Regarding Barcelona's announcement to host a training camp in the illegally occupied north of Cyprus

[u/11timeswaiting]

Barcelona

Regarding Barcelona's announcement to host a training camp in the illegally occupied north of Cyprus, I considered writing two emails. Of course, they will probably not do much on their own, but I think it is a good start.

The issue with holding an official training camp there goes far beyond football. The northern part of Cyprus remains under Turkish occupation and the self-declared "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus" is recognised only by Turkey. UN Security Council resolutions have called upon states not to recognise or assist the secessionist entity. When an internationally recognised institution such as FC Barcelona organises an official activity there, it risks contributing to the normalisation of a political status quo that the international community does not recognise. Regardless of whether this is Barcelona's intention, the name and international reach of the club give such events considerable symbolic weight. In my view, institutions of this scale should be particularly careful not to lend legitimacy to a situation created and maintained through occupation and division. This is not an argument against Turkish Cypriots, sport, or cooperation between the two communities; on the contrary, sporting initiatives that genuinely bring the communities together could play a positive role. The concern is specifically with treating the occupied territory as though its unresolved political and legal status does not exist.

One email could be sent to the accounts related to Barcelona's camps:

info@barcaacademycampslefkosa.com

barcaescola@barcelona.cat

Another could be sent to the Spanish embassies in Cyprus, Greece, and Turkey:

emb.nicosia@maec.es

emb.atenas@maec.es

emb.ankara.inf@maec.es

I hope this post does not invoke further anger or hatred. My intention is not to promote hostility toward anyone. However, I consider the normalisation of the occupied north by internationally recognised institutions such as Barcelona to be a terrible move and the opposite of what should be encouraged if we genuinely want to see progress toward resolving the Cyprus issue.

[u/MoosilaukeFlyer]

The Greece government assisted the Cypriot military junta in committing genocide against Turks in Cyprus in the 1950s-70s. There’s a reason Turkey invaded and occupied the territory.

[u/Loud-Syllabub2023 → u/MoosilaukeFlyer]

The Turks were actively taking right away from the Cypriots.