Ersin Tatar, leader of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), is calling on the United Nations to recognise the territory in a bid to end the international embargo imposed on it 50 years ago.
“All I am asking for are concerted efforts to find a practical, fair, just, and lasting settlement on an equal footing, a basis of sovereign equality,” Mr. Tatar stated in an interview with French news agency AFP. “I truly hope to see a UN Security Council resolution recognising the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.”
Cyprus has been divided since an attempted coup on 15 July 1974 by Greek Cypriot nationalists wishing to unite the island with Greece and a Turkish military intervention five days later. The Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities live side by side, but the existing situation remains on hold.
Negotiations at a stalemate
About 382,836 of the island's 923,272 people live in the northern part of the country.
The UN, whose peacekeeping forces patrol the buffer zone spanning the island from east to west, is pushing for the resumption of talks between the two sides. However, since 2017, negotiations have been at a stalemate.
The TRNC, recognised by Turkey alone since 1983, and the internationally recognised Republic of Cyprus, which became an EU member in 2004 and only holds authority over the southern two thirds of the island, are at odds.
“We live on a prosperous island, Greek Cypriots obviously have a larger slice of the cake. Tourism is thriving. Their economy is thriving,” Mr. Tatar maintained. However, he insists that the TRNC needs recognition.
For the international community there is only one Cypriot state
The TRNC is not accepted by the UN, as it is considered an occupied part of the Republic of Cyprus. This lack of recognition hampers the TRNC’s ability to establish international flights since, in the view of the international community, there is only one Cypriot state, governed by the Greek Cypriot government. All flights to Northern Cyprus transit through Turkey.
“The Greek Cypriots (…) have a sovereign state,” argues Mr. Tatar. “What about Turkish Cypriots? This has been our homeland for 500 years yet we are still discussing our sovereignty,” he laments.
Criticising the “unfair treatment” meted out to the Turkish Cypriot community for decades, Mr. Tatar believes that “1974 marked a turning point for Turkish Cypriots, a new hope."
"Turkish troops landed on the island to protect Turkish Cypriots,” he says.
He was 13 years old and studying at the English School in Nicosia when the Turkish troops landed on the island as part of a peaceful operation, he revealed. According to Mr. Tatar, this was a Turkish intervention by virtue of the rights granted to Turkey by the 1960 agreement, which marked the independence of Cyprus, formerly a British colony.
TRNC leader pushes for two-state solution, rejected by the Republic of Cyprus
“We are sovereign and it is mentioned in the 1960 international agreement,” he added.
For Tatar, having Turkish forces stationed in the north — around 40,000 soldiers, according to the permanent representation of Cyprus to the UN in Geneva –plays a significant role of deterrence and has “ensured peace on the island” over the past few decades.
Despite international embargos and isolation, the TRNC has essentially developed from scratch, creating a consolidated state with all functions found in any modern country, he said, citing the parliament, police and army.
Since taking over the leadership of the TRNC in 2020, Mr. Tatar has been pushing for a two-state solution, rejected by the Republic of Cyprus.
For information about the UN-led talks to solve the Cyprus issue, based on the so-called Guterres framework, click here. The framework, named after the UN Secretary-General, includes six conflict issues related to territory, political equality, property, equivalent treatment, and security and guarantees.
