How hard it is to wait!
How hard it is to share in the feelings of a bereaved relative...
To know the truth, really…
To lose hope…
And yet to keep waiting…
Helpless...
The urge to scatter earth over a loved one, a longing to say goodbye...
***
Filo Jet’s most recent technical inspection was carried out in Turkey.
On 2 June…
In Taşucu…
By Türk Loydu…
The certificate was issued there too.
The ship’s owner is a company with links to Turkey.
Most of the people we have lost were citizens of the Republic of Turkey…
For this reason, it seems inevitable that part of the investigation will take place in Turkey.
What did Türk Loydu inspect?
Which technical reports confirmed the vessel’s suitability for passenger transport?
All the documents must be brought to light.
Where, indeed, are the owners of this company – do they have nothing to say?
***
From the perspective of Cyprus, the responsible authority is the Ministry of Transport.
A voyage permit had been issued, and its departure from the port had been approved…
It would also be unfair to place the entire burden of responsibility solely on the Minister of Transport.
Then there is the ‘government’, supposedly!
This is actually a matter of governance…
A reality of ‘mismanagement’…
A state of collapse of the status quo…
Another day has passed.
Still no resignation!
How many days left until the election?
He’ll be enjoying his official seat for another three months, at most…
His private chauffeur.
The protocol…
At most, another three months!
Perhaps he still has ‘matters to attend to’…
What comes next is not a political career.
It’s a matter of dignity.
***
We didn’t get to this point in a single day.
They have eroded the public sector’s institutional capacity over the years.
In senior management, they have consistently prioritised loyalty over knowledge, partisanship over experience, and obedience over competence.
They have drained the institutions of their memory.
Solemnity has been lost.
Then we entrusted our lives to these institutions, to these people...
A man loses a party congress…
But he can still become ‘Prime Minister’.
An MP is making laws for this country with a degree from a university he claims he “never attended”…
That fraudulent university is founded by yet another ‘national’ MP!
“We won’t let them touch it,” they say…
Just think: the captain’s degree is now under scrutiny… Yet those who say they’ll “investigate” this have their own circles tainted by the very same degree scandal…
The Minister of Transport steps forward and says, “If I end up being included amongst those to be held responsible, I, too, shall resign—if necessary.”
If necessary!
One can’t help but ask: When exactly will it be necessary?
“There used to be a committee overseeing ships flying the TRNC flag and those arriving at ports. It assessed the working conditions and safety of the vessels. This committee hasn’t been operational for three, four, perhaps five years. No one has been appointed to replace those who have retired. When there’s a lack of oversight, it becomes easier for substandard vessels to operate.”
This is the assessment of Captain and expert Ulus Göker!
Is that not enough reason for it to be necessary...
***
‘Resignation’ is also a matter of high political culture...
It’s not just a crate of tomatoes and watermelons...
It happens in developed democracies...
It’s a sign of civilisation, in other words…
Or else…
A silo collapses, a young worker dies, and no one is held accountable.
A baby dies, alcohol is mixed into their formula, and no one is held accountable.
A ship sinks, and no one is held accountable.
In a country of political irresponsibility, expecting a ‘resignation’ is truly the height of folly…
***
A state of utter ‘lack of will’…
Those who have ‘shielded’ this dirty, mediocre, deceitful partnership are also clear…
Now they’re being booed side by side.
Perhaps for the first time, the public’s anger is breaching the protective wall they’ve built.
This is an immense pain…
Immeasurable…
Indescribable…
Our throats are choked with knots…
One is at a loss for what to write, what to say.
But it is precisely now that we must demand accountability.
If the right people had been governing the country on both sides of the sea… Poverty would not be a fate at the bottom of the sea.
[At the time this article was updated, Erhan Arıklı was still the ‘Minister of Transport’; Ünal Üstel, announced as Prime Minister, removed him from office. Arıklı has got what he deserved… Is Üstel a ‘hero’ now? ]
