TRNC government plans to introduce amnesty for illegal residents: opposition kicks

The government of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus has sent a bill to the parliament for the introduction of amnesty for illegal residents but the bill was questioned by an opposition law maker who asked why the country is trying to pass the bill when there is so much corruption in the country.

According to report by Kibris Postasi on Tuesday, Republican Turkish Party (CTP ) Deputy Devrim Barçın, in his speech in parliament on "Economic and Political Decay", pointed out that the situation the country is obvious.

Stating that the government sent the Foreigners and Immigration Amendment Bill to the Parliament, Barçın said that there is a difference between the number of students given by the Ministry of National Education and the Immigration Department.

Barçın stated that with the Foreigners and Immigration Amendment Bill, an attempt was made to provide amnesty to people who came to the country under the name of education and did not renew their permits, and asked why they were trying to pass this bill when there was so much corruption in the country, and why they were trying to prey on people who remained in the country illegally.

"It is accepted that an irregular transaction has been made with this bill," said Barçın, giving information about the details of the Bill. He noted that CTP will oppose the Bill in the strongest and most persistent way.

Also speaking in parliament, another CTP deputy, Biray Hamzaoğulları who expressed his view on the number of illegal students in the country said "Woe to the country if there are around 30-36 thousand illegal people in this country" adding that the country is being lost, you are not doing anything.

Minister of education Nazım Çavuşoğlu, in his speech in response to the speeches by Barçın and Hamzaoğulları: noted that illegal residency in the country is not a situation that should be ashamed of, and that this is not the first time that the amnesty issue has been made out of habit to end illegal residency.

"If granting immigration amnesty is shameless, those who grant this amnesty every period should also be ashamed" Çavuşoğlu said.