Serdar Denktaş: “I Will Be Neither an Appendage to the Greek Cypriots Nor a Province of Turkey”

Denktaş spoke as a live guest on the “Genç’te Sabah” program on Genç TV, answering questions from Meltem Sonay.

Making striking remarks about the presidential election process, Denktaş said the elections have reached a point where voters must ask themselves: “Representation or submission?”

“These Elections Will Answer the Question: ‘Representation or Submission?’”

“These elections will be the answer to the question of ‘representation or submission,’” Denktaş said. “Two states cannot be made acceptable to the world with the current approach. A federation will not happen because of the Greek Cypriot stance. Our citizens should separate the candidates along these two lines: does one represent representation and the other submission? And they should decide accordingly. I want to be represented, not handed over. This is the decision our citizens must make.”

“Policies That Drive a Wedge Between Turkey and Our People Are the Greatest Harm to This Country”

Denktaş criticized the manipulation that placed the Cyprus issue at the top of the public agenda during the election period. “Using the Cyprus issue for domestic purposes is the biggest mistake. They are either sinking our institutions or handing them over to companies in Turkey. From the cost-of-living crisis to institutional weaknesses and fake diplomas, our country has countless issues on its agenda. Yet, because of the election, you have elevated the Cyprus problem — which ranks last in people’s minds — to the top. As if the Cyprus issue will be solved immediately after the elections. That will not happen. Let us talk about the real issues in the country, starting with the cost-of-living crisis. Acting solely on Ankara’s demands without valuing our own people drives a wedge between Turkey and our citizens. This is the greatest harm, even an ugliness, inflicted on our country,” he said.

Denktaş called for an immediate end to this mistake, stressing his heartfelt connection to Anatolia and the need to work with Ankara’s elected government through consultation and good relations. “Instead of debating our own political stance, approach and understanding, we are forced into disputes with Ankara as we witness the pressures exerted by people like Mr. Süleyman Soylu and his team, or Mr. Erbaş and his team, on employees of companies with which they have close ties. Don’t do this. This is not good. We are sincerely connected to Anatolia. We are among those who wish to move forward in good relations with Ankara’s elected government. But the more you intervene in the will of this state in this way, the more you push people like me — who are sincerely connected to Anatolia — into conflict with Ankara. The outcome of this method will not be good. In this way, our people are being convinced that sovereignty and will do not belong to us, and you cannot achieve recognition for the state like this,” he said.

“I Will Be Neither an Appendage to the Greek Cypriots Nor a Province of Turkey”

Recalling that the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus had been elevated from a communal level to that of a people who established a state, Denktaş said: “As Serdar Denktaş, I will accept neither being an appendage to the Greek Cypriots nor becoming a province of Turkey. Because we have risen from a communal level to a level of a people who established a state. I am one of those who truly believe in this state. I believe that we must advance the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus with its name, identity, and everything else. My stance will always be this way for as long as I breathe. No one can dissuade me from this,” he stressed, adding that he knows well the differences between submission, dependency and loyalty.

“The Responsibility Lies With the Citizens, the Will Lies With the Citizens”

Highlighting that, no matter what is imposed, the will lies with the citizens, Denktaş said: “My call to the people is this: Say yes to all their demands, but once you are in the voting booth, you are there only with your conscience and with God. The responsibility lies with the citizens. The will lies with the citizens,” underlining his full faith in and commitment to the state.

“I was 24 when the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus was declared,” Denktaş added. “I was among those who lived through its preparations at home before its declaration, and who stood in the square in tears with the people during the declaration itself. I am a child of the republic. I believed in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, I held onto it tightly, and I will never let it go,” he said.