TURKISH CYPRIOT AND TURKISH MEDIA REVIEW
C O N T E N T S
No. 202/14 30.10.14
1.Eroglu: “We own a state and live in safety because we have a guarantor like Turkey”
2. Ertug: The Turkish Cypriots will lose nothing if no solution is reached
3. Ozersay: President Anastasiades did not want to enter into a give and take process
4. They returned the Syrian refugees to the Republic of Cyprus after beating them up
5. Two out of ten patients with symptoms of MERS virus were discharged from the “hospital”
6. Erdogan to chair the first MYK meeting, since his election to the Presidency
7. Egypt to cancel trade agreement with Turkey
1.Eroglu: “We own a state and live in safety because we have a guarantor like Turkey”
According to Turkish Cypriot daily Kibris Postasi (29.10.14) the Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu, in statements during the celebrations which took place yesterday in the occupied area of Cyprus for the 91st anniversary of the establishment of the Republic of Turkey, said that “motherland” Turkey is the greatest assurance of the Turkish Cypriots.
“We own a state and live in safety, looking to the future with hope because we have a guarantor like Turkey”, Eroglu argued and added: “Of course if the Cyprus problem is solved, this will have positive effects, but no one should say that our issues cannot be solved until the Cyprus problem is solved. They should not link their failure and their inability to answer the people needs to the Cyprus Problem”.
Arguing that the Cyprus problem is not as simple as it seems, he alleged that President Nicos Anastasiades “is trying to plunge the continuation of the Cyprus Republic and sovereignty into the eyes of north Cyprus and Turkey”. “Their aim is not to make an agreement which fulfills our expectations, but to make us fall into heedlessness and pull apart compromises to unwind us, by deceiving us, wishing Turkey’s weakening, in order to return to pre-1974 period”, he claimed and concluded: “Because of this, we should give importance and continue our politics in order to protect the benefits of our strong, astute people and country”.
Meanwhile, according to Turkish Cypriot daily Kibris newspaper (30.10.14), Eroglu alleged that the reason of not finding a solution to the Cyprus problem is the fact that the Greek Cypriots have “designs against a great part of our lands, an important part of our population, our sovereignty and our security”.
2. Ertug: The Turkish Cypriots will lose nothing if no solution is reached
Turkish Cypriot daily Star Kibris newspaper (29.10.14) reports that Osman Ertug, spokesman of the Turkish Cypriot leader Eroglu, has alleged that the Greek Cypriot side does not want a solution to the Cyprus problem and added that the Turkish Cypriot side is “neither deaf nor blind”, and it sees everything, but it is allegedly focused on the solution. In statements to Ada television, Ertug said that if a solution is not reached, the Turkish Cypriots will lose nothing. “If there is no solution, we are neither stateless nor in the street”, he noted.
Referring to the recent developments, Ertug alleged that President Anastasiades did not want to enter into a give and take process and abandoned the negotiating table because he was cornered. He claimed that the Greek Cypriot side was not ready for a give and take and showed the hydrocarbon issue as a “pretext” to leave the table. Ertug said that the Turkish side had warned since 2011 that it would have carried out its own explorations, as a response to the Republic of Cyprus’ exploration and alleged that sovereignty is an issue of debate at the negotiating table and “the known reality is that it derives from the two peoples”.
Arguing that the Greek Cypriot side entered into a dangerous game, Ertug alleged that “the waters of the Mediterranean will heat up” and wondered who benefits from the escalation of tension in the area”.
(I/Ts.)
3. Ozersay: President Anastasiades did not want to enter into a give and take process
Turkish Cypriot daily Star Kibris newspaper (29.10.14) reports that Kudret Ozersay, former Turkish Cypriot negotiator and candidate in next year’s “presidential elections” in the occupied area of the Republic of Cyprus, has said that the timetable of the Greek Cypriot side in the Cyprus talks does not coincide with the one of the Turkish Cypriot side and alleged that President Anastasiades does not want to enter into a give and take process. In statements to Ada television, Ozersay claimed the following as regards the Cyprus negotiations: “Anastasiades did not want too much to enter into a stage of bargain, a give and take in the negotiations. We, as Turkish Cypriot side, were the ones who wanted to reach a bargain stage in February and we are the ones who enforced this”.
Ozersay claimed that the Greek Cypriot side waited to see how powerful its “natural gas trump card” was and that is why it said “yes” to moving into the third stage. He argued: “I describe this as success of the Turkish Cypriot side in a sense. Even after a certain period, we have convinced the Greek Cypriot side to enter into the third stage. We would test whether the Greek Cypriot side was ready to politically share power and wealth with the Turkish Cypriots”.
Referring to his candidacy, Ozersay said that as a person who does not belong to any party, he expects to receive votes from different parts of the society.
(I/Ts.)
4. They returned the Syrian refugees to the Republic of Cyprus after beating them up
Turkish Cypriot daily Kibris newspaper (30.10.14) reports that 36 Syrian refugees who had crossed to the occupied area of Cyprus on October 27, were returned to the government controlled area of the Republic yesterday after getting in fights with the so-called police because they wanted to stay in the occupied area, aiming to find an opportunity to go to Turkey.
The refugees were rescued by the authorities of the Republic of Cyprus on September 25 in the sea area of Pafos.
According to the paper, the refugees were transferred with buses to the Ledra Palace Barricade around 1.30 p.m. in order to be returned to the Republic of Cyprus, but due to the heavy rain they had to stay for some time at the House of Cooperation’s building. The refugees refused to return to the Republic of Cyprus and tension was created between them and the so-called police of the regime which finally forced them to return to the government controlled area.
5. Two out of ten patients with symptoms of MERS virus were discharged from the “hospital”
Turkish Cypriot daily Kibris Postasi (29.10.14) reported that two out of ten patients, who were taken to illegal “Dr Burhan Nalbantoglu hospital” on the suspicion of the MERS virus, have been discharged.
In statements on the issue, the head doctor Ramadan Kamiloglu said that the situation of two people who had been taken into their hospital on suspicion of MERS was improved and the symptoms completely disappeared. Therefore, he added, the discharging procedures have started.
Referring to the situation of the other patients hospitalized with MERS symptoms, Dr Kamiloglu noted that one of them is in critical but stable condition, while the others are showing positive progress. “Since the analysis reports are going to reach us during the weekend the earliest”, it is only then we can put the diagnosis. At the moment we are considering that the virus exists, thus we are taking the necessary precautions”, he concluded.
6. Erdogan to chair the first MYK meeting, since his election to the Presidency
Turkish daily Hurriyet Daily News (29.10.14) reported that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will chair the National Security Council (MGK) meeting on October 30, for the first time since becoming President in August.
Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu will also participate in the gathering for the first time since being assigned to their posts.
The gathering of Turkey’s top civilian and military officials comes up after Peshmerga forces of the Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and Free Syrian Army (FSA) militants crossed through Turkish territory heading to the Syrian town Kobane to join the ranks of Syrian Kurds fighting against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).
Turkey’s contribution to U.S.-led coalition forces against ISIL, as well as soldiers defending the 700-year-old tomb of Suleyman Shah, a Turkish enclave in northern Syria, are expected to be among the topics of the MGK meeting.
The embattled Kurdish peace process, the recent protests in Turkey for solidarity with Kobane that claimed 40 lives, and the recent clashes with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), are other issues expected to be on the agenda.
7. Egypt to cancel trade agreement with Turkey
Turkish daily Sabah (29.10.14-online in English) reported that the Egyptian government has announced that the trade agreement between Turkey and Egypt, which was signed during the Presidency of Mohammed Morsi will be cancelled.
The Egyptian Transportation Ministry Undersecretary, Ahmet Emin, said that the trade agreement, which allows Turkish trucks and ships to use the lands and waters of Egypt, signed during the reign of the Muslim Brotherhood, is damaging the Egyptian economy.
According to news published by the Egyptian News Agency, MENA, Emin announced that in coordination with the Foreign Affairs Ministry and other higher authorities, they have decided not to extend the term of the agreement, which will end next March.
On the annulment of the "Memorandum of Understanding for Ro-Ro and Highway Transit Transportation", signed between the two countries, Turkish Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson, Tanju Bilgic said: “With this step, the Egyptian Government is adding a new blow to the interests and welfare of its own country and citizens."
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