TRNC Chamber of Commerce criticizes amnesty draft bill, say the country about to become a shelter for people prone to commit crimes

The Turkish Cypriot Chamber of Commerce has criticized the draft bill, which aims to pardon foreigners who came to the country for work, education or residence, but became illegal saying the country is about to become a shelter for people prone to commit crimes."

The Turkish Cypriot Chamber of Commerce said the bill, encourages crime rather than deterring it. "The amnesties that have been frequently issued in the TRNC for years on many issues, from tax or premium payments to immigration practices, have become a serious mistake that threatens respect for the law." 

In its statement, the chamber noted that the latest study protects those who do not complete the necessary procedures on time and think of avoiding fees and taxes in this way, and punishes those who comply with legal regulations.

The Chamber of Commerce, which expressed the view that the draft law confuses the just and the unjust, the guilty and the innocent, by putting people in different positions and who need to be evaluated in different ways, on the same level.

"On the one hand, there are those who openly commit crimes and on the other hand, those who have become fugitives due to bureaucratic errors. They are put in the same category. People who came to our country for education but worked unregistered for years even though they had no connection with the school are the same as those who came to TRNC for residence purposes and brought their savings to our island." "Of course, it would not be right to put it in the same balance. This regulation, which gives the impression that it was prepared with the mentality of 'Whoever pays the money, should get the amnesty', is unacceptable."

In the statement, the Chamber of Commerce said all these technical details aside, the country was about to become a shelter for people prone to commit crimes and pointed out that such amnesties would accelerate this process.

"In order to improve the quality of life in our country, we need people who will keep up with our lifestyle, respect our laws and rules, and know that otherwise they will not be allowed to live on this island. Such amnesty practices prevent this message from being perceived. If we want to strengthen the perception that our country is not a paradise for crime, we must avoid casual and populist practices." We have to stay away.

"At this stage, we would like to remind our officials and the public that we need to take these fundamental reasons into consideration rather than discussing the details of the Foreigners and Immigration (Amendment) Bill, which has been referred to the parliament, and we would also like to announce that we are ready to discuss the situation of the groups that we believe have become illegal despite their contributions to our country."