Turkish Forum

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  • Turkey Ignores its Highest Court’s Verdict on Armenian Patriarch’s Election

    Turkey Ignores its Highest Court’s Verdict on Armenian Patriarch’s Election

    Forum 18 News Service of Oslo, Norway, published a lengthy article by Dr. Mine Yildirim on March 25, 2020, explaining the Turkish government’s interference in the election of the Armenian Patriarch of Turkey, despite the ruling of the Constitutional Court that the government’s interference “was not prescribed by law and not necessary in a democratic society.”

    Two Armenians of Istanbul, Levon Berj Kuzukoglu and Ohannes Garbis Balmumciyan, had initially filed a lawsuit with the Administrative Court on March 27, 2012. The Court rejected the lawsuit, stating that the Patriarchal election can only take place after the death or resignation of the Patriarch who was in a coma, even though the 1863 Ottoman-era regulations stated that the Armenian Patriarch’s election can take place in the case of “the death of the Patriarch, resignation and other.” The applicants appealed this decision, but the Court of Cassation rejected it on November 23, 2015.

    The two Armenians then appealed to the Constitutional Court claiming that the state’s refusal of their request for the election of a new Patriarch violated their right to freedom of religion. The Court made its judgment in favor of the Armenians five years later in May 2019. However, the Turkish leaders ignored the Court’s decision. “While the judgment includes important findings related to the state’s unjustified interference in the internal affairs of the Armenian community, it also raises questions about whether the Constitutional Court is an effective domestic remedy or an actor that conveniently blocks applications to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, thus closing the door to international supervision,” Dr. Yildirim wrote. “The state had prevented the Armenian community from electing its religious leader between 2009, when the then Patriarch Mesrob Mutafyan could no longer perform his duties due to illness, and 2019, when the community finally elected Bishop Sahak Mashalyan as the new Patriarch.”

    It is more than a coincidence that the Constitutional Court gave its verdict on May 22, 2019, following the state’s approval of the Patriarchal election after the March 8, 2019, passing away of Patriarch Mutafyan. The timing of the decision was intended to give the impression that the state was not interfering in the election of a new Patriarch and the Court was not telling the government what to do.

    In its ruling, the Constitutional Court referred “to the 1863 Regulation for the Armenian Millet (ethno-religious community) and international legal provisions, including the European Court on Human Rights (ECHR) and the 1923 Lausanne Peace Treaty’s provisions on the protection of non-Muslims in Turkey,” according to Dr. Yildirim.

    Throughout the existence of the Republic of Turkey, the government made some arbitrary changes during the 1950, 1961, 1990, 1998 and 2019 Patriarchal elections. “The election Directives were based on the Cabinet Decree of 18 September 1961 which had been issued only for that year’s Patriarchal election and which included no provisions for future elections. Despite this, the Interior Ministry has continued to use this Decree,” Dr. Yildirim wrote. The Interior Ministry’s submission to the Constitutional Court stated that the measures taken by the authorities derive from “the state’s positive obligation to organize the religious field.”

    The Constitutional Court countered that argument by ruling that its verdict is based on Article 24 of the Turkish Constitution which protected religious freedom, Article 38 of the Lausanne Treaty which referred to the practice of religion, as well as the various rulings of the European Court of Human Rights. Furthermore, the Constitutional Court ruled that “the appointment of a Patriarchal Vicar-General (in 2010) occurred not as a result of a process that took place within the competing civilian and spiritual initiatives in the Armenian community, but as a result of ‘state pressure that was unconstitutional,’” according to Dr. Yildirim. “In conclusion, the Constitutional Court found that the state has not been able to demonstrate a pressing social need that overrides the ‘spirit of Armenian traditions’ and the ‘Armenian community’s will.’ Therefore the interference in the applicants’ right to freedom of religion or belief by way of refusing the request to hold Patriarchal elections cannot be considered compatible with the requirements of a democratic society, and Article 24 of the Constitution had thus been violated.”

    However, even after the ruling of the Constitutional court, the state continued to interfere in the Patriarchal election. The Turkish Interior Ministry came up with a new restriction, ruling that only those Turkish Armenian bishops who were serving in Turkey at the time could be candidates for the Patriarchal election, thus reducing the number of eligible candidates to two. “This is 100% in contradiction to the Constitutional Court’s judgment,” said Sebu Aslangil, the lawyer in the case. Nevertheless, the Armenian Steering Committee for the Patriarchal election decided not to contest the Interior Ministry’s ruling in order not to further delay the election of a new Patriarch.

    Dr. Yildirim concluded: “The judgment raised the profile of the Constitutional Court as a high court delivering a judgment in line with ECHR jurisprudence. Yet, due to its timing, the judgment had no impact on rectifying the injustice that the Armenian community experienced. It also closed the door for an application to be made to the ECHR in Strasbourg, thus blocking international supervision of the implementation of the judgment.”

    In effect, as the legal axiom states, “Justice delayed is justice denied.”

  • Erdogan’s Denial of Coronavirus Crisis Risks the Lives of 80 Million Turks

    Erdogan’s Denial of Coronavirus Crisis Risks the Lives of 80 Million Turks

    The world as we knew it changed dramatically in the last few weeks due to the unexpected spread of the deadly coronavirus. Hundreds of millions of people around the world are isolated in their homes, scared of coming in contact with anyone who might be carrying the virus.

    Several autocratic heads of states were slow to react to the virus denying that it was a serious problem in their countries. Eventually, as more and more people were infected with the virus, these leaders finally saw the light and started to take urgent measures to protect their people.

    One such irresponsible leader is the President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Michael Rubin, a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, wrote a lengthy article in the March 16, 2020 issue of The National Interest, titled: “Gambling with 80 Million Lives: Why Erdogan Lied about Coronavirus.”

    Rubin referred to Ergin Kocyildirim, a Turkish pediatric cardiothoracic surgeon at the University of Pittsburgh’s School of Medicine, who described in an essay “both the Turkish government’s claim to have established an effective testing kit and the fraudulence of its claims.”

    Even though the Turkish Health Minister initially denied that there were any coronavirus cases in Turkey, after widespread claims of the spread of the virus, Turkish authorities arrested the whistle-blowers. Another 64 Turks were jailed after being accused of disseminating false and provocative information. Furthermore, members of the state-controlled Turkish press panel insisted that “Turkish genes rendered most Turkic people immune,” Rubin reported.

    Rubin attributed Erdogan’s lies about the absence of the coronavirus in Turkey to his “dangerous combination of arrogance and ignorance…. A larger motivation may be fear. While Turkey’s demography is shifting in Erdogan’s favor as conservative families from Turkey’s Anatolian heartland grow relative to the Europeanized Turks from central Istanbul and the Mediterranean coast, the economy is faltering. In 2010, Erdogan promised that by Turkey’s 2023 centennial, Turkey would be one of the world’s top ten economies. Even before coronavirus, Turkey would be lucky to remain in the top 20 as corruption, nepotism, political interference in business, and broad mismanagement have combined to send confidence in Turkey’s economy into the gutter.”

    Another reason Rubin gives for Erdogan’s cover-up of the spread of the coronavirus in Turkey is his fear of the collapse of the tourism industry. “In 2018, the Turkish tourism industry accounted for nearly $30 billion dollars. Just a year ago, Erdogan promised that Turkey would host 50 million tourists, raising that figure by at least 20 percent. Add into the mix Turkey’s investment of approximately $12 billion in a new Istanbul airport, expected to be the world’s largest, and one in which Erdogan and his family are reportedly heavily invested. It seems Erdogan sought to downplay reports of coronavirus in order to encourage tourist dollars to continue to flow. In doing so, he sought not only to play Russians, Europeans, and Americans for fools, but also endangered their lives. Unfortunately for Turkey, it will be Turks who will most pay the price as Turkey threatens to become the virus’ next big cluster. One Turkish doctor estimates that as many as 60 percent of Turks may now be infected and that Erdogan is retarding testing in order to prevent the scale of the catastrophe from becoming known. Deaths were inevitable, but Erdogan’s dishonesty will likely cause many thousand additional deaths in his country added to the dozens Turkey reportedly has already experienced but will not officially report.”

    To make matters worse, as in several other countries, the Turkish public has invented fake cures for the coronavirus. Nazlan Ertan wrote in the Al-Monitor website that Turks are now resorting to cannabis and sheep soup to fight the vicious virus.

    Abdurrahman Dilipak, a prominent Islamist columnist for the daily Yeni Akit newspaper, suggested that cannabis “can create a major barrier to the global spread of the virus.” Dilipak, who has 700,000 Twitter followers — about six times more than his newspaper’s circulation, also urged his Turkish readers to avoid receiving any vaccines from overseas because they would likely contain sterilization agents, linking such vaccines to an Aryan plot.

    After a Turkish professor suggested the ‘kelle pacha’ (sheep soup) cure, many Turks flocked to local restaurants preferring the soup to social distancing. “The outbreak of coronavirus led to high demand for kelle pacha,” Hurriyet reported on March 16. “After the news articles, the kelle pacha orders both at the restaurant and as take-away have increased,” said a waiter at Ismet Usta, a popular restaurant in downtown Izmir.

    “All of these remedies — from gorging your throat with vinegar to whatever soup, has no use,” Mehmet Ceylan, the president of the nongovernmental Infectious Diseases Association, said in an NTV news program on March 16. “These are unscientific and should not be spread [through the media or word of mouth].”

    Fortunately, in recent days, there has been a turnaround in the approach of Turkish officials to the virus. They are now urging the population to stay indoors in self isolation to avoid more infections. I hope that these measures are not too late and millions of Turks are not already at risk. The announced numbers of 1236 infections and 30 deaths due to the coronavirus do not reflect the real figures.

    At this critical time, we wish everyone good health, regardless of nationality, religion or skin color. We hope that this malicious disease has inadvertently helped to bring people and nations closer to fight together the common invisible enemy.

  • Turkish President Orders Minority Leaders to Sign a Propaganda Letter

    Turkish President Orders Minority Leaders to Sign a Propaganda Letter

    It has been the long-standing practice of the Turkish government to pressure the leaders of minority religious groups in Turkey to issue public statements in defense of Turkish policies and war efforts or to condemn Armenian Genocide resolutions adopted by various foreign countries.

    The leaders of the Armenian, Assyrian, Greek and Jewish communities are used to this practice and have willingly complied with the Turkish demands knowing that not doing so can only spell trouble for them personally and for their respective communities.

    In the past, such orders were given to the minority leaders in a more delicate manner. For example, a Turkish official would either call or visit the Armenian Patriarch in Istanbul and discreetly suggest that it may be a good idea for him to issue a public announcement on some political issue. Naturally, the previous Patriarchs have never refused such suggestions which are more like orders from the Turkish government. The only difference between the reactions of different Patriarchs has been to somewhat soften or harden the language of their announcements.

    What we are experiencing now is completely different. The autocratic government of Pres. Recep Tayyip Erdogan has become so tyrannical that last week it sent a letter to the four minority religious leaders in Turkey asking that they sign it and send it back to the President’s Communication Office. All four immediately complied.

    The minor surprise was that a week before Pres. Erdogan sent a letter to the minority religious leaders, the Armenian Patriarchate of Turkey issued an announcement basically supporting the sentiments expressed in Erdogan’s subsequent letter. The Patriarch should not be blamed neither for writing his own propaganda letter in advance nor signing the government’s dictated letter. After all, the Patriarch knows what is expected of him and made his announcement without waiting for official orders.

    The issue in this case is the Turkish military’s recent invasion of Northern Syria which resulted in the deaths of scores of Turkish soldiers. The Armenian Patriarchate issued the following statement:

    “The attack in Idlib [Syria], resulting in the martyrdom of 33 heroic Turkish soldiers, caused a great shock in our country. Wholeheartedly sharing the pain of our nation, we seek God’s mercy for the martyrs. Our heroic army is the guarantor of our state’s existence. To all the members of the army who have lost their comrades-in-arms we urge endurance. We also continue to pray that peace may reign in the world and particularly in our region. In the name of the Armenian Patriarchate of Turkey, the Religious Council, and all members of the community, we would like to share with the public our belief that it will be possible to overcome this difficult process in an atmosphere of unity and solidarity.”

    The Patriarchate subsequently signed the more propagandistic letter drafted by the office of Pres. Erdogan. Here are excerpts from that two-page letter:

    “Our country has always been a pioneer of the steps that serve peace in its region and in the world, inspired by its ancient history and deep-rooted civilization. Since our War of Independence, very important struggles have been carried out for our independence, security and welfare.
    “In each of these struggles, the spirit of mobilization revealed by our cherished nation constitutes a unique example for the whole world. As non-governmental organizations, we fully support the steps of our state, which are based on the country’s security and interests, and that also protect the establishment and maintenance of peace in our region….
    “We argue that this struggle to dry terrorism at its source should be continued with the same determination. We know that to question Turkey’s presence in Syria means to ignore our border security.
    “Various countries’ approach in favor of terrorist groups and in support of regional instability has shown that we often fight this alone.
     “However, our nation, which has a foresight, has always been and will continue to be with its state. As non-governmental organizations, we take pride in being part of this cherished nation. In line with the developments in our region, we state that we are behind every decision taken by our state against these cruel murderers and monsters for the peace and security of our country and we support every step taken. No one should doubt that we will overcome all difficulties in unity and solidarity, as it has been until today.
    “Turkey is a country of peace. Turkey is the key to peace in the region and the world.
    “Despite all the obstacles and attacks on our way, we would like to announce to the world that we are ready to support our state and army, and struggle with them when necessary, in order to protect our national security, prevent new humanitarian crises and establish peace in our region.
    “We are once again shouting to the world that we will protect this homeland, under all circumstances, and struggle with the integration of the state-nation, hand in hand, shoulder to shoulder.”

    However, not all Turkish citizens support their government’s invasion of Syria. Cumhuriyet newspaper wrote a scathing article accusing Pres. Erdogan of pressuring the minorities.

    Toma Chelik, a member of the Turkish Parliament representing HDP, Kurdish-affiliated party, sent a letter to the Vice President of Turkey, asking the following questions:

    n  Who prepared the text of the President’s letter to the minorities?

    n  Who decided to send the letter to the minorities?

    n  To what other groups was this letter sent?

    n  Will those refusing to sign the letter be punished?

    At a time when thousands of innocent citizens of Turkey and dozens of journalists have been thrown in jail by the Erdogan regime, anyone who does not obey the diktats of Erdogan risks incarceration. While Pres. Erdogan is unable to come to an agreement with Western Europe, the United States and Russia on the conflict with Syria, it is much easier for him to take his frustration and revenge on innocent people within Turkey.

  • Turkish News Summary

    Turkish News Summary

    Around the world, liberal democracy is in retreat. The West is divided, and Caesarism is flourishing. Why?

    Turkish News Summary
    and news blackout

    Claire Berlinski

    I’m safely back from Mauritania, where I had no access to the news at all. It was just me, my family, and five Moors. My life was like this:

    I was so much happier that way.

    Next week I’ll tell you all about it, but for now, I want to reprint a letter I received from a correspondent who wishes to remain anonymous. The news from Idlib and Turkey, which is cataclysmic, is scarcely being covered in the US amid the Coronavirus panic and the American election. It should be, and since my correspondent does such a good job of it, I thought I’d pass it on.

    He writes:

    1.    Both Turkey’s and Russia’s security councils have met. The Turkish security council did not issue a statement, though spokesmen have continued to refer to an attack on Turkish troops by Syrian rather forces rather than by anyone else and President Erdoğan has uttered the traditional revenge formula, “Their blood will not stay on the ground.” But there have been no clear details about what happened, where, or when.

    2.    The Russian Security Council met later and did issue a statement, in which it essentially blamed the Turks for the deaths that had taken place, saying that no Turkish soldiers had been killed in the agreed observation posts in Idlib. Those who had died did so because they were involved in or close to terrorist attacks on Syrian forces

    3.    33 deaths  of  Turkish soldiers in Idlib have been officially acknowledged. Soldiers sending home messages have, from the moment the news broke, been claiming much higher figures, originally 86 (the figure circulating inside the Turkish civil service) and 150 (from soldiers on the front.)

    There is no way of telling whether or not these figures are correct. Families have also revealed that they were getting farewell calls from their sons serving at the front over the last few days saying that they were being bombarded and would soon die.

    4.    Turkey has not blamed the Russians or declared hostilities against them. Its accusations are confined to the Syrian forces, against whom it says it is retaliating. Instead the AKP proposes to hold a secret session of the Grand National Assembly. This is traditionally done to protect information of impending military or security initiatives, but in this case the motive appears to be to conceal the facts of this catastrophe from Turkish public opinion. (Two years ago when two Turkish soldiers were burnt alive by ISIS, the government similarly successfully concealed news of the event by threatening in public to send anyone mentioning it to prison, even though a video of the murders was available on the Internet.) Metin Gurcan, the strategic studies commentator, has boldly issued a personal condemnation of the secret session. Elsewhere, the government has warned that messages on the social media are being followed and may lead to prosecution. (A specialist department of the police was recently created to do this.)

    5.    Yesterday evening around midnight its time, Turkey opened its borders to Syrian refugees(those already in the country and not those still in Idlib) and provided free transport by local municipalities for them to cross into the EU via Greece. Response from the EU to this seems so far to have been muted. There is absolutely no rational or moral explanation for a policy move of this kind. Greece is inevitably repelling the would-be immigrants with tear gas.  Despite it, a number of Western commentators have called for international support for Turkey and its president against Syria and Russia.

    6.    Turkey has appealed to both the EU and NATO for assistance and has had expressions of sympathy. It is hard to see how NATO could possibly go to the assistance of an invading country who troops are involved in a conflict with the legitimate government of that country—though of course other NATO members have also long broken international law by stationing their troops there and assisting in attempts to partition it, opening the way for a steady succession of international problems, including of course the displacement of millions of people. Turkey’s motive for appealing to NATO may be largely cosmetic—to give it the opportunity to proclaim to its population that the EU and NATO are its opponents.

    7.    Turkey seems to be planning to resolve the issue with a summit meeting between Presidents Putin and Erdoğan. President Putin will presumably only agree to this when he is sure that there will be a full Turkish climbdown. Those looking for a historical parallel might recall the Battle of Sadowa/Königratz in 1866 when Bismarck fought and cowed Austria-Hungary into permanent acceptance of Prussian, later German, dominance.

    8.    The Turkish public is mostly well aware that a catastrophe has happened and that this is the result of policies by one or more specific individuals. This is not good news. It implies that as life returns to normal there will have to be another emergency crackdown on opposition activists and media—those that remain, and it will probably be harsher than that which followed the Gülen-led attempted coup of July 2015.

    9.    British and American news coverage will continue to focus on transgender rights, Harvey Weinstein, and Prince Andrew and other overwhelmingly important issues. Governments will continue to try and placate Ankara while keeping a safe distance.

    More from me soon as I ease back into Western life. Mauritania was extraordinary, and I have a lot to say about it. But unfortunately, I came back to a gravely ill cat—the Smudge has suffered a massive stroke. In the coming days I’ll be nursing her, either back to health, which growingly seems unlikely, or toward the most peaceful end I can give her.

    As anyone who has loved an animal knows, it is unspeakably sad. We must endure our going hence, even as our coming hither: Ripeness is all.

    If a reader wishes to contribute to the veterinary bills, or other bills, I’d be very grateful. I hadn’t budgeted for them. This is the link, and thank you.

    I will have fascinating tales from Mauritania to tell you soon.

  • Remnants of an Old Armenian Village Near Ankara

    Remnants of an Old Armenian Village Near Ankara

    Argun Konuk, a 24-year-old Turkish travel and history enthusiast, published a recent article about the Armenian village of Stanoz located near Ankara.

    Konuk reported that Stanoz was “once a prosperous Armenian village in the Ottoman era, now, nothing but ruins and tombstones…. Old Armenian manuscripts reveal that the first inhabitants of the village of Stanoz came from Cilicia in the 15th century. As records show, the population of Stanoz before World War I was 3142 people (668 families) and consisted of Armenians only. Up until its abandonment, Stanoz remained an Armenian-speaking settlement.”

    The residents of the village of Stanoz were skilled in carpet weaving, embroidery and leather processing. Furthermore, they produced fabric from goat hair which was in high demand in Europe. The villagers were also knowledgeable about agriculture, cattle-breeding and construction.

    Konuk also reported that unfortunately the only things that remain in Stanoz now are the graveyard, a stone bridge, and ruins of an Armenian Church. The damage was mostly caused by Turkish gravediggers or treasure hunters. The size of the graveyard keeps shrinking as the Turkish neighbors have been encroaching on the property.

    Stanoz was mentioned in the journals of many travelers for centuries. An 18th Century British military officer, Frederick Burnaby, reported that during his visit to Stanoz, one of the Armenian priests told him that Armenians of Stanoz live in peace with people who practice Islam and Judaism.

    Konuk also reported that “the well-known Turkish traveler Evliya Celebi shared remarkable anecdotes in his journal about this village after his visit in 1643. He spoke of Stanoz as a wealthy town with impressive productivity. Furthermore, he shared that Stanoz had a thousand dwellings, a big bazaar, a fully functioning Turkish bath and even a laundromat.”

    There were three religious buildings in Stanoz: Sourp Prgich Church, Karasoun Manoug Church, and a Protestant Church. There were two Armenian schools: Sourp Ghevontyan School with 140 male and 40 female students and Lusignan School with 50 male and 35 female students.

    Due to the Genocide and deportation of Armenians by Ottoman Turkey, many Stanoz residents were either killed or fled the area leaving the village as a ghost town.

    The writer found that currently only three Armenians live in Stanoz. Kevork Balabian, who was born in Stanoz, told Konuk: “Stanoz had 1200 households and a population of 7-8 thousand. Ottomans valued Stanoz a lot. At the time, the Armenian population of Stanoz migrated to modern cities such as Istanbul, Marseille and Beirut. Only my wife and I, who came from Hatay, and our daughter live in the region. I go there often as I have a farm and a vineyard. Some treasure hunters come there in hopes of pillaging and finding some valuable artifacts but they are afraid of me so they mostly leave. We have graves there and I still look after them”

    An old Turk told Kunuk: “We all grew up with Armenians, went to the same schools. Back then if you were hungry, you could easily knock on an Armenian’s door and ask for food and it was the same for them. We did many things together. There was an Armenian doctor whose name was Mihran Kiremitchi. Every single child who was born in this region owes him so much as he cared for everyone and cured everyone’s child regardless of ethnicity and social class. We never saw him asking for money from anyone. And again, weddings, funerals, everything else, we did together with the Armenians. We even celebrated religious holidays together. They used to paint eggs and we used to sacrifice animals. We miss them.”

    An Armenian by the name of M. Suryan wrote in Aravod newspaper on April 28, 1919: “Some of the houses of Armenian residents who were exiled during World War I were looted and robbed. A considerable part of Albanians and Bosnians resettled in these abandoned homes. The new residents demolished many of the structures and provided firewood by removing wooden pillars, floor-ceiling boards of many homes. Moreover, instead of acquiring wood from the forest, they cut the fruit trees in the gardens to warm up. The aftermath was appalling as this notable village became dilapidated ruins. Gradz Kar, a small Armenian village, which consisted of twenty houses, located an hour away from Stanoz, also suffered the same fate.”

    Konuk is highly offended that Turkish gravediggers have violated the sanctity of the Armenian graves: “The graveyard is particularly in such an abject condition that human bones are scattered around the graves that are pillaged by the treasure hunters and many of the tombstones are damaged. The tombstones are priceless. Each of them represent historical importance, however, their current state is heartbreaking. Even now after devastating centuries, there are still many artifacts and historical objects lying around. For me the most appalling thing was to see some human bones scattered around the graves. In hopes of finding gold or other valuable goods, treasure hunters dig the graves illegally and throw around the bones of the Armenians who are resting there eternally. Undeniably, this is an extreme case of disrespect.”

    Konuk concluded his report with the following heart-warming words: “We Turks lived with Armenians in peace for centuries and I believe this place should carry the same importance as other Turkish cemeteries. Regardless of ethnicity and religion, the Turkish state should have taken measures to protect the memory of this village. Unfortunately, the future of Stanoz seems bleak. It is quite sad to see that this old and notable settlement completely vanished…. After five months of my first visit, I decided to go there again and it shocked me to see that many tombstones were missing! The Armenians of Stanoz were our kin. Who knows what stories and secrets this settlement has to tell us. Unfortunately we will never learn them.”

  • Turks Attack Each Other: Cypriot Turkish Leader Criticizes Turkey

    Turks Attack Each Other: Cypriot Turkish Leader Criticizes Turkey

    Turkish columnist Orhan Kemal Cengiz wrote an article in the Turkish website “al-Monitor” on February 18, 2020, titled: “Why is Turkish Cypriot leader declared ‘enemy’ in Turkey?” The article provided the details of the antagonism between the government of Turkey and the leader of Turkish Cyprus.

    Ever since the Turkish occupation of Northern Cyprus in 1974, the Republic of Turkey has spent billions of dollars and stationed thousands of Turkish troops to preserve its foothold on the island.

    In recent months, the Turkish media has publicized the hostility between the government of Turkey and the Turkish Cypriot leader. “Turkish officials and politicians visiting the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, which is recognized as a state only by Ankara, have refused to meet with its president, Mustafa Akinci, since October,” wrote Cengiz.

    The conflict started with the Turkish invasion of Northern Syria last October, when Akinci dared to criticize the “Sultan” of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan: “Now, even if we call it [the Turkish invasion of Syria] Operation Peace Spring, what is being spilled is not water but blood. For this reason, it is my greatest wish that dialogue and diplomacy come into play as soon as possible.” Hundreds of Turks in Turkey have been imprisoned for criticizing the Turkish military campaign in Syria. Going beyond Syria, Akinci expressed his disagreement with Turkey regarding its invasion of Northern Cyprus: “Even though we called it Operation Peace, it was a war and blood was spilled in 1974.” According to Cengiz, “by drawing a comparison between the two interventions, Akinci was obviously trying to say that military operations in foreign lands create lasting problems and, therefore, he was inviting Turkey to consider other options in Syria.”

    Even though Akinci’s criticisms of the Turkish military invasions were well-meaning, Erdogan, who does not tolerate dissent, was furious, stating that Akinci had “exceeded his limits” and adding that the electorate will soon teach him a “lesson.” Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay also condemned the Turkish Cypriot leader. Cengiz reported that “in Northern Cyprus, meanwhile, Akinci received death threats, for which he requested a judicial investigation.”

    Columnist Cengiz further reported that “Akinci’s remarks made him a scapegoat in Turkey and fueled an unprecedented wave of reactions, the harshest that any Northern Cyprus representative has ever seen. [Turkish] MHP leader Devlet Bahceli called on Akinci to immediately resign. ‘Akinci and his supporters should not forget that Cyprus is Turkish and will remain Turkish,’ Bahceli said. He also suggested that Akinci move to the Greek Cypriot south. AKP spokesman Omer Celik urged Akinci to apologize, while Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said the Northern Cyprus leader was being ‘hostile to Turkey’ and that he had never seen ‘such a dishonest politician’ in his life. With the tone set like that by top politicians, pro-government newspapers were even harsher. ‘The Crusaders’ Akinci should resign immediately,’ one paper said, while another declared that Akinci was ‘like an enemy.’”

    Cengiz explained in his article that “it is Turkey that pays the bills in Northern Cyprus through direct and indirect financial aid. Therefore, Cypriot Turks should always be grateful to Ankara. Turkey is ‘the mother’ and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is her ‘baby.’ Anything that goes beyond this notion of subordination would threaten the status quo.”

    In an interview with The Guardian on February 6, 2020, Akinci warned the “permanent partition of its [Cyprus’s] Greek and Turkish communities unless an agreement is swiftly reached involving an ‘equitable’ federal solution.” Akinci said he disagreed with Erdogan’s vision of the relationship between Ankara and Nicosia as one of “mother and baby…. I want independent, brotherly relations,” he explained. He acknowledged the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus had to do more to make its economy less reliant on Turkey, which pays the government’s bills. To do this he needed support from the [Greek] south, Akinci told The Guardian.

    “Akinci — who on Wednesday evening [Feb. 5, 2020] launched his re-election campaign — said the only viable solution to Cyprus’s nearly half century of division was reunification under a federal ‘roof’…. ‘If this failed to happen,’ Akinci told The Guardian, ‘the north would grow increasingly dependent on Ankara and could end up being swallowed up, as a de facto Turkish province.’”

    “Akinci’s vision, which is shared by many Turkish Cypriots, calls for a bi-communal, bi-zonal Cyprus with political equality and a single ‘personality,’ he told The Guardian. It is based on a shared identity of being islanders of Cyprus, rather than being Turkish or Greek,” Cengiz wrote.

    “Akinci’s likely election run-off rival is Ersin Tatar, an outspoken pro-Ankara populist who opposes reconciliation with the south. Tatar, the current prime minister, favors a two-state solution. He enjoys strong support from Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and from settlers who have arrived in unquantified numbers from the mainland, changing the island’s religious and cultural makeup,” The Guardian wrote.

    “I’m not going to be a second Tayfur Sökmen,” Akinci told The Guardian, referring to the president of Hatay, who in the 1930s merged his republic — formerly part of French-mandated Syria — with Turkey after a referendum.

    The dispute between Turkey and the Turkish Cypriot leader is deviating the Turkish government’s attention away from a slew of other serious conflicts Turkey has with Armenia, Iraq, Syria, Iran, Libya, Greece and Cyprus.