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Legislative Council - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2024-06-19 Daily Xml
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Motions

Ersin Tatar

The Hon. C. BONAROS (21:25): I move:

That this council—

1. Expresses its concern and dissatisfaction regarding the recent visit to Australia by Ersin Tatar, the leader of the self-proclaimed ‘Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus’ (‘TRNC’), which constitutes the Turkish-occupied northern part of Cyprus;

2. Notes South Australia does not recognise the legitimacy of the TRNC;

3. Notes United Nations Security Council Resolutions 541 and 550 which call upon all states not to recognise the purported state of TRNC;

4. Recognises that as the first leader of this entity to visit Australia, the visit was not cause for celebration;

5. Recognises the distress felt by Australians of Cypriot and Greek heritage due to Ersin Tatar’s visit;

6. Acknowledges the historical suffering of many refugees who lost their homes, land, and possessions following the invasion of Northern Cyprus by Turkish forces in 1974;

7. Acknowledges the ongoing pain of those whose loved ones have been missing since the invasion;

8. Supports the communities affected by the historical events in Cyprus;

9. Notes the advice of the federal government to all members of parliament and state governments to refrain from engaging or meeting with Ersin Tatar during his visit to Australia or otherwise; and

10. Calls on the state government to clearly articulate its support for the federal government’s position of non-recognition of the TRNC.

Mr Tatar is the leader of the self-proclaimed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, which has illegitimately occupied the northern part of Cyprus since Turkiye forces invaded in 1974. The TRNC is the subject of UN Security Council Resolutions 541 and 550, calling on all states not to recognise the purported republic. In fact, it is only Turkiye that recognises the territory internationally.

I make it clear that this motion is not targeted at our Turkish community in South Australia or anywhere else and acknowledge also that even today it is always people and civilians from both sides of the conflict who are inevitably and ultimately the ones who suffer the most. That said, the legacy of the invasion of Northern Cyprus is ongoing and felt by Greek and Cypriot communities today, many of whom have loved ones still listed as missing since the beginning of the occupation. Indeed, much of our country's Cypriot population are descended from refugees forcibly removed from Cyprus by Turkish forces, losing their homes, their land and possessions in the process.

The family of one of South Australia's own ministers, the Hon. Andrea Michaels MP, experienced this turmoil, fleeing Cyprus following the invasion whilst her mother, Eva, was pregnant with Andrea. Her success in government and, indeed, her position in the Labor Party, I think, is testament to the bravery of families who fled during that period of Cypriot refugees, and her family's story offers hope that Cyprus will eventually see justice for the events of 1974.

I have to say that most recently it warmed my heart when I saw the minister for the first time very publicly speak about her story as a refugee from Cyprus and what that was like for her family. Going from effectively living in a shed in Enfield to being the member of parliament for Enfield is quite an extraordinary achievement. I can say one thing with certainty: the sense of pride in the minister's story is one that I recognise well within our community, but it is also a story that I know resonates very closely with people of Cypriot descent living in South Australia. When she spoke recently of her story, I know that she spoke for many individuals living in South Australia whose story was not dissimilar to her family's.

Mr Tatar was the first leader of the TRNC to visit Australia and marked the occasion by laying a wreath at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra on behalf of the illegitimate territory. That is all well and good if somebody wants to go and lay a wreath. It did not get much fanfare in the news, but certainly for those communities who were following or were impacted by it, it was quite confronting to see even that wreath-laying ceremony marred by the fact that the wreath itself had a ribbon on it which referenced the illegitimate name and territory in question.

For those Australians of Greek and Cypriot heritage, this represented the last twisting of the knife into a wound that was never healed following the invasion and was not something that they welcomed here in Australia. It certainly brought back lots of pain for all of them. They share a painful collective memory, and I think they deserve our respect and compassion throughout what has been a distressing time.

The federal government's advice, as I said in this motion, has been very clear: all members of parliament in commonwealth and state governments are to refrain from engaging with Mr Ersin Tatar throughout his stay in Australia. That was the advice at the time, and I certainly hope that it was adhered to, given the lack of respect shown to those orders by the UN that I referred to previously.

I obviously have Greek background and Greek and Cypriot families, and they felt like this is something that needed to be acknowledged at a state level. All they really asked for was some reassurance and comfort knowing that, were the state government to clearly articulate its support for the federal government's position of non-recognition of the TRNC, it would reaffirm a commitment to supporting South Australians whose families were so unjustly displaced and also acknowledge the ongoing pain and trauma and impact that that continues to have on so many of those families, especially those who still have missing loved ones since that 1974 invasion.

In moving this motion and on behalf of those communities living here in South Australia, I do call on the government to do just that, to clearly articulate its support for not only the federal government's position of non-recognition but indeed the international position of non-recognition of the TRNC and show its support for our local Greek Cypriot and Cypriot communities.

Debate adjourned on motion of Hon. H.M. Girolamo.

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