THOUSANDS of Turkish Cypriots took to the streets of Nicosia yesterday morning, accusing the coalition of creating new voters through hasty naturalisations in order to help bolster their chances in the December general elections.
Fifteen trade unions and trade union federations supporting the ‘This Nation is Ours’ platform carried out a half-day warning strike, culminating in a gathering outside the Venetian walls of the divided capital.
Eventually, the group of about 3,000 protesters marched from Kyrenia Gate to the nearby Nicosia District Courthouse, where a letter of protest was read to the crowd, which was then presented to the chairman of the ‘High Election Council’ (YSK) Taner Erginel.
“For years, the Turkish Cypriot worker, farmer, business owner, public servant, teacher, man and woman has been struggling for the right to exist,” said union leader Mehmet Tosun, reading the letter.
“The main target for our nation is to achieve a lasting solution and membership of the European Union, where human rights and the law prevail,” Tosun added.
The letter criticised Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash and the governing National Unity Party (UBP) and Democratic Party (DP) for allegedly creating new jobs and granting citizenship in the run-up to the December 14 elections.
“The blatant handing out of citizenship by Mr Denktash and the UBP and DP government and the deep state behind them for the sake of the elections and the sultanate is disgraceful,” said Tosun.
The December elections are seen as crucial in the determination of the future of the Cyprus problem, with the opposition seen as steadily gaining momentum and popularity.
The UBP-DP governing coalition supports Denktash’s policies rejecting a solution to the Cyprus problem on the basis of the Annan plan.
The petition called on election council chairman Erginel to take up his duties in order to prevent any interference in the will of Turkish Cypriots at the ballots in December.
Receiving the letter, Erginel replied: “Our desire is to hold a completely transparent, fair and honest election, and we will appraise these complaints.”
Meanwhile, the latest wave of naturalisations came in for criticism from Rauf Denktash himself in a statement made to Turkey’s semi-offical Anatolian news agency over the weekend.
He said the issue was playing into the opposition’s hands.
“This presents a wrong impression, these people have had the right to become citizens for years, but for unknown reasons they were unable to get their citizenship,” said Denktash.
At the ‘Immigration Department’, however, the 30 employees were working a full day yesterday, as applicants still lined the corridors of the building.
A source at the department told the Cyprus Mail: “Many of the applicants and those who have been granted approval for citizenship are people who have been living here for over five years, the mandatory minimum for being eligible for citizenship.”
The source explained a large number of applications had been waiting the approval of the ‘Interior Ministry’ for years.
“In the last two or three months, the ministry all of a sudden decided to approve a majority of these applications, which led to the onslaught on the department last week,” said the source.
Tensions flared at the department last week between applicants and employees submerged by the backlog.
“The government is to blame for this, they did not take the necessary precautions to handle this backlog, and by deciding finally to approve old applications, they have given the opposition more leverage for the elections,” said the source.
New ‘citizens’ will be only allowed to vote if they have received their documents, and Turkish Cypriot identity card, with proof of residency on the island, by next Tuesday, when the election prohibition period starts.
“It’s still full downstairs,” said the source, late yesterday afternoon.
“A majority are legitimate applications of people who have lived here over five years,” he added.
The source added it was impossible at this stage to say the exact number of people granted citizenship and therefore eligible to vote in the December elections.
“I don’t believe the new citizens will greatly affect the outcome of the elections, but it’s a shame that these people, who have been trying for such a long time to become citizens, are being used in this manner,” said Ahmet Alioglu, a 41 year-old public servant taking part in the march.
Another public servant taking part in the demonstration, 38 year-old Tamay Soysan, said: “The
government is trying everything possible to maintain its power.”
