The political and economic situation in the country is rapidly deteriorating and citizens must demonstrate their dissatisfaction, leader of the Republican Turkish Party (CTP), Tufan Erhürman, Yeniduzen reports.
Erhürman mentioned that the details of the UTAN and GİT campaign would be announced during the week and that they are in contact with various sectors of society. He said they expect everyone to take to the streets under equal conditions and to say, “We do not accept this; we do not deserve what is being imposed on us. We do not deserve a style of governance like this. Since 1878, we have not fought for existence in this way. We want to exist, we want our children to stay here. In other words, we say no to poverty, no to extinction, and no to emigration“.
Erhürman emphasised that it would be too late to react three to five years from now, and that taking to the streets today, not only the streets but also in parliament, in the media, and alongside public opinion, is important. He stressed that what the Turkish Cypriot people do at this critical historical juncture where the extinction of the Turkish Cypriot community is beginning to emerge is of utmost importance.
Erhürman stated that accepting and internalising that waiting until the next general election in 2027, hoping for change, is not an option.
Erhürman emphasised that unplanned actions are very costly and that the future of the Turkish Cypriots has been stolen due to lack of planning. He went on to say that planning is not possible without really knowing what the population is in North Cyprus and making a projection for the next five years.
“As the CTP, we emphasise two fundamental principles: participation and population policy. However, there is no participation. At least, it’s clear that there hasn’t been a single official call to us, the main opposition, to participate in this process. This plan is not a government programme; it is a parliamentary plan. Because it will cover the next five years, and it is expected to be implemented even if governments change. Therefore, in terms of participation, we are witnessing a process that falls short.
“Secondly, no one is talking about population policy. That is, how many people will enter this country, how many will leave, how many work permit holders will enter, how many foreign students will come, how many more apartments will be sold, and how many people will come and settle there? Without conducting any work on these matters, it is impossible for you to put forward a real plan. Here, we see an effort to take an idea from CTP, dilute it in a way that makes it impractical, and use it for show. We see something similar regarding full-day education. The CTP has been advocating full-day education for years. Now, what is being done is not full-day education, but they are using the name to take an idea, dilute it, creating the impression that “this idea must not work,” but also giving them an opportunity to make a show for their own purposes. These are the recent initiatives, unfortunately, nothing will come out of them”.
For full interview click here: Yeniduzen
