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''There's thuggery, pressure, injustice, and lawlessness in the EU's stance,'' said Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar, commenting on references to Turkey and the occupied territories in the Conclusions of the European Union leaders' summit (EU).
Speaking to the Anatolian news agency, Mr. Tatar said Turkey has been in Cyprus since 1571 and that no one has the right to tell Turkey to "leave Cyprus."
He argued that Western countries, especially the United Nations (UN), have proposed a two-state solution in areas such as Kosovo, Taiwan, and even Palestine, and claimed that it is futile to try to force two nations with different ethnicities, languages, religions, cultures, and histories to unite in Cyprus.
Mr. Tatar also argued that the UN and the EU, by imposing the so-called embargo on Turkish Cypriots, are imposing a system based on federation, in which, in the event of unification, Turks would disappear.
"Some games are being played to force us to accept a solution they will impose on us. We will not succumb to these games. We continue to shout to the whole world that the TRNC can offer its people a prosperous, independent, and free fair life in the future with the support of Turkey," he said.
Mr. Tatar stated that the EU leaders' summit in Brussels discussed Turkey-EU relations and that the final statement requested Turkey to make concessions on the Cyprus issue.
At the same time, Tatar mentioned that the final statement imposed on the Turkish side to start negotiations with the Greek Cypriots within the framework of UN parameters.
"There's thuggery, pressure, injustice, and lawlessness in the EU's stance. Personally, I can't stomach this. Greece and its allies' goal is to turn Cyprus into Crete, to exclude Turkey from the Eastern Mediterranean, and to try to encircle Anatolia, as well as to turn the Turkish Cypriot community into a minority within their own country," he claimed.
Mr. Tatar also claimed that from the 1960s to 1974, Turkish Cypriots suffered greatly in Cyprus and experienced genocide from Greek Cypriots. He also stated that the 50th anniversary of the "peace operation of July 20, 1974, which brought peace to Cyprus," as referred to in the Turkish Invasion, evokes a very special feeling for them.
He argued that the presence of Turkish soldiers on the island brought peace not only to the Turks but also to the Greek Cypriots, saying that "it is absurd to talk about the withdrawal of Turkish soldiers from the island when we are starting programs for the celebration of the 50th anniversary. No one should expect similar speeches from us. We will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the operation with great enthusiasm."
Referring to calls for the resumption of negotiations, often expressed in recent days by the Greek Cypriot side, Mr. Tatar said that the Greek Cypriots set as a precondition for the negotiation process exclusively their own sovereign and equal international status and insist on an approach based on federation.
He further claimed that in the case of an approach based on federation, the bonds of the Turkish Cypriots with Turkey will be severed, and they will face great difficulties within the EU, adding that "such a situation will be the beginning of our end. If northern Cyprus does not proceed on the path of independence and freedom as a separate sovereign state, it will be food for the EU, and very bad days await us. To avoid such a game, we are working hard with the support of Turkey."
Commenting on the protests by university students in the US over the war in Gaza, he said, among other things, that "university students in the US deserve praise."
[With information sourced from CNA]
