Sunat Atun has been selected by the Turkish Cypriot legislature to lead its investigation into whether there is political culpability to be apportioned following the sinking of a ferry off the coast of Kyrenia last week.
The five-person committee will comprise three members of the Turkish Cypriot ruling coalition’s largest political party, the UBP, and two from the largest opposition party, the CTP.
Atun, of the UBP, will be joined on the committee by fellow party members Resmiye Canaltay, the daughter of former Turkish Cypriot leader Dervish Eroglu, and Hasan Kucuk.
Fikri Toros and Teberruken Ulucay were selected as the CTP’s two members.
Initially, the CTP had put forward a motion suggesting that the committee not be led by any members of either of the ruling coalition’s two parties, the UBP or the DP, or of the YDP, which was a part of the coalition until last week.
Party leader Sila Usar Incirli had argued that it would not be right for the coalition to effectively lead an investigation into itself, and said that instead, the committee should be led by the opposition.
However, ‘prime minister’ Unal Ustel said that the committee’s makeup should broadly reflect that of the legislature itself, and therefore should have a majority of members from his own party, the UBP.
“The committee will consist of three members of the UBP and two of the CTP. As you know, we are the government. Therefore, the committee chairman will also be from the government. While conducting these investigations, we have regulated the administrative process to ensure that no one has any doubts,” he said.
Fourteen dead, fourteen still missing after ferry disaster
Atun, 53, has served in the cabinets of six different Turkish Cypriot ‘prime ministers’, having first been appointed as ‘energy minister’ by Dervish Eroglu in 2009.
He continued in the same role under Irsen Kucuk after Eroglu was elected Turkish Cypriot leader in 2010, remaining in post until the 2013 election. He later served in the same post under Huseyin Ozgurgun and Faiz Sucuoglu, while also serving as ‘trade minister’ under Omer Kalyoncu, and as ‘finance minister’ under Sucuoglu and Ustel until July 2022.
Canaltay, too, has cabinet experience, having served as the north’s ‘transport minister’ under Ersan Saner and Sucuoglu. She was replaced in the role by Erhan Arikli after the 2022 election, with Arikli then having remained in post until being relieved of his duties by Ustel in the aftermath of the ferry disaster.
Ulucay, the brother of Turkish Cypriot Famagusta mayor Suleyman Ulucay, served as ‘interior minister’ under Ozkan Yorgancioglu.
Kucuk was a civil servant in the north’s ‘education ministry’ before entering frontline politics, while Toros was a businessman and chairman of the Turkish Cypriot chamber of commerce.
The ferry capsized shortly after leaving the new port of Kyrenia en route to the Turkish port of Tasucu on August 30, with 259 passengers and eight crew members on board.
Thus far, it has been confirmed that 14 people have died, while 14 people remain missing. All eight members of the crew were arrested on the day of the disaster, and all eight remain in custody.
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