By Angelos Anastasiou
PUBLIC outcry has forced the breakaway regime in the north to backtrack on its welcoming of the Turkish Football Federation’s plans to open a representative office in the occupied areas, press reports suggested on Wednesday.
During a visit to Turkey, Turkish Cypriot so-called deputy prime minister and Sports minister Serdar Denktash welcomed the federation’s efforts on Tuesday, saying it would provide opportunities for Turkish Cypriot footballers.
“From the motherland, Turkey, our athletes will find their way abroad,” he said.
But the announcement, as well as Denktash’s remarks, were met with outright condemnation back home.
Chairman of the Football Clubs’ Association Arslan Biracli said Turkey’s request to FIFA was a “great disrespect” to the chairman of the Turkish Cypriot Football Association, its board and of football in general.
Association’s chairman Hasan Sertoglu argued that no such initiative can go ahead without approval by his association.
In a statement, the leader of the Turkish Republican Party Kutlay Erk said the Turkish Federation’s plan to open an office in the occupied areas was “unacceptable”.
Erk censured Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu, saying he sees the breakaway state as an extension of Turkey, while youth in the occupied area are struggling to connect to the rest of the world and being ignored by their own leadership.
The Turkish Cypriot press reported developments critically, with Afrika leading on the story under the headline “Without our consent”.
Yeni Duzen also ran a front-page story, in which the headline read “We are being completely ignored”, while Kibris included the story in its sports pages under the title “Many reactions”.
According to the Turkish Cypriot press, even so-called deputies of the Turkish Republican Party spoke critically of Denktash’s stance, saying that the Turkish Cypriot association should have been consulted with before any decisions were made.
Following the public outcry, the administration was forced to pull a U-turn, with leader Ozkan Yiorgancioglu arguing that the proposal cannot possibly be accepted.
“The Turkish Cypriot Association and Turkish Cypriot football were not considered in the slightest,” he was reported as saying.
Turkish Cypriot media attributed Yiorgancioglu with dismay at Denktash’s remarks.
“The Greek Cypriot side argues that the breakaway regime is a ‘branch’ of Turkey,” he said. “Is this not a step that reinforces that argument?”
And forthcoming elections candidate Mustafa Akinci said that the goal is for the Turkish Cypriot youth to compete in sports internationally and become part of the international community.
“Greek Cypriots go to Turkey to compete and Turkish Cypriots can only watch,” he said. “This is unacceptable.”
