Erdogan opens north’s new palace

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday opened Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar’s new official residence in Ayios Dhometios.

Erdogan arrived at the palace with Tatar, who had welcomed him off the Turkish presidential jet at Ercan (Tymbou) airport half an hour before, with the pair welcomed by around 1,000 well wishers who braved the rain to stand in the palace garden, waving flags and chanting Erdogan’s name.

His arrival was greeted with a rendition of the Turkish national anthem, before he addressed the crowds in front of him.

“We are all together in great excitement and enthusiasm. Today, we are putting another seal on these lands. Today, we are putting another seal on these lands. Today, we are bringing another magnificent work to the Turkish Cypriot people. Today, we are not holding just an ordinary opening ceremony, here. At the same time, we are declaring our will, our determination, our love of freedom,” he said.

“In this way, we have brought to Nicosia a work worthy of the increasing reputation of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. I also find it useful to emphasise this point. This complex is a symbol of the Turkish Cypriot people’s determination.”

He went on to say that “this place is also a manifestation of a state’s will to exist in the face of injustice and lawlessness” and “an indication of the common fate of Turkey and North Cyprus”.

“On this strong foundation, God willing, we will build new achievements and new works. We will continue our fight for independence and for the future with even more strength. Those who try to disrupt our brotherhood, to create a rift between us, and to sow the seeds of hatred instead of peace and tranq.uillity will not be successful.”

He added that Turkey “will always be with you whenever you need it, just as it was yesterday, it is today, and it will be tomorrow”.

“We will continue to provide very strong support in every field, from strengthening relations with the Turkish world to lifting the unfair isolations imposed on the Turkish Cypriot people,” he said.

At the end of his speech, a prayer was read by the north’s religious affairs director Hakan Moral, before Erdogan, Tatar, and other high-profile figures both Turkish and Turkish Cypriot were handed pairs of scissors to cut a ribbon and declare the palace officially open.

Once the ribbon was cut, chants of, “ya Allah, bismillah, Allahu akbar” rang around the crowds, and Erdogan, Tatar, and the rest of the dignitaries entered the palace.

Inside the building, the dignitaries assembled in the palace conference hall, with Tatar, Erdogan, Turkish Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmus, and the north’s ‘parliament speaker’ Ziya Ozturkler all making speeches.

Tatar spoke of how the idea for a new palace to be built came about after Erdogan had visited Cyprus, and his previous official residence in Nicosia’s old town, to celebrate the anniversary of the north’s unilateral declaration of independence in 2020.

“We wanted to hold a press conference in front of the building, but we could not do it because it was raining. At that point, I reminded Mr Erdogan that our palace was not a workplace befitting our state and that the building was from the British colonial period,” he said.

He said that he had then been tasked with finding the suitable land to build a palace, and found it in Ayios Dhometios, with work having begun in 2022. Then, he turned his attention to the Cyprus problem.

“We are no longer just defending a state; we are putting forward a vision … The path on which we are walking with Turkey is a strong bond based on brotherhood, trust, mutual respect, and a common strategy,” he said.

“The Turkish Cypriot people are in favour of a solution, but surrender cannot be called a solution. The book of ‘federation’ is closed. If there is to be a new process, it is only possible on the basis of sovereign equality and equal international status. These people are not a minority … The Turkish Cypriot people will not surrender to the will of someone else.”

He then closed his speech by saying that “the will of the people has always determined my path, and I will continue to work for the future of my country with the same belief and responsibility”.

Erdogan then spoke for a second time, extolling the virtues of the new building.

“Our presidential building represents the dignity of our state with its modern architecture, and our parliament building represents the Turkish Cypriot people’s love for democracy with its magnificence. Each brick of these works bears the sweat of our workers, each design bears the vision of our architects, and each detail bears the talent of our engineers,” he said.

He also disavowed “those who are jealous of the developing economy, of the strengthening infrastructure, of the increasing peace and rising visibility of the TRNC in the international community”, saying they are “doing everything they can” to stop it.

“They are pressing all the buttons at once, from intimidating investors operating in the TRNC to building walls of discord among our Turkish Cypriot brothers,” he said, before offering his own position on the Cyprus problem.

“The Turkish Cypriot people have repeatedly shown their goodwill and that they are the side which wants a permanent and just solution. The only reason the Greek Cypriot administration is defending the idea of a federal solution, having publicly rejected it in the past, is to confine the Turkish side to the table and to usurp the Turkish Cypriot people’s rights,” he said.

“The two-state solution is the TRNC and Turkey’s common vision. If there is to be a new negotiation process, it will no longer be between two communities, but between two states with sovereign equality. We also believe that the solution to the Cyprus problem is through this way.”

He also made allusions to recent developments in Turkish Cypriot politics, though did not go into specifics.

“Turkish Cypriot politics must also maintain its stability, not surrender to artificial crises, and not fall into traps which aim to damage the emotional bond between Turkey and the Turkish Cypriots,” he said.

Kurtulmus described the new buildings as “a declaration … of the Turkish Cypriot people’s will to not take a single step back from their equal sovereignty, but to take the Turkish Cypriot state a step forward”.

“I wish for the Turkish Cypriot state to live in freedom until the apocalypse,” he added.

Ozturkler, meanwhile, said that “today is one of the turning points for the TRNC”, before saying he wished to “express my deepest gratitude and appreciation for the valuable contributions” of Erdogan to Cyprus.

The project has not come without criticism.

Serdar Denktash, son of late Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash, told the Cyprus Mail the near 5 billion TL (€138 million) spent on the project could have been better spent elsewhere.

“We need schools and hospitals. We need infrastructure which can support the population,” he said.

“This project is neither beneficial to the Turkish Cypriot people, nor is this the message we should be giving to the world,” he said.

He added that in prioritising the construction of the complex, the north has “put the cart before the horse, and we are now trying to move forward”.