KYRENIA, Cyprus, 17 April 2005 — Turkish-Cypriots may feel jaded by the prospect of yet another vote, but for 25-year-old Mehmet, enjoying the warm spring sun, today’s presidential election means the start of a new era. “An era is drawing to a close in the TRNC (Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus), and it will be interesting to see what the new era has in store for us,” said the young man, who gave only his first name.
The election to choose a new leader for this breakaway statelet, recognized only by Turkey, will be the fourth vote in 18 months for Turkish-Cypriots. But Mehmet, basking on a cafe terrace in this picturesque port, says he will still go and cast his ballot — for Mehmet Ali Talat, frontrunner in the field of nine candidates.
All opinion polls show Talat will be the man to replace Rauf Denktash, 81, who decided to step down after four five-year terms, the only president the TRNC has known since it was founded in 1983. “Denktash marginalized himself by opposing the United Nations peace plan and a majority of voters want him to go,” Mehmet said.
Turkish-Cypriots in April last year voted massively in favor of a plan devised by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan to reunify the island before Cyprus joined the European Union on May 1, despite the veteran leader’s opposition. But Greek-Cypriots rejected the plan, ensuring that their internationally recognized government was admitted alone into the European bloc, leaving Turkish-Cypriots out in the cold.
Most observers see Denktash’s opposition to the plan as a major factor in his decision not to seek a new mandate. After a speedy rise through the political ranks, 53-year-old Talat is staunchly pro-unification and a source of hope for younger Turkish-Cypriots who want to see an end to more than 30 years of division on the island. “We hope we too will one day become members of the EU and that sanctions against us will be lifted. Talat can breathe new hope into us all,” said Emel Goker, a shop owner in this port whose hotels are starting to fill with British tourists.
The TRNC has been hit by political and economic sanctions since its creation nine years after Turkish troops invaded the north of the island in 1974 in response to an Athens-engineered coup aimed at uniting the island with Greece.
Denktash may have moved out of the presidential palace in Nicosia to his nearby retreat on tiny Snake Island, located in a military zone, but he has no intention of fading away. At his last presidential press conference yesterday, Denktash lashed out at Talat, accusing him of “auctioning off (the TRNC) and its independence”.
He has repeatedly said that he will not retire from politics and is likely to form a new party to air his strongly nationalistic views, and his supporters continue to be vocal. The private Akdeniz (Mediterranean) television channel runs nonstop interviews, accompanied by sentimental music, with personalities eulogizing Denktash’s career while talks shows praise the outgoing leader. Most fervent among his supporters are many of the island’s Turkish settlers who fear for their future in the event of a Talat victory.
