‘Perhaps there will be no Turkish Cypriots left’

Turkish Cypriot opposition party CTP leader Tufan Erhurman said on Monday there may be “no Turkish Cypriots left” in some areas of the north in five or ten years’ time due to the lack of land quotas or property planning in the north. Speaking in ‘parliament’, he explained that the existing quota for new property developments stipulates that 20 per cent of any development must either be bought by Turkish Cypriots or citizens of the Republic of Turkey, but that this means it is perfectly possible for no Cypriots at all to buy any of the property on sale. “A 100-unit project, even 1,000 units, can all be purchased by people from abroad.

There is no quota. The result is certain regions may be completely inhabited by people from abroad ,” he said. He then quipped, “you will not need to open polling stations in some villages after five or ten years.



In a village of 5,000 people, there will maybe be 50 voters. Perhaps there will be no Turkish Cypriots left.” In this regard, he said, “we are heading towards the point of no return.

“After a while, some villages will become places people only go on holiday. You will no longer need to canvas voters in Kazivera or Ayios Amvrosios, because there will be no Turkish Cypriots there.” He went on to highlight potential future problems caused for the north’s education sector by its changing demographics, asking “how many schools will you build and in what language will you provide education in an area consisting of 5.