1 week Ago
The north’s ‘education minister’ Nazim Cavusoglu on Friday distanced himself from a counterprotest organised by ‘transport minister’ Erhan Arikli on Wednesday to show “respect to the motherland” in the wake of a wave of protests organised in the north against the ruling coalition’s legalisation of the wearing of hijabs by children at public schools. Speaking to Kibris Postasi TV, he said there are “many actions of which I have not approved during this process”, including the decision of Ibrahim Damar, the imam of the mosque in the northern Nicosia suburb of Mandres, to describe teachers opposed to hijabs as “ infidels ” and said he would refuse to lead a funeral service for “anyone who opposes headscarves” . On the matter of the imam, he said an investigation into his conduct has been launched “because this is a statement which exceeds its purpose”.
“I agree with those who say that what the teachers did was wrong without insulting them,” he said, referring to the protest held outside Turkey’s embassy two weeks ago in which Cyprus Turkish secondary education teachers’ union (Ktoeos) leader Selma Eylem had told Turkish ambassador Ali Murat Basceri to “ go home ”. Of Arikli’s protest, he said he had told Arikli, “don’t do such a thing”. “During his protest, people were chanting, ‘everyone loves Ayse in this country, those who do not should question themselves’.
In such a sensitive period, while moving towards a goal, calculating who to put in what basket , I would definitely put those who tell the ambassador to ‘go home’ and those who say they will not lead funeral prayers in the same basket ,” he said. The name “Ayse” is used in reference to the phrase “let Ayse go on holiday” uttered in July 1974 by then-Turkish Foreign Minister Turhan Gunes to give the go-ahead for the invasion of Cyprus. “The intention of those who say ‘go home’ is not right, either.
Telling people with whom we have differences of opinion to go to southern Cyprus is an ugly thing. I actually put them all in the same basket. It is very dangerous.
Our concern is to give an individual their rights in accordance with our constitution”. He was then asked about Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar’s wife Sibel Tatar , who has twice attacked the ruling coalition over its legalisation of hijabs at schools, and denounced her comments. “ I cannot say that I find her statements after the protest correct .
This debate has been going on in our country for a month. Sibel is someone who has a dialogue with me. She did not call me and get information from me.
If she had made a statement before the protest and not after, or if she had asked for a meeting with us, maybe she could have contributed,” he said. He added, “I wish she had got her information from us, made a contribution. It would have been better for me.
As a minister, I would have liked for her to get her information from me”..
