Five public-sector and education unions have called for the resignation of the Turkish Cypriot 'Transport Minister', Erhan Arıklı, over Sunday’s shipwreck off the coast of Kyrenia.
The unions — KAMU-İŞ, KTAMS, KAMU-SEN, KTOEÖS and KTÖS — accused the authorities of widespread negligence and a lack of effective oversight, saying preventative measures must be taken before “another worker, another passenger, another citizen” loses their life.
'Stop hiding'
Speaking at a press conference, KAMU-İŞ head Ahmet Serdaroğlu expressed his condolences to the families of those who died and wished those injured a speedy recovery.
He subsequently called on Arıklı and his brother to “stop creating tension by hiding behind a shield of nationality”. Serdaroğlu said Turkish Cypriots were not the kind of people who would take pleasure in another person’s death.
He said Arıklı should resign and take responsibility for what had happened, arguing that a series of recent incidents had highlighted problems with supervision and control by the authorities.
List of accidents
These included a school bus accident, a silo accident and, most recently, the shipwreck off the coast of Kyrenia, he said.
Güven Bengihan of KTAMS said that even if Arıklı did not resign, the “prime minister”, Ünal Üstel, should remove him from office.
Those responsible must be held accountable, Bengihan said, adding that measures should then be introduced to ensure that a similar incident does not happen again.
Public demands resignations
KAMU-SEN president Metin Atan said both the “transport minister” and the “prime minister” should resign.
“This is what public opinion demands,” he said, rejecting Arıklı’s suggestion that only certain individuals were calling for his resignation.
In a joint written statement, the five unions said statements made after a person had lost their life could not replace the preventative measures that should have been taken beforehand.
The “state’s” responsibility, they said, was not limited to issuing licences, granting permits or checking documents. Inspections should be carried out on site rather than being conducted solely “on paper”, they added.
The unions also argued that negligence could not be attributed solely to lower-ranking officials.
The chain of responsibility must be uncovered in its technical, administrative and political dimensions, they said.
Source: CNA
