Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman criticised the republic over the apparent prevention of a planned Eid al-Fitr visit to the Hala Sultan Tekkesi in Larnaca.
In statements issued on social media on Sunday, Erhurman stressed that “preventing visits to the Hala Sultan Tekkesi is unacceptable,” he said, adding that the issue has been raised with United Nations officials and “will be conveyed to all levels of the international community.”
The apparent refusal occurred on Saturday after a series of requests submitted through the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus were rejected.
According to the north’s ‘foreign ministry’, an initial request for March 21 was declined, followed by further proposals for March 22 and March 28.
“Despite all the efforts made… our request to visit the Hala Sultan Tekke was once again rejected at the last minute,” the ‘ministry’ said.
While earlier visits involved between 300 and 500 participants, this year’s plan was scaled down to 105 people before being further limited to one bus “citing security reasons.”
The ‘ministry’ described the final decision as “arbitrary” and said it “constitutes a restriction on freedom of worship.”
The Cyprus Mail attempted to contact the government for comment regarding the circumstances of the incident.
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