TURKISH CYPRIOT AND TURKISH MEDIA REVIEW
No. 245/12 18.12.12
1. Eroglu alleges that the international community recognizes the “democratic regime” in the occupied area of Cyprus; An Evangelion on Division
2. Eroglu called on Muslim countries to lift the so-called embargoes; In Eroglu’s mind is always Bayram
3. The results of the population census are “officially” announced
4. TPAO and MTA to purchase 2 seismic research ships
5. Davutoglu to carry out contacts in Finland; The Cyprus problem among the matters to be discussed
6. Ozgurgun due to Ankara for contacts
7. Lagendijk: If the EU does not exert pressure, nothing will happen in Cyprus
8. EL-Sen attempted to cut off the electricity in several “public places” in occupied Cyprus but was prevented; The Union organized a protest in front of the so-called ministry of finance
9. KTOS protests against the fact that a teacher was taken under custody at occupied Agios Dometios barricade
10. The occupation regime’s budget for 2013 has been approved
11. German troops arrived in Turkey as part of Patriot deployment
12. The occupation regime to participate together with other countries in the “2nd Cultural Tourism summit and fair” in Ankara
13. Turkey's first intelligence satellite Gokturk-2 to be launched today
14. Turkey's embassies in Africa grew to 31 in 2012
1. Eroglu alleges that the international community recognizes the “democratic regime” in the occupied area of Cyprus; An Evangelion on Division
Turkish Cypriot daily Haberdar newspaper (18.12.12) reports that Turkish Cypriot leader, has alleged that the United Nations accept the “elected president” of the “TRNC”, breakaway regime in the occupied area of Cyprus, as the official representative of the Turkish side and therefore, the international community, which does not recognize the “TRNC”, recognizes the so-called democratic regime of the “Turkish Cypriot state”.
Eroglu delivered a speech yesterday at Istanbul’s Kadir Has University on the issue of “The Cyprus problem under the light of international dynamics”.
Referring to the reasons for which the Cyprus problem has not been solved yet, Eroglu alleged that one of these reasons is that the “international structure nourishes the continuation of the non-solution” and the other reason is the alleged unwillingness of the Greek Cypriot people for reaching a solution.
Eroglu claimed that the Cyprus problem cannot be solved with the current parameters and added: “In other words, the Cyprus problem can never be solved with its current situation. The problem is not in the players. The problem is in the form of the design of the game itself…As a politician, who is a doctor, I am obliged to openly say that the diagnosis in the Cyprus problem was wrong. And of course, when the diagnosis is wrong, the cure will also be wrong…”
Eroglu argued that the negotiations in Cyprus have “wrongly” been built on the reunification of the state, but there are two nations with different language, religion, nationality, culture and roots, and that now “two separate states” exist on the island. He expressed the view that these two nations could live together and that reaching a solution is possible, but we should take into consideration how realistic to establish a state by force and pressure is from two separate nations in Cyprus’ conditions.
Eroglu noted that they ask foreign guests who visit them from time to time why they refrain from recognizing the so-called self-determination right of the Turkish Cypriots, as they did in Kosovo, South Sudan and East Timor. “The Greek Cypriots do not want us. They showed this openly with their democratic will and they continue to show this”, he alleged.
Eroglu went on and claimed that the Turkish Cypriots are a “people” and live under the roof of a “democratic state”. He alleged: “Both the democracy of the Turkish Cypriots and the right to determine their destiny have de facto been recognized by the United Nations. I am the third president of my country. After every election, the newly elected TRNC president has been immediately accepted as the official representative of the Turkish side. This means, dear guests, that the international community, which does not recognize the TRNC, recognizes the democratic regime of the Turkish Cypriot state. As far as the self-determination right is concerned, the Turkish Cypriot people have the right to determine their destiny and using this right they declared their own state on 15 November 1983. The fact that the Annan Plan was submitted to simultaneous and separate referenda shows that the approval of the Turkish Cypriot people is sine qua non for a possible agreement in Cyprus. The second issue is to realize the benefit of separating the political matters from the technical ones. I am not sure whether we have been able to make the slightest progress in the negotiations on the political matters, but we have achieved many things on technical issues”.
Eroglu reiterated the view that a time limit should be put and the so-called realities in Cyprus should be taken into consideration in order for the negotiations to be effective. He alleged that depending on this time limit, an announcement should be clearly made on whether the negotiations are successful or not.
(I/Ts.)
2.Eroglu called on Muslim countries to lift the so-called embargoes; In Eroglu’s mind is always Bayram
Turkish daily Hurriyet Daily News (18.12.12) reports that the Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu in statements yesterday to a group of journalists in Istanbul following a conference on ongoing Cyprus negotiations, said that the “TRNC” expects Muslim countries around the world to lift their “embargoes” imposed on the “TRNC”. “Unfortunately, it is not only EU countries that have embargoes on Turkish Cyprus; Muslim countries also have embargoes against us, so we especially expect the embargo on transportation to be lifted by Muslim countries”, Eroglu said.
“In the past, first Iran, then Azerbaijan, tried to launch direct flights to Turkish Cyprus, but both attempts were prevented due to pressure by the Greek Cypriots,” he added.
Noting, however, that Ankara’s influence had ensured Turkish Cypriot’s acceptance as an observer member of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), Eroglu said: “We think Turkey has this influence over many Muslim countries to convince them about northern Cyprus.”
Asked whether Palestine’s efforts to be recognized in the international community could be a model for Turkish Cypriots, Eroglu said that if negotiations come to a deadlock because of the Greek Cypriot side’s attitude, the “territory” could pursue any option.
“Our first priority is finding a solution through negotiations, of course. But despite all our goodwill for the future of the negotiations, if the Greek Cypriots continue with their negative attitudes, then all the other alternatives would be on the table; there are also examples like Kosovo and [South] Sudan,” Eroglu said.
“Turkish Cyprus also expects EU members to exert pressure on Greek Cyprus to pave the way for a lifting of the embargo imposed on Turkish Cyprus in return for providing financial support to Greek Cypriots”, Eroglu said.
“If the EU tells the Greek Cypriots something like ‘we will give you financial support but, in return, we will lift the embargo imposed on Turkish Cyprus,’ this would be something to motivate the Greek Cypriots more in peace negotiations,” he said.
Eroglu also said that he did not feel very hopeful about the Democratic Rally Party leader Nikos Anastasiadis’ speeches regarding the negotiations with Turkish Cypriots ahead of elections in the “south” of the island. “Anastasiadis recently gave some negative statements about the ongoing negotiations, but I want to believe that these were words that were said during the [heat of an] election campaign,” Eroglu said.
3. The results of the population census are “officially” announced
Turkish Cypriot daily Kibris newspaper (18.12.12) reports that the so-called State Planning Organization (“DPO”) announced yesterday the “definite” results of the population census held on 4 December 2011 in the occupied area of Cyprus. According to the announcement, the de-facto population in the occupied area of Cyprus was 294.396 persons and the de-jure population 286.257. The de-jure population had been 256.644 during the population census held in 2006, something that shows an increase of 11.5% in five years, writes the paper.
The highest increase (19.4%) in the de-jure population was observed in occupied Keryneia area, which reached 69.163 persons in 2011 from 57.902 in 2006. The de-jure population in occupied Famagusta, which had been 63.603 in 2006, increased by 9.1% in 2011 and reached 69.741. The de-jure population in the other occupied areas is the following according to the results of last year’s census: Lefkosia 94.824 (11.5% increase in five years), Morfou 30.037 (2.6% increase in five years) and Trikomo 22.492 (6.6% increase in five years).
According to the announcement, the de-facto population is distributed as follows: Lefkosia 97.293, Famagusta 69.838, Keryneia 73.577, Morfou 30.590 and Trikomo 23.098.
“DPO” explained that the de-facto population is determined according to the place where a person was located during the census and the de-jure population was determined taking as basis the place of permanent residence of a person in the occupied area of Cyprus.
Turkish Cypriot Kibrisli newspaper (18.12.12) refers to the issue under the banner front-page title “Different in the streets, different in the census!” The paper notes that the results of the census were announced yesterday, but contrary to what the results say, the streets in the occupied area of Cyprus are full. According to the paper, the numbers announced by “DPO” created astonishment, as various circles claim that the population in the occupied area of Cyprus approached one million.
Turkish Cypriot daily Ortam newspaper (18.12.12) publishes the issue under the title “Who believes it?”
(I/Ts.)
4. TPAO and MTA to purchase 2 seismic research ships
According to Turkish daily Today’s Zaman (17.12.12), the Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO) and the Mining Exploration Institute (MTA) each plan to buy a seismic research ship soon.
Officials from the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources said that TPAO's new seismic research ship, a product of advanced technology, will be purchased for approximately $150 million. The purchase, however, needed to be concluded through a specific procedure that required the TPAO to first lease the ship and subsequently finalize the purchase after completing the necessary paperwork and obtaining clearances. The TPAO decided to purchase a seismic research ship to search for oil in the seas surrounding Turkey after the Greek Cypriots started their oil exploration in the east Mediterranean. The ship will primarily explore in Turkish waters but will carry out explorations in international waters if needed. Officials said TPAO is reviewing the ships on offer and will announce its decision soon.
The MTA is currently having a third ship built for its own use in a simultaneous development. The ship will enable Turkey to conduct research more efficiently, the officials said.
Turkey recently leased a seismic research ship called “Piri Reis” for oil and gas exploration. Rejecting claims that Turkey only has one research ship in the east Mediterranean, the Ministry said there are currently two Turkish ships -- the Piri Reis and another ship -- conducting research off the coast of the “TRNC”. With the two seismic ships that the TPAO and the MTA are planning to purchase, the total number of Turkish seismic ships will reach four.
5. Davutoglu to carry out contacts in Finland; The Cyprus problem among the matters to be discussed
Ankara Anatolia news agency (18.12.12) reports that the Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu will pay an official visit to Finland on Wednesday.
In a statement released today, the Turkish Foreign Ministry stated that Davutoglu would travel to Finland upon an invitation of Minister of Foreign Affairs of Finland, Erkki Tuomioja.
During the visit, Davutoglu will meet the President of Finland, Sauli Niinisto, Prime Minister Jyrki Kaitanien, Foreign Affairs Minister Tuomioja, European Affairs and Foreign Trade Minister Alexander Stubb, Speaker of the Parliament Eero Heinaluoma and the Chairman of the Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee Timo Juhani Soini.
The statement said that during the meetings bilateral relations with Finland as well as a joint initiative on Mediation for Peace launched under the auspices of the UN, Turkey's EU negotiation process and the Cyprus issue would be discussed.
Davutoglu will give a conference titled "Turkey's current role in peace building in the context of recent developments, and its reflections in Europe" in the Paasikivi Society. Davutoglu will also come together with the Turkish citizens living in Finland.
"It is considered that this visit will constitute an important opportunity for further enhancement and strengthening of relations between the Republic of Turkey and Finland," the statement said.
6. Ozgurgun due to Ankara for contacts
Turkish Cypriot daily Gunes (18.12.12) reports that the so-called foreign minister Huseyin Ozgurgun will visit today Ankara upon an invitation he received from the Committee of Foreign Affairs of the Turkish Grand National Assembly, to address Turkish MP’s on the Cyprus problem.
According to a written statement issued by the Turkish Foreign Ministry, Ozgurgun is expected to carry out official contacts in Ankara with high ranking state officials.
According to the statement, Ozgurgun will brief on Wednesday the members of the Committee of Foreign Affairs and the President of the Committee, Volkan Bozkir, on the Cyprus problem.
AK
7. Lagendijk: If the EU does not exert pressure, nothing will happen in Cyprus
Turkish Cypriot daily Yeni Duzen newspaper (18.12.12) reports that Joost Lagendijk, former member of the European Parliament (MEP) and chairman of the Joint Parliamentary Committee between Turkey and the EU, has argued that a livening up will be experienced in Turkey’s accession negotiations with the European Union in the second half of 2014 and the expectations in the Cyprus problem will be increased in relation to this development.
Lagendijk visited the occupied area of Cyprus as guest of the Republican Turkish Party (CTP) and yesterday delivered a speech in occupied Gonyeli “municipality” under the title “Turkey’s accession process into the EU”. He said he expected nothing from the EU for the Turkish Cypriots before 2014 and added that the expectations in the Cyprus negotiations will increase with the livening up of Turkey’s negotiations with the EU.
Lagendijk noted that Turkey and the EU will have to decide on the issue of the continuation of their negotiations and expressed the view that the decision will be in the direction of the continuation of these negotiations. He argued: “This will have a great influence on Cyprus. If we look at Cyprus’ history, something will happen, if the EU exerts pressure. If there is no pressure, absolutely nothing will happen”.
Lagendijk alleged that the EU has committed a big mistake by not keeping the promises it had given to the Turkish Cypriots in 2004, when the Annan Plan was submitted to referendum.
Lagendijk claimed that Turkey is not responsible for the stagnancy in its accession talks with the EU, because more than half of the 35 chapters in the negotiations were frozen either by the EU or by France or by Cyprus. However, he added that Turkey does not seem very willing to make the necessary changes in the political field in order to join the EU. He said he expects Abdullah Gul to become the next Turkish Prime Minister and added that Gul seems more sincere on the issue of the accession into the EU.
(I/Ts.)
8.EL-Sen attempted to cut off the electricity in several “public places” in occupied Cyprus but was prevented; The Union organized a protest in front of the so-called ministry of finance
According to illegal Bayrak television (17.12.12), the “Electricity Workers’ Union” (El-Sen has taken a decision to cut off the electricity of all “government and public offices”, “municipalities”, individuals and private businesses which have high electricity debts.
In line with the decision, El-Sen went to the “ministry of finance” this morning to cut off the power. However members of El-Sen failed to do so after they were prevented from entering the premises of the “ministry”. The Union then staged a protest in front of the “ministry”.
In a statement released, El-Sen said that it will resort to all sorts of action to resist the privatization of the “Electricity authority” as foreseen in the recently signed economic program.
Meanwhile, the “Cyprus Turkish Telecommunications Department’s Workers Union” (TEL-SEN) has expressed its full support to the actions of El-Sen.
A statement released by TEL-SEN said: “We shall be by the side of El-Sen throughout its actions.
The chairman of TEL-SEN Tamay Soysan in the statement also criticized the newly signed 2013-2015 economic program also titled as the “program for the transition to a sustainable economy”.
9. KTOS protests against the fact that a teacher was taken under custody at occupied Agios Dometios barricade
Turkish Cypriot daily Kibris newspaper (18.12.12) reports that Turkish Cypriot Teachers’ Trade Union (KTOS) organized a protest yesterday at occupied Agios Dometios barricade on the grounds that charges have been filed against one of its members, who had been taken under custody the day before yesterday, while trying to cross over to the government-controlled area of the Republic. The protest was supported by some trade unions and other organizations such as KTAMS, Turk-Sen, KTOEOS, Dev-is, Baraka Cultural Centre, and Cag-Sen.
The teacher, who had been prevented the day before yesterday to cross over to the government-controlled area of Cyprus with three other teachers on the grounds that he had organized a protest in front of the Turkish “embassy” in the occupied part of Lefkosia, applied for a so-called visa yesterday at the same barricade. After the approval of the application, Sener Elcil, general secretary of KTOS, described as “comedy and arbitrary practice” the arrest and the “lawsuits” that had been filed against the teacher. Elcil read out a statement issued by KTOS, which accused the Turkish “embassy” in the occupied part of Lefkosia of interfering with the identity, culture, social structure and beliefs of the Turkish Cypriots.
The chairman of KTOS, Guven Varoglu recalled that “lawsuits” have been filed against four of their members because they had held an activity in front of the “embassy” using their democratic rights and that one of these persons was prevented from crossing over to the government-controlled area through Agios Dometios barricade. He noted that such practices could be seen only in fascistic regimes.
In his statement, the chairman of KTOEOS, Tahir Gokcebel said that such practices stress that “conditions of occupation are imposed on the Turkish Cypriot community”.
(I/Ts.)
10. The occupation regime’s budget for 2013 has been approved
According to Turkish Cypriot daily Gunes (18.12.12) the occupation regime’s budget for 2013 has been approved yesterday unanimously and this will be 3 billion 443 million 330 thousand 348 T.L.
During the open voting, 28 so-called deputies voted in favour of the “budget”, 13 against and a total of 9 “deputies” were not present at the “assembly”.
AK
11. German troops arrived in Turkey as part of Patriot deployment
Turkish daily Today’s Zaman (17.12.12) reported that several hundred German troops who will work on the deployment of the Patriot aid defense system in Turkey, arrived in the southern province of Adana on Monday.
Sources told the Anatolia news agency that a Turkish Air Force cargo jet carrying the German troops landed at an airport in Adana on Monday.
The German troops will spend Monday night at the İncirlik Air Base before proceeding to the province of Kahramanmaras on Tuesday morning.
Turkey asked NATO for the Patriot missile system, designed to intercept aircraft and missiles within a certain range in November, to help bolster its border security after repeated episodes of gunfire and shells from Syria falling into Turkish territory.
On December 14, Germany’s Bundestag approved the deployment of the Patriot air defense missiles to Turkey to protect its NATO ally against any possible spillover from Syria's civil war.
Lawmakers voted 461-86 on Friday to approve the deployment of two Patriot missile batteries. The mandate allows Germany to deploy a maximum of 400 soldiers through January 2014.
12. The occupation regime to participate together with other countries in the “2nd Cultural Tourism summit and fair” in Ankara
According to Turkish daily Hurriyet (18.12.12) the occupation regime is to participate together with other countries in the “2nd Cultural Tourism Summit and Fair” which will take place in Ankara on December 20-23.
As the paper writes, some of the countries which are expected to participate are the People’s Republic of China, Turkic Republics, the “TRNC”, Iran, Libya, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Switzerland, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Mexico, Jordan, Kuwait, Ukraine, Thailand and others.
The occupation regime will be represented at the event by the so-called minister of tourism and culture, Unal Ustel who is expected to deliver also a speech, writes the paper.
AK
13. Turkey's first intelligence satellite Gokturk-2 to be launched today
Ankara Anatolia news agency (17.12.12) reported that Turkey's first Earth observation satellite Gokturk-2 will be launched on Tuesday in China.
According to a statement by the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK), the launch of Turkey's first domestic high resolution observation satellite will be watched live at a ceremony that will be held at the Space Technologies Research Institute of TUBITAK in Ankara with the participation of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The Gokturk-2 satellite will be launched from the Jiuquan base, which is located in the Gobi desert near the border with Mongolia. The satellite which was created by TUBITAK and Turkish Aerospace Industries, aims to be used for the image requirements of the Turkish Armed Forces and from other institutions that require satellite images for agriculture, transportation and urban development with 2.5 meters of resolution.
The first signal following the launch is expected to be received at 9:25 p.m. (local time) in Ankara and the first images via the satellite are expected to be received at December 25-30.
Meeting the needs of Turkey in defence and development fields, the satellite will be deployed 686 kilometers above the Earth. Other than the optical camera which was bought from South Korea, all the other parts of Gokturk-2 will be produced and manufactured in Turkey.
14. Turkey's embassies in Africa grew to 31 in 2012
Turkish daily Today’s Zaman (16.12.12) reported that the number of embassies Turkey has opened in Africa, reached a total of 31 in 2012.
Diplomatic sources said the number of Turkish embassies in on the continent were 12 in 2009, increasing to 31 just three years later.
Turkey's Africa initiative, an expansion project in which the country has vested great importance in recent years, is moving ahead at full steam. The number of Turkish embassies on the continent is expected to reach 34 in the next two months.
Meanwhile, Turkey's total development assistance to Africa reached $102 million in 2010.
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