Cyprus, day two: Truth as a foundation - and a school in Esentepe that is already thinking ahead.

Yesterday we told you how UN Secretary-General António Guterres traveled to Cyprus for the first time in 16 years as the first head of state to do so. Today, on the second day of his visit, the arrival turns into serious work: separate talks with President Nikos Christodoulides and with the Turkish Cypriot negotiator Tufan Erhürman, a joint dinner this evening, and a trilateral meeting of all three scheduled for Wednesday ( Euronews; AP ).

Following his talks, Guterres said he would do everything in his power to support Greek and Turkish Cypriots at this crucial moment. The United Nations could accompany and promote peace, but shaping it would require the people of the island themselves and their political leaders, together with the guarantor powers Greece, Turkey, and Great Britain. This sounds reserved, almost cautious – and this caution has a reason that must be understood in order to grasp what is actually being negotiated here.

Anyone familiar with our article from two days ago about Guterres's patterns will recognize two of them again today. First, the individual aspects are examined before any larger format is even up for discussion – this is precisely what we are currently witnessing with the separate meetings. And the larger meeting will only take place once sufficient preparation has been made: that's why Christodoulides, Erhürman, and Guterres will not sit down together until Wednesday at the earliest, not today.

Where does today's reluctance come from?

In his commentary on the Secretary-General's latest report, Tufan Erhürman highlighted something that is easily overlooked in the headlines: Guterres and the Security Council have repeatedly pointed to the growing social and economic divide between Turkish and Greek Cypriots. This divide deepens the estrangement, day by day. Increased contact, trade across the Green Line, new crossings, and concrete cooperation – all of this could improve people's daily lives and gradually build new trust ( Cyprus Mail ).

To understand why many Turkish Cypriots approach new rounds of talks with a certain skepticism, one must look further back than 1974. The Republic of Cyprus was established in 1960 as a partnership between two politically equal communities, with a bi-communal structure extending to the presidency, parliament, and administration. From December 1963 onward, this order collapsed under violence. Turkish Cypriot officials lost their positions in government and administration. According to sources compiled by Mustafa Ergün Olgun, in the first nine days of fighting alone, some 25,000 Turkish Cypriots were expelled from 104 villages, roughly a quarter of the Turkish Cypriot population at the time. In the years that followed, tens of thousands lived in enclaves that together comprised only about three percent of the island—a life that a report by the UN Secretary-General at the time described as a “veritable siege” (Olgun, Betrayal - The Other Side of the Cyprus Case, pp. 57 and 64).

Olgun writes as a Turkish Cypriot eyewitness and later negotiator. His book clearly represents one side of the story. At the same time, he bases key passages on UN documents and diplomatic telegrams. One of these stands out: In a 1964 telegram to Secretary of State Dean Rusk, then-US Under Secretary of State George W. Ball warned that if the external defenses of the Turkish Cypriots were eliminated, the government could proceed with a “systematic genocide” and “liquidate” the Turkish Cypriots (Olgun, p. 70). This term is not a later legal finding, but rather the documented assessment of a high-ranking diplomat from that era. Persecution, expulsion and years of restrictions for Turkish Cypriots are therefore not merely an assertion, but documented history - just as the massacres of 1974 in Atlılar, Muratağa, Sandallar and Taşkent, in which mostly women and children fell victim, are part of documented history.

In many international summaries of the Cyprus question, the history of the Turkish Cypriots only begins in 1974. Eleven years of persecution, expulsion, and life in enclaves are omitted – and with them, a key to why trust is so cautiously given away in the north today.

2004: A yes that had no consequences

Four decades later, the Annan Plan presented a comprehensive proposal for reunification. On April 24, 2004, the two communities voted separately: approximately 65 percent of Turkish Cypriots voted yes, while about 76 percent of Greek Cypriots voted no (Olgun, p. 364). The joint solution thus failed. A few days later, the Republic of Cyprus joined the European Union, while EU law remained suspended in the north. More background information and details can be found in our book.

For many Turkish Cypriots, this very process became an experience of profound injustice: they had agreed to the UN plan, yet remained politically and economically isolated. After the referendum, the Council of the European Union declared its determination to end this isolation, and Kofi Annan called on the international community to remove unnecessary obstacles. Financial aid and the Green Line agreement brought about limited openings, but the intended direct trade has still not been fully realized (European Parliament; European Commission). This history continues to shape every new round of negotiations. Anyone expecting renewed trust must understand that a friendly appeal alone is hardly sufficient – this time, the Turkish Cypriot side needs the assurance that its agreement and willingness to compromise will have practical consequences.

And then there's a school that's already thinking about tomorrow.

We know Esentepe from our own experience as a place with mountains at its back and the sea at its doorstep. While a new political process is being discussed in Nicosia, a new school building is nearing completion here. The Çatalköy-Esentepe Municipality reported on the progress of the work in mid-July ( Çatalköy-Esentepe Municipality news overview ).

Next to the discussions of a UN Secretary-General, a school building initially seems small. For the families here, however, it means something very concrete: children gain spaces to learn, teachers a place where they can impart knowledge and guidance, and parents the assurance that their community is thinking about tomorrow and not just today. Guterres himself also emphasizes education as a place of reconciliation, and we share this view: peace is most evident where young people are given a future and where origin does not determine who is allowed to learn and who is not. Turkish Cypriot children should be allowed to know what their families experienced between 1963 and 1974. Greek Cypriot children deserve the same honest access to their own families' experiences. From truth, understanding can grow, on both sides of the island.

What must remain from this visit

The second day did not produce a finished peace plan, nor was that to be expected. However, it did create a space in which the true imbalance could finally be addressed: the unequal international status, the economic disparities, the experience of 2004, and the concern that another "yes" vote would again be without reliable consequences. A new process therefore needs a clear framework – political equality that is tangible in everyday life, agreements with a timetable and verifiable steps, direct contact, trade, and fair participation in the island's opportunities for both sides.

Meanwhile, in Esentepe, a place where the next generation will learn is quietly taking shape. The new school building won't solve the Cyprus conflict, nor would anyone expect it to. But it does show for whom a solution is actually being sought: for children, for families, for people who live here and are building their futures on this island. Guterres cannot impose peace, as he himself has said, and he is right. What the UN can contribute is ensuring that the truth is heard, that inequality is named, and that this time a promise is formulated in such a way that both communities can trust it. On Wednesday, when Christodoulides, Erhürman, and Guterres sit down together for the first time, we will know whether this leap of faith will bear fruit.

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All love

Samira & Marten

Sources:

Own article: Cyprus question in motion (July 27, 2026)

Own article: When Guterres mediates – the Guterres patterns (July 26, 2026)

Euronews: Guterres after the separate talks on July 28, 2026

AP: Guterres visit and possible expanded meeting

Cyprus Mail: Guterres report on the growing socioeconomic gap

Çatalköy-Esentepe Municipality: News and new school building

European Parliament: Commitment to ending isolation and Direct Trade Regulation

EU Commission: Aid program for the Turkish Cypriot community

Mustafa Ergün Olgun: Betrayal – The Other Side of the Cyprus Case, full English version, Palgrave Macmillan/Springer Nature, 2025.