TRNC Prime Minister Üstel dismisses Transport Minister Arıklı

TRNC Prime Minister Ünal Üstel has dismissed Public Works and Transport Minister Erhan Arıklı. The decision was announced on the evening of September 2, on the fourth day after the Filo Jet catamaran sank off Girne: the death toll has risen to nine, while 19 people remain missing.

Üstel said he was expanding the suspension measures introduced immediately after the disaster: port service employees who had allowed the vessel to depart had then been suspended, and an administrative investigation had been launched. “I informed Minister Erhan Arıklı that he had been relieved of his duties,” the prime minister said.

According to Üstel, the investigation must leave not the slightest doubt, and whoever is found responsible will be held accountable. The prime minister stressed that the inquiry would be conducted quickly, thoroughly and transparently, and that the presumption of innocence applies to everyone.

Üstel separately noted that the decision was not directed against Arıklı’s party, Yeniden Doğuş Partisi (Rebirth Party, YDP). He recalled that he had worked with the minister for four and a half years and thanked him for his service to the country.

Earlier that same day, Arıklı said he would ask the TRNC parliament to lift his immunity. The minister’s resignation had been demanded by the youth organizations of CTP, TDP, TAM and “Sol Gençlik”, while the Democratic Party submitted 18 parliamentary questions concerning Filo Jet’s authorization to operate.

On the evening of September 2, Üstel also said that the body of one of the missing people—a man believed to be around 50—had been recovered from the seabed. It was taken to Dr. Burhan Nalbantoğlu State Hospital in Lefkoşa for identification. The search is continuing at a depth of about 550 meters; no other bodies have yet been found near the vessel.