Erhurman ‘in discussions’ over Turkish Cypriots denied entry to Turkey

Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman said he is in discussions over the matter of Turkish Cypriots being denied entry to Turkey.

“I discussed this issue with Turkey’s Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz. I bring it up in every meeting. As I have said, I will follow up on many things, and this is one of them,” he said.

He added that he does not know if the restrictions on some Turkish Cypriots’ access to Turkey “will be removed or not” but stressed that “since my own citizens are involved, I need to know the reasoning behind it, at least”.

“The answers will come all at once, not in pieces. We have launched an investigation and we will see the results,” he said.

At present, it is believed that around 15 Turkish Cypriots are on one of Turkey’s N-82 and G-82 lists. Having one’s name on the former means that one must apply in advance to the Turkish embassy in their country for pre-clearance to enter the country, while being on the G-82 list entails an outright ban from entering Turkey.

Neither list is publicly available, and as such, those on it generally do not find out until they arrive in Turkey.

Last year, opposition party CTP ‘MP’ Sami Ozuslu said that some people had written to the Turkish embassy in northern Nicosia asking for clarification after being refused entry to Turkey, but that the embassy “did not even respond”.

“More interestingly, the TRNC prime minister Unal Ustel himself said that he received no response when he had written a letter,” he added.

He also pointed out that the ruling coalition had in 2024 blocked the creation of a ‘parliamentary’ investigation committee into the circumstances surrounding the placement of Cypriots on the two lists.

Ruling coalition party UBP ‘MP’ Zorlu Tore, however, defended the coalition’s lack of action on the matter, saying that those who appeared on the lists should have chosen their words more carefully.

“If you slander Turkey, make serious insults, make statements which will harm Turkey’s integrity, how much right do you have to make such statements, just because you are in the TRNC, without taking into consideration the issues stipulated in Turkey’s constitution?” he asked.