Public outburst in north Cyprus as top Erdogan advisor insults TRNC Prime Minister for suspending Imam over hijab issues

Turkish Cypriots on Thursday came together in one voice to condemn the insults and attack directed at the Prime Minister of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus Unal Ustel, by Oktay Saral, one of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s top advisors, over his handling of the ongoing “headscarf crisis in the wake of the government’s decision to legalise the wearing of hijabs at public schools.

Saral on Thursday tweeted a video of Ustel speaking in ‘parliament’ last week about how he had been “saddened” by the heightening of rhetoric over the matter.

In that speech, Ustel had made specific reference to Ibrahim Damar, the imam of the mosque in Hamitkoy, who had described teachers opposed to hijabs as “infidels” and said he would refuse to lead a funeral service for “anyone who opposes headscarves”.

“First of all, a friend of ours in the religious department made different speeches. First of all, I want you to know that we have removed the friend who is in the religious department. After the investigation is completed, the necessary punishment will be given,” Unal Ustel said.

“We did not do nothing while social media attacks were being made against the people of Cyprus, against people from all sides. All of them have been reported to the people because we want reconciliation in society.”

Saral who was less than impressed by Unal Ustel's speech described Ustel as a “bosbakan”, a play on the word “basbakan”, which means “prime minister” in Turkish, with “bos” meaning “empty”.

“The TRNC’s empty minister did not speak nicely, he just babbled on. Should the Imam be hostile towards the headscarf?” he began.

“What a shame, we could not save Cyprus from Greek Cypriot-ness”.

The statement by Saral was interpreted as a derogatory approach not only towards Ünal Üstel but towards the entire Turkish Cypriot people.

Following the statement, there were harsh reactions from both Turkey and Northern Cyprus, especially on social media with the main opposition party members, the CTP and government coalition partners condemning the insults.

Comments under Saral's post questioned Türkiye's interventionist stance in shaping politics in Northern Cyprus for years. The post included harsh statements such as, "You have turned the country into the Middle Ages in terms of mentality in the last 30 years, is it now the TRNC's turn, you are not finished yet", "You did not like Denktash, you did not like his son, you brought your own man, you did not like him either. Do you want someone like Ahmet al-Shara?"

It was emphasized to the public that such statements harm Türkiye-TRNC relations and that it is unacceptable for the Turkish Cypriot people to be addressed in a manner that belittles their political preferences and representatives.

The public expectation is that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will make a direct statement on this issue, either to distance the public from Saral's words or to initiate the necessary disciplinary process.

The TRNC government has twice legalised the wearing of hijabs by children at public schools, firstly doing so in March, before withdrawing the regulation and then re-issuing it earlier this month.

This has provoked a fierce backlash among the population, with an estimated 13,000 Turkish Cypriots having taken to the streets to protest against the regulation last week and around 2,000 people having gathered outside ‘parliament’ on Monday as fires were lit outside the building in protest.

Since then, nightly protests have been ongoing outside ‘parliament’, with fires lit every evening and a string of trade union leaders and political figures having made speeches, while artistic performances also taking place.