Greek Cypriots enraged at employment of Turkish Cypriot at EU

ISTANBUL

In this Thursday, Jan. 5, 2012 photo a Christian church, left, and a minaret of an Islamic mosque, right, share the skiyline in the United Nations official mixed village of Pyla. AP Photo

Greek Cypriot authorities were subjected to a heavy backlash from its citizens when a Turkish Cypriot was hired by authorities to work at the country's EU office in Brussels, daily Hürriyet reported.
 
Greek Cypriot media carried the public outrage to headlines, criticizing the authorities for employing Kemal Uysal, "a graduate from universities [Greek Cypriots] do not recognize."
 
Daily Fileleftheros highlighted Uysal’s 4,000-euro salary and claimed that his degree in tourism was irrelevant to the post he was occupying.  
 
Government officials tried to calm down the debate by citing Uysal's masters degree from Britain's Surrey University.
 
Uysal was also said to oppose Turkish policies in the region, Greek Cypriot officials said, adding that he was chosen to prove to the world that Greek Cyprus treated all of the island's citizens with equal care.
 
"Would you prefer if we shut down the gates and left northern Cyprus to Turks?" a government representative said.