Harmancı: Meeting with Holguin - Submitted Solution Proposals

Mehmet Harmancı, the Mayor of Nicosia Turkish Municipality, made a written statement regarding his meeting with Maria Angela Holguin Cuellar, the Personal Representative of the UN Secretary-General, held yesterday.

According to the written statement issued by the Nicosia Turkish Municipality, Harmancı pointed out the need for confidence-building measures that could be implemented urgently and emphasized the need for a new vehicular crossing in the eastern part of Nicosia.

Harmancı also recalled that in 2015, they presented a joint request and determination with Konstantinos Yorgacis, the Mayor of South Nicosia Municipality, to open new crossing points in Nicosia to the then leaders. He stated, "Given the departure from negotiations since 2020 and the weakening of the shared vision for the future in both communities, encouraging inter-communal interaction is more important than ever."

Providing information to Holguin about the Kanlıdere Rehabilitation Project, Harmancı mentioned that implementing the project in the north, similar to its implementation in the south, would serve as a bridge physically and symbolically uniting the two sides of the city. Harmancı invited the UN to encourage the European Commission, which approved the project and allocated funding for it in 2018, to implement the project.

Harmancı emphasized the critical role of civil society participation in peacebuilding, stating that municipalities are essential in spreading civil society activities to broader audiences and suggesting that involving municipalities in the preparation process for the solution would be beneficial.