BREACH OF THE PEACEKEEPERS
● ‘UNTOUCHABLE’ UN PEACEKEEPERS ACCUSED OF BEING DRUNK AND CAUSING DAMAGE TO JET-SKIS AT GAZİMAĞUSA BEACH ● PRESIDENT ERSIN TATAR CALLS FOR ‘FULL AND IMMEDIATE INVESTIGATION’ INTO INCIDENT ● UNFICYP SPOKESMAN SAYS PEACEKEEPERS ‘EXPECTED TO MAINTAIN THE HIGHEST STANDARDS OF CONDUCT AT ALL TIMES’
NORTH Cyprus has been appalled by the allegation that two United Nations peacekeepers crashed and sank jet-skis on Glapsides beach in Gazimağısa, before leaving without paying for the damage.
The peacekeepers were allegedly both drunk when using the jetskis, and scarpered soon after, reportedly leaving the TRNC via the Akyar border crossing point that afternoon.
The owner of the jet-skis, Ali Cenk Akay, claims that over 13,000 euros worth of damage was done by the pair.
Mr Akay reacted angrily on social media, writing that “this incident shows us what a helpless state the TRNC is in”, and that “the gap in the law regarding the UN must change” because “these men are untouchable”.
He accused the police of “not doing anything” and wrote that “this is not Bosnia and Herzegovina”.
Mr Akay called on God to “not spare anyone your justice and conscience” and promised that the perpetrators of the crime “will be held to account”.
After the matter, which occurred last Friday, was reported in local media, the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (Unficyp) released a statement that said: “We are investigating this incident. All UN peacekeepers are expected to maintain the highest standards of conduct at all times. We need the investigation to be completed before making any conclusions. UN peacekeepers are accountable for their conduct.”
President Ersin Tatar said that he had “ordered a full and immediate investigation into the incident”.
His Special Representative Ergün Olgun held a meeting with the Unficyp chief Colin Stewart, and requested a “speedy investigation into the incident in a serious manner by Unficyp with the full cooperation of the TRNC authorities”.
Mr Stewart reportedly confirmed to Mr Olgun that he is “aware of the seriousness of the incident” and that the UN Military Police is “ready to do the necessary
work in cooperation with [the TRNC’s] General Directorate of police”.
The TRNC’s Foreign Ministry also made a statement on the issue, reiterating Mr Tatar’s request that the UN collaborate with Turkish Cypriot police in resolving the matter, asking that it be done “in a serious and prompt manner”, and that the UN “compensate the damage caused . . . without delay”.
It added that Unficyp officials were invited to the Foreign Ministry office in Lefkoşa on Tuesday, when they were reminded that “the UN Peacekeeping Force is present as a guest in our country and its members must abide by the rules and laws of our country”.
“This incident actually proves how right the TRNC is in its insistence on reaching a legal agreement between the UN and the TRNC regulating the activities of Unficyp in our territory,” the statement added.
Unficyp spokesman Aleem Siddique told Cyprus Today yesterday that the investigation is “still ongoing”.