‘UN chief once again refrains from emphasizing inhumane isolation of Turkish Cypriots’, says Northern Cyprus

By Mehmet Kemal Firik

LEFKOSA, Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (AA) - The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) decried reports Friday that were presented by the UN chief to the Security Council.

"The UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres once again refrained from emphasizing the inhumane isolation and embargo on Turkish Cypriots as in previous reports,” TRNC Foreign Ministry said in a statement, regarding reports on activities of the UN Peacekeeping Force (UNFICYP) and the goodwill mission in Cyprus.

The statement noted that Guterres tried to reveal all the events that took place on the island and in the buffer zone during the six-month term.

The Foreign Ministry said the report that could not openly discuss outdated restrictions on Turkish Cypriots who are equal owners of the island, remained far from the truth.

It argued that the concept of “Intra-Island Trade” which is included in the report as a solution to restrictions on Turkish Cypriots, serves Greek policies that prevent Turkish Cypriots from doing direct trade with the world.

It said it will not be possible to reach an agreement between the two parties unless the status of both sides on the island is put on equal footing on the ground of international law and the vested rights of Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus are accepted.

The Foreign Ministry underlined that the reference to the “Cyprus Government” which has become a mere Greek administration and lost its legitimacy, and statements that the Greek Cypriot administration covers one-third of the budget of the peacekeeping force are not only contrary to the “principle of neutrality of the UN” but manifest that the UN has become part of the problem in Cyprus.

“Besides, we will never accept the expressions used in the reports that would cause one party on the island to be described as 'state' and the other party as 'society’,” it said.

Regarding the draft agreement, the Status of Forces Agreement, which was presented by the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus to the UN, it said: “In this regard, the necessary works by our Ministry will continue to establish a reconciliation model that will register the existence of our country and satisfy our rightful demands."

- Decades-long Cyprus dispute

Cyprus has been mired in a decades-long dispute between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, despite a series of diplomatic efforts by the UN to achieve a comprehensive settlement.

Ethnic attacks starting in the early 1960s forced Turkish Cypriots to withdraw into enclaves for their safety.

In 1974, a Greek Cypriot coup aimed at Greece's annexation of the island led to Türkiye's military intervention as a guarantor power to protect Turkish Cypriots from persecution and violence. As a result, the TRNC was founded in 1983.

It has seen an on-and-off peace process in recent years, including a failed 2017 initiative in Switzerland under the auspices of guarantor countries Türkiye, Greece and the UK.