Berova named north’s acting ‘transport minister’, three top officials sacked

Ozdemir Berova was on Friday named Turkish Cypriot acting ‘transport minister’, temporarily replacing the dismissed Erhan Arikli, while three top officials from inside the same ‘ministry’ were also relieved of their duties.

Berova, who has served as ‘finance minister’ since 2024, is, according to the north’s laws, allowed to serve as acting transport minister until September 12 at the latest.

His signature appeared alongside those of Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman and ‘prime minister’ Unal Ustel in a document announcing the dismissal of the ‘transport ministry’s’ undersecretary Enver Ozturk, director Mustafa Ambar, and ports department director Emsal Emirzadeogullari. 

Arikli was relieved of his duties on Wednesday, three days after a passenger ferry sank off the coast of Kyrenia, killing at least 12 people, with Ustel saying that he had done so “order to ensure that our police and judicial authorities can conduct the investigation without leaving any room for doubt” or fears of conflicts of interest.

He stressed that the decision to relieve Arikli of his duties “is not a political move directed at the YDP”, the party Arikli leads, saying that “we have been serving this country together with our coalition partners for four and a half years“, and that both the DP and the YDP “have contributed to the achievements we have brought about and the reforms we have implemented”. 

“However, we cannot allow the shadow of suspicion to arise during the investigation process,” he said, before then stressing that “no one of whose duties we have relieved can be declared guilty until the judiciary delivers its verdict”.

Arikli nonetheless withdrew the YDP’s support for the ruling coalition, leaving it with an effective majority in the legislature of just three. 

He had become the subject of fierce criticism from the families of those missing in the aftermath of the ferry disaster, with scores of people having waited outside the new port of Kyrenia for news of their loved ones. 

Multiple family members had demanded that Arikli travel to Kyrenia to face them, but he did not heed their demands before being relieved of his duties on Wednesday evening, and did not join the YDP delegation which visited the families at the Kyrenia port both on Thursday and Friday evening.