European Parliament leftist party slams Turkey for denying entry to TCs

The Left in the European Parliament, a left-wing political group of the European Parliament established in 1995, condemned Ankara on Tuesday for denying entry to Turkish Cypriots, under the “vague pretext of national security concerns.”

Following the initiative of the movement’s MEPs Niyazi Kizilyurek and Giorgios Georgiou, the movement of MEPs issued a statement condemning Turkey’s policy, which has seen 12 Turkish Cypriots denied entry. Among the group there were journalists and trade unionists.

“They have been denied entry to Turkey under the vague pretext of national security concerns. However, all 12 individuals are well-known for their unwavering dedication to the reunification of Cyprus in accordance with United Nations resolutions and EU policies, particularly the Bizonal, Bicommunal Federation (BBF) framework for Cyprus,” a statement released by the party said.

Commenting further, it said that Turkey’s actions make it clear that these individuals are being prevented from entering due to their political beliefs.

“The Left in the European Parliament strongly condemns this unacceptable and regrettable policy implemented by the Turkish authorities.”

The statement called on Turkey to lift the ban on preventing Turkish Cypriot EU citizens from entering the country.

The announcement comes as the EU parliament is set to discuss Turkey’s progress report.

Turkey have been stopping Turkish Cypriots from entering the country on the basis of the N82 code, which states that the individual is a foreigner that needs to receive permission before entering Turkey.

N82 seems to have taken the place of G82, which was used to previously ban five Turkish Cypriots from entering Turkey.

The code G82 specified that foreigners that have been suspected of involvement in activities against national security and were not allowed to enter Turkey.