Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Ersin Tatar slammed criticism of Britain’s trade envoy for Türkiye, Afzal Khan, after the official was forced to resign following his trip to the TRNC was made public.
In a lengthy statement issued on Saturday, Tatar said pressure on Khan, who was a guest of his in the TRNC, was “a new reflection of the primitive Greek Cypriot mindset.”
Khan, a Labour Party MP representing Manchester Rusholme, resigned on Friday. The MP has said the trip was paid for by himself and that he aimed to visit his nephew and to receive an honorary degree in the TRNC. The TRNC is not recognized by the United Kingdom. The U.K. is among the guarantor countries in talks to end decades of split between Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots in Cyprus. The two sides initially sought a compromise to resolve the issue, but TRNC now defends a two-state solution, as opposed to the bi-communal federation proposed by Greek Cypriots, whose entity in the south of the island is internationally recognized.
Tatar said forcing a parliamentarian to resign simply because he engaged with the Turkish Cypriot people was a shameful affront to democracy and equality.
“For decades, the Greek Cypriot leadership has abused its illegitimately held status to isolate the Turkish Cypriot people and to silence our voice in the international arena. If, today, even the simple act of a parliamentarian visiting the TRNC is enough to provoke such hostility, it is clear that the Greek Cypriot leadership has never abandoned its 1963 mentality. This is the reality we face. Those who still believe that the Cyprus issue can be resolved by entrusting the future of our people to the Greek Cypriot side fail to comprehend the gravity of the situation,” the president stated.
“For 62 long years, the Turkish Cypriot people have been denied their most basic human rights as a result of this mentality. The unjust and unlawful policy of isolation pursued by the Greek Cypriot leadership constitutes a silent crime against humanity. The international community must no longer turn a blind eye to this injustice; it must finally deliver the justice and equality to which the Turkish Cypriot people are rightfully entitled,” he added.
Tatar called upon the Turkish community in the U.K. to raise their voice against “this injustice” and stand firmly with Khan. “Supporting Mr. Khan means taking a principled stand against the Greek Cypriot leadership’s fascistic and anti-democratic stance. Forcing an elected parliamentarian to resign under threat and pressure, simply because he chose to meet with the democratically elected president of the Turkish Cypriots, is a grave stain on democracy itself.”
