Sunat Atun to lead Kyrenia ferry disaster investigation committee

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. The sinking ship off the coast of Kyrenia on August 30 Fourteen dead, fourteen still missing after ferry disaster Atun, 53, has served in the cabinets of six different Turkish Cypriot ‘prime…