Tatar snaps at student while answering questions

Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar raised his voice at a student at Famagusta secondary school during his visit there, following the death of the 35-member group from school in the earthquake in Turkey last month, reports said on Thursday.

Tatar visited the school earlier in the week, where year-12 students attending an assembly asked him several questions about the policies his ‘government’ is pursuing, inciting him to lash out at some of them.

According to a report in Yeni Duzen, when one student asked about the controversial Mufti Ahmet Unsal, who gave Islamic lectures on marriage saying that women must obey their husbands, Tatar raised his voice at the student, who asked if he had any plans of getting rid of Unsal.

“Such questions do not suit TMK [the Famagusta secondary school] students,” he was heard saying in a loud voice.

Students also asked Tatar if the money they are spending to build the Islamic ‘presidential’ complex, Kulliye, in Nicosia is better spent on other investments.

Tatar responded that the reasoning behind the Kulliye is because the ‘presidential palace’ currently used by the Turkish Cypriot leader is an old British colonial building that does not have a conference room or meet earthquake standards.

Meanwhile, responding to Tatar’s statements about the Kulliye, main opposition CTP general secretary Asim Akansoy said that students in Nicosia will be studying in tents soon.

Akansoy was prompted following a decision by ‘education minister’ Nazim Cavusoglu to have classes at Namik Kemal High school in the north conducted in tents, as the building was found to be unsafe.

This incited parents a few weeks ago to withdraw their children from school, halting classes.

In a post on social media, Akansoy noted that all the previous ones who used the existing ‘presidential’ home had a room to hold meetings, but Tatar does not.

“So, the architects of the affairs that are not happening like equal sovereignty need big halls,” Akansoy said, adding Tatar is showing a great sign of solidarity, self-sacrifice, and logic when the fact is that students will take lessons in tents due to the risk of an earthquake.

He even mentioned that in any case, it will go down in history as the greatest disrespect to the people that Tatar and his “brains” did not stop the construction of the building complex for even one day in the face of such a big problem.

Speaking as the tents were being put up at the schools, Cavusoglu said that students are absent from classes at Namik Kemal High School, Dr Fazil Kucuk technical school, to Cumhuriyet High School, and Karakol Primary School, due to concerns about the condition and earthquake resistance of the buildings.

“We cannot tell students to go back to school. The reason is that we don’t have the report in our hands,” Cavusoglu said, mentioning that especially in Namik Kemal high school, which is the most populous, 14 classes do not have any problem, however in order to accommodate the rest of the students they contacted the army to erect 25 tents in the school yard.

Commenting on the other schools, he said 12 tents will go up at the Dr Fazil Kucuk school, 14 at the Cumhuriyet school, and 4 at the Karakol primary school, while they consider moving students to other buildings.