North blocks committee for Turkish Cypriots banned from Turkey

The north’s ‘government’ on Tuesday blocked the creation of a ‘parliamentary’ investigation committee into the circumstances regarding the banning of 12 Turkish Cypriots from Turkey.

Opposition politicians had put forward a bill for the creation of such a committee, with ‘MPs’ from the CTP and two independents voting in favour. However, they were outnumbered by ‘MPs’ from the three governing parties.

During the debate, ‘prime minister’ Unal Ustel said the ‘government’ is “taking it upon ourselves to investigate this matter … and take the initiative”.

He was pressed by CTP Leader Tufan Erhurman as to whether there would be an opportunity for collaboration with the opposition on the matter, with Erhurman saying “if they say ‘no’… I want this to be known to the public.”

Ustel responded, “we will inform the opposition.”

The matter at hand pertains to a total of 12 Turkish Cypriots who say they have been refused entry to Turkey, with either code N-82 or G-82 referenced by the Turkish authorities.

Code N-82 means the individual must seek prior permission before entering the Republic of Turkey, while code G-82 indicates the individual is viewed as a threat to Turkish national security.

Speaking in ‘parliament’, CTP ‘MP’ Sami Ozuslu said “this parliament has an obligation to solve this problem. Relevant ministries have not even lifted a finger. [The ‘government’] stands before us as a team which cannot even protect its own citizens.”