TURKISH CYPRIOT AND TURKISH MEDIA REVIEW
1. Vakif
Foundation in the occupied area of Cyprus to financially support the project
for the restoration of the Apostolos Andreas Monastery
2. Eroglu
discussed their strategy with the political parties
3. Davutoglu
to discuss Syria issue with Lavror
4. Eight more
persons were granted the “TRNC citizenship”
5.
Yorgancioglu: Kucuk should tell those who visit the occupied area of Cyprus
that this place is a separate “state”
6. “Communal
Existence Movement” protested against Atalya’s statements that Turkish Cypriots
needs religious education
7. USA
ambassador visited occupied Famagusta
8. Illegal YDU
withdraws from the agreement on the Armenian Church
9. Jim
Jeffrey: Turkey’s focus ‘shifts’ from Syria to Baghdad
10. Ankara
says wants to be ‘observer member' of Shanghai organization
11. Zeki
Levent Gumrukcu, the new spokesman of the MFA
12. 2013 World
Report of the Human Rights Watch called Turkey to release imprisoned Kurdish
journalist, activist, students
13. Turkey’s
exports increased by 13.1% in 2012, imports decreased by 1.8%
14. New data by Turkstat on Turkey’s population
1. Vakif
Foundation in the occupied area of Cyprus to financially support the project
for the restoration of the Apostolos Andreas Monastery
According
to illegal Bayrak television (31.01.13) the “Turkish Cypriot Vakiflar
administration” will financially contribute to the project of the United
Nations Development Program-Partnership for the Future Initiative which
envisages the full restoration of Apostolos Andreas Monastery in occupied
Karpasia.
The
chairman of the “Vakiflar Administration” Mustafa Kemal Kaymakamzade and the
Project Manager of UNDP-PFF Tiziano Zennaro put their signatures under a
protocol today, which foresees the financial contribution of the “Vakıflar
Administration” for the full restoration of the Apostolos Andreas Monastery.
Speaking
to the press after the signing of the protocol, Kaymakamzade alleged that, for
years, the Turkish Cypriot side had struggled for the restoration of the
monastery, but it always faced the “Greek Cypriot side’s” preventive
initiatives.
He
said that the “Vakıflar administration” will financially contribute to the full
restoration of the monastery which will be conducted by the UNDP-PFF under the
auspices of the Technical Committee on the Protection of Cultural Heritage,
with the involvement of Turkish Cypriot contractors.
2. Eroglu discussed their
strategy with the political parties
Turkish Cypriot daily Haberdar newspaper (01.02.13)
reports that the Turkish Cypriot leader, Dervis Eroglu met last night at his
office with delegations from the Turkish Cypriot political parties, which are
represented in the “assembly” of the breakaway regime and briefed them on the
developments regarding the Cyprus problem. According to the paper, during a
dinner hosted by Eroglu they discussed the strategy which the Turkish side will
follow in a possible negotiating process that will commence after the
presidential elections in the Republic of Cyprus on 17 February.
In statements after the dinner, Eroglu said that they
possess “in details the Cyprus policies and the common policies” put forward by
the candidates in the presidential elections of 17 February, and added that
they discussed and debated these policies last night. Pointing out that they
discussed the strategy which they will follow in possible negotiations and what
steps they will take, Eroglu said that they decided to meet again in 10-15
days.
Eroglu noted that after the interruption of the
negotiations, the work of the technical committees was intensified because of
the discussion of confidence building measures. He said that some committees
work very good and achieved progress, but some others could not convene
allegedly because the Greek Cypriots do not participate.
In his statements, Irsen Kucuk, self-styled prime
minister of the regime and leader of the National Unity Party (UBP), said that
the preparation of the ground for the continuation of the Cyprus talks after
the presidential elections of 17 February has started. Describing the meeting
as “useful”, he noted that they evaluated the statements made by the candidates
in the presidential elections.
Speaking after the meeting, Mehmet Cakici, chairman of
the Social Democracy Party (TDP), said that they made a “good evaluation” on
the Cyprus issue and expressed the belief that we have entered into a process
during which no one will be able to run away from the solution. He argued that
Eroglu should follow an “active and daring” policy during the new process and
argued that the statements made by the candidates in the presidential elections
in the Republic of Cyprus, and especially the statements by Democratic Rally
Party (DISY) chairman, Nikos Anastasiades should not be taken seriously into
consideration. He expressed the view that what Eroglu should do at the first
meeting with whoever is elected is to reaffirm the agreements reached with the
Greek Cypriot side during former Turkish Cypriot leader Talat’s period. According to Cakici, agreements such as two
constituent states, single sovereignty, single citizenship and the cross voting
are included in these, as well as some agreements achieved by Eroglu on some
chapters.
Cakici argued that after some meetings on the property
issue an agreement could be reached. He said that the economy of the Republic
of Cyprus is in a bad situation and claimed finding oil and natural gas is “chance
that cannot be lost”. He alleged that the way out on the issue of oil is Turkey
and that the Greek Cypriot side has no other way than transferring the oil to
Europe through Turkey. He argued that Europe want to be saved from its
dependency on Russia and added: “... A solution will be reached in Cyprus. We
have to be properly ready for this. There is no other way”.
On his part, Asim Akansoy, general secretary of the
Republican Turkish Party (CTP), said that being able to submit constructive
proposals and establishing close consultations with the UN is important for the
CTP. He argued that the result of the elections in the Republic of Cyprus will
add dynamism to the Cyprus problem and that the developments have reached a
certain point for the solution of the Cyprus problem. He noted that they should
be active and manage the situation well in order for dragging the process to a
positive point.
Finally, Atay Ahmet Rasit, responsible for Democratic
Party’s (DP) foreign relations, said that the meeting was very useful and
fruitful and added that they examined the manifesto of Nikos Anastasiades, who
they think is the strongest candidate in the presidential elections. He noted
that the DP expressed its priorities for the negotiations during the meeting.
(I/Ts.)
3. Davutoglu to discuss Syria issue with Lavror
According
to Turkish daily Hurriyet Daily News (01.02.13) the Turkish Foreign Minister
Ahmet Davutoglu and his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, will meet in Munich
this weekend to discuss the ongoing international campaign to end 22 months of
bloodshed in Syria.
The
meeting will take place under the cloud of an Israeli attack against Syrian
targets and after a surprising call from Syrian National Council head Moaz
al-Khatib to talk with the Bashar al-Assad government.
Turkish-Russian
dialogue over Syria intensified following Russian President Vladimir Putin’s
visit to Turkey on December 3, 2012, when the two countries agreed to keep
their growing bilateral economic and trade ties unaffected by disagreement over
Syria.
As
part of their deal to keep in close contact, undersecretary of the Foreign
Ministry Feridun Sinirlioglu paid a visit to Moscow to meet his counterpart,
Mikhail Bogdanov, last month. Davutoglu-Lavrov’s meeting in Munich will be
followed by another crucial meeting of the two Ministers in Turkey in April, as
part of the joint strategic group.
“This
dialogue helps both sides prevent bilateral problems arising from Syria,” a
diplomatic source told the Hurriyet Daily News, implying that the difficulty in
reducing differences over the issue, is unlikely to be resolved in the near
future.
Turkey
and Russia have been one of each other’s important economic and trade partners
in recent years, and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan set a new target of
$100 billion trade volume by 2020.
Although
heavily dependent on Russian natural gas, Turkey did not hesitate to allow a
Russian company to build and operate its first nuclear plant. The two
countries’ joint economic councils will meet in late April in Antalya.
During
the meeting, Lavrov is expected to inform Davutoglu about ongoing trilateral
talks between Russia, the United States and the United Nations special envoy
for Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi, as part of the Geneva Agreement.
With
concerns that al-Assad’s immediate fall would create chaos in Syria, Washington
is considering a gradual transition in the country that would commence by
creating the necessary conditions for fair elections.
In
the meantime, as the Syrian National Coalition seems to be far from becoming a
strong body that could lead an interim government, Washington proposed to
Russia the joint preparation of a list of potential government officials, who
could lead the process. A separate body to provide security in the country is
also being considered as part of the talks.
(…)
4. Eight more persons were
granted the “TRNC citizenship”
Under the title “Here are the new citizenships”,
Turkish Cypriot Haber Turk internet side (01.02.13) reports that the
self-styled council of minister of the breakaway regime continues to distribute
citizenships.
The site notes that during the last meeting of
“council” the “TRNC citizenship” was granted to the following eight persons:
·
Amanda
Jayne Warrender born 26 August
1964 Manchester
·
Asghar
Saıdan born 6 August 1941
Tabrız
·
Coskun
Ozturker born 7 July 1964 Balıkesir
·
Ozer
Ozbilen born 19 September 1966 Istanbul
·
Abdullah
Tasan born 14 June
1976 Odemis
·
Hakan
Emerce born 1 September 1974
Sivas
·
Omer
Telek born 1 August 1981 Bursa
·
Barıs
Erkan born 14 September 1990 Famagusta.
5. Yorgancioglu: Kucuk should
tell those who visit the occupied area of Cyprus that this place is a separate
“state”
Turkish Cypriot daily Yeni Duzen newspaper (01.02.13)
reports that Ozkan Yorgancioglu, leader of the Republican Turkish Party (CTP),
said yesterday that no one has a problem with having good relations with
Turkey, but added that it is not possible to approve the fact that some
visitors see the “TRNC”, breakaway regime in the occupied area of Cyprus, as
[Turkey’s] province.
In statements at the “assembly” of the regime,
Yorgancioglu criticized the fact that a delegation from Turkey which visited
the “parliament” described the occupied area of Cyprus as “Turkey’s province”.
Yorgancioglu asked from self-styled prime minister, Irsen Kucuk to brief those
who visit the occupied area of Cyprus that this place is a “separate state”.
(I/Ts.)
6. “Communal Existence
Movement” protested against Atalya’s statements that Turkish Cypriots needs
religious education
Turkish Cypriot daily Havadis newspaper (01.02.13)
reports that the “Communal Existence Movement”, organized a protest in front of
the self-styled ministry of education.
The Movement protested against the recent statements
of Turkey’s Minister, responsible for Cyprus Affairs Besir Atalay, who stated
that Turkish Cypriots need religious education.
7. USA ambassador visited
occupied Famagusta
Turkish Cypriot daily Havadis newspaper (01.02.13)
reports that the ambassador of USA to Lefkosia John Koenig visited for the
first time occupied Famagusta.
According to the paper, Koenig, along with a
delegation of United States Agency for International Development (USAID), met
with the “mayor” of Famagusta Oktay Kayalp.
8. Illegal YDU withdraws from
the agreement on the Armenian Church
Turkish Cypriot daily Yeni Duzen newspaper (01.02.13)
reports that the illegal Near East University (YDU) has withdrawn from the
agreement it had signed with the Evkaf Foundation regarding the Armenian Sourp
Asdvadzadzin Church in Arapahmet area in the occupied part of Lefkosia.
The general director of Evkaf, Mustafa Kaymakamzade
told Yeni Duzen that the reason for this decision of “YDU” is the delay by the
Evkaf to handover the building to the illegal university within the period of
time provided for in the agreement and “university’s” annoyance by some news
published in the press. Kaymakamzade said that “YDU” decided to withdraw from
the project about a week ago and added that now they will evaluate how the
process will proceed.
According to the paper, a “source” that wishes to
remain unknown, said that the “YDU” decided to withdraw after pressure exerted
by Ankara. Kaymakamzade, however, denied this allegation.
(I/Ts.)
9. Jim Jeffrey: Turkey’s focus ‘shifts’ from Syria to
Baghdad
Turkish
daily Hurriyet Daily News (01.02.13) reports that Jim Jeffrey, former U.S.
Ambassador to Iraq and Turkey said that Turkey’s focus in Washington is
shifting to Iraq from Syria, due to the Obama administration’s reluctance to
intervene in the Syrian crisis.
Jeffrey
said there were several reasons behind Turkish-Iraqi relations shadowing the
Syria issue; notably that Iraq is now a potential source of stability, as
opposed to previous years, as well as a major oil exporter, already the
second-largest at OPEC and competing with Saudi Arabia.
The
first signs of the U.S. administration’s stance toward Syria came during
Obama’s inauguration speech. President Obama said the decade of war is over and
then, when he gave an exclusive interview to The New Republic’s editors, he
made his hesitations towards Syria clear by expressing some tough questions on
his options: “In a situation like Syria, I have to ask, can we make a
difference in that situation? Would a military intervention have an impact? How
would it affect our ability to support troops who are still in Afghanistan?
What would be the aftermath of our involvement on the ground? Could it trigger
even worse violence or the use of chemical weapons? What offers the best
prospect of a stable post-Assad regime? And how do I weigh tens of thousands
who’ve been killed in Syria, versus the tens of thousands who are currently
being killed in the Congo?’”
Jeffrey
said he interpreted Obama’s statements to suggest an end to long-term, massive
ground wars that fight the very population of a country and are designed to
nation-build. “He is absolutely right. That period is over. Because it was not
particularly successful,” Jeffrey said.
According
to diplomatic sources, Turks are also aware of this and Turkey is now trying to
shift its focus towards Iraq instead of the Syrian conflict. “Iraq is now more
important for us,” a Turkish official said. “You saw this shift during
Undersecretary of the Turkish Foreign Ministry Feridun Sinirlioglu’s visit to
Washington two weeks ago as well.”
While
discussing the challenges in Syria with his counterpart at the State
Department, Sinirlioglu also met twice with Ambassador Carlos Pascual, the
State Department’s Special Envoy and Coordinator for International Energy
Affairs. Diplomatic sources have confirmed that energy deals in Northern Iraq
made between Turkish companies and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) were
one of the top topics on the agenda.
(…)
Jeffrey
said Washington is working with all parties to solve the crisis between the central
government and the KRG. “Sooner or later, hydrocarbons will be exported out of
northern Iraq. The question is whether that would be done in cooperation with
Baghdad, and thus reinforcing the unity and federal system in Iraq, or whether
that would be done in another, maybe less-helpful, way. The U.S. is working
with all parties to try to come up with a way forward that has everybody
involved,” the ex-envoy said.
However,
he painted a starker picture of the future. “We tried that in the past and it
failed. A major reason behind the failure has been Baghdad’s lack of
cooperation, including not paying the second [instalment] of payments to the
companies in the north. Everybody knows that Turkey and the U.S. are in
agreement on the unity and stability of Iraq. But there is clearly a difference
of views on some of the specifics, including oil,” Jeffrey said.
10. Ankara says wants to be ‘observer member' of
Shanghai organization
According
to Turkish daily Today’s Zaman (31.01.13) Foreign Ministry spokesman Selcuk
Unal [translator’s note: Unal handed
over his duty yesterday to the newly appointed Spokesman of the MFA, Zeki
Levent Gumrukcu] said on Thursday that Ankara wants to become an “observer
member state” in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) as part of
“Turkey's multilateral diplomacy".
Unal,
in his last press briefing as the Ministry Spokesman, said that Turkey is
already a “dialogue partner” of the Russian and Chinese-led group and that
joining every international organization, becoming an observer state or
following their activities is fundamental to Turkey's “multilateral diplomacy.”
(…)
Unal
added that Turkey is already attending the organization's meetings, stressing
that Ankara wants to upgrade its status by becoming an observer member state
and advance cooperation with the SCO.
(…)
11. Zeki Levent Gumrukcu, the new spokesman of the MFA
According
to Ankara Anatolia news agency (31.0113) Selcuk Unal, the former Spokesman for
Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs have been appointed to the position of
Special Advisor for the Foreign Minister.
Zeki
Levent Gumrukcu, former Deputy Director of the Policy Planning has been
appointed to the Turkish Foreign Ministry's spokesmanship.
Speaking
after an ordinary press conference, Unal handed over his duty to Gumrukcu.
Unal
said, two and a half years which he spent with press members had passed tough
as well as joyful for him.
12. 2013 World Report of the Human Rights Watch called
Turkey to release imprisoned Kurdish journalist, activist, students
According
to Turkish daily Hurriyet Daily News (01.02.13) the 2013 World Report of the
Human Rights Watch, which was published yesterday, drew attention to Turkey’s
chronic human rights violations supporting that Turkey’s misuse of anti-terror
laws, is the reason that Kurdish activists, students and journalists are behind
bars.
“If
the Turkish government is sincere in solving the Kurdish problem, it would be a
positive first step to release the thousands of peaceful Kurdish activists,
journalists, human-rights defenders, unionists and students,” Human Rights
Watch’s expert on Turkey, Emma Sinclair-Webb, said in a statement yesterday.
According
to the report, Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) government
maintained economic growth in 2012 despite some slowdown and kept a strong
focus on stepping into a key role in the region, but failed to take convincing
steps towards addressing the country’s worsening domestic human rights record
and democratic deficit.
“Prosecutors
and courts continued to use terrorism laws to prosecute and prolong the
incarceration of thousands of Kurdish political activists, human-rights
defenders, students, journalists and trade unionists,” the report said.
(…) “Thousands
charged with alleged terrorism offenses remained in prison throughout their
trials. … Some face terrorism charges for activities amounting to exercising
their right to non-violent expression and association,” the report also said.
The
hit TV series, “Magnificent Century” (Muhtesem Yuzyıl), and other serials
criticized by politicians, were also mentioned within the report.
“Politicians’
intolerance against any opposition voices, even TV serials, and filing of
defamation case causes a permanent atmosphere disincentive for freedom of
speech,” the report said.
Excessive
use of violence by the police was another subject discussed in the Human Rights
Watch’s report. Authorities often mask the problem by charging individuals who
report police abuse with resisting police dispersal or disobeying police orders
rather than examining their complaints, according to the HRW.
The
ongoing coup-plot cases Ergenekon and Balyoz (Sledgehammer) were also
criticized for failing to uphold the right to a fair trial principle.
“All
defendants were appealing their sentences at [the time of] this writing. The
serious fair trial concerns in these cases and the prolonged pre-trial
detention of some defendants overshadowed the important contribution of these
efforts to combat impunity of the military,” the report read.
Arizona
University’s Middle East Studies Association (MESA) has sent letters to Turkish
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan since 2011 to express its concern over the
ongoing academic immunity problems in Turkish universities.
(…)
Also,
Laurie Brand, chair of the Committee on Academic Freedom (MESA), said that they were seriously concerned about the
situation in Turkey and stressed that incidents violating academic immunity
were increasing every day.
13. Turkey’s exports increased by 13.1% in 2012, imports
decreased by 1.8%
Ankara
Anatolia news agency (31.01.13) reported that the country's statistics
authority (TurkStat) said on Thursday that Turkey's exports increased by 13.1%
year-on-year in 2012 to reach $152.5 billion while imports were down by 1.8%
over a year earlier to $236.5 billion.
TurkStat
said foreign trade deficit dropped by 20.7% in 2012 to $83.9 billion from
$105.9 billion a year earlier, as export to import ratio was up to 64.5%.
On a
monthly basis, exports were up 1.4% to $12.6 billion in December 2012 and
imports were down 3.7% to stand at $19.8 billion.
Export
to import ratio for December 2012, was 63.8%.
14. New data by Turkstat on Turkey’s population
Ankara
Anatolia news agency (31.01.13) reported that the Turkish Statistics Authority,
Turkstat, released on Thursday Population and Housing Census figures for 2011.
The
number of households in Turkey is 19,481,678 and the average household size is
3.8 according to the 2011 figures. Provinces with the highest average size of
households are Sirnak (8), Hakkari (7.9) and Siirt (6.8), respectively whereas
provinces with the lowest average size of households are Canakkale (2.9),
Balikesir (3) and Eskisehir (3).
The
proportion of people who migrated to a different province in Turkey is 3% and
corresponds to 2,207,844 people. Reasons for migration are; migration related
to a member of the household (41.5%), education (22.6%), to seek/find a job
(12.2%), assignation/change of job (13.4%), marriage/divorce (7.5%) and health
(1.1%), respectively.
Sirnak
is on the top of the list in unemployment with 15.3% of unemployment rate
followed by Diyarbakır with 13,8% and Hakkari with 13% in unemployment.
Provinces having lowest unemployment rate are Kastamonu (3.5%), Canakkale
(4.2%) and Nevsehir (4.3%).
Ardahan
ranks first in the highest employment rate with 58.2% in Turkey. It is followed
by Artvin with 54.7% and Bayburt with 54.5% in employment. Provinces having
lowest employment rate are Kirikkale (34.8%), Diyarbakir (34.9%) and Batman
(35.7%).
In
terms of labor force participation rate Ardahan is the highest with 61.7% and
Kirikkale lowest with 38.8%.
While
the labor force participation rate is 69.2% for males, this rate is 25.9% for
females.
The
highest proportion of services sector is in Ankara with 73% and of those who
are employed, 22.7% is employed in agriculture, 27.2% is employed in industry
and 50.1% is employed in services sector.
He
noted that an earlier project launched by the Turkish Cypriot side for the
environmental restoration of the site will also continue.
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TURKISH AFFAIRS SECTION
/EI
