Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Kudret Özersay said that the Ministry of Interior had brought order to the issue of citizenship.
He also said that work on the new citizenship law was continuing and would be sent to parliament in the coming days.
Speaking on BRT last night, Özersay, said that there were strict measures in place at all TRNC ports and airports, all of which were the result of work carried out by the Interior Ministry.
Work to introduce ID cards with chips had been launched, he said.
Özersay also noted that the police were facing challenges and difficulties in coping with the growing population.
“There is a need for stronger police presence in certain locations across the island. We have given instructions to increase the number of police officers”, he said.
Foreign Minister Özersay pointed out that city surveillance cameras which will be installed and running soon will ease the police force’s burden to a certain degree.
He, however, added that it was important to ensure that the surveillance cameras would not infringe on individual privacy.
Touching upon measures taken to prevent an illegal workforce in the TRNC, mainly made up of people who have expired tourist visas but haven’t left the country, Özersay said that he was expecting positive results in the near future.
Responding to a question regarding the TRNC’s population, Özersay said that the figure given by the Interior Minister was the total number of TRNC citizens living in the country and abroad.
“That figure stands at around 350,000. We believe there are around 60,000 TRNC citizens living abroad”, he said.
The Foreign Minister said that naturally, the number of people residing in the country depended on the number of students enrolled in universities as well as the number of tourists who visited the TRNC, particularly on the weekend.
He added that there was nothing the government could do about citizenships granted through marriage.
BRT
