Two former British ministers back North Cyprus flights campaign
TWO former UK ministers have asked the British government to look into the enforced disembarkation in Turkey of passengers flying between the UK and North Cyprus.
Conservative MP Andrew Mitchell, a former International Development Secretary, and Labour’s Stephen Timms, who served in a number of ministerial roles under the Blair and Brown governments, have both written to the Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab after the issue was brought to their attention by their constituents.
Direct flights between the TRNC and the UK are banned, but passengers in the past were able to wait on the plane during the “touchdown” before continuing with their journey. However since 2017, travellers must disembark in Turkey and go through a second round of security screening after British transport chiefs cited a “genuine terrorism threat”.
A new campaign group called
“Direct Flights North Cyprus” (DFNC) has been set up to lobby UK MPs and the British government to rethink the current policy, as reported last week by Cyprus Today, with over 50 MPs responding “positively” to letters from voters.
In a letter addressed to Mr Raab and seen by this paper, Mr Timms, the MP for East Ham, said that he had been contacted by a “number of constituents about travel rules to the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus”.
“The British Government has not yet recognised the TRNC from the rest of the Cypriot Island,” he wrote.
“My constituents tell me the Government is discriminating against British citizens who travel to the TRNC and the 300,000 Turkish Cypriots who live in the UK.
“Due to the restrictions, this has required travellers to book additional flights and pass through further security. Not only does this increase travel time and cost but my constituents worry it discourages tourists from visiting the TRNC.
“They are troubled by the difficulties this causes for vulnerable travellers, as well as the increased risk of exposure to Covid.
“Furthermore they tell me that the disembarkation requirements have hindered a large number of British Turkish Cypriots from returning home during the pandemic.
“My constituents have pointed out that North Cyprus was excluded from the £75 million airlift operation during the first lockdown. My constituents suggest the Government should now remove their strict travel measures on TRNC. Can you comment on this matter?”
Mr Mitchell, the MP for Sutton Coldfield, thanked one of his constituents “for your email in which you raise concerns about the current security measures that are in place which prevent direct international travel to Ercan International Airport”.
The response continued: “I am grateful to you for highlighting the inconvenience faced by the Turkish Cypriot community here in the United Kingdom, when travelling to North Cyprus.
“Added with ongoing travel restrictions, I can only imagine how stressful it must be for people trying to visit their friends and relatives.
“I do appreciate your concerns. I have therefore written to the Department for Transport and Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, with the request that they examine your concerns and suggestion to review the current policies in the necessary detail.
“I will come back to you as soon as I receive a reply to representations on your behalf.”
Commenting on the DFNC campaign Turkish Cypriot Alper Mehmet, a former British Ambassador who was born in Cyprus and who has inside knowledge of UK politics, told Cyprus Today that “such a campaign is not before time”.
“The Greek Cypriots have for years lobbied, browbeaten and bullied the UK political establishment into submission with their spurious claims that direct flights would imply recognition of the TRNC and that Ercan is somehow unsafe,” he said.
“The sooner Westminster MPs are disabused of these sham arguments, the sooner justice will be served.”
Meanwhile DFNC activists have drafted a new letter for constituents of “anti-Turkish Cypriot” MPs who had initially been excluded from the lobbying effort.
“We have been contacted by a significant number of community members of the eight excluded MPs who want to target them with the disembarkation/security screening letter,” an email to campaign supporters said.
“We have reviewed our decision and decided to issue an adapted version for these MPs with a known anti-Turkish Cypriot bias.”
The MPs in question are: Sir Roger Gale, MP for North Thanet; Theresa Villiers, MP for Chipping Barnet; Feryal Clark, MP for Enfield North; Bambos Charalambos, MP for Enfield Southgate; Mike Freer, MP for Finchley and Golders Green; Jeremy Corbyn, MP for Islington North; Catherine West, MP for Hornsey and Wood Green; and Fabian Hamilton, MP for Leeds North East.