New Cyprus Party (YKP)’s evaluation on the recent elections
Murat Kanatli, Alpay Durduran and Erdinc Selasiye, members of YKP’s executive committee outlined their assessment on the “election” results at a press conference held on Thursday 22 April 2010.
Mr Kanatli, inter alia, stated that the number of voters in 2010, which were 164.072, has increased by 216% compared to the number of voters in 1976 when this number was 75.824. Noting that Turkey meddles in the “election” process in different ways, Mr Kanatli said that several circles have repeatedly made complaints regarding the behaviour of media organizations and added: “Besides that, we have our concerns and we will continue our struggle to improve this”.
Mr Kanatli added that despite all the pressure and manipulation, voter turnout in the “election” was only 76% which he described a failure for the regime. He stressed that this was a remarkable reaction against the regime considering that a significant percentage of voters did not cast ballots showing their conscientious objection. He noted that the reaction of the people becomes more obvious when we take into consideration the fact that the turnout in the last year’s “elections” was 81%. Finally, he stated that if you take into account the structure of the electorate then it is easily understood that this reaction was more prevalent among Turkish Cypriots.
The full text of the press release is as follows:
We have lived through another “election” process in the northern part of Cyprus in which 40 thousand soldiers, 500 thousand active population and an unknown number of military and civilian bureaucrats of Turkey, found under every stone, were either directly or indirectly involved.
We have left behind another “election” process in which the number of voters was declared to be 164.072 in 2010, a 216% increase compared to 1976 when it was declared to be 75.824...
Both Turkey’s deep state and the civilian administration intervened in the election process in various ways. Different circles had voiced complaints several times about the attitudes of various media organizations, the outrageous amount of moneys spent, and again cases of vote-buying and voting under pressure were observed. In brief, the “election” process did not comply with international law, justice, democracy or transparency. The will of the people has not been materialized.
Despite all kinds of pressures and manipulations, the participation of 76% is a failure for the status-quo and considering that a notable number consciously did not go to the polls, this is a remarkable reaction to the regime. Furthermore, the fact that the percentage of participation continued to decrease, which a year ago was 81%, makes this reaction even more visible.
Additionally, when the makeup of the electorate is taken in to account, it can easily be understood that this reaction is even stronger among Cypriots. This means that Turkish Cypriots have given meaningful support to the call for boycott, they have not become participants in determining who is to be the new “postman”, have rejected taking directives, and hence, we salute this reaction.
YKP, as it did at the beginning of the process, will evaluate the results and the conditions for new struggles in upcoming meetings and it will especially reconsider co-operations and collaborations with other forces and make decisions accordingly.
In order for the voter to makeup his/her mind beforehand, a serious process of brainwashing had taken place. Every manipulation and pressure methods were successfully utilized in creating a binary system where even parties were afraid or were frightened to put up a candidate. A similar election process based on this binary sacred alliance had taken place in 1990. We lived through a process during which those who were outside this sacred alliance were dubbed as the other, were threatened, insulted, and their activities censored. The sacred alliances also worked openly in the direction of getting the civilian and military bureaucrats of Turkey to intervene in their favour. The elections which are held in such an environment can neither be fair nor transparent, nor democratic..
The military and civilian bureaucracy of Turkey did not enter these elections as one body, but Turkey’s deep states’ paramilitary connections here (the Fighters Association (Mücahitler Derneği), the National People Movement (UHH), the Grey Wolves and alike) and the official institutions such as the Civil Defence Organization and similar structures were working for these results for a long time. AKP, albeit in a more haphazard but conspicuous way, was utilizing various channels and tools to intervene. During this intervention, it was apparent that one wing of AKP was working for Talat and the other for Eroglu. Traces of this could be seen everywhere. It. The CHP once again together with the deep state of Turkey and in collaboration with the MHP worked for Eroglu.
Erdogan once again concealed his real intentions and by giving the message to the outside world ‘I want the continuation of the negotiations on the present basis’, thus playing the solution card, while internally, doing the opposite through his intervention like in the Kurdish and Armenian issues, he is following a contradictory attitude on the Cyprus problem, as well. As in the Kurdish and Armenian issues, in the Cyprus issue, too, preconditions have appeared ‘in their natural form’. With the new card in its hands, AKP has given the message that it can block the process in the Cyprus problem at any time.
Despite this, CTP leadership and Talat, who in 7 years have fallen too far away from where they started, should look within themselves before they look for the guilty party somewhere else.
CTP leadership, by quarrelling with all the other structures and by excluding them since December 2003, has practically created this outcome. And the discussion process have been said to have begun in the Party after the elections last year, is obviously aimed at bringing down the tension among the grassroots. For this reason, the CTP leadership is directly responsible for the situation in which we find ourselves today.
Although CTP leadership and Talat when first embarked on this road seemingly chanted the slogan “this homeland is ours we will govern it”, at a later stage have clearly shown that they completely placed their hopes on the messages coming from Erdogan and AKP. There was no way one could support the format which turned into “This homeland, that is only the north, is ours and AKP’s; we will govern it together with AKP”. By continuously complaining about the Greek Cypriots and the EU and joining the anti-GreekCypriot and anti-EU camp, their difference from the rejectionist front completely disappeared. It is a mystery where CTP and its allies, who continue to chew on “the EU did not keep its promises” are going to end up with this kind of anti-EU stand. The whole world understood that what their demand under the name of “direct trade” is nothing but the recognition of the “TRNC”, but they are still continuing their manipulations.
The issue of the population difference was also not put forward. The latest election campaign began with the people of the Black Sea region doing their special dance called Horon and continued with the inauguration of the “Mehmet Ali Talat election bureau at the Nicosia Reyhanians Cultural and Solidarity Association.” (Reyhan is a town in the Hatay province of Turkey.)
Despite this, the greatest difference in the number of votes against Talat came from the Karpas region where the greatest demographic change has taken place. However, the most important factor which has produced today’s outcome is the fact that no serious improvement was achieved at the negotiation table. The fact that Talat said “during this period the TRNC lived its golden era”, his announcement at a TV interview that he would happily welcome the recognition of the TRNC by any country, demonstrated his determination to upgrade the secessionist state which meant that he was openly defending the status quo in the north, and Talat has lately began to openly defend this position, too.
The loss of the elections in such circumstances was also caused by transforming the election into one between two likes.
YKP continues to emphasize its demand for a speedy solution of the Cyprus problem, and underlines the fact that it will continue its struggle towards that end. YKP once more emphasizes that it will hold responsible in the first degree all the authorities of Turkey for any kind of step backward or stagnation in the process ahead. YKP emphasizes once again that for the urgent solution of the Cyprus problem, confidence building measures such as the demilitarization of Nicosia, the return of Varosia to its legal residents, the recognition of the right of all Maronites to return to their villages, the withdrawal of 10 thousand soldiers, de-confrontation, the urgent opening of new checkpoints, and the reduction of red tape in crossings of the ceasefire line will add momentum to the process. We would like to remind that we hold responsible in the first degree the General Staff of Turkey in the delays in the implementations of these issues in recent years.
YKP will continue its struggle during this process, as well, in order to accomplish its final goal of finding a solution for Cyprus, free from all foreign armies, including the Turkish occupation army, with no borders, no weapons, and with no guarantors.
YKP reiterates its demand for a new census with the active participation of international experts and observers and underlines the fact that it is determined to continue its struggle to this end.
YKP emphasizes its concern that a party like the UBP, which has been making propaganda for the secessionist state for 34 years and has been the architect of a system of pillage and usurpation, has recently been brought to the helm of the agency and now holds the top position in this establishment. For this reason, being conscious of the fact that congratulating and wishing success to the UBP and Eroglu would mean an expression of support to them and if they carry on with those policies, YKP will continue to work for their failure…
We give our commiserations to the Turkish embassy, deep state and the civilian administrations on the election of their new postman!
We will continue our struggle for a Cyprus with no borders, without any weapons, soldiers, and guarantors and for the reunification of Cyprus and Cypriots…
New Cyprus Party
22/4/2010
YKP’s boycott campaign
YKP BOYKOT MİTİNGİ BANDİSTA KONSERİ (50)<http://gfx2.hotmail.com/mail/w4/pr01/ltr/i_safe.gif> The New Cyprus Party (YKP) continued its campaign of boycotting the elections held on the 18th of April 2010.
Within the framework of this campaign, the party distributed leaflets in Lefkosia, Keryneia, Famagusta and Morfou areas calling on the people to boycott the elections.
Moreover, YKP organized a concert in Lefkosia under the name ‘:Look the postman is coming’ with the participation of Bandista, music band. Slogans such as “we revolt against occupation”, “YKP is the only choice” and “end the occupation” were chanted during the concert.
Position of YKP about election
Text distributed at the Press Conference held on 10 February 2010
(…)
Eroglu is not an alternative for Cypriots
Some people may be fuming with anger, but from our point of view the matter is clear. The National Unity Party (UBP) is one of the building blocks of the secessionist regime in the northern part of Cyprus. Plunder, corruption, irregularities, and despotism are rampant among this party’s cadres in leadership positions. Although they may make false and misleading statements from time to time to accommodate the situation, the only thing on their minds is partition. To remind those that may have forgotten this, Eroglu, during his last visit to London told his audience that he does not recognize Cypriotness and that there are only Turkish and Greek people in Cyprus.
With the elections approaching, the fact that Eroglu made a political visit to the south for the first time in his life and met DISY’s leader to show that he and his party support peace and bi-communal activities, is nothing but a farce. UBP, throughout its history has always been and is against any contacts between the two communities… YKP has never believed and will never believe the few false steps toward peace that UBP might pretend to take under pressures from Turkey.
UBP, due to its political makeup, is a party that shelters racist and fascist elements among its ranks. Since it is a right-wing party, this was okay for the former head of the Nationalist Justice Party (MAP) to be elected as an MP of UBP. UBP also had relations in the past with paramilitary organizations such as Türk-Bir, Türk Ocakları, Ülkü Ocakları (Gray Wolves). One can also see the place of UBP in the political spectrum from the identity of those who expressed support to Eroglu’s candidacy even before he announced he was running. The fact that UBP finds itself in the far right puts it in the position of sharing the same fate as the Ergenekon suspects presently on trial in Turkey. It was not a coincidence that the only person to visit one of the Ergenekon suspects in Turkey was an MP from UBP. The election adventure in 1998 was also mentioned in the minutes of this trial.
In order to create confusion, some people have been spreading the word, right after the referendum for the Annan plan, that there are young people in UBP who are liberal democrats to which YKP reacted and had said that this was a serious manipulation. We are today witnessing what these liberal democrat “young people” are capable of doing, actions that one can only encounter in extreme right-wing parties...
For this reason, YKP cannot have anything to do with the candidate of UBP, a party which belongs to the extreme right wing, is partitionist (TAKSIM), secessionist and is in cahoots with dark forces. Because of these reasons, Eroglu cannot be an option for YKP and he cannot be the voice of Cypriots...
YKP expressed these thoughts during the second phase of the 2000 elections when the choice was between Eroglu and Denktash and some so-called progressives and democrats labelled YKP as Denktashist. Our stand of that time of “neither Hitler nor Mussolini” is better understood today as the correct stand.
Those who called us Denktashists and sided with Eroglu then, are now veering towards Eroglu from the standpoint of animosity towards Talat. Although these circles may talk about boycotting the elections, if one wants to, it is possible to see their true intentions…
As Eroglu is not an option, neither is Talat.
Talat is not a real option, either!
YKP has continued its political struggle since the mid 70’s against the political trend which CTP followed. YKP has always taken a critical stand towards the leadership of the CTP which changed hands soon after being founded and has never become a libertarian and democratic organization, defending a dogmatic leftist thought and towards a new “journey” after the 1990. For this reason, their sporadic nationalistic/leftist phraseology in the political centre, which they find themselves in, does not surprise us.
The partitionist processes always went forward with “peaceful ways” whenever CTP was in the government. The most important of these was the “ITEM” legislation passed through the parliament by CTP.
CTP which came into government in 2003 proceeded with this legislation and contributed greatly to the change in the demographic structure.
One would not know if this would have taken place so peacefully if another party rather than CTP was in government, but Turkeyfication - Sunni - Islamization has practically been woven in every square meter of the northern part of Cyprus. The island has been covered with flags and mosques from one end to other. The demands for Quran courses have become natural.
Racist, secessionist, and chauvinist statements were everywhere. Throughout his tenure Talat has been repeatedly saying “Greeks do not want peace”, “Greeks do not even want us to breathe”.
Although he knew that the embargoes were imposed on the so-called state in the north, and not the Turkish Cypriots, he always lied. His answer to organizations such as the UN and the EU who were working on lifting the embargoes was to indirectly demand recognition by saying “there is a sovereign entity in the north; it implements its own rules.”
He came up with the slogan “this country is ours, we shall govern it” and in one of his interviews he clearly painted the picture of the latest situation by saying “if they (Turkish authorities) tell me to sit, I’ll sit”!
And some people became a laughing stock by chanting the slogan “peace cannot be prevented” during Ban Ki-Moon’s visit. The best place to chant the slogan “peace cannot be prevented” would be in front of Talat’s office, because he is the one who has sabotaged the talks by putting Turkey’s proposals on the table.
As in the film ‘Iron earth, Copper sky’[1], partition of the earth was Denktash’s work and the partition of the sky has been Talat’s, that is in carrying taksim further, Denktash and Talat partitioned the earth and sky respectively, thus sharing the work.
The idea of partition has penetrated everywhere during the last 6 years. The population transfer consuming Cypriotness has reached serious proportions in the last 6 years. As we have mentioned before, Turkeyfication - Sunni-Islamization is being felt everywhere in “peaceful ways” in the northern part of Cyprus.
After all this, the differentiation between left and right, pro-peace and pro-status quo is no longer valid. Who is what and what difference there is between them has become vague…
Of course, all these are the product of Talat, his contribution to all this has been great. For this reason, the slogan “peace cannot be prevented” deserves to be chanted in front of Talat’s office these days…
Once again population and human rights
In such an environment, some people are trying to give us lessons on human rights by bringing up the issue of population. As stated before, YKP is in favour of every individual to enjoy their human rights and freedoms. Issues such as voting, becoming elected, or citizenship are different from basic human rights and freedoms, but by manipulating this situation in Cyprus, some people are helping Turkey to strengthen its hegemony and its policy of conquest here, something we, as YKP, have not accepted and will never accept. The demographic structure has been changed to such a degree today that the result of elections can be pre-determined. For this reason, YKP will openly continue its struggle against this situation.
YKP will also continue to expose the fallaciousness of those giving human rights lessons. Those who claim that we do not recognize human rights, are openly denying the freedom to education in one’s mother tongue and the freedom to worship which constitute as basic human rights and freedoms.
However, those who brought people here to use them as vote reservoirs are trying to steal their votes by promising them a false heaven, and are not interested in the violation of their fundamental human rights. The right of education of tens of thousands of Kurdish and Arab children in their mother tongue is not even a matter of serious discussion in this land. No one is discussing the right of Alevis to freedom of worship. Those who build mosques with high minarets which are inconsistent with Cyprus architecture in areas with high concentration of Alevis, have remained silent for years to the demands of Alevis for cemevi (the temple of this group). Presently, only one Cemevi, built with contributions from individuals, is serving the Alevi community in Cyprus. It is strange that the administration which is not building Cemevi for the Alevis, is spending tons of money on constructing mosques in Alevi villages with no one using them. This mentality which provides compulsory religious classes for the Alevis is turning around to give us human rights lessons; as YKP we tell them “no thank you, we don’t want it.”
Those who talk about human rights, are not only refusing or unable to provide following rights, also mentioned in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, to the people brought here such as, shelter, living humanely, education in one’s language, freedom of worship, a wage sufficient for living in dignity, but they are also preventing them to get organized in order to demand their rights, for instance, the right for a 40-hour working week, thus laying the ground for them to work and live under slavery conditions. Every party has been instrumental to this slavery machine which has been continuing since 1974, but now through using the right to vote as a pretext they are becoming deceptivedefenders of human rights in order to channel votes in their favour.
Let us recall once again:
In our resolution adapted at the extraordinary congress of February, 2009, we clarified this situation;
“According to the Geneva Convention it is a war crime to transfer population to occupied territories…
This established fact is usually ignored. If reminding is needed, according to the Geneva Convention approved on August 12, 1949: “Individual or mass forcible transfers, as well as deportations of protected persons from occupied territory to the territory of the Occupying Power or to that of any other country, occupied or not, are prohibited, regardless of their motive. (...)The Occupying Power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies.” (Protocol 4, Article 49) (http://www.icrc.org/ihl.nsf/FULL/380?OpenDocument)
Despite this, after 1974 an illegal administration was setup, population was transferred from Turkey and the administrations distributed and are still distributing citizenships to many of these people… The numbers of citizenships given have now reached a stage where they can decide the result of the elections on their own. (…)
Under such conditions an electoral list cannot be accepted as legal; but what is even more serious is that through unlawful external interventions for many years and by violating even their own laws or legislation this electoral list has been inflated even more…
In the past it appeared in the press that people who are not even resident in the northern part of Cyprus were given fake addresses and were registered on the electoral roll. For instance, prior to the 2000 elections, as published in Yenicag Newspaper[2], the citizen of Turkey, Ihsan Ocalan, was registered on the electoral roll of Degirmenlik (Kythrea) by showing a fake address. (http://www.ykp.org.cy/ybh/secim2000/belge/haber.htm)
It is possible to show other similar examples. Even with only these reasons, these unlawful electoral rolls are shown to be untrustworthy. (…)
As the population issue is being discussed, the New Cyprus Party continually comes under attack both from the so-called left and the right. First of all, the New Cyprus Party sees every individual as a human being and it struggles so that every human being lives with rights, freely, and with honour. But the change of the demographic structure of the northern part of Cyprus is an engineered process. It is a political act by the deep state and civilian administrations of the Republic of Turkey to complete the conquering, the Turkification, and the Islamization of the island. The New Cyprus Party is against this political movement and it fights against it.
The New Cyprus Party has no problem with any individual no matter what religion, language or ethnic identity …
It is not possible to claim that an election is democratic and transparent without clearly knowing things such as who is in the electorate and what the exact number of the population is…
The New Cyprus Party had earlier put forward proposals as well and it is adamant on this.
Under today’s conditions, until an agreement is reached, only those who have the right to elect and be elected under the 1960 Cyprus Republic Constitution should do so.
The solution of the Cyprus problem is possible only through a federal agreement between Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots. For this reason, changing the demographics by giving more citizenships to people from Turkey than the number of Turkish Cypriots, will mean that a possible federation will be with Turkey, something unacceptable to Cypriots.
Turkish soldiers and the transfer of population from Turkey are the most difficult parts of the problem and giving out new citizenships makes an agreement even more difficult.
All citizenships given out contrary to international law after 1974, excluding those acquired under the 1960 Cyprus Republic Constitution through marriage to a Cypriot or born from those marriages, should be cancelled.
Transfer of population should stop and gradual reduction of the population transfer to the northern part of Cyprus should immediately start, in line with human rights considerations. In addition, a census should be carried out without delay under the supervision of international observers.
The New Cyprus Party has been waging its fight for years in accordance with its views and it is determined to continue its fight on this basis.”
________________________________
[1] Film by Zulfu Livaneli
[2] Yenicag (New Era) Newspaper is a weekly newspaper which is published since September 2, 1990 and belongs to the New Cyprus Party; www.yenicag.com.cy
_______________________________________________
ykp_uye mailing list
Δεν υπάρχουν σχόλια:
Δημοσίευση σχολίου