Akinci: The Whole of Cyprus Will Be Affected by Brexit

  The whole of Cyprus will be affected by Britain’s decision to leave the EU, Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci said on June 27.

The daily Kibris quoted Akinci as saying that not everything is perfect in the EU, but that Turkish Cypriots should continue to see their future within the EU, the Cyprus Mail reports.

It is absolutely essential, he said, for the breakaway regime in the north to act as fast as possible to be able to deal with the negative economic impact from this development.

The future of the EU, Akinci said, has suffered a serious setback because other member states may try to leave, but also as the Brexit could strengthen separatism within Britain itself.

‘Prime minister’ Huseyin Ozgurgun was quoted by Kibris as saying that the outcome of the British referendum is respected. He added, though, that the questioning of the fundamental values on which the EU was built by one of its member states of 43 years, has caused great disappointment.

The EU, which the Turkish Cypriot people want, he said, is not an EU dominated by Islamophobia or racist anti-Turkish and anti-Turkey statements. One of the priorities of his administration, Ozgurgun said, is to objectively inform citizens about the EU and to develop a policy, a new vision for the EU and a communication strategy for the EU, involving all stakeholders.

Instead of the values of human rights, democracy and rule of law, the EU, over the past few years, has been more occupied with Islamophobia, racist movements and movements against refugees, Ozgurgun said. He also said that Cyprus joining the EU has not prevented the development of racist movements within the Greek Cypriot community either.

According to the Cyprus Mail, the head of the Democratic Party and ‘Finance Minister’ Serdar Denktash, said that his father, Rauf Denktash, who had predicted that the EU will fall apart one day, is now vindicated.

The administration evaluated, he said, whether the impact of the British decision to withdraw from the EU will be negative or positive.

The head of the People’s Party and former negotiator Kudret Ozersay expressed his conviction in Kibris Postasi that the new situation that will be created between the EU and the UK will create some opportunities for the breakaway regime.

If the regime acts fast, he said, and takes initiatives, it would be possible to overcome the problems they expect to face as regards citrus exports. Ozersay said that the 1994 decision of the European Court of Justice can be lifted, adding that this decision was the basis of all trade restrictions, which had turned into a kind of embargo on products of the north to countries of the EU.

He added that before 1994, potatoes and citrus fruit from the north were sold in the UK with the presentation of certain certificates.

“If, we set a strategy without any delay, and follow some diplomatic initiatives with the help of Turkey, we can transform the current uncertainty into an opportunity,” Ozersay said.