TURKISH CYPRIOT AND TURKISH MEDIA REVIEW
No. 49/13 9-11/3/13
1.
Jack Straw proposed the occupation regime’s recognition if the Republic of
Cyprus continues blocking Turkey’s EU bid; He described as a huge mistake
Cyprus’s admission to the EU
2.
Statements by Tacoy in Brussels
3.
Eti and Caglar will attend meetings of PACE
4. A
delegation of Turkey’s MFA carries out contacts in the occupied area of the
Republic of Cyprus; Eroglu met with Mathew Kidd
5.
Will Erhan Ercin be the new negotiator of the Turkish Cypriot side?
6. Representative of “TRNC” in London aims to bring British MEPs in the occupied area of the Republic of Cyprus
6. Representative of “TRNC” in London aims to bring British MEPs in the occupied area of the Republic of Cyprus
7.
Yildiz reiterated that the energy resources to be found should be equally share
between the two sides in the island
8.
Smuggling of cigarettes is reportedly carried out through occupied Famagusta
port
9.
One million dollar health insurance for every German tourist illegally visiting
occupied Cyprus
10.
The breakaway regime participated in the 5th Educational Fair in
Kirgizstan
11. Erdogan’s calling to PKK: “Lay down your arms, conduct politics in Parliament”
11. Erdogan’s calling to PKK: “Lay down your arms, conduct politics in Parliament”
12.
Gul to carry out contacts in Sweden; Turkey to sign a strategic partnership agreement
with Sweden
13. Turkey's "Gokturk-3" satellite to be
launched to space in 2019
1.
Jack Straw proposed the occupation regime’s recognition if the Republic of
Cyprus continues blocking Turkey’s EU bid; He described as a huge mistake Cyprus’s
admission to the EU
Under the title: “Straw proposed KKTC
recognition to resolve Turkey-EU stalemate”, Turkish daily Today’s Zaman
(08.03.13) published an exclusive interview to the paper, by Jack Straw, the
former UK foreign secretary.
“You have sometimes to get people to
understand what the consequences of their actions are. It may still be this
that if the Greek Cypriots continued to block the accession approach of Turkey,
then my view is certainly that we have to move towards recognizing the KKTC”,
Straw said.
In the interview Straw did not mince his
words both for the Greek Cypriots and the EU regarding their Turkey policies.
Calling the admission of Greek Cypriots into the club without the solution of
the Cyprus matter “a huge mistake,” Straw said it was now time to get tough
with the Greek Cypriots and argued that if they would continue to block
Turkey's accession process, then the “TRNC” should be recognized. Straw said it
was a disgraceful story to keep Turkish Cypriots out in the cold despite the fact
that they said “yes” to the Annan plan. Straw's very critical remarks come
right after Nikos Anastasiadis who said “yes” to the Annan plan in 2004 has
been elected President of “Greek Cyprus”, as the Republic of Cyprus is called.
Straw was the British Foreign Secretary
when Turkey started accession talks back in 2005. After a marathon session of
talks spanning 40 hours, he said he was “very angry and very sad” on the state
of Turkey's accession talks with the European Union. Known as the “architect of
the accession of talks,” Straw worked very hard together with former UK Prime
Minister Tony Blair on October 2 and 3 to break the “resistance” of the Greek
Cypriots and the Austrians in particular and kick-start talks with Turkey.
Remembering the night of October 3,
Straw said the Austrians reacted as if there was a third siege of Vienna by the
Turks and that the Greek Cypriots were warned that there would be
“consequences” if they blocked the start of the talks.
Following is a part of Straw’s
interview:
Q:
“You were the UK Foreign Minister in
2005, and the UK was the term President of the EU when the accession talks
started with Turkey. You personally did a lot to convince the Austrians in
particular and then the Greek Cypriots to get their “yes.” In your book you
said it was your proudest personal achievement as UK foreign secretary. But now
the process is in a shambles, almost half of the chapters are suspended and the
process is not going anywhere. How do you feel?
I feel very sad and also very angry that
this great opportunity for the European Union of having a really important
country, Turkey, in an active process of accession has been stalled -- blocked
as a result of some petty politics by the Greek Cypriots and a strategic
mistake that was subsequently made in 2005 by France and Germany. That
[mistake] was particularly made by former President Sarkozy. I have some hope
now that with Francois Hollande as the president of France and what appears to
be a quite marked shift by Chancellor Angela Merkel in Germany that there may
be a better understanding inside the EU of the importance of getting these
talks going. The other view I have is that now is the time for the European
Commission and large countries generally inside the European Union to start
being tough with the Greek Cypriots. There's a history as to why Greek Cyprus
was allowed into the EU, it shouldn't have been, but it was a mistake that we
were involved in as well.
Q:
Do you sometimes think it was a huge mistake?
No question about it, it was a huge
mistake. There was a reason for it, which was that the party that appeared to
be obdurate and continually unhelpful at the time for some years was north
Cyprus when it was run by Mr. [Rauf] Denktas, whereas south Cyprus always
appeared reasonable. It was strategically a huge mistake. Particularly after
Cyprus President Tassos Papadopoulos wilfully broke his own promise and
campaigned for a ‘no’ vote when he signed for a ‘yes’ vote in the Annan
negotiations, so big mistakes. I'm afraid one can't repair those mistakes
immediately, but we ought to be able to make progress, and I say now that
people have seen exposed the true nature of the financial shambles of Greek
Cyprus and its huge indebtedness to Russia and many other problems, which is
worrying Germany among others. It's time I think to get tough with the
Cypriots.
Q:
People in Turkey have now lost nearly
all hope in the EU. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has started to talk
about whether Turkey should be in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.
One of my arguments always was that
Turkey is such an important strategic country, such a largely important
country, that its strategy would not be stable and it wouldn't always be
looking West. If we push them away, they would look East. What else would any
leader elsewhere in Europe do in that situation? So I think that a process in
which Turkey looks East if its Western partners are pushing it away is
inevitable; it's regrettable but inevitable.
Q:
You were the architect of the October 3 night. We waited 40 hours for you to
convince the Austrians. You had the impression then that the Austrians were
behaving as though Vienna was under another siege by the Turks.
You can't engage in any complex
negotiation in Europe which affects the individual country's sense of their
nationhood without understanding their history. To the Austrians and the
Christian heritage countries in the Balkans, what happened in the continuing
clashes with the Ottoman Empire feels to some of them like yesterday. So that's
why I said that and it was true.
Q:
Another problem was the Greek Cypriots. There were rumours that you actually
convinced them together with Prime Minister Blair by telling them that if they
didn't agree that night then you would recognize the Turkish side of Cyprus.
Was it true?
It wasn't quite as stark as that, but we
had to explain to them that there would be consequences if a very small state
of a divided island kept a very large state from even starting to negotiate.
Critical to the shift by the Greek Cypriots was the approach of George
Papandreou, the foreign minister of Greece at the time, who is a great man, and
he too could see strategically why it was so important for Greece as well as
for the Greek Cypriots to end this standoff with Turkey and with the Turkish
Cypriots. You have to sometimes get people to understand what the consequences
of their actions are. It may still be that if the Greek Cypriots continue to
block the accession approach of Turkey, then my view is certainly that we have
to move towards recognizing the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus [KKTC].
I've written about this, that we can't go in my view forever pretending that
you can bring these two sides together if that is impossible. Part of the
difficulty at the moment is that you've got a de facto partition, anyway, as
for the Greek Cypriots there is little or no incentive for them for a
compromise because they've got all the benefits of a partition without any of
the disadvantages. So in time we may have to get there, and it's not the end of
the world; after all some of the former provinces of Yugoslavia were separated
and partitioned.
Q:
Gunter Verheugen, the then-enlargement commissioner, said in the European
Parliament publicly that he felt cheated by the Greek Cypriots, and then there
was the direct trade regulation by the council two days after the referendum
that was never implemented. The Turkish Cypriots were left out in the cold.
It's a disgraceful story, if that's what
you're saying to me, and it makes me very angry. That is why I have moved over
the last decade from a position of relative neutrality between the position of
the Greek Cypriot government and that of the Turkish Cypriots to one where I
believe that a great injustice has been done to the Turkish Cypriot community, and
this has nothing to do with the feelings for the Greek Cypriot population who I
feel great affection for, but it is about their system.
Q:
People criticize Britain as well, saying they did not help at all. A British
Airways plane could have landed in Ercan, for example, they say.
Well, I wanted that to happen; I devoted
a lot of time looking at the detailed regulations, very detailed regulations,
getting legal advice, and I'm afraid to say that my time ran out because then,
I was moved from the Foreign Office to the leader of the House of Commons. If I
had stayed I might have been able to resolve that, but it was a contest, not
least without lawyers, and their default setting is to say ‘No, you can't do
this’.”
2. Statements by Tacoy in Brussels
Turkish Cypriot
daily Haberdar newspaper (10.03.13) reports that Hasan Tacoy, self-styled
deputy with the National Unity Party (UBP), is holding contacts in Brussels
representing the self-styled assembly of the breakaway regime in the occupied
area of the Republic of Cyprus. In
statements to ABHaber website, Tacoy has claimed that expectations increased
with the election of Nikos Anastasiades to the Presidency of the Republic of
Cyprus. He alleged, though, that President Anastasiades is trying to push the
Cyprus negotiations to the end of the year by using what he called as political
maneuvers and by putting forward the economic problems of the island.
Claiming that
this would be tantamount to “waste of time”, Tacoy recalled that so-called
elections will be held in the occupied area of Cyprus in 2014 and argued that
“it seems that this will be positively reflected on the solution process”.
He argued, inter
alia, the following: “If Anastasiades’ aim is to suspend the negotiations to
2015, he is committing a big mistake. The negotiating table should be launched
the soonest with pressure exerted by the countries and the sides which want a
solution in Cyprus. The visit of Downer to the island on 11 March should be
encouraging within the framework of the beginning of the negotiations without
delay. Anastasiades should see that if he wants to get rid of the economic
crisis, the solution will bring many benefits. If Anastasiades thinks that he
will be saved with the loan from Russia, he is mistaken…”
Tacoy alleged
that Russia used the opportunity given by the crisis in the Republic of Cyprus
in order to come down to the Mediterranean, “in spite of the strategic allies
of Turkey”. He argued that this seems a development which will “push Turkey’s
allies to the wall” in the future.
(I/Ts.)
3.
Eti and Caglar will attend meetings of PACE
Turkish Cypriot daily Havadis (09.03.13)
reports that the so-called deputy of the National Unity Party (UBP) Ahmet Eti
and the so-called deputy of the Republican Turkish Party – United Forces
(CTP-BG) will participate at the Committee meetings of the Council of Europe
Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) in Paris, Rabat and Warsaw between 10-20 of
March.
According to an announcement by the
so-called TRNC assembly, Eti and Caglar will first attend the committee meeting
on Culture, Science, Education and Media in Paris between 11 and 12 of March.
After this, they will attend the Committee meeting on Political Affairs and
Democracy in Rabat, Morocco, between 13-14 of March. Between 17-18 of March, they
will take office at the Committee meeting on Equality and Non-Discrimination in
Warsaw, Poland. On the 19th of March, they will attend the Committee
meeting on Legal Affairs and Human Rights in Paris.
4.
A delegation of Turkey’s MFA carries out contacts in the occupied area of
the Republic of Cyprus; Eroglu met with Mathew Kidd
Turkish Cypriot daily Gunes (09.03.13)
reports that a delegation from Turkey’s Foreign Affairs Ministry had separate
meetings yesterday with the Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu, the so-called
TRNC assembly speaker Hasan Bozer and the so-called minister of foreign affairs
Huseyin Ozgurgun.
No statements were issued to the press
prior or after the meetings.
The Turkish delegation was headed by the
Turkish Ambassador, General Director of the Maritime and Aviation of Turkey’s
MFA, Ahmet Vakur Gokdenizler.
During the meeting of the delegation
from the Turkish Foreign Ministry with Eroglu, so-called Turkish Ambassador in
the occupied area of the Republic of Cyprus Halil Ibrahim Akca, Eroglu’s
undersecretary Hasan Gungor, and Eroglu’s special representative and spokesman
Osman Ertug were also present.
Meanwhile, Eroglu also had a separate
meeting with the British High Commissioner to Cyprus Mathew Kidd, according to
illegal Bayrak television (08.03.13).
The latest developments on the Cyprus
problem were taken up at the meeting attended by Eroglu’s undersecretary Hasan
Gungor and Eroglu’s special representative Osman Ertug.
5. Will Erhan Ercin be the new negotiator of the
Turkish Cypriot side?
Turkish Cypriot
daily Volkan newspaper (11.03.13) cites information that Erhan Ercin, who is
currently head of the “TRNC Prime Minister's Office of EU Coordination Centre”,
will be the new negotiator of the Turkish Cypriot side for the Cyprus talks.
Ercin, who
according to the paper was criticized for thinking more about the EU interest
in the breakaway regime than the interest of the breakaway regime in the EU,
was closed to the former Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat and managed to
obtain the position of the currently head of the “TRNC Prime Minister's Office
of EU Coordination Centre” when the National Unity Party (UBP) came to “power”.
Volkan who cites
“trustworthy sources”, write that Ercin will first be appointed to the position
of prime ministry undersecretary and then the position of the negotiator.
6.
Representative of “TRNC” in London aims to bring British MEPs in the
occupied area of the Republic of Cyprus
Turkish Cypriot daily Star Kibris
(09.03.13) reports that the representative of the breakaway regime in London,
Oya Tuncali, hosted a lunch for Turkish journalists based in London on the
occasion of the completion of her first year posted as representative of the
occupation regime in London.
During the meeting with the Turkish
journalists, Tuncali explained to them their work and achievements. She
announced that they have established a new organization called “Turkish Cypriot
Political Strategic Group”, in London, by Turkish Cypriots who live in the UK,
aiming to make the voice of the Turkish Cypriots residing in Britain be heard
in a stronger and clearer way and to strengthen their political profile.
Tuncali also stressed that the deputy
leader of the Liberal Democrat Party Simon Hughes visited the occupied area of
the Republic of Cyprus last May via the illegal airport of Tymbou as a result
of their suggestion. She added that Lord
Maginnis also attended the Turkish Cypriots World Congress.
Tuncali also said that their aim of this
year is more British MEPs to visit the occupied area of the Republic of Cyprus
and carry out contacts with high rank officials of the breakaway regime.
7.
Yildiz reiterated that the energy resources to be found should be equally share
between the two sides in the island
Turkish daily Hurriyet Daily News
(11.03.13) reports on statements by Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz who in
an interview to the paper, referred, inter alia to the issue of energy
resources in Cyprus.
Asked to reply to a question why Turkey
is not doing business in the north of Iraq and why the Turkish state is not
signing deals with the KRG, Yildiz replied as follows:
“Turkey is continuing with its road map,
be it with timing, or be it with procedures. Turkey is a county that does not
act against international law. When we say in Cyprus that the Republic of
Northern Cyprus and the administration in South Cyprus should have a fair share
of energy resources, we show the same consistency here. If revenue is
generated, there should not be any differentiation between the south and north
[of Iraq]”.
8. Smuggling of cigarettes is reportedly carried
out through occupied Famagusta port
Turkish Cypriot
daily Haberdar newspaper (10.03.13) reported that the personnel of two freight
ships named “Sirena” and “Flamengo” have been arrested by the “customs”, the
“police” and the “coast guards” of the breakaway regime 15 miles in the open
sea of the occupied port of Famagusta, because they were carrying out smuggling
of cigarettes using small boats. The paper wrote that the personnel of the
ships have been taken to “court” and warrant of arrest was issued against them.
After the
incident, the self-styled minister of finance, Ersin Tatar visited the ships
with a boat and was briefed on the smuggling. He argued that the “TRNC”, breakaway
regime in the occupied area of the Republic of Cyprus, could not be used in
smuggling and pointed out to the importance of finding out about the smuggling
of cigarettes and of doing what was necessary. Recalling of the loss of income
from this smuggling both for the regime and for Turkey, Tatar said that no one
should doubt that the breakaway regime will do whatever is necessary and
continue the struggle against the smuggling.
Meanwhile,
Turkish Cypriot daily Volkan newspaper (11.03.13) reports that the smuggling of
cigarettes had been going on for a long period and that those who buy these
cigarettes earn big profits, while the “state” suffers losses. Noting that the
interrogations are focused on the names of the persons to whom the cigarettes
were sold, the paper cites information according to which the attention on this
issue has been turned to some casinos functioning in the occupied area of
Cyprus. “It is alleged that some casinos give for free these cigarettes, which
they buy cheaply, to their clients who gamble”, writes the paper.
Turkish Cypriot
daily Afrika newspaper (11.03.13) refers to the same issue and reports that the
smuggling of cigarettes is not something new for the occupied area of Cyprus.
The paper writes that during the “war against the gangs”, which it had declared
many years ago, it had also brought onto the agenda the issue of the smuggling
of cigarettes the worth of which reached many million dollars. The paper had
reported then that a “godfather” known as “doctor” or “Arab” had been the head
of this issue. On 24 October 2010, the paper had said regarding the smuggling,
that swindling of trillions of Turkish liras is carried out through the
occupied port of Famagusta and that the “police” had a lot of information about
it. According to the paper, if the local collaborators of the smugglers are not
arrested, the smuggling cannot be prevented.
(I/Ts.)
9. One million dollar health insurance for every
German tourist illegally visiting
occupied Cyprus
Turkish Cypriot
daily Vatan newspaper (09.03.13) reports that following the protocol agreement
signed between the Hospital of the Illegal Near East University (YDU) and the
NTL Travel, every tourist who will be sent to occupied Cyprus with the German
H&H Tur and Sun Trips Tourist operators, will be offered through the Near
East Bank a health insurance worth one million dollars.
The issue was
discussed between “YDU officials” and the NTL Travel director Dogan Yakti,
during the ITB Berlin tourist fair which took place in Germany last week.
According to the
paper, this development will raise the interest especially by third age German
tourists and will pay an important role for them to choose occupied Cyprus for
their vacations.
The paper also
writes that the number of German tourists towards occupied Cyprus is expected
to be increased in 2013.
10. The breakaway regime participated in the 5th
Educational Fair in Kirgizstan
Turkish Cypriot daily Gunes newspaper (11.03.13) reports that the breakaway regime participated in the 5th Educational Fair which was organized in Biskek, Kirgizstan.
Turkish Cypriot daily Gunes newspaper (11.03.13) reports that the breakaway regime participated in the 5th Educational Fair which was organized in Biskek, Kirgizstan.
According to the
paper, the illegal Eastern Mediterranean University, the Lefka European
University and the International Cyprus University participated in the Fair.
The fair was
organized by the World of Education Firm, and participated universities from
Turkey, UK, USA, Malta, China, Australia and other countries.
11.
Erdogan’s calling to PKK: “Lay down
your arms, conduct politics in Parliament”
Turkish daily Hurriyet Daily News
(09.03.13) reported that Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said March 9, that
Turkey's government will act as interlocutor during the ongoing peace process,
only if the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) lays down its arms.
“There is only one thing to be done: You
will [lay down] your weapons. You will conduct your political acts at
Parliament. If you have an idea or a thought to say, you will express it. If
you do that, you will find an interlocutor,” Erdogan said in the
heavily-Kurdish province of Siirt in Turkey's southeast, where he was elected
to Parliament for the first time following the repeal of his electoral ban in
2003.
Erdogan asked again for locals to
support the "resolution process" and reiterated his disregard for
ethnic nationalism while insisting his government would not accept anything
that challenged Turkey’s indivisibility. “Twelve years ago, we said no to
ethnic nationalism. We said no to policies of denial and assimilation. We are
also against regional nationalism. The East will have exactly the same as the
West. Wither with a central government or a local government,” he said.
During his speech, Erdogan also reminded
the audience that his wife, Emine Erdogan, was originally from the Siirt. “In
Afyon, I said ‘one people’ against those who want to split us apart because
that’s our belief. I love my Kurdish brother, my Arab brother and my Turkish
brother in the same way. I don’t discriminate,” said Erdogan. “If I did that
sort of discrimination, why would I marry an Arab girl from Siirt? This is the
best proof of it”, he said.
Erdogan asked the government’s
counterparts in the peace talks for honesty and goodwill. “My people have
appropriated the resolution process. We won’t give credit to those who want to
split us. We won’t give credit to terrorism,” he said.
12.
Gul to carry out contacts in Sweden; Turkey to sign a strategic partnership
agreement with Sweden
Turkish daily Today’s Zaman (10.03.13)
reported that during a visit to Sweden by President Abdullah Gul that starts
Monday, a trip which will mark a number of firsts, the two countries are to
sign a strategic partnership agreement to further boost already excellent
bilateral relations.
Describing the visit to Sweden, which is
the first ever at the Presidential level, as “very significant,” Sweden's envoy
to Turkey said the strategic partnership agreement will be a “very good
platform when we [Turkey and Sweden] look into cooperation in new areas,”
obviously excited over the potential the two countries may set in motion in an
effort to knit closer ties.
Apart from the strategic cooperation
agreement to be signed by the Foreign Ministers of both countries, business
will be a major focus of the President's visit. Gul is being accompanied by
more than 100 Turkish businessmen together with the Deputy Prime Minister in
Charge of Economy, Ali Babacan, Turkey's European Union Minister and Chief
Negotiator Egemen Bagis and Foreign Affairs Minister Ahmet Davutoglu.
The group left for Sweden on Sunday for
a three-day state visit to officially start on Monday.
For the Swedish ambassador to Turkey,
Hakan Akesson, the prospects for cooperation on the business front are high,
and Swedish and Turkish companies “match well.” “An interesting area of
cooperation for companies may be in third markets,” he told Today's Zaman,
noting that Turkey has knowledge of markets in the region and Swedish firms the
technological skills and knowhow.
The trade volume between the two
countries totalled $3.3 billion at the end of 2012. The ambassador is hopeful
it may increase considerably in the coming years. “My guess is that it's
possible to double bilateral trade given the size of both economies and the
fact that both economies are growing healthily,” he said. During the visit, the
Turkish head of state will not only address a large business forum on the
subject of boosting bilateral trade but will also give a speech in the Swedish
Parliament, a sign of excellent diplomatic relations.
Around 250 people including journalists
were expected to accompany Gul during the visit, in which for the first time in
history a minority representative, Patriarchal Vicar of the Syriac Orthodox
Church Mor Filiksinos Yusuf Cetin, will also take part. Syriacs are a sizable
community in Sweden, with nearly 120,000 members, 45,000 of whom are Turkish
citizens, according to data from the Directorate of Overseas Turks and Relative
Communities.
President Gul, accompanied by his wife,
Hayrünnisa Gül, will be received by Sweden's King Carl XVI Gustaf and the
queen. With Turkey's profile having grown considerably on the world scene in
the last decade, interest in Turkey is relatively high in Sweden. A research
institute to be inaugurated with the participation of the Turkish President and
the king of Sweden, the Institute for Turkey Studies of Stockholm University,
demonstrates the fact very well. The institute, financed primarily by the
university, but also by the private sectors of both countries, is fully focused
on studies of contemporary Turkey.
Sweden gives full support to Turkey's EU
bid. There are three reasons for this, according to the ambassador. The first
is that Sweden believes Turkey's membership would make the EU stronger
politically. The EU's foreign policy would also gain strength from the
knowledge, experience and perspectives Turkey has that the EU does not, such as
in issues surrounding the Middle East.
Secondly, Turkey would also strengthen
the EU economy with its dynamic economy and young population. And thirdly,
social and cultural considerations play a role. “Turkey's membership would
clearly show the EU is not a Christian club, but rather a union for members
sharing the same values,” Akesson commented.
(…)
Defense is an area Sweden and Turkey
have cooperated on for some time. Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI), which has
set out to produce the country's first fighter jet, is cooperating with
Sweden's Saab.
Gul cancelled a planned visit to Sweden,
which receives Turkish delegations on average twice a year, in September of
last year for health reasons.
13.
Turkey's "Gokturk-3" satellite to be launched to space in 2019
Ankara Anatolia news agency (08.03.13)
reported that Turkey will launch its radar observation satellite
"Gokturk-3" to space in 2019.
Speaking to the Anadolu Agency (AA), a
senior official with the Turkish National Defense Ministry, Mujdat Uludag said
that they were making preparations to send "Gokturk-3" to space in
2019. "We began working on a 'Satellite Launch Center' so that we can send
our satellites to space with our own means. We will begin working on the launch
center within 2013", Uludag also said.
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TURKISH
AFFAIRS SECTION
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