STAR- Columnist Saygi Ozturk writes on the Fifth Eurasian Islamic Council Organization meeting held in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. A summary of his column is as follows:
Representatives from 25 countries attended the fifth Eurasian Islamic Council Organization meeting held in Gazimagusa in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC). Most certainly, this was an important meeting. The TRNC is not recognized by many Islamic countries. However holding the meeting here has a distinct meaning. As it was known beforehand that a TRNC seal on the passports of those coming to the meeting would cause some problems, they were treated as if visiting mainland Turkey. There were some who were called back just because they came to Turkey to attend this meeting. They returned to their homelands from Istanbul before stepping on TRNC soil. Some of those are from the Russian Federation: European Desk Religious head Talat Tacettin, Asian Desk Religious Administration head Nafiullah Ashirov, and the Muftis of St. Petersburg, Chuvashistan and Omsk, Moscow and Daghestan. They all made it as far as Istanbul. When it was learned that these religious leaders were to then proceed to Cyprus, a panic ensued in the Russian Foreign Ministry. A call from the ministry they were instructed them not to go to the TRNC, nor to attend the meeting, but to return their homes at once. The representatives of sisterly states such as Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan didn’t attend the meeting either. In other words, same states we know as our friends are still spooked by the TRNC problem. TRNC President Rauf Denktas, Prime Minister Dervis Eroglu, Parliament Speaker Zeki Vehbi Sertel, Turkey’s Ambassador to Lefkosha Haati Guven and other government ministers attended the opening ceremony of the Islamic Council meeting. The message Denktas issued was clear. ‘Islamic countries make a show of supporting us, but somehow their words are not translated into action. I am addressing all of Islamic society: there is neither a majority nor minorities on Cyprus. There is, however, the problem of seizure of a jointly established state at the hands of the Greek Cypriots. Explain the situation to your governments.’ It is an interesting fact that apart from the republics of Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan, none of the Turkic-speaking countries sent a representative to this meeting. However, to have brought together representatives and religious leaders from 25 countries and taken them to the TRNC is an important success for Turkey’s Religious Affairs Directorate. There are sentimental reasons for holding the Eurasian Islamic Council meeting on Cyprus. Religious Affairs Directorate head Mehmet Nuri Yilmaz explained it in these words: ‘Our kinsmen in Cyprus suffered great hardships and were oppressed. Muslim Turkish Cypriots have been fighting since 1963 not to snatch away the rights of others but to defend their own rights, laws, and to obtain justice.’ Yilmaz also stated that Denktas had extended his hand in friendship to the Greek Cypriots to establish a new partnership based on equal sovereignty, but that he did not get the answer he expected. He added that no one should expect Denktas and the Turkish Cypriots to accept an agreement turning the clock back to the conditions of pre-1974, which do not in any way guarantee their rights and constitutional interests. In the meeting hall one could find the representatives of a nation oppressed. They were Palestinian students. Following the September 11 attacks, world opinion regarding terrorism changed. One of the important topics discussed during the council meeting was terrorism. Yilmaz said, ‘It is the duty of everyone to oppose terrorism, take measures against it, and contribute to these measures. Another important matter is eliminating the conditions fostering terrorism. We must all fight against terrorism.
SOURCE: OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER, DIRECTORATE GENERAL OF PRESS AND INFORMATION