A statement was issued by the office of Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhürman shortly before his meeting with President of the Republic Nikos Christodoulides in the presence of the United Nations regarding the Cyprus issue.
In the statement, Mr Erhürman referred to his planned visit to a school in the Karpasia area attended by Greek Cypriot students.
Clarifications regarding the planned school visit
Mr Erhürman stated: “We decided approximately ten to fifteen days ago to visit the school attended by Greek Cypriot students. Our colleagues were working on arranging the programme. It is entirely normal for us to schedule a visit to a school in Karpasia. For this reason, we made no particular effort to keep it ‘confidential’. It appears that our counterparts in the south were also informed of this programme, as three or four days ago they asked whether we were planning such a visit. Since the programme had not yet been finalised, we replied that ‘it is not yet on the schedule’. After the arrangements were completed, yesterday we officially informed the specific school about our visit, and we also informed the Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Gymnasium in the area, as we will visit that school as well. As the matter had previously been raised by our interlocutors in the south, and since we have nothing to hide, we also informed them as of yesterday.”
Reaction to media reporting
The statement continued: “However, in a newspaper published today in the south, prior to today’s meeting, a report stated that ‘Christodoulides, at today’s meeting with Tufan Erhürman, will raise the problems faced by those living in the Karpasia area and particularly the operational difficulties of the school in Rizokarpaso’. We are the ones who decided to go and, of course, we will go. This decision was not taken in response to any request from the south. Moreover, it was not secret. We have no obligation to inform anyone in the south in order to visit a school in Karpasia. Nevertheless, since we were asked, we responded sincerely. The attempt to transform such a clearly transparent matter, through media manipulation, into a narrative that ‘we requested it and they complied’ is far removed from seriousness, maturity and sincerity. Similar methods have been attempted several times during my four-month term.”
Statement on his role and responsibilities
Concluding, Mr Erhürman stated: “It is my duty to explain the truth not only to Turkish Cypriots but also to Greek Cypriots. Naturally, I will convey this to Mr Christodoulides in today’s meeting. We will not engage in games of accusations through the media nor deal in manipulation. We have no need to do so. We will continue our course with patience, composure, seriousness and sincerity.”