KKTC media stays cool in wake of Kıvrıkoğlu comments

Remarks by the commander of the Turkish Cypriot Peace Forces Command (KTBK), implying the Turkish Cypriot government is in a sovereignty struggle with Turkey, were met with silence by Turkish Cypriot media over the weekend.

The lukewarm response has been widely interpreted as an effort not to escalate existing tension between the Turkish military and the local administration.

In a speech delivered Friday during a ceremony held in Lefkoşa (Nicosia) to mark the change command of commando and artillery regiments, KTBK chief Lt. Gen. Hayri Kıvrıkoğlu said actions and discussion that may put the security of the Turkish Cypriot people in danger have recently been observed.

"Those who don't perceive the existing extraordinary conditions in Cyprus, and don't perceive the Cyprus issue as a whole, and those who can look at history or current circumstances only from the window of ideology, are creating artificial debates on authority. They consider Turkey not as the motherland but as an ordinary, neighboring, foreign country. [They consider] the Turkish military as the military of that foreign country and they claim sovereignty against Turkey," Kıvrıkoğlu said at the ceremony attended by Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (KKTC) President Mehmet Ali Talat and Prime Minister Ferdi Sabit Soyer.

Başaran Düzgün of the newspaper Kıbrıs, classified by Hürriyet as one of those pro-government dailies, told Today's Zaman on Sunday that there was no particular reason for not covering the incident on their front page.

"There is a tendency not to attribute high importance to such statements. If the purpose is creating a crisis, there is no sense in spreading this around," Düzgün added.