This, he said, entails “consequences that may take years to reverse”.
Regarding Cyprus, the report said that Turkey must allow the Turkish Cypriots the space to act within their role as a “legitimate community of the island”, highlighting the fact that Turkish Cypriot political participation is fundamental to the constitution of the Republic of Cyprus.
In this vein, it also urged the European Commission to “step up its efforts to engage with the Turkish Cypriot community” so as to facilitate a resolution to the Cyprus problem.
It also called on all those involved to “demonstrate a more courageous approach” over their efforts in relation to the Cyprus problem, and stressed what it described as “the need for the EU body of law to be implemented across the island” after the Cyprus problem is resolved.
It also said it “remains concerned by restrictions on freedom of expression and media freedom” in northern Cyprus, where the ruling coalition is attempting to pass through the legislature an anti-disinformation bill which many have criticised as overly vague in its language and thus open to abuse by those wishing to suppress journalism.
On the matter of the Cyprus problem at large, the report said it “welcomes the steps taken” by United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres towards resuming settlement talks, and called on the European Commission to appoint a replacement for its now former envoy for the Cyprus problem Johannes Hahn, who resigned in March.
It added that the election of pro-federation candidate Tufan Erhurman as Turkish Cypriot leader last October “has contributed to renewed hope for creating a conducive environment for the resumption of settlement negotiations”.
Regarding Turkey’s role on the Cyprus problem, the report said that the country must “respect the status of the buffer zone and the mandate of the UN peacekeeping force in Cyprus (Unficyp)”, while also “ceasing and reversing” what it described as “unilateral actions and violations” in and around the buffer zone.
It also said it “calls on Turkey to withdraw its troops from Cyprus and refrain from any unilateral action which would entrench the permanent division from the island”, while also deploring “action altering” the island’s “demographic balance”.
Additionally, it said it “strongly condemns Turkey’s attempts to upgrade the status of the secessionist entity in occupied Cyprus”, making reference in this regard to the Turkish Cypriots’ status as observers of the Organisation of Turkic States.
Additionally, it said it “condemns the ongoing efforts by Turkey to ‘open’ and settle Varosha by people other than” those who lived in the seaside Famagusta suburb prior to 1974, and that it “deplores any effort to turn Varosha into a dark tourism attraction”.
This, it said, “sensationalises tragedy” and “insults the dignity and rights of [its] lawful inhabitants”.
Click here to change your cookie preferences