TURKISH CYPRIOT AND TURKISH MEDIA REVIEW
C O N T E N T S
No. 119/13 27/06/2013
1. Turkish columnist refers to MIT’s involvement in the developments in the occupied area of Cyprus
2. Self-styled police’s uniforms to become the same with the ones in Turkey
3. Alarm for pseudo-fowl pest in occupied Cyprus
4. EU official has thanked Kucuk for their cooperation
5. UBP says that sponsored a film
written and produced by “prime minister” Siber aiming to the recognition
of the breakaway regime
6. MEMUR SEN Trade Union participated in the International Trade Union Education Conference in FYROM
7. Sibel Siber’s “government” cancelled decisions taken by UBP
9. New arrests in Ankara and Izmir regarding Gezi Park protestors-294 children detained during Gezi protests
8. Erdogan met with members of Wise Persons Commissions which issued a report urging need of democratization over Kurdish issue
10. Turkey's Deputy Prime Minister Views Possible Legislation for Social Media
11. “Might Gezi Result in New Political Movement?"
12. EU envoys respond to Bagis's comparison of Turkish and EU police
13. Turkish, Russian Foreign Ministers Discuss Syrian Crisis by Phone
14. Trans-Adriatic Pipeline knocks out Nabucco to carry Caspian gas to Europe
1. Turkish columnist refers to MIT’s involvement in the developments in the occupied area of Cyprus
Under the title “Dirty jobs in Cyprus
and MIT”, Turkish daily Taraf newspaper’s columnist Emre Uslu, referred
yesterday (26.06.13) to the political developments in the occupied area
of Cyprus and the involvement of Turkish National Intelligence
Organization (MIT) and Ankara in them. Uslu noted that the process as
regards the bribery allegations made by self-styled MP Ejder Aslanbaba
had a “background”, and said:
“…Games of power played by the TRNC
president Dervis Eroglu, prime minister Irsen Kucuk, Turkey’s Deputy
Prime Minister responsible for Cypriot Affairs Besir Atalay, the
candidate for the presidency of the UBP Ahmet Kasif and Turkey’s MIT
representative in Lefkosia Ender Onkol are in the background of the
incident.
The issue is the following: Ankara
could somehow not reconcile with her honor the fact that Dervis Eroglu
became Cyprus president in spite of MIT’s effort to prevent this during
the last presidential elections. After this it launched operations on
the island…”
According to Uslu, the first signs of
this “bribery operation” had been seen in the Turkish Cypriot
newspapers on 23 September 2012, when Afrika newspaper had referred to
the establishment of headquarters at self-styled prime minister’s office
as regards the National Unity Party’s (UBP) congress and to the
assignment of MIT undersecretary, Ender Onkol and Prime Minister
Erdogan’s “propaganda expert”, Erol Olcak with the duty of having Irsen
Kucuk elected.
According to the newspapers, said
Uslu, the operation carried out by MIT aimed at “eliminating” Eroglu.
“In spite of the operations held over MIT, however, great Ankara could
not eliminate Dervis Eroglu in the 250 thousand-person-Cyprus, which is
under its control”, he pointed out.
“It wanted to overturn this defeat
with operations by MIT”, he noted adding that “the bribery incident is
said to be one of these operations”.
Noting that a new operation was
initiated with the aim of Kucuk’s being elected chairman of the UBP,
Uslu said that Besir Atalay and MIT’s representative in occupied Cyprus
supported Kucuk in this “struggle for power” at the UBP’s Congress,
which ended with Kucuk’s victory.
Uslu referred also to an article
published in February by Turkish Cypriot Havadis newspaper’s columnist
Hasan Hasturer, who had said that the process for electing the chairman
of the UBP “was a period when every imaginable sort of embarrassing
offer was being thrown about”. According to Uslu, Hasturer had noted
that the strange aspect of the situation was that those who had
weaknesses were revealing these weaknesses and their approach showed
that they were “open for offers”.
Noting that Turkish Cypriot Volkan
newspaper had published an open letter to President Abdullah Gul
complaining of Ender Onkol’s behavior from the very first moment he had
arrived in the occupied area of Cyprus, Uslu said that Volkan had
reported, inter alia, the following:
“At the same time, open pressure
began being placed on ministers, MPs, mayors, civil society leaders and
journalists while allegations were made against the TRNC president, the
UBP general leader candidate [Translator’s note: Ahmet Kasif] and anyone
who supported them…
Some UBP delegates and presidents of
local organizations received phone calls at midnight, were put onto
airplanes and were taken to Ankara. The same conversations were made
there and interventions in UBP’s internal affairs were made. They were
not contented with this. They had arranged meetings with Mr Besir Atalay
and [Translator’s note: Transportation Minister] Mr Binali Yildirim and
secured that they made propaganda in favor of Kucuk…
And the most painful thing of all was
that they prevented Turkish ministers from routinely visiting the TRNC
president. .... And thus, as though it was not enough that they took
sides within a party congress, they hit the esteem of the TRNC state,
striking a final blow to the ties between the Cypriot Turkish people and
their homeland...”
The Turkish columnist concludes by
saying the following: “Will MIT, which stirs up an island of 250
thousand people that it controls, put Middle East into order? You think
about it”.
(I/Ts.)
2. Self-styled police’s uniforms to become the same with the ones in Turkey
Turkish Cypriot daily Afrika
newspaper (27.06.13) reports that the efforts for assimilating the
“police” of the breakaway regime to the police in Turkey have been
intensified. Afrika notes that the first action of Prime Minister
Erdogan [in this direction] had been to assign a “general coordinator”
to the “police” of the regime, who had more rights and authorities than
the “general director of the police” himself. The appointment was made
two years ago. According to information obtained by the paper, this
“coordinator” was the “father of the idea” of purchasing the known
Vehicles for Interfering in Social Incidents (TOMA), which the Turkish
police used during the recent incidents at Istanbul’s Gezi Park.
Noting that uniforms similar to the
ones of the Turkish police had been prepared for the “police” of the
breakaway regime, Afrika writes that these uniforms will be presented to
the press tonight at the “police” headquarters. Afrika recalls that
since the British colonial rule the uniforms of the Turkish and Greek
Cypriot policemen have been prepared according to the same rules.
According to the paper, the aim of
AKP government with the change of uniform is to “disconnect” the
“police” of the regime from the police of the Republic of Cyprus, to
maintain in occupied Cyprus a “police” organization, which is depended
on Turkey and to further instigate separation.
(I/Ts.)
3. Alarm for pseudo-fowl pest in occupied Cyprus
Under the title “Alarm for
pseudo-fowl pest”, Turkish Cypriot daily Halkin Sesi newspaper
(27.06.13) reports that the pseudo-fowl pest disease, that had occurred
in the free area of the Republic of Cyprus, has influenced the occupied
area of the island as well. The disease was reportedly detected first on
birds in occupied Morfou, Lysi and Vadili villages and afterwards it
passed onto the poultry. According to the paper, the disease kills the
poultry but does not constitute a danger for the human. Halkin Sesi
writes that the number of the destroyed chickens is not known yet and it
is estimated that the “influence of the disease is about to end”.
In statements to Halkin Sesi, the
director of the so-called veterinary department, Huseyin Ataben said
that the above-mentioned disease is observed especially at the
“borders”, as he called the Green Line which divides Cyprus. He noted
that the disease occurred on birds such as pigeons and doves at the
first stage and afterwards passed onto chickens. He argued that there
was nothing to worry about at the moment.
(I/Ts.)
4. EU official has thanked Kucuk for their cooperation
Turkish Cypriot daily Star Kibris
newspaper (27.06.13) reports that Joost Korte, EU Commission’s Deputy
Director General for the Enlargement, has sent a letter to former
self-styled prime minister of the breakaway regime in the occupied area
of Cyprus, Irsen Kucuk, thanking him for the results of their
cooperation and the important developments between the EU and the
Turkish Cypriots during the period of his “government”.
Korte said that it was satisfying to
see that some problems of the Turkish Cypriot side had been overcome
with the support of Kucuk’s “government”. He referred to the approval of
new “legal texts” on the “legal framework” chosen between a contractor
and an international organization, the organization of the “Silk
Festival’ outside the area of “the Special Protection Area” in occupied
Karpasia etc.
(I/Ts.)
5. UBP says that sponsored a film written and produced by “prime minister” Siber aiming to the recognition of the breakaway regime
Under the title “Contribution to
prime minister’s film”, Turkish Cypriot daily Haberdar newspaper
(27.06.13) reports that the National Unity Party (UBP) issued a
statement noting that while was in power offered any service and
assistance towards the recognition of the breakaway regime. In this
framework UBP sponsored a film dated 22.04.13, the scenario of which
was written and produced by the current “prime minister” Sibel Siber,
according to the statement.
The film named “Kuyu” (Well) was
sponsored with the amount of 97.500 Turkish Lira after a proposal made
to the “council of ministers” by the “ministry of tourism” .
6. MEMUR SEN Trade Union participated in the International Trade Union Education Conference in FYROM
Turkish Cypriot daily Kibris
newspaper (27.06.13) reports that Turkish Cypriot MEMUR-SEN Trade Union
participated in the International Trade Union Education Conference
(UAESEB) which took place between 5-10 of June in Skopje, FYROM.
The paper writes that seven Turkic
Republics participated in the conference in which a statement was issued
that included occupied Cyprus. According to the statements, it is an
irrevocable position of the UAESEB the lifting of the “TRNC isolation”
must be lifted without conditions and the “TRNC” must be recognize as an
independent Turkish Republic as soon as possible.
7. Sibel Siber’s “government” cancelled decisions taken by UBP
Turkish Cypriot daily Kibris
newspaper (27.06.13) reports that the self-styled council of ministers
of the breakaway regime delivered a meeting yesterday it cancelled
previous decision taken by the National Unity Party (UBP) “government”.
According to the paper, the “council
of ministers” cancelled the decision of the oil storage facilities in
occupied Gastria village which had caused heavy reactions in occupied
Cyprus in the past.
In addition, the paper also writes that Siber met with the commander of the Turkish occupation army in Cyprus Lieutenant General Ismail Serdar SavaΊ. No statement was issued before or after the meeting.
8. Erdogan met with members of Wise Persons Commissions which issued a report urging need of democratization over Kurdish issue
Ankara Anatolia news agency
(26.06.13) reports that Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan came
together with 'wise men' committee in Dolmabahce Palace in Istanbul.
The committee presented its final report from Turkey's seven regions to
Erdogan.
Deputy Prime Ministers Besir Atalay
and Bekir Bozdag, Interior Minister Muammer Guler, Minister of Culture
and Tourism Omer Celik, vice chairmen of ruling Justice and Development
Party (AK Party), Undersecretary of Prime Ministry Efkan Ala and
Undersecretary of Public Order and Security Mehmet Ulvi Saran attended
the meeting.
Murat Belge, an academician who had
announced his resignation from his membership to 'wise men' committee in
his column in Taraf newspaper, along with Prof. Dr. Baskin Oran,
Arzuhan Dogan Yalcindag and Mustafa Kumlu did not attend the meeting.
Zaman newspaper (26.06.13) reports that Belge resigned over his
disagreement to the way the Turkish government handled the
In addition, Zaman (27.06.13) reports
that the report prepared by the Southeastern Group of the Wise People
Commission has highlighted urgent need for deeper democratization in
order to solve the decades-old Kurdish dispute and terrorism problem
through introducing constitutional, legal and administrative changes to
the political system in address to demands of Turkey’s Kurds.
The 39-page report appeared on media
after the Wise People Commission, tasked with working on the details of
the settlement process aimed at ending the decades-old conflict with the
terrorist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), met with Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdoπan in έstanbul in a meeting finalizing its work.
After analyzing the underlying
dynamics and causes of the decades-old Kurdish dispute, the report
presents a proposal including a long lists of demands to bring a
permanent and viable solution to the simmering conflict which killed at
least 40,000 people over the past three decades.
According to the report, majority of
the people in the region demand constitutional guarantee for Kurds’
cultural and political rights. The major rights of Kurdish population,
such as education in one’s mother tongue, identity, political
decentralization, equality and others must be guaranteed in
constitutional basis.
According to the report, people
address the need for introduction of a new definition of citizenship, a
much more inclusive in comparison to existing one in the current
constitution in which citizenship is defined in reference to Turkish
ethnicity.
The report also insists the need for
adopting programs for social rehabilitation of militants once they
return to home after de-armament of the terrorist Kurdistan Workers’
Party (PKK) is fully completed as part of the settlement process aimed
at finding a political and peaceful solution to the Kurdish dispute and
armed conflict. The report also suggests that establishment of truth
commissions is required to investigate the crimes committed by state
officials during the three decades of the armed conflict in a move to
heal the wounds in the region and to restore the sense of justice.
9. New arrests in Ankara and Izmir regarding Gezi Park protestors-294 children detained during Gezi protests
Ankara Anatolia news agency
(27.06.13) reports that the Turkish Police have detained a total of 29
Taksim Gezi Park protesters in Ankara and Izmir.
Police warned the crowd gathered in
Turkish capital of Ankara to disperse, and later intervened in the
protesters using tear gas and water cannon. Sixteen people who erected
barricades and hurled stones at police in Dikmen district in Ankara were
detained.
Police also detained 13 people on
charges of being member of terror organization, attacking police and
destroying public properties in the western province of Izmir,
increasing the number of detainees to 29. 14 people were detained on
June 20 and 13 were arrested.
The number of policemen who were injured since the protests broke out more than 3 weeks ago has reached 680.
In addition, Turkish Hurriyet
(27.06.13) reports almost 300 children at least were taken into custody
and one child was wounded by a bullet during protests related to the
Gezi Park unrest, according to a report.
The report by the Gόndem Ηocuk
(Children on the Agenda) Association covered violations of children’s
rights during the Gezi Park protests between May 28 and June 25.
According to the report, a minimum of 294 children
were taken into custody during the protests. The number of children
taken into custody was 78 in Ankara, 35 in Istanbul, 130 in Adana, 34 in
έzmir, two in Kayseri and 15 in Mersin. The report also consisted of
cases where children were exposed to pepper
gas, pressurized water and noise bombs, where some were beaten and
roughed up with batons. Some were taken into unregistered custody and
were subject to handcuffing and profiling. The report argued that some
children under custody were held within the scope of the fight against
terrorism. Remarkably, the report suggested presence of a case where a
child was wounded by a bullet.
10. Turkey's Deputy Prime Minister Views Possible Legislation for Social Media
Ankara Anatolia news agency
(26.06.13) reports that Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc explained in
reply to a question, that the topic of legislation for social media had
not been raised at the Cabinet Meeting but that he had discussed the
matter in private with the Minister for Transport, Maritime Affairs and
Communications Binali Yildirim and with Justice Minister Sadullah Ergin.
Saying, "We have no intention of
adding new legislation to our current legislation," Arinc went on: "We
are not working on coming up with a new crime. I mean, we know very well
that in these latest incidents there have been instances of
irresponsibility on some social networking sites with respect to
manipulating the masses, encouraging crime, invading people's private
lives, and making them targets. There is no question of introducing
punitive sanctions against these incidents by means of a new article in
the penal code or of adding a handful of restrictive provisions in
addition to all these. However, there is this: according to general
legislation, if a person has committed a crime or is committing a crime,
I mean without paying attention to the topics I just listed, call it
Twitter, call it Facebook, call it anything you like, if it leads to
some incidents that invade a person's private life, that violate their
personal rights, that can incur society's anger, or lead to instructions
to kill or capture or commit theft, or insult somebody's mother, spouse
or children, according to the general provisions here the alleged
culprit's identity and location cannot be determined. It is such a
complicated world that it is really hard to determine who put it out
there, whether the account is bogus or genuine, who opened that account,
who tweeted it first.
In addition, Hurriyet Daily News
Online (26.06.13) reports that the state's offer to cooperate with
social media micro-blogging website Twitter over the Gezi Park protests
has not been received positively by the company, Minister of Transport,
Maritime Affairs and Communications Binali Yildirim said today, Ankara
Anatolia news Agency has reported.
Yildirim said the same offer had
also been made to Facebook, and that the company had responded
"positively" and was currently is in cooperation with the state. Twitter
however turned down the offer, according to Yildirim.
However, Ankara Anatolia news agency
(26.06.13) reports that Facebook said in a statement on Wednesday [26
June] that it did not share with Turkish authorities any user data in
relation to Gezi Park protests.
"Facebook has not provided user data
to Turkish authorities in response to government requests relating to
the protests. More generally, we reject all government data requests
from Turkish authorities and push them to formal legal channels unless
it appears that there is an immediate threat to life or a child, which
has been the case in only a small fraction of the requests we have
received.
"We are concerned about legislative
proposals that might purport to require Internet companies to provide
user information to Turkish law enforcement authorities more frequently.
We will be meeting with representatives of the Turkish government when
they visit Silicon Valley this week, and we intend to communicate our
strong concerns about these proposals directly at that time," the
company said.
11. “Might Gezi Result in New Political Movement?"
Under the above title, Turkish Taraf (26.06.13) publishes the following commentary by Huseyin Cakir:
“It turns out there are two major
component parts to the Gezi protests. The first consists of organization
and political parties and groups acting on orders from central offices.
The second is made up of non-organized people not acting on any
centrally given decision and who form both vertical and horizontal
relations within social media networks and making dates to meet up for
the first time in the Gezi resistance field.
Industrial NGOs with their
organizational models and forms of action met up with the "information
and communications society" "network relationships" and their models of
action in the same fields during the Gezi resistance.
Might This Result In A New Political
Movement? This question is being asked by left-wingers with
expectations of a left-wing opposition, by liberal intellectuals and by
libertarian Muslim democrats. Might a new opposition emerge by taking a
chunk out of the 50 percent that the AKP [Justice and Development Party]
is trying to block, the CHP's [Republican People's Party] 25 percent
and the MHP's [Nationalist Action Party] 14 percent? This all depends on
the reformist line that the AKP might or might not adopt.
The way that many leading AKP figures
have been winding back time and using the same mindset and language of
the 1960s, 1970s and 12 Septemberists has aggravated suspicions of "are
we heading towards authoritarian rule?" To say, "We have carried out so
many reforms, grappled with coups, expanded the areas of freedom and
stopped the [Kurd] war" does not make what is happening today right,
cannot be used to camouflage it. When police actions are hurting
everybody, to first announce more powers for the police then to call
them heroes and say, "They passed the test of democracy" makes people
ask: "Are we heading towards a police state? Where is the regime
headed?" You cannot say: "We are growing and advancing, so that means we
are a democratic country." Growth and development does not necessarily
mean there is democracy and liberty. Just look at China and Russia.
Speeches that are earning the
indignation of the world in international relations, the strain in EU
relations via Germany, the nationalist rhetoric in the "Respect for the
National Will" rallies. These are all images of introverted regimes, of
latent tutelage regimes trying to break out.
While all this is going on the most
important thing is concern that the [Kurd] peace process might be
stopped in its tracks. However, statements to the effect that "the peace
process" would continue were made and it was announced that a "package
of judicial reforms" amounting to "clearing the road" had been prepared.
If we look with good intentions at this good cop, bad cop routine, we
can conclude that this is just how the AKP's politics works to keep its
conservative-nationalist-chauvinist voting base happy. But these words
or policies lead to a rise in tension between the secular segment of
society and the conservative-Muslim segment. This attitude of "playing
both sides" takes all the sincerity and trust out of the "peace process"
and the reforms.
The overwhelming majority of Muslims
and conservatives are just like today's "standing man" - immobile in the
face of demands for more freedoms and more democracy. They are hardly
expressing any demands for democracy and freedom now, probably because
they associate changing the regime and making it more democratic with
usurping the state! This means they were expecting their demands and
their spiritual and moral values to become the official ideology using
the state's apparatus. The current central position of the downtrodden,
persecuted and vilified Islamic circles of yesterday is taking shape as
unification with the state. An attempt is being made to create a
sovereign "bloc" with an armed and a civilian bureaucracy, a
conservative middle and upper class, and new capital that has unified
with global capital. When this situation is analyzed, the scope and the
goal of the AKP's reformism and ability to affect change become clear.
When this bloc becomes complete all democratization and expansion of
freedoms will halt.
The "anti-capitalist Muslims." who
are seen as marginal, are trying to draw the attention of the
conservatives-Muslims to this class-based distinction and this bloc
forming.
The Kurds are the driving force for
change today. The second component of change consists of the Alevis. The
third component is made up of liberal intellectuals, libertarian
left-wingers, social democratic who advocate social democracy with
universal values, and libertarian Muslim democrats. The fourth component
consists of anti-authoritarian and libertarian youths who are one the
social networks both inside Taksim Gezi Park (Gezi Park is now a symbol)
and outside of it too. Finally, there are the urban new middle class
and the urban poor who think they are part of the bloc that is taking
shape and who are for now staying silent for the sake of "stability."
These disparate societal and social groups have not been able to unify
politically.
The Kurds' legal political parties
have constantly tried to set themselves the goal of being a "Turkey
party." The objective and subjective conditions for being a "Turkey
party" have taken shape. The BDP [Peace and Democracy Party] sees itself
as being on the left. It takes part in the "Socialist International" as
an observer. It is not a party that favors changing the system through
revolution. It wants to democratize the regime. In which case, it needs
to establish and develop relations with those ideological, political and
social segments of society that match this goal. The more it can
develop relations with the forces of change as stated above, the better
placed it will be to play the role of an active and effective opposition
party in Parliament as the voice of social opposition. Even if a new
left that favors change is going to happen, this change can only emerge
from these dynamics.”
12. EU envoys respond to Bagis's comparison of Turkish and EU police
Turkish daily Hurriyet Daily News
(27.06.13) writes about the reaction of EU envoys who were invited by EU
Minister Egemen Bagis at a lunch on June 25 in an effort to explain the
Turkish government’s stance on Gezi Park protests. Bagis was
accompanied by Ibrahim Kalin, an adviser to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
Erdogan, and top police officials. Ambassadors were given a dossier of
pictures and were shown a 15-minute recording, including footage showing
used beer cans in the Dolmabahce Mosque over the Gezi Park
demonstrations.
“Comparing the Turkish police's
brutal crackdown on peaceful demonstrators to other countries' police
interventions is pointless and not helpful, according to EU ambassadors,
who have requested "transparency and accountability" in the
investigation into the Turkish police's harsh crackdowns on civilians
during the Gezi Park protests”, writes the paper and notes the
following:
“In the face of harsh criticisms
from the international community, the Turkish government increased its
efforts to explain to the world the motives of the three-week protests,
with "evidence" detailing how the protests turned violent.
Bagis presented other examples from
European countries like Italy, Greece, Spain and Germany where police
also used excessive force in dispersing protestors. However, an EU
diplomat talking to the Hurriyet Daily News said making comparisons and
bringing bad examples to the forefront was not helpful for Turkey to
resolve this problem. "We have brought this point to the attention of
Turkish officials at different levels, including at this meeting," the
diplomat stressed.
Recalling that the police used
excessive force even during peaceful demonstrations, the ambassadors
also asked for "transparency" in investigating the police's unlawful
interventions. "Freedom of assembly and free media are essential
elements of European values. We highlighted that these values have been
violated in Turkey," the diplomat stated.
At the lunch, the ambassadors also
expressed their unease about the language used by Turkish officials in
both local and international media, underlining that it was not
appropriate or compatible with regard to the principle of freedom of
expression. The ambassadors also brought up the issue of detained
lawyers and doctors, and questioned some statements from Turkish
government officials on restricting the use of social media.
Bagis denied that the government had
exerted pressure on the media not to cover the protests, saying such
coverage was a result of self-censorship of media groups that are part
of large conglomerates who were concerned that tarnishing the country's
image would negatively affect business.”
13. Turkish, Russian Foreign Ministers Discuss Syrian Crisis by Phone
Ankara Anatolia news agency
(26.06.13) reports that Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on
Wednesday [26 June] discussed over the phone the Syria crisis with his
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
According to Turkish diplomatic
sources, the conversation was held over the request of Lavrov. Lavrov
informed Davutoglu about the preliminary meeting of the US, Russia and
the United Nations for the Geneva 2 conference to find a solution for
the Syria crisis. Davutoglu shared his impressions from the Friends of
the Syrian People Ministerial Core Group meeting in Doha over the
weekend. Both foreign ministers agreed to come together at the ASEAN
conference next week in Brunei to talk about the Syrian issue.
14. Trans-Adriatic Pipeline knocks out Nabucco to carry Caspian gas to Europe
Turkish daily Today’s Zaman newspaper
(26.06.13) reports that the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) has been
selected over Nabucco, another proposed pipeline project, to transport
natural gas from Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz II field across Turkey to the
European market.
The Diplomatic sources who spoke to
Today's Zaman on Wednesday, confirmed that the decision regarding TAP's
selection was announced to the Nabucco Consortium on Tuesday and
official comments concerning the decision would be made on Friday.
The long-awaited decision between the
1,300-kilometer-long Nabucco project and TAP, which is 791 kilometers
long, was finally made. Financing has long been an issue for Nabucco,
with energy experts claiming that the Azerbaijani side was receptive to
the Nabucco project but British Petroleum was more insistent on TAP.
Evaluating the decision,
international energy expert Mehmet Φπόtηό commented that Nabucco seemed
to be the front-runner up until the last phase of the decision making
process while TAP had been criticized for not being able to provide a
solution to the supply problems of
Southeastern Europe as it plans to carry gas to Italy via pipelines
across Albania. “My belief is that TAP has taken steps to overcome the
concerns during the last phase, maybe even providing sub-branching to
its main pipelines.”Φπόtηό noted that
TAP was a better project in terms of planning compared to Nabucco,
saying: “The current decision does not harm any of Turkey's benefits.
However, changes in the consortium's shares will be on the agenda.”
TAP oversees the transportation of
Caspian gas that will be carried to the Greek border in Turkey via the
10 billion euro Trans-Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP) to European markets.
According to the plans, the pipeline will carry a total of 16 billion
cubic meters of gas per year, keeping 6 billion cubic meters in Turkey
while transporting 10 billion cubic meters to European markets. The gas
will be transported to southern Italy via an undersea pipeline that will
be built in the Adriatic Sea between Albania and Italy, according to
the framework of the project.
Europe aims to diversify its natural
gas supply markets via the implementation of the pipeline. The TANAP
consortium includes the State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic
(SOCAR), the Turkish Pipeline Corporation (BOTA■) and the Turkish
Petroleum Corporation (TPAO), with BOTA■ and TPAO comprising 20 percent
of the consortium, SOCAR owning 51 percent of the shares and the
remaining 29 percent allocated between BP, Statoil and Total.
Meanwhile, the TAP consortium
comprises Swedish AXPO and Norwegian Statoil, with each holding 42.5
percent of the shares, and German EON with a 15-percent share. The
pipelines are projected to begin construction in 2014 and be completed
by 2018.
