Turkish Cypriot daily Kibris newspaper (11.09.12) reports that Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu has reacted to the statement made, the day before yesterday, by the self-styled prime minister Irsen Kucuk, who speaking at the National Unity Party’s (UBP) congress in occupied Morfou had said that he saved the UBP from being a “family party”.
In statements yesterday, Eroglu noted that “UBP was a big family anyway” and added that he signed yesterday the decision for self-styled minister of interior Nazim Cavusoglu becoming acting “health minister” and for the appointment of Mutlu Atasayan to the post of “minister of education”. Eroglu expressed his sorrow because the issue was exploited at UBP’s congress in Morfou. Eroglu was referring to Kucuk’s statement who said that he had sent the above-mentioned decision to Eroglu, but the latter did not sign it.
Eroglu said that he had joined the UBP “family” in 1975 when the party was established. He added that he was “elected” “MP” in 1976 and served as “MP”, “minister”, party chairman and “prime minster” for 34 years. He noted that he is “president of the republic” for the past two years after winning the “elections” as a UBP candidate.
Eroglu added: “I think that the prime minister referred to us when he said that ‘I made the UBP stop being a family party’. However, this is extremely wrong. I ran for the presidential elections as a candidate of the UBP. I have never been a candidate of any other party. I did not go to another party trying to attract UBP members. I started politics within the UBP and until today, I am still a member of the UBP”.
Under the title “I have never abandoned UBP, nor I have tried to divide it”, Turkish Cypriot daily Afrika newspaper (11.09.12) reports that with the above statement, Eroglu recalled to Kucuk his past. In the “elections” of 1990, Kucuk abandoned UBP and became a candidate in a joint list of three parties, the TKP-CTP-YDP, but he was not “elected”. Afterwards Kucuk established the Social Development Party (TAP) and joined the opposition against the UBP. However, afterwards he returned to the UBP when things did not go well for him, notes Afrika