Erdogan: Turkey’s aim is to destroy the Republic of Cyprus

So, according to Turk PM Erdogan, speaking today to Turkish Cypriot journalists ahead of his trip to the occupied areas to lead ‘celebrations’ to mark the 37th anniversary of Turkey's invasion of Cyprus, Turkey is no longer prepared to make ‘concessions’ on Cyprus, the Annan plan was as far as Turkey was prepared to go, and there will be no return of Morphou, Ammohostos or Karpasia – though Greeks, he said, would be allowed to go on pilgrimages to the remote peninsular, presumably to Apostolos Andreas. Erdogan added, alluding to Turkey’s demographic ambitions for Cyprus, that Turkish Cypriots, to boost the Turkish population on the island, needed to be more fecund and produce at least four children per family; otherwise, they should expect to see the dumping of more Anatolian gypsies in the occupied areas.

On arriving in Cyprus, where he was greeted by hundreds of Turks waving Turkish, pseudo-state and Palestinian flags, Erdogan said there was no such country as Cyprus – there was only the ‘Greek administration of the south’ and ‘the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus’ – and that Turkey would freeze its relations with the EU in the six months next year during which Cyprus will hold the EU presidency. It would be a ‘disgrace’, Erdogan insisted, for Turkey to sit down, talk and carry out negotiations with a country whose existence it did not recognise. Erdogan went on that the only ‘solution’ Turkey was prepared to consider for Cyprus was a loose confederation of two separate states, i.e. the old ‘independence in the north-partnership with the south’ scenario.

The Turks have been careful not to be blamed for any collapse of the UN talks that have been taking place these last two years, paying lip service to their stated aim of reuniting Cyprus as a bizonal, bicommunal federation; so, it’s a little strange that Erdogan should so brazenly declare Turkey’s long-standing ‘two-state’ Cyprus policy and so openly show contempt for the UN process. Of course, the international community, including the UN, will pretend it never heard Erdogan’s utterances, even Christofias said he wanted to believe it was just another example of Erdogan’s tendency to speak off the cuff; but the truth is that this wasn’t just another Erdogan outburst, but the Turk PM stating Turkey’s real Cyprus policy, which is to destroy the Greek state entity on the island – the Republic of Cyprus – and in so doing rendering Cypriot Hellenism defenceless and allowing for the full Turkification of Cyprus.