Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman sent letters to UN secretary general Antonio Guterres, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and Barcelona FC president Joan Laporta on Friday, to complain over the ‘obstruction’ of Turkish Cypriots in diplomacy, culture and sport.
According to a statement from his office, Erhurman placed particular emphasis in the letters on the timing of recent events.
He argued that despite an appeal from the UN secretary general during his visit to the island that the present moment was one where “all efforts must be made to restore trust”, the Republic had taken steps in the opposite direction.
The letters also referred to the UN secretary general’s report on ending the “isolation” of Turkish Cypriots and to decisions taken by the EU Council, with Erhurman calling for measures on this front to be taken “without further delay”.
He wrote of what he described as attempts by the Republic to prevent children and young people from connecting with the international community, arguing this deepened mistrust between the two communities and undermined the settlement efforts being pursued by the UN secretary general.
The letters followed the cancellation of a children’s football camp organised under licence by Barcelona FC in the north, as well as a music festival organised by the Serbian company EXIT that had been due to take place in Kyrenia Castle.
Erhurman had earlier said in a social media post that he intended to continue, through dialogue, efforts to confront what he called these attempts by the Republic, while also working to increase the visibility of Turkish Cypriots internationally.
“Both sides, as always, continue to throw grist to each other’s mill,” he wrote, arguing that the Greek Cypriot side wanted Turkish Cypriots to leave the negotiating table so it could continue to play the role of “victim seeking a solution”, while nationalist voices in the north pushed for continued isolation.
He said the common ground between both positions was a shared goal of rendering Turkish Cypriots invisible and disconnected from the international community. “Our people know that, as has been the case until now, we will not surrender to any side,” he wrote.
The Barcelona camp’s cancellation was addressed separately by the football federation’s president Haris Loizides, who wrote to his Spanish counterpart citing a 2013 agreement signed in Zurich under both Fifa and Uefa, which set out the framework for organising football in Cyprus.
This agreement crucially included the integration of the Turkish Cypriot football federation into the Cyprus Football Federation as the sole body recognised for organising the sport on the island.
Loizides said the agreement remained the recognised path for Turkish and Greek Cypriots to participate in football under Fifa and Uefa rules, adding that “those who refuse to implement this agreement are also responsible for the current situation”.
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