TURKISH CYPRIOT AND
TURKISH MEDIA REVIEW
C O N T E N T S
No. 202/13 24.10.13
1. Eroglu: there is no such a thing as single sovereignty in federations
2. Nami sees increased interest in the EU for the Cyprus problem
3. Yorgancioglu: Nami’s meetings with Mavroyiannis were not secret
4. Thirty thousand illegal settlers only from Alexandretta reportedly
live in the occupied area of Cyprus
5. Ozgurgun: Cyprus problemwas no
longer amongst the priority issues for the Turkish Cypriots
6. Davutoglu said that Oman has
always taken steps on the issues concerning the breakaway regime which were
appreciated by Turkey
7. DP general secretary criticized
the initiatives taken by the “Turkish Cypriot football federation”
8. Three BDP deputies resign from party
to join HDP
9. Erdogan: Amendment of
parliamentary bylaws for headscarf not necessary
10. Dutch journalist claims to have
been blacklisted by Turkish state
1. Eroglu: there is no such a thing as single sovereignty in
federations
Turkish Cypriot daily Kibris
newspaper (24.10.13) reports that the Turkish Cypriot leader, Dervis Eroglu has
said that UN officials were the ones that thought of issuing a joint statement
by the two community leaders and added that he, of course, thinks that “the
Greek Cypriot side imposed this on the UN”. “In our view, a joint text is not a
condition for the commencement of the negotiations”, noted Eroglu in statements
yesterday to Turkish Cypriot Genc TV channel.
Eroglu argued that the Turkish Cypriot side
wants the beginning of the negotiations the soonest and replied positively to a
proposal as regards the beginning of the process on 4 November, but it is not
known yet whether the Greek Cypriot side accepted this.
Eroglu said that the negotiation chapters and
the points where agreement and convergence is achieved are known and alleged
that the Turkish side is focused on “an agreement which will be reached taking
these into consideration” and on a referendum that will be held. He argued that
the Greek Cypriot side is trying to have included in the text of the joint
statement some issues which will “come to surface in case there is a solution”
and added that these are issues that will be discussed at the negotiating
table. “I had said before that we could go for a referendum in March. If there
is a will, we could hold a referendum in March”, he claimed.
“We have to know what will happen with our
people, if we say ‘yes’ again in a possible referendum and the Greek Cypriots
say ‘no’”, he added describing this issue as “important”.
Noting that the UN officials see the Greek
Cypriot stance at the negotiating table and the meetings of the representatives
of the leaders, Eroglu alleged that the Turkish stance is considered to be
positive by the UN officials and that since he was “elected” to the Turkish
Cypriot leadership the Turkish side has never been accused.
Replying to a question, Eroglu said that “the
partnership state” which will be established will have one international
identity and one seat at the United Nations. He went on and claimed: “However,
as far as the sovereignty is concerned, the issue is the following: A new state
will be established. This is one of the issues on which we cannot agree. The
Greek Cypriots want the Republic of Cyprus to be evolved into a federal state.
However, we want a new partnership, a new state. It will be a new state, which
will be established with the TRNC and the Greek administration of south Cyprus’
transferring a part of their powers, as two founding states. They will be two
founding states of equal status and they will transfer a part of their powers
to the common state. In absolutely no federation there is such a thing as
single sovereignty. Of course, in addition to this, there will also be an
internal citizenship. As Turkish Cypriot founding state we will be giving
internal citizenship to our people who are on our lands”.
Replying to a question on the occupied closed
city of Varosha, Eroglu said that there is no such an issue on the Turkish
side’s agenda and alleged that the Greek Cypriot side had rejected proposals
submitted by late Turkish Cypriot leader, Rauf Denktas, but now they are
bringing the issue onto the agenda because they allegedly want to bolster their
people’s moral and make them forget their economic difficulties. “What the
Greek Cypriot leaders have been doing until today is to hypnotize their people.
They are still electing a Mayor and MPs for Keryneia. Therefore, they are not
ready for a solution”, he claimed.
Asked to comment on a statement made by his
former representative, Kudret Ozersay that they had prepared a plan for opening
the occupied closed city of Varosha, Eroglu argued that they had never prepared
such a plan and reiterated the position that Varosha is part of the
comprehensive solution.
Meanwhile, in statements to illegal Bayrak
television (23.10.13, online), Eroglu reiterated the allegation that the Greek
Cypriot side wants to put into the joint statement issues which are related to
the substance of the Cyprus problem and added that “the difficulty is here”.
Noting that even the date of the visits of the
representatives of the leaders to Athens and Ankara has not been determined
yet, Eroglu alleged that “procrastination” continues and wished for the
obstacles to be removed within the next 3-5 days. He noted that they have
agreed in principle that the visits of the representatives of the leaders
should be held on 4 November and added that the only precondition of the
Turkish side is for these visits “to be at equal level”.
Asked about the next steps of the
Turkish Cypriot side, Eroglu replied: “At any case, we work in consultation
with Turkey. On the issue of the joint statement, we had held our first meeting
in New York with the undersecretary of the Turkish Foreign Ministry Sinirlioglu
and produced its first draft. We have given opportunity to changes thinking
with good will. It seems to me that they exaggerate a little”.
(I/Ts.)
2. Nami sees increased interest in the EU for the Cyprus problem
Turkish Cypriot daily Kibris
newspaper (24.10.13) reports that Ozdil Nami, self-styled foreign minister of
the breakaway regime in the occupied area of the Republic of Cyprus, met
yesterday in Strasbourg with Stefan Fule, EU Commissioner Responsible for the
Enlargement, and exchanged views on the Cyprus problem. Within the frameworks
of his contacts in Strasbourg, Nami met also with members of the European
Parliament, the President of the Socialist Group, Hannes Swoboda, members of
the above-mentioned group and other officials. According to the paper, within the
framework of his visit to Strasbourg Nami is expected to hold 18 meetings in
three days.
Nami said that the officials he met are “very
willing” on the issue of an early and just solution in Cyprus. Nami told Kibris
that his meeting with Fule was expected to last one hour, but lasted one and a
half hours during which they discussed all aspects of the Cyprus problem. He
said they exchanged views on how to make EU’s Green Line and Financial Aid
Regulations more effective and how they could intensify the harmonization of
their so-called laws to the EUlegislation.
“They are unable to understand the
non-resumption of the negotiations because of the disagreement on the text of
the joint statement”, Nami argued referring to the Europeans and said that Fule
wants the commencement of the negotiations the soonest and thinks that the
Turkish Cypriots are right when they want the inclusion of issues they consider
to be important in the joint statement.
Nami said that elections for the European
Parliament will be held in May and therefore the widespread view in the EU is
that the negotiations in Cyprus should start and end the soonest so that they
are not negatively influenced from these elections.
Referring to the stance of the Europeans as
regards the Cyprus problem, Nami said: “There is an increased interest in the
EU comparing to the past. They were very willing in the past as well and now
they are very willing and they said that the window of opportunity should not
be lost”.
Nami noted that they did not discuss for long
and in depth the issue of the occupied closed city of Varosha with Fule and
added that both the Commission and the Turkish side preserve their previous
views on this issue.
Nami said that no development is expected soon
on the issue of the Direct Trade Regulation for the Turkish Cypriots and added
that Fule’s view on the issue of EU’s more active participation in the Cyprus
talks is still valid. He added that Fule told them that if the negotiations
advance and the two sides agree to invite the EU, the Union is ready to
contribute in a different way to the process.
Referring to his contacts at the EP, Nami said
that everybody is interested in the Cyprus problem and ask whether there is
hope this time. He argued that everybody realizes that “there is a narrow
window of opportunity”. He said that he conveyed to his interlocutors the
so-called plan of the Turkish side for a solution in Cyprus until March and
that they allegedly expect support by the Greek Cypriots on this issue.
He went on and said: “We told them that a
result could be reached in case we act within the framework of the existing
convergences. The first target is to reach an agreement on the text of the
joint statement which will secure the meeting of the leaders, but we told them
that there are some difficulties and efforts are exerted to overcome
them”.
Nami noted also that they brought into
the agenda of their meetings the issue of the invitation of two Turkish Cypriot
so-called MPs to the EP. He recalled that the President of the EP, Martin
Schultz had promised that the issue would be discussed by the end of this year
and asked for this promise to be kept.
(I/Ts.)
3. Yorgancioglu: Nami’s meetings with Mavroyiannis were not secret
Turkish Cypriot daily Star Kibris
newspaper (23.10.13) reports that Ozkan Yorgancioglu, self-styled prime
minister of the breakaway regime in the occupied area of the Republic of
Cyprus, has said that the meetings held between Ozdil Nami, self-styled foreign
minister of the breakaway regime and the Greek Cypriot negotiator, Andreas
Mavroyiannis were not secret. Responding to a question yesterday prior to the
meeting of the “council of ministers”, Yorgancioglu noted that this kind of
meetings could be held in order for the two sides to be able to understand each
other and that they [the meetings] were not secret.
Asked to comment on a statement made by the
Turkish EU Minister and Chief Negotiator, Egemen Bagis on the issue of the
occupied closed city of Varosha, Yorgancioglu said “a decision on which both sides
will agree will have a very broad meaning” and added that Turkey’s statements
were in this direction, that is, it was said that “we respect an agreement to
be reached by the sides”. “Respecting an agreement between the two sides is an
important approach for us”, he added.
Responding to another question,
Yorgancioglu said that they were about to complete their work on the new “law”
on granting “citizenship” of the regime and argued that this new “law” should
be fair for everyone. He noted that the allegations that granting “citizenship”
stopped are not true and added that the granting of “citizenship” was postponed
until the “law” passes.
(I/Ts.)
4. Thirty thousand illegal settlers only from Alexandretta reportedly
live in the occupied area of Cyprus
Turkish Cypriot daily Star Kibris
newspaper (23.10.13) reports that Bertan Zaroglu, chairman of the “culture and
solidarity association” of the settlers coming from Alexandretta, criticized
yesterday Ozkan Yorgancioglu, self-styled prime minister of the breakaway
regime in the occupied area of the Republic of Cyprus, for his statement that
granting “citizenship” of the regime has been postponed until a “new law”
passes.
In a written statement, Zaroglu
argued that Yorgancioglu said that “it is not natural for an association to
interfere with the will of the government”, and recalled that their
association, which was established on 3 May 2002, is “one of the biggest and
most deep rooted organizations of this country”. He went on and added that
their association has 8058 registered members and represents around 15 thousand
“TRNC citizens” and another 15 thousand persons from Alexandretta, living in
the occupied area with “work permit” and “adding value to this country”.
(I/Ts.)
5. Ozgurgun: Cyprus problem was
no longer amongst the priority issues for the Turkish Cypriots
Illegal
Bayrak television (23.10.13) broadcast that the leader of the National Unity
Party (UBP) Huseyin Ozgurgun alleged that a solution in Cyprus will not be
possible in the short term as long as the Greek Cypriot side continues its
claim over the whole of the island.
Ozgurgun
said that the settlement to be reached had to be a federation on the basis of
bi-zonality and the political equality of two founding states.
Speaking on
BRT’s morning news program, the UBP leader claimed that the Cyprus problem could
be solved easily if the 5 permanent members of the UN Security Council wanted
to solve the problem.
He also
said that the Cyprus problem was no longer amongst the priority issues for the
Turkish Cypriots. “
6. Davutoglu said that Oman has
always taken steps on the issues concerning the breakaway regime which were
appreciated by Turkey
Turkish
Cypriot daily Kibris newspaper (24.10.13) reports that the Turkish Foreign
Minister paid an official visit to Oman on October 23.
During this
visit which coincides with the 40th anniversary of the establishment of
Turkey's diplomatic relations with Oman, bilateral relations as well as
regional developments, especially Syria, Egypt and Iran were addressed.
Speaking to
the press members following his meeting with Sayyid Fahd bin Mahmoud al Said,
Deputy Prime Minister of Oman, Davutoglu said that relations between Turkey and
the Gulf countries have developed and mechanisms were formed between the Gulf
Cooperation Council and Turkey in the recent years.
Emphasizing
that Oman is also in close cooperation with Turkey on international issues, Davutoglu
said the following: “The Turkish
Republic of Northern Cyprus has an office in Oman and Oman has always taken
steps on the issues concerning the TRNC which were appreciated by Turkey”.
7. DP general secretary
criticized the initiatives taken by the “Turkish Cypriot football federation”
Turkish
Cypriot daily Kibris newspaper (24.10.13) reports that the general secretary of
the Democratic Party (DP) Bengu Sonya, stated that the solution to be reached
in the Cyprus problem should be sustainable and in harmony with everybody’s
interest.
Sonya who
issued a written statement, said that the Turkish Cypriot side must terminate
all the problems faced in a sustainable peace solution. He also said that
initiatives taken by various groups which want to promote their own interests
without waiting for the latest peace process to be finished, must be avoided
and criticized the latest initiative taken by the “Turkish Cypriot football
federation”.
(TR. Note. The
“Turkish Cypriot football federation” is meeting with the Cyprus Football
Association (CFA) UEFA and FIFA in Zurich on 5 November).
8. Three BDP deputies resign from party to join
HDP
Turkish
daily Today's Zaman (23.10.13) reports that three deputies from the pro-Kurdish
Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) have resigned from the party to join a newly
founded political party, which encompasses mostly leftist parties along with
the BDP that is expected to be an umbrella party that will take part in the
upcoming local elections.
Sirri
Sureyya Onder, Sabahat Tuncel and Ertugtul Kurkcu on Wednesday left the BDP to
join the People's Democracy Party (HDP) which was reportedly founded under
orders from the head of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) Abdullah Ocalan as
part of an election strategy that will bring together the pro-Kurdish parties
and Turkish far-left parties.
BDP deputy
Ertugrul Kurkcu has been asked to act as a co-chair in the party. He hasn't
refused the call yet while Onder, who is also considered for the post,
expressed his unwillingness in the position.
The HDP
brings a number of leftist parties to develop a common strategy to get more
effective results in western provinces of Turkey in the upcoming local
elections. However, the strategy has triggered intra-party quarrels and
discussions as a leading BDP figure, Diyarbakir Deputy Altan Tan, voiced his
objection to alliance with what he calls marginal socialist parties whose
outreach in the society is virtually limited.
In
addition, the paper also writes that Deputy Chairman of the Republican People’s
Party (CHP) Emrehan Halici resigned from
his post. The cause of his resignation was not immediately clear.
9. Erdogan: Amendment of parliamentary
bylaws for headscarf not necessary
Turkish
daily Today's Zaman (23.10.13) reports that Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
Erdogan has said it is not necessary to amend the parliamentary bylaws as part
of the implementation of a new regulation that allows female deputies to wear
the Islamic headscarf in Parliament.
Speaking at
a press conference in Ankara prior to a flight to Kosovo on Wednesday, Erdogan
answered journalists' questions regarding the wearing of the headscarf by
deputies while in Parliament. “The conditions are favorable [for head-carved-deputies]
and elected deputies can fulfill their duties while wearing the headscarf in
Parliament. The Justice and Development Party [AK Party] has taken a clear
stance on the issue since its establishment. We have always supported [the
wearing of headscarves in Parliament] and will continue to do so,” said
Erdogan.
Erdogan
unveiled a long-awaited democratization package that seeks to expand the
freedoms of various social groups a short while ago. Among other things, the
package removes restrictions on the wearing of the Islamic headscarf in
public-sector workplaces.
Although it
was not official, Turkey's first head-carved-deputy, Merve Kavakci, was removed
from Parliament in 1999 due to the de facto headscarf ban. Since then, no women
who wear the headscarf have been elected to Parliament because the major
parties, seeking to avoid tension, have been unwilling to nominate them.
10. Dutch journalist claims to have been
blacklisted by Turkish state
Turkish
daily Today's Zaman (23.10.13) reports that a Dutch journalist who has been working in
Turkey for almost five years claims that he has been blacklisted by the state
as he has been stopped at length each time he has re-entered Turkey in the last
seven months and his press card has not been automatically renewed.
Turkish
officials admit that there is a warning note on his file regarding his status,
but the reason has not been made public. However, there has been speculation
that Vermeulen's coverage of the Gezi Park protests could have hurt his status.
Speaking to
Today's Zaman, Bram Vermeulen, a well-known journalist in the Netherlands and
the Turkey correspondent of NRC Handelsblad, said that he has seen the warning
next to his name on officials' computer screens when making inquiries, but he
has not been told anything of the reason why, as he says, he has been
“blacklisted.”
Underlining
that he has not been deported from Turkey nor has his residence permit been
canceled, Vermeulen stated that his Turkish press card was supposed to be
automatically renewed along with those of other members of the press in June
but was not. His press card and residence permit both expire at the end of the
year. Vermeulen had already decided to move to Africa, where he worked before
he was stationed in Turkey, before encountering these problems. However, he
told Today's Zaman that “a customs police officer” told him that as of next
year, he will not be allowed to enter Turkey even on a tourist visa.
An official
from the Directorate General of Press and Information for the Prime Ministry
told Today's Zaman that the office was instructed not to renew Vermeulen's
press card in June; the official did not, however, share the reason for this in
accordance with their rules.
Officials
from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs told Today's Zaman that no one has told
Vermeulen that his visa and residence permit will not be renewed. However, the
same officials stated that as far as Vermeulen's
reapplication is concerned, permission is required from state institutions
before a permit can be issued to him as per instructions from the Security
General Directorate (EGM). The decision to place a warning on Vermeulen's file
therefore seems to have been made by the EGM, which is connected to the Interior
Ministry.
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