Turkish Cypriots denied the vote deserve an apology

IN THE light of last Sunday’s elections, I would like to ask President of the Republic of Cyprus Nicos Anastasiades (if he truly claims to be the president of all Cypriots) to apologise for all the inconveniences and for the behavior of his police and election officials and use his authority to cancel the elections.

Hundreds, perhaps thousands of Turkish Cypriots, all ‘citizens of the Republic’ were denied the right to vote on petty excuses! Such behaviour only enhance the efforts to strengthen the concrete wall between the two main communities of the island and help the ’cause’ of separatist, extremists on both sides of the divide.

Is this the way to resolve the half-century old conflict? Is this the way a democratic EU member state should treat some of its citizens? The funny thing is, there are people and political parties on both sides of the island who did not want Turkish Cypriots to take part in the European Parliament elections. One cannot help but wonder if they are in a secret coalition!

M. Anlar

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.