TURKISH CYPRIOT AND TURKISH MEDIA REVIEW
C O N T E N T S
No. 89/14 16.05.14
1. Davutoglu will pay an illegal visit tomorrow to the occupied area of Cyprus
2. Ozersay: We are at the negotiations table to balance anything emerges for the benefit of both sides
3. Nami: The non-solution of the Cyprus problem prevents us from obtaining financial profits
4. Sertoglu: "I am sure that the KTFF and KOP will reach an agreement soon"
5. Nami briefed students form Aydin University on the Cyprus problem
6. “Deputy economy minister of Kosovo” met with Nami
7. Commentary in Turkish press argues that only the US keeps the Cyprus negotiations alive
8. Arrests illegal excavations in the breakaway regime
9. Turkey refuses to sign ILO convention regarding safety and health in mines and this may be the reason for the mine accident in Soma
1. Davutoglu will pay an illegal visit tomorrow to the occupied area of Cyprus
According to Turkish Cypriot daily Kibris Postasi Daily News (online, 16.05.14), Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu is expected to arrive illegally in the occupied part of Nicosia tomorrow to meet Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu.
According to sources who spoke to the paper, Davutoglu and Eroglu will evaluate the latest developments on the negotiation process.
2. Ozersay: We are at the negotiations table to balance anything emerges for the benefit of both sides
Turkish Cypriot daily Kibris (16.05.14) reports that the Turkish Cypriot negotiator Kudret Ozersay said that anything that will emerge in whatsoever issue whether is on the framework of the comprehensive negotiations, or is in the context of the Confidence Building Measures, has to be something that will balance the interests of both sides. He added: “We are at this negotiation table for this reason, so everyone should be relaxed from this point”.
Speaking at a panel yesterday in the occupied Morphou where he briefed the participants on the latest stage reached in the Cyprus talks, Ozersay said that they are well aware as to how uncertainty towards the future has created anxiety within the public which is why they are frequently attending such meetings to inform the public on the course of the negotiations. He added: “Particularly when there is a lack of information, the level of public anxiety rises. We are still at the beginning of the negotiations and it’s very recent since we moved onto discussions on the substantive issues. We felt it is important to inform the public and to answer any questions they might have”.
Pointing out that important changes are taking place in the world, Ozersay said that it is important that the Turkish Cypriots exercised their own will as the world reshapes itself, actively taking part in the negotiations process.
Alleging that almost all approaches to achieving a bi-zonal, bi-communal federal partnership in Cyprus have been tried since 1968, Ozersay claimed that the Turkish Cypriots are the only ones who have become victims of the non-solution of the Cyprus problem.
3. Nami: The non-solution of the Cyprus problem prevents us from obtaining financial profits
Turkish Cypriot daily Kibris (16.05.14) reports that the self-styled minister of foreign affairs Ozdil Nami said that the most important reason that the political and financial conditions in the “TRNC” cannot be turned into opportunities is the Cyprus problem, adding that the non-solution of the Cyprus problem prevents the financial affairs of the occupied areas of Cyprus of obtaining profits.
In an opening speech to the “international career opportunities forum and Cyprus Turkish products exhibition”, Nami claimed that the non-solution of the Cyprus problem and the reportedly isolations affect mostly the production sector. Noting that the efforts to lift the restrictions despite all the negative conditions are continuing, Nami said that they are trying to keep in touch continuously with “state organizations”, associations and NGO’s on the sectors of the economy, industry and trade and to ensure openings abroad with the contribution of their representatives.
4. Sertoglu: "I am sure that the KTFF and KOP will reach an agreement soon"
According to Turkish Cypriot daily Kibris Postasi (16.05.14, online in English) the “chairman” of the “Turkish Cypriot Football Federation” (“KTFF”) Hasan Sertoglu, in statements during a press conference organized by the “KTFF”, said that he believes that they will reach an agreement with the Cyprus Football Association (KOP) at the end of the year.
“If we cannot reach an agreement by the end of the year, we will not prolong the process”, Sertoglu said.
Noting that the process to reach an agreement is a challenging one, he said that progress was achieved through the goodwill of both sides. “Neither I nor the President of KOP made any negative statements. We both acted with optimism. If we have progress today we owe it to our positivity”.
Sertoglu also underlined the need for mutual trust and said that they have decided to attend each other’s activities and events as a guest in order to build and strengthen mutual trust. “We cancelled the KTFF 2013-2014 Achievement Awards Night following the tragic incident in Soma. If it wasn’t cancelled the President of KOP was going to attend the night with his delegation”, said Sertoglu.
Sertoglu stated that Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot youth should contact more often and trust each other. He stressed the importance of Dumlupınar (occupied Ahna) Sports Club’s youth participation to a tournament in the “south”.
“My belief in an agreement between the two federations increased from 50% to 70%. I am sure that by the end of 2014 we will reach an agreement”, he added.
Speaking also during the press conference, Jerome Champagne, former FIFA official emphasized on mutual trust and noted that mutual trust and understanding cannot be achieved solely through signed agreements.
“The relations between KOP and KTFF will be discussed during the FIFA Congress in Brazil where 209 federations from all over the world will be informed about the process in Cyprus”, added Champagne and said that he believes that the Cyprus Football will be at the center of interest at the congress.
5. Nami briefed students form Aydin University on the Cyprus problem
Turkish Cypriot daily Kibris (16.05.14) reports that self-styled foreign minister Ozdil Nami, during a meeting with a delegation from the Political Academy of the Istanbul Aydin University’s Turkey Studies, Application and Research Centre, said that the priority of the “ministry” is the Cyprus problem, adding that they support the “presidency” on the on-going Cyprus talks.
Nami briefed the delegation on the Cyprus problem, the policies being followed and the latest stage of the Cyprus talks. He also explained them that with a decision of the “council of ministers”, the work of the coordination affairs with the EU have been given to the “foreign ministry”.
Banu Dalaman, Head of Turkey’s Research Centre, said that with the Political Academy, opportunities are created for the students to make practice. She added that they do very often this kind of activities in Turkey and the students after Paris, London and Brussels, she alleged, want to promote the “TRNC model” (translator’s note: the breakaway regime in the occupied area of the Republic of Cyprus).
6. “Deputy economy minister of Kosovo” met with Nami
According to illegal Bayrak television (online, 16.05.14), the self-styled minister of foreign affairs Ozdil Nami met yesterday with the “deputy economy minister of Kosovo” Ramadan Hasan in the occupied area of Cyprus.
Hasan is accompanied by his adviser Maria Doday and the Kosovan businessman Suat Berisah. No statements were made in the meeting.
7. Commentary in Turkish press argues that only the US keeps the Cyprus negotiations alive
Under the title “Cyprus: Same gap between desire and hope”, Turkish daily Today’s Zaman newspaper (15.05.14) published a commentary by Yavuz Bayrar who writes how the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) decision on Turkey to pay damages in the amount of 90 million euro to the Republic of Cyprus, will affect the negotiations.
The commentary is as follows:
“Was it a coincidence that the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) just ordered Turkey to pay damages in the amount of 90 million euro to the (Greek) Cypriot government for the Greek Cypriot families regarded as the victims of the Turkish invasion in 1974? The answer is not important. It is the ruling itself and its consequences that matter most. So, the much more important question is whether or not the verdict will overshadow the negotiations that are now intensifying.
The signs are that Ankara will downplay the judgment. […]
[…] What has made a difference this time, after a lapse in the negotiations of two years, was the external pressure -- particularly from the US -- stemming from the vital security and energy dimensions in the east Mediterranean region. Add to that the encouragement and engagement of the two “related” and guarantor countries, Turkey and Greece, which seem willing to strengthen a four-party discussion in order to achieve results.
There are two domestic factors that the mediators hope will be helpful. Austerity measures and structural reforms pushed by Ankara in the Turkish north dismayed Turkish Cypriots and made them more inclined to find a solution. Meanwhile, the discovery of a significant amount of hydrocarbons in the east Mediterranean basin has opened up new opportunities for efficient conflict resolution.
Mistrust between Turkish and Greek Cypriot leadership is still an unresolved issue. […]
So, fragile though it seems, there is still momentum for peace. But should we be optimistic? According to Ahmet Sozen, one of the sharpest observers and analysts of the process, it is “only caution” that matters now, not optimism. Why? He explained to me that the basis of the talks is “vague.” […]
“I see that the two sides have once again fallen into the old patterns: First, the 'blame game' -- putting the blame on the other side every day in the media, and second, the negotiations -- just like the previous ones -- are being conducted cut off from the rest of the society. Hence, people will lose hope and interest in the process. There is no internal mechanism for civil society, etc. to be able to encourage the two leaders to take bold action, either.”
How far can the US push the process forward? “Today, it is the Americans who are keeping the negotiation process alive. But at the end of the day, there is a limit to what they can do. You need the two Cypriot sides to sit down and deal with the details of a settlement [a peace agreement, a constitution for the federal state, two constitutions for constituent states, the federal laws, and so on]. It is exactly this -- what I do not see happening in Cyprus -- that keeps me from being optimistic.””
8. Arrests illegal excavations in the breakaway regime
Turkish Cypriot daily Halkin Sesi newspaper (16.05.14) writes that two persons were sentenced in jail in the breakaway regime for conducting excavation without “license” in the occupied Giallousa and Agios Theodoros villages.
According to the paper 15 pieces of artifacts dated in the geometric iron age were found in the procession of these persons.
9. Turkey refuses to sign ILO convention regarding safety and health in mines and this may be the reason for the mine accident in Soma
Turkish Hurriyet Daily News (16.05.14) reports that questions have been raised over the mine accident in Soma that left at least 282 people dead, arguing that the country’s poor workplace safety standards stem partly from its failure to ratify the Safety and Health in Mines Convention of the International Labour Organization (ILO).
Convention No. 176 was established in 1995 in order to prevent any fatalities, injuries or ill health affecting workers or members of the public, or damage to the environment arising from mining operations. The Convention has been ratified by 28 countries, including the United States, Brazil, Russia, Armenia, Germany and Zimbabwe, but Turkey has refused to recognize the document.
The Convention delegates responsibility to governments and the owners of mines with regard to safety and health. An education specialist from the Confederation of Turkish Trade Unions (Turk-İs), Ozan Karabulut, said they had failed in their attempts to have Ankara ratify the Convention, highlighting that employers always consider work safety as a costly element.
----------------------------------------------------
TURKISH AFFAIRS SECTION
http://www.moi.gov.cy/pio
