Visa inquiry to be completed soon

THE INQUIRY into the handling of a Turkish Cypriot woman who was refused entry at Larnaca airport despite having the necessary paperwork would be complete in a few days, Interior Minister Andreas Christou said yesterday.

Christou yesterday met with the father of Gulsevin Chah who had arrived on the island from Lebanon with her two children on Saturday but was detained for 24 hours before she was turned back.

After the meeting the minister said he had expressed his sadness to the father and explained that the incident had nothing to do with the government’s policy or the feelings and manner the society behaves towards the Turkish Cypriots.

Christou said he invited the woman to fly to Cyprus through Larnaca airport, the woman’s father had not discussed what the family planned to do.

Reports said Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash had already made arrangements for the Chah to fly to the occupied north through Turkey.

The family has also hinted they could appeal to the European Court of Human Rights about the case.

“Mr Khalil was very warm and very friendly; he knows the Greek language well and has many Greek Cypriot friends.

“Consequently it was not my obligation nor his to say what he thought of doing from now on,” Christou said.

He added that the climate had been substantially improved but did not ask for anything.

The minister said the investigation into the incident would be completed in a few days.

“For us the issue has not closed; it will when the investigation is concluded and those responsible assume their responsibility,” Christou said.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.