The north’s ‘transport minister’ Erhan Arikli raised eyebrows on Friday when he wrote a comment on social media website Facebook accusing other users of being “mentally ill.”
In the comments section of a post regarding the planting of indigenous flowers at Ercan (Tymbou) airport, a number of people reacted negatively, suggesting that “basic problems at the airport should be solved” before flowers be planted.
Arikli reacted, writing “when I read some of these comments, I can’t help but ask ‘how did we raise so many mentally ill people in such a short time?’”
All comments on the post in question have since been deleted, and comments have now been turned off.
Turkish Cypriot opposition party CTP leader Tufan Erhurman condemned Arikli, saying “once again, he could not control himself. Once again, Erhan Arikli was touched by the beauty of his brain and his soul.”
“Of course we make serious efforts to protect our mental health in this country where people like you carry titles such as ‘minister’, but the real question is not the one you are asking. The real question is how did these people become ‘ministers’ in this country? How many times? That’s enough! Shut your mouth!” he added
This is not the first time Arikli has created controversy on Facebook. Last year, he was labelled a sexist by some after telling someone who suggested ‘prime minister’ Unal Ustel be replaced by someone younger that “90 – 60 – 90 is my preference.”
He has also been known to create flashpoints in real life, including at a polling station during the north’s by-election in June, where he called a ballot box officer a “bastard” after the officer told his brother not to shake hands with him.
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