THE Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus Representative for London Oya Tuncalı has issued a New Year message to the Turkish citizens living in Britain.
“Dear Members of the Turkish Cypriot Community of England,
Dear Siblings,
As 2019 is coming to an end and we are preparing to enter a new year with good hopes, I sincerely congratulate all of our citizens who live in the UK.
We are delighted with the hard work and success of our esteemed citizens who have settled in the UK for many years. Successful studies that you have put forward in many fields such as politics, trade, economy, art, law give us pride and hope for the future of our diaspora. One of the most decisive factors in the relations between the UK and our country is our guarantor country with a long history. Our greatest hope is that our citizens move to a more effective point in the politics of the country by acting with the sense of unity and solidarity and take their place in the social life as they deserve. It is very important for the future of our young generations in this country that the Turkish Cypriot Community of the United Kingdom continues its energetic work and feels its power. I would like to take this opportunity to say that we would be pleased to see the continuation of the successful activities carried out by our Associations and Turkish Language and Culture Schools which are active in many fields such as social, education, culture and lobbying in our society and we would be pleased to see your active participation and support in these activities.
As the Turkish Cypriot side, we continue our goodwill efforts to reach a comprehensive settlement of the Cyprus issue. However, the fact that Greek Cypriots refused to share the administration and wealth with the Turkish Cypriots is one of the main reasons why the negotiations have failed today. It is seen that if the Greek Cypriot side changes this attitude, the new process that may start is different from the other processes, and it is necessary to construct a different process that focuses on results, not just negotiation.
It is our expectation that the international community will understand that there has been no justification for the isolation and embargoes applied to Turkish Cypriots for years and that there has been no contribution to the settlement of Cyprus in this way. The United Nations’ (UN) stance also demonstrates that there is no obstacle for the two parties and international actors on the island to communicate directly and to cooperate without waiting for a solution for an agreement to be reached through negotiation in Cyprus.
Dear siblings,
Our representative office is at your service and always at your service as it has been until today. All our staff will continue to serve as a bridge between you and our country. We will continue our work in solidarity, tolerance and understanding. With these thoughts, I wish that the year 2020 will be the year of our sharing and solidarity, and I wish that this year will be a year of success and fertility for our society, our country and the whole of humanity.”