CTP calls for parliamentary commission to investigate the Filo Jet sinking

Republican Turkish Party (CTP) Chair Sıla Usar İncirli said that the resignation of one minister and several officials was not enough to investigate the sinking of the Filo Jet off Girne. The party will submit a proposal to the TRNC Assembly to establish a commission to investigate the disaster.

The passenger vessel Filo Jet sank off Girne on August 30. Thirteen people are listed as dead, while another 15 are considered missing; the search operation is being conducted at a depth of 554 metres.

“Why did this happen? How did it happen? Who is responsible?” İncirli listed the questions, without answers to which, she said, the country would be unable to move forward. Personnel decisions alone do not close the matter, and CTP has held this position from the very beginning, she said.

The party will work with lawyers, technical experts and oversight specialists and seek an examination of the operation of ports and maritime transport. İncirli said that CTP would monitor the investigation to ensure that no fact remained hidden.

CTP is also preparing proposals to address legal, technical and regulatory gaps in the maritime transport sector. “We will do everything necessary to ensure that no family ever has to endure such suffering again,” İncirli said.

Earlier, Erhan Arıklı was removed from his post as TRNC Minister of Public Works and Transport. As of September 5, the ministry’s permanent secretary, the ministry director and the head of the ports department had been dismissed.