Ankara, Turkey. Turkey’s parliament rejected a bill late on Thursday proposing that the north be called the “Turkish Republic of Cyprus”, while the Turkish Cypriot ruling coalition was largely silent on the matter on Friday.
Bill proposal
The bill was submitted by the opposition New Path party, jointly founded by former Turkish prime minister Ahmet Davutoglu and former deputy prime minister Ali Babacan, who both previously served under Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan before leaving the ruling AK Party.
New Path MP Mustafa Kaya, who sponsored the bill, told parliament that if Turkey had a say over the entire island and Turkish Cypriots had rights to all hydrocarbon deposits, there should no longer be a distinction between the island’s north and south.
He said the path should continue under the name “Turkish Republic of Cyprus” and criticised the Greek Cypriot side for making distinctions between Turks who lived on the island before and after 1974.
Parliamentary positions
Iyi Party deputy leader Ayyuce Turkes Tas said her party supported the government’s policy of a two-state solution and sovereign equality.
Tas, whose father was former Turkish deputy prime minister Alparslan Turkes, said changing the policy because of external pressure would be unacceptable. She said there would be no return to federation or compromise on the sovereignty of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.
She also said Turkey’s guarantee role and the presence of Turkish soldiers on the island were non-negotiable, adding that the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus would continue to exist and would be recognised.
Tas described the issue as a national cause for both Turkish Cypriots and Turkey, as well as for the “Blue Homeland” doctrine, known in Turkish as “Mavi Vatan”, which outlines Turkey’s maritime claims in the Aegean, Black and Mediterranean seas.
Call for respect for Turkish Cypriot will
Pro-Kurdish Dem Party deputy leader Sezai Temelli said that defending the rights of Turkish Cypriots on the island required respect for their free will.