(Published in the "Policy Paper Series", No. 2/2018  -  October 2018 by the Cyprus Center for European and International Affairs, University of Nicosia)

The first round of Presidential elections in the Republic of Cyprus was held on 28 January 2018 with the participation of nine candidates. The incumbent President Nicos Anastasiades received 35.50 percent of the votes, while AKEL backed independent Stavros Malas got 30.25 percent. DİKO leader and candidate Nicolas Papadopoulos was the third candidate, who garnered 25.74 per cent and lost the chance to be in the second round. The voter turnout in the first round was 71.88%, which was the lowest for a presidential election and abstention reached 28.1%.

            Since no candidate secured 50 plus one vote, the run-off election was held one week later on 4 February 2018 between President Nicos Anastasiades and independent Stavros Malas. The winner was Nicos Anastasiades (71 years old), who received 55.99 per cent of the votes (215.281) and will stay in his post on a second five-year term.  Independent Stavros Malas (51 years old) lost the election to his rival with 44.01 per cent (169.243). The turnout in the second round was a little bit higher than the first one, 73.97%. Abstention votes reached 26.03%, invalid votes 2.65%, blank votes 2.99%.

            President Anastasiades told his followers after the results were announced that he was willing to reactivate the inter-communal peace talks, which collapsed in Switzerland last July. The AKEL criticized the President’s handling of the Cyprus problem especially during the election campaign that he bears the responsibility for the failure of talks.  Mr. Anastasiades said: “The biggest challenge we face is reunifying our country. I will continue to work with the same determination in a bid to achieve our common goal – ending foreign occupation and reunifying our state. There are no winners or losers, just Cyprus.”

            Now that Mr. Anastasiades gained more of the centrist voters, he assured his supporters that he was willing to cooperate with everyone in order to achieve the common goal – ending the Turkish occupation and reunifying the island. Mr. Anastasiades repeated that he would seek a peace deal that doesn't include Turkey's demands for a permanent troop presence and the right to intervene militarily in a federated Cyprus.

            The inter-communal talks have been going on since June 1968. The two communities living on the island, Turkish Cypriots (18%) and Greek Cypriots (80%), were trying to reach an agreement on a new constitution for the island republic, first on a unitary basis until 1974 and then on a federal basis since 1974, when the island was occupied by Turkish troops after a failed coup d’Etat against President Makarios.

            Turkish Foreign Minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu, told in an interview with the Greek Cypriot Kathimerini newspaper on 4 February 2018 that the new Cyprus negotiations under UN parameters could only begin, when Greek Cypriots change their mentality and are willing to share power with their counterparts in the North of the island.

After the United Nations Security Council renewed the mandate of the U.N. Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) for a period of six months on 30 January 2018, Turkish daily Hurriyet Daily News reported that Turkish Foreign Ministry underlined in a written statement that any process in the coming period for the resolution of the decades-old Cyprus problem should be based on “current realities” and on the fact that Turkish and Greek Cypriots have differing conceptions of a new federal state.

            Actually, here is the crux of the matter: “Current realities” are the partition of the island since 1974 with the proclamation of a breakaway state on the Turkish occupied northern part, which is ethnically cleansed from the indigenous Greek Cypriots and has more than 300,000 Anatolian settlers. Instead of a garrison of 650 Turkish soldiers, which was a part of the Treaty of Establishment of the Republic of Cyprus in 1960, there are at present more than 35,000 Turkish troops stationed in the occupied area. What else Turkey wants now for the so-called security needs of the Turkish Cypriots, who are afraid of possible future attacks by the Greek Cypriot nationalists, to have a permanent sovereign base in the Northern part, similar to the one, proposed originally in the Acheson Plan of 1964. This has been a part of the Natoization plans of the island!    

            The Turkish Cypriot side went further in the inter-communal talks and asked the four freedoms for the Turkish nationals, who would remain in a re-united Cyprus. If this is accepted, it will open the way for an uncontrolled migration from Turkey to Cyprus or to the other EU member states. This possibility was already dealt in an article by Christoph B. Schiltz in German daily “Die Welt”, dated January 9, 2017, which stated that many bureaucrats in Brussels started to ask questions like "Will Erdogan step into the EU through Cyprus? Will Cyprus be Erdogan's Trojan Horse?"

            Since most of the constitutional issues are agreed upon, the issues of security and guarantee of the new Federal Republic is the most important aspect of the next phase of the inter-communal talks, which could be resolved with an international conference, with the participation of the five permanent members of the United Nations.

            In the new five-year term of President Nicos Anastasiades, I hope that a compromise can open the way to a genuine federal solution. The longer the partition lasts, the more the division solidifies.   

            Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been trying to influence the secular Turkish Cypriot community through religious and nationalist activities in the occupied area. The Turkish Cypriots have increased their complaints against the cultural and demographic changes, the alienation and islamization, designed by the occupying power, Turkey. (*)  

            (*)Erdogan expressed his anger to the criticism of the Turkish Cypriot “Afrika” newspaper, which published an article on 21 January 2018 saying that Turkey’s operation in Syria was like Turkey’s invasion of Cyprus. When Erdogan was informed about this, he called “on my brothers in North Cyprus to give necessary response”. The result was an attack by a group of local and Anatolian fascists against the office of the newspaper and against the “Parliament”.

This extreme nationalism and culture of intolerance is foreign to the secular Turkish Cypriots. That’s why around 5,000 Turkish Cypriots attended a march defending peace and democracy. The march was organised by the Trade Union Platform, which represented more than 20 Turkish Cypriot trade unions and associations. It was also backed by the New Cyprus Party, the United Cyprus Party and the Socialist Liberation Party, which are not represented in the “Parliament”. The demonstrators marched towards the ‘parliament’ building and chanted ‘shoulder to shoulder against fascism’, and for solidarity, democracy and peace.   

(published in In Depth – Special Issue – Bimonthly Electronic Newsletter, Cyprus Center for European and International Affairs, University of Nicosia, Volume 15, Issue 1 – February 2018)       

      The 14th general election in the northern part of Cyprus, which has been under Turkish military occupation since 1974, took place on 7 January 2018. Since 1974, this area has been ethnically cleansed from the Greek Cypriot population and the demographic structure has been changed through the settlers brought from Anatolia. A breakaway state was declared in 1983 on this territory occupied by the Turkish troops and this illegal state is recognized only by Turkey.

      In 42 years since 1976, 39 governments have been formed in this occupied area and the National Unity Party (UBP) took place in 24 of them. The UBP, supported by the separatist Turkish Cypriot leadership and its underground organization TMT, has been in power for 29 years. In the last elections, the majority of the votes went to the UBP.

       In the table below, you can see the names of the political parties that participated in the last three general elections, the percentage of votes they received and the number of seats they won in the 50-seat-parliament, shown in parentheses. The increasing number of the voters and the decreasing number of participation are also significant:

19.4.2009                   28.7.2013                    7.1.2018

UBP                                       43.97 (26)                   27.30 (14)                   35.57 (21)

CTP                                        29.34 (15)                   38.37 (21)                   20.97 (12)

DP                                          10.6 (5)                       23.11 (12)                     7.83 (3)

TDP                                                -                                  -                            8.61 (3)

  HP                                                 -                                  -                         17.10 (9)

YDP                                                -                                  -                           6.96 (2)

Number of voters                   161.373                      172.803                    190.553

Actually voted                       131.349                      120.287                    125.900

Participation (%)                     81.70                          69.61                        66.07

       As you can see from the table above, the National Unity Party (UBP) raised the number of seats from 14 to 21. The second party is the Republican Turkish Party (CTP), which used to be in opposition to the traditional Turkish Cypriot leadership and was on the left, lost 9 parliamentarians and won only 12 seats. The Head of the Democratic Party (DP) is Serdar Denktaş, the son of Rauf Denktaş, who was the founding President of the “Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus” (“TRNC”). The number of the seats of his party has fallen from 12 to 3, despite he was in the coalition government with the UBP before the election. Only three seats went to the Communal Democracy Party (TDP), which is close to the President of the “TRNC”, Mustafa Akıncı, who represents the Turkish Cypriot community in the present inter-communal negotiations.

         There are two newly formed parties that could gain seats in their first endeavour. The People’s Party (HP), founded by Kudret Özersay, an academician, who took part in the previous negotiation team, gained 9 seats with a significant success. Prior to the formation of his party, Özersay had a stance that supports the traditional Turkish politics in the Cyprus problem and he was leading the “Clean Community Association”, bringing forward demands such as fighting corruption, transparency and good governance. 2 seats are won by the Revival Party (YDP) that represents mainly the settlers brought from Anatolia.

      It was the first time that a new electoral system was implemented and it was adopted in the parliament that allowed all settlements to be identified as a single constituency, with a mix of party lists and independent persons, as well ticking a mixed cross-party list.

        As you can see from the table above, the number of those, who went to the ballot-boxes in the last general election was the lowest. Meanwhile, the rate of invalid votes has reached the highest level with 11.7%. 67,653 voters (33.8%) did not go to the ballot-box. Besides the fact that the new electoral system has not been adopted by a significant portion of the voters, the people are not satisfied with the policies of the existing political parties and this may have increased the proportion of those who abstained from voting. There were already 379 candidates from 8 parties and 9 independents. We have to consider also that 17,000 new citizenships were granted to the Anatolian settlers before the elections, which was strongly criticised by the oppositional parties.

       The illegal state, which was created by the occupying power Turkey and was defined by the ECHR as “a subordinate local administration of Turkey”, violated the Article 49(6) of the “Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949. According to this article, “The occupying power will not transfer a part of its civilian population to the region it occupies, nor will it send through exile.” Unfortunately, Turkey, have sent since 1974 more than 300 thousand civilian population as settlers to the occupied northern Cyprus and this practice continues until today.

         In the booklet of “The Basic Economic and Social Indicators”, the “State Planning Organization of the TRNC” gives the population as 326,158 in 2015, whereas the “High Electoral Council” declared before the recent elections that the population of the “TRNC” was 230,747, out of which 190,553 are eligible to vote. De facto population was supposed to be 299,514 in 2016.  

        The local government granted the settlers the citizenship of the “TRNC” and distributed them the homes and the agricultural land that had been abandoned by the Greek Cypriots in 1974. They were given the right to vote together with the indigenous Turkish Cypriots for the general and local elections so that the collaborationist governments could maintain their power. Furthermore, they took part also in the voting of the Annan Plan.

        When we evaluate the results obtained in this early general election, we can see that the right-wing and non-solution political parties have won the majority of the votes. The positive outcome of 60:40 on the Annan Plan is now reversed and the parties that are in favour of a non-solution have a superiority with 70:30. In the campaigns run by the political parties before the last early election, which was held six months after the failure of the last round of the inter-communal talks in Switzerland, there was no debate whatsoever about the solution of the Cyprus problem. Although mainly the internal issues have been raised, no political party has presented a convincing project for their concrete solution.

       The new distribution of seats in the parliament indicates that a coalition government will be formed, rather than a stable government. The authorities in Ankara have already begun to work in order to transform the existing parliamentary regime in the occupied area into a presidential regime, similar to the one in Turkey.

      AK Party Istanbul deputy Burhan Kuzu shared the following statement in his twitter account related to the elections held in the “TRNC”: “Today, there was an election in the TRNC. A majority government did not emerge. Three governments were formed in the last four years. Obviously, this system doesn’t work in the TRNC. My recommendation is that they should go to the Presidential System. As a scholar who has studied 40 years the architecture of bringing this system to Turkey, I’m ready to give them my service.”  

       Already the Directorate of the Aid Mission of the Turkish Embassy in Northern Nicosia and the “Prime Ministry of the TRNC” commissioned the Economic Policy Research Foundation of Turkey to look into the existing electoral system in the “TRNC” and a report was published in April 2013. Under the title “The State of the TRNC Functional-Institutional Review Study”, the report reads as follows: “In case of a revision of the electoral system, it is recommended that the election districts in accordance with the district boundaries should be abandoned and that a single constituency be formed to cover the entire territory of the TRNC.” (pp. 23-24)

      Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Çavuşoğlu gave a statement after the election results were announced and asked the Turkish Cypriot politicians to stop saying that they will not participate in a certain coalition government, which was regarded as a clear order and a message sent to the public. A group of Turkish Cypriot Trade Unions issued a protest declaration and condemned Çavuşoğlu’s interference with the internal affairs of the Turkish Cypriot community. 

      In the coming days, Turkey’s socio-political engineering plans, which will be applied in the occupied part of Cyprus, will become clearer. 

(published in In Depth, Bimonthly Electronic Newsletter, Volume 15, Issue 2 - March 2018, Cyprus Center for European and International Affairs,  University of Nicosia) 

In the “Special Issue: The Cyprus Problem” of the “In Depth” bimonthly Electronic Newsletter, published in February 2017, I dealt with the internal aspect of the Cyprus problem under the title “Uncertainties at the Cyprus negotiations.” In this issue, I shall point out the uncertainties about the external aspect, mainly the security and the guarantee issues in a possible agreement.

INTERNAL SECURITY

According to the new guarantee formula that the Greek Cypriot side has brought to the table, first 75% of Turkish troops will be withdrawn and the remaining 25% will be withdrawn within a predetermined time (e.g. 18 months) under UNFICYP supervision. (The Turkish Cypriot side did not accept this. They insist that the Turkish Cypriot constituent state, whenever it is needed, should have always the unilateral right of calling Turkey for intervention.)

Internal security was organized in three stages: First, there will be a police force at the constituent state level, comprising 60% Greek Cypriot and 40% Turkish Cypriot policemen, who will serve at their desks, i.e. 5,000 in the south and 3,100 in the north.

The second phase is at the federal level, with 500 police officers at a proportion of 50: 50%, units with the authority of using weapons would serve in emergency response and in federal criminal investigation bureau. The local police of the Turkish Cypriot state will ask for help from the federal government if it is difficult.

In the third stage, the UN Security Council will have an international police force of 2,500 people. This police force will provide personnel from the EU countries outside Greece and the UK and from third countries outside Turkey. This multinational police force to be formed immediately after the settlement will not interfere in any way with the internal arrangement of the United Cyprus and it will function for five years and will be placed on the border between the two constituent states, after the Turkish troops have withdrawn completely from the island. According to Article 6 of the UN Constitution, there will be only light weapons and no authority to interfere with conflicts.

The international police force will only be activated if there is a threat and international peace is in danger. This is a comment by the Security Council based on political criteria and interests and it requires a number of other measures, such as implementing the 7th Article, the economic embargo before the military measures and/or the sea and air bombings.

EXTERNAL SECURITY AND GUARANTEES

Great Britain and Greece, three of the NATO countries that guaranteed the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic of Cyprus in 1960, seem eager to give up their rights in the new era.

Greek Foreign Minister Kotzias made a proposal to sign a Treaty of Friendship and Stabilization between Greece, Cyprus and Turkey. Through this treaty, it was announced that safety valves could be added to various subjects.

Turkey, on the other hand, requires a structure, as in 1960, not only for the United Cyprus Republic, but also for the constituent states, in which the territorial integrity, security and constitutional order are guaranteed. Three Turkish formulas have been put forward regarding the guarantees:

1. A formula, in which NATO is involved,

2. The guarantee of a Turkish base within the Turkish Cypriot province and commanded by the Turkish commander,

3. The Turkish guarantor will remain for only the Turkish Cypriots after the settlement. In this regard, no agreement has yet been reached.

SOVEREIGN MILITARY BASE

It is understood that Turkey's proposal is not to assure the physical security of the Turkish Cypriots or the implementation of the resolution, but rather to raise the geo-strategic demands of her own country. Although Turkey had leaked to the press that she wanted to limit her right to interfere with island’s internal affairs, only to the Turkish Cypriot province, but later Turkey wanted to keep a sovereign military base within the Turkish state to be formed in the northern part of the island. This would be commanded by a Turkish commander and its duration would not be fixed.

Turkish President Erdogan wanted to give the message that Turkey will always stay in Cyprus with guarantees and her troops, in a statement he gave immediately after the end of the five-party conference in Geneva in the middle of January 2017. Erdogan demanded that the closed territory of Famagusta be given to the Greek Cypriot side, while the territory of Kokkina and Morphou would be combined and given to the Turkish Cypriot side. "Do not wait for Karpasia and the shoreline" he added. This meant that the Pirgo-Dilliria regions would be given to the control of the constituent Turkish Cypriot state.

According to the Greek Cypriot press, the occupation army has recently developed facilities in the Kokkina region and the Republic of Cyprus also was asked for some facilities, but these requests were rejected. After this rejection, 250 concrete and other materials were transported by sea to this region. According to the evaluations made, this development of the region is related to the military base the Turkish side wants to establish in Cyprus in case of a solution. According to the Turkish proposal, this base will be sovereign and 2,500 troops will settle here.

RECOGNIZING THE RIGHT OF FOUR FREEDOMS TO THE CITIZENS OF TURKEY, THE CITIZENS OF A NON-EU MEMBER

It was described as "very serious", when Turkey demanded, especially during the discussions on the Cyprus issue, that the EU's 4 freedoms (free movement of people, goods, services and capital) should be granted to Turkish citizens and the Greek Cypriot side stated that it did not consider this demand to deal with Cyprus negotiations.

President Nicos Anastasiades sent a letter to the European Commission on January 30, 2017, saying that "Ankara made a blackmail with her demand for 4 freedoms" and, if recognized, "this will have very serious and unprecedented effects not only on Cyprus, but also on the EU and its member states".

The newspaper wrote that Anastasiades received positive responses from the European countries, saying that so far some EU member states were against to the granting of 4 freedoms to Turkish citizens and Bulgaria responded in the same way the day before.

The Fileleftheros newspaper, dated 4 April 2017, informed that a joint procedure of Washington, London, Brussels and the UN Secretary General's Special Adviser on Cyprus Espen Barth Eide was being followed that the demand for the recognition of 4 freedoms would be recognized for the Turkish citizens after the settlement of the Cyprus problem.

Under the title of "The US has 4 freedoms in the background", the Fileleftheros newspaper, based on the information it received, reported that the United States was included in the "game" of support for the request of the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, through Jonathan Cohen, Deputy Undersecretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The newspaper claims that Cohen gave the EU the opinion that the Turkish request should be fulfilled and that Brussels does not oppose this view and that, based on the same information, he also claimed that the issue of equal treatment for the Turkish citizens was also on the agenda, whereas they are not aware of the rights the Greek citizens in Cyprus have acquired from the EU membership.

The newspaper also said that in case the EU demands, Cohen would be able to provide equal treatment for Turkish and Greek Citizens in Cyprus by "simulating exercises" through the combination of previously applied models, including "Kaliningrad" or "Portugal". He was also informed that preparations could be made for that. It has also been suggested that Brussels will act in a way that Cyprus will have a special status in the EU, in accordance with "previous models".

Regarding the free movement of goods, the newspaper claimed that Turkey is working on the combination of "Customs Union with the EU" and "Providing mutual facilities" between the Federal Republic of Cyprus and Ankara.

In its news comment on 5 March 2017, the Fileleftheros newspaper wrote under the title "EU: Four Freedom with the Portuguese-Brazilian Model" that there are hopes for the creation of a perspective for the resumption of the negotiations on the Cyprus issue, if the influential circles in Brussels examine the “similar examples” for the realization of the Turkish demands for 4 freedoms for her citizens in Cyprus.

The newspaper wrote that the influential circles worked on the example of Portugal, which provided the privileged treatment of the EU, before allowing it to join the EU, by granting work permits to workers from Brazil depending on the special relationship between the two countries.

The newspaper reported that there is a significant difference between the Portuguese example and the situation in Cyprus and that Portugal was not an EU member, when it demanded this privilege, whereas Cyprus has been an EU member state since 13 years.

After a blockage of the inter-communal negotiations, the Greek Cypriot press wrote that the UN has prepared some important bridging proposals between the external security aspect of the Cyprus problem and the internal constitutional aspect, like the rotating presidency. We shall be seeing the results, when the two leaders meet in New York.

(published in In Depth, Bimonthly Electronic Newsletter, Volume 14, Issue 3- June 2017, Cyprus Center for European and International Affairs,  University of Nicosia)

The Cyprus problem has been the legacy of the British colonial “divide and rule” policy. When the British occupied the island in 1878, ending a 300-year period of Ottoman rule that had begun in 1571, the British preferred to keep the existing structures of education in Cyprus. The Christian Greek Cypriot and the Moslem Turkish Cypriot schools were kept separate from one another. There were two Boards of Education, which ensured that the curriculums of the two communities mirrored those in Greece and Turkey respectively. Thus the nationalism of both Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots did not originate from the local historical circumstances, but the nationalist ideas were imported to the island through the teachers, books and newspapers that came from Greece and Turkey. This nationalism was encouraged by the British colonial administration and the British tried to disseminate it among the unconscious masses of people in accordance to their traditional policy of ‘divide and rule’.

           Following the annexation of Cyprus by the British Empire in 1914, the new Republic of Turkey gave up all of her rights on Cyprus, when the Treaty of Lausanne was signed in 1923. This was confirmed in 1925, when Britain declared Cyprus as a Crown Colony – a status it retained until 1960.

The Communist Party of Cyprus, which was established in 1926, had a political programme of acquiring independence of the island and it was envisaged to become a part of the Socialist Balkan Federation. But after the nationalist rebellion of the Greek Cypriots in 1931, the British banned all the political activities and abolished the Legislative Council, where a Turkish Cypriot member voted together with the Greek Cypriot members some months ago.

             During the Second World War, the Greek Cypriots and the Turkish Cypriots fought and served together, on the side of Great Britain, on various fronts and at home, they organised  themselves in the same trade unions against the difficult economic conditions. In 1941, the Progressive Party of the Working People of Cyprus (AKEL) was established and it adopted a policy for the union (enosis) of the island with Greece. This was the biggest obstacle for the cooperation with the Turkish Cypriots, who saw it as a danger to their existence.

            In 1955, the Greek Cypriots started a terror campaign against the British colonial administration with the final aim of union of the island with Greece. It was in 1955 that Turkey was made again a party to the Cyprus problem with the London Conference and in 1956 Turkey and the collaborationist Turkish Cypriot leadership adopted the British plans, which aimed at the partition of the island (taksim) as a political solution.

The Turkish Cypriot youth became auxiliary police and commandoes in order to fight against the Greek Cypriot fighters. When the Greek Cypriot underground organization, the EOKA, killed the Turkish Cypriot members of the security forces, the Turkish Cypriot underground organization, the TMT, began to kill the Greek Cypriots in retaliation.

Both organizations were anti-communist oriented and they killed also progressive Cypriots. The TMT killed in 1958 some members of the progressive Turkish Cypriot trade unions and forced the others to resign from the common trade unions, thus destroying the foundations of the common political struggle.

            At the end of the conflict, neither the Greek Cypriots’ aim for enosis, nor the Turkish Cypriots’ aim for taksim were materialized, but a limited independence was given to a new partnership Republic of Cyprus, which was established in 1960. The British maintained their sovereignty over the two military bases. Both enosis and taksim policies were banned in the constitution. The guarantors of the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of the new state were members of the NATO, i.e. Britain, Greece and Turkey and they did not want to see a Cypriot state, free of their influences.

            The Turkish Cypriots, having 18% of the island’s population, were given 30% share in the administration of the new Republic of Cyprus. This was not digested by the Greek Cypriots. Archbishop Makarios, the President of the Republic, did not believe in the idea of creating a new Cypriot nation. He told to an Italian newspaper that the London Agreements created a new state, but not a new nation. On the other hand, the Turkish Cypriot leadership did not believe in the new partnership Republic and continued its separatist policies.

Two Turkish Cypriot advocates, Ahmet Gurkan and Ayhan Hikmet, started to publish on the day of independence a weekly newspaper, called “Cumhuriyet” (The Republic), where they waged with other progressive Turkish Cypriots a struggle for the cooperation of the two main communities in Cyprus in the new state. For the first time, the ideas of Cypriotism were being propagated through an oppositional newspaper and later they established a political party. The writers of the “Cumhuriyet” newspaper were supporting the independence of Cyprus, condemning the aim of union of the island with another nation or state and they wanted that Cyprus should belong to its own people, the Cypriots. Unfortunately these staunch supporters of the Republic of Cyprus were killed by the TMT on 23 April 1962, on the pretext that they served the interests of the Greek Cypriots. In 1965, Dervish Ali Kavazoglu, who was a Turkish Cypriot member of the Central Committee of the AKEL, was murdered together with his Greek Cypriot trade-unionist friend. He was against the partitionist policies of the Turkish Cypriot leadership and for the friendship and cooperation of the two communities in Cyprus. These actions of intimidation silenced the democratic opposition within the Turkish Cypriot community.

In the 1960’s, contrary to the processes in Europe, many African and Asian states were formed before the consolidation of a nation. In the case of Cyprus, this fragile partnership lasted only three years. In December 1963, the President of the Republic, Archbishop Makarios tried to change the 13 points of the constitution by abolishing the veto power of the Turkish Cypriot Vice-President Dr. Kuchuk. The inter-communal clashes started and at the beginning of 1964, the Turkish Cypriots withdrew from the state apparatus. This conflict of nationalisms between the pro-union Greek Cypriot leadership and the pro-partition Turkish Cypriot leadership complicated the solution of the ethnic-national question in Cyprus. The unity of action and aim of the Cypriots could not be developed under a common shared aim and this was exploited by the imperialist powers.

            On 21 December 1963, inter-communal clashes started and the underground organizations, which had their connections with the foreign powers, became influential again in both communities. The Greek Cypriot leadership was aiming the union of the island with Greece and the Turkish Cypriot leadership was planning to create the conditions for the partition of the island. Now Cyprus problem was once again on the international arena.

            We read in a working paper, prepared by Donald A. Wehmeyer, a US legal adviser, on 11 December 1963 that a Treaty of Joint Sovereignty between Greece and Turkey was proposed. Wehmeyer added to his memorandum “Outline of Possible Cyprus Settlement” an important ingredient for a solution, which would be more attractive to Turkey: Cyprus should be divided into provinces. Certain provinces would be administered mainly by Turkish Cypriots and this would create an illusion of partition or federation. (Claude Nicolet, United States Policy Towards Cyprus, 1954-1974: Removing the Greek-Turkish Bone of Contention”, Germany, 2001, p.226 and 229)

Salahi R. Sonyel writes that the British government hit upon an interesting solution, which was the reconstruction of Cyprus as a federal solution:

“Thus on 3 January (1964), Sir Francis Vallat asked H.G.Darwin, a constitutional expert, to produce a paper examining the possibility of dividing Cyprus into a Turkish and a Greek area, which might be formed into a federal state. Even if such a plan was feasible a number of problems were foreseen in its application. Darwin composed a memorandum, in which he suggested a federation of two states, one predominantly of Greek, and the other of Turkish populations. He also suggested an exchange of population in order to realise the Turkish state. The capital of the Turkish state would be Kyrenia.” (Cyprus, The Destruction of a Republic and its Aftermath, British Document 1960-1974, Extended second edition, Ankara 2003, pp.78-78)

In the summer of 1964, Makarios rejected the Acheson Plan, which was discussed in Geneva and which envisaged the union of Cyprus with Greece on the condition that a military base would be given to Turkey in Karpas peninsula. President Makarios was re-elected in 1968 with his new policy of “feasible solution”, instead of enosis.

We read again from Nicolet’s book: “Acheson was fully indulging himself in studying the different proposals that had emerged in Washington throughout spring of 1964. In Brands’ words, “he was ready to devise a plan that would eliminate the Cyprus problem by eliminating Cyprus.” A suggestion he was particularly intrigued with was Don Wehmeyer’s scheme of 24 April, providing enosis with an illusion of partition or federation to the Turks by the establishment of certain provinces to be administered by Turkish Cypriot eparchs, as he cabled to Ball on 8 July. (Nicolet, ibid, p.257)

And this was finally realized with a so-called “controlled intervention” (Nicolet, ibid, p.213)  in the summer of 1974, which was decided by the Deputy Foreign Minister of Greece, Christos Ksantopoulos-Palamas and the Turkish Foreign Minister, Osman Olcay. The two ministers met on 3-4 June 1971 during the NATO ministerial meeting in Lisbon and discussed how to get rid of Makarios and put an end to the independence of the Republic of Cyprus by partitioning the island through “double enosis”.

            As the imperialist foreign powers and their tools on the island were against the independent development of the Republic of Cyprus, which followed a non-aligned foreign policy, they were continuously inciting nationalistic and anti-communist feelings among the island’s population. We observe again in this period that a Cypriot consciousness could not be developed to a sufficient degree.

From 1968 until 1974, various rounds of inter-communal negotiations were carried out without signing a final agreement.  A de facto situation was created by an aborted coup d’Etat against President Makarios, organized by the fascist Greek junta and its military forces in Cyprus on 15 July 1974. This created an opportunity for Turkey to intervene five days later to the internal affairs of Cyprus. Turkey occupied the 37% of the northern part of the island and on 16 August 1974, on the 16th anniversary of the foundation of the Republic of Cyprus, the island’s territory was partitioned into two regions, one in the North for the Turkish Cypriots and the other in the South for the Greek Cypriots.

In a declassified Secret Memorandum sent from Helmut Sonnenfeld, Counselor of the US State Department to Secretary Henry Kissinger on 14 August 1974, the directive was the following:

“Assuming the Turks quickly take Famagusta, privately assure Turks, we will get them a solution involving one third of the island, within some kind of federal arrangement.” (Cyprus Weekly, 10 August 2007)

            The Greek Cypriots were forced to leave the occupied areas and the Turkish Cypriots living in south of the cease-fire line were transported to the northern part. A bi-regional, ethnically cleansed geographical division was attained de facto. It remained to form a de jure central government for the “federation”, which was the aim of the Turkish government since 1964. The new state of affairs forced the Turkish Cypriots to have closer relationship with Turkey. The Turkish Cypriots became under the direct influence of the mainland Turkish economy, politics and culture.

            The Autonomous Turkish Cypriot Administration declared first on 13 February 1975 the “Cyprus Turkish Federated State” and then announced a unilateral declaration of independence on 15 November 1985, under the name “Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus”, on the Turkish occupied territory of the island. This was condemned immediately by a resolution of the Security Council of the UN. Several rounds of inter-communal talks could not bring the two communities together under a bi-communal federal umbrella and the island remains since 1974 partitioned, occupied and colonized. Besides the Turkish Occupation Army of 40,000 troops, there are more than 250,000 Anatolian settlers, living in the northern part of the island and most of them are given the citizenship of the “TRNC”. Northern Cyprus has become a colony of Turkey, where the number of the indigenous Turkish Cypriots are estimated to be around 120,000.

            We observed that especially after 1974, two different identities have emerged: One in the north of the divide, possessing the separatist “TRNC” as an expression of Turkish Cypriots’ nationalist identity and another one in the south of the divide, as the sole owner of the Cypriot state, which has distinctively a Greek Cypriot character.

            In order to reach at a common goal, there should be common political parties of Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots, seeking common political aims. The full equality of all the communities living on the island in the fields of politics, economy and culture could only be achieved through common political parties, which will fight for a democratic federal state and against all kinds of separatism and discrimination.

            A correct policy for the solution of the problem of nationalities is indispensable and this is the responsibility of the party of the working class, the AKEL. Unless the AKEL review its policy for the Turkish Cypriots and turn to them, no step forwards could be achieved with the existing nationalist policies and this would consolidate the partition of the island.  

            Another point of view, which should not be overlooked is that the solution of the problem in the concrete conditions of Cyprus depends on one hand on the elimination of the influences of imperialism and neo-colonialism and the military bases and on the other hand to decide how to solve the internal question of nationalities, which I see as the main issue. But the determining factor here is not the difference between the two communities. On the contrary, it has to be stressed that the class struggle in the whole country and in the international arena will be decisive.

It seems that the following fear of the imperialists is still valid, first mentioned in the 1989 International Yearbook of Communist Affairs: “If the north and the south of Cyprus will be united in a future “Federal Cyprus”, the electoral power of the Greek and Turkish communists can win the majority of the votes in any Presidential elections of such an unusual government. But here the crucial problem is not, as the bourgeois circles suggest, “which   community will govern the other one”, but “which class will have the power in his hand on the whole of the island.

(Paper read at the Emergency 4^th Euro-Mediterranean Workers’ Conference, organized by Balkan Socialist Center “Christian Rakovsky” and the RedMed web network, in Athens-Greece, on 26-28 May 2017)

In Cyprus, which has been divided since 1974 as a result of the occupation of the northern part of the island by Turkey, a new set of the intercommunal negotiations have been going on since mid-May 2015 between President Anastasiades and Turkish Cypriot leader Akıncı, in order to reunite the island under a federal umbrella, but there are some uncertainties, which draw attention as follows:  

1. The two sides have agreed that the constituent federal states shall have the right to enter into agreements with foreign governments and international organizations on matters falling within their jurisdiction. These areas cover culture (including arts, education and sports), tourism and economic investment (including financial support).

According to the information given to the Turkish Cypriot press, the constituent states may only want the Federal Foreign Office to be in operation, if they need it! But the Greek Cypriot side said the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs will not need to ratify, as the agreements will involve the entire state in a cooperative effort with the constituent state.

Since the education is left to the powers of the constituent states, it is a matter of debate how federal state citizens will be educated in a federalist and unifying manner, whereas the nationalistic prejudices have been strong for many years. This issue is important in the context of the dependencies of the Turkish Cypriot statelet on Turkey in all aspects since 1974.

2. The Turkish Cypriot side has accepted in the past that the proportion of the territory of the constituent federal state in the north could fall from today’s 36% to 29% +. The Greek Cypriot side has prepared two maps, which envisage that 28.5% of the territory will be left to the Turkish Cypriot side, but the talks on territory have not yet ended.

The Greek Cypriot side suggested that if the establishment of cantons in the areas of Karpasia and Maronite villages were accepted, Morfou could also be a special administrative area for the central government.

The Turkish Cypriot does not accept the creation of special territories, mass population migrations and the reduction of the coastline. (According to official data of the Central Command of the British Sovereign Base Areas, 316.19 km of the coastline of Cyprus is controlled today by Southern Cyprus and 420.55 km by Northern Cyprus.) Moreover, it insists that the borderline between the two constituent states must be flat!

3. According to the agreement reached on the population, there will be 800,000 Greek Cypriots in the south and 220,000 Turkish Cypriots in the north. However, the Turkish side wants to add 30,000 Turkish Cypriots living abroad to this 220,000.

An interesting point is that Mr. Anastasiadis, in response to the question put by the Chairman of the Citizens’ Alliance, Georgos Lillikas, about the source of the number of accepted 220,000 Turkish Cypriot citizens, answered that the number of Greek Cypriots registered in the Statistical Office of the Republic of Cyprus was deliberately increased from 667,000 (2011 Census) to 800,000 in order to provide legitimacy to the 100,000, who are Turkish citizens!

According to the latest official census, conducted in 2011 in the occupied territory, the number of permanent residents is 286,257. The number of those born in Cyprus (“TRNC” and Southern Cyprus) was 160,207 (56.0%) and 104,641 (36.6%) were born in Turkey. As it is known, after 1974, Turkey moved population to the occupied territory in order to change the demographic structure of the island and this is contrary to the 1949 Geneva Convention. It is a fact that these settlers, who were granted citizenship of the “TRNC”, also voted for the Annan Plan, but this does not mean that they are legally located in the island.

On the other hand, President Anastasiades said that the number of Turkish Cypriots registered as Cypriot or have a passport or ID card is 117,544 and that there are at least 12,500 Turkish Cypriots, who did not apply or did not sign up, and thus the number of Turkish Cypriots reached 130,000.

Anastasiades said that the total number of Turkish nationals, formed by mixed marriages and their born children, did not exceed 90,000, but later he said that this figure was “a wrong number spelled out” and led to reactions. Anastasiades told that about 40,000 Turkish settlers will stay in the island and that this figure is much less than the Greek Cypriots had accepted in the past.

,In addition, Anastasiades noted that 25,000 Turkish Cypriots living in the United Kingdom have not applied to the Republic of Cyprus and that the number of Turkish Cypriots, included in the figure of 220,000, has increased to 155,000. It was estimated that the total number of mixed marriages and their children was 25,000 this time, making a total of 180,000 Turkish Cypriot population. Thus, he reduced the number of Turkish settlers, who would gain legitimacy, to 40,000.

Akıncı stated that the number of Turkish Cypriot citizens is taken as 220,000 persons, instead of 286,257 as mentioned above and he explained that all the “TRNC” citizens will be citizens of the new federal state and the EU in the future without difference of origin. Underlining that the work permits of the non-citizens will be renewed and they will continue to work, Akıncı emphasized that the work-force required by the economy will continue to be in Cyprus. He stated that the wish of the Turkish Cypriots is that the needed workforce should remain in the island.

The New Birth Party, formed by the settlers from Turkey, directed the following questions to Akıncı: "Anastasiades said 90,000 people will stay. Who are meant by the words, those who originate from Turkey? How are they determined? What is the status of the spouses in mixed marriages and what will happen to the children born in “TRNC”?

According to the Greek Cypriot press reports, it is estimated that between 90 and 120 thousand citizens of the Republic of Turkey will remain in the island. If it is the case, the Turkish Cypriots will be a minority in their own constituent state. In order to find out the real composition of the population, it is necessary to have a census, monitored by UN or another reliable organization.

This issue is important also for the EU. Because, if the composition of the population in the northern federal state is dominated by the settlers of Turkish descent, the impact of Turkey, which is not a member of the EU, may be decisive in Cyprus's foreign policy issues and this will cause dispute within the EU. Already, many bureaucrats in Brussels have asked "Will Erdogan step on to the territory of the EU through Cyprus? Will Cyprus be Erdogan's Trojan Horse?" Moreover, Turkey has demanded that four freedoms should be valid for its citizens in Cyprus that will remain to be a EU country after the solution.

4. The number of Greek Cypriots, who will live in the federal state in the north, has been constrained in terms of four freedoms and the ethnic cleansing after the 1974 war has also become permanent. The Turkish Cypriot side explained that there is difference between the legal domicile and the right of abode, which has no political or other right. Moreover, for any person, who would apply for "internal citizenship", s/he should be able to know and to use the native language in the North perfectly. Apart from the right to stay, for example, there will be no political right to vote. "Domestic citizenship", i.e. legal residence will be entitled maximum up to 20% of the population of the Turkish Cypriot constituent state. It is thought that thus, the majority of the Turkish Cypriot population in its own state will not be threatened in any way.

MORE DISPUTES

There are 183 topics, which have not yet been agreed upon, as reflected in the minutes of the negotiations. Among these are some of the demands of the Turkish Cypriot side:

1. Although there has already been a rapprochement in the idea of a “single ticket” for the election of the President and the Vice-President, the Turkish Cypriot side has clearly indicated during the process of negotiating the subject of “Governance” that "Cross voting" is a package with the subjects of “Rotating Presidency” and the choice of the ministers to be preferred by both communities. Thus a cleavage was formed.

2. The Turkish Cypriot side believes that the subject of Primary Law is not yet closed. However, Peter van Nuffel, EU Commissioner in Charge of the Negotiations, said that the Final Agreement must be approved in the national parliaments of the EU member countries, which is a very difficult argument.

3. The Turkish Cypriot side insisted on the FIR for having two separate air traffic control centres. The Greek Cypriot side did not discuss this and suggested that there should be two control towers for approaching 20 km to the airport.

4. It was agreed that the casinos would be under federal juristiction. However, according to the convergence reached, the operating conditions and rules will not be applied to the existing casino facilities in the occupied area.

5. The Turkish Cypriot side has not yet provided the required data for organizations such as the IMF and the World Bank that are examining the economic aspect of the solution.

FINAL UNDERTAKINGS

After the political agreement is reached there are technical issues that need to be discussed and resolved. Some of them are: The writing of the constitutions of the constituent states and the federal state, which should be in harmony with each other, the list of international agreements, the federal laws and even the detailed writing of the coordinates of the territory. Besides the ones mentioned above, it has been reported that the UN provided a list of 103 items, including flag, anthem, civil servants, demining, etc., which should be realized before the agreement. Of course, once the internal aspects of the Cyprus dispute are resolved in this way, securing the newly established order, if necessary, by the UN or the EU, will be discussed at an international meeting. 

(Published in "In Depth", Bimonthly Electronic Newsletter, Special Issue: The Cyprus Problem, Volume 14, Issue 1- February 2017, © 2016 Cyprus Center for European and International Affairs • University of Nicosia)

The first founding meeting of the “Movement for an Independent and Federal Cyprus” took place in Ledra Palace Hotel in Nicosia on 23 and 24 September 1989 with the participation of 25 T/Cs and 36 G/Cs. The participants discussed the ways of rapprochement and more contacts between the two communities in Cyprus. The joint press release of the meeting was published both in the T/C and G/C press and the meeting was flash news at the CyBC-TV.

            The Second Meeting of the Movement took place on 20-21 January 1990, where the participants approved the following basic views and principles, which were later published, in Greek, Turkish and English languages as a leaflet.

MOVEMENT FOR AN INDEPENDENT AND FEDERAL CYPRUS

Views and Basic Principles

1.We are concerned about our future

Every Cypriot citizen in our times is deeply concerned about the future of his country.

We have all lived through the tragic moments of our history – the armed and bloody conflicts, the forced displacement of people, the immeasurable human suffering, the partition of our country.

For years now we all have experienced the consequences of this violent separation – the uprooting, the uncertainty, the lack of contact and communication between Greek-Cypriot and Turkish-Cypriot citizens.

The separate existence of the two communities and the separate organization of daily life leads them to consider the absence of each other as the norm. The new generation is raised with an image which presents the other community as the enemy – magnifying the crimes of the other side while minimizing the crimes of its own.

2. We acknowledge our share of common responsibilities

We believe that every Cypriot citizen fully comprehends that the root of our problem and suffering are quite complex. Undoubtedly, foreign interests and intervention share a substantial part of the blame.

We believe, however, that every sincere Cypriot also acknowledges a collective blame and responsibility. For it is the internal contradictions and weaknesses of our society that have made outside intervention possible.

The lack of common objectives, the antagonism between Turkish and Greek Cypriots – instead of a common, liberation struggle against colonial rule, undermined the prospect of a free and democratic common future.

The outcome of all this was a Constitution that was imposed on us and a “crippled” independence, where divisions, antagonism and suspicion among Greek and Turkish Cypriots were institutionalised. The final blow came from the persistence of separatist ideologies (Enosis and Partition) even after the establishment of the fragile Independence.

3. We must condemn both the violence and the separatist ideologies of the past.

All Cypriot citizens would agree that foreign meddling in our affairs should be put to an end and that we ourselves should be those to decide our own fate, our own future.

But this alone is not sufficient. In order to be able to proceed together towards a common future, with shared goals, we must begin by acknowledging and condemning whatever separated us in the past.

It is high time that each community acknowledges and irrevocably condemns the violence it used against the other in the past. For the ordinary citizen, the victim of violence whichever direction it came from, this violence was equally painful and caused the same grief.

It is high time each community recognized the consequences of its own separatist ideology and condemned it thereof. What is called for today is not an ideology that separates people, but one that can unite them together, that could form the basis of a common struggle.

This is the only way through which we can “cleanse” ourselves from our bloody and violent past – so that henceforth we may sincerely join forces together bringing about reconciliation and shaping a shared and peaceful future.

4. Federation – our common future

The continuation of separation and antagonism does not promote our own common interests, but only serves the enemies of the independence of Cyprus.

            The struggle for a common future, in a united country, is not a matter of sentimentalism or utopia – but a basic, imperative, historical and political need, a sheer matter of survival.

            In a common country the survival of Greek and Turkish Cypriots crucially depends on the survival of the Turkish Cypriots, and vice-versa.

            All Cypriot citizens have a right to live in a federated and united Cyprus, under conditions of freedom, democracy and security.

A federal solution is, under the present circumstances, the only guarantee for the independence of Cyprus. It should not be looked upon simply as a solution of necessity; it is at the same time our only hope for a just and peaceful common future.

            A federal solution has the potential of transcending our past history of violent conflict, which built the walls of separation between Greek and Turkish Cypriots.

The pursuit of a federal solution constitutes a common goal, a path towards a common future. A future, which will secure some measure of autonomy for each community, whilst also ensuring a unified character for the Cyprus Republic, preventing permanent separation and estrangement.

The future federation, for which we must strive, should be based on the principles of justice and viability. It should establish the right of every Cypriot to live in a democratic system, irrespective of race, ethnic identity, religion, sex or colour, under conditions of security and equal opportunities for development.

Federation is not a magic formula which will be introduced by outside forces, and which will automatically solve all of our problems. No one system or constitution can by itself secure our future. The most important is the good will of the people. Federation should be regarded as the expression of our collective determination for a joint struggle/effort by all Cypriots.

5. The mobilization of citizens is an imperative need

The dangers from the continuing impasse of the Cyprus problem are only too obvious. The reappearance of mistrust and chauvinism, as well as thoughtless pseudo-patriotism on either side, are the consequences of the present stalemate.

            Real and constructive patriotism nowadays means resistance to mistrust, fanaticism and chauvinism.

            Every Cypriot should stand against the reactionary forces in both communities which are attempting to undermine the effort for a common future – expressed, in our days, in the pursuit of a federal solution. It is only with the active participation of the people of Cyprus that independence, democracy and a common peaceful future can be achieved.

            The mobilization of ordinary citizens and the dialogue between Greek and Turkish Cypriots should become a conscious political choice and action, a matter to be undertaken independently – of and beyond any formal and official procedures.

            It is nowadays imperative to cross over from passive awaiting to active political participation in the struggle of shaping our common future.

Ahmet Djavit An

The origins of today’s Moslem population on the island
After the conquest of the Cyprus in 1570-71, the Ottoman commander Lala Mustafa Pasha left a small garisson on the island.  The official Ottoman sources refer to a total of 3,779 soldiers, many of whom, later, brought also their families.[1] Some of them even married the widows or daughters of the fallen Latin notables; an example is the last Lusignan Cornaro Lady of Potamia Castle who married the cavalry soldier Ibrahim Menteshoglou; their family has survived to the present day with the families of Menteshoglou and Bodamializade.

A census, taken shortly after the conquest, revealed a taxable population of some 85,000 Greeks, Armenians and Maronites, as well as 20,000 Turkish settlers, mostly campaign veterans, who were given land by Mustapha.[2] According to the Ottoman Register Book of 1572, 905 villages were inhabitated and 76 villages were deserted.[3] Thus the Ottomans did not build new villages and inhabited the empty ones, which mostly kept their old names while a few were given new Turkish names. The Sultan, realizing that the island needed human resources for labour, issued a firman which was sent to the Kadıs (local judges) of six Anatolian provinces: Karaman, Ichel, Bozok, Alaiye (Alanya), Teke (Antalya) and Manavgat. One in every ten families living in those provinces was ordered to transfer to the island, which meant a total of 5,720 families; at the end, only 1,689 families settled in Cyprus.[4]

According to the Register Book of 1581, there were plans to transfer 12,000 families, but eventually only 8,000 families were transported. In the following years, other Turkish families from Konya, Kirsehir, Chorum, Samsun, Chankiri, Eskisehir, Ankara, Darende and Ushak settled in the towns,[5] which were surrounded by fortified walls or had castles (Nicosia, Famagusta, Limassol, Paphos and Kyrenia), and in the deserted Latin villages.

Later the Anatolian settlers, who were mainly Turkmen artisans and villagers, intermingled with the Greeks of the island and cooperated with them in every field of life. Although the two communities belonged to different religions and had dissimilar ethnic distinctive features, they lived harmoniously, influencing each other as they worked side by side in the rural and urban areas.[6] In the course of 300 years of coexistence, during the Ottoman domination, some Christian Greeks converted to Islam in order to avoid high taxation. In some other cases, some Anatolian Moslems converted to Christianity.[7] Analysing the situation, Ronald C. Jennings wrote:

In the decades following the Ottoman conquest of Cyprus many of the island’s Christians converted to Islam.Contemporary observers and modern scholars have attributed that conversion to official compulsion, but no contemporary local sources substantiate that view except a few travelers embarrassed at the circumstances (as Venetians or Christians) who had no way of guessing how the new converts really felt. Although the level of conversion cannot be measured precisely, there are several indicators of its extent. In 1593-1595 32% of the adult male Muslims whose names and fathers’ names were cited as legal agents (vekil) were converts, as were 28% of those names as witnesses to legal cases and 41% of those named as instrumental witnesses. More than a third of such Muslims appearing in court at that time were converts. What the highest proportion ever reached was or when it was reached can only be conjectured, but obviously the intensity was temporary.[8]

There was another category of Cypriots, called Linobambaki that they were Crypto-Christians. This community of Cypriots was living in villages like Louroudjina (originally Laurentia), Potamia, Monagria, Ayios Sozomenos and some villages of Tylliria that were formerly estates of the Latins, who converted en masse to Islam.[9] Theodoros Papadopoullos gave an example of conversions from Christianity into Islam between 1825 and 1832, when in 16 villages, the percentage of the previously Christian population changed into a Moslem religion. By 1960, nine of them (Marki, Givisilin, Melounda, Kouklia, Sinda, Prastio, Malunda, Kantou, Platanissos) were all Moslem, two villages (Skoulli, Monagri) were all Christian, and the remaining five villages (Denia, Flasou, Palekithro, Syngrasi, Moniatis) had one third of their village population as Moslems.[10]

            Paschalis M. Kitromilides pointed out that the names of Christian Saints borne by several Turkish villages, especially in the Paphos and the Karpasia regions, offer a convincing indication of Islamization. These are the following Turkish Cypriot villages: in Paphos district, Ayyanni (Agios Ioannis), Aynikola (Agios Nikolaos), Ayyorgi (Agios georgios); in Limassol district, Aytuma (Agios Thomas); in Nicosia district, Aybifan (Agios Epiphanios); in Famagusta district, Ayharida (Agios Chariton); in Karpassia; Hirsofu (Agios Iakovos), Ayandroniko (Agios Andronikos), Ayistar (Agios Efstathios), Aysimyo (Agios Symeon).[11] Kitromilides notably wrote:

It should be made clear in this connection that this sort of evidence is not cited here in order to question the Turkish Cypriots’ Turkishness – which as is the case with modern national identity generally, has to do more with the states of consciousness and less with the ‘purity’ of ethnic origins.[12]

The Moslem identity of the Turkish Cypriots

After the conquest of Cyprus in 1571, the traditional Ottoman settlement system brought a new ethnological and cultural element to the island. The Anatolian Moslems had a different religion, language and culture than the island’s Christian population. The Latin Catholic Church did not oppress the Orthodox Christians anymore, and the Latins (Lusignans and Venetians) were allowed to stay in Cyprus if they would choose the religion of the conqueror, Islam, or the religion of the local Cypriot Orthodox people.[13] According to the Ottoman millet system, there were two millets in Cyprus. One was the Moslem millet and the other was the (Christian) Rum[14] millet. The Orthodox Christian Church and its Archbishop was responsible from the Christian population and later he was given the right to collect the taxes for the Ottoman governor. 

The Moslem community was mainly Sunni-Islam following the Hanefi sect. There were a Muftü for religious affairs, a Chief Kadı appointed from Istanbul for judicial matters, and a Mulla as the deputy of the Ottoman Governor.  From 1571 up to 1839, when a legal reform (Tanzimat) was proclaimed, the Moslem sacred Sheri Law was applied for the Moslem population; the Sheri Laws derived mainly from verses of the Koran and from traditions of Prophet Mohammed. Sometimes the Orthodox Christians themselves applied to the Sheri Courts in order to solve their disagreements with the Moslems in Cyprus. The Anatolian settlers believed in Islam, but they were not all following strictly the Sunni sect; some followed other sufi orders. For example, the tanners in Nicosia had their own lodge, called “Ahi Revan Dede”, a kind of “lonca” (professional syndicate). 

Right after the Ottoman occupation of Cyprus in 1570, various Vakfs[15] were created for the assistance of the Moslem community in their religious, social and cultural needs. Since the Ottoman conquerer of Cyprus, Lala Mustafa Pasha, was a devotee of the Mevlevi order, a Tekke[16] was built in Nicosia, near the Kyrenia gate, soon after the conquest; the Mevlevi Tekke functioned until the beginning of the 1950’s. Another Tekke of the Jelveti order was built in Famagusta, which had a library founded by Kutup Osman Efendi, the Grand Şeyh of this order. Aziziye Tekke, within the municipality market of Nicosia, founded in the name of the Müftü of the Ottoman Army that conquered Nicosia in 1570, was following the Rifai order. C. F. Beckingham wrote in 1955:

The dervish orders, which still have secret adherents in Turkey, were not strong in Cyprus. At present there is one Mevlevi tekke in Nicosia. […] Most Cypriot Muslims would prefer to close the tekke and use its income for the repair of mosques, the payment of hocas and religious education. It is felt that the Mevlevi ritual has lost all religious significance and has become, as one Muslim said, ‘a floor-show for tourists’.[17] (The text continues with a new paragraph here)

Formerly other dervish orders had a few adherents. There were Qadiris in Nicosia at the time of British occupation and there was once a small Bektaşi community in Larnaca; these have now disappeared. In Turkey many of the dervish orders were, or became, xenophobe. Their comparative absence from Cyprus, doubtlessly, helped the spread of modern ideas. The general character of Cypriot Islam is liberal and tolerant, and in this the Mufti reflects the attitude of the community. The social changes associated with Ataturk’s revolution were introduced into Cyprus without encountering the opposition of mullas, as they did in some parts of Turkey. (17) [Is this your text or Beckingham’s text? Quoted from Beckingham, same article, word by word]

When the British occupation began in 1878, the administration of Evkaf (Moslem pious organization) was entrusted to two delegates; a British, and a Moslem Turk who was appointed by the “Sublime Porte” (Ottoman Empire). The annexation of Cyprus (1914) and the Treaty of Lausanne (1923) brought a change in the status of the island; when the post of the Turkish delegate vacated in 1925, after the death of Musa İrfan Bey, the appointment was made by the British authorities (Colonial Office), which was subsequently confirmed by a British Order-in-Council in 1928.[18] The Moslem members of the Legislative Council, led by Hacı Hafiz Ziyai Efendi, protested to the British colonial government and claimed that the Caliph should appoint the director of Evkaf, and that the Cyprus Kadı should be considered as the head of Evkaf.

Vedjhi Efendi, who was the Kadı of Cyprus, supported this thesis. Already in 1902, the governor of Cyprus informed the Kadı by telegram that the management of the Evkaf would be carried out by the Kadı of Cyprus; advocate Fadıl Korkut wrote that he was among the congregation when this telegram was openly read in the Agia Sophia Mosque in Nicosia. Vedjhi Efendi was not able to take the necessary steps to implement the transfer of administration to Evkaf, since he got a mental disease; eventually Hacı Hafız Ziyai Efendi withdrew from the Legislative Council and become the Müftü of Cyprus. The Turkish Cypriot delegate of Evkaf, Musa İrfan Bey, who was appointed in 1903, started to behave as the leader of the Moslem community by using his authority at the Evkaf. He also adopted a policy of allocating the Moslem memberships of the Legislative Council to the candidates of the Evkaf. He gave 10,000 pounds credit to the candidates from the Evkaf Treasure, but later there were difficulties to get the Evkaf money back.

When Numan Efendi was appointed to the post of Kadı of Cyprus in 1907, he demanded again to get the administration of Evkaf to his office. It was in this year, when Dr. Hafız Djemal Bey (Lokman Hekim) settled in his own country and started to publish a newspaper and more than 20 booklets for the enlightenment of the Turkish Cypriot community. He also opened his Cyprus Industrial School in Nicosia, where young boys were taught various handworks and they used to sell their products in the Friday Market. In the evening classes, people were taught foreign languages. But the reactionary circles fought against him until he left the island for good in 1909.  

A National Council (Meclis-i Milli) convened under the leadership of Müftü Ziyai Efendi on 10 December 1918 in order to raise the demands of the Turkish Cypriots in the Paris Conference, where the Greek Cypriots would participate. We read from its resolution that Müftü Ziyai Efendi was elected as the head of the millet (reis-i millet), defining the Müftü for the first time as the leader of the Turkish Cypriot community. But the British local government did not allow him to go abroad.

When the “Organization of Islam Community” (Cemaat-ı İslamiye Teşkilatı) was established in 1924, as the first political association of the Turkish Cypriots, it demanded that the administration of the Evkaf should be handed over to a commission to be elected among the community. There was no positive outcome and when Münir Bey was appointed as the Turkish delegate of Evkaf in 1925, after the death of İrfan Bey, the government had two delegates, instead of one. Evkaf should have been handed over to its real owner, the Turkish Cypriot community, but the Lausanne Agreement had already abolished the Cyprus Convention, which provided for the British Administration to appoint one of the Evkaf delegates.[19]

            In 1928, the Evkaf Department was established by a decree issued by the colonial government, which gave special privileges to the director of the department. After the Lausanne Agreement, the Evkaf properties in the Balkan countries and Palestine were to be administered by a commission and this was not done in Cyprus and therefore there was no say anymore on the administration of the Evkaf properties by the Turkish Cypriot community. On the other hand, the Greek Orthodox Church continued to administer the Church properties in Cyprus.

Starting from 1923, when the Republic of Turkey was declared, there was no Califdom and no Minister for Religious Affairs anymore in modern Turkey. The British Colonial Government abolished the post of Müftü, starting from 19 November 1928, and this was an important event, since the Moslem population had this institution since 1571. Instead of Müftü, the post of Fetva Emini was created under the Evkaf Department and Hürremzade Hakkı Efendi was appointed there. He was supporting the Kemalists and also made a meeting together with the teacher for replacing the Arabic alphabet with the Latin at the schools. Now the authority of the Evkaf director was reinforced and Münir Bey was regarded as the leader of the Turkish Cypriot community and was invited as such to the Royal Garden party in London in 1928.

The Sheri Courts were in a deplorable state, functioning in Cyprus as if the island was still in Ottoman 19th Century. In 1927, the Cyprus Courts of Justice Order-in-Council limited the jurisdiction of the Sheri Courts to strictly Moslem religious matters and provided for appeals from them to the Supreme Court. This was done in conformity with the view of a report prepared by three leading Turkish Cypriots, Münir Bey, M. Raif and M. Shevket. Cingizzade Mehmet Rifat wrote a series of open letters to the British Governor of Cyprus, between 10 December 1932 and 11 March 1933, in his newspaper Masum Millet for the modernization of the Sheri Courts, and the Inheritance Law, similar to the reforms made in Turkey since 1926, as well as the matters of Müftü and Evkaf. 

            In 1930, Münir Bey lost his seat at the Legislative Council to the Kemalist leader Necati Bey, who voted later in April 1931 against the Customs Tax Law together with the Greek Cypriot members. In May 1931, Necati Bey convened a National Congress, where a new Müftü was elected for the Turkish Cypriots, but this was not recognized officially by the colonial government. When the British appointed in 1951 Yakup Celal Menzilcioğlu, aged 72, as temporary Müftü from Turkey, his preaching was strongly criticized by the Kemalists of the Turkish Cypriot community; uncoincidentally, after six months the anti-Kemalist Menzilcioglu resigned and left Cyprus. Necati Özkan supported again another candidate from Turkey, Mahmut Kamil Toker, for the post of Müftü against the candidate of the National Party of Dr.Küçük, Dana Efendi. But Toker was forced to withdraw his candidacy before coming to the island and the only candidate from Paphos, Dana Efendi was elected on 30 December 1953 as the new Müftü of Cypriot Muslims.    

Religious Education

Eleven “Sibyan” schools were opened between 1571 and 1600 for the elementary education. In 1632 “Büyük Medrese” and in 1640 “Küçük Medrese” were founded for the young people, who wanted to acquire religious and legal knowledge. These schools were started by rich philanthropic Turkish Cypriots, who made vakıf for the financing of these institutions, therefore the schools were under the administration of the Evkaf. From the Vakf Registers, we can see that some of these philanthropics belong to religious orders that they appointed their own care-takers for these vakıf properties for financing their activities.[20]

The first modern secondary school (Rüştiye) was opened in 1862 and in 1897 the first modern gymnasium (İdadi) followed. In 1922, it was called “Sultani”, but after the foundation of Turkey, the name was changed into “Cyprus Turkish Lycee”. The British colonial government appointed in 1937 an English headmaster to the Lycee, Mr. Wood, who changed the name all of a sudden into “Cyprus Islam Lycee”. The Turkish Cypriot community could use the original name only in 1950, when a Turkish Cypriot Headmaster was appointed to the Lycee. In 1932 a Moslem Theological School was established by Münir Bey in order to replace the Büyük Medrese, which was demolished. Advocate Mehmet Rifat (Con Rifat), who was one of the supporters of the Kemalist populist movement, criticized in his newspaper Masum Millet [Innocent Nation] the establishment of a Theological School in Cyprus.

In the first year, there were only two students and three teachers. From 1932 until 1949, in 16 years, only 8 imams graduated from this school. To be exact, in addition, two persons, one coming from Solia and the other from Tilliria also took a short course. If we bear in mind that there were about 300 mosques over the island, the qualified imams were not over two dozens. Many mosques were without imams and prayers were officiated there only at great intervals, twice a year by qualified persons. This Moslem Theological School in Nicosia was closed in 1949.[21]

            The Interim Report on Turkish Cypriot Affairs was prepared in 1949 by exclusively Turkish Cypriot members, who collected data on all relevant subjects (Evkaf, Müftü, Family Laws, Sherie Couts, Schools) from official and non-official quarters, and five public meetings were held in all towns of the island other than Kyrenia. The Turkish Cypriot press gave also considerable prominence to its deliberations. Therefore, these recommendations had gained general approval and represented a fair reflection of the desires and opinions of the Turkish Cypriot community. Thus the Turkish Family Courts Law and Marriage and Divorce Law came into force in 1951 and later amended in 1954.[22] There were reactions by Şeyh Nazım Hoca, who published a leaflet “Family Law is contrary to the Sheria”, but he was attacked by Dr. Küçük in Halkın Sesi, on 25 May 1950. Another political opponent of Dr.Küçük, Necati Özkan, wrote a series of articles in his own newspaper İstiklal (28 May-11 June 1950). The Turkish Religious Head (Müftü) Law was enacted in 1953. It provided an indirect election, that the Turkish Cypriot community elected in 1954 Dana Efendi as the Müftü for the first time after 27 years. The transfer of the Management of Evkaf properties was made officially on 14 April 1956. The administration of the Turkish Cypriot schools was handed over to the Turkish Cypriot community on 9 June 1959. 

The traditional Turkish Cypriot mosques

After the conquest of the island in 1571, the Ottomans were impressed with the Latin cathedrals in Nicosia and Famagusta and they converted them into mosques by adding minarets and other Islamic elements. Besides these and other conversions, mosques were built by the Turks in various periods in Ottoman style. Those of architectural interest are Arabahmet, Sarayönü and Turunçlu in Nicosia, Seyit Mehmet Ağa and Hala Sultan in Larnaca, Haydar Paşazade Mehmet Bey in Lapithos, Cafer Paşa in Kyrenia and Camii Cedid in Limassol. The mosques in the villages have tiled roofs, carried by one or two rows of high arches, giving the interior a spacious atmosphere.[23] Most of the mosques in rural areas did not have minaret, because they were modest buildings for the villagers built by Evkaf. Some writers insist that they represent the Alevite sect in Cyprus; but they have nothing to do with the “Cemevi”, where the Alevites perform their rituals.

The Islamization of the northern part of the island

There has been a religious movement among the Turkish Cypriot community, which was mainly represented by Şeyh Nazım Hoca, a Turkish Cypriot follower of the Nakshibendi order, which was active especially between the years 1945 and 1949 and later in 1954. Those activities were well documented by one of his followers, Hüseyin Mehmet Ateşin, in his book Dr. Fazıl Küçük and Şeyh Nazım Kıbrısi, (İstanbul, 1997). The book reflected the ideological struggle between Dr. Fazıl Küçük, (who was supporting Kemalism and modern Turkey in Cyprus in his activities for winning the leadership of his community) and Nazım Hoca, (who was an anti-Kemalist.) The same writer wrote also the history of the Islamic Movement among the Turkish Cypriots in Kıbrıs’ta İslami Kimlik Davası [The case of Islamic Identity in Cyprus] (İstanbul 1996).[24]

Islamization activities of the occupied parts of the island started right after the invasion and the occupation in 1974. Churches were transformed into mosques in the main towns and villages. Religious propaganda went parallel with the increasing activities of the religious parties in Turkey. When Müftü Dana Efendi retired on 1 September 1971, his deputy, Dr. Rifat Mustafa was appointed as Müftü. The Turkish Cypriot Islam Association was founded already in 1971 with a publication of a fortnightly newspaper Her şeyde ve her yerde milli ve dini NİZAM [National and religious ORDER in everything and at everywhere], on 5 February 1971, which ceased its publication with issue 38 on 19 July 1974. Right wing and religiously oriented columnists from Tercüman newspaper, Ahmet Kabaklı and Ergun Göze, were invited to Cyprus in February 1974; it was a kind of revival of the Şeyh Nazım movement.

A second religious association “Cyprus Turkish Islam Cultural Association” was re-activated after 1974. One of its activities was a conference organized in Kyrenia in June 1977. The chairman of the Association accused the Turkish Cypriots as being “Gavur” (infidel to Islam): “Unless Islam disseminates now or in the future in Cyprus, they shall stay as Gavur as they are today”.[25] The insult provoked Dr. Fazıl Küçük to reply in a series of articles in his daily Halkın Sesi for five days, under the title “Tongues with spikes”. On 12 July 1977 he wrote:

They have given permission to those members from the Koran courses that are spreading across the island and they are practicing as imams and preachers. The administration should be more sensitive in their duties. […] We are embarrassed from the words of those, who came from mountain or forest villages. They don’t know how to walk properly on the street, with their wide trousers. They are chewing the sentence ‘You are bastards of the British, gavurs, without any religion’ and they passed the limits of tolerance. We don’t know what will happen and what will be the result, when there will be no tolerance for these curses. […] Our arms are open for the Ataturkist imams and preachers and we can share our bread with them. These associations have become hearths of disaster. These Islam associations should be closed without any further delay. Although everyone is free to open an association according to the constitution, but the government has the right to close them, when they engage in dangerous activities. […] There is no authority today, who will force them to withdraw their long tongues back into their mouth, who says ‘We shall make you, the gavur Turks, Moslem’.[26]

He further wrote that he had received a letter about the activities of Süleymanist missioners, who were employed by the Müftü Mustafa Rifat that they were teaching Arabic to the youth in Famagusta and giving conferences without getting permission in the villages, where they accused the Turkish Cypriots of not being religious enough. Halkın Sesi reported one year later, on 11 August 1978, that Koran courses were organized in a mosque in Famagusta and the children were told not to watch TV, because it was a sin; small boys were not allowed to wear short trousers and they could not learn by heart to sing the prayers properly at the minarets.

The growth of mosques and Islam in occupied Cyprus

There were approximately 300 mosques in Cyprus before 1974. Many of them in the rural areas did not have minarets and between 1968 and 1974 minarets were built to some mosques like the ones at Krini, Fota and Agridi. At the end of 1991, there were 141 mosques in the occupied areas, but 58 of them did not have imams for performing the religious prayers. Βy 1999 the Department for Religious Affairs – with a personnel of 13 – employed 135 imams in all the mosques (only 5 of them were graduates of a Theological Faculty), plus 56 imams were appointed from Turkey. According to the official numbers, there were 199 mosques in the ‘TRNC’ at the end of 2012, excluding those in construction; in these mosques, 255 imam and muezzin were employed. Furthermore, there were another 103 imams, who were paid by the Turkish Embassy in Nicosia. Thus the total number of imams – including the three imams working in the southern part of the island – is 361 of whom only ten are are permanently employed while the rest are on a contact basis.[27] In 2014, there were 260 imams, who were paid from the budget of the Prime Ministry of the TRNC, but only 13 of them were on permanent staff- list. Another 120 imams received their salaries from the Turkish Embassy in Nicosia.[28]

Nine mosques were built between 1974 and 2002 in various towns and villages in the occupied areas with the finances of the Turkish Embassy in Nicosia. One of them is the big mosque, built in Anatolian style in Kyrenia in 1999 and it was named after Nurettin Ersin Pasha, the Turkish commander of the 1974 invasion forces. It was followed, in 2003, by another big mosque that was built in Famagusta and was named after Fazıl Polat Pasha, the Turkish commander who occupied Famagusta in 1974. In the summer of 2005, there were a total of 173 mosques and a budget of 3.5 million TL was allocated in order to build 12 new mosques. During the AKP government, starting with the year 2002, out of 39 newly built mosques, 37 were in occupied Greek Cypriot villages; they were all reduced-size copies of the big mosque built in Kyrenia, either with one or two minarets.[29]

The Turkish Cypriots perceive these Islamization activities with concern. For example the Trade Union of Turkish Cypriot Teachers (KTÖS) issued a statement and criticized the ongoing Koran courses and new schools for religious education:

There are 192 mosques in the TRNC, whereas there are 160 schools, 21 health centres and 17 hospitals. Each university wants to build a mosque and these plans increased the controversies. […] They say that they got permission from the Ministry of Education, but there are Koran courses ongoing in the mosques, without permission and controls. If the government does not have the power to control these places, they should resign.[30]

The Trade Union of the Turkish Cypriots Secondary School Teachers (KTOEÖS) protested for a teacher that was appointed from Turkey, at the Polatpaşa Lycee, because the pupils did not like the way he was teaching the lesson of “Religious Culture and Ethics”.[31] The parents’ association of the same school made a demonstration and criticized the Ministry of Education that there was no inspection how the teachers for religion perform their duties.[32] The chairman of KTOS, Semen Saygun, remarked that there were 2,000 pupils, who were participating at the Koran courses during summer season in 2012 while in 2015 the number increased to 5,000. She said that it was not pedagogically appropriate for the immature children to have these courses instead of playing games, resting or spending time with their own families.[33]

Turkish Cypriot reaction

The majority of the Turkish Cypriots does not like that that religious belief is mixed with politics in a show off and are against using religion for political purposes.  Therefore they do not approve mass propaganda for Islam, done by the various religious associations, mainly set up by Anatolian settlers and students. There have always been religious people among the Turkish Cypriot community, but they were in minority and not so fanatic. Some religious Turkish Cypriots formed in cooperation with Turkish settlers some political parties, which were based on religious programs, but they did not have any success: “Reform and Welfare Party” (1979), “Our party” (1998). When the followers of Şeyh Nazım convened on 22 December 1996 in Nicosia at a meeting under the name “Great Islam Congress”, Şeyh Nazım defined the Turkish Cypriot as “a different kind of human, who is clever and has many demonic ideas. There is a need to have someone, who can imprison the demon in a bottle. Those imams, who are sent from Turkey, do not know the Turkish Cypriots. I can convince millions, but in the last 60 years, I got tired of trying to convince this millet (of Turkish Cypriots)!”[34]

            Since the population of the Anatolian settlers is more than the local Turkish Cypriots in the occupied areas at the moment, religious events and activities are organized mainly for them by various associations and organizations that are financed by the Turkish Embassy in Nicosia or some reactionary Arabic countries, and enjoy the support of the ‘TRNC’ government. Last year the Evkaf distributed 5,000 packages of food, sent by the General Directorate of the Vakıfs in Turkey. During the Ramadan month, when the Moslems do not eat or drink anything during the daytime, 100,000 persons had the chance to have dinner on 14 meeting-points in various towns and villages, under the organization of the “Red Crescent Association of Northern Cyprus” with the support of the Turkish Embassy Aid Department in Nicosia. Since 2005, it has been a traditional event. Similar dinners were given also by the Evkaf Department, the Turkish Cypriot Islam Association and Universal Love and Brotherhood Association (ESKAD).[35]

            At the moment there are 600 students at the two theological faculties, one at the Near East University (YDU) and the other one at the University of Social Sciences [Sosyal Bilimler Üniversitesi], while another 800 pupils attend the Theological Colleges. Almost all of the students and teenage pupils are from Turkey who came to the occupied areas with scholarships while a small number are the children of the Anatolian settlers; the teachers are all coming from Turkey. The newly established Hala Sultan Theological College is part of the big complex with a boarding house, a large mosque, conference rooms and shops that will cost 80 million dollars. The Hala Sultan Mosque with its four tall minarets – a small replica of the Selimiye Mosque in Edirne – will be ready by 2017 at a total cost of 30 million dollars. Another large mosque with six minarets is being constructed at the Near East University and is expected to be completed by 2017.

            It is interesting to note that an Anatolian settler, professor Talip Atalay – also an unsuccessful AKP candidate at the 2015 general elections – who settled with his family in occupied Famagusta in 1975, when he was 7 years old, was appointed by Ankara, in 2010, as the Muftü of Cyprus. His employment as the Director of the Religious Affairs, was accompanied by the purchase of two Mercedes and three BMW cars for his Department, which caused criticism by the Trade Union “Hizmet-Sen” in the Turkish Cypriot press.[36] Talip Atalay, a professor of theology, represents the Turkish Cypriot community in its relations with the Cyprus Greek Orthodox Church and he is welcomed by the authorities of the Republic of Cyprus, although he is not a local Turkish Cypriot. The Anatolian settlers can visit now the Hala Sultan Tekke during Moslem Holidays. Since 2014, four such visits were organized with the participation of more than one thousand visitors in each time, comprising mainly of the Turkish citizens![37]

(Published in “EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN POLICY NOTE • No. 8 • 10 July 2016, Cyprus Center for European and International Affairs, University of Nicosia)

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The Justice and Development Party (Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi=AKP) has been in power in Turkey in the last 14 years and it has already made big steps forwards in order to legitimize the establishment of an Islamic State in Turkey. The Republic of Turkey was founded in 1924 by Kemal Ataturk and until 1990’s, Kemalism has been the state ideology of modern Turkey.  

The AKP originated from the religious movement, started by the National Order Party (MNP) of Necmettin Erbakan, who broke apart from the traditional right wing Justice Party (AP) in 1970 and started a separate political party in order to represent independently the political Islamism in Turkey. Erbakan’s political movement continued under various parties, which succeeded each other after the proscription of the previous one: National Order Party (1970-1981), National Salvation Party (1983-1998), Welfare Party (1983-1998), Virtue Party (1997-2001), Prosperity Party (2001-today). Those, who did not want to join the Prosperity Party, established the AKP on 14 August 2001 and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was the chairperson between 2003 and 2014.  The AKP won 34.28% of the votes in the general elections in 2002, 46.58% in 2007 and 49.83% in 2011. In June 2015, the AKP won 40.89% of the votes under its new chairperson Ahmet Davutoğlu, who could increase the percentage in November 2015 up to 49.50%. Davutoğlu was previously the Foreign Minister in Erdoğan’s cabinet and he initiated the so-called “Zero-problem with the neighbours” policy, which proved later to be an enemy maker policy for Turkey.    

The Islamic religious communities have been very active since 1973 in Turkey and the most influential one of them was Fethullah Gülen’s movement. Gülen supported Erdoğan’s AKP, starting from the general elections of 1994 until 2009. During the power of the AKP, the state apparatus was not anymore supporting the Kemalist principles of the founder of the Republic of Turkey. It was already under the influence of a Turkish-Islam synthesis, which could be defined as a kind of fascism with Turkish flavour. It is not only anti-communist and anti-democratic, but also anti-humanist and anti-enlightenment. The ideology of the AKP is oppressive and against the classic liberalism in the sense of political rights and freedoms.

After the military regime of 1980, the Turkish state establishment did not disturb the so-called “moderate” religious movement of Gülen, organized as companies, associations and foundations. The security bureaucracy of the Turkish State, like the Ministry of National Education and the Directorate of Religious Affairs were already indocrinated with the Turkish-Islam synthesis, as well as the Intelligence Services (MIT), the police and the army. It is not possible to find Kemalist persons anymore, working in the Ministries of National Education or Internal Affairs or among the Security Bureaucracy.  

Starting with the military ultimatum on 28 February 1997, the political Islam in Turkey took a neo-liberal course, which brought Turkey to participate in the Great Near East Project of the USA, to start relations with the EU, to implement the programme of the IMF and to privatize the big state enterprizes. The big monopolies of Turkey have accumulated a lot of capital during the power of the AKP and they bought almost all of the state properties and benefited from extraordinary subsidies.

According to a survey, done by the Ministry of Family and Social Policies, published at the beginning of 2013, Turkey is one of the countries at the top of the list with inequal division of national income. The division of national income is unjust and inequal. 95% of the households live below the poverty line (3.200 TL) and 60% live below the limit of hunger (1.200-1.000 TL). Out of 19.7 million families, the richest 100 were getting 30% of the national income with their wealth of 216 billion dollars. The income of the richest 10% of the population in Turkey is 12.6 times more than the 10% of the poorest population. According to the numbers from 2015, Turkey is the fifth OECD country after Mexico, Chile, USA and Israel and the first in Europe.

According to the study of Research Institute on Turkey, which was based on the Global Wealth Report of the Credit Suisse, the richest 1% of the population in Turkey, used to get 39.4% in 2002, but they got 54.3% in 2014. The remaining 99% got in 2002 60.6% of the total wealth, reduced to 45.7% in 2014.  Erdoğan’s family, alone, has accumulated in the last 10 year a wealth of 128 billion dollars, which makes 16% of the national income.

The Gülen Movement had 88 foundations, 20 associations, 128 private schools, 218 companies and approximately 500 boarding houses in Turkey. It was also well organized in the mass media with 17 newspapers and magazines, several TV and radio stations. The Gülen imperium, which is supposed to have the support of the CIA, has in 92 countries, approximately 500 elementary and secondary schools and 6 universities, plus many education and language centres. The movement educate more than 100.000 persons worldwide. The schools, which operate in the foreign countries, are all private and enroll the children of the middle and the upper classes.

In November 2013, Erdoğan decided to break his cooperation with the Gülen Movement and and get the whole power in his own hand in Turkey. Therefore he started by preparing a bill for the closure of the preparatory classes for the universities. This was a big challenge for his long-time collaborator, the Gülen Movement, which was recruiting young members to the movement through these preparatory classes for the universities. The “Zaman” daily newspaper of the Gülen Movement reacted strongly against this decision of the AKP government by saying that this was not done even during the Kemalist military regimes in Turkey. This was a big economic and political blow to the Gülen community, because 60% of all the preparatory classes (4.000 of them registered, 2.000 - 5.000 unregistered) belonged to Gülen Movement and 80% of the publishing materials for the preparatory classes.   

Gülen Movement reacted on 17 December 2013 by making some operations, where 80 persons were detained and  among them was an Iranian businessman, Rıza Sarraf, who sold the Iranian petrol during the years of embargo and gave the money back to his partner in Iran in gold.  The mass media was given some recorded telephone conversations about the corruption of four cabinet ministers, who were bribed by Sarraf. This ended up with their resignation on 24 December, because the sons of  Zafer Çağlayan, Muammer Güler, Erdoğan Bayraktar were involved. During the police operations, 4.5 million dollars were found, hidden in shoe-boxes in the house of the director of Halk Bank and a money-counting machine was found at the bedroom of Minister Güler’s son! Erdoğan Bayraktar told to the press that what he had done was according to the orders of Premier Minister Erdoğan! But he negated this statement later.  On 25 December 2013, a second operation for the arrest of 30 suspected persons for money laundering could not be realized, because the security forces did not implement the order of the state attorney. From that day on, the AKP started to restructure the legal system in Turkey with its own supporters. 

Later, the events on 17 and 25 December 2013 were seen as a civil coup d’Etat of Erdoğan, whereas the accused ministers should have been before court, in order to have a clarification, if they did something against the law or not, but the AKP stopped the legal procedure!

In January 2014, the MIT officers did not allow the state attorney to search lorries carrying guns and ammunition for the ISIL. The Minister for Internal Affairs stated on a TV programme that during 35 days, after the incident on 17 December, 5,000 policemen and many state attorneys were appointed to other posts. On 25 February 2014, another voice-recording was popular on the social media and Youtube which was recorded on 17 December 2013. The PM Erdoğan was informing his son, Bilal, about the police operation at the homes of the sons of some ministers and he told his son to get rid of the money, hidden at their own home. Bilal Erdoğan has been accused of involvement in illegal oil smuggling in Syria  and Iraq.

After the corruption scandals were made public, Erdoğan decided to abolish the court decisions on Ergenekon case and the similar ones, which made a big blow on the strength and authority of the Turkish Army. Now the Army was a reliable partner of Erdoğan, who wanted to avoid his cornered position.

The AKP was able to collect 44% of the votes in the local elections on 30 March 2014 and Erdoğan declared war on the Gülen Movement, which he defined as a “parallel state within the Turkish state.” On 12 June 2015, 37 judges and attorneys were expelled from their professions.  

Erdoğan started also a revenge attack on the Kurdish cities and people in South-Eastern provinces, where his party could not win, but the Democratic Party of the Peoples (HDP) was very successful. Erdoğan broke the alliance with the Kurdish movement, which costed 40.000 lives in 35 years and 6.000 people were killed only in 8 months time!

According to a report, prepared by the TU for Education Labourers (Eğitim-Sen), when the AKP came to power in 2002, the number of students attending 450  Imam Hatip schools were 71,100.  In the school year 2014-2015, the number of the Imam Hatip Schools was 1,017 with an increase of  90% to almost 750,000 children, aged between 10 and 18, or 9% of all students. (Hürriyet, 13 June 2015) Government officials, many of them former Imam Hatip pupils themselves, have since argued that the schools’ revival responds to demand by Muslim families, who felt discriminated against after 1997.

The Turkish Directorate for Religious Affairs, which employs 120.000 personnel, in a total of 84,684 mosques (emlakwebtv.com, 18 June 2015), had a budget of  more than 3 billion Euros (6.5 billion TL) for 2016 and the whole amount, spent on religious activities between 2006 and 2015 makes a total of approx. 12 billion Euros. (haber.sol.org.tr, 27 January 2016) In the summer of 2015, more than 3 million children (4-6 year-olds included) went to Koran courses, organized in 60.000 mosques. More than 1 million visited other places than mosques for Koran education. 929 persons and many other associations and foundations organized 16.958 Koran courses in 2013-14. (Birgün newspaper, 31 March 2016)

In Turkey, there are 107,000 doctors and 1,250 hospitals, whereas there are 122,000 imams and almost 85,000 mosques. Every year only 9,000 doctors graduate, whereas there is a need of 105,000 doctors more. On the other hand, there are 122,000 imams and every year 60,000 imams graduate and they are in surplus. (Yılmaz Özdil, Sözcü newspaper, 8 January 2015)

The AKP is very happy with the majority of the media, including some 32 newspapers and 22 television channels, using them in order  to dominate the news coverage and attack on opposition parties. 

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu was forced to announce on 5 May 2016 that he was resigning as head of the ruling AKP and giving up the premiership. President Erdogan continued to concentrate the whole power of the state in his own hands and obedience to him within the AKP was openly praised as a virtue and required as a duty.

On the other hand, the country faced now serious challenges on the security and economic fronts. Turkey failed to protect the city of Kilis on the border with Syria, where ISIS attacks with missiles that took lives of 21 people, including eight Syrian refugees, and wounded scores of others. Many buildings have been devastated. One columnist wrote that Kilis is a clear testimony to Turkey’s powerlessness in its ambition to be recognized as a regional power.

Erdogan and his party AKP are among the major actors in the ordeal that Syria has been going through since 2011, alongside with Saudi Arabia and Qatar. Erdoğan strives to assume the leadership of the Sunni masses of the Middle East and return to Turkey the glory of its Ottoman past. This is one of the reasons why the AKP government supported ISIL until very recently and continue to support other Islamist groups fighting against the Assad regime in Syria, where he flamed the hatred of war between the Sunni and the Alevi. The Alevites are a minority denomination in Islam and they are closer to the Shia than the Sunni. The AKP does not have good relationship with the Alevites in Turkey. Another problem for the AKP government is the formation of the Kurdish cantons on the Syrian border. The USA asked Turkey to cleanse the line Cerablus-Azez from the ISIL, but Erdoğan does not want that the Syrian Kurds would put these areas under their control. Russia and Syria prefer the Kurdish authority rather than the ISIL.

The relationship between Turkey and Russia have deteriorated significantly since 24 November 2015, when a Turkish fighter jet shot down a Russian warplane in Syria. Russia declared economic sanctions against Turkey and the trade between the two countries contracted 25% in 2015. Since the beginning of 2016, Russia has put restrictions on the supplies of vegetables, fruits and other goods from Turkey and these restrictions included also a ban on hiring of Turkish citizens. It is estimated that the embargo could cost the Turkish economy more than 3 billion dollars.         

Erdoğan does not act as an independent President, but continue to govern the AKP as its leader, getting involved in goverment affairs and breaching the Constitution, which is punishable with life-long imprisonment. He should have cut his relationship with his AKP on the day he was elected as President. On the contrary, he succeeded the resignation of the Premier Minister, who won the elections with 23 million votes. Erdogan intervened also the internal party affairs of the oppositional National Movement Party (MHP) in order to secure the continuation of the party’s support for his power. 

The new chairperson of the AKP, Binali Yıldırım, who would be the Prime Minister of Turkey, is a well-known close friend of Erdoğan and one of the founders of the AKP in 2001. He was appointed to the Ministry of Transport in 2002 and served the longest term in the history of Turkey at that post. During his term of office, a lot of corruption allegations were published in the media and many state enterprizes were sold cheaply under the guise of privatization. Yıldırım’s family owns 17 companies, 28 cargo-ships and 2 super-yachts, but others allege that the real number of ships are higher than this. Now that Erdoğan has a puppet Prime Minister, he would try to get rid of the MP’s of the Democratic Party of the Peoples (HDP) in the Turkish Grand National Assembly by removing their immunity, nut not those from his own party, AKP. The Republican People’s Party (CHP) has lost its Kemalist ideology on one hand and takes a nationalist position in the Kurdish question like the MHP. Erdoğan is now a monarch!  

 

(Published in IN DEPTH bimonthly electronic newsletter • Volume 13 Issue 3 • June 2016

© 2016 Cyprus Center for European and International Affairs • University of Nicosia)

Population in Nicosia in 1946

Neighbourhood                      Christian         Moslem           Others            Total

1. Abdi Çavuş                         74                    799                  29                    902

2. Akkavuk                             107                  1094                1                      1202

3. Arab Ahmet                       576                  846                  1195                2617

4. Aya Sofya                          632                  1239                65                    1936

5. Ayii Omoloyitadhes           1678                9                      123                  1810

6. Ayios Andreas

    (Tophane)                           2224                152                  636                  3012

7. Ay.Antonios                        2045                   7                    38                    2090

8. Ay.Ioannis                          1375                  57                    4                      1436

9. Ay.Kassianos

      (Kafesli)                            1061                115                  1                      1177

10. Ay.Loucas                         263                  536                  7                      806

11. Ay.Savas                          1211                39                    16                    1266

12. Haydar Paşa                     45                    334                  6                      385

13. İbrahim Paşa                    650                  1539                145                  2334

14. Karamanzade                   124                  61                    412                  597

15. Chrysaliniotissa                865                  29                    7                      901

16. Korkut Efendi &

      İplik Pazarı                       116                  232                  208                  556

17. Mahmut Paşa                    61                    713                  101                  875

18. Nöbethane                        438                  19                    63                    520

19. Ömerge                             917                  249                  27                    1193

20. Phaneromeni                    1065                10                    13                    1088

21. Tahtakale                          902                  518                  13                    1433

22. Tabakhane                         701                  20                    36                    757

23. Tripiotis                            2982                27                    238                  3247

Within the walls:                    24,967

Outside the walls:                    9,518 in quarters like Köşklüçiftlik (part of Arab Ahmet Neighb.), Yeni Kapı (New Gate-part of Yeni Djami N.) and Yeni Şehir (Neapolis-part of Ibrahim Pasha N.).

In the outskirts of  the old city Nicosia, there were 9 villages, where a total of 18,839 persons were living. These villages were Ayios Dhometios (Incirli), Eylenje, Hamit Mandraları, Büyük Kaymaklı, Küçük Kaymaklı (Omorphita), Ortaköy, Pallouriotissa, Strovolos and Trakhonas (Kızılbaş).

(Source: Report by D.A.Percival, Cyprus: Census of Population and Agriculture, 1946, Report and Tables, London 1949)

Arab Ahmet neighbourhood was the most prestigious residential area of Nicosia, where the Turkish high-ranking officials and the Kadis and the Pashas had their homes. First of all it was near the old Ottoman Saray (previously Lusignan palace) and easy for the high-ranking officials to go to their work on foot. Secondly it was the coolest place in the evening during the summer. Because it could get the best of the evening breeze, coming from the west, from the direction of the Morphou Bay into the Mesoira plane.

In September 1945, the Ottoman name of the Tophane neighbourhood was changed into Ayios Andreas. The nearby small neighbourhoods of Tabakhane and Nöbethane were abolished and attached to the Ayios Andreas neighbourhood, which after this had two muhtars, a Turkish Cypriot and a Greek Cypriot.

MUNICIPAL OR PUBLIC GARDEN (MİLLET BAHÇASI)

Tahtakale was one of the biggest mixed neighbourhoods of Nicosia with a population of 518 Turkish Cypriots and 902 Greek Cypriots. Now the only sign of this coexistence is the Tahtakale Mosque and the Koran School, which were built in 1826 by the Ottoman Governor Es-Seyyid Mehmet Ağa, at the same place of the old mosque. There were also a small graveyard and a koran school for the minors, which had its first teacher appointed in 1594. The Evkaf Administration built shops on the site of the graveyard in the 1950’s. In 1881, there was a fountain near the mosque, which Salvatore draw a picture of it, but it did not survive today. The original minaret was cracked in 1936 and it was rebuilt in 1948.

OMERIYE

WOMEN’S BAZAAR (KADINLAR PAZARI, YENEKOPAZARO)

PARTITION POLICY DIVIDED NICOSIA FIRST IN 1956

After the attack of the EOKA on the Turkish Cypriot villagers in Vasilia and the killing of a Turkish Cypriot policeman, who was chasing two EOKA fighters, the inter-communal violence intensified. On 27th April 1956, the Turkish Cypriot newspaper Halkın Sesi wrote in its main title the following:

“Curfew was declared and applied in Nicosia yesterday afternoon from 5 o’clock until 4 o’clock this morning... During the 11 hours of curfew, the town was divided into North and South Nicosia, like East and West Berlin. The street from Paphos Gate until the Famagusta Gate remained closed at all.”

Halkın Sesi wrote in its edition on 28th April 1956:

“The Greek Cypriots, who had their homes, offices or shops in the Turkish neighbourhoods, have started to look for places in the Greek Cypriot neighbourhoods, so that they could abandon their previous dwellings.”

Bozkurt daily newspaper wrote on 3rd June 1957 about the first step of the partition policy of the Turkish Cypriot leadership: “Yesterday, after a meeting of the Cyprus is Turkish Party, the Turkish Cypriot councillors in the Municipalities of Nicosia and other districts gave up their resignations all together.” 

Bozkurt reported on 24th June 1958 that Dr.Tahsin S.Gözmen was named by the T/C leadership as the Turkish Cypriot mayor of the Turkish Cypriot Municipality of Nicosia. The others were named later.

Then came the TMT provocations, when the Turkish Information Centre of the Turkish Consulate in Nicosia was bombed by the TMT on 7th June 1958, after which the Greek Cypriot properties and houses were attacked and put on fire in the mixed neighbourhoods by the Turkish Cypriot terrorists. This was followed on 12th June by the Gönyeli provocation of the British police, where 8 Greek Cypriots were killed.

1. An, Ahmet, The Values Cyprus Cultivated, Volume: 1 (1782-1899), Ankara 2002 (Turkish)

2. An, Ahmet, The Political History of the Turkish Cypriots (1930-1960): The Forgotten Political

    History of the Turkish Cypriots and the Struggles for the Leadership in the Mirror of the Press,

    Nicosia 2006 (Turkish)

3. Gürkan, Haşmet M., Nicosia of Yesterday and Today, Nicosia 1989 (Turkish)

4. Hikmetağalar, Hizber, Eski Lefkoşa’da Semtler ve Anılar, İstanbul 1996 (Turkish)

5. Keshishian, Kevork K., Nicosia, Capital of Cyprus, Then and Now, Nicosia 1978

6. Kyrris, Costas P., Peaceful Co-existence in Cyprus under British Rule (1878-1959) and

    after Independence: An Outline, Nicosia 1977

      

SENDALL IN CYPRUS 1892-1898, A GOVERNOR IN BONDAGE BY DIANA MARKIDES, Moufflon Publications, 2014, 233 pp, ISBN-10: 996362322

Reviewed by Ahmet An (*)

Written by British-Cypriot historian Diana Markides, this book was published in 2014 by the Moufflon Publications Ltd in Nicosia. The author writes in the “Preface” to her book that “the Sendall years remained shrouded in obscurity.” Therefore, she took the task to research those years, when the British High Commissioner, Sir Walter Joseph Sendall, was in service in Cyprus. In order to get a full picture of events and developments from 1892 to 1898, she studied letters, memoirs and other official documents in libraries and archives in England, Athens and Cyprus. The six years of the British occupation were written in the six separate chapters of the book, ending with an epilogue. It is a good and recommendable study. Let us make some interesting notes from those years:

“The administration of Cyprus had been in a sorry state when he arrived in April 1892” (p.29) and “in September 1892 the Times of Cyprus was grumbling about the ‹disgraceful› state of the principal road in Cyprus, the Larnaca-Nicosia road and described the rest of the roads in the island as ‘impassable.” (p.34) The road to Paphos did not exist. There was lack of bridges. Little had been done to extend the road network once the ‘spend nothing policy was strictly enforced. (p.31) Therefore Sir Sendall started with several construction works, building bridges and maintaining the existing roads. The Pyroi bridge on the main Larnaca-Nicosia road was opened by Sir Walter ceremonially on 25 November 1893 (p.60). The Peristerona bridge was completed in 1897. (p. 141) No less than 30 bridges were built. The building of dams for better irrigation was another project and the dam in Kuklia was completed in 1900 (p.203).  

The construction of the Papadopoulos Theatre began in 1893 for an audience of 600 people near Phaneromeni church in Nicosia as a replica of a small opera house in Italy. It was completed in 1900 and was used also by British and Turkish Cypriots. (p.54) The British High Commissioner secured permission and a tiny loan from the Treasury for the capital’s municipality council, so that the Pedios river, which was used as Nicosia main drain, passing through the old city, could be covered for sanitary reasons. (p.47)  

The old Venetian Palace, which was used during the Ottoman administration as the Serai of the Governor, was demolished in 1897, in order to build new offices, but it did not get underway until Sendall’s departure. The only government office constructed in Nicosia during his term was the small government printing offices opposite the secretariat (in 1896), which housed the government printing office, but which has recently been converted into a crèche for PASYDY, the Civil Servants Association.

 A new Evkaf office was proposed by Sendall, but it was excluded from construction plans by Chamberlain, Secretary of State for Colonies. (p.155)

When Sir Sendall arrived the island, it was observed that the crime rates were rising with gangs of brigands active. This never occurred during the Turkish administration, when there was corporal punishment. (p. 35) Law and order was the priority. Reform of the police force started in 1894 from top down. (p.84) The Büyük Khan, an Ottoman caravanserai in the middle of the old city, was converted into a prison (p.42), like the old forts in Limassol and Larnaca, which had no facilities for isolating prisoners. (p.69) Sir Sendall’s first decision was to build a new central prison in Nicosia, which was finally completed in 1904.  

The author gives us two cases of notorious bandits, one of Yiallouris, who was convicted of murdering the mudir of Paphos (p.77) and the other of Hasanpouli brothers, Mehmet Ahmet and Hasan Ahmet, who were escaped convicts for over a year and had committed eleven murders, five acts of abduction and rape, nine of shooting and wounding and numerous acts of highway robbery. (p.137) They were all eventually hanged in 1895.

Lady Sendall was an energetic fund-raiser, who worked hard for local charities, particularly the lepers. The chief medical officer, Dr. Heidestam, who had been in the island since Ottoman times and was fluent in Turkish and Greek, had a close friendship with Sendalls and Lady Sophia had collected in England and in Cyprus, enough money to build Greek Orthodox church for the 80 or so lepers colony outside Nicosia. (p.75) Lady Sendall also raised money for the new Anglican church, being built outside Nicosia. Both the Christian and Moslem leaders were present as she laid the first stone to foundation of the Anglican church of St. Paul’s. (p.53) 

In the summer of 1893, Sendall made a start on educational reform. (p.65) Both the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot schools were extended to include lyceum. The author reports on the new Hellenic school, inaugurated ceremonially on 24 December 1893, where the chief cadi and principal Turkish notables were also present. (p.71) But she omits to report about the inauguration ceremony of the Turkish Cypriot school on 26 December 1897, which was raised from the status of rüştiye to idadi (wrongly written as rusty’e and i’dade-p.157. Also the name of the chief cadi, Mustafa Fevzi Efendi, is wrongly written twice as ‘Ferzi’ -p.65-67):  “Both Sir Sendall and Lady Sendall were also present, when the new building of the school was inaugurated on 26 December 1897. They were greeted with the British national anthem ‘God save the Queen’.” (A.An, The Values Cyprus Cultivated (1782-1899), Ankara 2002, p.145)

Since the author does not know Turkish language and could not use Turkish Cypriot archives, she had asked me to prepare some material for this purpose, but she did not to use this in her book. There is only one reference to a Turkish Cypriot newspaper, Kıbrıs, dated 15 April 1985 (p.106). This weekly newspaper was published by Kufizade Asaf Bey, from 1893 until 1898, covering almost the whole period when Sir Sendall was in office.

Diana Markides writes: “A deputation of leading Muslims, headed by the mufti, urged Sendall to prohibit the meetings” (p.106), but she does not mention about the protest letter of the Turkish Cypriot delegation headed by Mufti Hacı Rıfkı Efendi, which could be found in the famous English book “A History of Cyprus” by George Hill. We read from there that the delegation complained to Sir Walter Sendall about the articles, published in the Greek Cypriot newspaper “Foni dis Kipru”, defending the union of the island with Greece (enosis). The Turkish Cypriot newspaper “Yeni Zaman” responded to these articles on 23 January 1893. The delegation was happy with the British administration in Cyprus and told Sir Sendall that Cyprus would remain to be a part of the Ottoman Empire. (Cambridge 1972, Vol.4, pp.498-499)  

Diana Markides allocates several pages (pp.171-179) for the activities of Ethniki Etairia in 1897 and writes: “The dispatch of Greek soldiers to Crete was a move which intensified nationalist emotions in Cyprus.” (s.174) without giving the reactions of the Turkish Cypriot notables and the newspapers. On the other hand, rightly enough the author reproduces the petitions to Queen Victoria in Greek and Ottoman Turkish script by Christian and Muslim leaders, asking for Sir Walter Sendall to be granted a second term as High Commissioner (pp.196-197), but he and Lady Sophia caught the next mail boat to Egypt on 1 January 1898. (p.195)    

As a last point, I can say that Diana Markides’ book Sendall in Cyprus 1892-1898, A Governor in Bondage is a scholarly academic work like her first book, published in q998: Cyprus 1957-1963: From Colonial Conflict to Constitutional Crisis: The Key Role of the Municipal Issue. She illustrated there in detail the origins of the separatist policy of the Turkish Cypriot leadership. My review of that book was published in the Turkish Cypriot weekly, Yeni Cag, on 11 July 3003 (http://can-kibrisim.blogspot.com/cy/2013/11/ayri-belediyeler-anlasmazligi-uzerine.html) Especially Cypriot readers will benefit a lot from reading her last book about Governor Sendall, which took a spotlight to an early and formative time in the British-Cyprus relationship.

(*) Ahmet Cavit An is a retired paediatrician who has devoted his adult life to the reunification of his country.  In 2003, just before the Green Line opened, he won an ECHR case against Turkey for preventing him from meeting with his Greek Cypriot compatriots, with whom they formed the bicommunal Movement for an Independent and Federal Cyprus. His archives and books, mainly in Turkish, are the basis of many other studies more available in English or Greek.

(Friends of Cyprus Report, New Year 2016, Issue No.58, pp.49-50)

4. VOTING OF THE ANNAN PLAN

The referenda on the Annan Plan, prepared by the UN was held on 24 April 2004. On the  G/C side 75.83% of the voters voted for “No”. Whereas on the T/C side, 64.91% voted for “Yes”. The outcome of the referandum on the T/C side was published in the Official Gazette of the TRNC, No.227, 25 April 2004 as follows:

Number of voters          : 143,639

Voters participated        : 121,162

Valid votes                    : 119,618

Rate of participation       : 84.35 %

Total number of “yes” votes: 77,702 (64.91 %)

Total number of “no” votes : 41,916 (35.09 %)

4.1. The change of percentages, in comparison with the previously held general election

       results, showed an increase for the total votes of the pro-solution parties:

                                                          14 December 2003              25 April 2004

The pro-solution parties                                 50.29 %                    64.91 %

The non-solution parties                                 49.69 %                    35.09 %

4.2. Kibris newspaper reported on 25 April 2004 that the settlers living in the certain

       suburbs of Nicosia, Famagusta and in the villages of Trikomo (Yeni Iskele) and

       Yerolakkos (Alaykoy) voted generally in favour of  “a solution and for the EU”.

4.3. EVALUATION OF THE REFERANDUM RESULTS ON THE T/C SIDE

       The Director of the Center for Research and Cyprus Studies (SOAR), Mr.Kudret Akay

        published an analysis of a survey made among 960 persons between 4 and 11 June

        2004, which was published in the Radikal newspaper of 30 July 2004. The political

        tendencies of the “yes” voters were assessed as follows: 69.7% envisaged a state of

        their own, which would be recognized internationally. 67.3 % supported the EU

        membership, 66.1% were for a separate sovereignty. 58.5% thought that the

        ownership of the properties they used would be legalized. 57.7 % thought that the

        TRNC would be a part of an internationally recognized state. Those, who thought of a

        common state with the Greek Cypriots, were 33.7% of the “yes” voters. Only 28.1%

        said that they voted “yes” in order to “reunify my homeland”.

        As for the analysis of the “no” voters, 54.3 % did not want to return the “territories

        which were made homeland”. 44% did not want to enter the EU without Turkey’s

        membership. 36.5% were against a partnership with the Greek Cypriots. 29.2% of the

        “no” voters would be affected negatively by the new property relations and 27.3 % by

        the territorial adjustments. 19.2 % thought that there would be no state of their own,

        which would be internationally recognized. It is obvious that all these answers

        indicate nationalist feelings which were related with “homeland”, “territory” and

       “Turkey”.  

4.4. THE SUPPORT OF THE USA BEFORE THE REFERANDUM

4.4.1 “A high ranking official of the US Foreign Ministry said that the USA will cooperate

         with the EU in order to get rid of the unjustly treatment of the Turkish side, if the

         G/C side says “No” to the Annan Plan and the T/C side says “Yes.” (Kibrisli,

         10.4.2004)

4.4.2 “The spokesman of the US Foreign Ministry, Richard Boucher, told in a press

         conference that in case the outcome of the referandum would be “No” in the G/C

         side and “yes” in the T/C side on 24 April 2004, Washington  would not let the

         Turkish Cypriots to stay out in the cold. He said: “We don’t want to see them being

          punished further more.” (Kibris, 16.4.2004)

4.4.3.“The special coordinator of the US Foreign Ministry Thomas Weston told in a press

          conference that it was possible in the long run to recognize the TRNC. He said that

          their main priority was to get rid of the isolations for the Turkish Cypriots in the

          short term and that they worked on a number of measures in coordination with the

          EU.” (Kibris, 29.4.2004)

4.4.4. “The special coordinator of the US Foreign Ministry Thomas Weston stated that

          they were waiting with excitement the visit of Mehmet Ali Talat to New York as a

          guest of Colin Powell, the Foreign Minister of the USA. The Prime Minister of the

          TRNC, Talat, is going to meet today the US Foreign Minister as a Prime Minister

          from the Northern Cyprus does it for the first time.” (Kibris, 4.5.2004)

4.4.5. “A high ranking official of the US Administration , who did not want to be named,

         disclosed to the Anatolian News Agency that Washington did not consider Mr. Rauf

         Denktas as the Leader of the Turkish Cypriot Community anymore. Instead, they

         accept Mehmet Ali Talat, the Prime Minister of the TRNC, as the new leader.

         Washington supports fully the representation of the TRNC in  the international

         Bodies like the IMF, World Bank, UEFA and the Organization of the Islamic

         Conference. The meeting between Powell and Talat was a part of the first steps in

         this direction. The USA is searching to find a formula to give  economic aid to the

         TRNC.” (Kibris, 6.5. 2004)

5. EARLY GENERAL PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS HELD ON 20 FEBRUARY

    2005

                Population of the TRNC        : 187,514

                Number of voters                  : 147,249

                Voters participated                : 118,912

                Valid votes                            : 129,409

                Rate of participation               :   80.76 %  

  

 Name of the political party                                 % of the votes         No. of MP’s

                Republican Turkish Party (CTP)                 44.45                     25

                National Unity Party (UBP)                         31.71                     18

                Democrat Party (DP)                                   13.49                      6

                Peace and Democracy Movement (BDH)      5.81                       1

                New Party (YP)                                            1.60                       -

                Nationalist Justice Party (MAP)                     0.52                       -

5.1. “After the results of the elections were announced, Mr. Nuri Cevikel, the

       Chairman of the New Party, complained to the press that half of the population

       of the TRNC were originating from Turkey, but there was only one MP in the

       Parliament, who originated from Turkey.” (Afrika, 23 February 2005)

5.2. “EvroDi Party of the Greek Cypriots stated that the political dynamics which

       follow the line of Ankara were successful in the T/C elections and that 90.000

       of the total 150.000 voters were settlers from Turkey.” (Fileleftheros,

       23.2.2005)

5.3. “The Turkish ambassador in Nicosia, Aydan Karahan, stated during his visit to

       the highest circulation daily Kibris newspaper that Turkey would be watching

       the early general elections in the TRNC with unbiased eyes and that there

       would be no intervention from outside.” (Kibris, 11 February 2005)

5.4. Basaran Duzgun wrote on the same day in his column:

      “The common feeling of the voters is that Turkey will interfere to the election

      campaign in the last week before the elections. As we had experienced bad

      things in the past, the civil and military persons, given the mission by Ankara,

      would be visiting especially the areas, where the Turkish settlers live in dense

      population and they would change the direction of the Turkish voters according

      to their wishes. This will affect the result of the elections. Because thousands of

      voters of Turkish origin are under the influence of Turkish civil and military

      officials. If about a 10% of the total votes would be directed as a block to a

      certain party, both the number of the MP’s and the arithmetics in the parliament

      would change. Thus one could determine which party would make a coalition

      with which other party.

      We have experienced this scenario often during the previous elections. Are we

      going to see its repetition again? Will Turkey interfere again to the elections? I

      have to state immediately that our newspaper Kibris made a sensitive research

      and we have reached to the conclusion that neither in Karpasia nor in Famagusta

      region nor in any other part of the country, there is no trace of interference to

      the elections.” (Kibris, 11 February  2005)

5.5. Another columnist of Kibris, Hasan Hasturer, wrote on 12 February 2005

       under the title “Ankara does not have even a bit of ‘worry’ about the

       elections!” the following remarks:

                      “It’s bitter to say, but it is a fact that we have experienced in all the elections

                  that I remember intervention in one form or another. Intervention was made in

                  various forms. The voters originating from Turkey were kept under a form

                  which would be easily controlled. Every kind of pressurizing message was

                  conveyed to them in a very short time. Their votes were controlled

                  professionally. For this purpose, everyone from influential politicians to retired

                  generals were used.

                  Some institutions and organizations in the TRNC were also used by

                  overreaching their aims. No one can say that these have not happened. Even it is

                  also known that resources were allocated and sent from the covered payment

                  accounts of Turkey for the elections in the TRNC.... I remind to those, who

                  forgot, that the officials used the police and forced the coffee-shops to close and

                  they cut their electricity. The newspapers and the TV channels were used many

                  times for the intervention to the elections. Forget approaching to the

                  oppositional parties equally, they behaved against them as if they were

                  “infidels”... Both the military and the Embassy were being used without any

                   cover-up in these operations. Were these pressures effective? In general, yes,

                   they were. That is why we still have bleeding wounds in our democracy,

                   because of these pressures. The pressures were successful in defeating many

                   parties. They were forced to have good relations with the centres of pressure.

                   It was a criteria not to stir them a bit during the formation of the governments

                   and the party cadres.”

5.6. There were indirect interventions also from some foreign countries in

       favour of the RTP:

                5.6.1. “The Foreign Minister of the USA Condolezza Rice left Ankara after her

                       visit. She gave an important message to the Turkish Cypriots: “We are

                       working on the possibilities of lifting the isolations on the TRNC and we

                       plan to take some steps in this direction.” (Halkin Sesi, 7.2.2005)

                5.6.2. “10 Turkish Cypriot Bank Officials visited the USA within the CYPEG

                      program which was established for the lessening of the isolations of the

                      Turkish Cypriots.” (Halkin Sesi, 10.2.2005)

            

            5.6.3. “US President George W.Bush allocated 20 million dollars in the 2006

                       Budget in order to support the peace process in Cyprus.” (Kibris,

                       10.2.2005)

                5.6.4. “The US Ambassador Michael Klosson gave information at the TRNC

                       Office of his Embassy about the CYPEG programme which will distribute

                       30.5  million dollars for the development of the T/C economy.” (Kibris,

                       12.2.2005)

5.6.5. “Richard Boucher, the spokesman of the US Foreign Ministry said that the

          visit of the Turkish representatives of the 12 American companies to the

          TRNC for investment possibilities was a try to get rid of the isolation of the

          T/C.” (Kibris, 20.2.2005)

               

5.6.6. “The visit of Mehmet Ali Talat, the Prime Minister of the TRNC to Mr.Jose

                      Manuel Durao Barosso, the President of the EU Commission and to the

                      Foreign Minister of the USA. (Volkan, 10.2.2005)

5.6.7. “The visit of Baroness Sarah Ludford, member of the Liberal Group of the

          European Parliament to the TRNC. (Kibris, 5.2.2005)

5.6.8. “Visit of the Vice-Chairpersons of the Socialist Group of the European

           Parliament, Jam Marinus Wiersma and Hannes Swoboda, with the

           members, Mechtild Roth and Panagiotis Beglitis. (Kibris, 6.2.2005)

                5.6.9. US Foreign Minister congratulates Talat

                      “The Foreign Minister of the US Condolezza Rice congratulated Mehmet

                      Ali Talat, the Prime Minister and the Chairman of the RTP, on the occasion

                      of his success in the General Elections. She said that the US will continue to

                      make further steps for lifting the isolation on the North.” (Kibris, 19.3.2005)

6. RESULTS OF THE TRNC PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS HELD ON 17

               APRIL 2005

Name of the candidate          % of the votes

1. Mehmet Ali Talat                55.60

2. Dr.Dervis Eroglu                 22.73

3. Dr.Mustafa Arabacioglu      13.22

4. Nuri Cevikel                         4.79

5. Zeki Besiktepeli                    1.72

6. Huseyin Angolemli                1.05

7. Zehra Cengiz                        0.44

8. Arif Salih Kirdag                  0.30

9. Ayhan Kaymak                    0.17

               

Number of registered voters    : 147,823

Participated voters                  : 102,853

Participation rate                     : 69.58 %

6. 1. “The outgoing President of the TRNC, Rauf Denktas, made his comment

         about the Presidential Elections: “If Mr.Talat will comply with his promise

         that he would be above the political parties and he would embrace all of

         them, we shall support him. His aim was to get 65% of the votes, but he

         could get 55%. This a bit of a learner’s mistake... We would prefer

         Mr.Erdogan, the Prime Minister of Turkey, not to put his weight with his

         statement in favour of Mr.Talat for the period after 17 April.” (Kibris, 18

        April 2005)

6.2. The votes of the settlers were influential

        “The balance was affected by the settlers’ votes in favour of Talat in the

         regions of Trikomo (Yeni Iskele) with 44% and in Famagusta 54.39%. This

         indicates that with the influence of the AKP (Justice and Development Party

         of Turkey) the votes of the settlers were diverted to the candidate of the

         RTP... The participation rate dropped 12% in comparison to the last

         elections. This mass is supposed to be the voters of the UBP and DP, who

         reacted to the foreign interventions of the AKP and the foreign powers that

         imposed Talat. ” (Sabahattin Ismail, Editorial of the Volkan daily, 18.4.2005)

6.3. “According to a survey made by Mete Hatay for the Peace Research Institute

       of Oslo (PRIO), there are 28 villages most of them in the districts of Trikomo

       (Iskele) and Famagusta and also in other districts, where all the inhabitants are

       settlers from Turkey. They have a total of 8,162 voters. 5,652 of them went to

       the pools in the recent Presidential Elections. 32% of them voted for Talat. 26

       % voted for Nuri Cevikel, a candidate of settler origin himself, aiming

       especially at the settlers’ votes. Of course, there are a lot of voters of Turkish

       origin almost in every village and district . But it seems that their number does

       not go beyond 20 to 25 thousand among the total 147,823 voters. It means that

       the votes of the Turkish Cypriots are still the “elective” ones.” (Yeni Duzen,

       3.5.2005)

6.4. “If you do not call this intervention, so what is it?” was the title of Dr.Erhan

       Arikli in Volkan, 12.4.2005. The columnist referred to the visits to the TRNC

       by Mr.Lajendik, the president of the Turkish-EU Common Parliamentary

       Commission and Mr.Baykal, the chairman of the Republican People’s Party

      (CHP) of Turkey before the Presidential Elections.”

7. The change in the total number of voters since 2000:

Date       General Elections

                               2003           141,596

                               2004           143,639 (Referandum)

                               2005           147,249 (Presidential Elections)    

(2006         178,031 Census)

                               2009           161,373

7.1. The unreliable statistics from the officials

       During the discussion of the Budget of his Ministry, Ozkan Murat, the

       Minister of Interior, told that there were 178,000 (TRNC) citizens in the

       TRNC. 40,000 foreigners are working. There are 7,000 children of the

       (Turkish) workers. The de facto population was 265,000 and the de jure

       population was 258.000. (Kibris, 20.12.2008)

7.2. “State News Agency of the TRNC, TAK, published in its bulletin of 13 March

       2009 that 198,006 voters would be eligible to vote in the general elections to

        be held on 19 April. All the Turkish Cypriot daily newspapers wrote on 14

        March 2009 that the number of the voters, who would be able to vote in 6

        districts of the TRNC was 198, 006.  

                7.3. On 22 March, Kibris Newspaper put this number of voters to the cover of its

                  “Election Supplement”, which prompted a statement by the Election Supreme

                  Board. The Board said in its announcement No.18 that the population of the

                  citizens in each district were given mistakenly as the number of the voters in

                  each district. The number of the eligible voters would be corrected as 159,906.

                  198.006 was the estimated total population of the TRNC. (Kibris, 23.3.2009)

7.4. On 30 March 2009, the number of the voters was declared as 161,373 in the

       announcement No.23 of the Election Supreme Board. It was said that this was

       the final number after the rejections and the corrections were assessed. (Kibris,

       31.3.2009)

7.5. An estimate about the number of the original Turkish Cypriots

       On 9 March 2009, Afrika newspaper announced that according to the

       information the newspaper gathered, the number of the original Turkish

       Cypriots was 62,500, i.e. one third of the total number of the voters of the

       approximately 180,000 voters. About  47,000 Turkish citizens were waiting to

       get the citizenship of the TRNC after the elections, the newspaper added.

       Writing in the same newspaper, the columnist Turgut Afsaroglu estimated that

       there were 173.000 voters, out of which 63.000 were of Cypriot and the

       remaining of Turkish origin. He also gave various numbers about the

       population of the TRNC: The Prime Minister estimates 250,000 de-facto

       population. President Talat says minimum 500,000. Some others think of

       a minimum 700-800.000.

8. EARLY GENERAL ELECTIONS HELD ON 19 APRIL 2009

Number of voters           : 161,373

Voters participated        : 131,178

Rate of participation      :  81.29 %  

Name of the political party         % of the votes    No.of MP’s

National Unity Party (UBP)               44.04                    26

Republican Turkish Party (CTP)        29.26                    15

Democrat Party (DP)                        10.65                      5

Communal Democracy Party (TDP)    6.87                      2

Freedom and Reform Party (ORP)      6.21                      2

For the 50 seats in the Parliament, there were 356 candidates from 7 parties

and 8 independents. The total  number of the candidates, who originated

from Turkey was 71. (Afrika, 23.3.2009)  Only three of them could be

elected from Yeni Iskele (Trikomo) district, which is densely populated with

the settlers: DP (Ejder Aslanbaba from Adana), ORP (Mustafa Gokmen

from Trabzon) UBP(Ahmet Zengin from Caykar-Uzungol/Blacksea).

4 women were elected as MP’s (2 UBP and 2 CTP-BG). Out of 50

Parliamentarians, 17 are medical doctors, one less than the previous

Parliament. (Volkan, 21.4.2009) 

8.2. Intervention to the general elections

        The CTP government forced the owner of the highest circulation Kibris

        newspaper to take away its editor, Resat Akar, for three weeks before the

        elections, because the Kibris newspaper was criticizing the government and it

        published a public opinion pool, which showed that the CTP’s popular support

        fell from 45% to 28%. On 12 March 2009, the CTP government asked for the

        payment of 9 million TL tax from the previous years between 2002 and 2009 in 24 hours.

        Oddly enough, the Kibris newspaper was awarded by the same government

        together with other companies as tax-champion five months ago. The problem

        was settled later by paying 4 million TL as the first installment immediately and

        by using milder language against the government’s policies. (see for the details

        Kibris, 13.3.2009 and Havadis, 30.3.2009)

8.3. Kadir Toptas, the metropolitan mayor of Istanbul, sent a specially decorated

        election bus of the AK Party, plate Number 34 FFG 01 to the ORP Party of

        Turgay Avci. (Havadis, 9.4.2009)   

8.4. Under the title “Full supported Turkish intervention to the elections in the

        TRNC”, Kartal Harman wrote in Kibrisli newspaper on 10 March 2009:

        “ORP was formed as an alternative to the DP since there was a rift between

         the AKP government in Turkey and Denktas and his son’s party DP, which

         dissolved its coalition government with the CTP. At this point, the

         intervention to the internal politics of the TRNC was at its climax. One felt

         increasingly and speedily the intervention of the AKP and almost all the

         leaders of the AKP participated at the congress of the ORP, giving the message

         that the AKP is standing by the ORP. Likewise the deputy Chairperson of the

         Democratic Left Party (DSP), Melda Bayer, participated at the congress of the

         DP, which was held last Sunday. All they do is nothing, but to influence the

         Turkish settlers. The existing great potential will be exploited in order to

         influence especially the right wing with their competition of serious maneuvers.

         Therefore the representatives of the parties of Turkish Republic started to

         interfere the internal politics of the TRNC. As one can understand here, the

         fate of the elections will not be determined by the Turkish Cypriots, but by the

         citizens, originating from Turkey, who came at various times to the island.”

8.5. Afrika wrote on 13 March 2009 in the column “Letter from Afrika” the

        following:

                   “Look around. You will see that the deputies from the AKP and their election

                   specialists are participating at the election campaign of a party by visiting each

                   and every village. Is this not an intervention? Veysi Kaynak, Kahramanmaras

                   Mp of the AKP is among us. On Thursday Egemen Bagis will be coming.

                   Is he not the god of the intervention? Why do they speak of the intervention in

                   1998? Don’t you see this log in your eyes?”

8.6. “The Second Indictment of the Ergenekon Case was introduced to the Court in

                  Turkey yesterday. According to this Indictment (Page 437), The Chairman of

                  the Turkish Metal Trade Union, Mustafa Ozbek, was made TRNC citizen in

                  2003 with the order of Rauf Denktas, who was then the President of the

                  TRNC. In the same period Yalcin Taner brought many persons to Cyprus in

                  order to interfere to the elections and with this support Dervis Eroglu won the

                  elections.” (Havadis, 26 March 2009)

                       It was also disclosed way back in March 2007 by the Nokta magazine that

                  the Commander of the Turkish Marine, Vice-Admiral Ozden Ornek wrote in

                  his daily journal that the Turkish generals had planned two military putches

                  under code names “Sarikiz” (Yellow Girl) and “Ay Isigi” (Moonlight) in 2004

                  during the days of the Annan Plan to be voted in Cyprus. The  putches were

                  organized by the Ergenekon organization in order to topple the Erdogan

                  government, which supported the Annan Plan and the coupists were stopped

                  by Hilmi Ozkok, who was then the Chief of Staff.

8.7. Among the evidence files of the Ergenekon Case in Turkey, there was a report

                  submitted to Mr.Dervis Eroglu. The report was signed by the “Supreme  Council”

                  and was prepared by the “Western Study Group” and was found in the

                  house of Mustafa Ozbek, who was arrested. (Mr.Ozbek, who was the leader of

                  the nationalist Turkish Metal Trade Union of Turkey, was given the TRNC

                  citizenship and he established a TV station in the TRNC broadcasting via

                  satellite also to Turkey.) The report was published in the Havadis newspaper on

                  8 April 2009 and it referred to the intervention from Turkey to the general

                  elections of 6 December 1998: “Urgently”17.5 million TL were sent through

                  Mr.Ozbek and the money was distributed two days ago before the elections. A

                  further one million dollars from the “covered budget” were brought to the

                  TRNC in order to get rid of certain candidates and to support others as future

                  MP’s. The aim was to secure 24 deputies for Mr.Eroglu’s party. There were

                  plans that Eroglu would be supported against Rauf Denktas in the Presidential

                  Elections of 2000. (Havadis, 8 April, 2009)

8.8. The Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Vakiflar Bank, Ahmet

                   Keskin, told in a news conference that there were problems of getting the re-

                   payment of the credits, which amount 131 million out of the total 300 trillion

                   TL, distributed in the period between 2005 and 2006. He said that the debts

                   overtaken from the Akdeniz Garanti Bank were not dealt with and the files

                   were waiting on the shelves. Keskin accused also the governing CTP that 500

                   persons received credits for small enterprizes short before the general elections

                   as “election bribe”, which amount already 8 trillion TL. (Kibris, 15.4.2009)

8.9. Rauf  Denktas explained the reason why there was a boom for the UBP votes:

                  “The UBP bought votes. During the day, the participation rate was 60%,

                   but suddenly in the afternoon it increased to 80%. Unfortunately those who

                   got their money, ran to the pools” (Kibris, 20.4.2009)

8.10. “Serdar Denktas, the Chairman of the DP told in a radio program, broadcast

                     by SIM-FM that they too bought votes as every political party does. There

                     are persons now, who for one head, they bargain with you, starting from 300

                     to 100 liras. We bought too, but our possibilities were less and we bought

                     within that framework. It is in the hands of ours, the politicians, to take

                     measures against those demands... This we lived in the last two hours of the

                     voting when the people arrived from their picnics. No party should deny this.

                     I can proove it in front of them.” (Yeni Duzen, 23.4.2009)

8.11. Market for Votes was established. The will of the people was bought.

                    Democracy was killed. People’s will was bought by a rate of 25-30%. Is this

                    not a reason to cancel the elections? We invite the Supreme Election Council

                    to do its duty. (Headline of the Kibrisli, 24.4.2009)

9. Further meddling of Turkey into the internal politics of the Turkish Cypriots

9.1. The political activities of Ahmet Yonluer:

Ahmet Yonluer, a close friend of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan for 15 years, was appointed as the Head of the Religious Affairs Department on 6 July 2005. He was previously Undersecretary of the Ministry of Health and Social Aid and was appointed in October 2004 as an adviser for Islamic countries in the Ministry for Foreign Affairs.

9.1.1 Kibris newspaper reported on 18 September 2006 that former President of the TRNC, Rauf Denktas spoke in Istanbul during a conference organized by the Workers’ Party. Denktas said: “An operation was done in Cyprus and we call this as “Muftu Operation”. Muftu made this operation by using the name of Prime Minister Erdogan his religious influence. Through this way, the Democratic Party, which was very cautious about concessions, was sent away from the coalition government.”

Denktas told that it was a mistake of Turkey to accept the Annan Plan and Turkey opened the door for many concessions. We think that concessions will be made with the new government. There is only one way to stop this. Erdogan should say this: “Muftu is not my man. He cannot use my name. I am not involved in this operation.” We wait from him to say this in the name of justice and fairness. 

Denktas alleged that the Turkish Cypriots were deceived by letting them say “yes” to the Annan Plan and they continue to live its consequences and it was the duty of everyone to stop them being deceived for the second time.

9.2. Formation of the Freedom and Reform Party (ORP)
The AKP intervened to the internal politics of the TRNC, which ended the coalition government between the CTP-BG and DP. For this purpose, the resignation of some Deputies from the UBP and the DP was organized and the coalition government of the CTP-BG with the DP came to an end. In this way, Serdar Denktas and his party DP were sent out of power.

The Freedom and Reform Party (Ozgurluk ve Reform Partisi) was founded on 15 September 2006 by the former members of the National Unity Party and the Democratic Party. The Chairman of the ORP, Turgay Avci, was the Secretary-General of the UBP and resigned on 7th September with three other members of the UBP (the two deputies E.Serdaroglu and E.Sanlidag and the mp Secretary-General of the UBP, Enver Ozturk). Another mp from the Democratic Party (Mustafa Gokmen) resigned from his party in order to become one of the founders of the ORP. 

The chairman of the ORP was appointed as the Mp Prime Minister and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the CTP-BG and ORP Coalition Government, formed on 25 September 2006. The ORP had two other ministries. Enver Ozturk, who was the mp Secretary General of the UBP was appointed as the Minister of Economy and Tourism. Asim Vehbi was appointed as the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources, to be replaced by Mustafa Gokmen in March 2008. The coalition government lasted until 5 May 2009.

Now the ORP has two Deputies in the Parliament (Turgay Avci, Mustafa Gokmen).

The ORP supported Mehmet Ali Talat in the Presidential Election of 18 April 2010, which caused the resignation of some party members, among them some candidates for the parliamentary elections.

9.2.1. UBP Nicosia Mp, Tahsin Ertugruloglu, told: “The CTP was recently in some activities in order to get rid of its coalition partner DP and to establish a new organization or to support a group, which will obey and stay in its orbit. These activities reached to a point where mp markets were set up.” (Volkan, 9.9.2006)

9.2.2. UBP Famagusta Mp, Ahmet Kasif told: “Ahmet Yonluer phoned me in August when he was in my home in Adana and asked me to resign from the UBP and establish a new party, to be the chairman and to make coalition with the CTP. Yonluer was in Istanbul then. He could get me from Adana to Istanbul in a few hours with a private airplane to Istanbul. Three years in coalition. No problem. Everything will be provided, material and spiritual. (Volkan, 14.9.2006)

9.2.3. DP Chairman Serdar Denktas told to the columnist Fatih Cekirge of Hurriyet newspaper that 600 thousand dollars bribe was proposed to a DP MP so that he would resign… I shall ask for an app. from the Turkish Prime Minister and ask his opinion after telling him these allegations.

Serdar Denktas gave another statement to the Milliyet newspaper: “AKP MP-Chairman Saban Disli played a role in the transfer of deputies from my party and the UBP in order to establish the ORP. For the first time, religion and politics came together in Cyprus and after the coalition government was broken, the military phoned me, but no one from the AKP government. (Volkan, 19.9.2006)

9.2.4. Vakit newspaper’s main title: “Save Cyprus from Denktas’es.” Zaman newspaper wrote: “Serdar Denktas said that Ahmet Yonluer proposed 600 thousand dollars in order to destroy the government. Yonluer, who used to be Serdar’s adviser for Islamic countries, responded to this allegation as follows: “It is easy to accuse. I can also say that Serdar Denktas embezzled trillions liras when he was in power. Can I prove it? If he has documents about me, he should disclose them. Rauf Denktas and Serdar Denktas want to weaken the AKP in Turkey by using my name. Since Erdogan was elected as the Prime Minister, Rauf Denktas could not digest it. As a proof of this, he cooperated with the marginal groups like the Workers’ Party, since Erdogan came to power. He participated at meetings and conferences, which were against the AKP. Now he uses my name and tries to shoot the AKP and the government. Their main aim is to weaken Erdogan.” (Kibrisli, 20.9.2006)

9.2.5 ANAP Mersin MP, Huseyin Guler, asked in the Grand Assembly of Turkey a question to be answered by the Turkish Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan: “Did Saban Disli, Vice-Chairman of the AKP and Foreign Relations Secretary meddled in the politics in the TRNC? If this is true, what was the reason?” (Kibris, 21.9.2006)

9.2.6. President of the TRNC, Mehmet Ali Talat gave a statement to Milliyet newspaper about the AKP’s coup in the TRNC. Talat said: “If the AKP meddled here in one way or another, this has been done or not. If someone from here asked for advice from Turkey, this is not meddling. If this happened, it is natural that I do not know how. (Kibrisli, 25.9.2006)

9.2.7. Ahmet Yonluer, a close friend of the Turkish Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, is being accused of having an influential role in the government crisis in the TRNC and in the resignation of some deputies. Yonluer has made a place in the agenda of the Turkish and Turkish Cypriot press  for a long time. Yonluer also directed strong criticism to father Rauf Denktas and his son Serdar Denktas.  Serdar Denktas told that Yonluer made indecent proposal to one of the DP deputies with 600 thousand dollars, to another one 400 thousand dollars and a post of a ministry.

Muftu Yonluer denied these as lies and said completely opposite: “ Many deputies who wanted to become minister or party leader, passed through my room. They knew that I was close to the AKP and the Prime Minister Erdogan in Turkey. They were persons who asked for help from me.

Father Denktas is very much angry. Because after him, his son also left the power and lost his armchair. They have been asking for help from me for a long time. Now that they lost the armchair, I became a bad man. They indicate me as a target everywhere. My family is very much embarrassed and has concerns. But I declare from here that if my nose bleeds, my head wounds, they have to see father Denktas as responsible. (Dialog weekly, 29.9.2006)

9.2.8. Prime Minister Ferdi Sabir Soyer spoke in the Parliament: “When President Talat was talking with Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan, Talat said that the Prime Minister of the TRNC could not find someone to appoint as Muftu. Erdogan told Talat: “If you think of  appointing Ahmet Yonluer, don’t do. Because he is a friend of mine since 15 years. There can be serious speculations.” Talat told this to me. Serdar came and insisted. Then we appointed Ahmet Yonluer after his proposal. I had to disclose this as my responsibility to my conscience.” (Kibrisli, 5.10.2006)

9.2.9. Kibris newspaper reported on 20.12.2006 that the independent deputy Erden Ozaskin, who resigned on 24 July 2006 from his party, entered the ORP. Now the ORP, the small partner of the coalition government has 4 seats in the parliament and the bigger partner CTP-BG has 25 deputies.

POLITICAL ACTIVITIES OF THE EX-MUFTU, AHMET YONLUER

9.3. On 14 August 2007 Ahmet Yonluer gave his resignation to Prime Minister Ferdi Sabit Soyer.  He said that he would now be in a position to answer the attacks to his personality. He continued: “The dimension of these attacks made it necessary that I, as Ahmet Yonluer, should take a more influential role in the political life of the Turkish Cypriots.” (Volkan, 15.8.2007)

9.3.1. Turkish daily HURRIYET newspaper wrote on 15.8.2007 that the Head of the Religious Affairs Department in the TRNC, Ahmet Yonluer, who played an active role so that the coalition government of Republican Turkish Party – Freedom and Reform Party (CTP-OP) to come into power, has resigned from his post in order to engage in politics.   According to the paper, Ahmet Yonluer who is close to the Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has resigned from his post due to accusations directed against him regarding his post. In a written statement issued regarding his resignation, Mr. Yonluer stated that he has decided to leave his duty as Head of the Religious Affairs Department of the Turkish Cypriots in order the institution, which is one of the most pre-eminent bodies for the Turkish Cypriots, not to loose its influence and for him to be able to react strongly towards the accusations against him. He went on and said that these accusations made his entry into politics inevitable.

9.3.2. Ahmet Yonluer, who resigned from his post as the Head of the Religious Affairs Department, gave a statement to Halkin Sesi: “I entered into politics in the name of  our citizens from Turkey, who are humiliated and I want to embrace them. We are coming not with words, but for real equality. We put our head for this road in order to bring the understanding of service to our country where our citizens were neglected and opposed by the previous administrations, without discriminating them from our Turkish Cypriot citizens. Commenting on the news that he would become the secretary-general of the ODP, Yonluer said that “if he would do politics in the ORP, I shall do whatever task I would be given. We do not choose. We only want to secure the people… The elections were made in Turkey. The AKP won a victory. The UBP and the DP were not satisfied with this. If the AKP would lose, these two parties would make celebrations with a convoy. (Halkin Sesi, 17.8.2007)

9.3.3. Yonluer gave a statement to the weekly Dialog newspaper:

“Question: Why did you wait the results of the elections in Turkey in order to resign?

Answer: If  I would resign before the elections, they would say “He resigned because the AKP would lose.” I did not want to give them this chance, therefore I waited. I am very happy that I resigned after the big victory of the AKP and Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

There are ten thousands of persons, who became citizens and the percentage of the citizens with Turkish origin who are voters in the elections, has reached to 40%. They have given to these people the posts of nurse or police. There is only one MP with the Turkish origin in the parliament. I am against this. I do not want to make discrimination between the Cypriots and the Turks, but I want that these people should be given the right of representation both in the parliament, cabinet and in the public services. I shall start a campaign in this direction.”

(Dialog, 17.8.2007)

9.3.4. The ex-Muftu of the Turkish Cypriots gave a statement to the Greek Cypriot newspaper Alithia and said that he aimed at bringing all the right persons together like Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan made. He said that he is following his footsteps (Kibris, 27.8.2007)

9.3.5. The UBP Secretary-General Nazim Cavusoglu published a statement on the first anniversary of the 8th September- The Black Day when our democracy was stabbed. He referred to the founders of the ORP, Enver Ozturk and Turgay Avci, who met the CTP Secretary-General Omer Kalyoncu and the CTP Nicosia Deputy Ahmet Barcin, in the house of Enver Ozturk one year ago. This picture was already published and the event was named officially as political indecency. (Volkan, 8.9.2007)

9.3.6. Under the title “The first step to politics by Yonluer”, Turkish Cypriot daily Halkin Sesi newspaper reported on 14.9.2007 in its first page that a new political movement with the name “Movement for Politics for the People” was established officially. The former Mufti, who acts as the spokesman of the new political movement, Mr Ahmet Yonluer, stated, inter alia, that the aim of the new movement is to unite the Turkish Cypriots under a new political formation which would also promote Turkish Cypriots’ religious identity as well as their political character. Noting that there is discrimination between the Turkish Cypriots and the Turks from Turkey in the country and that the problem is not solved by denying its existence, Yonluer argued that this problem will be solved with the Muslim Turkish Cypriot identity.  Mr Yonluer also said that the new party has no connection with any other political party, neither the Turkish Cypriot “Freedom and Reform Party”, nor the ruling “Justice and Development Party” in Turkey. 

 

9.3.7. Ahmet Yonluer established the Movement for Politics for the People yesterday…. Yonluer said that a scientific poll gave the result that almost 50% of the people did not trust the politicians in the TRNC. Cyprus problem will be solved with the Moslem identity of the Turkish Cypriots. Yonluer stated that he learned from the similar scientific studies of the AKP and take it as an example. He added that the Movement does not have direct contact with the AKP. (Kibris, 14.9.2007)

9.3.8. Ahmet Yonluer told in a programme of the Kanal T that he is going to Ankara on Monday. The list is ready… They told me to bring together clean and decent persons in Cyprus. Then we can give you the necessary support and I made a list of those people, who support our Movement.  (Kibrisli, 16.9.2007)

9.3.9. Columnist Aydin Akkurt wrote in Volkan on 26.9.2007 the following:

“Yonluer was already making politics when he was in his office. We remember very well how he was involved in the resignation of some UBP and DP deputies and in the formation of the ORP.

After he resigned, we heard that he would enter the ORP and even become its secretary-general. Later he started a new organization, named “Politics for the People” (HIS).

There were allegations that HIS was a branch of the ORP and one day it will merge with the ORP. According to those, who alleged this, HIS was formed in order to secure popular basis for the ORP.

We have to look at Yonluer’s attitude and position. According to his statements, he tries to establish a party, based on the discrimination between the Turks and Cypriots. He is also in close contact with the ex-Chairman of the YDP, Orhan Ucok and the ex-minister Hasan Yumuk.

He attacks also the ORP. But why? Is there a new complot, being prepared by HIS?”

9.3.10. Under the title “Ertugruloglu is following directions” Turkish Cypriot daily newspaper Afrika reported on 4.10.2007 in its first page that officials from the National Unity Party (UBP) who do not seem to be able to succeed in applying the boycott of the assembly’s sessions, started some time ago, they went again to Ankara yesterday and met with Egemen Bagis, who is the member of the Justice and Development Party (AKP), Responsible of Foreign Relations. Ertugruloglu and UBP’s general secretary Nazim Cavusoglu will make statements about their contacts in Ankara after their return to occupied Cyprus.  Afrika wrote that this is the most difficult time in its history for UBP which is suffering loses. The paper wrote that the split within the party is growing bigger.

9.3.11. Ahmet Yonluer gave the following statement yesterday: “After our movement matures to a certain extend, we think of forming a party. The infra-structure is being prepared by expert teams... There is only one deputy in the 50-seats-parliament, who came after 1974 as a citizen from Turkey. We put the picture to the front. Unfortunately there is such a picture in the country, either we accept it or not. (Kibris, 4.10.2007)

9.3.12.Turkish Cypriot daily Kibris newspaper wrote on 18.10.2007 that Ahmet Yonluer went to Ankara in order to have various contacts with Turkish politicians and to inform them about his political movement. Mr Yonluer will meet with the chairman of the Republican People’s Party Deniz Baykal, the MP of the Justice and Development Movement (AKP) and former Speaker of the Turkish Assembly Bulent Arinc and the chairman of the Nationalist Action Party Devlet Bahceli. Mr Yonluer has already held contacts with various ministers of the AKR government.

9.3.13. Turkish Cypriot daily Volkan newspaper  reported on 18.10.2007 in its first page that it was learned that the Responsible for Political Affairs of the US Embassy, Chris Pancio, visited the Culture and Solidarity Association of Persons from Hatay (Allexandretta) on the 3rd and 4th of October together with his own translator. During the first visit Mr Pancio was accompanied by the chairman of the Politics for the People Movement (HIS) Ahmet Yonluer and on the second visit by two other members of the HIS. On Pancio’s first visit with Yonluer to the Association, a meeting was arranged with the members of the executive committee of the association.  At the meeting Mr Yonluer gave information about HIS and Pancio is quoted to have said the following to the members of the executive committee who attended the meeting: “I want you to support the Politics for the People Movement (HIS) and to work towards this direction. If you support the HIS Movement, we, as US Embassy, we will support projects that will develop your association and we will give every kind of help from the material point of view”.

Referring to the issue, from the column “Letter from Volkan” columnist Aydin Akkurt, wrote on the same day, inter alia, that it is not yet known whether the US Embassy helped towards the establishment of HIS movement; however, HIS chairman Ahmet Yonluer is getting ready to transform the Movement into a party and he is not alone in this effort. The columnist went on and wrote the following: “What is the connection between Yonluer and HIS movement with the Responsible for Political Affairs of the US Embassy, Chris Pancio? What are the expectations of the USA from the HIS Movement?  Why does USA support this movement?”

9.3.14. Turkish Cypriot daily Volkan newspaper reported on 19.10.2007 that the news reported one day ago by the paper, that the US Embassy Official in Lefkosia, Chris Pancio, Responsible for Political Affairs (as written by the paper), visited the Culture and Solidarity Association of People coming from Hatay, were confirmed.

Abdullah Atlar, the chairman of the Association, pointing out that Mr Pancio visited the Association, revealed the details of the conversation took place between Mr Pancio at the Association members. Atlar said that he told Mr Pancio, who was giving emphasis to the “differences between (Turkish) Cypriots and Turkish (settlers)”, that there is no difference between them. “The Turks wherever they live they are Turks and the Turkish Cypriot people are one integral entity”, he said.

Mr Atlar also said that Mr Pancio was asking insistently about the number of the members of the Association. Mr Atlar told Mr Pancio that the Culture and Solidarity Association is one of the biggest non-governmental organizations in the TRNC. He also told him that regarding the Cyprus problem they support the active and de facto guarantee of Turkey for a just and lasting solution. He also said that the Turkish Cypriot people was deceived at the referendum and the promises made to them were not kept.   Pancio also wanted to know how the Association evaluates all the political parties in occupied Cyprus with the Politics for the People Movement (HIS). Mr Pancio made some evaluations himself as well.  Mr Atlar told Mr Pancio the Turkish Armed Forces and Security Forces Commandership is a safeguard for the Turkish Cypriot people to live in safety and peace.

9.3.15. After 5 months, the HIS Party was established last Friday (14 December 2007) with 64 founders  and made a press conference yesterday in the City Royal Hotel. 

9.3.16. Afrika wrote on 26.11.2007 under the title “Comment of the Day” that those with Turkish origin are being transferred to ORP. The prominent persons of the other parties too. On the same day Kibrisli reported that before the ORP congress, two mayors entered the ORP.

9.4. FIRST CONGRESS OF THE ORP:

On 25.11.07 Turgay Avci has been re-elected as the leader of the Freedom and Reform Party. With no other candidate for the post, the ORP leader, Deputy Prime Minister-Foreign Minister Turgay Avci was automatically re-elected as the leader of the ORP.

Addressing the party’s first general congress meeting yesterday, Avci said that his party had been established just over a year ago by 4 people who had risked their political careers’. The message of the Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan was read by Egemen Bagis, who represented the AKP. He is the(19.10.07)  Deputy Chairman of the AKP and an MP of the AKP from Istanbul. Among other guests from Turkey were Mevlut Cavusoglu, who is deputy chairman of the Foreign Relations of the Turkish Grand National Assembly and an MP of the AKP from Antalya and Menderes Turel, Mayor of the Antalya Metropolitan Municipality and some other ex-ministers and Deputies. (Kibris, 26.11.2007)

9.4.1.  Referring on the same issue, Turkish Cypriot daily Afrika newspaper  reported on 26.11.2007 under banner headlines ‘Ankara has found its party” and referred to the Freedom and Reform Party’s (ORP) Annual Congress and said that “the crushing majority of the members of the ORP are citizens of the Republic of Turkey. The ORP with the active support of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) has become the leader of the rightist front. It is expected that with the first elections several citizens of the Republic of Turkey will be elected deputies and will take their seats at the Assembly. During the last elections, since there was no alternative, the AKP had supported and channelled the Turkish votes to the RTP. This time the AKP is getting ready to use all its support for the ORP. Ankara considers ORP as the party which will be able to accommodate both the Turkish Cypriots and the Turks together. The ORP in 14 months opened 234 party regional offices. They say that it is being financed by circles close to AKP”.

9.4.2. Referring to the same issue, Turkish Cypriot daily Sozcu newspaper reported on 26.11.2007 on the ORP’s congress under banner headlines: “This is not a Bank’s credit Card” and says that the Italian Parliamentarian Maurizio Turco, who was invited to the congress by the ORP leader Turgay Avci, addressing the congress took out from his pocket the so-called Identity Card of the “TRNC” and branding it to the audience and referring to the Archbishop Chrysostomos II said: “This not a bank’s credit card but the TRNC ID card with which I am proud. He urged the Archbishop to act as a religious man and not as politician during his visits in Europe and if he continues to act like politician they will receive him as politician and not a religious man. He also said that they will invite Mr. Turgay Avci to the European Parliament, not as a citizen but as the “Foreign Minister of the TRNC.”

9.4.3. Under the title “UBP (National Unity Party) -ORP (Freedom and Reform Party) Coalition?” Turkish Cypriot daily Kibrisli newspaper reported on 25.11.2007 that the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) in Turkey, is working on a new scenario aiming to take the Republican Turkish Party of Mehmet Ali Talat away from the “government”. The paper wrote that after AKR established the ORP in order to put in the sidelines the Democratic Party of Serdar Denktas, now is taking the second step in order to change the political balance in occupied Cyprus. According to the paper, AKR wants to get rid of CTP so that a new political coalition may be formed between the UBP and the ORP. Invoking sources, the paper writes that this development came after pressure put to AKP from some nationalist circles in Ankara which did not digest the fact that CTP is in power.

9.4.4. Columnist Necmettin Capa wrote in Afrika on 3.12.2007 the following:

                “For the people who participated at the ORP congress, the ORP paid the children 10 YTL, youth 25-30 YTL, adults 50 YTL. It the congress lasts long 50 + meal + transport. How the associations of the persons from Turkey are benefiting from this, no one knows. But they get very high numbers and job opportunities from the state departments are for sure. What is important is that 2000 persons were filled in the Ataturk Sports Hall and they make a show off. It is a scandal. Egemen Bagis, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign relations Secretary of the AKP saw this crowd. It is enough.” 

9.4.5. Turkish Cypriot daily Kibrisli newspaper reported in its first page on 3.12.2007 that Mehmet Cakici, the chairman of the Communal Democracy Party (TDP), described as rottenness the situation exist in the Turkish Cypriot community. As he stated either the ideologist or the sold out will win in occupied Cyprus. Mr Cakici referring to the intervention of the AKP in occupied Cyprus stated that a new political opportunist’ elite was created which markets the will of the Turkish Cypriot people. As he stated these circles are putting the country in great danger. Mr Cakici went on and stated that in this period a settling of accounts is taking place in the TRNC between the idealists and the honest and the sold out and the opportunists. As he stated, if the opportunists win, nobody knows what the outcome will be.

9.4.6. Turkish Cypriot daily Halkin Sesi newspaper  reported on 14.12.2007 that the Politics for the People Movement (HIS) of the former Head of the Religious Affairs Department, Mr Ahmet Yonluer, is becoming a party. As the paper wrote, Mr Yonluer is submitting today at the self-styled interior ministry the application and the list of the founding members of the HIS party. The party’s emblem will be a blue evil eye bead (worn to ward off the evil eye).

9.4.7. Turkish Cypriot daily Afrika newspaper reported on 18.12.2007 that the newly established Politics for the People (HIS) party introduced itself yesterday at a press conference. The founding chairman of the party, Ahmet Yonluer and other party members participated in the conference. Mr Yonluer said that the clear message they have taken during their contacts with the people was that “people do not trust the politicians any more” and that they were expecting the establishment of a new party.  Mr Yonluer reminded that HIS has 63 founding members. He argued that efforts have been exerted recently to perform politics which is only focused on Turkey and both the “government” and the opposition tried to acquire political gains from this. He said that HIS launched its efforts trusting the “TRNC people” and pointed out that the “place for the internal politics is the TRNC”.

Responding to a question, he said that he could not deny his friendly relations with the Justice and Development Party (AKP) and the Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and added that he could not neglect these relations because he has established a political party. However, he said that he believes that the internal policy is carried out with the “TRNC people” and interferences from outside should not be allowed. He said that within the next few days they will meet with officials from Turkey, in order to introduce themselves, but they will do this without taking any suggestion from anyone and without expecting any aid. Asked about their targets, Mr Yonluer argued that in spite of the fact that the conditions for carrying out a serious opposition exist in the country, these conditions have not been utilized and added that they will carry out a serious opposition until the elections, they will complete their organizational structure and prepare for the elections and make every preparation for bringing the party into power in the elections.

9.4.8. The ORP has now 5 deputies. Huseyin Avkiran Alanli, who resigned from his party three and half months ago, joined yesterday the ORP. Now the parliament seats are distributed among the parties as follows: CTP: 25, UBP: 13, DP: 6, ORP: 5, TDP: 1 (Kibris, 12.8.2008)

9.4.9. The Our Party (Bizim Parti), which was established as a political party with religious views ten years ago in 1998, merged with the ORP yesterday. The chairman of the Our Party and his friends told that they were happy to support the ORP. (Kibris, 21.11.2008) 

10. Recent Figures

10.1. The number of Turkish Cypriots and Turkish settlers in the TRNC

In our previous table of the first edition (1.9.), we gave the figures of the arriving and departing TRNC and TR and other citizens starting from 1974 until 2003. In the table below, we started from 2001 and found out the number of the incoming and outgoing citizens of the TRNC and TR. According to this calculation, at the beginning of 2004, there were 146,255 citizens of the TR and third countries, who remained in the TRNC and 44,252 TRNC citizens remained abroad.

In our news list below, which we prepared according to the data available, it shows the list of passengers arriving at and departing from the TRNC airports and seaports, by year and citizenship:

          

 incoming    outgoing     difference                      incoming               outgoing        difference

                   TR             TR        TR                                  T/C                        T/C           T/C

_____________________________________________________________________________             

2001    4,924,228   4,833,111        91,117                    2,092,729          2,138,112      -45,383      

2002       316,193       310,514         5,679                      133,317            134,083              766                 

2003       340,083       321,447       18,636                      119,682            119,583                99

2004       434,744       402,578       32,166                      134,886            135,343              457

2005      488,023        487,440            583                       152,804           152,347              457      

2006      572,633        570,533         2,100                       175,081           179,915            4,834

2007      598,529        555,193       43,336                       184,181           178,906            5,275    

2008       650,405       647,435         2,970                       200,074            199,713              361

____________________________________________________________________________   

             8,324,838    8,128,251   +196,587                   3,192,754        3,238,002         -45,248

Summary:

At the beginning of 2009, there were 45,248 TRNC citizens who stayed abroad. The number of the TR citizens, who stayed in the TRNC was 196,587 (which include some tourists on holiday, university students studying at the TRNC universities, besides the mainland Turkish settlers and workers)

10.2. Unreliable number of population and of electors

10.2.1. Afrika newspaper wrote in its “Letter from Afrika” column on 9.3.2009 that in the previous elections, the number of electors was about 163,000 and now it is rumoured that the number is about 180,000. The paper asked:

“Well, How many of them are Turkish Cypriots? Do not expect that the Supreme Election Council make any declaration about this subject. Neither the government could do it. This is a delicate matter. According to the information we received this number is 62,500. It means the one third of our total number of electors. The number of the transferred population and electors are increasing and the local population is decreasing. This number will certainly be drawn to lower numbers. What you should understand is AS FOLLOWS: The administration will be determined mainly by those voters who come from the Republic of Turkey. We have to add also that around 47,000 Turkish citizens are waiting to become TRNC citizens right after the elections. They have been already registered by the Turkish Embassy here and they are waiting their turn.”  

5.2.2. On the same day, another columnist of Afrika, Turgut Afsaroglu estimated that the number of the electors were 173.000 and only 63.000 of them were Cypriots and the rest were Turkish citizens, i.e. the Turkish Cypriots were in minority and their political will was taken away from their hands.

5.2.3. According to the G/C newspaper Politis, Christophias told that the number of the Turkish settlers increased from 250,000 to 325,000 according to the new information they had. (Kibrisli, 17.6.2010)

11. CONFLICTING NUMBER OF ELECTORS

11.1. The Supreme Election Council (YSK) declared on 13 March 2009 that the number of the electors, which will participate at the elections on 19 April 2009 were 198.006. (Kibrisli, 14.3.2009)

11.2.Turgut Afsaroglu wrote in his weekly column in Afrika on 16.3.2009 under the title “We have to take back our jasmines”:

“In the elections of 1976, our number of electors were 75,824. And our population was 113,736.

In the elections of 1990, the  number of our electors became 103,218. The total population was 154,827.

In the elections of 1998, there were 120,758 electors. Our total population increased to 181,137.

In the elections of 2005, the number of the electors was 147,823, whereas the total number of our citizens was 221,735.

It means that in the last 30 years, both our number of electors and the citizens were doubled.

God knows how much will it be in the elections of 19th April?

Let us make an estimate. Will it be 170,000 or 180,000 or 198,000?

And will the Turkish Cypriots be the majority of the minority of them?

Leave the citizens aside. There is also a de-facto population. According to Talat it is 500,000.

According to Serdar 600,000 and according to others it is 700-800,000. And the allegations are such as that after the elections, the Ankara will be pressing, so that at least 45,000 persons more should be made citizens of the TRNC.

Perhaps the population policy of this small country is determined by Ankara and either the UBP or the CTP is in power, they dictate their policies to those who come into power and they bow their necks to this for the sake of their seats....

One has to ask them: “As the 70 million population of Turkey arrive here in flocks, how can you find enough money for the employment, food, housing, school, teacher, doctor, hospital, prison for  this population?

If you divide the few hundred million dollars money that Turkey send here every year to each head, it makes less than two dollars a day. And this is not enough, neither for employment, nor for food, hospital, and prison. At this point one has to decide. Is it O.K. up to now or do we go on like this? And until where?”

11.3. On 23 March 2009, Kibris newspaper criticized the TAK news agency when it published on 22 March a new number of electors as 159,906. The editor of Kibris, Resat Akar, asked at the title of his column on that day: “To whom should we believe?”

He wrote: “The YSK announced in its statement yesterday that the number of the citizens in the TRNC are 198,000. According to the State Planning Bureau, the total population was 178,000 according to the census of 2006. This means that in the last three years, our population increased 20.000... If the government during the period of CTP gave only 60 new citizenships, where does this number of 16,680 new citizens come from? It means that there are serious mistakes here.”  

11.4. On 30 March 2009, the same Council announced in its declaration No.23 that the final number of electors were 161.373. (Kibris, 31.3.2009) 

According to these two declarations, the number of the electors and the number of the Deputies who would be elected by each district would be as follows:

                                            13 March 2009                        30 March 2009 

Nicosia                                 62,227       16                                      50,653

Famagusta                            52,795       13                                      42,325

Kyrenia                                35,990         9                                       30,428

Morphou                              25,383         6                                       21,017

Trikomo (İskele)                   21,611         6                                       16,950

  __________________________________________________________

                                            198,006       50                                    161,373  

11.5. There were 71 Turkish citizens among the 350 candidates:

7 parties with 350 candidates participated at the early general elections, held on 19 April 2009. Among the candidates 71 were Turkish citizens also. They were mainly represented in the parties of HİS and ORP.

Out of 50 candidates of the HIS, 23 were Turkish citizens. In the list of ORP, 17 were Turkish citizens. DP came in the third row with 13 candidates. The UBP had 7, TDP had 6, CTP-BG had 3 and BKP-Jasmine Movement had 2 candidates with Turkish citizenship. (Afrika, 23.3.2009)

12. MEDDLING OF THE AKP TO THE 2009 GENERAL ELECTION IN THE TRNC

12.1. “Meddling of Turkey with full support to the elections in the TRNC!” was the title of the column by Kartal Harman in Kibrisli on 10.3.2009.

He wrote that Denktas did not get directives from the AKP and he used to get support from another place in Ankara. Later the relationship between AKP and Denktas got worse and the party of Denktas’ son, DP was kept out of power with the formation of the ORP as an alternative to the DP. At that point, the meddling to the internal affairs of the TRNC was at its peak. Almost all the high ranking ORP Deputies participated at the ORP congress and the message was clear and net: The AKP is near the ORP!

                During the congress of the DP last Sunday, another leader of a Turkish party, Vice-Chairperson of the Democratic left Party (DSP) Melda Bayer participated at the DP Congress... What they do is nothing than influencing the electors from Turkey (in the TRNC).

                As you can see from this, the fate of the elections will not be determined by the Turkish Cypriots, but by the TRNC citizens, originating from the Republic of Turkey, who came to the island and settled here at one time or another. One should give attention to the following point! It was only yesterday that some persons did not know where Nicosia is and even they were asking us “Which language do you speak here?”. Nowadays they were given citizenship very easily and they were made as the people, who determine the political will of the TRNC.”

12.2. Kibris newspaper wrote on 24 March 2009 that the Chairman of the HIS party, Ahmet Yonluer reacted to the fact that the Turkish Cypriot political parties did not put in their electoral lists of the candidates who came to Cyprus after 1974 and he asked where is their sincerity. He continued:

“In the UBP list, only 7 candidates are persons who came after 1974. Moreover 3 of them cannot get elected because of their placing. Is this your understanding of equality?

Indeed, I do not get angry with the CTP, TDP and BKP, because they say sincerely in every platform that they do not want these people. But if you, like UBP, say that you do not make discrimination and you make fun of those people by making such lists, then we tell those people your real face. “

12.3. Under the title “Izcan: We do not accept the current regime”, Turkish Cypriot daily Havadis newspaper  reported on 27.3.2009 that a delegation from the United Cyprus Party (BKP) – Jasmine Movement visited yesterday Basaran Duzgun, the paper’s editor-in-chief. Mr Izcan said that nothing in the occupied areas will be put in order unless the population policy is taken under control. Mr Izan noted that they will annul the “citizenship” of all the persons who acquired this “citizenship” in a manner contrary to the international law. “This is not racism”, he added, “what we are trying to do is to put an end to the population policy which annihilates the Turkish Cypriots and make the Turkish Cypriots to have a say”.

Mr Izcan noted that the occupied northern part of Cyprus is administered by the “high coordination council”, the “embassy” of Turkey and “Turkey’s Aid Delegation”. He noted that in case the power is not transferred to the Turkish Cypriots the “governments” will be nothing more than puppets and the Turkish Cypriots, who cannot plan their economy, education, population and future, will be annihilated.

12.4. Afrika newspaper, under the title “AKP is touting for votes for Avci”, reported on 30.3.2009 that officials of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) are currently in the TRNC and try to convince those from “the Turkish Republic” who live in the occupied areas to vote for the Freedom and Reform Party (ORP). The AKP experts believe that Avci’s party can elect up to ten deputies with the votes of those from the Turkish Republic. They are trying to reduce the power of the National Unity Party (UBP) and increase the votes of the ORP, notes AFRIKA paper arguing that a coalition government between UBP and ORP will be established after the elections.

12. 5. Yeni Duzen newspaper published on 30.3.2009 an interview by the veteran Turkish Cypriot politician Mustafa Akinci, who bids farewell to politics, with journalist Cagil Gunalp. Akinci pointed out that it would be naive to even consider that the deep state of Turkey is independent from the occupied part of the Republic of Cyprus.

He noted that until the developments of 2003, the Turkish governments, the military civil bureaucracy and the deep state had always been next to former Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktas and the National Unity Party (UBP).

Mr Akinci said that the investigation in Turkey regarding the Ergenekon case will be incomplete if they don’t investigate all the unsolved crimes that occurred in the occupied areas of the Republic of Cyprus, like the murder of Kutlu Adali, the bombs at the houses of two prime ministers (Eroglu-Talat), the bombs at Afrika and Kibris papers, the bombs at the cars of Durduran and Ali Osman as well as the attempt to burn the building of the Peace and Democracy Movement (BDH).

12.6. “IT IS A HUMILIATION FOR US TO INTERVENE TO THE ELECTIONS FROM ABROAD”  This was the title of a letter, written by Ratip Gulmez from Kyrenia, published in Kibris’ in the “The word is yours” column, on 29.3.2009. The writer of the letter gave some examples of meddling in favour of the CTP during the election campaign:

                “First some names, who captured their columns in the Star, Sabah and Radikal newspapers of Turkey, explored suddenly some relationship between “Ergenekon” and Cyprus. They did not remain only with this, they also serviced their findings for the usage by their comrades in the TRNC and by the Ergenekon craftsmen in Turkey... One of them came with another name from the same group to the TRNC and taught us what the “Ergenekon” is and they returned...

Later we saw that Olli Rehn came here all of a sudden. Without any reservation and losing any time, he declared “Let’s hope that the pro-solution parties will win” and he went back. With him we saw that there was a EU dimension of the meddling to the elections.

Right after Rehn, German parliamentarian Jurgen Walter landed out territory and without being ashamed he said “if the previous people come to power, the negotiations will come to an end.”

Mrs.Rothe was the other European parliamentarian who arrived here and she was the most clear one and unaware of the public opinion. She participated directly at a festival of the CTP and openly hinted us the “CTP” and she also went back.

How could such a situation can be experienced in a European country? What took my attention was that these people who meddle from outside were asking for support only in the name of those in the government, but not for the benefit of the parties which are in the opposition. I was wondering why?...”     

17.6. It was reported in the “Letter from Afrika” column, published on 30.3.2009:

“As if they hear it for the first time that Ankara meddles. We have said it yesterday in our main title. The heavy canons of the AKP arrived here, they are among us They are visiting every village and neighbourhood and collecting votes for Turgay Avci. The other day they were in Degirmenlik (Kythrea) region and yesterday they were in Guzelyurt (Morphou). If someone has a doubt, s/he has to go and look with her/his own eyes.”

None of our parties has raised its voice to the meddling of the AKP to our elections. They fish in the sweet waters. But when they will be caught on the hook, they will be surprised.” 

18. INTERVENTION BY LOCAL MEDIA PATRONS

18.1.  Yeni Volkan newspaper (28.03.09) reports that Asil Nadir, owner of Kibris Media Group, has sent Resat Akar, whom he appointed as director of his Media Group, to compulsory leave until the end of the “elections”. Under the title “Asil has been surrendered to the green fascism”, the paper alleges that Asil Nadir has succumbed to the Republican Turkish Party (CTP), which cornered and blackmailed him because he has not paid his tax liabilities. The paper reminds that Mr Akar was appointed to his post two and a half months ago and adds that he was given three weeks compulsory leave.

18.2. “Ahmet Uzun of the CTP, Ersin Tatar of the UBP, Bengu Sonya of the DP and Rasit Pertev of the TDP were the four persons, invited to the KANAL T programme, presented by Dilek Kirci. When they entered the studio, Uzun wanted that Pertev would be sent out of the studio. He asked for the police to come. Pertev was given a short time to talk at the beginning of the programme and later he was sent away. The Patron of the KANAL T was also in the studio and he remained only silent to this scandal.” (Afrika newspaper, Letter from Afrika, 31.3.2009)

18.3. “NOW THEY WANT THE KANAL-T TO BE SILENT”

“The Chairman of the TDP (Communal Democracy Party), Mehmet Cakici, answered the questions of the Volkan correspondent as follows:

“The CTP-ORP coalition government “feeds” on one side the media, which support the government and on the other side tries to silence the persons and organizations, who do not think like themselves by oppression and threats. He gave the example of Kibris newspaper, where Asil Nadir, the owner of the KIBRIS Media Group, was forced to send the editor of his daily newspaper to holiday during the election campaign. Now Ersin Tatar, the owner of the KANAL T, is under attack by the pro-government columnists and his employees were given false promises so that they leave the TV station. (Volkan, 31 March 2009)

18.4. MEDDLING OF THE TURKISH POLITICIANS

18.4.1. According to the information we received, the preparations have started in the Karpasia region. As we were talking to some old leaders of the local UBP organizations, they told us the following:

“We have seen very well how the meddling was in the previous elections. Even the most reliable persons that we know could say “What the green plate (the colour of the diplomatic car plate of the Turkish Embassy in the TRNC) says, that will happen.” After the public opinion polls were made, everything can change in the last three days. He gave us examples.

Eroglu is an old wolf (politician). He knows his work very well. As far as we can see, he took the delivery of the media and many businessmen. If he goes like this, he can get in power all alone, but he will not.... The AKP did not help the formation of the ORP for nothing, only for 2,5 years. Now the turn will for ORP. They will say “stop” to the UBP and “pass” to the ORP. They will secure that the ORP get enough votes over the limit, so that they can have 4-5 Deputies. Don’t tell that it is not possible. They do such things in the last 3 days. Do not forget the elections in 2003 when the balance was 25+25.”  (Harun Denizkan, Havadis, 8 April 2009)

18.4.2. TURKISH POLITICIANS SENDING THEIR ELECTION BUSES

“AKP sent its election bus to the ORP. The bus with the plate number 34 FFG 01 came finally yesterday and started to take part in the election activities. This luxurious bus is known as the election bus of Kadir Toptas, the Istanbul Metropolitan Mayor... On the other hand, the bus of the UBP was sent by Mustafa Sarigul, Istanbul Sisli Mayor, who is a “very close” friend of Eroglu. Sarigul had previously sent his advertisers to the UBP.” (Yeni Duzen, 9.4.2009)

18.4.3. Afrika newspaper, under the title “Let those who look for a meddling see. Give up Ergenekon, look at the AKP’s bus!...” and with a picture of the election bus of the leader of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) of the Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, reported on 10.4.2009  that the Justice and Development Party (AKP), which openly in favour of CTP in the elections of 2003 and 2005, has not hesitated to do it again in these elections. AKP has sent the election bus to Turgay Avci to conquer the TRNC.  In its column “Letter from AFRIKA”, the paper wrote the following: 
“The bus was sent to the Freedom and Reform Party (ORP), because only Turgay Avci demanded it from Ankara. If UBP, CTP and DP wanted, would Erdogan have sent them one? So what? Is ORP Ankara’s own party and the rest the foster parties? (...)  Ankara will in our elections in every period. It is doing it today, it will do it tomorrow. Because TRNC is not an independent state... It is under Turkey’s administration.”

18.5. Ergenekon connections in the TRNC: The following information was included in the second indictment in the Ergenekon trial in Istanbul:

“In the 1998 elections in the TRNC, one million dollars were sent to the island in one evening. Two days before the elections, 17 million 500 million Turkish Liras were distributed by hand to the electors. A total of 20 million dollars were distributed. This operation in the TRNC covers solely the deep interest of Turkey. There is an agreement of opinion in the Upper Council. Mr.Eroglu has the characteristics that are sought for after Denktas. Our friends came to us with the thesis that we should not trust names other than Eroglu. The system of the Turkish Cypriot people has been cooked and they will eat it… The most important is the investment in the ART-TV station and this can serve the aims of the “Directorate of the Civil Department”. (Yeni Duzen, 8 April 2009)

18.5.1. Turkish daily Today’s Zaman newspaper (10.04.09) published the following: “Ferdi Sabit Soyer, prime minister of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (KKTC), who filed a request with the KKTC Chief Prosecutor's Office demanding an investigation into allegations against a former president and a former prime minister of the KKTC, has said as there have been revelations that a secret organization existed to influence the free will of Turkish Cypriots, his "silence would be equal to murder" with reference to the investigation into Ergenekon, a clandestine terrorist organization charged with plotting to overthrow the Turkish government.

Soyer filed the request on Wednesday, demanding an investigation into allegations against former KKTC President Rauf Denktas and former Prime Minister Dervis Eroglu, leader of the main opposition National Unity Party (UBP), whose names are mentioned in the second indictment in the Ergenekon trial submitted last month to the court hearing the case. He said that he had experienced a creeping sensation when he read documents seized at the home of Mustafa Ozbek, the jailed chairman of workers' union Turk Metal. According to the documents, the terrorist organization established two main centres, in the KKTC and Ankara, to wiretap conversations, including those of politicians and businessmen. Ozbek was arrested in late January as part of the ongoing Ergenekon investigation.

Soyer said the documents show Denktas’ phone calls were wiretapped to have him eliminated and there were great efforts to have the UBP elected as the winning party with Eroglu as the president. Soyer told that about 18 million dollars were sent by Ozbek to this effect.

“It is an organization that wiretapped the telephones of Mehmet Ali Talat, who later became the prime minister. They also tried to eliminate Talat. Nobody should forget that a bomb exploded in Talat’s home during the same period. Now that I have learned all this, my silence would be equal to murder. I acted upon concrete information with a desire to uncover past secrets,” said Soyer, as quoted by the Anatolia news agency.

Eroglu said that he is the one who should file charges. “We don’t take them seriously. As the Republican Turks Party loses voters, they do not know what to do. They even bring up allegations without knowing what they contain. The UBP is not involved in such a scheme,” he said. He added that he is consulting his lawyers about the issue: “I am the one who should file for a lawsuit. My rights are reserved in that regard.”

18.5.2. Turkish Cypriot daily Kibris newspaper (10.04.09), in its front page under the title “Shock confession!”, reported that the former Turkish Cypriot leader, Mr Rauf Denktas, during the television programme “Last Situation” broadcast by the Turkish Cypriot local television channel KIBRIS TV, said that he was receiving dead threat from CIA during the “elections” of 1981 and added:
“At that period, I was deemed as a hawk on the Cyprus issue. Clerides the peaceful one and I were displayed as the intransigent. Because we do not accept their sayings about the Turkish Cypriot government being a blood stained administration I was asked to be eliminated. Has the meddling of the foreigners disappeared today? Are not the remarks of the British High Commissioner and the U.S Ambassador a meddling? Or the fact that USA has distributed 30 million dollars? Let us not forget these. Those who do not call these meddling are standing up and shouting that Turkey is meddling. When I looked at this report, even the Turkish of the writers was not correct. When such information on certain issues taking place inside Cyprus was coming, I informed the competent officials when I realized that it was serious. And when a death threatening letter was sent by a CIA agent I informed Turkey and Turkey stood behind us.”

18.5.3. Viewing Turkish Cypriot politician Sabit Soyer's demand for an investigation against Rauf Denktas and Dervis Eroglu within the framework of the Ergenekon investigation in an article in Hurriyet Daily News (10.04.09), Yusuf Kanli questioned whether Soyer was plotting to avert a humiliating defeat in the 19 April elections.

18.5.4. Under the headline, "Frightening claims regarding Ergenekon's Cyprus operations," Zaman (10.04.09) published a report which asserts that the Ergenekon network is being accused of staging an assassination attempt against former Turkish Cypriot Prime Minister Mehmet Ali Talat before the referendum on the island in 2004, maintaining explosives caches on the Turkish part of the island, killing certain Turkish Cypriot journalists, and trying to influence the results of Turkish Cypriot elections.

18.5.5. Under the headline, "Chief Public Prosecutor being threatened," the Zaman daily newspaper carried on 11.4.2009 a report which quoted TRNC Prime Minister Ferdi Sabit Soyer as saying that the office of the chief public prosecutor in North Cyprus is receiving threats over a recently filed formal request for an investigation into allegations of complicity between the Ergenekon network and former Turkish Cypriot President Rauf Denktas and former Turkish Cypriot Prime Minister Dervis Eroglu.

18.5.6. In Hurriyet (12.04.09), columnist Ferai Tinc wrote in her article that many circles in north Cyprus believe that daily Havadis publishing new Ergenekon documents was a move by the Turkish Government to 'intervene' in the elections to be held in the TRNC on 19 April. However, she noted, a general consensus exists between all the political parties on the steps to be taken to resolve the Ergenekon mystery. Arguing that possible change of political balances after the elections in the TRNC might obstruct the Ergenekon investigation on the island, Tinc quoted unnamed Turkish Cypriot journalists as saying that "Ergenekon has become an influential organization in north Cyprus. Turkey will be unable to unearth the Ergenekon network's activities if it fails to investigate the organization's links on the island."

18.5.7. A column by Oral Calislar in Radikal (12.04.09) argued that the Ergenekon files that have been placed on the agenda one week before the elections seem to have changed the atmosphere in north Cyprus. According to the Turkish Cypriot media, he said, public opinion polls showing a significant increase in the National Unity Party [UBP] votes led the ruling Republican Turkish Party [CTP] to take action to prevent the transfer of power to the UBP. Claiming that the "peace and reunification talks" talks between Turkish Cypriot leader Talat and President Christofias might be suspended if the UBP wins the elections, Calislar warned that a possible UBP victory in TRNC is likely to affect the Turkey-EU relations negatively. He goes on to note that both the election in the Turkish Cypriot sector and the Ergenekon investigation in the north have the potential to dominate Turkey's political agenda soon.

18.5.8. “They do not say anything, when the God of Meddling is here” was the title of the “letter from Afrika column on 13.4.2009. The columnist wrote as follows:

                “We entered the last week before the elections. That is the most critical week. There is also the last critical 24 hours of this critical week. According to many people, what happens, happens at this last night. The last blessings were distributed and the poll was closed at that night...

                Last week there was a discussion that there was an meddling from outside in the elections of 1988. Who made this? The Ergenekon. The pro-CTP media used this fodder in abundance given by Ferdi Sabit Soyer. They made headlines. They gave supplements in support of this news. In reality, this was the lt branch, which was grasped by the CTP against the UBP. But it did not work. The branch was broken. The citizens did not take care of it... The Ankara governments have been intervening to our elections since 1976. Don’t they? It is not sincere to show that only in 1998 there was meddling...If you talk of meddlings, you have to look around yourselves. What will you see? Now AKP Deputies and election experts are taking part in the election campaign of a party and they visit every village. Why don‘t you say a word to this? Look, Veysi Kaynak, AKP MP from Kahramanmaras is among us. On Thursday, the Turkish Minister for EU Affairs and Chief Negotiator,Egemen Bagis will also arrive. For sure he will be coming with the last “blessings”. He is the God of the meddlings. You are still talking of 1998? Why don’t you see the log in your eye?”