TURKISH CYPRIOT AND
TURKISH MEDIA REVIEW
C O N T E N T S
No. 136/14 24.07.14
1. The Turkish so-called embassy in the occupied part
of Nicosia publishes the regime’s “Economic Situation Report” for 2013
2. Akca says that 90 thousand Turkish voters exist in
the occupied part of Cyprus
3. Ozersay: The issue of guarantees should be
discussed during a meeting with the guarantor states
4. Elcil accuses Eroglu of representing Ankara’s
interests at the negotiating table and calls on him to resign
5. Talat evaluates the Cyprus problem
6. Afrika reports that Atalay will pay an illegal
visit to the breakaway regime tomorrow to gather votes for Erdogan
7. Self-styled natural resources minister’s visit to
France, for inspecting a stone quarry rehabilitation company created reaction
8. German Ambassador to Cyprus paid a farewell visit
to Eroglu
9. AKP: The water project will be completed in
September
10. Hamas rejects Gaza truce despite Turkey's fresh
bid
11. PACE delegation express concern about the fairness
in the Presidential election in Turkey
12. Court says no need for Erdogan to resign
13. The Felicity Party in Turkey will not support any
of the candidates
1. The Turkish so-called embassy in the occupied part of
Nicosia publishes the regime’s “Economic Situation Report” for 2013
Turkish
Cypriot daily Kibris newspaper (24.07.14) reports that the so-called embassy of Turkey in the occupied part of Nicosia has
published the breakaway regime’s “2013 Economic Situation Report”. In his
presentation article in the report, the Turkish so-called ambassador, Halil Ibrahim Akca said that it is
absolutely urgent to complete the reforms in the sectors put forward in the
program so that the “TRNC’s”, as he called the breakaway regime, economic
growth to speed up and prosperity to increase. Otherwise, he argued, the difference with Turkey will grow and the
regime will lose the opportunity to catch up with the “south Cyprus Greek
administration”, as he describes the Republic of Cyprus, which “has carried
out some important fundamental arrangements for the future by making structural
reforms more quickly in spite of the fact that it had entered into
crisis”.
Akca said that looking for additional cash from Turkey instead of
creating new resources in the occupied area of Cyprus has pushed the relations
of the regime with Turkey into an unhealthy basis. He
noted that the programs, which have adopted during the past years in the
economic relations between Turkey and the breakaway regime, started becoming
“an institution”. He argued that thanks
to the programs prepared every three years, the sides know and see their
responsibilities better.
Akca
said that during 2013, the first year of
the implementation of the current program, three “governments” changed in the
occupied area of Cyprus and important progress has been achieved on the
issue of the reforms. He noted that no
concessions were given in the financial discipline and the private sector
continued to develop. Especially the sectors of tourism and education, he
added, have overtaken the burden of the economy and significantly contributed
in the positive growth of the economy, in spite of the important shrinking of agriculture.
According
to the report, the GDP in current
prices increased to seven million 882
thousand Turkish liras (TL) in 2013 from five million 376 thousand TL in
2009 orto four million 107 thousand
dollars from three million 477 thousand dollars. The real growth had been -5% in 2009 and increased to +2% in 2013. Inflation, however, increased to 10.2% in 2013 from 5.7% in
2009. The budget deficit, which had
been 622 million TL in 2009, decreased
to 411 million TL in 2013.
The
report writes also that the population
in the occupied area of Cyprus, which had been 283 thousand and 736 persons
in 2009, increased to 286 thousand and
257 persons in 2013.The unemployment rate had been 12.4% in 2009 (101
thousand and 181 persons) and decreased
to 9.7% (or 91 thousand 550 persons) in 2013.
(I/Ts.)
2. Akca says that 90 thousand Turkish voters exist in the
occupied part of Cyprus
Turkish
Cypriot daily Kibris newspaper (24.07.14) reports that the Turkish so-called
ambassadorin the occupied part of Nicosia, Halil
Ibrahim Akca said yesterday that about 90 thousand persons in the occupied area
of the Republic of Cyprus have the right to vote in the Presidential
Elections which will be held in Turkey
on 10 August.
Speaking
at a press conference, Akca noted that during the past elections they had
established ballot boxes at the customs gates, but this has been proved to be
difficult for the voters and the turnout was low. Akca said now they have
decided to place ballot boxes in countries where adequate number of voters
exists.
Akca added that, according to the latest register study, around 90
thousand Turkish voters exist in the occupied area of Cyprus. He noted that a
big part of these voters are students, another part are those who work in the
occupied area having “work permit” or possess “double citizenship”, that
is, they also have the “citizenship” of the breakaway regime.
Furthermore,
Akca gave information to the voters on how they could exercise their right to
vote.
Meanwhile,
commenting on Akca’s statements, Turkish Cypriot Afrika newspaper (24.07.14) wonders
whether these 90 thousand persons have the right to vote in the “elections”
held in the occupied area of Cyprus as well. Under the title “They will
first elect the President in Turkey and afterwards our president”, the paper
notes that if this number is valid for
the Turkish Cypriot so-called elections as well, this means that the Turkish
settlers are more than the Turkish Cypriots. “Anyway, no presentable
classification was ever made on this issue”, points out Afrika noting that
during the last “elections” around 175 thousand persons had the right to
“vote”.
Noting
that according to estimations by the Greek Cypriots, the number of the Turkish
Cypriots is 80 thousand persons, the paper concludes as following: “Our community has from time immemorial been
referred to as being 120 thousands. It seems that the situation has not changed
too much. However, now it is definite that we are not even 120 thousands.
Those having double citizenship will elect the President of the Republic of
Turkey. Next year they will elect our president. Wonderful!”
(I/Ts.)
3. Ozersay: The issue of guarantees should be discussed during
a meeting with the guarantor states
According
to Turkish Cypriot daily Kibris Postasi Daily News (online, 24.07.14), the
Turkish Cypriot negotiator KudretOzeray said that the two sides completed the
proposal submission during yesterday's meeting.
Speaking
to the press after the meeting, Ozersay said that both Turkish Cypriot and
Greek Cypriot negotiating teams did whatever it was necessary and that the issue of guarantees would be discussed
during a meeting where the guarantor states will also be present. According to Ozersay, the UN Security
Council is in no position to make decisions therefore the guarantors and the
Cypriot leaders should meet and negotiate the issue of guarantees.
During
the meeting, which lasted around 5 hours, the Turkish Cypriot side submitted a
proposal on economy, land arrangement and EU affairs while the Greek Cypriot
side submitted the written version of their proposals on security and
guarantees.
Ozersay
said that economists from both sides were also present during the meeting where
the two negotiators discussed the “land”
issues, however, they didn't touch “map and numbers” as agreed during their
earlier meetings.
He
also noted that the next phase of the negotiations will be decided by the
leaders. “The evaluation of the current phase that is almost finalized will be
done by the two leaders. After tomorrow's meeting the leaders will have some
political decisions to make in order to determine the nature of the next
phase”, said Ozersay.
Speaking
upon a question regarding the issue of guarantees, Ozersay said that “looking
at all the violence in some parts of the world and considering the state of
international relations anyone can see that the UN Security Council is no
longer an effective decision making organ. If
a decision on guarantee systems is left to the UN Security Council, this will
not mean anything for the Turkish Cypriots”. Ozersay added that guarantees
should be discussed during a meeting with the guarantors and that this would
not mean negotiating all the headings with the guarantors.
4. Elcil accuses Eroglu of representing Ankara’s interests at
the negotiating table and calls on him to resign
Turkish
Cypriot daily Afrika newspaper (24.07.14) reports that SenerElcil, general secretary of the Turkish Cypriot primary school
teachers’ trade union (KTOS), has
criticized the Turkish Cypriot leader, DervisEroglu for the statement he had
made to BBC’s Turkish Service and called on him to resign. Elcil accused Eroglu of exerting efforts
for the non-solution at the negotiating table and of defending the interests of
Turkey and not the ones of the Turkish Cypriots. Elcil noted that “those who act with Ankara’s instructions
lead Cyprus towards the permanent division and not towards unification”.
He
argued: “The statements made by the
officials from Turkey and their collaborators in North Cyprus within the
framework of 20 July celebrations, have once more shown that the real intention
is not the solution and the reunification of our island. Especially the
continuous repetition of the emphasis on two peoples, two states reaffirmed
that the intention of dividing our island continues. The statement made by Mr Eroglu to BBC’s
Turkish Service and published in our press is a complete exemplary document. Mr
Eroglu continues to reject the rights gained by the Turkish Cypriots
internationally and says that he is against the use of these rights. With the
contradictory statements he made, he even rejects the existing citizenship
rights of the Turkish Cypriots in the Republic of Cyprus and he is even able to
say that the Turkish Cypriots are not citizens of the Republic of Cyprus…”
(I/Ts.)
5.Talat evaluates the Cyprus problem
Turkish Cypriot
daily Diyalog newspaper (24.07.14) reports on statements by the former Turkish
Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat who
evaluated to a televised program broadcast by illegal BRT the Cyprus problem
together with other issues.
On the Cyprus
problem, Talat alleged that the “15th of July coup d’ etat”, as well as the “20th of July peace
operation”, as he called the Turkish invasion in Cyprus, have brought the
Cyprus problem in a new phase, that is, as he said, the consensus for looking
to an agreement on the basis of a federation.
Stating that the
negotiations on the Cyprus problem all these years yielded no result, Talat reiterated his view that if the
Turkish Cypriot side does the necessary for the solution, there will be a
progress and added that the Turkish Cypriot side’s leadership on the solution
has been reduced. “This match will not end in a draw”, and this status quo will
not be permanent and thus it must change”, Talat said.
Recalling the
five-step proposal submitted by the Turkish Cypriot side to the Greek Cypriot
side and a three-step proposal which has also been submitted before, Talat
underlined that “what is more essential, is the existence of political
will”.
Stating that it would be wrong to proceed to a
referendum since no convergences were reached, Talat said that it is important
for the sides to reach to an agreement first and then go to a referendum.
Referring to the issue of the maps, Talat supported
that the discussion on maps would cause bigger discomfort than the property
issue, adding that the Greek Cypriot side utilizes this.
(AK)
6. Afrika reports that Atalay will pay an illegal visit to the
breakaway regime tomorrow to gather votes for Erdogan
Turkish Cypriot daily Afrika newspaper (24.07.14) reports that the
Turkish Deputy Prime Minister responsible for Cypriot Affairs, BesirAtalay will
pay an illegal visit to the occupied area of Cyprus tomorrow.
The
paper argues that the aim of Atalay’s
visit is to gather votes for the forthcoming presidential elections in
Turkey, adding that Atalay is said to
launch a campaign in the breakaway regime in favour of the Turkish Prime
Minister and candidate for the presidential
elections, Tayyip Erdogan.
7. Self-styled natural resources minister’s visit to France,
for inspecting a stone quarry rehabilitation company created reaction
Turkish
Cypriot daily Havadis newspaper (24.07.14) reports that the visit of the
so-called minister of environment and natural resources HamitBakirci in
Marseille, France, upon an invitation of a French company, stirs reactions in
the breakaway regime due to the secrecy kept about the “minister’s” visit.
The
paper writes that Bakirci is visiting Marseille, heading a delegation
consisting of his “ministry’s officials”, the director of “geology and mine
department” Mustafa Avkaravli and representatives of specialized companies from
Turkey and the breakaway regime. The visit is not considered to be an
“official” one and is kept under secrecy regarding its aims.
According
to a statement made by Bakirci’s spokesman, the self-styled minister was
invited by a French businessman and is visiting France in order to do
examination on the issue of a stone quarry rehabilitation. The name of the
French company is not mentioned. Citing information, the paper writes that the
company, who covers the expenses of Bakirci and his delegation visit, is said
to be the one that is responsible for the lime stone quarry in occupied Gastria
village.
8. German Ambassador to Cyprus paid a farewell visit to Eroglu
According
to illegal Bayrak television (online, 24.07.14), the German Ambassador to
Cyprus Gabriella Guellil, whose term in Cyprus has come to an end, paid a
farewell visit to the Turkish Cypriot leader DervisEroglu on Wednesday morning.
The
meeting took place behind closed doors.
9. AKP: The water project will be completed in September
Under
the title “Century’s Project’ for transporting water to Cyprus to be completed
in September: AKP”, Turkish daily Hurriyet Daily News (online, 24.07.14)
reports that the ruling Justice and
Development Party (AKP) has said that the pipeline project that will transport
water from Turkey to “northern Cyprus” (editor’s note: the occupied area of the
Republic of Cyprus) via tunnels under the Mediterranean Sea will be completed
shortly.
The
AKP’s IhsanSener, who is in charge of promotion and media affairs, stated that the party expected the pipeline project to
be completed and inaugurated in September, in his written statement on July 23.
The
project, dubbed “The Century’s Project,” intends to provide water from the
AnamurAlakopru Dam to northern Cyprus, according to a written statement by
Sener released on July 23.
The
project was discussed during President Abdullah Gul’s illegal visit to the
occupied part of Nicosia on July 20, during which he attended a ceremony
marking the 40th anniversary of Turkey’s military invasion on the island in
1974.
During
the ceremony, Turkish Cypriot leader DervisEroglu said they expected to see the
completion of “The Century’s Project” soon.
10. Hamas rejects Gaza truce despite Turkey's fresh bid
Turkish
daily Hurriyet Daily News (online, 24.07.14) reports that Turkey has been working behind the scenes to bring a cessation to
hostilities to the conflict between Hamas and Israel in Gaza, leaning on the
Hamas leader to agree to a truce pending negotiations on a more thorough
settlement, before the Palestinian group rejected the latest bid.
In a
visit to Ankara last week, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas asked Turkish
Prime Minister RecepTayyip Erdogan to convince Hamas’ KhaledMashaal to accept
an immediate cease-fire deal with Israel, Palestinian Ambassador to Turkey
Nabil Maarouf told the paper on July 23. Maarouf added that Erdogan discussed
the matter with Mashaal by phone on the same night.
A
Turkish official told the Daily News that Turkey was "continuing efforts
within the framework set by Abbas."
Asked
if Mashaal failed to agree to the deal despite Erdogan’s call, Maarouf said: “I
can’t say that they could not convince him, but what I can say is that Turkish
leaders believe that we have to stop the killing of the Palestinians and then negotiate
the terms.”
Following
Erdogan’s phone call and the special envoy’s visit to Mashaal, Abbas visited
Doha over the weekend and met Qatari officials and the Hamas leader, but failed
to reach a final decision.
“Mashaal
made a statement [to the effect] that we understand what President Abbas is
doing and we appreciate it, but we did not give him an immediate answer. This
means that they are studying the proposal about a cease-fire,” he added.
The
ambassador also denied that Turkey "sabotaged" the cease-fire
initiatives, as claimed by Israel.
“I
am sure the Israelis don’t want Turkey to be in the picture. They don’t mind if
the Qataris interfere with the Egyptians, but they prefer not to see the Turks
in the process,” Maarouf said.
“Before
the Mavi Marmara incident, Turkey had good relations with Israel. Turkey was
always talking about being a facilitator, a meditator. Turkey tried many times.
It’s good for us if we have a brotherly country that exerts pressure on Israel,
but the facts are that Israel will never fall under any pressure apart from the
U.S. because they are sure the U.S. is 100% or more with them,” he added.
Hours after Maarouf's statement, Hamas rejected a ceasefire with
Israel unless the blockade on the Gaza Strip is lifted. "We
reject today... and will reject in the future" a ceasefire before
negotiations on Hamas’ demands, which include lifting years of blockade against
the Palestinian enclave, Hamas chief Meshaal told reporters in Doha late July
23.
11.PACE delegation express concern about the
fairness in the Presidential election in Turkey
Turkish daily
Today’s Zaman newspaper (23.07.14) reported that a delegation from the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
(PACE) has expressed concern about election fairness following talks it held
recently in Ankara regarding the upcoming Presidential election process.
The six-member PACE delegation was in Ankara from July
21-22 for a visit ahead of the Presidential election on August 10.
Five members of
the PACE delegation, representing each of the political groups within PACE,
along with a rapporteur of the assembly's monitoring committee, held talks in
the capital at the beginning of the week with journalists, NGOs and
representatives of the three Presidential candidates, among other parties, to
assess the electoral framework and campaign.
During its visit
the delegation also met with Ekmeleddin İhsanoglu, joint Presidential candidate
of the Republican People's Party (CHP) and the Nationalist Movement Party
(MHP), YalcinAkdogan, chief advisor to the Prime Minister, and NazmiGür,
representative of SelahattinDemirtas, the Presidential candidate of the
Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), about the election process. The delegation
also had talks with the chairmen of the Supreme Election Board (YSK) and the
Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK).
The delegation
released a statement on Thursday on the PACE website, saying: “[The
delegation] reiterates its concerns about the shortcomings in the regulations
concerning campaign expenditure, misuse of administrative resources by one
candidate and unbalanced media coverage.” Although welcoming a step taken
to regulate funding of the election campaign, including limitations on
individual donations, the delegation said in its statement that “it would be necessary to reinforce the
legislation by introducing a ceiling for campaign expenditures to enable proper
monitoring of the spending of the funds, and to ensure the same opportunities
for all candidates.”
The delegation also drew attention to the weaknesses
of the current monitoring mechanism of the election campaign accounts of
presidential candidates, saying: “The legislation should be fine-tuned to
clarify the role of political parties, the issue of in-kind contributions and
personal resources of candidates.”
The fairness of the presidential election is
overshadowed by the fact that Prime Minister RecepTayyip Erdogan, who is
running for President as the candidate of the ruling Justice and Development
Party (AK Party), has been conducting his campaign without resigning from
office.
Erdogan's
candidacy is one of the issues dealt with in the PACE delegation's statement. Although the statement said Erdogan was not
required by law to resign, the delegation expressed concern, saying the administrative
means available to Erdogan as Prime Minister would give him disproportionate
access to resources and media coverage, in the absence of strict regulations.
Use of administrative resources by candidates is normally forbidden in law.
“The issue of misuse of administrative
resources was raised on several occasions during the meetings. The delegation
therefore called upon the authorities to adopt clearer and stricter regulations
related to the activities carried out by incumbent politicians standing in
Presidential elections,” the statement said.
Opposition
parties have much criticized the presidential candidate of the ruling party for
enjoying more airtime than the other candidates on the state-owned Turkish
Radio and Television Corporation (TRT).
Unbalanced media coverage in favour of Erdogan during
the election campaign, for which he has also been much criticized by the
opposition, is another point the PACE delegation drew attention to, as a matter
that needs to be actively taken care of.
Noting that all
broadcasters, including the TRT, are required to ensure impartial and equal
media coverage of the campaign, PACE's statement continued: “The delegation
regretted the lack of a timely response by state institutions to redress
unbalanced media coverage during the campaign, which occurred despite the
existing legal provisions. The
delegation calls upon all stakeholders, in particular the RTÜK and the YSK, to
be more efficient in applying the law and using the measures foreseen in the
legislation, and to ensure equal airtime to all candidates.”
(…)
The PACE delegation further revealed that it had
concerns about the fairness of elections in Turkey,
saying: “The introduction of a clear legal provision accrediting domestic and
international observers during future elections would further increase the
transparency of and confidence in the election process as a whole. Observers should be able to freely observe
all steps of the electoral process (voting, counting, drafting and tabulation
of the votes).”
A full delegation of 30 PACE observers will return to
Turkey to observe the August 10 election.
12. Court says no need for Erdogan to resign
According
to news portal World Bulletin (online, 24.07.14), Turkey's Constitutional Court has turned down an appeal from opposition
parties objecting to the candidacy of Prime Minister RecepTayyip Erdogan in the
presidential election.
The
Republican People's Party and the Liberal Democratic Party filed independent
claims that Erdogan should step down as Prime Minister if he is to run for
President.
The
court ruled on Wednesday that there was a "lack of jurisdiction over the
person" in the claims, allowing Erdogan to stay in office for the duration
of the presidential campaign.
13. The Felicity Party in Turkey will not support any of the
candidates
According
to Turkish daily Sabah (online, 24.07.14), the
leader of Turkey's Felicity Party (SP) Mustafa Kamalak announced that they will
not support any of the candidates in the upcoming presidential elections that
will be held on August 10.
He
said: “This decision was taken after consultations within party members and all
party organizations. If the President is
not elected in the first round, we will reconsider our decision for the second
round”.
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TURKISH AFFAIRS SECTION
