The Executive of the self-proclaimed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, recognized only by Turkey, has ordered the suspension of any type of musical performance during the three days of official mourning decreed after the sinking of the catamaran ferry 'Filo Jet' last Sunday. On board were 267 people and, for the moment, 20 are still missing and eight have lost their lives.
The Ministry of Tourism and Environment has communicated that all authorizations to reproduce music are canceled, citing Environmental Law 18/2012.
According to the note disseminated by the Ministry on social media, the restriction will apply between August 31 and September 2. "Companies that play music during this period will face legal action," the department emphasized.
The incident occurred on Sunday, shortly after the vessel set sail from the port of Kyrenia, Girne in Turkish, heading to Mersin, in southern Turkey. The ship began to take on water until it finally listed, capsized, and ended up sinking. Initial investigations indicate that the vessel, operated by the company Filo Denizcilik, may have suffered a hull breach. So far, 239 people have been rescued alive.
The island of Cyprus has remained divided in two since 1974, when the Turkish Army occupied the northern strip —36.2 percent of the territory— following a coup d'état driven by the military junta that was then governing Greece and out of fear that Cyprus would integrate into that country.
In 1983, the Turkish Cypriot community proclaimed the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, recognized only by Ankara, which has deployed about 35,000 soldiers there. Repeated attempts sponsored by the UN for decades to reunify this island in the eastern Mediterranean under a bi-zonal federation have not prospered to date.