Civil Coups and Collective Memory: Have We Forgotten 2020? (Tr: Sivil Darbeler ve Toplumsal Hafıza: 2020’yi Unuttuk mu?)

Civil Coups and Collective Memory: Have We Forgotten 2020?

With the annulment of Istanbul Metropolitan Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu’s diploma, reactions have erupted across Turkey. Many believe this is President Erdoğan’s attempt to eliminate his biggest political rival. This intervention against İmamoğlu is seen as yet another link in the chain of pressure on opposition figures in Turkey. After all, figures like Selahattin Demirtaş and Ümit Özdağ have also been under judicial scrutiny for years for various reasons.

Leading international media outlets have interpreted this situation as a sign of democratic backsliding in Turkey. Headlines scream: “The Turkish people’s right to vote and be elected is being usurped; this is a major human rights violation.” Indeed, what is happening in Turkey is a civil coup against the will of the people. However, there is one thing that Turkish Cypriots must not forget—this is not the first civil coup orchestrated by the system.

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Of course, Turkish Cypriots living in the northern part of the island are concerned about Turkey’s internal turmoil. And why wouldn’t they be? After all, aren’t we essentially living under that country’s subordinate administration? Hasn’t the northern part of the island effectively become Turkey’s colony? Personally, I don’t like meddling in Turkish politics, but I can understand why Turkish Cypriots internalize these issues so deeply. The northern part of Cyprus has been under Turkey’s political, economic, and administrative influence for decades. As a result, whatever happens there is directly or indirectly felt here as well.

In this context, it’s not surprising that 15,000 Turkish Cypriots participated in the vote organized by the Republican People’s Party (CHP) across Turkey. But what we should be questioning is why only 5,000 Turkish Cypriots went to the polls in the 2024 European Parliament elections. We need to reflect on the reasons behind this:

  • Since Turkey is an integral part of our daily lives, its politics are perceived as more important here.

  • Even though we are part of the EU, we tend to remain distant from its processes because we are not directly affected by them.

  • As Turkey’s influence on the island becomes increasingly evident, Turkish Cypriots are more inclined to react to these developments.

But there’s a question we cannot ignore: As we rise up today against the possibility of a government-appointed trustee in Istanbul, how quickly have we forgotten that a “trustee” was appointed over us in 2020?

Didn’t the same authorities usurp the voting rights of Turkish Cypriots in the 2020 presidential elections? Did Turkish Cypriots react strongly enough back then? Why wasn’t there an outcry as loud as the one we’re seeing now? Was there not blatant intervention in our elections? Didn’t they grant citizenship to dozens of their supporters before the election and ensure they voted for their preferred candidate? Didn’t they try to manipulate votes through various corrupt tactics? While the people overwhelmingly supported their last elected president, Mustafa Akıncı, wasn’t Ersin Tatar simply “appointed” as a trustee?

Have you ever thought about how things might have turned out if we had defended Mustafa Akıncı as strongly as we are now defending Ekrem İmamoğlu? If we had taken a firm stand back then, could the political landscape in northern Cyprus be different today?

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Maybe we wouldn’t have become such a “mini Turkey”. Maybe, through continuous struggle, we would have moved closer to the reunification of Cyprus. Maybe, we would have even witnessed it happening…

So, I ask all Turkish Cypriots: Why did you remain silent when your own will was usurped? Why didn’t you defend your own voting rights? Why didn’t you resist when a civil coup was carried out in your own elections? Why didn’t you stand by your last elected community leader?

Published in Özgür Newspaper on 25.03.2025

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Türkçe:

Sivil Darbeler ve Toplumsal Hafıza: 2020’yi Unuttuk mu?

                İstanbul Büyükşehir Belediye Başkanı Ekrem İmamoğlu’nun diplomasının iptal edilmesiyle birlikte Türkiye’nin dört bir yanında tepkiler yükseldi. Pek çok kişi, bunun Cumhurbaşkanı Erdoğan’ın en büyük siyasi rakibini saf dışı bırakma hamlesi olduğunu düşünüyor. İmamoğlu’na yönelik bu müdahale, Türkiye’de muhalif isimlerin üzerindeki baskının yeni bir halkası olarak görülüyor. Nitekim, Selahattin Demirtaş ve Ümit Özdağ gibi isimler de farklı gerekçelerle uzun süredir yargının kıskacında.

Dünyanın önde gelen basın kuruluşları, bu durumu Türkiye’de demokrasinin gerilemesi olarak değerlendiriyor. “Türk halkının seçme ve seçilme hakkı gasp ediliyor, bu büyük bir insan hakları ihlalidir,” manşetleri atılıyor. Evet, Türkiye’de halkın iradesine karşı bir ‘sivil darbe’ yapılıyor. Ancak, özellikle Kıbrıslıtürklerin unutmaması gereken bir şey var: bu yapılan, sistemin ilk ‘sivil darbesi’ değil.

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Adanın kuzeyinde yaşayan Kıbrıslıtürkler de ilgileniyor tabi Türkiye’nin içişlerinin karışması ile. Neden ilgilenmesinler ki? Sonuçta o ülkenin alt yönetiminde yaşamıyor muyuz? Adanın kuzeyi adeta Türkiye’nin bir ‘kolonisi’ olmuş durumda değil mi? Ben kişisel olarak Türkiye siyasetine karışmayı pek sevmesem de Kıbrıslıtürklerin neden bu kadar içselleştirdiğini anlayabiliyorum. Adanın kuzeyi uzun yıllardır Türkiye’nin siyasi, ekonomik ve idari etkisi altında. Bu yüzden orada yaşananlar, doğrudan ya da dolaylı olarak burada da hissediliyor.

Bu bağlamda, CHP’nin Türkiye genelinde düzenlediği oylamada Kıbrıs’ın kuzeyinen15.000 kişinin oy kullanması şaşırtıcı değil. Ancak asıl sorgulamamız gereken nokta, 2024 Avrupa Parlamentosu seçimlerinde yalnızca 5.000 Kıbrıslıtürk’ün sandığa gitmesi. Bunun nedenleri üzerine düşünmeliyiz:

-          Türkiye, günlük hayatımızın bir parçası olduğu için siyaseti burada daha ‘önemli’ olarak algılanıyor.

-          AB’nin bir parçası olmamıza rağmen, doğrudan etkilenmediğimiz için oradaki süreçlere daha mesafeli duruyoruz.

-          Türkiye’nin adadaki etkisi her geçen gün daha belirgin hale gelirken, Kıbrıslıtürkler bu gelişmelere karşı refleks göstermeye daha eğilimli hale geliyor.

Ancak şu soruyu sormadan geçemeyiz: Bugün İstanbul’a kayyum atanacağı endişesiyle ayağa kalkarken, 2020’de bizim başımıza atanan ‘kayyumu’ ne kadar da çabuk unuttuk?

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2020 cumhurbaşkanlığı seçimlerinde de Kıbrıslıtürklerin seçme hakkını gasp etmedi mi ayni yönetim? O dönem Kıbrıslıtürkler yeterince tepki verebildi mi? Neden hiç kimse bu kadar güçlü bir sesle bunu da konuşmadı? Müdahale yapılmadı mı seçimlerimize? Seçim öncesi onlarca yandaşını ‘kktc’ vatandaşı yapıp destekledikleri adaya oy kullandırtmadı mı ayni yönetim? Nice yolsuzluklar yapıp oy devşirmeye çalışmadılar mı? Halk, son seçilmiş cumhurbaşkanımız Mustafa Akıncı’yı desteklerken, Ersin Tatar ‘kayyum’ olarak atanmadı mı?  Hiç düşündünüz mü Ekrem İmamoğlu’na şu an sahip çıktığımız kadar, Mustafa Akıncı’ya, kendi cumhurbaşkanımıza sahip çıksaydık, her şey nasıl olurdu diye? Eğer o zaman güçlü bir duruş sergilenseydi, bugün Kıbrıs’ın kuzeyinde yaşanan siyasi tablo farklı olabilir miydi?

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Belki de bu kadar ‘küçük Türkiye’ olmayacak, devam edecek olan aktif mücadele sürecimizle Kıbrıs’ın birleşmesine daha da yaklaşacak, belki de Kıbrıs’ın yeniden birleşmesine tanık olacaktık… Peki, soruyorum buradan tüm Kıbrıslıtürklere, kendi iradeniz gasp edilirken, kendi seçme hakkınız elinizden alınırken, kendi bölgenizdeki seçimlere bir ‘sivil darbe’ yapılırken, neden ses çıkarmadınız? Neden seçilmiş son toplum liderinize sahip çıkmadınız?


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