Turkish Cyprus gov't collapses after decision to reopen Varosha

Duvar English

The People's Party (HP), a member of the ruling coalition in the Turkish Cyprus, withdrew from the government on Oct. 6 ahead of presidential elections on Oct. 11, leading to government collapse.

Kudret Özersay, the deputy prime minister, decided to quit his position and the HP said they are withdrawing after Prime Minister Ersin Tatar announced he would be reopening the closed-off Varosha beachfront with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's blessing.

"Until the new government is formed, we will act with a sense of responsibility. Good luck to our country," said HP chairman Yenal Senin, as he also blamed Tatar for the collapse.

Özersay, who had also been calling for Varosha to open, said he was against the decision made by Tatar because he turned the issue into a campaign matter.

Returning from Ankara, Tatar said it was not right for the HP to leave the government.

“We believe this was not the right decision that would benefit the country,” Tatar said.

Earlier, Turkish Cyprus said it will reopen the beach area of an abandoned resort in no-man's land, a move condemned by Greek Cypriots and likely to conjure up memories of the 1974 Turkish invasion that partitioned the island.

Tatar made the announcement in Ankara alongside Erdoğan, who said he backed the decision on Varosha, sealed off within barbed wire for decades.

The move could weigh on Turkey's dispute with European Union members Cyprus and Greece over territorial rights in the Eastern Mediterranean. Tensions had eased after Ankara and Athens agreed to resume talks, but Cyprus, a close ally of the Greece, promptly condemned the move to partially reopen the abandoned resort and said it would file a recourse to the United Nations Security Council.

Greece also criticised the move, and said it would support Cyprus.

"God willing, we will start to use the Maraş beach on Oct. 8 morning together with our people," Tatar said, using Varosha's Turkish name. Northern Cyprus is only recognised as a state by Turkey.

Sources in Cyprus said the plan was to open up about 1.5 km (1 mile) of beachfront to the public and not the approximately 6 square km (2.3 sq miles) inland that includes abandoned hotels and residences which its population of 39,000 people fled in 1974 during a Turkish invasion following a Greek inspired coup.

"We hope that the whole of Maraş is opened to use after ongoing work is completed by respecting property rights," Erdoğan said, pledging support for Turkish Cypriot officials.

Erdoğan said because it's only beachfront that belongs to the Turkish Cyprus, the rights of Varosha's Greek Cypriot property owners aren't being violated.

'Exceptionally unacceptable'

Nicos Anastasiades, president of Cyprus's internationally-recognised government - and who as recently as last week was involved in a tense stand-off with his EU peers for his push for sanctions on Turkey, said: "This is an exceptionally unacceptable situation."

Varosha is a suburb of the larger city of Famagusta, which, in Greek - Ammochostos - means "buried in sand." It has a pristine coastline of thick golden sand, most of it in the now out-of-bounds Varosha quarter.

Presently, about 200 metres (660 ft) of it is accessible to the public under the towering shadow of a hotel and a three-storey resort bombed during the war and left rotting since then. The rest of it is fenced off by rusting barbed wire which extends into the sea, guarded by Turkish soldiers.

Nicosia had already been in touch with the governments of the five permanent members of the Security Council in the hours leading up to the announcement, people with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.

Tatar had signalled steps to reopen Varosha in August, saying a revival of the area, which contains derelict hotels, churches and residences, would bring trade and tourism benefits.

Presidential elections are scheduled to be held in Northern Cyprus on Oct. 11, with Tatar a candidate.

Tatar, who is also leader of the right-wing National Unity Party (UBP), is challenging incumbent leftist leader Mustafa Akıncı who called out Turkey for meddling in the campaign to boost Tatar's support ahead of the vote.

Akıncı said Varosha's opening should be in line with UN decisions and international law.

Varosha has been off limits along ceasefire lines to all but the Turkish military since 1974 and has stood as a bargaining chip in the decades-long dispute between Greek and Turkish Cypriots.

Several peacemaking efforts have made no significant progress and the discovery of offshore energy resources has complicated efforts to resolve the island's partition.

UN expresses concern

The United Nations also expressed concern over the move, with Secretary General Antonio Guterres warning against "unilateral actions" that could heighten tensions and undermine chances for a resumption of peace talks.

Guterres' spokesman, Stephane Dujarric, said in a statement that the UN chief urged all sides to enter into talks to resolve differences, and repeated his readiness to arrange such a meeting.

Dujarric said in the statement that the UN's position remains unchanged on Varosha.