Complaint about David Maddox, political editor of the Independent, regarding Cyprus articles

I would like to suggest that David Maddox is using his position of responsibility and power as political editor of the Independent to write/plant articles about Cyprus that are so transparently partisan and partial that they inevitably raise questions about conflict of interest. 

 

 I note the Independent’s conflict of interest policy states the following: ‘You should be transparent about any outside political, philosophical, religious or financial interests that might conflict with your journalistic independence or integrity, or could be perceived to do so.’ 

 

David Maddox, while he was political editor of the Express, had a similar reputation for persistently planting/writing articles that parroted the line of Turkey and its subordinate regime in northern Cyprus regarding Turkey’s invasion of Cyprus in 1974; the subsequent occupation; and declaration in 1983 of a secessionist entity in the north of the island. 

He has continued his efforts on behalf of Turkey and the occupation regime since joining the Independent.

 

Background
The entity calling itself ‘The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus’ (‘TRNC’) was declared ‘legally invalid’ by UN Resolution 541 on its proclamation in 1983. The illegality of the regime has repeatedly been confirmed in international law. For example, European Court of Human Rights rulings in 1996 and 1998 described the purported Turkish Cypriot state as Turkey’s ‘subordinate local administration’. 

 

As such, no country in the world, other than Turkey, has recognised the ’TRNC’ as a legitimate ‘state’ and no country in the world – other than Turkey – recognises or treats the leader of that ‘state’ as a ‘president’.

For decades, Turkey has been trying to side-step or overturn international law by demanding recognition/legitimisation of its ‘subordinate administration’ in Cyprus. Turkey claims there is an unfair boycott of the so-called TRNC and alleges Turkish Cypriots are suffering unfair ‘isolation’ from the rest of the world. 

Turkey further claims it did not ‘invade’ Cyprus in 1974 and seize 37% of the territory of the Republic of Cyprus; but that it ‘intervened’ to protect the Turkish minority, which, Turkey asserts, was being massacred by Greek Cypriots, after they supposedly carried out a coup to unite the island with Greece. 

Of course, Turkey’s narrative on Cyprus is highly contentious – many would say entirely specious – and yet Maddox repeats it verbatim, with minimal to no equivocation or qualification, as if he were repeating the facts of the matter. 

Two Independent articles

Thus, in his Independent article on 10 December 2024, ‘Starmer’s historic trip to Cyprus turns into a diplomatic storm as he lands on divided island,’ Maddox duplicates the Turkish propaganda narrative, asserting:

‘The “Cyprus problem” refers to the division of the island 50 years ago after Turkish troops intervened in the north in 1974 when a Greek Cypriot military coup attempted to unite the island with Greece and initiated attacks on Turkish Cypriot communities’. 

Maddox further asserts, as if he were stating a fact:

‘A number of attempts to reunite the island have failed because they have been vetoed by the Greek Cypriot side.’

Again, the latter is a highly contentious claim, made by Turkey and its occupation regime to suggest that Greek Cypriots are intransigent and the reason there has been no ‘solution’ to Cyprus’s division. Greek Cypriots, the Republic of Cyprus government and most neutral commentators would have a very different view of why Cyprus has been divided since 1974 and why efforts to reunify the island have failed.

More generally, the article of 10 December is of no journalistic merit. It is absurd to assert that the UK prime minister would go to Cyprus and meet with the leader of Turkey’s illegal entity in northern Cyprus. The alleged ‘storm’ created by Starmer, not doing something he could never do, was not reported in any other UK or international newspaper. The ’storm’ was entirely concocted by Maddox to provide succour and backhanded legitimacy to the occupation regime and promote its claims.

Maddox’s article in the Independent on 29 May 2024, ‘Political Opponents unite to demand end of Turkish Cypriot isolation’, is equally egregious.

Again, it’s hard to discern the journalistic merit of such an article – why Maddox thinks it’s worth devoting time and effort to such a ‘story’. No other national newspaper reported it.

In the article, Maddox largely regurgitates the demand by supporters of Turkey’s occupation regime in Cyprus that direct flights to occupied Cyprus from the UK be initiated and that this is essentially a humanitarian issue concerning the ‘isolation’ of the Turkish Cypriots.

The ‘isolation’ claim is highly contentious. It’s commonly understood by those with knowledge of the Cyprus issue that those who agitate for an end to this alleged isolation by, for example, the initiation of direct flights to the occupied part of Cyprus, do so as a means to achieve de facto recognition of the so-called ‘TRNC’.

The government of the Republic of Cyprus would point out that 70 percent of Turkish Cypriots have taken out Republic of Cyprus passports – entitling them to exercise their rights as EU citizens – and that any ‘isolation’ the Turkish Cypriots suffer is as a result of Turkey’s occupation and the futile efforts by its subordinate administration to seek recognition of the ’TRNC’ rather than honestly pursue reunification of the island.

Nowhere in the 29 May Independent article does Maddox mention – as an impartial and serious journalist would – that the UK government has repeatedly made its position clear on direct flights from the UK to occupied Cyprus, i.e. that they cannot take place because they would be unlawful.

Thus, in response to a petition submitted by campaigners demanding direct flights to northern Cyprus in 2021, the UK government responded: 

‘The UK Government has no plans to authorise direct flights between the UK and the north of Cyprus. In accordance with the rest of the international community, the UK does not recognise the self-declared ‘Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus’ as an independent state. The United Kingdom recognises the Republic of Cyprus as the sovereign authority for the island of Cyprus. As a result, the UK Government cannot negotiate an Air Services Agreement with the administration in the north of Cyprus…

‘The UK High Court also ruled in 2009 (Kibris Türk Hava Yollari v Secretary of State for Transport) that allowing direct flights to Ercan airport in the north of Cyprus would breach our international legal obligations. This is because it would fail to respect the Republic of Cyprus’ rights under the 1944 Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation, including to choose which airports to designate as customs airports. This ruling was endorsed by the Court of Appeal in 2010.’

Maddox’s links to extremist Turkish Cypriot organisations

Now, it could be argued that Maddox is just a bad journalist, i.e. he is ill-informed about Cyprus, doesn’t understand the intricacies and is repeating the Turkish narrative out of ignorance and not deliberately or with malice. 

However, I believe Maddox knows exactly what he is doing. Indeed, the evidence suggests he has links to a number of extremist Turkish and Turkish Cypriot organisations in the UK, which in turn have strong connections to Turkey’s occupation regime in Cyprus. 

 

For example, in his article of 29 May in the Independent Maddox extensively quotes Chet/Cetin Ramadan, founder of ‘Freedom and Fairness for northern Cyprus’ (FFNC).

 

FFNC is a small ultra-nationalist Turkish UK-based lobby group linked to the occupation regime in Cyprus. Its founder, Chet/Cetin Ramadan, has been pictured (see images 1 and 2) and filmed performing the far-right Turkish Grey Wolf salute. 

(During Euro 2024, as reported here, UEFA gave Turkish footballer Merit Demirel a two-match ban for making the gesture in celebrating his goal against Austria).

 

YTC’s content was regarded as so offensive by TikTok that the account was banned on that platform. (See images 3 and 4). 

 

Screenshots from the FFNC ‘X’ feed suggest Maddox has a close relationship with FFNC, has visited occupied Cyprus as a guest of the organisation and made comments indicating his support for FFNC’s narrative on Cyprus. (See images 5, 6 and 7). 

 

Another picture, from July 2023, and published in the Express as part of an article Maddox wrote parroting the line of the occupation regime, shows Maddox with the occupation regime leader Ersin Tatar, who Maddox, again, seeks to legitimise by repeatedly referring to as ‘president’. (See image 8).

 

The photograph, it should be noted, is credited to Rikki Williams, co-founder with Chet/Cetin Ramadan of Freedom and Fairness for northern Cyprus.

 

Williams, described here as a ‘respected Conservative Party and Parliamentary Liaison Consultant’, is extensively quoted in Maddox’s 10 December Independent article. 

Williams is mentioned here as Iain Duncan Smith’s agent, while other evidence shows Williams was until June 2021 parliamentary research assistant to Duncan Smith.

Duncan Smith is a well-known supporter of Turkey’s occupation regime in Cyprus. 

In July 2024, he was pictured lending support to Ersin Tatar during a visit to Turkish-occupied northern Cyprus organised by FFNC. (See image 9).

Duncan Smith is prominently mentioned in Maddox’s Independent article on 29 May, as is Jack Straw, who also has strong links to the Erdogan regime in Turkey.

Straw has previously had his pro-occupation regime views published in the Independent in two opinion pieces, here and here.

 

Maddox’s motivations

For those who know the intricacies of the Cyprus issue, it’s obvious that Maddox is abusing his position on a prestigious UK newspaper to actively promote the views of Turkey on Cyprus. He has ceded any sense of impartiality or journalistic ethics to produce thinly-disguised propaganda pieces on behalf of Turkey and its subordinate administration in occupied Cyprus. 

In pursuit of this, he has developed links to disreputable far-right extremists and is not shy of promulgating their views in his articles not only as if they were the legitimate and representative expression of Turkish Cypriot opinion – which they are not; but also as if they tell the truth about the historical and political reality of the Cyprus issue.

Why Maddox has assumed this role for Turkey and Turkish Cypriot ultra-nationalists is open to speculation. I would note that it’s not unusual for Turkey and the Turkish occupation regime to recruit persons of influence in the UK to promote its views and interests regarding Cyprus. Both Straw and Duncan Smith would fall into this category.

The highly-respected anti-corruption journalist Peter Geoghegan has recently written about Freedom and Fairness for northern Cyprus’ activities in corrupting the British parliamentary process. FFNC does this by offering inducements to British parliamentarians in exchange for lobbying on behalf of Turkey’s occupation regime in Cyprus.

Geoghegan has highlighted the role of DUP MP Sammy Wilson in this impropriety. Geoghegan’s exposé of Wilson resulted in the MP having to apologise to the House of Commons for failing to declare his connections to the ‘TRNC’ when tabling a parliamentary question on its behalf. 

Given Maddox’s closeness to Freedom and Fairness for northern Cyprus, it is not unreasonable to assume that Maddox, like Wilson, has an improper relationship to the occupation regime and is similarly being unduly influenced in his professional capacity. 

In fact, to not mince words, it is clear that David Maddox is part of a network of journalists and MPs who have essentially been recruited or co-opted by extremist Turkish Cypriot groups with strong links to Turkey’s occupation regime in Cyprus to make propaganda on their behalf. Not only is this a clear breach of the Independent’s code of conduct, but it brings the newspaper into disrepute. I hope something can be done to stop this.

Links

1. http://unscr.com/en/resolutions/541

2. https://hudoc.echr.coe.int/eng#{%22itemid%22:[%22001-58007%22]}

3. https://hudoc.echr.coe.int/eng#{%22itemid%22:[%22001-46159%22]}

4. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/starmer-cyprus-trip-diplomatic-storm-b2661439.html

5. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/cyprus-parliamentarians-direct-flights-jack-straw-b2553442.html

6. https://petition.parliament.uk/archived/petitions/320878

7. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/c903l3zn8gko

8. https://www.express.co.uk/news/politics/1789742/erdogan-sunak-turkey-cyprus-diplomatic-blunder

9. https://www.t-vine.com/community-support-needed-for-british-turkish-cypriot-association-fundraiser/

10. https://www.guardian-series.co.uk/news/8136895.redbridge-parties-engaged-in-tit-for-tat-leaflet-dispute/

11. https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm/cmsecret/210625/register.pdf

12. https://hellenicantidote.blogspot.com/search?q=jack+straw

13. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/cyprus-crisis-two-state-solution-b2582566.html

14. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/cyprus-crisis-two-state-solution-b2582566.html

15. https://www.petergeoghegan.com/

16. https://www.occrp.org/en/scoop/did-uk-politicians-violate-lobbying-rules-with-questions-about-northern-cyprus

17. https://democracyforsale.substack.com/p/dup-mp-sammy-wilson-under-investigation-north-cyprus

18. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cdx9l722xypo