TURKISH CYPRIOT AND
TURKISH MEDIA REVIEW
C O N T E N T S
No. 217/13 15.11.13
1. Eroglu: “no honourable people succumb to those who
set eye on their sovereignty and state, because of some problems”
2. Atalay: the Greek Cypriots want to change the
parameters and the basis of the negotiations
3. Atalay: if a solution is not found in Cyprus,
Turkey might take other steps
4.
Ertug: There is a deadlock at the joint declaration
5.
Nami: The Greek Cypriot side took some steps to accommodate our sensitivities
6.
Vice President of TBMM: We oppose to the return of Varosha and the withdrawal
of Turkish army
7. Columnist SenerLevent writes about missing persons
remains which were thrown in the sea by a special Turkish team
8.
The breakaway regime and FYROM will cooperate on tourism sector
9.
Eroglu met with Lord Sheikh and Baroness Scott and other visitors
10. KibrisPostasi is the newest paper in Cyprus
11.
Turkish Deputy PM Arinc mulls retirement from politics
1. Eroglu: “no honourable people succumb to those
who set eye on their sovereignty and state, because of some problems”
Turkish Cypriot
daily KibrisPostasi online newspaper (15.11.13) reports the Turkish Cypriot
leader DervisEroglu has argued that no honourable people succumb to those who
set eye on their sovereignty and state, because these people face some
problems. “I want to underline that there is no problem which we cannot
overcome. The Turkish Cypriot people are hard-working, well-educated,
scholars”, he said addressing today the “official” ceremony in the occupied
part of Nicosia within the framework of the celebrations on the occasion of the
anniversary of breakaway regime’s Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI).
Eroglu alleged
that the concept of “state” is a very old one for the Turkish Cypriots and
argued that they are “a people that had come to the island together with the
Ottoman Empire, its strength and power”.
Eroglu invited
President Anastasiades to the negotiating table claiming that the necessary basis
for the continuation of the talks exists. He alleged:“What we need to settle is
to be saved from the tie on our foot called ‘Cyprus problem’ and take the place
we deserve in the world. For this reason we have been focused insistently on
bringing our Greek Cypriot friends to the table and sign an agreement in the
first quarter of 2014. I have been patient for eight months and tried not to
enter into a quarrel of mutual blaming through the press with Mr Anastasiades,
but in front of the fact that he did not notice this, I have to say some
realities to our people on this historic anniversary. Unfortunately, until now
we have not seen the necessary cooperation spirit and solution mentality on the
Greek Cypriot leader for settling the Cyprus problem. In spite of the fact that
the manifesto put forward by Mr Anastasiades during the pre-election period was
very negative, we hoped that after coming to duty he would come to reason. This
did not happen…
We are waiting
at the table, but the Greek Cypriot leader Anastasides goes to the Archbishop,
who says that he does not want a single Turkish soldier in Cyprus, that he will
never leave northern Cyprus to us and that they will continue their struggle.
We have conveyed to the UN that we could meet with him, if he wants, in order
for preparing a joint statement, but Mr Anastasiades preferred meeting with his
friends at EOKA house…”
Eroglu noted
that as Turkish Cypriot side they have said that the negotiations could resume
without a joint statement and wondered which UN resolution provides for a joint
statement for the continuation of the negotiations. Eroglu went on and alleged
that President Anastasiades “attacks” him and in his name attacks the Turkish
Cypriots with “insults”, because “I support our sovereignty, I say that we will
not allow for Turkey’s active and effective guarantees and bi-zonality to be
touched and I stress that a new state will be established”.
Eroglu claimed:
“From here, from this historic ceremony I call on him once more: Mr
Anastasiades, we are ready to discuss all these issues, immediately, tomorrow
at the table. Stop waiting for help from the gas, from the EU, stop waiting
that one day some people among us will succumb to your wishes, understand the
realities in Cyprus and come to the negotiating table. There is absolutely no
Turkish Cypriot who will say yes to the so-called solution which is in your
mind… Come and let us immediately realize the visits of our special
representatives to Ankara and Athens in mutual and equal conditions. Do not
make wrong calculations. TRNC and motherland Turkey are in full unity of views
and targets. Come and after the negotiations reach a certain point, let us take
a step forward for the conclusion of the issue with an agreement at meetings in
which the three guarantor powers, Turkey, Greece and Britain will also
participate. In our negotiating understanding there is no such thing as
registering the wishes of the Greek Cypriot side before sitting at the
negotiating table, leaving our wishes for later and beg saying ‘give this, we
want that’… The necessary basis for continuing the negotiations exists…”
Eroglu alleged
that entering under the umbrella of the Republic of Cyprus, in spite of all the
developments after 1960, would be a historic and irreversible mistake. He
reiterated that what should be established is a new partnership. He argued that
if there is no agreement “because the stance of the Greek Cypriots does not
change”, the world should listen to what the Turkish Cypriots are saying and
not leave them to be victimized.
(I/Ts.)
2. Atalay: the Greek Cypriots want to change the
parameters and the basis of the negotiations
Illegal Turkish
Cypriot daily Bayrak television (15.11.13) broadcasts that BesirAtalay, Turkish
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister responsible for Cyprus, has alleged that the
Turkish Cypriot “people” have been constructively contributing in the efforts of
finding a just and lasting solution in Cyprus for the last 50 years and that
they are continuing to do so. “However, it is not possible to permit for this
situation to continue forever”, he argued addressing today the “official”
ceremony in the occupied part of Nicosia within the framework of the
celebrations on the occasion of the anniversary of breakaway regime’s
Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI).
Atalay said that
their common target is to reach the soonest an agreement which will be guarantying
“the equal status of the Turkish Cypriot people, who are one of the two
partners of the island”. He added that this target is among the priorities of
the Turkish foreign policy.
“As guarantor
power in Cyprus, we wish for the negotiations, which are expected to resume, to
result in a just and lasting solution that will have as basis the essential
founding will of the two peoples, their political equality and their being
co-owners of the island and we are ready to offer any contribution for their
successful result”, he said.
Referring to the
issue of the joint statement, Atalay alleged that an agreement could not be
reached for almost two months because of “the demands of the Greek Cypriot side
aiming at changing the basis and the parameters of the negotiations”.
He claimed: “In
the ongoing efforts for a joint statement which will be made for the first
meeting of the leaders, the Turkish Cypriot side has also done its bit for reaching
the target of the solution in cooperation with the UN. Our wish on this issue
is for the resumption of the negotiations from the point they had been left
without losing any more time and go to referendum in the first months of 2014.
In this road, which the UN Secretary-General sees as the last move, Turkey will
offer any kind of support to the Turkish Cypriots”.
Atalay went on
and argued that while the political solution of the Cyprus problem is expected,
they could not accept approaches which relate all the activities of the “TRNC”
to the solution and say that everything should be postponed.
(I/Ts.)
3. Atalay: if a solution is not found in Cyprus,
Turkey might take other steps
Turkish Cypriot
daily Kibris newspaper (15.11.13) reports that BesirAtalay, Turkish Deputy
Prime Minister and Minister responsible for Cyprus, has alleged that they are
determined on the issue of reaching a solution to the Cyprus problem, but if
this does not happen, Turkey might take “other steps”.
Atalay arrived
yesterday in the occupied area of Cyprus in order to participate in the
celebrations on the occasion of the anniversary of breakaway regime’s
Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI). In his statements at Esenboga
airport before his departure, Atalay said that there is an activity recently on
the Cyprus problem, that the process goes well and that the UN, Greece and
Turkey have undertaken a more active role in this process. He alleged that from
the very beginning, Turkey has wanted a solution based on justice and that this
is the policy of the “TRNC” as well.
“We are
determined on the issue of reaching a solution regarding Cyprus. However, if
this does not happen, Turkey might take other steps. We do not want these
problems to continue eternally”, he added.
After arriving
in the occupied area of Cyprus, Atalay met separately with the Turkish Cypriot
leader, DervisEroglu, the “speaker” of the so-called assembly, SibelSiber and
the self-styled prime minister of the regime, OzkanYorgancioglu.
In statements
during his meeting with Eroglu, Atalay said that he is accompanied by experts
who will discuss with technical committees of the breakaway regime the point at
which the “economic program” has reached. Atalay noted that they will do
whatever they can for the “TRNC” to further develop economically and develop
its “democracy”.
In his turn,
Eroglu said that all countries might face economic problems and added that they
are trying to overcome their problems together with their motherland Turkey.
Referring to the
Cyprus problem, Eroglu alleged that they were trying to resume the negotiations
process, but the Greek Cypriot side “is playing with time”. He argued that the
world should see these “realities” and alleged: “Time has come for them to warn
the Greek Cypriots”.
Meanwhile,
Turkish Cypriot daily HalkinSesi newspaper (15.11.13) wonders whether they are
heading “towards privatization step by step” and reports that Atalay “attracted
attention with his crowded delegation”. The paper notes that the crowded
technical team is expected to work on the issue of privatizations. It is said
that priority will be given to the telecommunication and electricity
“departments”.
According to the
paper, referring to the Cyprus problem, Atalay claimed that they will always
play a constructive role in the negotiations process, but if the “delaying
tactics” of the Greek Cypriots continue, they will be “freer in alternative
policies”.
(I/Ts.)
4. Ertug: There is a deadlock at the joint
declaration
Turkish Cypriot
daily Kibris (15.11.13) reported that Turkish Cypriot leader DervisEroglu’s
special representative Osman Ertug said that there is a deadlock on the issue
of the joint declaration for the resumption of Cyprus talks.
Replying to a
question, Ertug said that they met with Lisa M. Buttenheim, Special
Representative of the UN Secretary-General in Cyprus, and her team on Wednesday
and informed them that they have reached a deadlock on the issue of the “joint
declaration”.
Noting that they
discussed views and proposals during the meeting, Ertug reiterated once more
that the Turkish Cypriot side is ready to sit at the negotiation table without
a joint declaration, as Turkish Cypriot leader DervisEroglu has announced it in
several occasions.
Asked to comment
whether he will meet with Greek Cypriot negotiator Andreas Mavroyiannis, Ertug
said that there has not been any notification by the UN on this issue.
5. Nami: The Greek Cypriot side took some steps to
accommodate our sensitivities
Turkish daily
Hurriyet Daily News (online, 15.11.13), under the title “Let’s just stay as
friends, Turkish Cypriots to Greeks”, reports that self-styled minister of
foreign affairs OzdilNami, underlining that the Greek Cypriot side was pressing
to include the concepts of single sovereignty, single citizenship and single
international identity at the joint declaration, said: “If priorities are to be
mentioned, then the joint statement should address both sides’ priorities. In
very recent talks, the gap between two sides has been narrowed. The Greek Cypriot
side took some steps to accommodate our sensitivities. We hope the meetings of
the representatives will yield a result and leaders will be able to meet soon
to start talks.”
In a meeting
with the a group of visiting journalists from the Ankara-based Diplomacy
Correspondents Association (DMD), Ozdil claimed that the Greek Cypriots were
attempting to broaden the scope of the joint statement by inserting sensitive
chapters of upcoming negotiations.
When asked about
Turkish Cypriots’ possible reaction if the talks fail to settle the decades-old
issue, Nami said that the Cyprus question had exhausted the international
community and the United Nations, adding: “The first U.N. resolution on Cyprus
was taken in March 1964. That makes a half century. A lot of time, a lot of
money has been wasted. The U.N. also says ‘enough is enough.’”
On the same
issue, illegal Bayrak television (online, 14.11.13) broadcast that Nami met
with a delegation of foreign journalists, who are in the occupied area of the
Republic of Cyprus to participate in the celebrations on the occasion of the
anniversary of breakaway regime’s Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI).
Diplomacy Correspondents from various Turkish media institutions were also
among the groups of foreign journalists.
During the visit
Nami briefed the foreign journalists regarding the latest phase reached on the
Cyprus problem and said: “We have reached an important phase”. He added that
the so-called coalition government gives great importance to their public and
the international community being kept informed regarding the Cyprus
negotiations process.
6. Vice President of TBMM: We oppose to the return
of Varosha and the withdrawal of Turkish army
Turkish Cypriot
daily Volkan (15.11.13) reports that self-styled prime
ministerOzkanYorgancioglu met yesterday with the Vice President of the Turkish
Grand National Assembly Sadik Yakut.
During the
meeting, Yorgancioglu said that the Turkish Cypriots have given many fights in
order to come to this point, noting that they have also rights on the natural
sources wealth.
Yakut, for his
part, stressed that Turkey always supports the Turkish Cypriots on the
negotiation process of the Cyprus talks. He added that the return of the fenced
off town of occupied Varosha and the withdrawal of the Turkish army from the
island prior to the Cyprus settlement, is unacceptable.
7. Columnist SenerLevent writes about missing
persons remains which were thrown in the sea by a special Turkish team
Turkish Cypriot
daily Afrika newspaper (15.11.13) published a commentary by SenerLevent under
the title “Missing persons that were thrown in the sea and the ApostolosVarnavas
Secret”.
Levent, who
notes that he got his information by a witness of the facts he reports about,
writes that panic and uneasiness were created in Turkey after the establishment
of the Missing Persons Committe in Cyprus; therefore a decision was made by
Turkey to destroy the mass graves of 1974. They sent a special team for this
reason in order to find and destroy the mass graves, he notes.
Levent also
writes that there is a connection between these incidents and the murder of the
Turkish Cypriot journalist KutluAdali in 1996.
“The team that
came from Turkey started working immediately in order to find and to destroy
the mass graves of the Greek Cypriots.
First of all they started looking for people who knew about the places
that these graves existed. This operation took place secretly. Massive Greek
Cypriot slaughters took place in the village Maratha, Aloa and Sandalari.
Murdering of Greek Cypriot prisoners of war, children or eldest, were made by
angry Turkish soldiers and by some Turkish Cypriots. Everyone that knew about
the issue indicated the place the mass graves were located to the special team
that came from Turkey, in Afania, Tzaos, Assia, Bekoy and everywhere else that
these mass graves were located. They even went to Varosha which is fenced for
years. It is said that the remains of some persons which were murder, were in
Varosha and these persons were buried in some water pools […]. The remains of
these persons were exhumed from the mass graves and were loaded up to trucks. And after, they were thrown to the sea. Here,
they whisper it in our ears after years. If all these are true, then those who
are looking for them (the missing persons) they are looking in vain. They will
never find them”, Levent writes.
He goes on and
writes about the events related to ApostolosVarvavas and notes that everybody
thinks that in the church yard there was a treasure, therefore the yard was
excavated for this reason. Levent writes that this is not true:
“A mass grave
was located there, the witness says. And they went there with the special team
that came from Turkey. Actually, the persons buried were not killed there, but
were transferred to that area. So what about KutluAdali? It is said that Adali
knew about the decision taken in Turley and about the operations undertaken.
That is why he started to dig up in the ApostolosVarnavas story. He wrote about
this issue in his newspaper articles. It is also said that the military command
invited him to its headquarters and warned him on this issue. Kutlu did not pay attention to these threads.
He was not the kind of man to be afraid of these threads. Therefore they took
the final decision for him as well and they murdered him in front of his house.
They did not give him the chance to reveal the secret of ApostolosVarnavas […]
It was not a treasure there were seeking in ApostolosVarnavas, they were
seeking for mass graves. There is no way to know the remains of how many
missing persons were thrown in the sea. We only know that they will be not
found ever. In order to remember them we can build an “unknown victim”
monument. And we can look at this and feel ashamed. Because even this is not
enough to offer forgiveness”.
8. The breakaway regime and FYROM will cooperate on
tourism sector
According to
illegal Bayrak television (online, 14.11.13), self-styled deputy prime minister
and minister for economy, tourism, culture and sport SerdarDenktas, who carried
out contacts in Skopje, returned to the occupied area of the Republic of Cyprus
on Thursday morning. Within the framework of his contacts he met with the FYROM
president HadiNezir and the FYROM minister for economy and tourism
ValonSaracini.
During the visit
the men discussed ways to cooperate and develop tourism between the two
“countries”.
Denktas especially
focused on what can be done to increase the flow of tourists from FYROM to the
“TRNC” in 2014.
Upon this a
decision was taken that in February 2014 a campaign would commence with the
participation of the two “ministers” from the two “countries” that would enable
the flow of tourists to the two “countries”.
Meanwhile the
Republic of Turkey’s Skopje Ambassador gave a dinner in honour of
SerdarDenktas.
9. Eroglu met with Lord Sheikh and Baroness Scott
and other visitors
According to
illegal Bayrak television (online, 14.11.13), Turkish Cypriot leader
DervisEroglu had meetings with a group of visitors at his office on Thursday.
Many state and government officials from Turkey and abroad, are in the occupied
area of the Republic of Cyprus to participate in the celebrations on the
occasion of the anniversary of breakaway regime’s Unilateral Declaration of
Independence (UDI). He also met with a delegation from the Retired War Veterans
Association from Turkey.
He then had a
meeting with the 1st Army Commander of the Turkish occupation Forces General
AhmetTurmus, the Republican People’s Party (CHP) vice president YakupAkkaya and
the vice president of the Democratic Left Party (DSP) HuseyinKul separately.
Later, Eroglu
met with the Vice President of the Turkish Grand National Assembly Sadik Yakut
and Lord Mohamed Iltaf Sheikh and Baroness Rosalinda Carlos Scott.
Eroglu informed
the visitors regarding his views on the Cyprus problem.
He claimed that
although the world was aware of the Greek Cypriot side’s intransigence on the
Cyprus problem they were remaining quiet on the issue, adding that “hopefully
one day they will acknowledge their righteousness”.
Eroglu argued:
“We have the same belief with Turkey that the Cyprus problem has been going on
for too long. If the other side displays good will then a solution can be
found”.
Finally, he
noted that the “Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus” [Editors’ note: the
breakaway regime in the occupied area of the Republic of Cyprus] was
established with the support of motherland Turkey and would continue to exist
with the same support.
10. KibrisPostasi is the newest paper in Cyprus
Turkish
Cypriot daily KibrisPostasi newspaper (15.11.13) started to be published in
paper as of today in occupied Cyprus. KibrisPostasi has been published at the
internet for the last twelve years. The
director of the new paper is RasihResat.
11. Turkish Deputy PM Arinc mulls retirement from
politics
According to
Turkish daily Hurriyet Daily News (online, 14.11.13), Deputy Prime Minister
BulentArinc has said he is very close to drawing the curtains on his political
life, saying that every politician has to call it quits at some point.
“I have
repeatedly said that I need to put an end to active politics. Every politician
should at some point leave active politics, or at least have a break,” Arinc
told reporters Nov. 14 in Istanbul.
“For the last
three to four years, I have praised the three-term rule in our party,” he
added, referring to the ruling Justice and Development Party’s (AKP)
regulations that say party members cannot hold their posts for more than three
terms.
The Deputy Prime
Minister said he wanted to spend more time with his grandchildren, but this was
not the only reason for his decision. “Maybe I will find time to rest, refresh,
read more and spend more time on social issues … When I put an end to active
politics, and if Allah allows me time, of course I would love to spend time
with my grandchildren, maybe help them with their education,” Arinc said.
When asked about
the recent rift between himself and Prime Minister RecepTayyip Erdogan, which
stemmed from their different views of the recent mixed-sex student housing
controversy, Arinc said he had no problems with any politicians.
He said he would
be accompanying Erdogan in the much-anticipated Diyarbakır meeting over the
weekend.
“The Prime
Minister has invited me, and God willing we will go together. The people of
that region are people we love very much. We will be together with those
beautiful people in central Diyarbakır, and its districts Ergani and Bismil. I
hope it will be a useful trip,” he added.
Prime Minister Erdogan
will attend ceremonies in Diyarbakır and will meet Iraqi Kurdistan Regional
Government (KRG) President MassoudBarzani.
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