The "TRNC" is a Turkish province, TC only in name:
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The illegal settlers from Turkey are seen as the source of the problems the breakaway regime is facing in all fields; The total population is estimated between 600-800 thousand
Under the title “The prohibitions, the problems in education and the reality of the population”, Mehmet Levent writes, inter alia, the following in his daily column in Turkish Cypriot daily Afrika newspaper (14.10.09):
“In absolutely no country of the world can the number of the foreigners, who are brought from outside the country and take the citizenship, exceed even by one person the number of the local people. In spite of this, the number of the citizens of the Republic of Turkey who have been brought from Turkey, settled here and were given citizenship is at least twice as much as the number of the Turkish Cypriots.
If with a rough estimation we consider the number of the Turkish Cypriots to be 80 thousands - I am saying roughly because the official authorities have never revealed or have not been able to reveal a number on this issue – and given that the number of the population was announced to be around 260 thousands, the 180 thousands of them are persons from Turkey. Think that there are at least 300 thousand unregistered illegal persons and some who are on the move.
The real number is much higher, but if I say 600 thousands with the most optimistic result, you say 800 thousands!
We have written many times about the issue of the population in this newspaper. Mehmet Ali Talat himself has said that with those who are unregistered the population reaches to approximately 500 thousands. Some civilian organizations have said this at various platforms and at various frequencies.
During the days when the problem of [working] overtime at the hospitals had reached to its peak, the MP with the Democratic Party (DP), Dr. Mehmet Tancer touched on this issue as well. What did he say? ‘Our hospitals cannot look after 750 thousand persons. We respect very much the citizens, the origin of whose is the Republic of Turkey. However, Turkey should increase its help’.
In brief, the debates on working overtime have become the means for the reality of the illegal population which some people insist on ignoring, to come to the surface.
Today the trade unions of the teachers emphisize that there is still lack of teachers in spite of the fact that one month passed since the opening of the schools. The uncompleted constructions in the infrastructure and the repairs are nothing. The only reason for the lack of teachers in the schools is the fact that the number of the students increases together with the increase of the population and the number of teachers is insufficient in the face of this. …
I do not know whether it would be of any use to stress once more to ears which are not listening that the source of the problems being experienced in Northern Cyprus in every field, from health to education, is this population which is continuously being pumped into this place where everybody can enter without asking and reached to huge dimensions. This population is the reason for the lack of the energy resources such as electricity and water. Understand this finally. The TRNC economy cannot bear this population. Either you withdraw it, or at least send food for it. You are obliged to do this”.
(ITs)