HomeBuyers' Pressure Group

General Meeting

11 February 2009

MINUTES

 

Spokesperson:              Marian Stokes                                              

Marian Stokes (MS) opened the meeting shortly after 12.15 and welcomed our guest speaker Rasit Pertev (RP). She asked to hold the floor for a few minutes before handing it over to him to bring up the following points;

1                    For those who have had their Permission to Purchase (PTP) refused, for any reason, to contact her as soon as possible. The group have a new initiative to highlight the problem and numbers will be important, so please don’t delay and get in touch with the group today. 

2                    Please can I ask you once again, not to rely on your Advocate to sort your problems? You must chase them continuously to get your problems solved. Do not sit back and allow them to tell you all is ok, check everything, remember they have no duty of care to you. 

3        Again can I ask you to register your complaints with the Property Information Office (PIO). Of the thousands of problems I know about, only 360 people have taken the time and effort to register their complaint. Statistics mean a lot, they may not solve your problem, but it must be logged. 

That’s our business out of the way, so let me tell you about our guest speaker Rasit Pertev. We first met Rasit Pertev in 2007 and immediately it became apparent that he was a Cypriot Politician with a different attitude to those we normally tried to elicit some help from! He was shocked to hear of the variety of problems we were encountering and offered to help us where he could. He did not promise that things would change or that anything would happen soon, but was realistic enough to see that these things could not be sorted in the blink of an eye. Instead he made himself available to us and has supported us when and where he can.

In simple terms, Rasit left the government last year after deciding the best way he could serve Northern Cyprus (NC) was by forming his own political party dedicated to stamping out corruption and to serving the people, he had come to realise that this could not be done within the current structure. He has called the party the Halk Partisi (Peoples Party), because that best reflects what he hopes to achieve – a party that serves the people.  Let me hand you over to him, Mr Pertev... 

Rasit Pertev 

Thank you Marian for your kind words. 

Let me start by saying, Home Buyers pressure Group (HBPG) is a very interesting name because it is not Property Buyers, but Home Buyers. This means that the people that are in this group have joined to protect their homes and homes are a very different thing to properties. It is a very fundamental concept; you have come here to make a home in NC. This is a very critical point; it is not just people coming to NC to speculate and make money, you have all come to make this land, your land.  

We met first of all in 2007, at that time I was the Chief Negotiator for the Turkish Cypriot (TC) people with the other side (South Cyprus - SC). I would meet with the Creek Cypriot (GC) negotiators, sometimes as many as four times a week for three or four hours at a time. We negotiators had to meet as the Presidents at that time were not entering into dialogue; this was because Mr Papadopoulos refused to meet with Mr Talat. At that time, I remember spending hours, agonising hours, because the GC wanted to make sure that the construction sector in NC was sabotaged in any way they could. They did all they could to make sure there was a moratorium on property development in the North and a lot of my time was spent trying to make sure that nothing happened to the construction sector, and many other economic sectors in the North. What is mind boggling to me is that while my attention was focused on the GC and their efforts to discredit or ruin the construction sector in the North, the local government was doing a great job in doing just that. 

Much laughter and applause! 

So, another point I would like to make is that you are not the exception; it is not that all the other sectors and all the other people in the rest of NC are being served well by the government; you are not alone in being badly treated.  Just about every other sector of life in NC is in as much disarray as the one you face yourselves. One can put ones arms in the air and cry ‘why my God, why’ and the answer is very simple, because there is bad government in NC. There has always been bad government in NC and we have to make sure there is good government in NC because in every facet of human relationships, there are no rules or regulations, nothing. Just people doing favours for each other and a political system cannot succeed on this basis.  

Just yesterday I was at a television station and there was a guy there, a TC, who had spent most of his life in the UK and had returned. He told me he did not understand politics in NC, I told him it was very simple, you chose a political party and you say I support this party and make a lot of noise to get that party heard. That political party in return says ‘I will repay you with favours when we win’. It is a kind of contract. He said I understand that, but what if the party I supported looses? Then I told him -   you say – quickly – ‘Opps wrong party – I now support the winner’. You have to do this, because if you do not, you do not receive the favours! The returning TC now understood the basis of politics in NC, but he did not like it. If political parties behaved this way in London he said, they would be exposed and jailed. 

In my career, I have always been service orientated; I try to do good things within my jobs. It is an individual thing, many years of my life I spent working for the World Federation of Farmers, and I used to be the Secretary General which is the number two position of that organisation. I was responsible for Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Mediterranean region and I was the federation’s representative for the United Nations. We did lots of things to help all communities which I do not want to go into detail of, a couple of months ago my colleague from that Federation visited the island. He was the Secretary General, David King and we sat down and were talking on a friend to friend basis. I told him of my current plans for NC and the struggle I was facing, he thought about it for a while. Then he said ‘it is very much like in Africa’, and it is true. On the surface NC is very European, there are nice cars and houses and shops, but when it comes to the government, this is not so.

Everything stems from government, quality of life stems from it, economic stability stems from it. So it is very important that the people who call this home, or come to make it their home can rely on the government. So you are in the boat with us, just as we are in the boat with you, because we are all affected by the government’s actions. You are not the only outsiders here, I too am an outsider and all returning TC’s are outsiders and our problem is that this is a place that rejects outsiders, because the system of favours does not include outsiders. People who are not privileged in the system of favours are also outsiders, let me explain. 

When I go to remote villages, I meet many elderly people (most rural places do not have many young people) who have struggled to give their children an education and a good start in life, most of these children leave NC. They establish careers in other countries and that country reaps the benefits of their education and why? Because in this country they have no chance to prosper as they come from a ‘unprivileged background’, so they go abroad to make their way in a free world. Only a small clique of people who are privileged in NC, prosper here. Those who are outsiders suffer for it and life is very difficult for them, here in their own country. So my battle and the battle of the Peoples Party is to make sure that those people who have a right to a home here, and a right to prosper here, do just that and that includes those of you who choose to make your home here.  

This problem of being an outsider is further compounded when these educated, successful people feel that they want to return to their own country and contribute to its future. If you live permanently outside of NC for as little as a year, it is part of our Constitution, that if any TC goes abroad for any length of time, when he comes back he cannot even become an assistant to the Muhtar! You cannot hold any position of authority in the government for three years following your return; you have no right to be elected to any position for this time period. You are considered an outsider and are therefore excluded. It is almost like saying, if you go abroad, do not come back! One can only conclude that this is because returnees are viewed as competition to those who survive on a system steeped in corruption as they have been taught to do things properly, they have learnt about proper standards and best working practices. 

Now, we set up the Peoples Party because when we looked at the other Parties, they were all very much the same, it did not seem to matter whether they were on the left or the right of the system, they were all embroiled in the very system I have described to you. I have a couple of examples for you of government in action. 

I came back to the Island in Jan 2004 and later became the Minister of Agriculture and Forestry and one of my core values was that all food produce should be clean for the people to consume, meaning that they should not have residue from pesticides or anything like that. I found out that grapes from one certain village were contaminated - almost 95% of the grapes from that village failed the tests. So being Minister and knowing what procedures should be followed in these instances, I stopped the produce from being sold. This was a radical procedure and not popular. At that time, no political party supported me, including those in government or in opposition. No one stood by my side and said this is the right thing to do. Özkan Murat, the Minster of the Interior said to me, I cannot support you as this village is in my area and I depend on them for my votes. I stood by my principals and made sure these grapes did not get to market. However, when I was taken from that post, the first thing that was done was that when the new Minister was appointed the growers were compensated for their losses caused by them producing something which was dangerous to public health. 

Another example, again while I was Minister of Agriculture, shows how the mechanism works. There was wheat imported, which when it was tested showed high levels of residue harmful to public health. I was asked ‘what do we do?’ As I was newly appointed, I did not know what the rules and regulations were, so I asked back ‘what do you usually do?’ I meant, do you destroy it, do you return it to its country of origin, do you burn it, what are the rules and regulation in this situation? Immediately one of the senior officials there said ‘Mr Minister, if you so wish we can mix it’ At that point I realised that that had been the procedure up until then.  

I use these examples to show that if you do not have good government, with a good system of rules and regulations you, as a citizen, cannot be sure of what you are eating! It is therefore very important to stand by your principals in every aspect of government because people must be able to trust the food they eat, the houses they live in, the electric supply, the hospitals etc. NC cannot be the exception because we are isolated, all around us are countries who are coming up to standard with EU rules and regulations, even the African countries are trying to be better, we cannot stand alone. NC should be a haven for its citizens, we should adopt the same standards as other countries that prosper and grow, and we should have a good standard of living for ourselves and the next generation to come.  

I did not need to come back to NC, I had a very nice life, and I had a high profile job in an International arena. I was born in 1958, and when I was six, I saw my first war in Cyprus. Again in 1974, at 15/16 I saw my second war and shortly thereafter I left to get further education. I spent 30 odd years away from my country, but I longed for my country. I walked the corridors of the UN. But do you know what – I did not have a country, my country did not have a seat in the UN. I would look at all the seats and say to myself, where is the seat for my country? There was a seat for Turkey, who of course are our friends and brothers, but this was not my country either, we may share a similar cultural and tongue but that was their seat in the UN, not mine. Of course, there was a seat for Cyprus, but this only represented the GC and his main purpose for being there was to make sure that no TC every got to be heard.   

It is a hard realisation that you do not have a country that is recognised by the World, but almost worse is that you do not have a country as you are blocked from returning as you are now an outsider! But I could not go through life longing in my heart for my country and I decided to return and challenge these ideas, because certain things you need closure on and fixing NC is an issue we need closure on, we need to be recognised and we need to work properly, we cannot carry on day in, day out avoiding dealing with these problems.  

Another thing missing is a thriving Arts and Culture element in our society, who can we share it with? I like to write poetry but people here do not read books. The short film the Missing Bus was made as a film as it reached the widest viewing audience that way. Do I write now – not really, I am too busy fighting corruption, where does the time come from to focus on these things and as a struggling artist where do you find backing if you are not in the system of favours? We need rules and regulations and to make headway so that everyone can bask in the sunshine of NC – until then life is a vicious circle for the majority of the people. If things do not change then the HBPG will go around in circles too, constantly fire fighting. But there must be a political will in government to drive these changes through. 

As the Peoples Party we are now one year old and during this one year we have been a nuisance to the government, we have to be as we do not have a seat in government. Even though this is a disadvantage, we have tried to make sure we have a voice in opposition. We have fought the government very fiercely on many issues and we have led the opposition, we have been the opinion makers in the opposition. Because we cannot be swayed from our principals, I believe the Peoples Party is a catalyst for change in the political arena of NC. We want to look at things from a different prospective, from the governments point of view, I am sure we are viewed as a virus – once we enter the system we will make sure it changes! So it is very important for us that in this election period we are in Parliament, that we are partners in government, and I believe that once we are in parliament, if not in government and once we are a partner, we will make sure that the system will change, starting with cutting away the excesses in the system and by trying to move the government in the right direction. Now I am sounding like a Politician! 

As I said before, we are in the same boat, these are not different boats, as we are all affected by the same illness and only by treating the illness will we all be safe. It is very important that you all join the struggle for a change in NC. You can say, I cannot vote, how can I change things, but you have a voice. You cannot say we are outsiders, we are just living here, but you can help us to move towards government. You can talk to your friends about us and what we stand for.   

One of the things I believe strongly is that if you choose to come here to live then you are a part of this country and therefore should have a say in local decisions. This is a fundamental right of ‘outsiders’ within the EU and should be adopted here. You have a wealth of skills and experience that this country needs and you are not encouraged to share it. We cannot have you as settlers being outsiders, we cannot have our returnees being outsiders, and we cannot have the underprivileged being outsiders. Together we can make a change in NC, alone we can only circle with our individual problems. 

I thank you for listening to me.  

MS:  Thank you Mr Pertev, I think you can see and hear that your speech has been well received. I can tell you all enjoyed that insight into the political and social world here in NC. As we have said many a time this is a beautiful country with much to offer, if only we were not on the end of the corruption which has blighted our enjoyment of our new home, let’s hope the Peoples Party will be successful. If you agree with what you have heard here today, then spread the word. We may not have the right to vote, but we have a voice that can be heard. It is obvious that the system is letting all the peoples of NC down, businesses are closing, people are losing their livelihoods, they need to have faith that things will change and use their vote accordingly. We desperately need a friend in Parliament, so I wish you and your party much success. I am sure that many of the people here will have questions for you so let us open the floor to questions.

Question and Answer Session 

Q:  As we are foreigners and we do not have a vote, what can we do to help? 

A (MS):. We can use our voice to raise awareness of the Peoples Party, as I have said. I am sure there will be rallies that we can attend, or fund raising events, we shall ask to be informed of those and can publish them. On a higher level we can continue to raise awareness of NC in our birth countries, for instance there is a online petition in support of NC on the HBPG website at the moment, that I would urge you all to sign. Also we must use the apparatus provided to use to register our complaints, as was said earlier the PCO is very underused, they will not take a few hundred people seriously – but a few thousand a different matter. Also if we do get a new government we can go to them with these statistics which will have been registered with the present government. 

Q:  I have been to the PCO with my problem, I am number xx and I have heard nothing, what’s the point? 

A (MS):  I am number 08 and I too, have not solved my problem, you are right, nothing much is done, but you must not say to yourself that there is no point in going and registering my complaint, it is a wasted journey. Rather you must believe that the long term strategy will win out. A powerful lobby cannot be ignored! Also, as Sheila and Don Vango found out, when their case went to trial they were asked if they had registered their complaint with the PCO and were able to say yes, thereby proving they had exhausted all avenues open to them within the framework of assistance within NC. I would also point out to you, that these statistics get used against this group – I say thousands – ‘well where are they all’ is becoming the stock reply? I need you all to do your bit to help me fight on your behalf, if you do not register your complaint; you are effectively tying one hand behind my back. 

Q:  How many foreigners are there here, who should be taking an interest in the politics of NC as ultimately the result will affect their standard of living? 

A (MS):  At the last count, I think figures estimated some 22,000 properties sold to foreigners, with some 14,000 living here. So we are quite a good sized lobby group, we just have to make the effort! 

Q:  As a new political party, can you tell me how you are going to deal with the military, as it seems to me that the military have the final word here, especially around PTP, which can be refused by them and I have no avenue for appeal? 

A (RP):  I came back to Cyprus in 2004 and spent 18 months as a Minister before becoming Chief Negotiator for the President, so I have worked in the centre of the system where decisions are made, so I have a good understanding of how the military works and how they interact with the government. Two things are often said here, one – the TC people cannot have a political will because Turkey rules NC. The second thing said is ‘what about the military, the military rules and you must do what they tell you, but I can tell you both of these ascertains are erroneous. I will explain why.

Turkey gives quite a lot of money to NC, but they are not able to control that money or even what is done with that money, it is left to the government here to control its usage. Let me illustrate this in another way, a mother and father wish their child to have a good living, so they buy him a shop and furnish him with the money to run to shop. All he has to do is work in the shop and make it prosperous. But their teenage sin is not a very responsible boy and he does not look after the shop properly, so every time he asks for more money from them. Years pass, he does not look after the shop and he keeps asking for money and they come to the situation where he is 30/40 years old and the shop is still in a poor condition and he still asks for their support. Every time that the mother and father point out that he is not running the shop as he should, then he gets all angry and asks ‘why they are meddling in his affairs’? This is the situation that Turkey finds itself in. They have tried many protocols, or agreements with the governments of NC to try to restructure the government and economic policies of NC, none of them have worked. Some have not even been attempted. So when somebody says to me that Turkey has an influence in NC, I say No they do not. They may have an illusion that they have, but they do not.  

Now, when it comes to PTP that is a specific case where the military do have authority. They have the right to say certain tracks of land may not be sold to foreigners. Now we do have recourse to sit down and talk to the military and see if we can overcome the problem, but really it is wrong from the beginning. When the land is marketed it should be obvious then that it cannot be purchased by a foreigner and therefore should not be sold to them.  

Q:  If that is the case, then why is there no mechanism to give me back my money or punish those who have knowingly sold me land I cannot own? 

A (MS):  The Army get the blame for this situation, but when you bought they did not know you were buying, they are the last people that check your PTP. Your advocate should have searched the land and if they had reason to believe it was situated close to a military installation they should have advised you of the possibility of refusal, as we know many say, it is not a problem. The fault also lies with the Interior Ministry as they know what land is not to be sold to foreigners, but they do not carry out the checks in a timely matter and by the time you find out, you have long completed the sale and paid all your money. Again it is a situation caused by bad government because robust procedures should be in place to prevent this happening. 

A (RP):  I am not here today to defend the current system; I want to get into a position where I can change the system. Because the whole thing is wrong from the start, you should not be in a position of starting to purchase a property and then have to wait two years or more to find out if you can do so, by then many of you have paid in full and moved to live in NC full time. The problem now is that a wrong has to be righted one way or another and lots of people in NC have lots of wrongs that need to be put right. I personally am dismayed that the bureau set up at the prime minister’s office – the PCO – which I hoped would be a bureau of change has not been effective. My personal belief is that the government with the collaboration of those in the private sector have created this problem and they have earned lots and lots of money out of it and when the problems started to come back at them, they did not want lots of people protesting in the streets so they set up this bureau to contain the problem. Maybe they knew that people would not bother to register their complaint so that they could use your apathy against you. To put things right you need not only a political will to put things right, but a personal will to strive for change. You have a government today who do not really care about you, you have to help yourselves and keep your problems high profile. 

Q:  What power does the President have, how will his vision of the future impact some of your policies? 

A (RP):  The President has no powers in the Constitution, he is a figurehead, but he can influence a lot of things. There are certain decisions he can block and others he cannot. He can for instance appoint ministers and high level officials. He can use his veto in parliament but apart from that he has little real power. When I was Undersecretary to the President, we talked about the things that were going wrong and how we could deal with them and we set up a high level board to monitor these things, but it was not very effective as any criticism of government puts him in opposition to his own party. Instead he has decided to remain impartial in the face of all the corruption and incompetence that has been generated by his own party in government. 

Q:  I understand that you maintain that the public sector is draining the resources of NC and if you come to power you will streamline this sector. However, as many of those eligible to vote, make their living in the public sector, how do you hope to achieve this? 

A (RP): The public sector has to get smaller. It is such a big public sector that most of the funds that come from Turkey, swallow it up and now, most of the money we collect in NC also goes to paying for this sector. In the last three years they have employed 7000 new people in this sector, which equates to an additional 2 million dollars a year in government expenditure. Turkey has cut our budget, so this money has to come from the people. Like many countries we have a system of penalties for late payment of taxes and raise monies by fines for traffic offences etc and in 2005 we raised 6/7 million dollars in this manner. In 2008 it was around 100 million dollars! I mentioned this to one of the political leaders in Turkey and he laughed and said this is the first time I have seen a government pay for its over staffed public sector by imposing fines and penalties on its own citizens. Why do I say it is over staffed? Because, I see no improvement in output, or better standards, or procedures as a result of all these extra people being employed. 

As to winning these peoples votes, well, in this way the current system works for me in one way at least. In NC you do not need 50% of the votes; this is an advantage as it means a coalition government has to be formed. You can have a say in government if you achieve 10 or 15% of the vote. So you can be a small party and still have a voice in government/parliament, even if it is from the opposition side.  

The other thing to realise is that the current system is unsustainable and the country is going down the drain. The people are starting to see this now, wages are paid late, businesses are closing, price rises are costing jobs, so the country is more receptive to change. Even those in ‘safe public sector jobs’ realise that this cannot go on. 

Q:  I understand what you are saying, but will Turkey not just bail NC out again? 

A (RP): I do not think so. Turkey has to borrow money itself and when it does so, it is not just given it by the International Monetary fund without some sort of conditions, for example what it can be used for, it must be used to improve the trading position of Turkey, not just to pay its bills. Here it has been given with no strings attached. But Turkey does look, and Turkey does see that wealth has increased, yet they are still asked to contribute, they will not keep doing this forever. They need to become a strict parent! The private sector now who are burdened with the extra penalties and taxes are saying enough and Turkey are starting to say the same thing, we cannot keep on propping you up. So this is why there will be a new government in NC. 

Q: As a foreigner who has bought a home here, can I take any comfort from the present talks between the North and the South of Cyprus, will my interests in NC be protected? I appreciate that you are no longer involved in the negations, but what is your gut feeling about a settlement? 

A (RP): As you say I am no longer a negotiator in the talks, so I cannot put my hand on my heart and say ‘it is like this’. My instinct tells me the following, you have bought land here, I have bought land here, and land here has changed hands many times, so you are in a similar position to most TC’s. The negotiators are going to try to protect the TC’s from property disputes, so by extension you will be protected also. But my gut feeling is that there will not be an agreement at this time. What do I base this on? Maybe you would call it logic. If this government truly believed that a settlement would be reached by the end of 2009, why call an election now? By now the government would be planning peace rallies and celebrations; they would go to the election in Feb 2010 as planned with a great victory to sweep them into another term. There may be some small steps taken towards greater understanding and resolution of some problems, but not the whole thing.  

What I think is that most probably, by the beginning of 2010 the negotiators will agree that no solution can be found under the federal route. They will then put aside the Cyprus problem for a couple of years and then afterwards they will come back and start the negotiations for a divorce agreement. I think this is what is going to happen. But we do need an agreement, once we have one we can precede, I think relations and business within the whole of Cyprus would be better without uncertainty, this is whether it is an agreement for a renewal of marriage or one for terms of divorce. I believe it will be for divorce, but things need to be settled, all this arguing about possessions is not good.  

Q:  My question can be answered in some respects with the advantage of hindsight, but when the South looked to join the EU, as Cyprus, why were they allowed to do so? 

A (RP):  You have to go back in history for the answer. I believe that the EU thought by putting the membership as the whole of Cyprus, that they could force a solution here. That did not happen, it backfired. It ended up dividing the island more than it had been before. It made the two sides more unequal than they were before. Before we were just GC and TC, now we have European citizens living in SC and TC’s living in no mans land in the North. If you live in the North, then you have rights from the European prospective, I suspect the wild life in NC has more rights than we do and I am quite serious about that.  

Q: Why did we not listen to Mr Denktas who told us all along a settlement would not be reached? 

A (RP):  We have not been very lucky as TC’s. For a long time we had a negotiator who was Mr No, who talked with another Mr NO! We now have a negotiator who is renowned for saying ‘Yes’. However, if you wish to negotiate, sometimes you have to say ‘Yes’ and sometimes you have to say ‘No’, so we need to find a leadership that encompasses both of these stances depending on the subject being discussed. We need someone to project the desires of the TC people whilst being strong enough to defend the TC people. I find Mr Talat weak as a negotiator, on the other hand Mr Christofias is a strong negotiator and I appreciate his negotiating tactics. He uses the negotiating skills he has learnt from interacting with the rest of the world and he uses President Talat’s lack of worldly arena skills and the friendship and trust he offers him, against him. More and more, President Talat’s successes come when he says Yes and this is not a good state of affairs. 

Q:  So we have an election in April – will it result in change? 

A (RP): If we do not manage to secure a seat after the election, then things will not change. All the other parties have the same polices of favours for favours. If we have a say, we will object to corruption and within the ministries we are given responsibility for, we will weed out corruption. Every major change has to start somewhere. If we are not in government but gain seats in parliament on the opposition benches, I can assure you we will be a pain in the neck! But to succeed we need lots of grass root support.  

Q: Many of us may well like to come out and support you, but when we tried to protest/rally before we were told it was illegal and we could face imprisonment, so what can we do to support you? 

A (RP):  This is not true. When this was raised last time, I wrote to the then Attorney General and asked him if it was so. I asked if foreigners protested on an issue do they have the right to do so?  He wrote back saying Yes, they have the right to protest, there is nothing written preventing them from doing so. There is nothing to stop you taking a black wreath (this is typical TC way of protesting) to the President’s Office or Parliaments door and get your picture taken by the press. There is a letter sitting somewhere in the Presidential files that says this. 

Q:  From the TC’s who are able to vote, what has been the feedback to your campaign so far? And how are they organising themselves to support you? 

A (RP):  We get a lot of sympathy to our cause (MS we know that feeling) but now is the time for people to act. We want to make sure that that sympathy gets turned into votes. We are up against a system which is not kind to the newcomer. For instance, if you have MP within your political party, then your party gets about 100,000 dollars per MP from the government. So the party with the highest number of MP’s gets the largest fighting fund. As a new independent party, we do not get any support from the government, so we have to raise all our own funds to buy advertising space and to book rally sites for example.  

We have a good following in London and other major cities around the world as they understand what we stand for, but they do not have the vote, they do however raise funds for us. But in spite of all that we are not doing badly, we are getting our voice heard and people like what they hear. For all that, any more help we can get, from anywhere, no matter how small, will be appreciated. You can help, just by talking to your friends about the Peoples Party and what it stands for. 

Our other problem, is that this election caught us on the hop a bit, we are only just starting out and this has come quicker than anticipated, I do not expect to win (although it would be nice) but I hope to make progress and have a few seats, it would be a good result if we could gain a position in government. In five years time when we have proved ourselves and become more robust, it will be a different story. However, this is where we find ourselves today and we shall make the best of it, by spreading the word and making a fight of it. 

Q:  On a practical level as a non voter and non Turkish speaker, how can I help you? For example, how do I know where you will be to come and wave my flag? 

A (RP): There are lots of ways to support me, word of mouth as we have said. We are still organising ourselves, but once we do we will have to get the message to the English Papers – to make sure you know where we are holding rallies, where the fundraising activities are taking place. We have a bank account set up to receive funds, so you could organise fund raising events of your own and help us that way. I cannot be at every fundraising event, as much as I would like to meet all those who support me, but time is short now until 19^th April. Maybe some of you have the experience to help me in my campaign, speak to Mustafa on 0533 863 6267 who organises my fundraising, we always need volunteers. 

We need agents of change in NC – and they need to come from every aspect of NC life, not just from the TC people, after all we all live here together. You have the advantage of knowing how things should be run so that all the people benefit and you also know what is not acceptable in most parts of the developed world; you can help me a lot. Likewise there is a huge TC population not living in NC, because it is so hard for them to return, they want to see change too and are reaching out to help me. 

If we do not make any headway in this election then that means that for the next five years, apart from NC suffering, the HBPG and the non resident TC’s will be thwarted in everything they try to do, you will all just keep going round in circles, with small concessions won here and there, but no real progress. There will be no systems put in place that you can rely on and no one you can complain to, as no one will want to take responsibility and try to change it. This is the pattern of things now and it will remain so, as those in power see no reason to change things.  

Q:  I do not have a question as such, I would just like to say that if America can make a stand for change, then you do stand a chance of success and I for one wish you well with it. I would like to remind everyone here that the power of words is very powerful. Obama won on grass root support from ordinary people who wanted a change, so can you.  

A (RP): Thank you. 

Q: Yes, I agree with what was just said, not so many years back, women did not have the vote, they just had a voice and used it. 

Q: We could use our voice to get letters published in the English press and on the Cyprus forums; we can advertise fundraising events in this way. 

Q: When I need to visit the HBPG, I know where to find them, I do not know where to find you and until today had not heard of you. I am sure there has been a lot going on, but as foreigners we do not get to hear of it. How can you raise your profile to us? 

A (MS):  One of the reasons I invited Mr Pertev here today is because he has always supported the HBPG, and I wanted you to be aware of him and his party, as they do offer a solution to us non voters – they offer change. You will leave here and talk about what you have heard. The Minutes will get published so more people will become aware. The Cyprus Today has also always supported us and they are here today covering this event, so the news goes out a bit further. Every little bit helps. 

Q:  I think the fact that Mr Pertev has appeared here today to share his vision with us is testament to his beliefs, he is in the middle of an election campaign and is speaking to non voters. I for one will tell others. 

Q:  I still go back to my point, that I do not know where to find you, to offer support to you, do you have a local office? 

A (RP):  Yes we do, it is just past Astro, on that side of the road. You will see the signs for Halk Partisi But once again, I would ask that you contact Mustafa, he is a London TC, who returned here after 30+ years in London. The office may be manned by non English speakers. 

Q:  Again not a question, but I for one would be willing to give Mustafa my e-mail address so he can contact me with any fundraising events, or to request help with anything. 

A (MS): What a good idea, the word will quickly get out then about anything being organised, ok I will look into that, are there any other questions? 

As there were no more questions, MS brought the meeting to a close.  

She hoped everyone had enjoyed the meeting as much as she had and was heartened by what they had heard. She thanked Mr Pertev for spending time with us and extended her thanks to Mustafa for attending also. It had been a very enlightening session. 

There was no date set for the next HBPG meeting, but the weekly surgeries held between 12-3pm, every Tuesday at the Pia Bella are set to continue.

 

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