Book Launch held for “The Vision for Two States in Cyprus” which documents the first two years of President Ersin Tatar in office
A book launch has been held at the Presidency for “The Vision for Two States in Cyprus” penned by Foreign Press Officer and Member of the Negotiating Team, Kerem Haser, documenting TRNC President Ersin Tatar’s first two years in office
Photos
The English language book titled “The Vision for Two States in Cyprus” documents TRNC President Ersin Tatar’s first two years in office, following his election in October 2020.
Penned by foreign press officer and member of the negotiating team, Kerem Haser, the 502 page book features three main sections. First is the introductory section, concise history of the Cyprus issue, and a brief biography of the President.
The second section documents chronological events, news and statements of the President and the negotiating team, headed by Special Representative of the President, M. Ergün Olgun. The third part comprises some of the media and news reports about the President and his interviews reported in international media – including columns and articles supporting the two State vision by former UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw and former UK Parliamentarians Michael Stephen and Stephen Day.
The book features the original statements and proposals made by President Tatar at the three-day long 5+UN informal meeting that was held in Geneva, Switzerland, in April 2021, where he first put forward his new policy fully supported by the Republic of Türkiye, for a basis on the sovereign equality and equal international status of the Turkish Cypriot People and the cooperative relationship between the two existing States.
Book documents historical events and more than 130 key meetings of the President
The book, which also records more than 130 key meetings of the President with international actors and his meetings in Geneva, London, New York, Brussels and Motherland Türkiye, also explains why the Turkish Cypriot Side has withdrawn their consent from the now exhausted federal-based negotiations and why there is a need to think outside the box and to open a new page in the Cyprus talks that is based on the realities of the island, on a realistic, constructive and sustainable basis.
The book includes the meetings of the President with the UN Secretary-General António Guterres in New York and Brussels, meetings with EU official Josep Borrel, US Under-Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland as well as his meeting with the then UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, and his encounter with the Prime Minister of Greece Kyriakos Mitsotakis, to name a few.
Documenting historical events with regards to the TRNC itself, the book highlights the historical call by the President of the Republic of Türkiye, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, on September 20, 2022, at the 77th session of the UN General Assembly, where he called for an end to the persecution of the Turkish Cypriot People and their unjust isolation, and invited the international community to formally recognise the TRNC.
Following this call, the TRNC, under its constitutional name, became an observer member of the Organisation of Turkic States, at the summit that was held in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. Furthermore, The late Vice President of the Republic of The Gambia, Badara Alieu Joof and his delegation, visited President Tatar, on November 30, 2022. These are just some of the tangible results noted in this book that have come about due to the two State vision.
President Tatar thanks everybody for their contributions to the book
President Tatar, who thanked Kerem Haser and to everybody for their contributions to this book, added: “The TRNC is being acknowledged more due to our vision and policy. The TRNC is on the path of becoming more recognised internationally. It is our sincere wish that a settlement can be found that is based on a realistic and sustainable basis on the sovereign equality and equal international status of the Turkish Cypriot People, where the two States coexist in good neighbourly relations, on the basis of a cooperative relationship.”
The President added that “This book communicates our arduous work and policy on the fact that Turkish Cypriot People are as sovereign as the Greek Cypriot People. It is high time the international community takes effective steps to end the great injustice being imposed on the Turkish Cypriot People, which is preventing our people from being able to enjoy direct trade and direct flights to the country.”
Explaining that, as former Greek Cypriot foreign minister late Nicos Rolandis had publicly written, it is the “Greek Cypriot side who have rejected at least 15 settlement plans and ideas” over more than half-a-century, because of the “Greek Cypriot Side's refusal to share governance and the resources of the island with the Turkish Cypriot People, who are co-owners with inherent equality rights, due to the mentality that exists in South Cyprus which sees Cyprus as being a Hellenic island". President Tatar stated that “the two States basis is needed if we are going to reach a viable and sustainable settlement, which cannot be reached by pursuing the exhausted federal basis, which is not a realistic settlement model nor compatible with the realities of the island of Cyprus”.
Guarantor power UK has better understanding of the Cyprus issue
Referring to his contacts in London, President Tatar added: “The UK is a guarantor power, has historical links with the island of Cyprus, and has better understanding of the developments and what was lived here. As I explained to our friends at the Houses of Parliament and to UK media members, the inhumane isolation of the Turkish Cypriot People, which is a great injustice, needs to be ended." President Tatar also expressed his disappointment that the UK did not invite him to the funeral of Queen Elizabeth, nor to the Coronation of King Charles, which were the most recent wrongs by the UK, by not treating Turkish Cypriot People as an equal Side in Cyprus.
President Tatar called upon the international community to review their considerations with regards to the island of Cyprus, and to be open to settling the issue on the new two State basis.
"My six cooperation proposals continue to be on the table"
Sending a message to the Greek Cypriot leader, Nicos Christodoulides, President Tatar stated: “The two sovereign States in Cyprus can cooperate in the fields of trade, tourism, health, agriculture, sharing of water resources and energy to name a few. My six cooperation proposals that I conveyed last July continues to be on the table. We are open to cooperation for the interconnection of electricity cables to the EU via the Republic of Türkiye which is feasible, as Türkiye is a mere 40 miles away from the island."
The President ended his speech by thanking everybody for attending the book launch event.
Haser: "I was honoured to be asked by the President to write this book"
In his speech, Mr Haser stated that it has taken more than two years to complete the book, adding: “I was called by the President to his office at the end of 2020 where the President told me that there were very important days that were going to take place with regards to the island of Cyprus and the policy for a two States basis and he asked me to document everything and to write a book about it. I was absolutely honoured to have been asked to carry out this very important duty.”
Mr Haser added that the book “documents more than 130 key meetings of the President and his negotiating team and comprises the original proposals put forth by the President at the 5+UN informal meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, in April 2021. It also contains his meetings with foreign officials, his meetings abroad, and the arduous and sincere work of the President for a two State settlement.”
Olgun: "This is an important reference book"
Special Representative of the President, M. Ergün Olgun, stated that “The Vision for Two States in Cyprus can also be viewed as a reference book, covering the period of October 2020 when the President was first elected, to the end of 2022.
“This book is a living written account of the struggle of the Turkish Cypriot People for the reaffirmation and acknowledgment of their inherent sovereign equality and equal international status rights.”
Penned by foreign press officer and member of the negotiating team, Kerem Haser, the 502 page book features three main sections. First is the introductory section, concise history of the Cyprus issue, and a brief biography of the President.
The second section documents chronological events, news and statements of the President and the negotiating team, headed by Special Representative of the President, M. Ergün Olgun. The third part comprises some of the media and news reports about the President and his interviews reported in international media – including columns and articles supporting the two State vision by former UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw and former UK Parliamentarians Michael Stephen and Stephen Day.
The book features the original statements and proposals made by President Tatar at the three-day long 5+UN informal meeting that was held in Geneva, Switzerland, in April 2021, where he first put forward his new policy fully supported by the Republic of Türkiye, for a basis on the sovereign equality and equal international status of the Turkish Cypriot People and the cooperative relationship between the two existing States.
Book documents historical events and more than 130 key meetings of the President
The book, which also records more than 130 key meetings of the President with international actors and his meetings in Geneva, London, New York, Brussels and Motherland Türkiye, also explains why the Turkish Cypriot Side has withdrawn their consent from the now exhausted federal-based negotiations and why there is a need to think outside the box and to open a new page in the Cyprus talks that is based on the realities of the island, on a realistic, constructive and sustainable basis.
The book includes the meetings of the President with the UN Secretary-General António Guterres in New York and Brussels, meetings with EU official Josep Borrel, US Under-Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland as well as his meeting with the then UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, and his encounter with the Prime Minister of Greece Kyriakos Mitsotakis, to name a few.
Documenting historical events with regards to the TRNC itself, the book highlights the historical call by the President of the Republic of Türkiye, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, on September 20, 2022, at the 77th session of the UN General Assembly, where he called for an end to the persecution of the Turkish Cypriot People and their unjust isolation, and invited the international community to formally recognise the TRNC.
Following this call, the TRNC, under its constitutional name, became an observer member of the Organisation of Turkic States, at the summit that was held in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. Furthermore, The late Vice President of the Republic of The Gambia, Badara Alieu Joof and his delegation, visited President Tatar, on November 30, 2022. These are just some of the tangible results noted in this book that have come about due to the two State vision.
President Tatar thanks everybody for their contributions to the book
President Tatar, who thanked Kerem Haser and to everybody for their contributions to this book, added: “The TRNC is being acknowledged more due to our vision and policy. The TRNC is on the path of becoming more recognised internationally. It is our sincere wish that a settlement can be found that is based on a realistic and sustainable basis on the sovereign equality and equal international status of the Turkish Cypriot People, where the two States coexist in good neighbourly relations, on the basis of a cooperative relationship.”
The President added that “This book communicates our arduous work and policy on the fact that Turkish Cypriot People are as sovereign as the Greek Cypriot People. It is high time the international community takes effective steps to end the great injustice being imposed on the Turkish Cypriot People, which is preventing our people from being able to enjoy direct trade and direct flights to the country.”
Explaining that, as former Greek Cypriot foreign minister late Nicos Rolandis had publicly written, it is the “Greek Cypriot side who have rejected at least 15 settlement plans and ideas” over more than half-a-century, because of the “Greek Cypriot Side's refusal to share governance and the resources of the island with the Turkish Cypriot People, who are co-owners with inherent equality rights, due to the mentality that exists in South Cyprus which sees Cyprus as being a Hellenic island". President Tatar stated that “the two States basis is needed if we are going to reach a viable and sustainable settlement, which cannot be reached by pursuing the exhausted federal basis, which is not a realistic settlement model nor compatible with the realities of the island of Cyprus”.
Guarantor power UK has better understanding of the Cyprus issue
Referring to his contacts in London, President Tatar added: “The UK is a guarantor power, has historical links with the island of Cyprus, and has better understanding of the developments and what was lived here. As I explained to our friends at the Houses of Parliament and to UK media members, the inhumane isolation of the Turkish Cypriot People, which is a great injustice, needs to be ended." President Tatar also expressed his disappointment that the UK did not invite him to the funeral of Queen Elizabeth, nor to the Coronation of King Charles, which were the most recent wrongs by the UK, by not treating Turkish Cypriot People as an equal Side in Cyprus.
President Tatar called upon the international community to review their considerations with regards to the island of Cyprus, and to be open to settling the issue on the new two State basis.
"My six cooperation proposals continue to be on the table"
Sending a message to the Greek Cypriot leader, Nicos Christodoulides, President Tatar stated: “The two sovereign States in Cyprus can cooperate in the fields of trade, tourism, health, agriculture, sharing of water resources and energy to name a few. My six cooperation proposals that I conveyed last July continues to be on the table. We are open to cooperation for the interconnection of electricity cables to the EU via the Republic of Türkiye which is feasible, as Türkiye is a mere 40 miles away from the island."
The President ended his speech by thanking everybody for attending the book launch event.
Haser: "I was honoured to be asked by the President to write this book"
In his speech, Mr Haser stated that it has taken more than two years to complete the book, adding: “I was called by the President to his office at the end of 2020 where the President told me that there were very important days that were going to take place with regards to the island of Cyprus and the policy for a two States basis and he asked me to document everything and to write a book about it. I was absolutely honoured to have been asked to carry out this very important duty.”
Mr Haser added that the book “documents more than 130 key meetings of the President and his negotiating team and comprises the original proposals put forth by the President at the 5+UN informal meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, in April 2021. It also contains his meetings with foreign officials, his meetings abroad, and the arduous and sincere work of the President for a two State settlement.”
Olgun: "This is an important reference book"
Special Representative of the President, M. Ergün Olgun, stated that “The Vision for Two States in Cyprus can also be viewed as a reference book, covering the period of October 2020 when the President was first elected, to the end of 2022.
“This book is a living written account of the struggle of the Turkish Cypriot People for the reaffirmation and acknowledgment of their inherent sovereign equality and equal international status rights.”