Turkish Cypriot CTP party leader Tufan Erhurman said on Monday it is a right for children of mixed marriages to gain citizenship of the Republic of Cyprus and not a favour.
Erhurman was commenting after the government announced 14 measures by to help bring Turkish Cypriots closer to the Republic.
One of the measures announced was that the government would begin examining a backlog of applications from children of mixed marriages between a Turk and Turkish Cypriot to get Cyprus nationality.
In a post on Sunday evening, the leader of the Turkish Cypriot opposition noted that shortly before the arrival of the UN Secretary General’s Envoy to Cyprus it was announced that applications for citizenship would be examined and added that President Nikos Christodoulides had been talking about this package for months.
Referring only to the citizenship issue, Erhurman said that this is neither a “negotiation”, nor a “confidence-building measure” nor an “opening”.
“The issue consists of eliminating human rights violations and eliminating discrimination.
“We are talking about the rights of these children, Mr Christodoulides. It’s not a favour, it’s a right! What you need to do is to eliminate discrimination and recognise rights as soon as possible! The rest is nonsense! And Mrs Cuellar should take this into account,” he said.
Commenting further on the matter on Monday, Disy leader Annita Demetriou said that the measures were a step in the right direction.
“This is the only way to convince our fellow Turkish Cypriots, who also distrust, and the European Union in general to move forward,” she said.
Commenting on criticism from other parties, especially Diko and Edek, she said it is impossible for parties to agree to have measures, discuss them at the national council and then denounce them once they are announced.
She is preparing a letter to the president that will recommend clarifications be given on the measures to stop all this discussion by parties opposed to them.
Elam said in previous days: “The decision in simple terms is unacceptable and reprehensible, since it only offers support and upgrading of the occupation of our homeland.”
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