Wednesday, 22 June 2022
Criticism of the terms of the new economic protocol signed with Turkey in April continues, Yeniduzen reported.
Opposition politicians, unions and NGOs have lashed out because of the limits it places on union activities, the liberal granting of TRNC citizenship to Turkish citizens, privatising ports, broadening the scale of taxes and strengthening religious influence in the country, which is largely secular.
Yeniduzen reports that Chairman of the Republican Turkish Party (CTP) Tufan Erhürman, speaking at a press conference with the slogan “Embrace Your Will, No to Extinction”, said that there are many financial or non-economic elements in the protocol which prohibit the right of demonstration, intervention in religious affairs and so on. “This is a protocol for changing the constitutional order“, he said.
This was the first time that the conditions of the protocol were so wide ranging, Erhürman said.
The terms of the protocol removed all prohibitions to purchase property, he said, adding, “If we include citizenship to this, there is an existential problem“.
“While all this is happening, inflation is at 98 percent, the price of food is inflated to 118 percent“.
Following the interventions of the government which has been reformed three times in five months, “There is both democratic and economic poverty“, Erhürman said.
“There was no consultation regarding the protocol, this protocol was also hidden from the Assembly for weeks”, the CTP leader said.
The right to self-determination is being eroded as the country moves away from an economy that can stand on its own feet, he said.
Devaluation of Turkish Lira
Stating that the protocol will provide 4.250 billion Turkish Lira, the actual value is half of that, Erhürman said, “There is no measure in the protocol for our losses in Turkish Lira“.
Erhürman said, “If the will of the people is not reflected in the administration, an illegitimate government emerges”. There is an attempt here to limit fundamental rights and freedoms, he said.
