TURKISH CYPRIOT AND
TURKISH MEDIA REVIEW
C O N T E N T S
1. Ozersay: A role of the EU in the talks is
not accepted
2. Ozersay: If the deadlock is not overcome
interference from outside could be expected
3. Turkish Minister Cavusoglu
to pay an illegal visit to the occupied area of Cyprus tonight
4. Negotiations should
speed up says Nami during meeting with Rubin
5. Yorgancioglu discussed with Fule the Green
Line regulation
6. Slovakian Ambassador visited Serdar Denktas
7. Search and Rescue Exercise to be held on
April 24
8. Grey Wolves allege that they are not the same with ELAM; BKP:
Racism is a crime, not an ideal
9. Antiquities were excavated in occupied Avlona
10. Turkey's Higher Election Board rejects CHP’s
appeal
11. Turkish
court rules to unblock YouTube, again
1. Ozersay: A role of the EU in the talks is
not accepted
Illegal Bayrak television
(09.04.14) broadcast that Turkish Cypriot Negotiator Kudret Ozersay told the
Russia Today Program that the Turkish Cypriot side is ready to receive
technical assistance from the European Union on certain issues that are
discussed at the Cyprus negotiations process but cannot accept a role being
given to the European Union at the talks.
Ozersay said that both sides needed to show flexibility in order to
reach an agreement otherwise a just and permanent solution cannot be found.
He said that if
a solution isn’t balanced it won’t be permanent. He added that therefore the
Turkish Cypriot side cannot accept any more than it had already.“The Turkish
Cypriot side had asked for cooperation to take place on economy, trade,
tourism, energy and water issues in order to motivate the Greek Cypriot side
towards a solution” said Ozersay and added that once cooperation is held on some issues and the benefits become clear
then the trust between the two sides will also improve.
Ozersay also alleged the following: “This is why we want cooperation to be carried out parallel to the
Cyprus negotiations process. But the Turkish Cypriot side which has been
putting forward its position at the Cyprus negotiations table for years now
cannot make any concessions purely for the sole purpose of encouraging the
Greek Cypriot side towards a solution. ”
Upon being asked about the
European Union taking on a more active role during the talks, Ozersay said that
due to the Greek Cypriot side becoming a unilateral member of the EU it cannot
be neutral.
“No matter how unbiased
the EU wants to be this is not really possible. Receiving technical support from
the EU during the talks is fine as technical support is enough for us. But the
EU being given a more active role is unacceptable” said the Turkish Cypriot
Negotiator.
2. Ozersay: If the deadlock is not overcome
interference from outside could be expected
Turkish Cypriot daily Kibris
newspaper (10.04.14) reports that the Turkish Cypriot negotiator, Kudret Ozersay has said that the United
Nations has launched an initiative in the direction of overcoming the problem
which has come up in the Cyprus negotiations. In statements yesterday to
Kibris, Ozersay noted thatwe have to
overcome the deadlock and added that interference from outside could be
expected in case the deadlock is not overcome.
Ozersay also said that such
disagreements could be experienced again in the future and added that the
important thing is to continue the negotiations and solve the problem. Ozersay
participated yesterday in a meeting organized by the Cyprus Dialogue Platform
at Ledra Palace Hotel in the buffer zone. Referring to this meeting, he said
that there he talked with his Greek Cypriot counterpart, Andreas Mavroyiannis
and added that they had a good dialogue, but refrained from giving details.
Ozersay said that he will continue informing the people on the
content of the negotiations without violating the principle of confidentiality
that exists for the negotiations. He noted that if he comes to the position of
not being able to do this, he will not continue being at the post of the
negotiator. “We must build balance between
transparency and confidentiality”, he argued and referred once again to the
position of the Greek Cypriot side that “no documents exist on the table”. He
alleged: “If there are no documents, it
means that there are also no convergence documents and then this process should
be questioned”.
Meanwhile, Turkish Cypriot Yeni
Duzen newspaper (10.04.14) reports that in statements to Kanal Sim, Ozersay said that “agreement” or
“convergence” has been achieved on many chapters in the negotiations and
reiterated that “if some bricks are taken out the entire building will
collapse”. He argued that agreement exists in the judiciary and in legislation,
except for some chapters. He said that in the legislation, issues such as the
percentages in the parliament, the decision-taking process and the mechanism
for overcoming the differences have been agreed. He noted that full agreement exists on the
issue of the international agreements as regards the agreements reached in the
past. He argued that many agreements exist regarding the economy and noted that
converge documents exist for more than 80% of the issues. According to Ozersay,
the three issues on which the least progress is achieved are the territorial
adjustment, the security and guarantees, and the property.
Ozersay
said that the issue of the map has not been discussed and criticized the
self-styled deputy of the Democratic Party-National Forces (DP-UG), Zorlu Tore
who distributes maps. He noted that in this process everyone, including the
“deputies”, must behave with responsibility.
(I/Ts.)
3. Turkish Minister Cavusoglu
to pay an illegal visit to the occupied area of Cyprus tonight
Turkish Cypriot daily
Kibris Postasi newspaper (10.04.14) reports that the Turkish Chief Negotiator
and Minister of EU Affairs Mevlut Cavusoglu is scheduled to visit the occupied
area of Cyprus tonight.
According to the information by the Turkish Foreign Affairs
Ministry’s Protocol Office,Cavusoglu is expected to arrive to illegal Tymvou
airport at 1.00 am. The Turkish Minister will leave the island at 12 April.
Details of his visit are yet to be disclosed.
4. Negotiations should
speed up says Nami during meeting with Rubin
Turkish Cypriot daily
Kibris Postasi newspaper (10.04.14) reports that the self-styled foreign
minister Ozdil Nami met with US Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of
European and Eurasian Affairs Eric Rubin.
During the meeting Nami shared the Turkish Cypriot position
regarding the negotiation process. He also claimed that the pace of the negotiations was not at the
desired level . “In order to reach a
comprehensive solution tempo should increase” said Nami.
5. Yorgancioglu discussed with Fule the Green
Line regulation
According to illegal Bayrak television (online, 09.04.14),
self-styled prime minister Ozkan Yorgancioglu said that although there may be a
difference of views between the coalition partners at the “government”, currently
there is no crisis.
Referring to the student clashes that have taken place at the “Near
East University campus” this week, in a statement before entering the “council
of ministers” meeting on Wednesday, Yorgancioglu said that students who come
from abroad must be aware of the fact that they are in the “TRNC” (editor’s
note: the breakaway regime in the occupied area of the Republic of Cyprus) to
study. He added: “We hope that such issues are not repeated. We, as the
government, support justice and will take unbiased precautionary measures”.
Commenting on the football match between Greek Cypriot football
teams last week and the Turkish flag being torn to pieces during the match,
Yorgancioglu strongly condemned this act. “It doesn’t matter which country it
is, anything that is a symbol of a nation should be respected”, he said.
Moreover, Turkish Cypriot daily Afrika (10.04.14) reports that
Yorgancioglu said that he found the opportunity during the meeting with the EU Commissioner
for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy Stefan Fule to brief him on
their views regarding the Green Line Regulation. Yorgancioglu also said that
among their demands towards Fule is the increase of the financial aid.
6. Slovakian Ambassador visited Serdar Denktas
According to Turkish Cypriot daily Bakis (10.04.14), the Ambassador
of the Slovak Republic to Cyprus Oksana Tomova visited yesterday the leader of
the Democrat Party - National Forces (DP-UG) and self-styled deputy prime
minister and minister of economy, tourism, culture and sports Serdar Denktas at
the party headquarters.
7. Search and Rescue Exercise to be held on
April 24
Illegal Bayrak television
(09.04.14) broadcast that the Search and Rescue Exercise 2014 will be held on
24th April in the breakaway regime, as part of the 11th anniversary of the
establishment of the “International Universities Search and Rescue Coordination
Council”.
The exercise will be held
with the participation of 15 universities from 11 countries, and about 75
academicians and students will illegally visit the occupied area of Cyprus to
attend the exercise.
8. Grey Wolves allege that they are not the same with ELAM; BKP:
Racism is a crime, not an ideal
Turkish Cypriot daily Star Kibris
newspaper (10.04.14) reports that Olcay
Kilavuz, chairman of the breakaway regime’s so-called Hearths of the Ideal,
known as Grey Wolves, criticized the fact that “in some debates” his
organization “is equated” with ELAM organization which is active in the
government-controlled area of Cyprus. He alleged that ELAM is the continuation
of EOKA organization and the Grey Wolves are allegedly not the same. He argued that the “hearths of the Ideal”
have been supporting the “national cause of Cyprus” from the very beginning and
claimed that “the contribution of the hearths of the Ideal is big in bringing
onto the agenda of the public in Turkey the racist attack held against the
Turks in Cyprus”. He recalled that the nationalist movement’s (Grey Wolves)
creator is Alpaslan Turkes, whowas a Turkish Cypriot.
Meanwhile,
Turkish Cypriot daily Ortam newspaper (10.04.14) reports that the general
secretary of the United Cyprus Party (BKP), Abdullah Korkmazhan has demanded the closure of the Grey Wolves and
called on the “government” to perform its duty. In a written statement
issued yesterday, Korkmazhan pointed out that racism is a crime and not an
ideal. He argued that the Grey Wolves
and the “police” are responsible for the recent incidents at the illegal Near
East University (“YDU”). “We strongly protest
against the wave of arrests of progressive students and students of Kurdish
origin by providing protection to the aggressive fascist elements”,he said
and asked for the immediate removal of
the “police director” from his duties and the closure of the “racist Hearths
of the Ideal”.
(I/Ts.)
9. Antiquities were excavated in occupied
Avlona
According to Turkish Cypriot daily Kibris (10.04.14), antiquity
pieces were emerged by coincidence during construction works for a water pipe
for the “municipality” of occupied Morphou near the occupied village of Avlona.
The so-called department of antiquities and museums has been
carrying out the excavations for the last two weeks. The so-called head of the
Morphou branch of the “department of antiquities” Emine Sivri said that
according to the result of the excavations, it seems to be a holy sanctuary dating
to the Archaic, Classical, Hellenistic and Roman periods. The findings are
pieces of statues, idols, figures and even cressets made by terracotta. Sivri
noted that she believes that the place of the excavation is very important in
the archaeological history of Cyprus.
10. Turkey's
Higher Election Board rejects CHP’s appeal
Turkish Hurriyet Daily
News (10.04.14) reports that Turkey’s top election authority has rejected the appeal
of the main opposition Republican People’s Party’s (CHP) to cancel the results
of the contested local election in the capital city of Ankara.
The CHP’s nominee for the Ankara Metropolitan Municipality, Mansur
Yavas, had claimed that there were numerous accounts of fraud in the March 30
elections. He appealed to the Higher Election Board (YSK) on April 6, stating
that “the will of the people of Ankara is not accurately reflected in the
ballot boxes. We expect the YSK to impartially assess this situation and decide
for a repeat of the election.” However,
the YSK rejected the appeal with a unanimous vote. The Justice and Development
Party’s (AKP) incumbent candidate Melih Gokcek retained his post for a
fifth term after the elections, having
received his official approval on April
6.
11. Turkish
court rules to unblock YouTube, again
Turkish Hurriyet Daily
News (10.04.14) reports that a Turkish court in Ankara ruled to unblock the
popular video-sharing website YouTube on April 9, following its temporary
measure to reinstate the ban as per the prosecution’s request.
Access to YouTube was blocked March 27 by Turkey’s
Telecommunications Authority (TİB) without being supported by a court decision,
hours after recordings of a key security meeting on Syria were leaked online.
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