Ertugruloglu: Holguin knows nothing about the Cyprus problem

United Nations envoy Maria Angela Holguin “knows nothing about the Cyprus problem”, the north’s ‘foreign minister’ Tahsin Ertugruloglu said on Friday.

Speaking to Ada TV, he said Holguin “is of no use, has failed to maintain her impartiality, and has exceeded the limits of her duty”.

“Holguin did not provide any benefit. If we are going to look for benefits, we can say she said there is no common ground. She exceeded the limits of her duty by telling people to ‘put pressure on your leaders’,” he said.

He went on to say that Holguin had “not come to the island as a mediator”, and that her role was to “investigate whether there was common ground that would require the two sides to sit down at the negotiating table again.”

“Holguin was of no use … She could not maintain her neutrality either. The Cyprus problem has nothing to do with her past. No matter how much she reads and listens, she knows nothing about the Cyprus problem,” he said.

Holguin submitted her report on Cyprus to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in July as her six-month tenure in her role as UN envoy came to an end.

Days earlier, she had penned an open letter to Cyprus, urging stakeholders on the island to “think differently” to find a solution to the Cyprus problem.

She said her time as envoy has “focused on a constant search for paths that lead to generating trust between the parties”, and that it is now “important to move away from solutions that in the past have created expectations that were not met and led to greater disagreements and frustrations”.

“Now, we must think differently, remaining convinced that a common future would bring great opportunities to all Cypriots,” she said.

She insisted in the letter that her commitment will not be “over” upon the submission of her report, and that she will “continue to think on options for a lasting solution”.

She had most recently visited Cyprus in May, but her final meeting with Tatar lasted just 20 minutes, with relations between the pair seemingly having soured.

Tatar later criticised Holguin’s modus operandi while in Cyprus, accusing her of “provoking the opposition and turning me into a target.”

“Her holding of meetings with some opposition groups is outside her job description. This is not a nice thing. She visited [former Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa] Akinci twice. Is this even possible?” he said.

“This sort of thing is not something that can be accepted diplomatically. She is taking steps to provoke the opposition and wear me down. I conveyed my discomfort to the appropriate authorities.”

In addition to the matter of Holguin, Ertugruloglu also said he has “no shame” regarding his policy on the Cyprus problem.

“Why were there so many martyrs and why was so much effort made? Where are we wrong? What is the fault of the Turkish Cypriots? We prevented this island from becoming a Hellenic island, and we are proud of that,” he began.

He added, “for which mistake are we being punished? Why are there no direct flights, no direct trade? The moment the Turkish soldiers leave this island, the island becomes Crete. This is why the Greek Cypriots want Turkish soldiers to leave the island. The Turkish soldiers prevent the Greek Cypriots’ impudence.”