TURKISH CYPRIOT AND TURKISH MEDIA REVIEW
C O N T E N T S
No. 125/13 05/07/2013
1. TMT reiterated that Turkey’s guarantee and the
continuation of the “TRNC” are considered as redlines
2. Hasipoglu’s son denies reports he was given a lease
for the building of a tourist facility which was later cancelled by the
“government”
3. Purchases of property by foreigners approved by the
breakaway regime
4. Yeni Duzen reports more on UBP “government’s” last
minute decisions before its fall
5. Aslanbaba speaks on allegations that he took money as
bribery by Kasif
6. The cost of living in the occupied area of the
Republic of Cyprus went up in June
7. Extracts from Turkish columns on the Egyptian army’s
overthrow of Morsi
1. TMT reiterated that Turkey’s guarantee and the
continuation of the “TRNC” are redlines
According to illegal Bayrak
television (04.07.13), during a meeting with the representatives of retired
combatants and veterans societies as part of the Gratitude Events, the
so-called ambassador of Turkey to occupied Lefkosia Halil Ibrahim Akca
evaluated the latest developments on the Cyprus problem as well as the economy
of the breakaway regime.
Akça claimed that the essence
of the struggle being waged on the Cyprus problem by the Turkish Cypriots was
to exist on the island without becoming a minority.
He reminded that Turkey was
ready to extend all kinds of support in order to ensure the prosperity and
welfare of the Turkish Cypriots.
Noting that the Cyprus talks
process has gone through numerous phases over the years, Akca expressed full
support to the talks despite the fact that the years of fruitless negotiations
has created weariness amongst the Turkish Cypriots. He nevertheless said that
Turkey will do all it can for the prosperity and welfare of the Turkish
Cypriots until a settlement is reached in Cyprus.
“The happier and the more
prosperous the Turkish Cypriots are, the more successful they will become in
waging the national struggle”, he added.
Also speaking on behalf of the
representatives, the president of the TMT Turkish Fighter’s Association Yılmaz
Bora said that “the continuation of Turkey’s active and effective guarantee as
well as the continuation of the ‘TRNC state’ are considered as redlines for the
Turkish Cypriots and could never be abandoned.”
2.
Hasipoglu’s son denies reports he was given a lease for the building of a
tourist facility which was later cancelled by the “government”
Turkish Cypriot daily Afrika newspaper
(05.07.13) reports that Oguzhan Hasipoglu, the son of the former “minister of
health” Ertugrul Hasipoglu denied yesterday’s reports that his newly
established company “Nephew Ltd” rented a 25-donum sea-side plot in occupied
Karpasia aiming to be used for the building of tourist facilities.
Afrika wrote yesterday that the decision
was cancelled during a meeting of the so-called council of ministers.
The paper writes today that Oguzhan
Hasipoglu issued a statement supporting that the report is “a figment of the
imagination” and called on the “government” to give the right information to
the public.
3. Purchases of property by foreigners approved by the
breakaway regime
According to the illegal Bayrak
television (04.07.13), the so-called council of ministers which convened yesterday
took decisions on 5 issues including traffic, property purchase by foreigners
and the forest fire in the occupied village of Karavas. Announcing the
decisions at the end of the “council of ministers” meeting, the so-called prime
minister Sibel Siber said that 11 “laws” and “draft laws” regarding traffic,
which were attached to different “ministries”, have all been collected under
the roof of the self-styled ministry of public works and communications, in a
move to pave the way for better coordination on traffic safety.
Siber also told reporters that
124 files regarding the purchase of property by foreigners were approved, a
decision which will allow 4 million Turkish Liras to enter the “state budget”
of the breakaway regime.
Siber said a decision was also
taken on workers’ rights, granting a worker the right to change jobs in the
same field if his employer fails to pay his wage or social insurance fund.
It was also decided that 40
thousand trees will be planted in the area of occupied Karavas where a fire
burned 300 donums of land surrounded by a forest.
4. Yeni Duzen reports more on UBP “government’s”
last minute decisions before its fall
Turkish Cypriot daily
Yeni Duzen newspaper (05.07.13) reports that the National Unity Party (UBP)
“government” paid to the former “mayor” of occupied Lefkosia Cemal
Bulutoglulari 700 thousands sterling.
The paper which notes
that the payment took place just one week before the forced resignation of the
“government” writes that this was a compensation given to Bulutoglulari for
winning a case against the breakaway regime at a “court” regarding a building
plot in occupied Bellapais.
Yeni Duzen criticized
the timing chosen by the former “government” for giving compensation to
Bulutoglulari, noting that the decision was taken a long time ago but UBP was not
willing to pay the money.
5. Aslanbaba speaks on allegations that he took
money as bribery by Kasif
Turkish Cypriot daily
Halkin Sesi newspaper (05.07.13) reports that the independent “MP” of the
breakaway regime Ejder Aslanbaba, gave a press conference yesterday admitting
that he has indeed took money as a bribe by the “MP” with the Democratic Party
Ahmet Kasif to support the newly established Sibel Siber “government”.
Aslanbaba stated a few
days ago at the so-called assembly that he took money as a bribe by Kasif, but
later when the so-called deputy attorney general of the breakaway regime said
that there was not enough evidence to prove the allegation, Aslanbaba said that
he was “joking”.
Yesterday, however, Aslanbaba
organized a press conference claiming that he does not take back the
allegations he made in the first place. He claimed that after resigning from
the National Unity Party (TR. Note: Aslanbaba followed Kasif who resigned UBP
with a group of eight “MPs” and joined DP) he realized that he was deceived and
used for the interest of others. He also said that they gave him money to be
quiet.
6. The cost of living in the
occupied area of the Republic of Cyprus went up in June
According to illegal Bayrak television
(online, 04.07.13), the cost of living went up in June, the “state planning
organisation” (“SPO”) has announced.
According to Consumer Price
Index revealed by the “SPO”, the cost of living in the occupied area of the
Republic of Cyprus has gone up by 1.47%.
According to the index, the
highest increase in living expenses was seen in the education sector by 5.26%.
Compared to the previous month of March, the price of a total of 117 goods went
up while only the price of 65 goods fell.
7. Extracts from Turkish columns on the Egyptian army’s
overthrow of Morsi
The following extract is by
columnist Turkish Cengiz Candar, under the title “The Extrapolation of the
Muslim Brotherhood”, writing in Turkish daily Hurriyet (04.07.13), making a
slightly comparison between the Muslim Brotherhood and the AKP:
“For quite some time, [Turkish
Prime Minister Recep] Tayyip Erdogan’s close advisers, and cadres from the AKP
[Justice and Development Party], had been ‘mentoring’ Muhammad Mursi and the
Muslim Brotherhood. It is only natural
that the bankruptcy of the ‘Muslim Brotherhood experience’ in Egypt is
providing less than encouraging signals from the standpoint of the AKP
experience in Turkey.
There are certainly major
differences between the AKP in Turkey and the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood,
because those differences exist between the two countries, but ‘common
characteristics’ also exist, and a sort of ‘affinity’ between them. Consequently, it is evident that the fate of
Mursi is going to be of close interest to the government of Tayyip Erdogan in
Turkey.
The AKP, even if not from the
standpoint of its historical past, has had both much more experience and much
more success than the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt in terms of the ability to
manage a country. Its performance in
governing from 2002 to 2011 in Turkey is the proof of this.
Even so, the estrangement, the
deafness, and the lack of understanding to the new dynamics of the country, as
well as the other characteristics that it has displayed since the Taksim Square
and Gezi Park incidents, have given rise to comparison with the performance of
the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt.
The failure of the Muslim
Brotherhood experience in Egypt is certainly a depressing result from the
standpoint of the AKP. But for a similar
development not to be replicated in Turkey depends to a large degree on the
AKP’s drawing the proper lessons from Egypt.
It would be useful, from the
standpoint of the health of democracy, and of its own rule, for it to look at
Egypt and draw the lessons that it has been resistant to drawing in Turkey”
According to Melih Asik,
writing in Milliyet (04.07.13), he argues that the Egypt “Coup” will have
drastic effect on the Middle East. An extract of his commentary is as follows:
“A new period of searching and unrest is
beginning in Egypt now.
The effect of this event on the
region will be quite dramatic… For example;
* The triumph of the [Tahrir]
Square will encourage other squares…
* Muslim Brotherhood's defeat
will create a loss of confidence in the fight against [Bashar] Al-Asad in
Syria… Muslim Brotherhood will suffer a loss of image in the Middle East…
Lessons to be drawn from Egypt?
First, relying more on religion does not strengthen the dictator. Second, the
logic "I came to power through legitimate elections, I can do whatever I
want" does not work. Third, if the public does not want you, even the
support of the United States does not do the job. Fourth: Stick to democracy…”
Columnist Murat Yetkin, writing
in Turkish daily Hurriyet Daily News (online, 05.07.13) under the title “Coup
in Cairo, echoes in Ankara”, argues that the Egyptian “Coup” will change
balances in Middle East and have consequences for Turkey. Some extracts are:
“Mohamed Morsi, the first
president of Egypt elected through free elections, was toppled by the military
two days after the first anniversary of his office on July 3. (…)
The international scene is
worse for Morsi. All autocrats of the Arab world cheered up with the news that
the first freely elected president of an Arab country – and Egypt is not just
any Arab country – who posed an example for the freedom thirst of their own
peoples, was put down. From Syria to Saudi Arabia, Jordan to Qatar (as the
stage of an in-house coup last week anyway) congratulated the new rulers;
Israel had no objections to seeing soldiers back in power in Egypt.
The statements from the United
States and the European Union did not even call the coup a coup; they were
expressing concern and asking the soldiers to go back to civilian rule as soon
as possible. (…)”
Yetkin writes that Ankara, as
well as the Turkish opposition condemned the coup in Egypt. Even Davutoglu made
a rather long and sentimental statement in which he condemned the coup, called
for an immediate release of Morsi, Qandil and other members of the toppled
government and demanded no restrictions on any candidate for the next
elections.
Yetkin concluded as follow:
“The coup in Egypt was unfair
not for Morsi only; it took away the chance for the Egyptian people to say “no”
to the autocratic tendencies of Morsi using democratic methods. And to remind
him in democratic ways that he should respect the different ways of life in
society and bear in mind that democracies can be sustained in a secular
political environment, especially in Muslim societies. It also put the
possibility of democratic development in the Arab region back many more years.
The coup in Egypt will change
the political balances in the East Mediterranean and the Middle East once
again, and will have consequences in the international and domestic politics in
the region, including Turkey.”
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