TURKISH CYPRIOT AND TURKISH MEDIA REVIEW
C O N T E N T S
No.168/13 5/9/2013
1. Eroglu: territory will be discussed at the last
stage of the Cyprus
talks; He will convey to UN a letter by Turkish Cypriot physicians on Cyprus’
hydrocarbon resources
2. Ozgurgun: expecting an agreement on the Cyprus problem
is a “very naïve expectation”
3. Columnist assesses why the territory issue is a
headache for the Turkish side in the negotiations
4. BKP: recent promotions in the “police” showed the
existence of a militarist regime in occupied Cyprus
5. International Conference on New Directions in
Business to be held in occupied Cyprus
6. European Association of Plastic Surgeons
chairman to participate in Turkish
Cypriot Plastic Reconstruction Surgical congress
7. Turkish PM Erdogan arrives in Russia; he
slams Putin over Syria
ahead of G-20 talks
8. Turkey
sends military reinforcements to Syrian border
9. Turkish FM calls for more international support for
Syrian refugees who reached half a million in Turkey
10. Turkey
sends envoy back to Egypt
11. Main Order of Ecumenical Patriarchate criticizing
the possible reconversion of the Hagia
Sophia Museum
into a mosque
1. Eroglu: territory will be discussed at the last
stage of the Cyprus
talks; He will convey to UN a letter by Turkish Cypriot physicians on Cyprus’
hydrocarbon resources
Turkish Cypriot
daily Haberdar newspaper (05.09.13) reports that the Turkish Cypriot leader,
Dervis Eroglu has said that the territory is the chapter which will be
discussed at the last stage of the negotiations for finding a solution to the Cyprus problem.
Responding to a question yesterday during a meeting with the Turkish Cypriot
Physicians’ Union, Eroglu alleged: “We have persuaded the UN Secretary-General
and we have managed to include in the registers of the United Nations that the
issue of the territory will be discussed at the very last stage, after an
agreement is reached on the other issues”.
Eroglu said that
a step on this issue was taken at the Geneva
meeting [between the community leaders and the UN Secretary-General] where
criteria had been put. He alleged that the discussion of the territory before
the other issues are solved, would worry the people and cause many
difficulties.
Alleging that in
this case the existing economic difficulties could increase, Eroglu claimed
that during the negotiations on the territory issue “a path which will satisfy
the Turkish Cypriots as well and not only the Greek Cypriots should be
followed”.
Eroglu alleged
that the statements by President Anastasiades on the territory were made in an
effort to “get rid of the ‘yes’ vote to the Annan Plan”. He went on and
reiterated the allegation that the discussion of the territory after an
agreement is reached on the other issues and before a four-party or a
five-party summit, was a proposal accepted by the UN Secretary-General.
Eroglu said that
the issue of energy is one of the important subjects in Eastern
Mediterranean and “sensitivity should be shown” on this issue.
Arguing that
most of the times the wars in the Middle East
happened because of the oil, Eroglu alleged that he does not wish this to
happen and claimed that the matter could be settled without a problem in case the
Greek Cypriots “act in harmony with the sensitivities which have been put
forward”.
Eroglu
reiterated that the Turkish side had proposed through the UN Secretary-General
that Cyprus’
hydrocarbon resources should be marketed over Turkey, even without finding a
solution to the Cyprus
problem, but the Greek Cypriots rejected this proposal. Eroglu argued that he
worries that the “waters in the Mediterranean
will be warmed up” because of the dialogue and the military maneuvers of the
Greek Cypriots with Israel.
Noting that
former President Christofias had stated that the Turkish Cypriots have also
rights on the Cypriot natural gas, Eroglu alleged that if President
Anastasiades continues to have the same mentality there will be no problem.
Eroglu said that
a chapter on Cyprus’
natural resources will exist in the negotiations which will resume in October
after their visit to New York.
Meanwhile, the
Physicians’ Union gave a letter to Eroglu on Cyprus’
hydrocarbon resources asking from him to convey it to the UN. Eroglu promised that he would convey the
letter the soonest.
(I/Ts.)
2. Ozgurgun: expecting an agreement on the Cyprus problem
is a “very naïve expectation”
Turkish Cypriot
daily Kibris newspaper (05.09.13) reports that the Huseyin Ozgurgun, leader of
the National Unity Party (UBP),
has alleged that expecting an agreement on the Cyprus problem is “a very naïve
expectation”. In statements to Turkish Anatolia news agency yesterday, Ozgurgun
recalled that he had worked on the Cyprus problem both as self-styled
foreign minister of the breakaway regime in the occupied area of Cyprus and as a
member of the Council of Europe.
Describing as
“figment of the imagination” the expectation for an agreement of “two founding
states with equal status”, Ozgurgun alleged that the Greek Cypriots say it
clearly that “the Republic
of Cyprus exists” and
that they could give “one or two minority rights” to the Turkish Cypriots.
“Neither the Turkish Cypriots nor Turkey could accept such
agreement”, he said and added, inter alia, the following: “I know that the
south [Translator’s note: this is how he describes the Republic of Cyprus]
will not go further than this point. For which agreement we are taking about in
such environment? The Cyprus
problem is not on the world’s agenda…”
Referring to the
newly established so-called “coalition government”, Ozgurgun argued that the
Republican Turkish Party – United Forces (CTP- BG) and the Democratic Party –
National Forces (DP-UG) “have established a government only for the sake of
establishing a government”. Noting that the Turkish Cypriots have “serious
problems”, Ozgurgun argued that the new “government” started its term of duty
with a “very dangerous game” by saying that “if we fail, this will happen
because Turkey
does not want us”. He went on and said: “However, they have already been in the
government for four months. Did Turkey
not help? Therefore this government is a government which is born dead”.
Ozgurgun argued
also that the self-styled deputy prime minister and chairman of the DP-UG,
Serdar Denktas has never accepted that the strongest and most fundamental party
of the right is the UBP and added
that if Denktas had accepted this there would have been a unification of his
party with the UBP. “His worry is
to become leader of the right and leader of the country”, he said referring to
Denktas adding that “a leader occurs spontaneously, not in this manner”.
Ozgurgun said
that the UBP has entered into a
period of restructuring after the “elections” of the 28th of July,
that they are a strong party and that their door is open to everyone.
Referring to the
Turkish Cypriot leader Eroglu, he noted that those who say that Eroglu is not
an UBP member are distorting
reality. Expressing their respect to Eroglu, he said that as the “main
opposition” party they will be positively consulting and cooperating with
Eroglu.
(I/Ts.)
3. Columnist assesses why the territory issue is a
headache for the Turkish side in the negotiations
Writing in
Turkish Cypriot daily Halkin Sesi newspaper (05.09.13), Esref Cetinel refers to
the information that the Greek Cypriot side wants the negotiations for finding
a solution to the Cyprus
problem to resume with the territory issue in October and reports, inter alia,
the following:
“…There is no
handicap, but after that there will be no reason which will necessitate the
negotiations, because when the territory issue is discussed the Greek Cypriot
properties’ in the north and the Turkish Cypriot properties’ in the south
‘exchange, compensation, and return to their first owner and the
redetermination of the north-south borders will come onto the agenda…”
Cetinel argues
that these issues will require work which will take years and because the
constitutional issues will be postponed, the Greek Cypriots will use the fact
that they are internationally recognized and “continue being the only state on
the island”.
“…Moreover,
because the ‘territory’ issue will be at the table, both Nicosia’s and Ankara’s
field of making political maneuvers will become totally narrow”, he says
adding: “However, let us accept that we will have a very big headache with the
negotiations on the territory which we will not be able to avoid one day”.
According to
Cetinel, deadlocks will be created, because since 1974 the occupied Greek
Cypriot properties have been distributed and passed from the one hand to the
other. He goes on and says, inter alia, the following:
“…While on the
one hand the looting of properties of the Greek Cypriots in the north, which
was and should have been considered ‘illegal’, was continuing, on the other
hand these illegalities have been legalized in time with title deeds given by
the state!
The sacredness
and the justice of the 1974 peace operation [Translator’s note: this is how he
describes the 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus] was greatly shadowed by this
‘indecency and looting’ which included those who seized Greek Cypriot property
by saying that they were holders of right in spite of the fact that they had
sold their property in the south and those who came from Turkey who had been
thoughtlessly given houses and land…
We have written
this many times after 1974. When you distribute, as if it is an auction, Greek
Cypriot properties to citizens except for our refugees from the south, who were
holders of right, at least put the following legal restriction: ‘for any reason
it cannot be sold, transferred, and allotted to others without permission’. Why
we were thinking like that? Because the Greek Cypriot properties obtained after
1974 belonged to the state…”
Explaining how
they secured unjust profits from the occupied Greek Cypriot properties, Cetinel
says: “…They invented the points! They gave title deeds! They allotted
villages, lands to people dislocated from Turkey and afterwards they issued
title deeds for them. And they [Translator’s note: the Turkish settlers] sold
them and transferred them for few money. Have the properties of the Greek
Cypriots become unearned income? …
And let us ask
now: who has the right to sell whose property? Moreover, how these title deeds
have been given to people who have not shed even a single drop of sweat on this
land? It is known that during the past few months, more than 70 thousand
citizens from Turkey
left the TRNC. When they left, what have they done with these properties for
which they had title deeds? If they sold them and transferred them, could it
not be asked with what right they did this?
Because some people transfer to Turkey what they have been earning
for 40 years here, they have negatively influenced the accumulation of capital
in the country…”
(I/Ts.)
4. BKP: recent promotions in the “police” showed
the existence of a militarist regime in occupied Cyprus
Turkish Cypriot
daily Kibris newspaper (05.09.13) reports that Izzet Izcan, chairman of the
United Cyprus party (BKP), has said that the developments as regards the recent
promotions in the “police” “are an indication of the irregularity in the
country and militarist regime” which is dominated by the army. In a written
statement issued yesterday, Izcan noted that the promotions were made in an
“unjust and arbitrary manner” and that the self-styled government had no say in
these. “The developments regarding the promotions in police show who possesses
power in the country”, he added, noting that the “government” has no power to
impose sanctions on the “police”.
Recalling that
the “police” are bound to the “security forces command”, Izcan expressed the
view that it is absolutely necessary for the “police” to be bound to civilian
“authority” and described as “inability” the statement made by self-styled
prime minister Yorganciolu who said that those who feel that have been unjustly
treated should apply to “court”. He said that the “government” should make the
necessary amendments in the “constitution” and remove the director of the
“police” from his duties.
Kibris
(05.09.13) reports also that referring to the same issue, Cemal Ozyigit,
general secretary of the Social Democracy Party (TDP),
said that the developments showed once more that it is absolutely necessary to
secure the transfer of power to the civilians and democratization in the
“country”. In a statement issued yesterday, Ozyigit noted that the “police” is
bound to the “prime minister’s office” only on paper and described as unacceptable
the fact that the “prime minister” was not aware of the promotions.
(I/Ts.)
5. International Conference on New Directions in
Business to be held in occupied Cyprus
Turkish Cypriot
daily Kibris newspaper (05.09.13) reports that the Communication and Economic
Faculty of the illegal Eastern Mediterranean University (DAU) is organizing the
2013 International Conference on New Directions in Business, Management,
Finance and Economics.
The conference
will take place between 12-14 of September in occupied Cyprus.
According to the
paper 111 participants from the following countries will participate in the
conference: Turkey,
Iran,
North Africa, Albania, Check Republic,
Jordan,
Leetonia, Libya, Malaysia, Slovakia and Thailand.
6. European Association of Plastic Surgeons
chairman to participate in Turkish
Cypriot Plastic Reconstruction Surgical congress
Turkish Cypriot
daily Kibris newspaper (05.09.13) reports that the 11th Congress of
the Turkish Cypriot Plastic Reconstruction Surgical Union will be held in
Acapulco Hotel in occupied Keryneia between 12-15 of September.
According to the
paper, the chairman of the European Association of Plastic Surgeons will
participate in the congress. His name is not mentioned.
7. Turkish PM Erdogan arrives in Russia; he
slams Putin over Syria
ahead of G-20 talks
Ankara Anatolia news agency (05.09.13) reports that Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrived in Saint Petersburg, Russia on Wednesday to participate in G20 meetings scheduled to begin on Thursday.
Ankara Anatolia news agency (05.09.13) reports that Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrived in Saint Petersburg, Russia on Wednesday to participate in G20 meetings scheduled to begin on Thursday.
Turkish PM
Erdogan is welcomed by Turkey's
Russia
Ambassador Aydin Sezgin and other officials. Deputy PM Ali Babacan, Treasury
Minister Mehmet Simsek, AK Party Deputy Chairman Mevlut Cavusoglu, and Prime
Ministry Undersecretary Efkan Ala
accompany Turkish PM Erdogan.
World leaders
from most developed 20 countries will participate in meetings to discuss the
economic outlook on Thursday, but the real agenda is expected to focus on the
probable intervention in Syria.
During the meetings, The Turkish premier is expected to hold talks with US
President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin regarding the
latest developments in Syria.
Turkey
is in favor of punitive strike against the Syrian regime for its use of
chemical gas against civilians.
In addition,
Turkish daily Zaman newspaper (05.09.13) reports that Erdogan has criticized
Russian President Vladimir Putin's refusal to rule out military action against
the Syrian regime if it is proved to be responsible for a chemical attack as
too little, too late in the face of the humanitarian crisis in Syria.
When reporters
questioned him on the latest Syrian developments, Erdogan said he has been
having difficulty understanding Putin's statement that Russia could
act with the West if presented with convincing evidence that the Assad regime
carried out a chemical attack that killed over 1,300 people.
“You will kill
people with planes and this won't be a crime. But when you kill with chemicals,
then this is a crime. First we should decide if killing is a crime or not. …
You won't call the killing of 100,000 people a crime, but when 1,300 or 130
people are killed, you say you will stand by the UN if the use of chemical
weapons is proven. This strikes me as odd,” Erdogan said, stressing that the
Syrian civil war drew the attention of the international community only after
the chemical attack.
Reiterating that
Turkey
has no doubt that chemical weapons were used in the Damascus suburb of Ghouta, Erdogan said that
the whole world had seen the footage of little children's dead bodies. “If you
watch the footage [of the children] carefully, you can see that there is no
blood or bullet wound and realize they were killed by chemical bombs. The
Syrian regime approved the use of chemicals but put the blame on the
opposition,” Erdogan said, arguing that there is no need to debate whether
chemical weapons were used in Syria.
The Turkish Prime
Minister said that US
President Barack Obama's decision to request congressional approval for
military action in Syria
could be seen as an “internal policy decision” and a sign of Obama's
confidence.
Several Turkish
dailies, citing statements from Putin's foreign policy adviser, Yuri Ushakov,
reported on Tuesday that the meeting between Putin and Erdogan will be a “brief
talk.”
Erdogan also
addressed Syria's
threat of armed retaliation against Turkey. Syria's Deputy Foreign Minister,
Faisal Miqdad, said recently that if the intervention goes ahead, Syria would
strike not only Israel
but also Jordan
and Turkey.
Erdogan said: “Syria is
suffering from a serious management problem. I have no idea what the Assad
[regime] relies on while making such statements. Turkey is ready for a possible
attack. Is Syria
ready for such a thing? I don't know.”
8. Turkey
sends military reinforcements to Syrian border
Turkish daily Today's
Zaman newspaper (05.09.13) reports that the Turkish military dispatched
additional troops and weapons to the Syrian border on Wednesday as
international powers are set to gather at the G-20 summit over the weekend to
discuss a possible Syria intervention.
Reinforcement
units were sent from a military command in the southern province of Gaziantep
to Kilis province, bordering Syria.
The military convoy, which was escorted by the police, arrived in Kilis on
Wednesday afternoon.
The decision to
send additional troops to the border is believed to be related to a consignment
of live ammunition that exploded as it was being smuggled into Turkey on
Tuesday, killing six people along the border with Syria.
The Prime Ministry's
Disaster and Emergency Management Directorate (AFAD) has built a field hospital
and decontamination unit near the Oncupınar border gate on Syrian border in the
southern province
of Kilis to handle with
possible chemical threats from Syria,
which is known to have a large arsenal of chemical weapons.
A group of
Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) specialists, who work
within AFAD, have been deployed in the region with necessary technical
equipment, writes the paper.
9. Turkish FM calls for more international support
for Syrian refugees who reached half a million in Turkey
Ankara Anatolia
news agency (04.09.13) reports that Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu,
UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres and foreign ministers of
Syrian neighboring countries called for 'more international support' for Syrian
refugees.
Foreign
ministers of Syrian neighboring countries, which shelter Syrian refugees, held
a press conference at UN Geneva Office after they had convened at UN Refugee
Agency.
Turkish Foreign
Minister Ahmet Davutoglu stated that hundred percent of the Syrian refugees
escaped from attacks of Assad regime and the UN's investigation committee
waited for four days so as to enter the region where chemical weapons were
used, and the Assad regime continued to bomb to destroy the evidences in the
region.
In addition,
Turkish daily Zaman newspaper (05.09.13) reports that the total number of
Syrian, refugees who have entered Turkey since the start of the conflict in
Syria has climbed to over 500,000, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said.
“The number of Syrian refugees in Turkey has
exceeded 500,000. Over 200,000 Syrians are currently being hosted in the 20
temporary sheltering centers located in 20 provinces,” the Turkish Foreign
Ministry said, via its official Twitter account Sept. 4.
The Foreign
Ministry also said that 45,000 Syrian students were going to school in Turkey
according to official data. “A total of 5,638 Syrian babies were born in our
sheltering centers,” the ministry also said.
10. Turkey
sends envoy back to Egypt
Ankara Anatolia
news agency (04.09.13) reports that Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan
said on Wednesday that Turkey
had recalled its ambassador to Egypt,
Huseyin Avni Botsali, to discuss the Egyptian crisis, adding that Botsali would
currently return to Egypt,
"but if anything unexpected comes up in Egypt, we will assess his recalling
again."
Before departing
for Russia's
St. Petersburg
to attend the G-20 Summit meeting, Turkish PM Erdogan held a press conference
at Esenboga Airport in the Turkish capital of Ankara.
Turkey's ambassador to Egypt had previously been recalled
to Ankara to
discuss recent developments in the Egyptian crisis following the military coup
on July 3 which ousted Egypt's
first democratically elected president Mohamed Morsi.
Responding to
the question "Is there any normalization in relations between Egypt and Turkey?,"
Erdogan stressed that they had recalled Turkish Ambassador in Cairo Botsali to
negotiate the recent status of the Egyptian crisis.
"We did not
take a step to close our embassy in Cairo,
but only to discuss what has been going on, what has been done and what will
happen in Egypt,"
he said.
Erdogan also
highlighted that if anything unexpected comes up in Egypt, they would assess recalling
the ambassador again.
Touching on the upcoming Egypt visit of
a delegation from Turkey's
main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP),
Turkish Premier Erdogan said, "there is nothing CHP
could do, either in Iraq
or Egypt."
Turkish Premier
Erdogan noted that the CHP
delegation could merely share its experiences with Egyptian officials by saying
"we made a military coup like this before, we backed such coups" and
by speculating on the distinction between military coups and civilian ones.
11. Main Order of Ecumenical Patriarchate
criticizing the possible reconversion of the Hagia Sophia
Museum into a mosque
Turkish daily
Hurriyet Daily News (05.09.13) reports that the Order of St.
Andreas the Apostle Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate released a statement
criticizing the possible reconversion of the Hagia Sophia
Museum in Istanbul into a mosque.
The statement
said that there was a possibility of the “church-turned-mosque-turned-museum”
in Istanbul
being reconverted into a mosque, as two previous cases of Hagia Sophia churches
that were recently in İznik and Trabzon.
“There are now
indications that certain factions are endeavoring to cultivate in popular
opinion the notion that Haghia Sophia of Istanbul, the symbol of Christian
faith, should be turned into a mosque,” said the statement released by the
Order of St. Andreas, written by Nikolaos Manginas.
The statement
recalled that a Turkish citizen had submitted an application a few months ago
to the National Assembly for the conversion of the Hagia Sophia into a mosque.
The Ecumenical
Patriarchate also criticized an article published in the official magazine of
Turkish Airlines, Skylife, in August 2013, which was titled, “Hagia Sophia: The
Sultans’ Mosque,” and which mentioned the return of the museum into its former
“spiritual aura,” referring to its days of serving as a mosque. The statement
further said that the article presented the history from a one-sided point of
view and that it was not acceptable.
“The selective
presentation of the Church’s true history, a history that transformed nations
and cultures, is unacceptable,” the Ecumenical Patriarchate added.
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