By Bosphorus News Geopolitics Desk
Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhürman says children should not lose access to education, travel or other rights because of disputes over recognition, terminology or their parents' origins.
In a lengthy Facebook post, Erhürman listed the rights of Maronite children, pupils at the Greek Cypriot school in Karpaz, children born to mixed marriages and children whose parents are from Türkiye or other countries.
"All of these are on my agenda and I am working on them," he wrote.
Erhürman said families, associations, sports clubs and young people regularly bring cases to the Presidency involving visas, education abroad, cultural activities and international competitions.
Some cannot obtain visas for school. Others cannot travel with sports or folk-dance teams because their teammates can go abroad while they cannot.
He described one case in which a child received a visa on September 1, too late to attend school that day. The student lost both enrollment and a scholarship.
Erhürman said those consequences explain why he gives children and young people priority.
The post then turned to one of the Cyprus dispute's most persistent problems: whether practical rights issues can be separated from the language each side uses to describe the other.
Erhürman addressed criticism over raising the rights of children born to mixed marriages while not using the term "Republic of Cyprus."
"Sir, I cannot even say 'Republic of Cyprus,' so how can I express this request?" he wrote, paraphrasing the argument directed at him.
His answer was the example of the Greek Cypriot school in Karpaz.
Erhürman said that when the Greek Cypriot leader raised problems faced by children studying there, he did not require him first to say "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus" (TRNC).
"I never had to. We are talking about children," Erhürman wrote.
He made the same argument about United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres. When Guterres included the issue among seven confidence-building measures placed before the two sides, Erhürman said, the UN chief did not first have to say "Republic of Cyprus."
The seven-point file already includes one of the issues at the center of Erhürman's post: the rights of children born to mixed marriages.
Erhürman has said the Turkish Cypriot side accepted six of the seven points put forward by Guterres, with the question of new crossing points still unresolved.
He has also objected to introducing 19 additional proposals before progress is made on the existing seven.
"My concern is to make progress," Erhürman said in an earlier Presidency statement. Bringing 19 new points onto the table when seven already existed, six of which the Turkish Cypriot side had accepted, amounted to "adding water to cooked food," he said.
That approach also shapes his position on another trilateral or 5+1 meeting.
Erhürman has said he wants meetings prepared to produce results rather than gatherings held simply to bring the parties together.
"We want a trilateral meeting or 5+1 that will take us to a solution and produce a successful result, not just to hold a meeting and pose for a photograph," he said.
His focus on children predates the latest Facebook post.
In another Presidency statement, Erhürman said his "first aim" was for children and young people on the island to connect with the world.
"Whoever stands against this goal, wherever they are from, will find me standing against them," he said.
The Facebook post gives that position a list of immediate cases: children unable to travel, students losing education opportunities, athletes missing competitions and families whose children face different treatment because of their parents' birthplace or nationality.
Erhürman said he was not ranking one group's problems above another's. Other unresolved issues also remain on his agenda.
But he rejected tying the rights of children and young people to their parents' political views, property disputes or positions on the Cyprus settlement.
"We must address all the issues," he wrote.
For children, he said, the cost of waiting can be permanent.
Sources: Tufan Erhürman Facebook statement, Turkish Cypriot Presidency, Bosphorus News review and reporting.