President Ersin Tatar’s “Vision for Two States in Cyprus” titled English language book introduced in London
The book titled “Vision for Two States in Cyprus” penned in the English language by Kerem Haser, Foreign Press Officer of President Ersin Tatar, has been introduced in London at the TRNC Representative Office, attended by members of the public and press.
The 502-page book documents President Ersin Tatar’s two years in office -- from his election in October 2020 to the end of 2022, detailing his arduous, constructive and sincere efforts in the Cyprus issue. Comprised of three main sections, the book opens with an introduction, concise history and biography of President Tatar. This is followed by the second section that documents the key contacts, summits, meetings and statements of President Tatar. The third section details media coverage and press reports related to the President.
Making a statement at the event, President Tatar thanked Kerem Haser for penning the book over the course of two years. He also expressed his gratitude to his Special Representative M. Ergün Olgun and members of the negotiations team.
“This is the first book of its kind, written in the English language, that has documented important news, statements and my contacts in relation to the Cyprus issue, since I was democratically elected as President, and our arduous and constructive work for a two State settlement in Cyprus,” President Tatar said.
“The book also justifies why we have the two State policy, on the basis of sovereign equality and equal international status, that is fully supported by Motherland Türkiye,” he added. “It explains the Greek Cypriot mentality and aspiration of wanting to unite the island of Cyprus with Greece (ENOSIS), and the 15 rejections of the Greek Cypriot Side of federal based plans and ideas over the past 60 years.”
Explaining that there is a “need for the two equal Sides in Cyprus to enter into a structured cooperative relationship,” the President said that “we should look to a prosperous future that is based on peace and prosperity and not tension and conflict”, emphasising that “TRNC is an important state in the eastern Mediterranean and as one of the co-owners of Cyprus, the Turkish Cypriot People are as sovereign as the Greek Cypriot People, which is an inherent right”. The President stated that “the Turkish Cypriot People will not surrender their inherent sovereign rights,” adding that “the sovereign equality of Turkish Cypriot People needs to be reaffirmed and for this to be respected, if any new formal negotiations are to be commenced”.
President Tatar added that “there are two separate Peoples in Cyprus: The Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot Peoples, and neither side can rule or represent the other. It is time for the international community to realise the realities in Cyprus. It is time for concrete steps to be taken to end the unjust isolation being imposed on the Turkish Cypriot People, to allow for direct trade, and direct flights to the TRNC. The promises to end the restrictions have still not been honoured and our youth cannot even play international friendlies in many important sports tournaments under their own identity, such as the Olympics. The time for freedom and fairness for the People of the TRNC is now.” President Tatar stated that all of these issues have been put forward in summits and meetings, which is contained in this book.
President Tatar thanked his Special Representative M. Ergün Olgun, Confidence Buidling Measures and Bilateral Tedhnical Committees Coordinator Güneş Onar, Special Advisor on Diplomacy and International Relations Prof. Dr. Hüseyin Işıksal and Foreign Press Officer Kerem Haser.
The statement read out at the event by Kerem Haser is as follows:
Breaking the half-century-old impasse in the Cyprus issue by introducing a fresh basis for talks – this has been the simple message and statement of intent from Ersin Tatar, President of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.
How he has set about this since his election in October 2020, through more than two years of arduous, sincere and constructive work in tandem with his Negotiating Team, is documented in a new book, “The Vision for Two States in Cyprus”.
The first volume of its kind compiled for a TRNC President, the 502-page book reveals for the first time the statements and presentations put forward by President Tatar at the historic three-day “5+UN” informal meeting held in Geneva, Switzerland, in April 2021. It was there that he first set out to the international community his vision for the island of Cyprus as two States, based on the inherent sovereign equality of the Turkish Cypriot People.
The book gives a compelling account of why the TRNC under President Tatar – fully supported by the Republic of Türkiye – has arrived at the point of seeking a fresh basis for talks, on the basis of the sovereign equality and equal international status of the Turkish Cypriot People, following more than half a century of now-exhausted negotiations for a federal solution. It also documents nearly 130 key meetings involving the President, his statements and relevant news stories.
Divided into three sections, the first part of the book comprises an introduction, a biography of President Tatar and a brief history of Cyprus, written in a concise and easy-to-read form for the benefit of anyone not familiar with the complexities of the Cyprus issue and its geopolitical dimensions.
The second part details some of the President's statements and his key meetings; from his attendance at the historic “5+UN” session in Geneva, to his talks with United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres in New York, with European Commission Vice-President Josep Borrell and with US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland, and encounters with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and former UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, to name a few.
The third section is a compilation of press reports about the President and his political activities since taking office.
Also documented in the book are significant moments in the life of the TRNC, including the historic call made by Republic of Türkiye President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan at the 77th session of the UN General Assembly, on September 20, 2022, in which he called for an end to the persecution and unjust isolation of the Turkish Cypriot People and invited the international community to formally recognise the TRNC.
Following this, the TRNC was admitted as an observer member of the Organisation of Turkic States at its summit in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, in November 2022. At the end of that month, President Tatar received a delegation from the Republic of The Gambia, headed by that country's late Vice-President, Badara Alieu Joof. These are just two tangible results, noted in this book, to have arisen from the President's two State vision.
Interest in the plight faced by Turkish Cypriots continues to grow among those with a passion for fairness and justice. Former UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw is one who has come out in support of a two State settlement and backed President Tatar's approach. It is our hope that States, officials, diplomats and anyone with a belief in justice will lend an ear to the Turkish Cypriot story of their fight to co-exist as equals in Cyprus, and their battle for equal status, equal treatment and equal opportunity.
The core message of this book, as envisaged and conveyed by President Ersin Tatar, is that Turkish Cypriots are a sovereign People in Cyprus with rights to self-determination, and that it is now time to look ahead for a sustainable peace and stability in which the island's two States will enjoy a multi-faceted cooperative relationship with one another.
Making a statement at the event, President Tatar thanked Kerem Haser for penning the book over the course of two years. He also expressed his gratitude to his Special Representative M. Ergün Olgun and members of the negotiations team.
“This is the first book of its kind, written in the English language, that has documented important news, statements and my contacts in relation to the Cyprus issue, since I was democratically elected as President, and our arduous and constructive work for a two State settlement in Cyprus,” President Tatar said.
“The book also justifies why we have the two State policy, on the basis of sovereign equality and equal international status, that is fully supported by Motherland Türkiye,” he added. “It explains the Greek Cypriot mentality and aspiration of wanting to unite the island of Cyprus with Greece (ENOSIS), and the 15 rejections of the Greek Cypriot Side of federal based plans and ideas over the past 60 years.”
Explaining that there is a “need for the two equal Sides in Cyprus to enter into a structured cooperative relationship,” the President said that “we should look to a prosperous future that is based on peace and prosperity and not tension and conflict”, emphasising that “TRNC is an important state in the eastern Mediterranean and as one of the co-owners of Cyprus, the Turkish Cypriot People are as sovereign as the Greek Cypriot People, which is an inherent right”. The President stated that “the Turkish Cypriot People will not surrender their inherent sovereign rights,” adding that “the sovereign equality of Turkish Cypriot People needs to be reaffirmed and for this to be respected, if any new formal negotiations are to be commenced”.
President Tatar added that “there are two separate Peoples in Cyprus: The Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot Peoples, and neither side can rule or represent the other. It is time for the international community to realise the realities in Cyprus. It is time for concrete steps to be taken to end the unjust isolation being imposed on the Turkish Cypriot People, to allow for direct trade, and direct flights to the TRNC. The promises to end the restrictions have still not been honoured and our youth cannot even play international friendlies in many important sports tournaments under their own identity, such as the Olympics. The time for freedom and fairness for the People of the TRNC is now.” President Tatar stated that all of these issues have been put forward in summits and meetings, which is contained in this book.
President Tatar thanked his Special Representative M. Ergün Olgun, Confidence Buidling Measures and Bilateral Tedhnical Committees Coordinator Güneş Onar, Special Advisor on Diplomacy and International Relations Prof. Dr. Hüseyin Işıksal and Foreign Press Officer Kerem Haser.
The statement read out at the event by Kerem Haser is as follows:
Breaking the half-century-old impasse in the Cyprus issue by introducing a fresh basis for talks – this has been the simple message and statement of intent from Ersin Tatar, President of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.
How he has set about this since his election in October 2020, through more than two years of arduous, sincere and constructive work in tandem with his Negotiating Team, is documented in a new book, “The Vision for Two States in Cyprus”.
The first volume of its kind compiled for a TRNC President, the 502-page book reveals for the first time the statements and presentations put forward by President Tatar at the historic three-day “5+UN” informal meeting held in Geneva, Switzerland, in April 2021. It was there that he first set out to the international community his vision for the island of Cyprus as two States, based on the inherent sovereign equality of the Turkish Cypriot People.
The book gives a compelling account of why the TRNC under President Tatar – fully supported by the Republic of Türkiye – has arrived at the point of seeking a fresh basis for talks, on the basis of the sovereign equality and equal international status of the Turkish Cypriot People, following more than half a century of now-exhausted negotiations for a federal solution. It also documents nearly 130 key meetings involving the President, his statements and relevant news stories.
Divided into three sections, the first part of the book comprises an introduction, a biography of President Tatar and a brief history of Cyprus, written in a concise and easy-to-read form for the benefit of anyone not familiar with the complexities of the Cyprus issue and its geopolitical dimensions.
The second part details some of the President's statements and his key meetings; from his attendance at the historic “5+UN” session in Geneva, to his talks with United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres in New York, with European Commission Vice-President Josep Borrell and with US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland, and encounters with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and former UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, to name a few.
The third section is a compilation of press reports about the President and his political activities since taking office.
Also documented in the book are significant moments in the life of the TRNC, including the historic call made by Republic of Türkiye President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan at the 77th session of the UN General Assembly, on September 20, 2022, in which he called for an end to the persecution and unjust isolation of the Turkish Cypriot People and invited the international community to formally recognise the TRNC.
Following this, the TRNC was admitted as an observer member of the Organisation of Turkic States at its summit in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, in November 2022. At the end of that month, President Tatar received a delegation from the Republic of The Gambia, headed by that country's late Vice-President, Badara Alieu Joof. These are just two tangible results, noted in this book, to have arisen from the President's two State vision.
Interest in the plight faced by Turkish Cypriots continues to grow among those with a passion for fairness and justice. Former UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw is one who has come out in support of a two State settlement and backed President Tatar's approach. It is our hope that States, officials, diplomats and anyone with a belief in justice will lend an ear to the Turkish Cypriot story of their fight to co-exist as equals in Cyprus, and their battle for equal status, equal treatment and equal opportunity.
The core message of this book, as envisaged and conveyed by President Ersin Tatar, is that Turkish Cypriots are a sovereign People in Cyprus with rights to self-determination, and that it is now time to look ahead for a sustainable peace and stability in which the island's two States will enjoy a multi-faceted cooperative relationship with one another.