Turkish Cypriots: The Ghosts of Europe
Ertan Karpazli

The status of Turkish Cypriots in Cyprus continues to be ignored both within the country and in Europe as a whole
 
It was while I was a teenager attending school in east London when I became aware of the fact that I was a member of a nameless community. I happened to come across my class register left open on my teacher’s desk and began to read through it, noticing a section for ethnicity had been included beside each name. The ethnicity section beside my name, however, was left blank, as was the case with all the other Turkish Cypriot students in my class.
In another instance, my father had taken me to the Farnborough air show where he was working. All staff had to leave their passport details with security before they could enter. My father, at the time, although legally UK resident, only possessed a Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) passport. The problem, however, was that this passport was not recognised anywhere in the world outside of Turkey and the TRNC. So, when he presented his passport, the security guard refused to record his details.
Of course, having to switch planes in Turkey due to an absence of direct flights to the TRNC, as well as having our bags checked for TRNC products on our return, constantly reminded us that we were from an unrecognised state which according to the world map doesn’t exist. But for an estimated half a million Turkish Cypriots, around half of whom live in the UK, the TRNC is very real.
For Turkish Cypriots born after the island was divided in 1974, the TRNC is the only home they know. Before 1974, both Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots lived under a bi-communal government which was formed in 1960 after over eight decades of British occupation. However, failure to establish separate municipalities in accordance with the constitution and attempts to minimise Turkish Cypriot powers in parliament led to Turkish Cypriots being forced out of the government within three years. Failing to secure their return to the government over a period of two decades of talks, both before and after the 1974 intervention by Turkey, Turkish Cypriots declared the independence of the TRNC in 1983.
Nonetheless, almost 100,000 Turkish Cypriots eagerly crossed to the Greek-Cypriot-controlled south to collect their new passports after the internationally recognised Republic of Cyprus entered the EU in 2004, even though the Greek Cypriots rejected the reunification of the island in a referendum ahead of their accession. Despite promises of recognition for the TRNC in such an event, Turkish Cypriots were only granted observer status in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE). Furthermore, those who attend the meetings are acknowledged as “representatives of the Turkish Cypriot community in Cyprus,” not as TRNC representatives. As such, the Greek Cypriot side was rewarded by the EU for rejecting peace, while Turkish Cypriots had their appeals for self-representation shunned.
Even as nationals of the Republic of Cyprus, Turkish Cypriots are constantly reminded of their being viewed as second-class citizens by some segments of society. In March 2014, former TRNC President Mehmet Ali Talat was speaking at a conference in the southern city of Limassol when it was stormed by a group of protesters from ELAM, the Greek Cypriot branch of Greece’s neo-Nazi Golden Dawn. Mr Talat, who throughout his term in office worked arduously to achieve peace in Cyprus, had to be evacuated as ELAM members hurled explosives. This was particularly alarming for Turkish Cypriots as it demonstrated the inability of the Greek Cypriot administration to protect them from the violence of individuals who feel that the Turkish Cypriots have no right to live in Cyprus, despite more than 400 years of Turkish Cypriot history on the island.
The Greek Cypriot administration itself has also proven to be discriminatory against Turkish Cypriots. Just two months after the incident in Limassol, Turkish Cypriots were once again reminded of the administration’s systematic bias against them. Having been allocated two out of six seats representing the Republic of Cyprus in the European Parliamentary elections, Turkish Cypriots rushed to the polls to participate for the first time. With five candidates and over 90,000 registered voters, Turkish Cypriots were excited by the possibility of having their voices finally heard in Europe. Those who participated, however, were disappointed to find out the Greek Cypriot administration had failed to record the addresses of almost a third of Turkish Cypriot voters. Turkish Cypriots were thus denied their fundamental right to elect European Parliament representatives.
Lacking representation, the Turkish Cypriots found themselves voiceless in the face of yet another challenge when the Greek Cypriot administration in July applied to secure protected designation of origin (PDO) status for the island’s traditional cheese, halloumi, otherwise known as hellim. This would grant the Greek Cypriots the power to control the way the cheese is produced, giving Turkish Cypriot producers no say in the standardisation process. While the Turkish Cypriot Chamber of Commerce calls for the establishment of a separate production control mechanism in the TRNC, the Greek Cypriot administration maintains that any production control mechanism outside the framework of its Ministry of Agriculture is illegal.
So, as can be seen, although possessing Republic of Cyprus passports and being EU citizens, Turkish Cypriots can neither participate in Europe, due to obstacles placed before them by the Greek Cypriot administration, nor can they appeal to Europe due to their being extraneous to the same administration that blocks their participation.
Turkish Cypriots living abroad also often have their voices silenced by the Greek Cypriot lobby. In the latest case, TRNC Foreign Minister Ozdil Nami was forced to relocate his public conference at the London School of Economics on 17 February to a lecture hall exclusive to LSE students and staff, after university officials received “threats” from members of the public. As a result, even British Turkish Cypriot community representatives, some of whom had travelled from outside London, were denied entry to the conference. The event literature was also edited to show Mr Nami’s title as “representative of the Turkish Cypriot community” instead of TRNC Foreign Minister.
Therefore, not only are Turkish Cypriots prevented from making any progress in Cyprus, they are more often than not bullied away from speaking on platforms in other parts of Europe too. All the while, the EU continues to turn a blind eye to the international isolation of a people who have only ever asked for the rights outlined for them in agreements and the same rights enjoyed by all other EU citizens.
In June 2012, just before the Republic of Cyprus took control of the EU presidency, hundreds of Turkish Cypriots marched from the European Parliament to the European Commission in Brussels dressed as ghosts. Arguing the Republic of Cyprus is not representative of the entire island, the protesters handed out leaflets describing themselves as Europe’s forgotten citizens. Ironically, however, many protesters would have had to acquire Republic of Cyprus passports in order to travel to Brussels, so technically there were no Turkish Cypriots protesting that day. As far as the EU is concerned, Turkish Cypriots are a long lost people who simply vanished into thin air half a century ago.
In spite of the EU’s denial, Turkish Cypriots do exist, albeit as a nation of ghosts suspended in a state of limbo. Yet, unfortunately, as they call out from their unseen parallel universe, it seems that no one is willing to hear their cries.

Image from: http://springtimeofnations.blogspot.co.uk/2012_06_01_archive.html 
Ertan Karpazli

Ertan Karpazli

Ertan Karpazli is a British journalist based in Istanbul, Turkey, and is a senior editor at TRT World. He is also a founding member of Cezire Association, an organisation dedicated to the research and representation of Turkish Cypriot heritage and culture.

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