As of: April 8, 2024, 6:31 p.m
By: Erkan Pehlivan
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The leader of the Turkish-controlled side of Cyprus, Ersin Tatar, calls for a two-state solution. Tatar is considered a nationalist with excellent contacts with the mafia.
Nicosia - Tensions are threatening to rise again in Cyprus. In an interview with the British newspaper
The Telegraph,
the head of the Turkish part of the island, Ersin Tatar, threatened
a year-long conflict on the divided island like in the Gaza Strip or Ukraine. All it takes is one mistake. “If you shoot one Turkish soldier, you will have 10,000 soldiers on the ground,” Tatar told the paper. “Everyone should be calm and sensible. Turkish Cypriots are not alone - we have 85 million Turks behind us and they are only 40 miles away."
The warning from nationalist Tatar, an ally of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, comes ahead of his meeting with UN Secretary-General Antonio Gueterres on Friday (April 12) in New York. The Turkish side rejects the island Greeks' proposal to reunite the island under the flag of the Republic of Cyprus. This would mean that Turkey would return the northern part, which it calls the “Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus” (Turkish: Kuzey Kibris Türk Cumhuriyeti – KKTC). Turkey occupied the northern part of the island in 1974 in response to a Greek military coup.
Cypriot Greeks want reunification
Nikos Christodoulides, the President of the internationally recognized Republic of Cyprus, recently assured that he would spare no effort to realize the common dream of reunification. Reunification is supported by the former colonial power Great Britain as well as by the United Nations, the United States and the EU.
The leader of the Turkish-controlled side of Cyprus, Ersin Tatar, calls for a two-state solution. © IMAGO/Valery Sharifulin
Tatar wants a two-state solution for Cyprus
Tatar, on the other hand, sees a two-state solution as the only solution to resolve the conflict on the island. Tatar calls these efforts “a waste of time” in the British newspaper. “How can you unite an island like this after so many years? It is impossible to unite Cyprus. You have to face the facts and accept reality.” This also means that the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus must also be recognized after 50 years. So far, the Turkish part has only been recognized by Turkey. However, the leader of the Turkish side of the island announced that Azerbaijan, Pakistan and Bangladesh could soon also recognize the KKTC.
Tatar is said to have connections to the mafia
Ersin Tatar is said to have connections to organized crime. This became particularly clear after the murder of mafia godfather Halil Faylali in 2022. “Halil Falyalı was a valuable brother. He had made a lot of investments in this country, he had helped a lot of people. I, too, mourn him. I wish him God’s grace and my condolences to his family.”
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Northern Cyprus as a drug hub for the Turkish mafia
It has long been discussed how much the mafia has established itself in the northern part of the island. “They have turned the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus into a mafia plateau. They have turned this entity, cut off from the world, condemned to darkness, built on lawlessness, into the backyard of organized crime syndicates,” wrote journalist Cenk Mutluyakali in the Turkish Cypriot newspaper
Yeni Düzen
on February 9, 2022 . Cyprus is considered a base for the Turkish mafia, which is primarily used as a drug trafficking center and for money laundering.
The Swiss press also sees links between Tatar and the mafia. Emir Y., the alleged boss of a betting mafia, was arrested there in September 2023. “He is said to have earned millions with illegal sports betting and gambling in Switzerland – and to run a gigantic network,” writes Schweizer
Blick
. “The head of the betting mafia was only received in July by the President of the Northern Cypriot Republic Ersin Tatar (63), as a picture on Facebook shows,” the paper continues.