Two TC parties, Akinci, Talat & the TC Mayor of Nicosia will boycott Erdogan
Some hours before the arrival of the Turkish President in north Cyprus, Turkish pro-government media make general references to Ankara’s plans, which are likely to be announced by Tayyip Erdogan, both in the Turkish Cypriot Parliament and during his visit in the enclosed city of Famagusta, which is his second in the last eight months.
However, according to the latest information reaching the Greek Cypriot journalists who will be present in Varosi, the Varosi announcements will not really take place in Varosi and the “mass inauguration” will be done online from the Concorde hotel.
In the meantime, two Turkish Cypriot political parties, the Republican Turkish Party (CTP) and the Communal Democracy Party (TDP), have decided to boycott Erdogan’s speech at the TC Parliament. Both parties say they have been sidelined in decision-making and neither party shares the idea of demanding two separate states in Cyprus.
The two former presidents of the Turkish Cypriot community, Mustafa Akinci and Mehmet Ali Talat, will also be absent from the TC Parliament during Erdogan’s speech, in protest at the persecution of Turkish Cypriot politicians and citizens who criticized Ankara.
The TC Mayor of Nicosia, Mehmet Harmanji, will also boycott Erdogan’s speech at the TC Parliament by not attending.
This is an unprecedented move. It is the first time ever that Turkish Cypriot political parties, including two former presidents and the current TC mayor of Nicosia, so openly and officially refuse to attend a speech by a Turkish President.
“Yeni Duzen” reports that a symbolic event was held yesterday afternoon in Varosi by activists of the Unite Cyprus Now movement.
Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot members of the movement, wearing masks, formed a circle holding each other’s hands, conveying the message that “Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot Famagusta residents are together, we always understand each other very well, our pain, feelings, joys are common. Knowing each other well, we are always in the same struggle and today we are hand in hand in Varosi”.
According to TC press reports, Mr. Erdogan will arrive in north Cyprus at 15:00 on Monday, 19th July.
A special session of the Turkish Cypriot Parliament will take place at 16:00 and will be addressed by the Turkish President, who will announce the “good news”, as he said yesterday.
The Republican Turkish Party and the Communal Democracy Party will not attend during the Turkish President’s speech. In fact, mobilizations of Turkish Cypriot groups of citizens should not be not ruled out.
The CTP issued a written statement explaining its decision as follows:
“In an environment where there is no exchange of views and dialogue, the main opposition party will not have any say in the meeting to be held in the TRNC Republican Assembly within the framework of the TRNC visit of the President of Turkey. Considering that within the framework of the speech to be made, there would naturally not be the opportunity to express different views on the views that the CTP did not agree with, the CTP Party Assembly has decided not to attend this meeting“.
