Prountzos’ solidarity deserves attention, Harmanci says after Cyprus Forum withdrawals

Nicosia, Cyprus. Mehmet Harmanci on Friday thanked Nicosia Mayor Charalambos Prountzos for withdrawing from next week’s Cyprus Forum in solidarity with him. Harmanci said Prountzos’ decision, rather than his own withdrawal, deserved attention.

Dispute over programme title

The two had been due to jointly present the forum’s Peace and Democracy Awards, as they had in previous years. Both withdrew after a dispute over how Harmanci was identified in the programme.

Harmanci was initially listed as “mayor of [the] Nicosia Turkish Municipality”. His designation was then changed to “leader of the Turkish Cypriot community of Nicosia” following objections from Elam, which had protested against his participation under the original title.

On Friday, Cyprus Forum executive president Nicolas Kyriakides said the request not to refer to Harmanci as a mayor had come from “Republic of Cyprus officials”. The forum said it had rejected calls to withdraw Harmanci’s invitation.

Harmanci thanks Prountzos

In a message published in Turkish, Greek and English, Harmanci called Prountzos his “dear friend” and thanked him for his courage, empathy, solidarity and commitment to peace.

Harmanci said the disagreement was not about the title itself. He said he had taken part in joint events in the south and abroad under the title of leader or representative of Nicosia’s Turkish Cypriot community. His priority, he said, had been to use every available platform to support reconciliation and meaningful cooperation between the two communities.

He said the problem was the forum’s response to what he called a “racist and divisive propaganda machine”.