Kyrenia mayor says festival cancellation deepens division

Kyrenia, Cyprus. Turkish Cypriot Kyrenia mayor Murat Senkul said the cancellation of the Nexus electronic music festival following political pressure would “lay the foundation for the division of the island”.

He said he had been officially informed that Serbian music company EXIT had cancelled the event, which had been scheduled for Kyrenia castle next month.

Mayor’s response

Senkul said the cancellation had occurred “due to the political pressure exerted by southern Cyprus on Serbia”.

“This is not the first time for us. We are facing a Greek Cypriot leadership and state which is unaware that it is constantly laying the foundation for division on the island by trying to prevent Turkish Cypriots from integrating with the world, even in fields such as art and sports,” he said.

He said entrepreneurs who had worked to organise the event and young people who had hoped to attend would be disappointed.

Addressing young people in Kyrenia, Senkul said there was “absolutely no need” to be upset, pledging that he and the municipality would help organise an event “even more world-renowned than EXIT” at the same venue and on the same date next year.

“As Turkish Cypriots, perhaps our population is small, and our influence in the world may be limited, but no one can make us bow our heads,” he said.

Political context

Senkul, a member of the pro-federal Cyprus solution party CTP, will seek re-election as Turkish Cypriot Kyrenia mayor on December 6.

He has also received endorsements from the pro-federal solution party TDP and Serdar Denktash’s Tam Party.

Cancellation decision

The festival was cancelled after Disy member of the European Parliament Loukas Fourlas contacted Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic.

Fourlas, who chairs the European Parliament delegation to the European Union-Serbia stabilisation and association committee, said on Thursday that the decision reflected an understanding of “the deep historical and emotional significance that Kyrenia and its castle have for the Cypriot people”.

EXIT said it had come to understand the “deep historical and emotional significance” of Kyrenia and Kyrenia castle for the Greek Cypriot community and had therefore decided to cancel the event.