Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhürman commented on Monday on the practice of the Cyprus EU Presidency of taking visiting EU officials to peek at the north through a hole in the wall of the dividing line.
In a post on his social media account, Erhürman said there are a number of issues that have been doing the rounds in the public sphere that he wished to comment on in the interests of transparency.
Peephole ritual
He said people are asking for his thoughts on the so-called “ritual of looking through a hole” that takes place on the occasion of Cyprus’ EU Presidency. A reference to the old practice – recently brought back to life by the Christodoulides government – of taking visiting foreign officials for a Green Line tour and looking at the north through a peephole among the barbed wire and empty oil barrels.
“Honestly, under today’s conditions, however I look at it, I cannot say that I take it very seriously or find it particularly serious. After decades of unresolved issues and years of stagnation, creating a climate for a solution in Cyprus – and achieving the solution itself – is a very serious matter. In line with our people’s will for a solution, we continue our contacts and efforts with seriousness and patience,” said Erhürman.
Talks not frozen
The Turkish Cypriot leader also noted that he has been receiving questions on whether the peace talks are frozen. He wrote that they are not frozen, adding that discussions at the technical level continue, along with diplomatic contacts. The UN Personal Envoy María Ángela Holguín Cuéllar is expected in Cyprus at the end of the month.
“We are ready for the meeting. In line with our results-oriented approach, our request is that technical level work be accelerated before that meeting and that Ms Holguín’s visit here produces concrete outcomes aimed at creating a climate for a solution,” he said.
His comments come on the back of an article in Turkish Cypriot daily Avrupa (Europe) which wrote, under the headline “Negotiations frozen”, that Erhürman continues the same stance as former leader Ersin Tatar. His four-point methodology proposal has resulted once again in the negotiation process being frozen, wrote the paper.
Direct flights important
The third issue Erhürman commented on was direct flights.
“In essence, this is the situation: direct flights are very important for us and abandoning our demands on this issue is not an option,” he said.
However, the Turkish Cypriot leader warned that “this should not be turned into an excuse for the failure to resolve all the problems we face in tourism”.
He added: “If there is a view that ‘there is nothing else we can do for tourism unless there are direct flights,’ I do not agree with that view.”
Meanwhile, according to reports in the north, Erhürman’s representative in the talks, Mehmet Dânâ, recently held contacts in the United States. He met with representatives to the United Nations of the United States, the United Kingdom, France, the Russian Federation, Germany, Pakistan, Liberia, and Panama, to discuss the Cyprus issue, as well as with UN Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo.