Turkish Cypriots bar Turkish journalist who flew in to Larnaca

TURKISH Cypriot ‘police’ barred a Turkish journalist from crossing to the north on Wednesday because he had entered the island via Larnaca, it emerged yesterday.

Ragip Duran, who writes for Turkish daily Birgun and teaches journalism at Galatasaray University in Istanbul, was in Cyprus for a two-day conference at the Goethe Institute in the buffer zone that divides the Greek and Turkish Cypriot parts of the island.

Duran had entered the island via Larnaca, believing he would not be able to attend the conference if he entered the island via the north, as Turkish mainlanders are prevented by Greek Cypriot police from going south of the Green Line.

After meeting a number of Turkish Cypriot journalists at the conference, Duran decided to cross to the north, but was told by Turkish Cypriot police he would not be allowed to cross because he had entered the island illegally through Larnaca airport.

Commenting on the incident, one of the journalists who tried to cross with Duran, Oya Gurel, said: “We went to the checkpoint and the policeman asked our friend where he had come from. When he told the officer he had come through Larnaca, he was told he couldn’t come in.”

She added: “This is a shame on us. How can it be that every nationality can cross the line except Turks?”