Serdar Denktaş: ID Card Entry System Should Be Reconsidered

Serdar Denktaş, leader of the Social Justice and Struggle Party (TAM Party), said the unregistered population needed to be brought under control, a comprehensive population census conducted and the practice of allowing entry to the island using ID cards reconsidered.

According to a statement issued by the party, Denktaş appeared as a guest on the 360 Derece Seçim Özel programme, broadcast on TV 2020 and presented by Cemre Akar and lawyer Sinan Şemiler.

During the programme, Denktaş commented on the founding purpose of TAM Party, the country's current problems, public administration and security policies. He said his party was maintaining a determined stance on the ground during the election campaign. Denktaş added that the country needed a model of governance that assumed responsibility, produced solutions and was accountable.

Arguing that the country had moved away from its former image as a safe island and a safe country, Denktaş said there had been a significant increase in criminal incidents in recent years. He noted that familiar names were increasingly being mentioned in connection with such incidents and that allegations extending to public institutions, the bureaucracy and even Parliament were causing serious public concern.

Claiming that administrative irresponsibility lay at the root of the problems, Denktaş said: “We have been going through a period of organised irresponsibility in recent years. You cannot find anyone who takes responsibility. You point to someone and they say, ‘It wasn't me.’ Someone else is identified, but nobody steps forward to accept responsibility.”

Denktaş said one of the first steps needed to restore security in the country was to conduct a comprehensive population census, stressing that the exercise should be completed within the government's first 100 days in office.

He argued that the census should go beyond simply establishing the number of people living in the country. Instead, he proposed a comprehensive data-gathering exercise that would reveal the country's economic and demographic structure, covering everything from the number of domestic animals to imported products, importing companies and sales figures.

Denktaş said the unregistered population should also be included in this exercise, noting that a significant number of people continued to live in the country without being registered despite immigration regulations.

He proposed giving undocumented individuals a specific opportunity to enter the registration system. Denktaş said they could be registered in exchange for a symbolic payment, while those who failed to register and were subsequently identified should face severe penalties.

“We say, ‘Come on, brother, don't pay a month's salary; pay 2,000 TL and get registered. If you don't, and you are caught, we will show no mercy,’” Denktaş said.

Identifying the island's entry system as another important aspect of security policy, Denktaş said he believed the practice of allowing entry using ID cards should be discontinued following the comprehensive registration and population census.

Emphasising the importance of relations with Turkey, Denktaş said a densely populated country like Turkey and a small island territory could not be assessed under the same conditions in terms of security and population movements.

Referring in particular to criminal incidents involving some individuals who had entered using ID cards, Denktaş said the fact that a 17-year-old could arrive on the island and become involved in armed incidents alone demonstrated the need to reassess the existing system.

Noting that criminal records and outstanding arrest warrants were checked when passports were issued in Turkey, Denktaş said a similar level of security scrutiny should be applied to entry into the TRNC.

TAM Party leader Denktaş stressed the need for a model of state governance that was secure, accountable and based on responsibility.