TURKISH Cypriot opposition parties continued efforts in the north’s ‘parliament’ yesterday to block proposed changes in the social security and immigration laws which they say will lead to further mass immigration from Turkey and emigration of indigenous Turkish Cypriots.
Efforts to block the bill were yesterday being led by Communal Democracy Party (TDP) leader Mehmet Cakici who sought filibuster the proposed amendments by delivering a record-breaking 13-hour speech that began on Tuesday and ended early yesterday morning.
Yesterday, Cakici’s place had been taken by other deputies who said they too would seek to filibuster the bill.
Proposed changes in the immigration law include an amnesty for mainland Turks working illegally in the north. If passed, it will allow currently illegal workers to become legal after paying a one-off fine of 300 Turkish lira, approximately €120.
The ‘ruling’ National Unity Party (UBP) say that up to 30,000 workers and their families could benefit from the amnesty and thereby be allowed to stay on the island.
Opposition parties say the figure could be as high as 100,000, and that this level of immigration will have significant and painful consequences for an already-dwindling Turkish Cypriot population.
Cakici and other opposition deputies also oppose proposed changes in the way social security benefits are calculated and a raising of the retirement age from 50 to 60.
Speaking to the Cyprus Mail yesterday main opposition Republican Turkish Party (CTP) deputy Ozil Nami said that unless opposition to changes in the legislation received public support, it would almost certainly be voted through.
“If the unions and the public gather at the parliament in support of the opposition, they could be forced to retract it. If not, the UBP have enough of a majority to get it through,” he said.
Cakici’s marathon speech sparked angry scenes in the ‘parliament’, culminating in scuffles when UBP deputy Ahmet Zengin hurled a drinking glass at TPD deputy Mustafa Emiroglari. Cakici, whose speech consisted of repeated readings of his party’s ‘Plan of Hope’, was reported to have threatened Zengin with legal proceedings for attempted murder. Other deputies were said to have issued repeated warnings to the overweight Caciki about his ability to remain standing for such a long period, and made repeated “jocular” checks to see if he had succumbed to the need to use the bathroom.
Yesterday the marathon speeches continued amid suggestions they could go on until today. Lending their support to the opposition, the Union Platform, a conglomerate of unions and NGOs opposing what they described as “Ankara’s destruction package”, called on union members and the public to gather outside the ‘parliament’ to obstruct the changes in the law. Speaking on behalf of the Platform head of the Journalists’ Union Kemal Darbaz, “We must demonstrate to defend our hard-won rights and our identity”.
