DO NOT TAR TRNC WITH SAME BRUSH
Fears for tourism after Ayia Napa rape case fallout
CALLS in the UK to boycott holidays to Cyprus after a British teenager was found guilty by a South Cyprus court of making a false rape allegation could cause a new blow to the TRNC economy, it is feared.
Turkish Cypriot tourism chiefs were yesterday locked in a crisis meeting with Tourism Minister Ünal Üstel to discuss the fallout from the case, which has seen thousands of people in the UK share a #BoycottCyprus hashtag on social media at a time when many British tourists book their summer holidays.
There are concerns that the boycott campaign, which does not distinguish between the two sides of the island, could indirectly affect bookings for holidays to North Cyprus. Many TRNC-bound tourists also arrive via Larnaca airport in the South.
And one British Turkish Cypriot lobbyist called for the TRNC not to be tarnished with the same brush.
Monday’s decision by a Greek Cypriot judge that the 19-year-old British woman, who has not been named, lied about being gang-raped by 12 Israeli youths in the resort of Ayia Napa last July has sparked widespread media coverage and anger on social media in the UK throughout the week.
She is expected to be sentenced on Tuesday and could receive up to a year in prison, reports said, meaning the case will attract further media attention.
Britain’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has raised “serious concerns” over the woman’s trial, it said in a statement.
Speaking to Cyprus Today, Cyprus
Turkish Hoteliers’ Union head Dimağ Çağıner said: “The boycott campaign will have a detrimental impact on tourism for the North too because the lay person in the street in the UK does not know the difference between the Greek Cypriot administration and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.
“And the boycott campaign comes at a time when early bookings [are made] for summer holidays.
“We are having urgent meetings with [Mr Üstel] to determine what can be done.
“Our view is that an aggressive advertising campaign needs to be carried out in the UK immediately that differentiates us from the South . . . and even to invite the editors of British press [to the TRNC] to show them that we are a separate country.
“We have nothing to do with the court verdict in the South, and North Cyprus is a safe tourism destination.”
Mr Çağıner said the anti-Cyprus sentiment was “also unfortunate because 60 per cent of tourists coming to North Cyprus come via Larnaca airport”.
Pro-Turkish Cypriot Northern Irish peer Lord Maginnis told this newspaper last night that he had sent a letter to FCO minister Lord Ahmad calling on the British government “not to dodge its responsibility to the girl in question . . . whom I sympathise with very much”.
On the potential impact of the case on TRNC tourism, he told this newspaper: “Ordinary British people will not understand the difference between the Republic of Cyprus and the TRNC.
“I will be taking up this matter in Parliament this Tuesday . . . on the need to differentiate between the two sides.”
Lord Maginnis said that he understood Turkish Cypriot “concerns” over the “negative
publicity” created for “Cyprus” which “in actual fact has nothing to do with North Cyprus”.
British Turkish Cypriot Association (BTCA) executive member Çetin Ramadan said: “The court verdict has sent shockwaves and impacted the public perception in the UK concerning Cyprus as a whole. The boycott is about ‘Cyprus’ and tarnishes the North too with the same brush. We are now paying the price of non-effective lobbying because the general public doesn’t understand that there is a ‘North Cyprus’, separate from the South.
“If we had effective lobbying we would not now be worried about this campaign impacting on us, because the differentiation would have been known.
“The TRNC, tourism organisations and lobbying groups need to act in a coordinated manner to explain that we have our own police, judiciary and Parliament in the North.”
Those supporting calls to boycott “Cyprus” on Twitter included Steve Brookstein, the first ever winner of the UK TV show X Factor.
“Women. If you #believe her then don’t go to Cyprus. #boycottcyprus” he wrote.
Jennifer Toon wrote: “NEVER EVER EVER taking my daughters to Cyprus — we all see the true colours of your system now — it’s unsafe for women — shame on you.”
Femi Oluwole, a political activist cofounder of the pro-EU “Our Future Our Choice”, tweeted: “There is only one thing you need to know. Her retraction came after seven hours of police interrogation without a lawyer present. Huge violation of both police procedure and human rights.”