In an unprecedented act, 78 Turkish Cypriot citizens of the Republic of Cyprus, including prominent lawyers Ali Erel and Mustafa Damdelen, have stood before the Cyprus Supreme Court to call for the reinstatement of Turkish Cypriot voting rights in Republic. The group, which is demanding the re-activation of an electoral roll for Turkish Cypriots, wants to be able to elect Turkish Cypriot deputies to the Cyprus House of Representatives, where 24 seats for Turkish Cypriots remain vacant since its members withdrew in 1964.  By simply calling for the re-activation of these rights, the group who aims to end the current deadlock and foster dialogue through active participation is challenging both the current political monopoly of the Cyprus government by the Greek Cypriots and 43 years of isolationist politics within their own community.

Determined, the group has stunned the media by contradicting a commonly accepted notion that one has to support partition or an upgrade in the status of the TRNC to regain their rights as citizens. Regrettably, the Supreme Court could not see this and rejected the appeal last week, arguing that since most Turkish Cypriots, including the appellants reside in the occupied North, which lies beyond the control of the government, they cannot expect full rights. As a next step in the procedure, which has only just begun, the group is taking the issue to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, since the judgment of European Courts takes precedence over the ruling of national courts in the EU.

But excluding Turkish Cypriots who desire to participate on the basis of their ethnicity is a political mistake. By arguing away one’s responsibility for the Turkish Cypriots and the North, which in spite of the occupation is still a part of the Republic, the Republic of Cyprus is indirectly giving the impression that the North is a separate state, while driving this community into the arms of secessionists forcing them to depend on the faint hope of recognition of the TRNC as the only way to regain their rights. Indeed law makers in the Republic forget how easy it is to force Turkish Cypriots into this corner, since the preponderance of military occupation and power, and past intimidation tactics over three decades have additionally promoted false goals of seeking recognition. Is this really the message the Cyprus Republic wishes to convey to Turkish Cypriots?

When are law makers in the Republic going to realize that in order to win the hearts of Turkish Cypriots, encourage them to identify the Republic as their state in order to strengthen that state, they need to invite members of this community to physically participate in government. How can a Cypriot government claim to be so without the active participation of Turkish Cypriots? In the past, while the Green Line was firmly closed one could have argued allowing Turkish Cypriots into government was impractical, but now there is freedom of movement, tens of thousands of Turkish Cypriots work in the Republic, the fact that 65% of Turkish Cypriots voted for reunification in the Annan Plan and now that Turkish Cypriot artists, academics and sportsmen represent the Republic of Cyprus abroad, what excuse is there now to exclude Turkish Cypriots?  

Some legal experts would argue that Turkish Cypriots who seek to regain their rights as citizens of the Republic are “surrendering ground” on the negotiating table by signing up for a return to the days of 1960 constitution. But what ground are they to surrender when the TRNC remains an unrecognized state and the Turkish Cypriots under isolation? Nobody questions the need for a solution, but surely, Turkish Cypriots who participate in the decision-making of the government of Cyprus stand a far better chance at reaching a solution to the Cyprus problem that would deal with the concerns of their community than those seeking unattainable goals such as recognition or an upgrade in the status of the TRNC?

Participation is essential to changing injustices and seeking the betterment of one’s community, particularly with regard to the present deadlock in talks brought on by the Papadopoulos Presidency. Those who shy away from dialogue and avoid challenging injustices directly in the Cyprus parliament cannot expect to see any improvements in the conditions of their community. By insisting upon recognition for an illegal and unrecognized state that is no nearer to recognition today than it was yesterday, Turkish Cypriots are wasting time and failing to address their community concerns, leaving the ones they accuse of taking over the Cypriot Republic and of past injustices against them to effectively run this state unhindered and unchallenged.  Little wonder then that President Papadopoulos can get away with promoting Hellenism?

Still some accuse those of fighting for their community’s rights of making a mockery of Turkish Cypriots for claiming their rights in their own country, but this state is not foreign to Turkish Cypriots, in fact it was cofounded by them. When are the very people who jump for joy when an Azeri aircraft lands in Ercan once in a life time going to realize that the Republic of Cyprus is not itself to blame for past injustices against the Turkish Cypriots, it is not a person we can hold accountable, and it is purely a mechanism for governance. Like a machine, this mechanism is by itself unbiased and insensitive to human feeling; it is shaped not by ideology, since machines are unable to think, but shaped by those working within it. Only by working within this mechanism can one aspire to help change the status quo to benefit their community.

Often when Turkish Cypriots try to reclaim their rights as citizens of the Republic as well as facing the usual institutionalized racism in that state, brought about by our non-participation, they are labelled ‘traitors’ by some in their own community. Sadly this attitude of accusing others of ‘treachery’ for attempting to regain the status of their community in a real, recognized state is dispiritingly typical of many in our community. Is it really treacherous to demand your rights in your own state to better your own community?