TURKISH CYPRIOT AND
TURKISH MEDIA REVIEW
C O N T E N T S
No. 157/14
23-25.08.14
1.
Eroglu in Trabzon: “The Cyprus negotiation process has not
collapsed”
2.
Nami: “Anastasiades dealt the first blow
to the negotiations”
3.
Ozersay: The appointment of UNSG’s
Special Adviser on Cyprus will give acceleration to the talks; Sports
is the less problematic chapter
4. Erdogan to illegally visit the occupied area of Cyprus on
September 1st
5.
Erdogan discussed the Cyprus problem
with Ban
6.
Suspicions for Ebola virus incident in occupied area of Cyprus turned
wrong
7.
Information about constructions in the breakaway regime
8.
Cirali argues that they have the capacity
to inspect the production of halloumi cheese
9.
The breakaway regime exported USD
120.681.239 goods last year; The majority of the exports consist of
agriculture products
10. CTP
delegates prefer Siber than Talat to be the party’s candidate for
the “2015 presidential elections”
11.
Leaders from 51 countries to attend Erdogan’s swear-in ceremony
1.
Eroglu in Trabzon: “The Cyprus
negotiation process has not collapsed”
According
to illegal Bayrak television (23.08.14) Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis
Eroglu in a conference he delivered yesterday in the
Turkish Black Sea city of Trabzon, titled: “Our National Cause
Cyprus”, gave important messages on the Cyprus negotiations process
and the nomination of Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu as
Turkey’s new Prime Minister.
Speaking
at the conference, Eroglu said that
contrary to claims, the ongoing Cyprus negotiations process had not
collapsed and that the talks will resume in September following a
short summer break.
Eroglu
repeated that the Turkish Cypriot side was ready to move on to a
process of give and take.
Stating
that the Turkish Cypriot side was ready to
hold a referendum in the first months of next year, Eroglu said: “I
hope our Greek Cypriot neighbors will exercise common sense and
change their current stance in the talks”.
Also
touching upon the issue of the appointment of Espen Barth Eide as the
new UN Special Adviser to Cyprus, Eroglu expressed the hope that the
new UN Envoy will preserve his impartiality and will be successful
while carrying out his duty.
Eroglu
also said that the Turkish Cypriot side will never accept a solution
which would not safeguard the interests of the Turkish Cypriot
“people” or which would lead to a repetition of the “bitter
experiences” of the past. “We will not accept a solution for the
sake of proving how peaceful we are”, he said.
Also,
commenting during his visits on the
nomination of Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu as Turkey’s
new Prime Minister, Eroglu said: “Mr.
Davutoglu is to become the leader of a party and Prime Minister of a
government which we are in close consultation with. As
you all know we are conducting the Cyprus negotiations process in
close consultation with the Turkish government. Generally our most
important collocutor is the Foreign Ministry. Therefore we are two
very close friends who know each other very
well. I would like to wish him all the success. Our
cooperation will continue as and when he becomes Prime Minister”.
2.
Nami: “Anastasiades dealt the first
blow to the negotiations”
Turkish
Cypriot daily Star Kibris newspaper (23.08.14) reports that Ozdil
Nami, self-styled foreign minister of
the breakaway regime in the occupied area of the Republic of Cyprus,
has alleged that Turkey has a
well-established policy regarding the Cyprus problem and added that
the newly elected President of the Republic, Recep Tayyip Erdogan had
offered his support to the joint declaration
signed between the leaders of the two communities during his term as
Prime Minister.
In
an interview with Ada TV, Nami alleged
that the first blow to the negotiations for finding a solution to the
Cyprus problem was dealt by President Anastasiades.
“Instead of going to intensive negotiations at the leaders’
level, he went to the National Council and appointed Mavroyiannis to
the post of the negotiator and distanced himself from the negotiating
table”, he claimed referring to President Anastasiades. He noted
that “unfortunately” the Turkish Cypriot side took the same step
and recalled that as “foreign minister” he had said that this was
wrong and that the level of the negotiations would be degraded.
Nami
argued that it was not possible to form a single convergence paper at
the current talks and the leaders negotiate on how they will carry
out the negotiations.
Referring
to the role of Turkey, Nami alleged:
“Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan was informed about the joint
declaration and offered his support. Davutoglu also offered his
support in the same manner. Turkey has a
very well established policy regarding the Cyprus problem. This
started to be formed in 2003 and during the period of more than ten
years that passed since then, it was further established.
We have absolutely no doubt that Davutoglu will succeed in his new
duties. We are all interested in the issue of who the new Foreign
Minister will be. We will wait and see who the new Foreign Minister
will be. We think that when the new
Foreign Minister is established to his post, he will carry out his
first visit to the TRNC”.
Nami
noted that he never becomes pessimist over the Cyprus problem and
expressed the belief that the problem
“will be solved the one way or the other”.
(I/Ts.)
3.
Ozersay: The appointment of UNSG’s
Special Adviser on Cyprus will give acceleration to the talks; Sports
is the less problematic chapter
Turkish
Cypriot daily Kibris newspaper (25.08.14) reports that the Turkish
Cypriot negotiator, Kudret Ozersay has
said that they welcome as a positive development the appointment of
former Norwegian Foreign Minister, Espen Barth Eide to the post of
the UN Secretary – General’s Special Adviser for Cyprus.
He argued that this is a positive development from the point of view
of the disciple of the process and the more active participation of
the UN. “We see it as a step which
will give acceleration to the process”,
he said adding that “the appointment of a Special Adviser will
secure the further engagement of the UN Secretary-General in
the process”.
Ozersay
said that some difficulties exist in the process since February and
expressed the view that the UN could “in institutional sense”
assist in the overcoming of these difficulties. Ozersay
alleged that the Greek Cypriot side submits proposals outside the
established UN parameters on some issues. “We are face to face with
proposals which will seriously harm the bi-zonality and conditionally
the political equality”, he claimed.
Meanwhile,
in statements to Kibris, Ozersay referred to the issue of sports and
said that when a comprehensive solution is found, sports will be
within the scope of the authorities of the “founding states”. “We
have agreed that internationally the two founding states should
cooperate on issues which enter into the area of power of the
founding states. Sports are one of these fields together with health
and tourism”, he added.
Ozersay
argued that the issue of sports is the less problematic chapter in
the ongoing negotiations and added that they submitted a proposal for
holding a basketball game or a tournament between teams of disabled
persons. He claimed that they submitted
this proposal with the aim of “correcting the wrong perception”
which exists in the Turkish Cypriot side and derives from the
so-called obstacles allegedly put to the Turkish Cypriots in the
international contacts especially in the fields of sports, education
and culture.
He
alleged that if the proposals included in the confidence building
measures are materialized, the so-called obstacles in the field of
sports could be lifted and they could establish relations as equals
without losing their identity.
He said
that the above-mentioned proposal was included in the eight
confidence building measures discussed between himself and his Greek
Cypriot counterpart, Andreas Mavroyiannis during their recent
nine-hour meeting before the last meeting between the community
leaders.
(I/Ts.)
4.
Erdogan to illegally visit the
occupied area of Cyprus on September 1st
Turkish
daily Hurriyet Daily News (22.08.14) reported that newly
elected- President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s first trips abroad will
be in “north Cyprus” and Azerbaijan on September 1 and 3
respectively, in line with the country’s state traditions.
Erdogan,
who will take over the Presidential office on August 28, will visit
the occupied area of Cyprus, only three days after the handover
ceremony and then will go to Baku to meet Azerbaijani President İlham
Aliyev and other Azerbaijani officials.
The
“TRNC”, stands as Turkey’s national cause and Azerbaijan is
regarded as Turkey’s national ally.
Erdogan’s
next foreign policy engagement will be at the NATO Summit, which will
take place in Wales from September 4-5. It will mark his first
multilateral appearance where he is expected to hold bilateral
meetings with various prominent leaders of NATO countries.
Erdogan
will also participate in the U.N. General Assembly meeting from
September 21-26 in New York.
5.
Erdogan discussed the Cyprus
problem with Ban
According
to illegal Bayrak television (23.08.14) the UN
Secretary General Ban Ki moon made a series of calls yesterday to a
number of key players in the Middle East to discuss the situation in
Gaza.
The
elected- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was among those who
the UN Secretary General spoke with during his phone conversations.
Ban
who brought up the issue of Cyprus during his conversation with
Erdogan, highlighted Erdogan’s role in reaching a comprehensive
solution in Cyprus.
The UN
Secretary General told President-elect Erdogan that his “personal
engagement and support in reaching a comprehensive settlement in
Cyprus was vital.”
He
further said that he looks forward to the President-elect’s
participation in the upcoming Climate Summit in New York in September
this year.
6.
Suspicions for Ebola virus
incident in occupied area of Cyprus turned wrong
Under
the title: “It is not Ebola virus is
Typhus”, Turkish Cypriot daily Havadis newspaper (25.08.14) reports
that panic was caused in the occupied area of Cyprus after suspicions
that the Ebola virus has stroked a Nigerian youth living in the
occupied area of Cyprus.
As the
paper writes, a 21-year old Nigerian youth called Maria Orinya has
visited the occupied Famagusta hospital with symptoms of high fever
and was placed in a quarantine after suspicions that she
was suffering from the Ebola virus, which caused thousands of deaths
abroad.
According
to the paper, after three hours of examinations, it was found out
that the youth from Nigeria was suffering from Typhus and not Ebola
virus.
(AK)
7.
Information about constructions
in the breakaway regime
Turkish
Cypriot daily Havadis newspaper (24.08.14) reports that the chairman
of the Turkish Cypriot Contractors Association Cafer Gurcafer stated
that in 2007, 20.000 constructions were delivered in the breakaway
regime and added that 16.000 of them contributed back to the
economy. He also said that 4.000 of the
constructions are not in active use, adding that the “government”
must take action so that these constructions to contribute to the
economy as well.
Gurcafer
also claimed that there is demand
from Russia, China, Middle East and Arab countries for these
constructions. He went on and added that the solution is a condition
for foreign investments to be made in the “country”, adding that
the main problem as regards the construction industry is the issue of
property which remains unclear as long as there is no solution of the
Cyprus problem.
8.
Cirali argues that they have the
capacity to inspect the production of halloumi cheese
Turkish
Cypriot daily Kibris newspaper (24.08.14) reports that Ali
Cirali, chairman of the Turkish Cypriot
chamber of industry, has said that his
organization is ready to carry out inspections on the issue of the
production of halloumi cheese in the occupied area of Cyprus and
argued that they have the capacity for this.
In
statements to Kibris, Cirali recalled that the Republic of Cyprus has
applied to the EU for registering halloumi-hellim internationally and
said that every product which is registered should have an organ that
carries out inspections as regards its production. Noting that this
organ for the Republic of Cyprus is the Ministry of Agriculture and
Natural Resources, Cirali referred to Protocol 10 of Cyprus’ Treaty
of Accession to the EU and alleged: “With
this protocol it was defined that the authority of the Republic of
Cyprus’ government is not valid in the north. According to this,
the Minister of Agriculture and Natural Resources cannot carry out
inspections in the north. When
he cannot carry out inspections, our products will not be able to use
this name. As Chamber of Industry, we
say that we are ready to carry out this duty so that this problem is
overcome. We have the capacity of carrying out inspections”.
Cirali
argued that the geographical registration of halloumi is valid in the
occupied area of Cyprus and Turkey. He
noted that in order for the producers in Turkey to be stopped [from
producing halloumi], a lawsuit should be filed in court, but they do
not intent to do this. He noted that they demand from the producers
in Turkey to stop using this name, but without these producers being
victimized.
When
asked what the latest situation on the issue of halloumi is and which
their next steps will be, Cirali noted that there is a period of
three months for making evaluations after an application to the EU is
filed and then the issue is published in the official gazette and a
period for objections is given. He said: “This is an 8-10-month
procedure. We will undertake our
initiatives in this period. We will visit the EU. We will go to look
for our rights in Brussels with officials and parties concerned. Our
demand is that the moment on which the registration is signed, the
day and the time it will enter into effect, the inspections in the
north should also be determined”.
(I/Ts.)
9.
The breakaway regime exported
USD 120.681.239 goods last year; The majority of the exports consist
of agriculture products
Turkish
Cypriot daily Yeni Duzen newspaper (24.08.14) reported on the exports
of the breakaway regime and writes that last year it exported USD
120.681.239 goods.
The
paper notes that USD 80.4 million goods that are
the 67% of the goods exported, were agriculture products adding that
the most popular goods for exportation were halloumi, potatoes and
citrus fruits. The breakaway regime exports goods to the following
countries: Turkey, Iraq, Russia, Ukraine, Kuwait, Syria, Hong Kong,
Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Qatar.
In addition,
the paper published data about previous years’ exportation which is
as follows:
|
Year
|
Year
|
Year
|
|
2009
|
2012
|
2013
|
|
$99.064.564
|
$116.267.128
|
$120.681.239
|
Information
for 2010 and 2011 were not provided, according to Yeni Duzen.
10.
CTP delegates prefer Siber than
Talat to be the party’s candidate for the “2015 presidential
elections”
Turkish
Cypriot daily Detay newspaper (24.08.14) reports that the Republican
Turkish Party (CTP) which decided some time ago that it will
participate in the “2015 presidential elections” with its own
candidate, conducted an opinion poll in order to take the first
reactions as regards who should be the CTP candidate.
According to
the paper, Sibel Siber, Mehmet Ali Talat and Ozdil Nami are the three
CTP officials that collected the most votes of the persons
participated in the opinion poll, which was conducted by the Red
Border Research Company with the participation of 1.471 CTP
delegates.
Reporting
on the same issue, Turkish Cypriot daily Volkan (25.08.14) writes
that the results of the opinion poll, as regards who should be the
CTP candidate, is as follows: 48% Sibel Siber, 37% Mehmet Ali Talat,
15% Ozdil Nami.
Volkan
further reports that Siber, Talat and Nami were informed about the
opinion poll results and this is the reason that led Siber to state
recently that she can be her party’s candidate for the “2015
presidential elections” and Nami to announce that he will not be
interested to be a candidate.
11.
Leaders from 51 countries to
attend Erdogan’s swear-in ceremony
Turkish
daily Today’s Zaman (24.08.14) reported that Ankara
will be hosting the leaders of 51 countries and officials from eight
international organizations during President-elect Recep Tayyip
Erdogan's inauguration ceremony on August 28, while the leaders of
Israel and Egypt, two countries that Turkey is at odds with, are not
among those invited to participate in the ceremony.
A
number of foreign leaders have been invited by Turkey to the
inauguration ceremony of Erdogan following
his win in the nation's first Presidential election by popular vote,
which took place on August 10.
The
Turkish press reported on Sunday that US President Barack Obama will
not be attending the ceremony, but a US delegation will be there to
represent him. However, It is not clear
what the level of representation of the US delegation will be. China
will also be sending a special representative.
Russia,
Germany and the Netherlands will be sending Ministers as
representatives to the ceremony.
Syrian
leader Bashar al-Assad has not been invited to the ceremony either as
Turkey does not recognize him as the legitimate leader of Syria, but
the president of the National Coalition of
Syrian Revolution and Opposition Forces, Hadi al-Bahra, is among
those invited.
According
to the reports, a number of guests have confirmed their attendance.
Among the confirmed are Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow,
Beninese President Thomas Boni Yayi, Ukrainian President Petro
Poroshenko, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev, Togolese President
Faure Essozimna Gnassingbe, President of the Libyan Council of
Deputies Aguila Saleh Issa Quaider, Bulgarian President Rosen
Plevneliev, Moldovan President Nicolae Timofti, Macedonian President
Gjorge Ivanov, Albanian President Bujor Nishani, Somali President
Hasan Mahmud, Kosovar President Atifete Jahjaga, Gambian Vice
President Isatau Nije Saidy, the “TRNC’s
president”, Dervis Eroglu, Ethiopian
President Mulatu Teshome Wirtu and Bosnia and Herzegovina's Chairman
of the Presidency Bakir Izetbegovic.
Azerbaijani
Parliament Speaker Ogtay Asadov, Ivory Coast Parliament Speaker
Guillaume Kigbafori Soro and Ghanaian Vice President Kwesi
Amissah-Arthur will also be among the participants.
Moroccan
Prime Minister Abdelilah Benkirane, Romanian Prime Minister Victor
Ponta, Belarusian Prime Minister Mikhail V. Myasnikovich, Gabonese
Prime Minister Daniel Ona Ondo, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli
Garibashvili, Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Jordanian Prime
Minister Abdullah Ensour, Tajik Prime Minister Qohir Rasulzoda and
Nigerian Prime Minister Brigi Rafini have also confirmed that they
will be attending Erdogan's inauguration
ceremony.
From
Germany, Interior Minister Karl Ernst Thomas de Maiziere will be
attending the ceremony. Another group of attendees will include
Singaporean Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean, Bangladeshi Foreign
Minister Shahriar Alam, Dutch Foreign Minister Frans Timmermans,
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, Russian Foreign
Minister Sergei Lavrov, Burkinabe Foreign Minister Djibril Bassole,
Omani Foreign Minister Yusuf Bin Alawi, South Sudanese Foreign and
International Cooperation Minister Barnaba Marial Benjamin, Mexican
Foreign Minister Jose Antonio Meade Kuribrena, Hungarian Foreign
Affairs and Foreign Trade Minister Tibor Navracsics, Saudi Arabian
Foreign Minister Nizar bin Obaid Madani, Uzbek Foreign Minister
Abdulaziz Khafizovich Kamilov, Tunisian Presidency Spokesman Adnen
Manser, Maldivian Islamic Affairs Minister Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed,
Venezuelan Transportation Minister Haiman El Troudi, Djiboutian
Education Minister Djama Elmi Okieh and Indonesian State Minister
Dipo Alam.
Moreover,
representatives from a number of international organizations will
also attend Erdogan's inauguration ceremony.
Black Sea
Economic Cooperation Parliamentary Assembly (KEİPA)
Secretary-General Kyrylo Tretiak, Shanghai Cooperation Organization
(SCO) Secretary-General Dmitry Fyodorovich Mezentsev, Organization
for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Secretary-General
Lamberto Zannier, Developing 8 countries for Economic Cooperation
(D-8) Secretary-General Seyed Ali Mohammad Mousavi, Organization for
Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Secretary-General Jose
Angel Gurria, Economic Cooperation Organization Secretary-General
Shamil Aleskerov, Turkic Council Secretary-General Halil Akıncı,
and Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in
Asia (CICA) Executive Director Gong Jianwei have confirmed their
attendance.
A
delegation of three from the Mongolian
Ministry of Defense will also be attending the ceremony.
The
inauguration ceremony will be held on August 28 in Ankara. Erdogan
won 51.8% of the popular vote on August 10th
elections.
Erdogan's
swearing-in ceremony at Parliament will be “one of a kind,” with
many foreign leaders from around the world having been invited.
Previously, Presidents have been elected by Parliament, and the
swearing-in ceremony had been a formality and was not considered a
special event.
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