THE GOVERNMENT yesterday expressed outrage after Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat unexpectedly made an appearance during the podium ceremony of Sunday’s Turkish Grand Prix in Istanbul.
The government will protest “the unacceptable and provocative theatrical performance organised by Ankara, with Talat as the leading actor and will call on the F?d?ration Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), the governing body of world motor sport, to react to this kind of behaviour,” Government Spokesman Christodoulos Pashardis said.
During the ceremony, in which Talat presented the winner’s trophy to Ferrari’s Brazilian driver, Felipe Massa, Talat was announced as, “the President of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus,” a regime which the United Nations has declared “legally invalid”.
Pashardis said the Turkish side had organised a well-planned performance to present and give publicity to the Turkish Cypriot leader as “President” of a non-existent state.
He said that, “they deceived the FIA and tried to exploit for political purposes a purely sporting event, through provocative manoeuvres and absurd propaganda methods.
“Talat is neither a citizen nor an official of Turkey, which was the organising country and should not have been invited to award the prize unless he considers himself a Turkish citizen or Turkey considers him their representative,” he added.
The spokesman wondered how Talat, who sees himself as “President” of his regime and therefore a foreign leader, was called upon to award the prize by the host country of such an important sporting event.
“This staged event may have satisfied Talat’s vanity and Turkey’s political expediencies but it cannot have pleased the FIA, of which the Cyprus Automobile Association (CAA) is a legal member,” he added.
The CAA, organiser of the annual FIA Cyprus Rally, confirmed that it has already sent a letter of protest to the FIA, accusing Turkey of trying to gain political advantage from Sunday’s race.
In a news release, the CAA said they were responding to the decision by the event organisers to introduce Mehmet Ali Talat as, “President of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.”
Confirming the CAA’s written response, Chairman Philios Zachariades also stressed that the matter would be discussed at length and in person with FIA officials and that ongoing developments will be monitored closely. Zachariades also drew attention to the CAA’s work, ongoing since 1974, to ensure that the FIA does not recognise any motor sport activity organised in the parts of the island under Turkish occupation.
“Our position is that politics should not be brought into sport,” he said.
Richard Woods, Director of Communications for the FIA, the regulator of the Formula 1 World Championship, yesterday told the Cyprus Mail: “I can officially confirm that a full investigation of this matter is under way and we are taking it very seriously. Once this investigation has been completed we will be in a position to make further comments.”
According to Turkish newspaper, Hurriyet, sources noted that Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan had been planning on presenting the award, but that a change in his schedule prompted officials to push for Talat to present it. With viewers from 203 countries watching, Talat’s presentation was acknowledged in and around Ankara as being a tremendous opportunity for Northern Cyprus to show itself to the world.
When invited to respond to the criticism, Talat’s office declined to comment on the controversy.
