Time has Come to Recognize the State of Turkish Cyprus & End the Persecution of the People of T.R.N.C – Dilsad Senol – Shakes the Conscience of the World

Tazeen Akhtar

“Sense of justice requires acknowledgement of fact that two separate states and two separate peoples exist on the island and reaffirmation our inherent rights, sovereign equality and equal international status.”

“Sense of conscience requires international community to abandon unjust and inhumane isolations imposed against Turkish Cypriot people.”

“The time has come to put an end to the persecution of the Turkish Cypriot people.”

“The time has come for the recognition of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus!”

This is what the Representative of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), Ms Dilsad Senol called upon the world on Friday, 15 Nov 2024 at an event in connection with 41st anniversary of the establishment of  their independent state as a concrete expression of their rightful freedom and sovereignty.

The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) is celebrating the anniversary worldwide. TRNC Representative in Islamabad, Ms. Dilsad Senol and Mr. Akin Can Senol hosted a magnificent reception to mark the day and commemorate the sacrifices of the leaders, people and soldiers of the Republic who contributed a lot to the independence of their nation and thwarted the aggression and  illegal occupation of the Greeks in 1974 with support of the Republic of Turkiye.

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High officials of government of Pakistan attended the reception. Mohammad Aamir Khan, Director General of Afghanistan, Iran and Türkiye Division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan was chief guest. Barr­ister Aqeel Malik, Prime Minister’s Adviser on Law, former chairman Senate Standing Committee on Defense,Mushahid Hussain Syed,Education Minister Balochistan, Ms Raheela Durrani, Secretary General Interparliamentary Union IPU Senator Sitara Ayaz, Senator Nuzhat Sadiq, many other  Senators, Parliamentarians, Members of the Chambers of Commerce and representatives of Press were also invited.

It was a well attended event that depicted the growing bilateral cooperation between TRNC and Pakistan in different sectors including education, G2G, B2B and P2P. Commonalities of history, culture and religion play supportive role to connect the people of two states.

National anthems of both countries were played and a documentary on the independence and development of TRNC was screened in the reception.

Mr. & Mrs. Irfan Neziroglu, Ambassador of Turkiye, Ambassadors of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Libya, Myanmar, High Commissioner of Brunei, DHM Azerbaijan, Belarus, Palestine,and many more members of the Diplomatic Corps also graced the event with their presence.

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On behalf of the Turkish Cypriot People,she reiterated their gratitude to motherland, Republic of Türkiye, for her unwavering support to our country as well as the brotherly state of Pakistan for her all-time support in our cause.

Ms Dilsad Senol in her welcome address shed light on the history of the day. She said, ”
Turkish Cypriot people established their independent state as a concrete expression of their rightful freedom and sovereignty 41 years ago today, resisting against all attempts made to eliminate Turkish Cypriot people’s legitimate political will and rightful existence on the island of Cyprus. Over the years, we have maintained peace and tranquility on the island by safeguarding our values, beliefs, and national identity, with steadfast support from our motherland Türkiye and Turkish nation.”

She informed the guests about the substantial progress the state of TRNC has made in the recent years. She said, ” I take pride in highlighting the progress the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus has achieved in various domains, including democracy, economy, social equality, and human rights. Our country stands at the forefront of the Eastern Mediterranean in higher education and tourism.”

As already an observer member of the Organisation of Islamic Countries as well as Economic Cooperation Organisation, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus lastly joined hands and hearts with the Organisation of Turkic States in 2022, which is a rising international actor.

“It was a well-known fact that many efforts have been made and failed over the past five decades through numerous rounds of United Nations facilitated negotiations, despite the continuous good will and constructive approach shown by the Turkish Cypriot side. These efforts aimed at reaching an agreement under a “bi-zonal and bi-communal federation” based on political equality of the two sides. The last-ditch effort in this direction ended with no result in 2017 due to Greek Cypriot all-time reluctance to share power and prosperity with the co-owners of the island, the Turkish Cypriot people, Ms Dilsad Senol continued.

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“And therefore, this verified that exhausted parameters are yielding nothing more than a vicious cycle at Cyprus issue and cementing injustice. This injustice serves no purpose but treats the Greek Cypriot side as if it represents the entire island and allows it to perpetuate the status quo at the expense of the Turkish Cypriot people who live under isolations, which clearly run counter to United Nations principles.”

She criticized the Greek Cypriot side who continues its inhumane strategy to reinforce isolations through obstructing Turkish Cypriot people to engage in relations with the international community, even in the fields of sports, culture, education, health and similar humanitarian fields. Moreover, Greek Cypriot side, perpetuating its discriminative frame of mind for decades, propagating anti-turkish sentiments amongst the younger generation through its educational system and religious preachings.

Ms Dilsad Senol said,”Reflection of this uncompromising mind-set is going as far as curtailing our economic activities. On the other hand, Greek Cypriot side puts every effort to impede a susceptible environment for constructive talks through ongoing provocations, including, military installations along the bufferzone, through violations at TRNC’s airspace and by engaging in military agreements with third parties, contrary to 1960 agreements, against the will of Turkish Cypriot side and the guarantor power of the island, Türkiye.”

In order to change the status quo, in line with the calls made by UN Secretary General “to think outside the box”, we have tabled our new vision regarding the solution of Cyprus issue. The essence of our proposal is to reaffirm the inherent sovereign equality and equal international status of the State of the Turkish Cypriot people, which would constitute a new basis for the parties to start formal negotiations for a freely negotiated and mutually acceptable cooperative relationship.

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“As it has recently been announced by the head of UN Security Council, latest UN quest carried out by the UN Secretary General’s Personal Envoy Maria Angela Holguin Cuellar unveiled no hints of common ground. This reality once more proves that establishing an equilibrium between the two sides, prior to probable formal negotiations is a pre-condition for success. We firmly believe that TRNC’s new vision introduced the most rational pathway towards a viable solution and it is the only way to rectify decades long injustice done against the Turkish Cypriot people.”

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Ms Dilsad Senol recalling the speech, noted , “Aiming at highlighting this just pathway, H.E. Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, President of our Motherland Türkiye, has repeated one more time his historic call at his speech at the 79th United Nations General Assembly two months ago, calling on the international community to put an end to the unjust persecution of the Turkish Cypriot People who are being isolated from the rest of the world with restrictions, underlining that federal solution model has completely lost its validity and urging the international community to recognize TRNC’s sovereignty and establish diplomatic, political, and economic ties. Such call by our motherland Türkiye clearly stands as the concrete reflection of the support given to our realistic approach towards Cyprus issue.”

“On this meaningful occasion, may Allah Almighty rest the souls of our martyrs who gave their lives for the independence of the Turkish Cypriots and I would like to express our respect and gratitude to all our Veterans, she concluded with prayers.

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