TURKISH CYPRIOT AND TURKISH MEDIA REVIEW
No. 83/13 01-2/05/13
C O N T E N T S
1. Merkel called on Turkey to fulfil the requirements of the
Customs Union deal
2. Eroglu and President Anastasiades to meet
on 29 May; Eroglu says they will discuss the issue of when the Cyprus talks
will begin
3. Eroglu met with Israeli Ambassador to Cyprus
4. Kilicdaroglu carries out contacts in the occupied area of
Cyprus
5. Turkey pushes Turkish Cypriots for urgent reform drive
6. Turkish Deputy Prime Minister’s announcing
the regime’s “public administration report” is described as “insult” for the
Turkish Cypriots
7. Cyprus rising on Turkey’s agenda
8. Investors from Middle East are reportedly
interested in purchasing immovable property in occupied Cyprus
9. They reportedly want to create a community
“that goes to mosques, reads the Koran and fasts” in the occupied are of Cyprus
10. One fifth of the employees in occupied
Cyprus are illegal
11. SuleymanErguclu is the new director of
KIBRIS Media Group
12. BDP co-chair invites main opposition to act together
13. Police stage crackdown on May Day protesters in Istanbul
1. Merkel called on Turkey to fulfil the requirements of
the Customs Union deal
Turkish daily Hurriyet
(01.05.13) published an interview of the German Chancellor Angela Merkel to the
paper’s correspondent in Berlin AhmetKulahci.
When asked how long Turkey will
have to wait to join the EU, while Turkey signed the EU Partnership Agreement
50 years ago, Merkel, inter alia, said: “Negotiations with Turkey have being
continuing since 2005. They are open ended. One of the conditions for EU
membership is that the candidate country abides by the EU’s common law and
value system fully. This applies to Turkey too. Turkey should carry out a new
reform process. When Turkey’s accession negotiations started, Turkey promised to
fulfil all the requirements regarding the implementation of the Customs Union
agreement with all EU member countries including Cyprus. If this condition
applies, then it would have a positive impact on the membership process.”
2. Eroglu and President Anastasiades to
meet on 29 May; Eroglu says they will discuss the issue of when the Cyprus
talks will begin
Turkish
Cypriot daily Gunes newspaper (01.05.13) reported that the Turkish Cypriot
leader, DervisEroglu has said that on 29 May he will meet with President
Anastasiades at a dinner at the residence of the UN Special Representative,
Lisa Buttenheim. In statements the day before yesterday after a meeting with
the UN Secretary-General’s Special Adviser on Cyprus, Alexander Downer, Eroglu
said that Downer informed him about his contacts in Athens and Ankara, adding
that both governments not only want the commencement of the negotiating process
in Cyprus, but they also wish for progress to be achieved.
Eroglu
said that at the dinner of 29 May they will discuss the issue of when the
negotiations will commence. He added that during the dinner, he will express
his views as regards the need for a time limit to the negotiations and they
will try to agree on that. He said that
he will put on the table the issue of determining a road map and try to take
the views of the other side on this issue.
Eroglu
alleged that having a result at the negotiations is their priority, but if
there is no result and if the Greek Cypriot side has allegedly no intention of
showing good will for an agreement, “there are other alternatives” and “these
alternatives will come onto the agenda”.
Alleging
that the popularity of President Anastasiades decreased because of the economic
crisis in the government-controlled area of the Republic of Cyprus, Eroglu
wished for President Anastasiades to regain his popularity and carry out the
Cyprus talks “in a more relaxed and confident manner”.
Referring
to statements made by the Foreign Minister, IoannisKasoulides, Eroglu alleged
that the Foreign Minister “goes round and talks too much”. He claimed that it
is as if he tries to sabotage the negotiations before they begin and added that
the statement that the negotiations could not start and would not start now
“cause discomfort” to them. He said that he will discuss these issues on 29 May
with President Anastasiades and added that he might convey his views on this
issue to the President by phone before the meeting.
Asked to
comment on the fact that the Turkish Foreign Minister has recently started
referring too often to a two-state solution and to say whether he might have
more intensive meetings with Turkey before the negotiating process begins,
Eroglu said that they are continuously consulting with the Turkish Foreign
Ministry and that he even sends regularly his special advisor, Osman Ertug to
Ankara for meetings with the Cyprus Department of the Turkish Ministry of
Foreign Affairs. He argued that Davutoglu’s statements as regards the
possibility of a two-state solution are correct, and they were said at the
right time and at the right place.
(I/Ts.)
3. Eroglu met with the Israeli Ambassador to Cyprus
According to illegal Bayrak
television (30.04.13), the Israeli Ambassador to Cyprus Michael Harari held a
meeting with the Turkish Cypriot leader DervisEroglu at the so-called
presidential palace on Tuesday.
According to “BRT”, the meeting
was perceived as an important development, as there are reports that Israel is
preparing to burn its bridges with the Republic of Cyprus regarding the
exploration activities off the coast of Cyprus for oil and natural gas.
No statement was issued before
or after the meeting where Eroglu’s undersecretary HasanGungor and Eroglu’s
special representative and spokesman Osman Ertug were also present.
4. Kilicdaroglu carries out contacts in the occupied area
of Cyprus
Turkish daily Today’s Zaman
(online, 01.05.13) reported that the leader of Turkey's main opposition
Republican People's Party (CHP) Kemal Kilicdaroglu will pay a one-day visit to
the “TRNC” for talks with senior Turkish Cypriot “officials” on Wednesday.
Deputy Chairman of the CHP
FarukLogoglu told Today's Zaman that Kilicdaroglu will have separate talks with
“TRNC officials”, including Turkish Cypriot leader DervisEroglu, so-called
prime minister IrsenKucuk and so-called parliament speaker HasanBozer.
Logoglu added that the main
agenda of the talks would be a solution to the Cyprus problem and that the
leaders will exchange their views on the issue.
“The CHP seeks a solution that
preserves the political rights of the Turkish Cypriots [in a unified Cyprus].
In this regard, we call on the guarantor states on the Cyprus issue, the United
Nations and the European Union to play a constructive role as regards the issue
and to contribute to the process. More importantly, we want Turkey to show
concern for the Cyprus issue, a national issue for the Turks,” said Logoglu.
Kilicdaroglu is also scheduled
to appear as a guest on Kanal D's TV program "GencBakis" (Young
Perspective).
5. Turkey pushes Turkish Cypriots to an urgent reform
drive
Turkish daily Hurriyet Daily
News (online, 01.05.13) reported that Turkey is pressuring “Turkish Cyprus”
[Trans. Note: as the breakaway regime in the occupied area of the Republic of
Cyprus is referred] to reform its political system and economy amid growing
public discontent with the administration as diplomatic moves to resume talks
on the island’s reunification gain speed.
Deputy Prime Minister
BesirAtalay met with so-called prime ministerIrsenKucuk on April 29 and
presented a comprehensive study conducted by the Economic Policy Research
Foundation of Turkey (TEPAV) which reflects the growing displeasure of the
public over the status of the “country”.
Kucuk was reportedly annoyed
after the representation. Atalay urged the Turkish Cypriot officials to take
the report seriously, according to official sources. “We also use surveys to
decide our moves in Turkey, there is a problem here that should be addressed,”
Atalay reportedly said.
The report said a majority of the
Turkish Cypriots is pessimistic about the future due to various reasons. During
his visit, Atalay said Ankara was ready to extend every manner of support to
develop the “country’s” economy. “Our priority is a strong and a sustainable
economy for ‘Turkish Cyprus’,” Atalay said.
The report, titled “Economic
and Administrative Priorities of Reform in ‘Turkish Cyprus’,” said political
uncertainty was contributing to the public’s negative perception of the
country’s status and future. 62% of Turkish Cypriots are not happy with the
socioeconomic status of the country, while only 14% said they were content. 49%
of them said the future would be worse than present, versus just 17% who said
it would be better.
The report, which is based on
recent studies of the foundation, aims to restructure “Turkish Cyprus” so that
it will have its own policy-making mechanism and foster management skills. It
said the Turkish Cypriots have a strong perception that they will not be able
to sustain their current lifestyle as they have until now, making it difficult
to plan for the future. Due to a lack of a “future vision,” public
administration reform cannot be made, the report said, adding that this should
emerge from social negotiation and that the reform process should be designated
as a process that builds upon itself.
Nearly 30% of the public,
however, said any possible reforms would have no chance of success, while 77%
said public support would be necessary to ensure the reform program’s success.
Some 70% of respondents also said the program should be embraced by the
“Turkish Cypriot government”, while 36% said Turkey needed to extend support in
making the new program.
The report also revealed that
the majority of the Turkish Cypriots, some 70%, demand partial or comprehensive
reform. 42% of the public, meanwhile, said the mechanism of the state should be
totally reformed, while 26% said there should comprehensive reforms.
The push from Ankara came as
diplomacy over reunification intensified as both Turkey and breakaway regime
are urging the United Nations to resume talks. Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu
met with U.N. envoy Alexander Downer on the same day Atalay met with Kucuk and
repeated the Turkish side’s demand for the U.N. to launch reunification talks
on the island “as soon as possible.”
The report also lists the
priorities of the reform process, namely, strengthening the “centre” of the
state, which includes political coordination and financial management,
improving public services and launching a structural transformation of the
economy.
6. Turkish Deputy Prime Minister’s
announcing the regime’s “public administration report” is described as “insult”
for the Turkish Cypriots
Turkish
Cypriot daily Bakis newspaper (02.05.13) reports that Bengu Sonya, general
secretary of the Democratic Party (DP), has described as “an insult to the TRNC
citizens” the fact that the Turkish Deputy Prime Minister BesirAtalay had
announced the breakaway regime’s “public administration report” during his
recent illegal visit to the occupied area of Cyprus.
In a
written statement issued yesterday, Sonya argued that the self-styled prime
ministerIrsenKucuk, who was sitting and listening and accepted this report,
must resign, “if he values the honour of the TRNC people”.
Noting
that Kucuk turned his own “government” into “zero”, Sonya pointed out that this
report said that the most fundamental deficiency of the breakaway regime is the
lack of the capacity of the “state” to establish a policy, determine its
priorities and coordinate, follow and supervise the implementation of this
policy.
He
argued that this report is both an “insult” to the “citizens” of the regime and
a contradiction to former statements made by Atalay. He said that the report is
also a clear statement showing how “incompetent” Kucuk and his self-styled
government are.
(I/Ts.)
7. Cyprus rising on Turkey’s agenda
Columnist Murat Yetkin, writing
in Turkish daily Hurriyet Daily News (online, 01.05.13), published the
following commentary with the above title:
“On April 29, the same day that
Alexander Downer, the special Cyprus envoy of the United Nations
Secretary-General, was in Ankara to talk to Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet
Davutoglu, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister BesirAtalay was in the Turkish half of
Nicosia [Trans. Note: the occupied part of Lefkosia] to have talks with
IrsenKucuk, the ‘prime minister of the Turkish Cypriot government’ of the
divided island.
Almost at the same time that
Davutoglu was telling Downer that there were suitable conditions to restart
talks between Turkish and Greek Cypriots, with the assistance of Turkey, Greece
and the United Kingdom as the guarantors of the Republic of Cyprus in 1960,
Atalay was telling Kucuk that the status quo in the ‘Turkish Cypriot Republic’
[Trans. Note: the breakaway regime in the occupied area of the Republic of
Cyprus] was no longer sustainable and that urgent reforms were needed.
Atalay based his remarks on a
survey carried out by the Economic Policy Research Foundation of Turkey
(TEPAV), an Ankara-based think tank, which showed that only a fifth of the
population on the island are happy with the way that they are governed and that
the trust in the system (symbolized in the trust in the courts) is also at the
same level, according to official sources replying to Hurriyet Daily News
questions. Atalay did not go as far as using a sentence which begins with the
word ‘otherwise’, but considering the situation that Turkey is the unique
supporter of the Turkish Cypriots, despite being blocked from entering the
European Union because of that, Kucuk probably took a message out of those
remarks. CemilCicek, the Turkish parliamentary speaker, recently said that if
Turkey had to make a choice between the EU and the Turkish Cypriots’ rights, it
would go for the Turkish Cypriots without any hesitation. Yet, it seems Ankara
does not want to be played by the Turkish Cypriots either, while making plans
to take new steps on the issue.
It is no coincidence that
Atalay is also in charge of coordinating the Tayyip Erdogan government’s
efforts to reach a political settlement on Turkey’s Kurdish issue. Like the
Kurdish issue (having links with the human rights situation in Turkey) Cyprus
is one of the top obstacles blocking Turkey’s integration with Europe – at
least as it is presented by the commission and some of its key members.
The issue has not been on
Ankara’s priority list for some time, but when the eurozone economic crisis hit
the economy of the Greek Cypriot government in the southern two-thirds of the
island concurrently with the discovery of rich natural gas fields around the
Mediterranean island, the whole situation changed. Davutoglu recently told HDN
that Cyprus was back on agenda along with Syria, Israel/Palestine and Iraq.
Erdogan asked his Greek counterpart, Andonis Samaras, during a meeting in
Istanbul last March to work together. Davutoglu sent letters to U.N.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and leading members of the U.N. Security Council,
helping Downer start his tour; he had been talking to both sides on the island
and Greek Foreign Minister DimitrisAvramopoulos in Athens before flying to
Ankara for Davutoglu. He is expected to carry on more talks with both Cypriot
parties this week.
Will the crisis in southern
Cyprus bring a new opportunity for talks on reunification of the two people
separated since the Greek coup and Turkish military intervention in 1974
[Editor’s note: the Turkish invasion to Cyprus] or will it help them reach a
peaceful divorce after having slept in separate beds since that year? No one has
an answer to that question yet.”
Furthermore, on the same issue,
columnist Yusuf Kanli, under the title “When will the Cyprus talks’ plane take
off?” in HDN (01.05.13), wrote that the Turkish government’s shifting Cyprus
approach might be best summarized with the naïve phrase of “committed to
settlement.” If Cyprus is a problem between the two peoples of the eastern
Mediterranean island and, if together with Greece and Britain, Turkey is a
“fiddler on the side-line” or a guarantor of fair play, what does it mean for
Ankara to be committed to a Cyprus settlement?
Kanli also argued that Turkey
and Turkish Cypriots are not just paying lip service to their “committed to a
settlement” declaration but have been pressing hard for the resumption of talks
and even the convening of an international conference to finish off the Cyprus
problem with a big-bang agreement.
8. Investors from the Middle East are
reportedly interested in purchasing immovable property in the occupied area of Cyprus
Turkish
Cypriot daily Haberdar newspaper (01.05.13) reports that “The Gulf News”
newspaper, which is published in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), has claimed
that “investors from the Middle East are lining up to purchase property” in the
occupied northern part of the Republic of Cyprus. CleofeMaceda, one of the
paper’s reporters, noted that an increase has been observed in the number of
those who purchase immovable property in the occupied area of Cyprus and that
people working in the oil sector in Oman, Qatar and Dubai are trying to find
out the prices of property in the occupied area of Cyprus in order to build
villas for spending their holidays. Sales of one real estate company have
reportedly increased by 350% during the last three months, the paper reports.
(I/Ts.)
9. They reportedly want to create a
community “that goes to mosques, reads the Koran and fasts” in the occupied area
of Cyprus
Turkish
Cypriot daily Haberdar newspaper (01.05.13) reports that confusion has been
caused in the occupied area of the Republic of Cyprus after the Turkish “Akit”
newspaper published statements made by HasanTacoy, self-styled deputy in
occupied Lefkosia with the “ruling” National Unity Party (UBP) and former
‘minister” of public works and transport.
According
to the paper, Tacoy told Akit, inter alia, the following “striking” words: “The
number of those in the TRNC assembly who fast does not exceed 3-4. The children
know nothing about the religion, the faith. Turkey let Cyprus off too much. It
has given money. It has spoiled the TRNC.
We want
to create a community which goes to mosque, reads Koran and fasts. And this
could be realized with the religious and moral education which will be offered from
primary school.
In spite
of the fact that prostitution is forbidden according to our laws, we know that
there is prostitution in the night clubs, but we turn a blind eye. We know that
the Turkish government does not want these, but our government has not exerted
any effort on this issue.
I find
Turkey’s economic support to be excessive. The fact that Turkey gives money in
this manner caused pertness and corruption…”
Meanwhile,
after the reaction caused by the above interview, Tacoy issued a written
statement denying that he said all the above. “The most of the expressions in
the reportage do not belong to me”, he said.
However,
Akit’s publishing editor, HasanKarakaya told Haberdar that they have recorded
on a tape Tacoy’s statements and that they stand by what they have
published.
(I/Ts.)
10. One fifth of the employees in occupied
Cyprus are illegal
Under
the title “One out of five employees is unregistered”, Turkish Cypriot daily
YeniDuzen newspaper (01.05.13) reported that a percentage of the breakaway
regime’s “GDP” that varies between 51% and 60% comes from the “underground
economy”. According to a report on the “underground economy” in the occupied
area of Cyprus prepared by the Turkish Cypriot Chamber of Commerce, the
“unregistered national income” is estimated between 22% and 29% of the
“official” income.
The
research showed that 52% of the unregistered workers are “citizens” of the
“TRNC”, breakaway regime in the occupied area of Cyprus and 48% are foreigners.
27.6% of the “illegal workers” are self-employed and 12.6% work for an
employer.
The
percentage of the “unregistered”, that is, the illegal workers in the occupied
area of Cyprus has been found to be 20.8% of the total number of the employees,
which means that one out of five persons work “illegally” in the occupied area
of Cyprus.
(I/Ts.)
11. SuleymanErguclu is the new director of
KIBRIS Media Group
Turkish
Cypriot daily Kibris newspaper (01.05.13) reported that ResatAkar has resigned
from the post of the director of KIBRIS Media Group, at which he had been appointed
since 3 January 2009. The decision of Akar to resign was taken after an
agreement reached between himself and the directors of the company, Bilge and
FehimNevzat.
SuleymanErguclu
is appointed as the new publishing director of KIBRIS Media Group. Erguclu was
one of the first editors of Kibris and had retired four years ago.
(I/Ts.)
12. BDP co-chair invites main opposition to act together
Turkish daily Hurriyet Daily
News (online, 02.05.13) reports that the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) has
called on the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) to collaborate in
opposition with the BDP co-chair SelahattinDemirtas, saying that the BDP had
much to offer in methods.
“In the second phase [of the
resolution process], which we call the ‘democratization phase,’ we could
together conduct a democracy struggle against the Justice and Democracy Party
[AKP]. If the CHP gets rid of its status-quo supporting character, leaves aside
its nationalist sensitivities, and focuses on its social democrat tendencies,
we could make opposition together,” Demirtas told a group of journalists at
Parliament on April 30.
“Permanent peace can be
achieved through [the peace process]. If the CHP misses that point, it will
remain both outside of the process and will be unable to play its historic role
as the main opposition in the democracy struggle,” Demirtas said.
Demirtas also said they were
not completely against the new presidential system. “Even if the Conciliation
Commission disperses, we will continue the works and discussions regarding the
Constitution with the AKP. We are not closed to that. There could be a
president above the regional public autonomies we have proposed. This is not
necessarily against our model. However, the model the AKP has proposed is not
the kind that we would support. Our voters would not say ‘yes’ to such a
presidential system in a referendum,” he said.
13. Police stage crackdown on May Day protesters in
Istanbul
Under the above title, Turkish
daily Hurriyet Daily News (online, 01.05.13) reported that the police began
battling with crowds early on Wednesday morning with water and tear gas in a
bid to keep groups that included trade unionists, as well as members of
political parties and other groups, away from Taksim Square due to a ban there
on May Day demonstrations.
Thousands of Confederation of
Progressive Trade Unions (DİSK) workers and their supporters gathered early
today in Sisli to march to the iconic square. However, police started a
crackdown against the group, which also included members of socialist groups,
anarchists and supporters of the outlawed Revolutionary People’s Liberation
Party/Front (DHKP/C) after a final warning was issued in Istanbul’s central
Sisli district.
Murat Yetkin wrote that for the
last two years Labour Day celebrations were no longer a source of political
tension in Turkey. It was Prime Minister TayyipErdogan’s Justice and
Development party (AKP) government which declared May Day a National holiday
for labour...
At least three demonstrators
and a reporter were injured during the crackdown and hospitalized.
Demonstrators refused to back down, re-gathering just after police intervened
and turning the back alleys of Sisli into small war zones.
Turkish daily Cumhuriyet
(02.05.13) reports on the same issue in its front page under the banner
headlines “Fascism with gas”.
TURKISH AFFAIRS SECTION
