The words “I cried on the day the TRNC’s independence was declared,” in the book “Adam Talat’s Cyprus,” which consists of interviews our President gave to Erdal Güven, Managing Editor of Radikal Newspaper, were widely discussed in our country and even in Turkey.
In those days, I too spoke about this subject with the book’s author, Erdal Güven. I was curious about what he felt when he heard those words and what they discussed. Mr. Güven told me that he too was surprised when he heard these words from our President, and that he even told Mr. Talat, “If you wish, I can leave these parts out.” But our President said there was no problem and that he could write them.
Mr. Güven did write them, and when we spoke, he told me that, like any author, he was not very pleased that the book was being judged on the basis of this sentence. He was rightly worried that the other issues covered in the book would be overshadowed by this debate.
But now, in these days when we can say that we have “entered” the presidential election process, this sentence was undoubtedly going to be used by opposition groups. It has been used extensively. And it will be used in the period ahead, too!
Although this “sentence” paints a picture that is unfavorable to Mr. Talat in the eyes of many, who knows, perhaps Mr. Talat wants it to be used. In other words, perhaps Mr. Talat has thought all this through. Could it be that we are even witnessing a process planned together with the Turkish Foreign Ministry?
Before saying, “Hahaha, don’t be ridiculous,” I recommend that you read the whole article.
Every time Mr. Talat says, “There are elections in April 2010,” I have commented on it. On September 24, in this very column, I wrote the following in an article titled “Talat’s Calendar”: “The presidential elections to be held in our country in April 2010 have become an important factor in resolving the ‘Cyprus Problem’! In his latest statement, Mr. Talat says that a timetable should be drawn up under pressure from the international community in order to resolve the problem. He goes on to outline this timetable in the rest of his statement.
He says there will be an EU report on Turkey in December and elections in the TRNC in April 2010. In other words, he is essentially saying, ‘Let’s set the timetable this way.’ Let the give-and-take process begin before December, and let us go to a referendum before April 2010… If Mr. Talat’s timetable is adopted and pressure is brought to bear on both leaders to impose it, it is certain that we will come much closer to a solution than we are today! On the other hand, the necessity of this timetable is quite clear in terms of Mr. Talat’s political future!
Meanwhile, it is worth saying that the UBP, which is accused of not wanting a solution, would in such a scenario have made the greatest contribution to achieving one! Because when the President says, ‘There will be elections in the TRNC in 2010!’ he is sending the international community this message: ‘Look, I will be gone, the UBP will come to power, and you will see a solution in the TRNC only in your dreams!’”
Perhaps the episode of crying, which I recalled at the beginning along with its consequences, makes this last sentence all the more powerful.
Perhaps this crying episode was brought about to strengthen the UBP, which is portrayed as the West’s “supposed” nightmare and as the side in Cyprus that does not want a solution.
Taking all this into account, and adding a little “conspiracy theory,” let us turn to the plan I mentioned above: According to the plan Talat made with the Turkish Foreign Ministry—perhaps one that emerged from those famous brainstorming meetings—Mr. Talat is, in the atmosphere created within the international community, the only leader who can bring about a solution in Cyprus. These days, Talat will make statements and take actions that will cost him votes. He will reach the point of losing the election in the polls. Mr. Talat’s position, close to losing the presidency, will send the international community the message, “Hurry up,” if it wants to achieve a solution in Cyprus. And this will turn the “Talat’s Calendar” I wrote on September 24 into reality.
Do you think this plan is too far-fetched?
Well, isn’t it “far-fetched” for a leader preparing for the presidential elections to make such a statement?
I hope to see you on Thursday…
Pay attention to your surroundings, keep them clean, and please be courteous in traffic!