AKEL withdraws from Cyprus Forum over change to Nicosia mayor’s title — Cyprus Mail
In Cyprus, the AKEL party announced that its leader, Stefanos Stefanou, and other invited representatives will not take part in the Cyprus Forum in Nicosia. The party explained its decision by hysterical right-wing rhetoric after the organizers changed the title of Mehmet Harmanci, who had initially been referred to as the mayor of the Nicosia Turkish Cypriot Municipality.
As Cyprus Mail reports, the organizers later began referring to Harmanci as the leader of the Nicosia Turkish Cypriot community. AKEL said that hysterical right-wing rhetoric cannot determine public dialogue in the country.
Who withdrew from participation
Harmanci, Nicosia Mayor Charalambos Prountzos, the Association for Historical Dialogue and Research, the Cyprus Peace and Dialogue Center, and the Turkish Cypriot political party CTP had also previously withdrawn from the forum.
Harmanci said he links the change in title to the reaction of the Elam party. According to the publication, Elam demanded that his invitation be withdrawn and said that its representatives would not participate in the forum if officials of the so-called pseudo-state were present.
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Positions of the organizers and Harmanci
Cyprus Forum Executive President Nicolas Kyriakides said the organizers had rejected Elam’s demand to cancel Harmanci’s invitation. At the same time, he said that after the party’s statement, they received official appeals from officials of the Republic of Cyprus concerning the wording of the title, which is not recognized by the Greek Cypriot side.
Harmanci said this was not a simple matter of crisis management. He called the situation an example of how, in his view, racist and divisive propaganda, manipulation, and political pressure can undermine mutual respect and a culture of peace. He also thanked Prountzos for his solidarity after the latter withdrew from the event.
The Nicosia Turkish Cypriot Municipality was established in 1958, before the founding of the Republic of Cyprus. The article notes that the Constitution of the Republic of Cyprus provides for the existence of Turkish Cypriot mayors.
