TURKISH CYPRIOT AND TURKISH MEDIA REVIEW
25.01.13
TURKISH CYPRIOT / TURKISH
PRESS
1.
Davutoglu discussed the Cyprus problem with Ban in the sidelines of Davos
meeting
2.
Protocol for religious studies school in the breakaway regime signed in Ankara
3. Denktas wants a “referendum” before the resumption of the Cyprus talks
3. Denktas wants a “referendum” before the resumption of the Cyprus talks
4.
“This country is my baby”, says the Turkish Minister of Tourism for the
occupied area of Cyprus
5.
Reactions against the environmental destruction in occupied Karpasia continue
6.
“Apology, Cyprus hinder Israel’s Turkey gas bid”
7.
Turkish Parliament adopts draft law paving way for defense in "mother
tongue"
8. CHP Parliamentarian Firat resigned from CHP in protest to a fellow deputy's remarks on Kurds
8. CHP Parliamentarian Firat resigned from CHP in protest to a fellow deputy's remarks on Kurds
9.
Turkish cabinet shuffle
10.
SunExpress Aviation Company to carry out flights at illegal Tymbou airport
11.
The occupied area of Cyprus has been turned into “Texas’
12.
Al Jazeera journalists arrested in occupied Cyprus for entering a military area
13.
British Parliamentarian attended an event for the breakaway regime in London
14.
Mass production of Turkey's first national UAV imminent
1. Davutoglu discussed the Cyprus problem with Ban
in the sidelines of Davos meeting
Ankara Anatolia news agency (24.01.13) reports that the Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu held talks with various leaders on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos.
Ankara Anatolia news agency (24.01.13) reports that the Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu held talks with various leaders on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos.
Davutoglu and
Secretary General Ban discussed the Cyprus problem, Syria, Iraq and Turkish-UN
relations.
Davutoglu met
with the Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mahamud, UN Secretary General Ban
Ki-moon, Algerian Foreign Minister Mourad Medelci, Australian Foreign Minister
Robert John Carr, and President of the Syrian National Coalition for Opposition
and Revolutionary Forces Sheikh Ahmad Moaz al-Khatib in Davos on Thursday.
In his talks
with Moaz al-Khatib, Davutoglu discussed the international efforts on the
Syrian crisis and the situation of Syrian refugees and those displaced due to
the civil war in Syria.
Turkish Foreign
Minister Ahmet Davutoglu also met Massoud Barzani, head of the regional Kurdish
administration in the north of Iraq, in Davos on Thursday.
During the
meeting, Davutoglu stressed the importance Turkey attached in prosperity and
stability of Iraq, and said that Ankara did not pursue a policy based on
ethnical and religious basis. Turkey
will continue its dialogue with Iraqi politicians who have similar policy with
Ankara, added Davutoglu.
Davutoglu also
expressed sorrow over the bomb attack in Tuz Khormato near Kirkuk, and said
that Turkey would launch initiatives to take and treat the wounded Iraqis.
Meanwhile,
Barzani expressed will to further develop relations with Turkey.
The condition of
Syrian refugees was also discussed in the meeting.
2. Protocol for religious studies school in the
breakaway regime signed in Ankara
Ankara Anatolia news agency (24.01.13) reports that a protocol was signed in Ankara on Thursday for the construction of a religious school in the breakaway regime.
Ankara Anatolia news agency (24.01.13) reports that a protocol was signed in Ankara on Thursday for the construction of a religious school in the breakaway regime.
The protocol was
signed by Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Besir Atalay, the self-styled minister
of education Mutlu Atasayan, Chairman of the Union of Chambers and Commodity
Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB) Rifat Hisarciklioglu and the chairman of the “Turkish Cypriot foundation”, Hikmet
Kaynarca.
3. Denktas wants a “referendum” before the
resumption of the Cyprus talks
Turkish Cypriot
daily Star Kibris newspaper (25.01.13) reports that Serdar Denktas, chairman of
the Democratic Party (DP), has argued that a “referendum” should definitely be
held before the resumption of the “new”, as he called it, negotiating process
on the Cyprus problem.
In statements
yesterday to Ada television, Denktas replied to a question as to whether the
Turkish Cypriot side should abandon the negotiating table. He said that they
should not hope that they will be able to show their good will to the world, as
they have been negotiating for 40 years and were not able to do this and they
said “yes” to the Annan Plan, but they were also not able to do this.
He added: “If we
will sit at the table, we will sit with careful good will. Before sitting at
the table, a referendum should have been held, but because of the quarrel
regarding the National Unity Party’s (UBP) congress, it has not been possible
for the issue to be brought onto the agenda. As DP, we have put forward a
seven-paragraph approach plan. By doing this we wanted to both warn the
president and draw the attention of the people and make known from now what the
stance of the DP is and under which circumstances and how action could be
taken”.
Responding to a
question regarding the relations of the Turkish Cypriots with Ankara, Denktas
said: “We must understand now that we exist, that we have a say in the solution
of the Cyprus problem and that we are one of the sides which will have a say.
Turkey’s interests are important of course, but the Cyprus issue is one of Turkey’s
interests. We will not allow this to be forgotten. Coming to the point, we
should be, in our relations with Turkey, is an element which will both ease
Turkey in the international arena and secure our voice to be heard when we say
to the world something regarding our future”.
(I/Ts.)
4. “This country is my baby”, says the Turkish
Minister of Tourism for the occupied area of Cyprus
Turkish Cypriot
daily Kibris newspaper (25.01.13) reports that the 17th East
Mediterranean International Tourism and Travel Fair (EMITT) opened its doors
yesterday in Istanbul. The breakaway regime in the occupied area of the
Republic of Cyprus, participates in the fair with its own 100-square meter
stand under the slogan “discover north Cyprus”.
The fair was
opened by the Turkish Minister of Tourism Ertugrul Gunay, his Argentinian
colleague, Carlos Enrique Meyer and other officials. Argentina is the guest
country of the fair this year. The self-styled minister of tourism, Unal Ustel
did not participate in the fair, in spite of the fact that his participation
had been announced earlier. The self-styled ministry was represented by a
delegation headed by its “permanent secretary”, Sahap Asikoglu.
After the
official opening of the fair, Gunay and Carlos Enrique Meyer visited the stand
of the breakaway regime in the occupied area of Cyprus. While they were talking
to businessmen in the field of tourism from the occupied area of Cyprus, Gunay
turned to Meyer and said for the breakaway regime: “This country is my baby”.
The target this
year is for 100 thousand persons to visit the fair, which will end on Sunday 27
January.
(I/Ts.)
5. Reactions against the environmental destruction
in occupied Karpasia continue
Turkish Cypriot
daily Kibris newspaper (25.01.13) reports that the “Let us Save the Karpasia
National Park” Initiative filed a criminal complaint yesterday to the occupied
Lefkosia “police directorate” regarding the construction of a road which is
said to cause environmental destruction to a great extent between occupied
Rizokarpaso village and the cape of Apostolos Andreas.
Many
organizations, including the Social Democracy Party (TDP) have signed the
complaint. The organizations said in their complaint that the works are being
carried out “illegally” and called on the “police” to stop them.
Meanwhile, the
initiative announced yesterday that it will hold a protest on Sunday 27 January
in the “Special protection Area” in Karpasia near the Blue Sea Hotel.
(I/Ts.)
6. “Apology, Cyprus hinder Israel’s Turkey gas bid”
Under the above
title, Turkish daily Hurriyet Daily News (25.01.13) reports that not only the
Mavi Marmara incident but the energy cooperation between Israel and the
Republic of Cyprus obstructs Tel Aviv-Ankara relations.
According to Hurriyer
a Turkish official said the following: “[…]The normalization of Turkish-Israeli
relations – which is contingent on the latter apologizing and paying
compensation over the deadly 2010 Gaza raid – would not be enough to effect
energy cooperation between the two, due to Israel’s energy cooperation with
Greek Cyprus.
The revelation
emerged yesterday during the 16th Eurasian Economic Summit in Istanbul in which
Michael Lotem, the Israeli Foreign Ministry’s special envoy for energy,
attempted to approach Akkan Suver, the head of conference organizer the Marmara
Group (MG) Foundation, with a request to discuss possible energy cooperation
with Deputy Turkish Energy Minister Murat Mercan.
But according to
sources speaking on condition of anonymity, Mercan refused to speak because
Turkey had downgraded its diplomatic relations with Israel to a minimum because
Israel had killed nine Turks on board the Mavi Marmara aid flotilla, which was
trying to break the Israeli blockade on Gaza in 2010.
Mercan, however,
later agreed to speak informally at a coffee break following the conference’s
“Natural gas as the game changer” session. Replying to Lotem’s questions as to
the possibility exporting Mediterranean gas via Turkey, Mercan replied that
even if Israel fulfilled Turkish demands for getting relations back on track,
namely, providing an open apology for the Mavi Marmara killings, compensating
the families of the victims and ending the blockade on Gaza, the problem of
Israel’s resource cooperation with Greek Cyprus would still remain.
Turkey could be
a natural energy cooperation partner for Israel because potential gas finds off
Israel’s shore could find a market in Turkey and Europe. Before the Gaza
crisis, Turkey and Israel had been in detailed talks for regional energy
cooperation, including constructing pipelines between them through the
Mediterranean.
The problems
related to Greek Cyprus stem from 2012, when Nicosia declared parts of the
Mediterranean as its economic zone for oil and gas exploration and extraction,
including territorial waters claimed by the Turkish Cypriot government. The
declaration prompted the Turkish government to announcethat it would not do
business with any country or company that entered into a Greek Cypriot
ventures.
Other sources
speaking on condition of anonymity, however, said the exchange was not a
negative one since it clarified Turkey’s position,that it would not do business
with any country or company that entered into a Greek Cypriot ventures.
7. Turkish Parliament adopts draft law paving way
for defense in "mother tongue"
Ankara Anatolia news agency (24.01.13) reports that the Turkish Parliament on Thursday adopted a draft law which paved the way to make defense in Turkish courts in "mother tongue."
Ankara Anatolia news agency (24.01.13) reports that the Turkish Parliament on Thursday adopted a draft law which paved the way to make defense in Turkish courts in "mother tongue."
According to the
law, a defendant could make a defense in a court in a language s/he chooses.
Translators for
the defendants will be chosen from lists prepared by provincial judicial
committees.
The law adopted
on Thursday also makes it possible for married inmates to meet their spouses in
a private atmosphere.
8. CHP Parliamentarian Firat resigned from CHP in
protest to a fellow deputy's remarks on Kurds
Ankara Anatolia
news agency (24.01.13) reports that Salih Firat, a parliamentarian of main
opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), resigned from his party on
Thursday.
Firat,
parliamentarian from Adiyaman province, told AA that CHP Izmir deputy Birgul
Ayman Guler's speech at the Parliamentary General Assembly on Wednesday, was
one of the reasons he resigned. Ayman said during the debate of a bill
regarding defendants' right to communicate in a language other than Turkish,
"Turks and Kurds were not equal as nations."
CHP's number of
seats at Parliament dropped to 134, while seats of independents increased to seven.
Distribution of
seats at Parliament is as follows after resignation of Firat;
·
AK
Party: 326
·
CHP:
134
·
MHP:
52
·
BDP:
29
·
Independents:
7
(AK
Party-Justice & Development Party, MHP-Nationalist Movement Party,
BDP-Peace & Democracy Party)
9. Turkish cabinet shuffle
Ankara Anatolia
news agency (24.01.13) reports that a cabinet shuffle took place in the Turkish
capital of Ankara on Thursday, following a meeting between Turkish President
Abdullah Gul and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
A Justice and
Development (AK) Party deputy from Mardin, Muammer Guler was appointed as the
Interior Minister, Deputy Chairman of the AK Party and a deputy from Adana,
Omer Celik was appointed as the Culture and Tourism Minister, an AK Party
deputy from Eskisehir, Nabi Avci was appointed as the National Education
Minister, while an AK Party deputy from Edirne, Mehmet Muezzinoglu was
appointed as the Health Minister on Thursday.
Ministers Idris
Naim Sahin, Ertugrul Gunay, Omer Dincer and Recep Akdag have been left out of
the Turkish cabinet.
The new Turkish
Council of Ministers is as follows:
·
Prime
Minister: Recep Tayyip Erdogan
·
Dep.
Prime Min.: Bulent Arinc
·
Dep.
Prime Min.: Ali Babacan
·
Dep.
Prime Min.: Besir Atalay
·
Dep.
Prime Min.: Bekir Bozdag
·
Min.
of Justice: Sadullah Ergin
·
Min.
of Family and Social Policies: Fatma Sahin
·
Min.
of EU Affairs: Egemen Bagis
·
Min.
of Science, Industry and Technology: Nihat Ergun
·
Min.
of Labor and Social Security: Faruk Celik
·
Min.
of Environment and Urbanization: Erdogan Bayraktar
·
Min.
of Foreign Affairs: Ahmet Davutoglu
·
Min.
of Economy: Zafer Caglayan
·
Min.
of Energy and Natural Resources: Taner Yildiz
·
Min.
of Youth and Sports: Suat Kilic
·
Min.
of Agriculture, Food and Animal Breeding: Mehdi Eker
·
Min.
of Customs and Trade: Hayati Yazici
·
Min.
of Interior: Muammer Guler
·
Min.
of Development: Cevdet Yilmaz
·
Min.
of Culture and Tourism: Omer Celik
·
Min.
of Finance: Mehmet Simsek
·
Min.
of National Education: Nabi Avci
·
Min.
of National Defense: Ismet Yilmaz
·
Min.
of Forestry and Water Works: Veysel Eroglu
·
Min.
of Health: Mehmet Muezzinoglu
·
Min.
of Transport, Maritime Affairs and Communications: Binali Yildirim
10.
SunExpress Aviation Company to carry out flights at illegal Tymbou airport
Turkish daily Hurriyet newspaper
(25.01.13-online version) reports that the SunExpress Company, which is a subsidiary company of
Lufthansa and Turkish Airlines, has increased its flight destinations.
According to the paper, SunExpress will
flight to four more destinations by the beginning of March. The four new
destinations of the Company are the internal flight from Izmir to Batman, the
flight from Germany to Bremen, from France to Strasbourg and also to illegal
Tymbou airport (Ercan), in occupied Lefkosia.
The company will carry out flights to
illegal Ercan twice a week, writes the paper.
(AK)
11. The occupied area of Cyprus has been turned
into “Texas’
Under the title
“No tranquility is left”, Turkish Cypriot daily Halkin Sesi newspaper
(25.01.13) reports that no tranquility exits in the occupied area of the
Republic of Cyprus, which “has fallen into disorder” due to murders, suicides,
armed attacks and robberies, which happen almost every day. “Who will say stop
to this course of things in the country, which has been turned into Texas”,
wonders the paper.
According to the
paper, no day passes without shooting in occupied Famagusta. Four days ago an
armed attack against a business named Axess took place. Yesterday an armed
attack was held against the shop of Mehmet Guder, a well-known butcher in
occupied Famagusta. In the same city, a
person threatened another person that if he did not pay his debt to him by a
certain hour, he would kill him together with his family.
Moreover, in
occupied Kazivera village unknown persons set fire to the vehicle of a person
named Salih Ulusan.
Furthermore, in
occupied Keryneia two persons quarreled with a not her person named Gokhan
Pehlul, beat him up and afterwards threw him into the sea. He is in the
hospital with brain hemorrhage.
Turkish Cypriot
daily Havadis newspaper (25.01.13) refers to the situation under the banner
front-page title “Mafia is in the roads”.
Turkish Cypriot
daily Haberdar newspaper (25.01.13) also refers to the situation on its front
page wondering “What is happening to us?” The paper writes that incidents of
violence, which the occupied area of Cyprus had not been used to, “have started
becoming a part of the everyday life”. The paper notes that yesterday a Molotov
cocktail was thrown against the occupied Neapolis “police’s antinarcotic
department”.
(I/Ts.)
12. Al Jazeera journalists arrested in occupied
Cyprus for entering a military area
Turkish Cypriot
daily Havadis newspaper (25.01.13) reports that two journalist of Al Jazeera
channel were arrested in occupied Cyprus for entering a military area.
The journalists were preparing a
documentary for the breakaway regime for the Turkish broadcasting of Al Jazeera
and were put under arrest in occupied Ashia village “for entering a first
degree military area”. The journalists are Huseyin Guven and Banu Acun.
13. British Parliamentarian attended an event for
the breakaway regime in London
Turkish Cypriot daily Havadis newspaper (25.01.13) reports that the “Lefka Assistance Committee” organized an event in Northern London on January 19 which was attended by British ParliamentarianLoveAndy.
Turkish Cypriot daily Havadis newspaper (25.01.13) reports that the “Lefka Assistance Committee” organized an event in Northern London on January 19 which was attended by British ParliamentarianLoveAndy.
The event, which
was organized at Edmonton area for the benefit of the Cengiz Topel hospital
which is located in occupied Lefka, was attended by Edmonton MP with the Labor
Party Andy Love, member of the municipality assembly of Edmonton with Labor
Party, Yasemin Brett and the “representative” of the breakaway regime in London
Oya Tunceli.
In statements,
Love stressed the importance for organizing such an event in London for raisin
help for a hospital located in the breakaway regime and added that is always
near and supports the Turkish speaking community of the area.
14. Mass production of Turkey's first national UAV
imminent
Turkish daily
Today’s Zaman newspaper 925.01.13) reports that Turkey's first national
unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) has completed its test flight and is ready for
mass production.
The first domestically manufactured UAV, the
Anka (Phoenix), completed its test program with the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK)
in operations against the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). Mass production of
the Anka is expected to start soon.
Final test
flights were made on Tuesday. The Anka, which departed from the base of Turkish
Aerospace Industries (TAI) in Ankara, flew towards Konya non-stop for 18 hours.
The Anka had its first test flight in December, 2010. It has so far flown more
than 140 hours and reached an altitude of 26,000 feet.
According to the
information obtained by Today's Zaman, the five Anka vehicles that TAI
currently has, will be deployed in the province of Batman in April and be used
in counterterrorism operations.
The Anka,
originally planned to be ready for use in early 2012, will be used in
operations against the PKK and assisting the military in locating terrorists.
With a 56-foot wingspan, the ability to fly at a speed of 75 knots per hour and
the capability of reaching an altitude of 30,000 feet (9,144 meters), the drone
is expected to mostly monitor the activities of PKK militants who enter Turkey
from bases in northern Iraq.
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