Politics in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus

Neither Turkey nor the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNQrecognises the legitimacy of the Republic of Cyprus, and there is absolutelyno doubt in either country about the legitimacy of the Turkish Republic ofNorthern Cyprus. This is a point worth while making at the beginning ofany account of contemporary TRNC politics because in the TRNC a deepsense of moral indignation lies behind attitudes to the Cyprus issue andcolours local politics-in which the Cyprus issue currently looms large.The Turkish Cypriots maintain that by means of the notoriousAkritas Plan (never denied) the Greek Cypriots made a deliberate and violentattempt to force them to accept minority status instead of the communitystatus accorded them in the 1960 Constitution, and that this was intended tobe a prelude to enosis. Despite the extreme violence to which they had beensubjected, the Turkish Cyriot deputies made a request in 1965 (conveyed byUNFYCIP) to take their seats in the House of Representatives. This wasrefused unless they accepted serious limitations to their powers.1 This deniesthe Greek Cypriot contention that "since 1963 the Government continues tofunction without the Turkish members, who wilfully abstain from theirduties..."

Politics in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus