Ulaş Barış writes: The biggest misfortune...

The New York meetings, which created high expectations throughout the summer, have overall concluded as a failure for the Cyprus issue. Specifically for Turkish Cypriots, it was seen as another visit where nothing substantial was achieved, routine meetings were not even held, and where their voice wasn't heard. There is still no news regarding the UN representative despite all the fuss.

Yet, upon his return to the island, Ersin Tatar held a press conference with no media present and spoke about his New York talks as if they were a great success. His statement was full of rhetoric, gratitude, dreams, and contradictory expressions.

When I say there was no media at the conference, I mean that apart from a one-line announcement from TAK, there was no official news of the event. Naturally, without the presence of the media, no questions were asked.

But Tatar still boasted about his unproductive talks and declared that the chapter on federation is closed.

He mentioned that he told the UN Secretary-General during their meeting, and the Secretary-General responded with what Tatar interpreted as a 'I understand' gesture. What kind of gesture? Well, according to Tatar, it was an 'I understand' gesture due to the Secretary-General's constraints. So, what does it mean? According to me, it's probably more like an 'oh, not again' gesture. But Tatar is the only one who seems to think otherwise.

Moreover, it seems that Tatar has also contradicted Turkey's Foreign Ministry. There are reports that Turkey's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan approved the UN representative during his meeting with the UN Secretary-General. However, there has been no confirmation or denial of these reports, even three days after they surfaced. In such a critical matter, where Tatar claims that there is complete harmony with Turkey, why hasn't he denied these reports?

Furthermore, why didn't the Turkish and Turkish Cypriot foreign ministries hold their routine meetings? Is there a rift between them? The Greek Cypriot media claims there is a rift, but there has been no official response to these allegations. Nonetheless, it is common knowledge that the Pile incident, created by Tahsin Ertuğruloğlu on his own, has caused discomfort within Turkey's foreign ministry, despite the symbolic support statements made.

But, in my opinion, the most significant question regarding the New York process is the canceled meeting between Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Guterres.

In my view, the key to New York lies here. The scenario that comes to mind is that Turkey is trying to find a way to negotiate, not through Erdoğan but through the Foreign Ministry, and that the matter has been referred to them. Foreign Minister Fidan's unexpected meeting with the UN Secretary-General supports this view.

On the other hand, right after Erdoğan's speech, where he delivered harsh messages about the structural problems at the UN and called for recognition of the TRNC, the expected meeting was canceled, but there has been no statement or information about it. There's no confirmation or denial. When I personally asked UN officials, the response I got was, 'We don't know.'

In conclusion, Turkish Cypriots, who were completely ignored during the New York talks and whose representatives made unheeded taksim (partition) proposals as if they were a new model, have played no significant role. If these proposals had been taken seriously, Rauf Denktaş, who had much more knowledge and respect than the current leadership, would have already achieved it. So, Tatar's statements are only serving to irritate the public and nothing else.

Erkut Şahali, a CTP MP who was a guest on my morning program, said, "Tatar is the biggest misfortune that has happened to this country." I agree with Erkut, but I can add many more unfortunate figures to the list. However, I would like to emphasize that Tatar ranks at the top of this list. Turkish Cypriots have never been ignored to this extent, and they have never been relegated to such insignificance. Sometimes I wonder, why did we have to go through this era with these figures?

It's a complete misfortune, a nightmare...