Hatay: The Ideal of a Comprehensive Solution Must Not Conceal the Realities

In a recent social media post, Hatay stressed the importance of the ideal of a “comprehensive solution” to the Cyprus issue, while underscoring that the process of pursuing it is even more decisive.

“A peace process carried out through the wrong methods does not merely delay justice — it cancels it,” Hatay wrote, expressing his critique of the current approach.

Drawing attention to the irreversible effects of changes in property ownership, demographics, and the environment, Hatay argued that these issues should not be postponed in anticipation of a comprehensive settlement. Referencing the construction boom in Cyprus, shifts in property regimes, and processes of societal transformation, he warned that the current trajectory is undermining both the social and physical foundations of any future peace negotiation.

Hatay emphasised that demographic transformation cannot be explained solely through migration, noting that it redefines the meaning of land, belonging, and citizenship. “The day may come when you acknowledge someone’s property rights, but the person entitled to claim that right may no longer be there,” he said, asserting that the foundations of peace are made up not only of buildings and deeds, but of people and their connections.

He also highlighted the issue of ecological destruction, stating: “Peace requires a table, but it also requires land, connection, and memory.” Public investments built on “the property of the other” were described by Hatay as a “political waiting room.”

Referring to recent court cases, Hatay noted that some problems can no longer be deferred under the guise of a comprehensive package. Issues such as demographic transformation, the reconfiguration of property ownership, and environmental degradation are now too urgent to be postponed, he stated. “The ideal of a comprehensive solution should not be used to conceal these realities, but to confront them,” he added.

Concluding his remarks on the peace process, Hatay said: “Perhaps we can choose to ignore all of these developments — but in doing so, we will be shifting the cost we should bear now onto the shoulders of our children. Let this be my reminder, my duty to say it.”