TURKISH Cypriot ‘foreign minister’ Huseyin Ozgurgun yesterday flatly denied having had any connection whatsoever with a fashion model for whom he is said to have secured a public sector job.
Several newspapers in Turkey and north Cyprus at the weekend branded Ozgurgun the “naughty minister” after he allegedly secured a temporary teaching job in a ‘state’ school for 24 year-old model Seniha Kanatli. The ‘minister’ was said to be “in love” with Kanatli.
But in a written statement, Ozgurgun’s press secretary said yesterday there was “no link” between Ozgurgun and the model, who was later sacked from her teaching job after the apparent objection of a number of parents at the school where she was teaching.
“An article published in Turkey on Sunday December 18 published claims about foreign minister Huseyin Ozgurgun that have no relation with reality,” the statement read, adding that the Turkish Cypriot media had “broadcast these claims without checking to see if they were true”.
“As everyone knows, the appointment of teachers is the responsibility of the education minister,” the statement insisted, concluding that it would be up to the public to decide “whether it was right to use the matter of a temporary teacher’s appointment to besmear a minister”.
Signifying that the matter might not immediately be laid to rest, Ozgurgun’s statement warned that the ‘minister’ would be using “all legal means in regard to any damages caused [by the claims]”.
The Turkish Cypriot media also appeared keen to keep the story running and was already asking yesterday “which minister”, if not Ozgurgun, had secured the 24-year-old model’s teaching position.
Having seemingly identified the 46 year-old ‘foreign minister’ as something of a player, it is unlikely the tabloid media in Turkey will let the matter rest so quickly either. Earlier this year Turkish paparazzi journalists were quick to link Ozgurgun with well-known Turkish actress and presenter Seray Sever, with whom he was photographed spending an evening. Although the pictures were widely publicised in the Turkish media Ozgurgun and Seray denied having a relationship.
