Online petition against airport name change
AN ONLINE petition against proposals to change the name of Ercan airport has received nearly 2,000 signatures.
Last week it was reported that Mehmet Küçük, the son of the late Turkish Cypriot leader Dr Fazıl Küçük, told President Ersin Tatar that he wants Ercan to be renamed after his father when the airport’s new multi-million euro terminal finally opens. President Tatat initially said he supported the idea, suggesting the Ercan name could be given to Geçitkale airport.
However the plan was condemned by Selen Ercan, the granddaughter of Major Fehmi Ercan whose name the airport bears.
Major Ercan was a Turkish fighter pilot who was killed on the first day of the Cyprus Peace Operation on July 20, 1974, while performing his duty as a forward air controller. According to the TRNC’s Civil Aviation Department he died, along with Colonel İbrahim Karaoğlanoğlu, during Greek Cypriot rocket attacks on his regimental headquarters.
Major Ercan, who was 39, is buried in Karaoğlanoğlu.
A total of 1,917 people signed the petition, which is now closed, on Change.org. The petition was addressed to President Tatar, Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay and Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu.
Among those to comment on the petition was Ender Denktaş Vangöl, the daughter of the late TRNC founding President Rauf
Denktaş, who wrote: “On behalf of the exalted souls of our martyrs, it should be out of the question for their names to be transferred to another place.
“[The name of Ercan airport] should never be changed. It would be most appropriate to give the name of our leader Dr Fazıl Küçük to the new pandemic hospital [in Lefkoşa], which is related to his real profession.”
Ms Ercan, providing an update on Facebook on Monday, said that the name of Ercan airport “will not change”. She thanked all those who had supported the petition.
Following criticism, President Tatar issued a fresh statement this week distancing himself from the issue.
He sought to “clarify” the situation by pointing out that the idea to rename Ercan airport had come
from the Dr Fazıl Küçük Foundation, the representatives of which had mentioned it to him during a visit to the Presidency.
“I respect this proposal, however the allegations that I made a decision to change the name [of Ercan airport] are not true,” he said.
Mr Tatar added: “Dr Fazıl Küçük is a person who led the Turkish Cypriot people in their struggle to coexist in Cyprus during their most difficult days, from the 1930s to the 1974 Cyprus Peace Operation.
“The Dr Fazıl Küçük Foundation, led by Dr Küçük’s son Mehmet Küçük has, for the past two years, been putting forward the proposal to give the new airport, which is soon to be completed, the name of Dr Fazıl Küçük.” Stating that he attaches “great
importance to keeping alive the name of Major Fehmi Ercan” President Tatar continued: “The Dr Fazıl Küçük Foundation management put the issue back on the agenda during their recent visit to the Presidency.
“I stated that the name Ercan could be given to our other airport in Geçitkale, but I also stated that this decision could only be taken by the Council of Ministers after receiving the opinions of relevant parties such as the Civil Aviation Department.
“It is out of the question for me to decide on a name change. Unfortunately, some people are trying to wear me down with the names of our martyr Fehmi Ercan and our leader Dr Fazıl Küçük. But they are in a futile effort. Nobody can teach us how to take care of our martyrs and leaders.”
A written statement by the Dr Fazıl Küçük Foundation said they had been “very saddened” by the “debates on social media”.
“The demand of giving the new airport the name of ‘Fazıl Küçük’ was conveyed in writing by [the foundation]. . .we do not approve of polemics.
“Our ability to continue our existence on these lands from 1931 to 1974 is due to our leader . . . and our heroic freedom fighters and the Turkish army.
“Dr Fazıl Küçük’s name would be kept alive forever at the new international airport, that will be the window of the TRNC to the world, in order to tell the new generations and the world about the struggle [of the] Turkish Cypriot Community he led.
“Our request to give the name of Fazıl Küçük to the airport was submitted in writing by our foundation, and our proposal was evaluated as a result of meetings.”
The statement added it is the Dr Fazıl Küçük Foundation’s “greatest desire” that the issue is decided “by the Council of Ministers as soon as possible”.