Akel has announced that it will withdraw from the Cyprus Forum, joining a growing list of figures who have done so, citing “hysterical right-wing rhetoric”, after the forum’s organisers ceased referring to Turkish Cypriot Nicosia mayor Mehmet Harmanci as a mayor following pressure from Elam and members of the government.

It said that party leader Stefanos Stefanou had informed the Cyprus Forum on Saturday that he would not attend the event, and that “the same stance will be taken by other Akel members who had been invited to the Cyprus Forum”.

“Hysterical right-wing rhetoric cannot determine public dialogue in our country,” it said.

The party joins the likes of the Association for historical dialogue and research and the Cyprus peace and dialogue centre, as well as Nicosia’s two mayors, Harmanci and Charalambos Prountzos, and Turkish Cypriot political party the CTP in withdrawing from the forum in recent days.

Related Articles

People and associations began to withdraw from the forum after it changed the way in which it referred to Harmanci, who had initially been referred to as the “mayor of [the] Nicosia Turkish Municipality”.

However, last week, the organisers began referring to him as the “leader of the Turkish Cypriot community of Nicosia”.

When he announced his own withdrawal from the event, Harmanci had said that the decision to alter his title had come “following Elam’s reaction”, with Elam having said last Wednesday that it was “dismayed to learn that the pseudo-mayor of occupied Nicosia will participate in the Cyprus Forum”.

The party also said that its members had been invited to attend the forum, but that it had “responded unequivocally that if ‘officials’ of the pseudo-state participate, we will not attend”. Elam member of the European Parliament Geadis Geadi had attended last year’s event.

‘A dangerous example of … racist and divisive propaganda’

Harmanci said that following this reaction, he had “received an email from Cyprus Forum officials stating that ‘the title was changed to prevent the crisis from escalating further’”, but that “as we stated in our response to the Cyprus Forum officials, this cannot be considered a simple case of crisis management”.

Instead, he said, the sequence of events constitutes a “dangerous example of how racist and divisive propaganda, manipulation, and attempts at political intimidation can easily undermine steps taken to promote common sense, mutual respect, and a culture of peace”.

“Elam’s reaction was allowed to create a result which would publicly humiliate the Turkish Cypriot community. I refuse to be part of such an example, either in the north or the south of Cyprus. Therefore, I have informed them of my decision to withdraw from this year’s event,” he said.

Request to change title came from ‘Republic of Cyprus officials’

Later, the Cyprus Forum’s executive president Nicolas Kyriakides told the Cyprus Mail that Elam had demanded of the forum that Harmanci’s invitation be withdrawn.

“We rejected that outright, and it was never under consideration. The statement did, however, draw attention to the title, and we then received official requests from Republic of Cyprus officials pointing out that it is not accepted by the Greek Cypriot side,” he said.

Harmanci on Friday stressed that “what is newsworthy about the recent events surrounding the Cyprus Forum is not my withdrawal, it is my dear friend, Mayor Charalambos Prountzos’ solidarity”, with Prountzos having swiftly withdrawn his participation in the event after Harmanci’s title was altered.

“This was never a title issue. I have partaken in many joint events in the south, as well as internationally, with the title of leader or representative of the Turkish Cypriot community of Nicosia,” he said.

Instead, he added, “the issue with recent events was the Cyprus Forum’s unilateral, unapologetic, and public surrender to the demands of a racist, divisive propaganda machine”.

He then addressed Prountzos directly, saying, “dear Charalambos, on behalf of all Cypriots who still believe in peace and reunification in Cyprus, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your courage, empathy, solidarity, and dedication to peace”.

Nicosia Turkish Municipality predates Republic of Cyprus

The Nicosia Turkish Municipality predates the Republic of Cyprus, having been first established in 1958, with ophthalmologist Tahsin Gozmen as its first mayor. Mayors were initially political appointees, with the first democratically elected Turkish Cypriot Nicosia mayor being Mustafa Akinci in 1976.

The British colonial authorities officially recognised Turkish Cypriot local authorities in 1959, while the Republic of Cyprus’ constitution stipulates the existence of Turkish Cypriot mayors.

Harmanci, alongside other Turkish Cypriot mayors, including Famagusta’s Suleyman Ulucay, Kyrenia’s Murat Senkul, Morphou’s Mahmut Ozcinar, Kioneli and Yerolakkos’ Huseyin Amcaoglu, and Ayios Epiktitos and Ayios Amvrosios’ Ceyhun Kirok, have all attended international events, including at the European Parliament, in their capacity as mayors.