Cypriot intellectuals, writers and politicians who criticize Ankara’s policies are banned from entering the country on the grounds that their remarks are “in contravention of Turkey’s national security”.
The author Dr. Ahmet Cavit An was recently deported from Sabiha Gökçen Airport in Istanbul having had a ban imposed on his entry on account of opinions and criticism he had expressed. He said that the bans were intended to frighten those supporting peace and a solution process.
Similarly, Ali Bizden, Press and Communications Coordinator to the former President of Northern Cyprus Mustafa Akıncı, was sent back from Sabiha Gökçen Airport on “security grounds” on 6 July.
In a post on his social media account Ali Bizden said: ”I arrived at Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen airport. On 8 September 2020 I had been given 5-year entry ban. As grounds, they used the term, contravention of national security. They mentioned the code ”G82”. My phone and money were taken. I was told that I would be sent back to Northern Cyprus at 6.20 am.”
Researcher and author Dr. Ahmet Cavit An, who was prohibited from entering Turkey reportedly studies an alternative history of Cyprus.
Dr. An told MA that his flight from Ercan Airport in Northern Cyprus landed at Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen Airport at 6.20 in the morning in transit to Izmir. He was sent back on the grounds of “activities against national security”, which has the code “G82”.
Dr. An said that he was accompanied by police officers on duty to a room at the airport labelled “Migration Management” where he was told that the decision against him had been made in September last year, and that detailed information could be obtained from the Turkish Embassy in Cyprus.
Dr An pointed out that there is a list of 32 people from Cyprus whose entry into Turkey has been prohibited, including intellectuals, those opposing Turkey’s presence in Cyprus and supporters of peace. The decision to ban him had been taken in September last year, a month before the last presidential elections, and this was “no coincidence,” he said.
“They probably said: prepare a list of those including supporters of the solution and peace, and those who oppose Turkey’s occupation her and let’s scare them. That’s how their bureaucracy works,” he noted.
Pointing out that this decision was political, he recalled that he had won a case against Turkey in the European Court of Human Rights in 2003. He stressed that he had also been accused of calling Turkey a terrorist in a cartoon he had previously shared on his Facebook page.
“In any case, if I were to call Turkey a terrorist now, as in that cartoon, I wouldn’t be wrong. You have occupied northern Syria, you have occupied northern Iraq. You have caused the displacement of 160,000 Greek Cypriots and 40,000 Turkish Cypriots in my country. What have you been doing on the island for 46 years? During this time, you transferred 150,000 people to the island, and Turkish Cypriots are now a minority.”
Code ”G82” is defined as ”activities against Turkey’s national security”, and those that fall under it are deported.
Different letters represent different categories as follows:
Code ”A” refers to court decisions,
Code ”Ç” temporary prohibition of entry to the country,
Codes ”G” and ”O” indicate a ban,
Code ”N” relates to entry based on permission (on condition of work).
