The issue of removing the name ‘Kemal Atatürk’ from a street in the pre‑1974 Turkish Cypriot quarter of Moutallos in Paphos remains unresolved, as the relevant decision taken by the Paphos municipal council has not progressed further nor been reconsidered to date.
According to information obtained by Politis, following the council’s decision to remove the existing street name, the matter has not been brought back for discussion at municipal level, nor has any official proposal been formally submitted for a new name. The only exception is a personal view reportedly expressed informally outside institutional procedures.
In order to ensure proper handling of the issue, the Paphos municipality sent a letter to the Ministry of the Interior seeking guidance on how the matter should be managed. The aim is for the municipal council to be fully informed of the institutional and procedural framework within which it should operate before taking any further decision. However, no response has yet been received from the ministry.
According to the same sources, any new decision regarding the street is expected only after the completion of a regulatory framework governing the renaming and naming of streets and squares, and following the convening of the competent committee that will examine the issue.
At the same time, a DISY municipal councillor in Paphos revived the issue through a video‑recorded intervention, referring to a proposal she had previously submitted to the municipal council. In her post, she suggested renaming the street ‘Michalis Kapetanidis’. However, this proposal has not been formally submitted to the relevant bodies for decision‑making.
As a result, no new name has been decided for the street, despite the earlier decision to remove the ‘Kemal Atatürk’ designation. It is recalled that, during earlier discussions, the opinion of the government had also been sought.
Past efforts fell flat
The matter had also occupied the Paphos municipality in the past. In 2021, when the then EDEK municipal group requested that the issue be raised, former President of the Republic Nicos Anastasiades contacted the mayor of Paphos, expressing the view that hasty decisions should not jeopardise ongoing efforts on the Cyprus issue.
The issue resurfaced in subsequent years through the DISY municipal councillor, who secured approval for the removal of the street name on the condition that the government’s position would first be sought.
Regulatory framework
Meanwhile, work continues on drafting a comprehensive regulatory framework governing both the renaming and naming of streets and squares in the municipality of Paphos. Although the framework has already undergone processing, it has not yet been finalised or approved by the competent bodies.
According to the same sources, only once the framework is officially approved will the Paphos municipal council be in a position to re‑examine this case or any similar request. The initial decision to remove the street name is described by the same sources as hasty, as it preceded the completion of the very regulatory framework that is currently under preparation.
