By Christos Georgiou
Unprecedented debates and exchanges are unfolding within the Turkish Cypriot community ahead of next Sunday’s leadership election. In recent days, Ersin Tatar has faced not only predictable criticism from his political rival Tufan Erhürman, but also a storm of objections from members of the family of the late Rauf Denktaş, the founding leader of the Turkish Cypriots.
The controversy was sparked by Denktaş’s daughter, Ender Denktaş Vangöl, who, in a widely shared social media post reproduced by Turkish Cypriot news outlets, accused both Tatar and his so-called “government” of betraying the political legacy of her father. “The path of Denktaş was not this path,” she wrote pointedly.
Vangöl said she was deeply disturbed by what she called the political “exploitation” of her father’s name:
“You can neither know our father better than we do, nor love or understand him more. We are the ones who lived with him.”
She also raised concerns about the demographic changes, the arbitrary granting of ‘citizenships’, and the construction of the presidential complex (Külliye) at a time when, she said, the real problems of Turkish Cypriots are being ignored. She further criticised the recent use of the term “Turkish State of Cyprus” without prior consultation with the Turkish Cypriot side or the “parliament”.
Serdar Denktaş joins the criticism
Rauf Denktaş’s son, Serdar Denktaş, also spoke out sharply against Tatar’s policies. Continuing the family’s line of criticism, the veteran Turkish Cypriot politician denounced Tatar’s reference to “offensive diplomacy,” calling it mere propaganda for domestic consumption.
He also rejected Tatar’s claim that he is “walking in Denktaş’s footsteps”:
“The path of the Founding President was one of steadfastness and integrity,” Serdar said. “I address my people against those who wish to change the name of our state.”
According to him, Tatar’s concept of “offensive diplomacy” is fundamentally flawed:
“Diplomacy refers to relations with other countries, not with your own people. When I heard ‘offensive diplomacy’, I thought perhaps we would see some outward-looking initiative after five years. But it turned out to mean diplomacy with our own people. How can you conduct diplomacy with your own citizens? Even with Turkey, we don’t do diplomacy, we consult. Diplomacy means explaining yourself to foreign nations. That’s not what we’re seeing here.”
The Denktaş family has expressed particular outrage at Tatar’s repeated insistence that he is “following the path of Rauf Denktaş.”
“The path of our Founding President was not this one. His path was one of firm stance. When something was wrong, even with the Motherland, he would discuss it. He never said, ‘There’s nothing we can do; that’s what Turkey wants.’ He took responsibility but never allowed anyone to speak negatively about Turkey.”
Serdar Denktaş also mocked Tatar’s claim to have been Rauf Denktaş’ “student”:
“You met him three or five times and now you claim to have been his student, to be following his path, yet you leave his statue and museum abandoned in the centre of Nicosia. And you let your trolls portray me, his own son, as ‘anti-Denktaş’.”
Finally, Serdar accused Tatar of exploiting the base of the National Unity Party (UBP) and sent a pointed message to its voters:
“If you believe the people currently leading the party and the state are fit for the job, then I have nothing more to say. But we don’t deserve this situation. They say I’m ‘disturbing my father’s bones’. Yes, my father’s bones are indeed disturbed by this disgrace.”