Erhurman condemns efforts to cancel Barcelona-licensed children’s football camp

Nicosia, Cyprus. Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman said on Wednesday that efforts to force the cancellation of a children’s football camp licensed by Spanish club Barcelona in the north represented “a defeat for all people and for humanity as a whole”.

He said young people should not be deprived of opportunities available in other countries because of the Cyprus problem, and called for greater trust between Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot youth.

Opportunities for young people

Erhurman said he did not want either Turkish Cypriot or Greek Cypriot people to lose opportunities because of the Cyprus problem.

“The sadness which a Greek Cypriot young person may experience for such a reason cannot be my joy,” he said.

He added that, as a human being, he could not accept that the sadness experienced by a Turkish Cypriot young person for the same reason should bring joy to any Greek Cypriot.

Political context

Erhurman said the participation of young people, artists and clubs from other countries in events held in the north does not mean those countries recognise the TRNC.

He compared this with the participation of Greek Cypriot young people in events in Turkey, which he said does not mean Turkey recognises the Greek Cypriot administration in southern Cyprus.

His comments followed criticism from Turkey’s political opposition after a Greek Cypriot delegation of teenagers was invited to attend the International Geography Olympiad in Istanbul earlier this month.

Erhurman said he did not believe such events should be framed politically. However, he said that if a political context was sought, statements by the United Nations, the European Union and relevant Council of Europe bodies after 2004 should be recalled.

He referred to the Annan plan referendum that year, in which the Turkish Cypriot electorate accepted the proposal to reunify Cyprus while the Greek Cypriot electorate rejected it. Following the referendum, then European Commissioner for Enlargement Gunter Verheugen said he felt “cheated by the Greek Cypriots”, while others called for an end to the Turkish Cypriots’ political isolation.

Bicommunal sports proposal

Erhurman said that building trust on the island requires young people to trust one another, adding that this was why he had proposed bicommunal sporting events.

In January, he said the Greek Cypriot side had rejected a proposal for a football match between under-14 teams from northern and southern Cyprus.

“Our proposal for a match between two under-14 football teams from northern and southern Cyprus was rejected,” he said at the time. “The reason given was that the teams from southern Cyprus are members of international federations, and that such a match would cause problems with those federations.”