Sunat Atun to lead Turkish Cypriot ferry sinking investigation

Kyrenia, Cyprus. The Turkish Cypriot legislature has selected UBP member Sunat Atun to lead an investigation into whether political responsibility should be assigned following the sinking of a ferry off the coast of Kyrenia last week.

The five-member committee will include three representatives of the ruling UBP and two from the opposition CTP.

Committee membership

Atun will be joined by fellow UBP members Resmiye Canaltay, daughter of former Turkish Cypriot leader Dervish Eroglu, and Hasan Kucuk.

Fikri Toros and Teberruken Ulucay were chosen to represent the CTP.

Dispute over leadership

The CTP had initially proposed that the committee should not be led by members of the UBP, the DP or the YDP, which was part of the ruling coalition until last week.

CTP leader Sila Usar Incirli said it would not be appropriate for the coalition to effectively lead an investigation into itself and argued that the opposition should chair the committee.

‘Prime minister’ Unal Ustel said the committee’s composition should broadly reflect that of the legislature and therefore include a UBP majority.

“The committee will consist of three members of the UBP and two of the CTP. As you know, we are the government. Therefore, the committee chairman will also be from the government. While conducting these investigations, we have regulated the administrative process to ensure that no one has any doubts,” he said.

Atun’s government roles

Atun, 53, has served in the cabinets of six Turkish Cypriot ‘prime ministers’. He was first appointed ‘energy minister’ by Dervish Eroglu in 2009.

He continued in the post under Irsen Kucuk after Eroglu was elected Turkish Cypriot leader in 2010, remaining until the 2013 election. He later served as ‘energy minister’ under Huseyin Ozgurgun and Faiz Sucuoglu, as ‘trade minister’ under Omer Kalyoncu, and as ‘finance minister’ under Sucuoglu and Ustel until July 2022.