News: Bahar SANCAR
Former Foreign Minister Kutlay Erk was a guest on Gündem Kıbrıs Web TV with Bahar Sancar. In the program, Former Foreign Minister Kutlay Erk evaluated the results of the Presidential election held on October 19, saying, “When we discussed this issue before the election, I predicted that voter turnout would be around 65% and Erhürman would receive around 55% of the vote. The 63% turnout was a surprise to me as well. There are many reasons for this result: the 5-year stagnation period in the Cyprus issue was not very successful for the social and economic lives of Turkish Cypriots, and the TRNC’s economy and social relations regressed. Since there were no official meetings, it was a process that froze hopes. The majority of the public expected positive or negative progress on the Cyprus issue. One of the important factors in the result was the government’s poor management performance. Due to the political intoxication experienced, people punished Ersin and the political parties that supported Ersin,” he said.
Guterres thanked Tatar for his cooperation during his term in office.
Erk Supports Erhürman’s Statement ‘No Need for Open-Ended Negotiations’
Commenting on President Tufan Erhürman’s statement ‘There is no need for open-ended negotiations,’ Erk said, “The UN Secretary-General also stated that the negotiations will be time-limited and solution-oriented. Southern Cyprus has always managed to keep the negotiations open-ended, and the process has been prolonged. It is clear that from now on, the Secretary-General will hold time-limited negotiations and will be result-oriented. President Erhürman also said this, stating that when we sit at the table, it must be clear when we will leave and what the outcome will be. If there is no agreement, it must be guaranteed that Turkish Cypriots will not return to the status quo,” he said.
“Promises Given from the Annan Plan to Crans Montana Were Not Kept”
Erk said, “Various promises were made to Turkish Cypriots when they sat at the table during the 2004 Annan Plan period, but this was not binding. We need to be self-critical about this. Both in the Annan Plan and in Crans Montana, no agreement was made on what Turkish Cypriots would have if the Greek Cypriots overturned the table and thwarted the UN initiative. These agreements should have been made before sitting at the table. President Erhürman is saying this now. We were given promises in the Annan plan. Few of these promises were kept, most were not. After what happened in Crans Montana, Erhürman says that this time we will sit at the table with this demand and we will be serious,” he said.
“The EP’s Unilateral Decision on the Committee on Missing Persons Monument is Wrong”
Erk noted that the European Parliament’s unilateral decision regarding the Committee on Missing Persons was a very wrong decision, saying, “Until now, the work of the Committee on Missing Persons had not been politicized. We have always prevented the Greek Cypriots’ attempts to politicize the Committee on Missing Persons. If we have reached this stage within the EU, it is because we have not been there for 5 years. I hope there will be a reversal on this issue and a revision will be made to that monument. A project can be created that will satisfy Turkish Cypriots as well. This is a very sensitive issue for us.”
“It Could Have Been Different If We Could Have Kept the IPC as a Working and Living Institution”
Evaluating Simon Aykut’s 5-year sentence in the ongoing “Property” case in Southern Cyprus, Erk said, “I consider the property issue as a game by Christodoulides to win Tatar’s election. Doing this before the election is seen as an attempt to create anxiety on the Turkish Cypriot side. Simon Aykut was sacrificed in this scenario. What our side should have done from the beginning was to negotiate directly with the Greek Cypriot side and request a moratorium. It was also possible not to give such a weapon to the Greek Cypriot side. It could have been different if we could have kept the Immovable Property Commission (IPC) as a working and living institution: there are nearly 3,000 pending files. If you eliminate the local characteristic of the IPC, which is an international remedy, during this period, the Greek Cypriot side becomes aggressive and sacrifices Simon Aykut before the elections. This is what we experienced,” he said.
Solution Proposal: Revitalizing the IPC and Requesting a Moratorium
Continuing his speech, Erk said, “What needs to be done is to revitalize the IPC as soon as possible. If the IPC works effectively, these attacks by Christodoulides will not be possible. On the other hand, President Erhürman said that he will set up two tables: one for negotiations and one for talks. This issue will be discussed in detail with Christodoulides at the meeting table. A moratorium needs to be established and some progress can be made until the 5+1 meetings. I predict that there will be some work in that direction. Everyone feels the concerns of the people,” he said.
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