The Director of the Meteorology Department Raif İlker Buran, who was recently dismissed from his post, said that this was in retaliation for opposing the opening of the new terminal at Ercan Airport, Yeniduzen reports.
Buran, who spoke to Yeniduzen said that “he was rewarded for opposing the opening of the new Ercan Airport terminal before its completion“.
He said that from the day that he had voiced his opposition to opening the new terminal, there was tension between himself and the transport minister Erhan Arikli.
“The minister took his revenge on me like this”, said Buran, adding, “He should do his best. Everyone knows how I have been working all this time“.
Buran has been working as the Director of the Meteorology Department since 2014.
Today, Kibris Postasi reported that Minister of Public Works and Transportation Erhan Arıklı had explained to the newspaper why he had dismissed Buran
Arıklı said: “It is my natural right to dismiss a director“, adding that normally, after other ministers take office, they renew their entire team, but he did not do so.
Despite differences with Buran, Arıklı mentioned that he did not interfere with Buran’s work because of his technical expertise. Arıklı did however say that he had disagreed with a statement Buran had made regarding future drought conditions.
Arıklı said, “Buran’s statement about drought received reactions from the Ministry of Agriculture and other units, and I dismissed him“. He added that after Buran, the deputy director of the Meteorology Department would act as the director.
Buran had stated; “I anticipate a year with semi-arid or regional droughts. Due to uneven rainfall, one region may have crops while another may experience drought. These predictions are valid for the world. While one country is parched from drought, floods may occur in another country“.
