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EU citizens
without rights: KTTO
Europe Day event
discusses the EU
from the eyes of
Turkish Cypriots.
KTTO organized a
seminar on 9 May
2013 on the occasion
of Europe Day.
Annually celebrated
to highlight peace
and unity in Europe,
since 2004, Europe
Day is a bitter
reminder for Turkish
Cypriots of their
unique and unfair
position as citizens
of the EU without
the political,
economic and social
rights EU
citizenship entails
and of the failure
of the EU to
implement its
promises to end
their isolation.
The seminar featured
a number of speakers
representing
different parts of
the Turkish Cypriot
people who shared
with the national
and international
guests attending the
event their feelings
and expectations
about living as a
“Turkish Cypriot
citizen of the
European Union”. The
audience included
the President of the
Turkish Republic of
Northern Cyprus Dr
Derviş Eroğlu, the
Leader of the main
opposition
Republican Turkish
Party Özkan
Yorgancıoğlu, the
Heads of foreign
Missions in Cyprus
as well as the
representatives of
the European
Commission.
The speakers,
including KTTO
President Günay
Çerkez, Members of
Parliament Özdil
Nami and Hasan
Taçoy, and President
Eroğlu, all
underlined the
enormous burden
Turkish Cypriots
continue to carry
living under
political and
economic isolation
despite the promises
made by the EU in
2004 to end their
isolation following
their affirmative
vote on the UN Plan
for the unification
of Cyprus and joint
EU membership.
KTTO President
Çerkez opened the
event by stating
that “as a solution
partner of the EU,
KTTO took it as its
role to offer a
platform for Turkish
Cypriots to share
what they feel about
the EU with our
European friends.”
Çerkez said he
wished Turkish
Cypriots could be in
a position to
“celebrate” EU Day,
which in today’s
state of affairs has
almost become an
event that
“commemorates” the
rights they have
been excluded from
for years.
Çerkez also drew the
audience’s attention
to the fact that
Turkish Cypriots
were increasingly
losing trust in the
European Union
having seen that
although the EU
promised to end
their isolation, it
was in fact
punishing them with
its inaction while
granting their Greek
Cypriot counterparts
with even further
openings. “As
Turkish Cypriot
citizens of the EU,
we cannot even
benefit from the
basic rights of
Union citizenship.
Our business people
cannot trade freely
with other European
markets. Our
university students
cannot participate
in the Erasmus
project. What does
it mean to be an EU
citizen without
rights? It means
nothing. It is high
time the EU stopped
allowing the Greek
Cypriot authorities
to continue their
political and
psycohological cold
war in Cyprus”,
warned Çerkez.
TRNC President
Eroğlu echoed Mr
Çerkez’s words,
saying Turkish
Cypriots wanted to
be fully integrated
into the European
Union as they felt
and acted European.
He reiterated his
leadership’s
committment to both
the European Union
and the peace
process in Cyprus
while adding that
the Turkish Cypriots
were nevertheless
disappointed with
both processes that
continue to leave
them out in the
cold.
In his speech,
Turkish Cypriot
Member of Parliament
Özdil Nami referred
to the ongoing
process of the
harmonization of
legislation in
Northern Cyprus,
drawing attention to
the fact that while
ordinary EU
Candidate States
conduct their EU
harmonization
activities on the
basis of a joint
document, the TRNC
carried it out
independently of
such a basis.
Nami also underlined
the vital issue of
the political
representation of
Turkish Cypriots in
the EU institutions,
namely the European
Parliament which has
so far denied this
right to Turkish
Cypriots unlike the
Council of Europe
where Turkish
Cypriots can
represent themselves
through their own
freely-elected
representatives.
“Turkish Cypriots
are the only EU
citizens who do not
have their own
representatives who
can speak for them
at the European
Parliament. It is
high time the
European Parliament
acted to repair this
democratic
deficiency. We hope
and expect that the
growing support for
this among the
political groups in
the Parliament will
soon result in
concrete steps to
invite Turkish
Cypriot
representatives to
represent their own
people”, said Nami.
Another Member of
Parliament Hasan
Taçoy complemented
Nami’s words,
emphasizing that it
was vital for the
issue of Turkish
Cypriots’ political
representation to be
dealt with before
the 2014 European
Parliament
elections. Taçoy
also pointed out to
the ongoing
obstacles facing
Turkish Cypriots in
the absence of
direct trade and
direct flights, and
underlined that the
longer these
problems were left
untreated, the more
difficult to repair
the loss of trust in
the EU would be.
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