Awful developments in the North Cyprus

Those who have read my articles on the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus know that I don’t approve of the policies followed by the Denktaş family. I was the first person in the media to describe their policy as 'no solution is the solution.'

Cüneyt Ülsever - Turkish Daily News
Tuesday, September 19, 2006

Those who have read my articles on the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (KKTC) know that I don't approve of the policies followed by the Denktaş family. I am the first person in the media to describe their policy as “no solution is the solution.”
However, there have been certain developments on the island that I cannot accept.
Undemocratic means have been used to get rid of the Denktaş family.
According to newspapers, Democrat Party (DP) leader Serdar Denktaş, who was pushed out of the coalition after the recent political confusion in the KKTC, said that Justice and Development Party (AKP) deputy leader Şaban Dişli played a part in the transfer of deputies from his party and the Republican Turks Party (CTP) to form the Freedom and Democracy Party (ÖDP) and added that Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's name was also mentioned.
According to claims, the same political games played in Turkey are now being repeated in the KKTC.
Religion and politics, always kept separate in the KKTC, are now bound together. KKTC Religious Affairs head Ahmet Yönlüer's initiative is resulting in a religion-politics coalition on the island. According to claims, Yönlüer is trying to found a party like the AKP. According to an even more worrying claim, Yönlüer offered DP deputies $ 600,000 in order for them to leave their party.
The KKTC costs Turkey $1 million a day. As a result, Turkey has some say in what goes on there. For example, Turkey usually tries to influence elections in the KKTC. On the other hand, Turkey never abandons the KKTC even though this means the future of 72 million people is put at risk for only 200,000.
However, if the above claims are right, Turkey has never before intervened in the KKTC's national will so blatantly.
Turkey has always tried to turn the KKTC into a smaller version of itself. On the other hand, the people on the island try to protect some of the values left on from the British colonial era.
Top of these values comes democratic will. For the Turks on the island, democracy means much more than it does to Turks in Anatolia. The Turks on the island never used to mix religion with politics, unlike us.
They could always differentiate between being competitors and being enemies. Even though they may fight each other during elections, this never spoils friendships.
Secularism has always been the governing system on the island.
The religious affairs director never had powers outside his office.
However, now we are hearing from sources, besides Serdar Denktaş, that Yönlüer has become deeply involved in the political scene in the KKTC.
He has close contacts with all the politicians and is trying to persuade them to quit their parties and join new ones. What's even worse is the claim that money has been changing hands.
For many years, the KKTC was governed by the principle “no solution is the solution.” However, the means to rid the island of this should not be undemocratic or immoral.