İncirli: Removing One Minister Will Not Resolve the Filo Jet Disaster

İncirli said the country had experienced immense grief following the Filo Jet ferry disaster off Kyrenia and that it was essential to establish what happened, how it happened and who was responsible.

She thanked journalists covering the search and rescue operation and said the CTP stood with the victims’ families during their difficult wait.

“The country has experienced human stories and tragedies that we will never forget,” İncirli said, adding that while the nation would mourn, responsibility must not be forgotten.

“There Are Questions That Need Answers”

İncirli said the meaning of the mourning would be undermined if crucial questions remained unanswered.

“Why did this happen after such a devastating tragedy? How did it happen? Who was responsible? And most importantly, what needs to be done to ensure this never happens again?” she asked.

She said these were critical and vital questions and warned that the country could not move forward without finding answers.

“Removing One Minister Will Not Resolve This”

İncirli said removing only one minister or several bureaucrats would not be sufficient to bring the matter to a conclusion, stressing that CTP had made this point from the very beginning.

She said the party would closely monitor the process and had been working intensively with experts over the past week.

“We are working with experts on legal, technical and oversight issues. How will we ensure that no truth is covered up? Because, frankly, there is such a concern,” İncirli said.

She called for a thorough investigation in which no facts were concealed and all relevant documents were fully disclosed.

“The Search for Justice Will Continue”

İncirli said CTP had submitted a motion to the Republic’s Assembly on Thursday calling for the establishment of an investigative committee, and learned the following day that UBP had made a similar request.

She said they had not yet received any information regarding a possible extraordinary session of Parliament but would return to the Assembly tomorrow.

“We will ask every legal and technical question, as well as every question concerning what happened before, during and after the incident,” İncirli said. “These answers will be found. These questions will not remain unanswered. The search for justice will continue, and we will follow it through.”

Maritime Safety Programme Being Prepared

İncirli said the authorities must determine what shortcomings existed in the oversight of maritime activities, why institutions had reached their current state, what duties had been neglected and which inspections had not been carried out.

She said CTP was preparing a programme to address legal, technical and oversight deficiencies relating to ports and maritime activities and would present it to the public in the coming days.

“We Will Do Whatever Is Necessary to Prevent Another Tragedy”

İncirli said the emotional burden at the disaster site was immense and that their purpose in visiting was to sit with the families and make them feel that they were not alone during the long and painful wait.

“If this country is to move forward, we will find the answers to these questions and act on them,” she said. “We will do everything necessary to ensure that such pain is never experienced again, that mothers and fathers never again have to wait in tears for news of their children, and that children never again lose their parents.”

She thanked all teams involved in the search and rescue operation for their efforts and expressed condolences to those who lost their lives and their families.

Survivors Also Carry a Heavy Burden

İncirli also drew attention to the trauma experienced by survivors, saying some had contacted them and described what they had gone through.

She said some survivors were now living with the question, “Could I have saved one more person?”

“These people will have to live with this question for the rest of their lives,” she said.

İncirli also praised private maritime operators for their efforts in the search and rescue operation, saying they had worked alongside state institutions effectively from the very beginning.

She said the country had the capacity to prevent such tragedies and added: “Now we need to bring that capacity to the forefront.”