What the operations are covering up...

Operations targeting opposition parties, media outlets not under government control, and independent journalists have both accelerated significantly and turned into a wholesale crackdown.

Most recently, three days ago, a dawn raid resulted in the appointment of a trustee to Halk TV.

According to Özgür Özel, who says he "founded the YENİ Party together with the nation," the main reason for the seizure of Halk TV is its "broadcasting approach"...... He also drew attention to the "timing," emphasizing that it was no "coincidence" that it was carried out just hours before Ekrem İmamoğlu was set to begin his defense.

That is true, it could be. But are there not other reasons and timings?

Within the country; while the nation's economic misery, the fund scandal, and crises of law and democracy have hit the ceiling, and the PKK opening has turned into negotiations targeting Turkey's unitary-national structure,

Regarding the outside;

- Even though more than two months have passed, the content of the Mecca Agreement has not been disclosed and has not been submitted to Parliament,

- Trump has begun preparations for new attacks on Iran, and on top of that, stating that he could invite Erdoğan to "retaliate against Yemen," he said, "I think he will fulfill my request."

- While NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, whose decisions regarding Russia and Iran we supported at the summit we hosted with great fanfare in Ankara, said they would retaliate if Russia attacked NATO territory,

- While tension has begun with Azerbaijan, with whom we are "two states, one nation," ostensibly over a headscarf ban, but in reality due to deeper causes... Furthermore, Aliyev announced that he would not sign the declaration that Trump had initialed for Azerbaijan-Armenia, which closes the Zangezur corridor for 99 years, without changing the territorial claims against Azerbaijan in the Armenian Constitution, and even though Turkey closed its border in 1993 to support Azerbaijan, and the claims against Turkey in the Armenian Constitution have not been abandoned; while Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan made the statement, "When we wake up tomorrow morning, we might encounter a news headline that the Turkey-Armenia border has been opened."

Instead of these, what have we been talking about for three days? The Halk TV operation, and to some extent Silivri and the fund scandal...

Could the main reason and goal be to prevent the nation from seeing, discussing, and hearing about these great avalanches coming/being sent toward Turkey from four directions?!

We Are the Hosts... But Who Is the "Boss"?

Here is a current and recent example from within that avalanche:

The 2026 UN Climate Change Conference (COP31) will be held in Antalya, Turkey, from November 9-20. The official negotiations at this conference, which nearly 120 heads of state and government will attend, will take place on November 11-12.

How was the decision on where this conference would be held made? Turkey and Australia were candidates. There was quite a bit of discussion and debate. Unlike us, the opposition and media in Australia brought up the "tens of billions of dollars" cost of the meeting, not only calling for, "Withdraw from this. COP summits have turned into advertising and investment fairs instead of saving the planet," but also saying, "Leaving it to Turkey might be better. It is no longer worth the cost or the effort spent."

Whether due to their influence or not, it is unknown; Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese wrote a letter to Erdoğan and entered into negotiations. Whatever negotiations took place, it emerged that Turkey proposed a "co-hosting" model, but Albanese rejected it as "contrary to UN rules."

Ultimately, our media announced the good news that Australia had "given up" and that COP31 would be held in Turkey!..

But there was a small (!) detail in this good news: Turkey would be the host, but the leader of the negotiations at the summit would be Australia!..

Who Did We Make Jump for Joy?

Anyway, let us still say "there is no saving on prestige" and report on what kind of success the Greek-Cypriot side achieved regarding COP31.

The Greek Cypriots were not invited to the briefing meeting at the UN in April by Minister of Environment and Urbanization Murat Kurum, who is conducting the preparations for the summit. Upon this, Greek Cypriot leader Nikos Christodoulides took action with Greece before the EU and the UN.

Greek Minister of Environment and Energy Stavros Papastavrou first condemned "Turkey's attempt to keep Cyprus out of the informal preparatory processes of COP31" at the EU Environment Council meeting held in Luxembourg in June, saying, "Either all 27 or none." EU Commissioner for Climate Action Wopke Hoekstra also made a statement of support regarding Greece's stance.

The issue also came up during the meetings at last month's UN Summit, which Erdoğan also attended. Again, Greek Energy Minister Papastavrou, at a meeting he held in New York with relevant ministers from EU member countries, complained that Turkey did not invite Greek Cypriot leader Christodoulides, saying this was "not an issue that only concerns Greece or Cyprus, but a European issue," and repeated the slogan, "At COP31, either all member countries are equal or none are."

During the same days, while the Greek Ministry of Energy announced that the country's stance toward COP31 had become clear and that it strongly condemned the exclusion of the Greek Cypriot leader, it was requested that EU countries suspend their participation in the summit as a gesture of solidarity.

The result?

On Monday, the Greek Cypriot press claimed that "following diplomatic contacts with the EU," Turkey had also invited the Greek Cypriot administration to COP31. However, it was not disclosed who the invitation letter came from.

The day before, when the Halk TV operation was carried out, Greek Cypriot leader Christodoulides himself confirmed the invitation and, while saying, "Of course I will attend," emphasized the following:

"My invitation to the summit is a development that also carries messages regarding the Cyprus issue. I am pleased to have achieved a result as a result of our diplomatic and political efforts that we carried out without reflecting them to the public."

When asked about the "possibility of negative developments occurring during the summit," Christodoulides said, "We are preparing for every possibility, and I must say that we are not ignoring any possibility," and then noted that in such a situation, "a response would be given by the Republic of Cyprus, which is an EU member, and that the EU consists of 27 member states."

Let us recall an incident here that took place at the Antalya Diplomacy Forum in June 2021, to which Greece was also invited. Then-Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu himself announced that Nikos Christodoulides, who was the Greek Cypriot Foreign Minister at the time, had called his counterparts and asked them not to attend this meeting, and that upon this, the Greek representatives decided not to come. The reason for the Greek Cypriot side's reaction was that TRNC President Ersin Tatar had been invited to the meeting. For the same reason, EU High Representative Josep Borrell did not attend the reception organized by Erdoğan for the leaders.

While Calls for the Recognition of the TRNC Are Being Made

As is known, despite all the pressure from the EU and the US, Turkey does not recognize the Greek Cypriot side and is calling on the world to recognize the TRNC.

In this case, shouldn't both the opposition and the media question why and by whom Nikos Christodoulides was invited to COP31 and—more importantly—whether this means recognizing the Greek Cypriot side?

The state of the opposition is obvious. As for the pro-government media; it reported that Christodoulides "jumped for joy" when the invitation arrived—who else would be happy if they weren't?

Furthermore, perhaps to prevent possible reactions, it was emphasized that "the first leader of the Greek Cypriot Administration, Makarios, paid an official visit to Turkey (in 1962 according to İHA, in 1963 according to Hürriyet)," that other Greek Cypriot leaders, Clerides, attended the OSCE Summit held in Istanbul in 1999, and Nikos Anastasiades attended the UN World Humanitarian Summit held in Istanbul in 2016, and that Christodoulides would be the fourth Greek Cypriot leader to visit Turkey.

Then let us note the following:

When Makarios came, the Greek Cypriots had not yet destroyed the Republic of Cyprus established in 1960... In the meetings that Clerides and Anastasiades attended in Istanbul, the host was not Turkey, but the OSCE and the UN. In fact, when Anastasiades learned that TRNC President Mustafa Akıncı had also been invited to the official dinner given by Erdoğan on the occasion of the 2016 meeting, he said, "Enjoy your meal, I am not coming," cut his program short, and left Istanbul.

As for COP31; most likely, a formula such as Christodoulides being invited by the UN or Australia, which will lead the negotiations, has been or will be found. But in any case, shouldn't it be explained as a result of which "diplomatic and political efforts" of the Greek-Greek side it was accepted that this person, whom we did not invite at the beginning, would come to Antalya?

Could Trump also have a hand in this, in addition to the EU? As is known; the colonial governor he sent here, while saying, "It is time to establish a new order in the Eastern Mediterranean," had described the "Cyprus issue" as "an abscess"!..

Müyesser YILDIZ

October 16, 2026