TURKISH
CYPRIOT AND TURKISH MEDIA REVIEW
C
O N T E N T S
No.
232/14 11.12.14
1.
Erdogan: We will not abandon Turkish Cypriots’ right to gas
2. Eroglu: “We will not accept the extreme demands of
the Greek Cypriot side”
3. Talat urges the need for putting pressure to the
Greek Cypriot side for the solution
4. Akinci:
Fenced off city of Varosha, should not be used by snakes and rats but be people
5. Ottoman
language lessons in the breakaway regime
6.Turkish
Cypriot Chamber of Industry at the Iraq’s Agro tourism fair
7. Cavusoglu: “TANAP natural gas project is a
priority”
8. AKP submitted a bill for the design of an official
state emblem for Turkey
1.
Erdogan: We will not abandon Turkish Cypriots’ right to gas
According
to Ankara Anatolia news agency (11.12.14), Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan pledged on Wednesday to protect
Turkish Cypriots’ right to natural gas until a fair distribution of resources
was agreed with the Greek Cypriot administration (editor’s note: as he
calls the Cyprus government). He added that he would not suspend Turkey's
drilling activities near the island.
"Turkey will never stay
out of recent developments in Cyprus," Erdogan said inan
address during the 60th year reception of the Turkish Petroleum
Corporation, and added: "Our
research vessel Barbaros Hayrettin Pasa is now continuing its drilling
activities. We will continue to be there as long as the Greek Cypriot
administration and Greece continue to ignore our warnings on the issue".
Referring
to the natural gas reserves in the Cyprus’ Exclusive Economic Zone (EEC),
Erdogan said: “Turkey is searching for oil in the whole world, not only in its
territory, from Azerbaijan to Iraq, from Afghanistan to Kazakhstan, from Russia
to Kirgizstan, from “TRNC” to Colombia. (…) Because the Turks who live in the
island have rights in all drilling activities in the Exclusive Economic Zone,
rights to an equal share and this right is based on law. I want to say tonight
on this occasion that we will defend this right until the end”.
Stressing
that Turkey is manufacturing its own seismic research vessel, Erdogan announced
that they would build their own platform and soon thereafter they would have
their own platform to do the drilling activities.
Erdogan
went on: “We conducted seismic researches two years ago in the Black Sea with
Barbaros Hayrettin Pasa seismic research vessel. Now, our vessel will continue
its drilling activities in the southeast of Cyprus in the Mediterranean. I want
to remind you once more that both sides in the island have rights in the energy
resources of Cyprus. We are saying from the beginning that this issue should be
solved as part of the rules of international law.”
Emphasizing
the role of Turkey's diplomatic efforts in the recent reconciliation between
the Iraqi central government and northern Iraqi Kurdish autonomous
administration on oil revenues, Erdogan said: "We consider the issue in
the case of Cyprus in the same way. I hope the success of our energy diplomacy
in Iraq will be repeated in Cyprus. We even bought from abroad the seismic
research vessel Barbaros Hayrettin Pasa to conduct drilling activities. Now we
are building our own ship in Tuzla by MTA. We hope that this vessel will start
its activities next month”.
2. Eroglu: “We will not accept the extreme demands
of the Greek Cypriot side”
According to illegal Bayrak television (10.12.14), the
Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu alleged that the Turkish Cypriot side
truly desires a lasting and viable solution to the Cyprus problem.
Speaking during a to the occupied Pergamos village on
the latest developments on the Cyprus problem, he said that they would not accept all the demands of the Greek Cypriot
leadership just because someone wants a settlement.
Eroglu
claimed that the “extreme demands” of the Greek Cypriots at the negotiating
table were a proof that the Greek Cypriot side is not willing a political
settlement.
Reminding that the “Greek Cypriot leader”, as he
called the President of the Republic of Cyprus, Nicos Anastasiades, recently
underwent heart surgery in New York, Eroglu said: “We hope he will recover and
regain his health soon so that he may return to the negotiating table and we
may take steps towards a solution”.
Explaining that they need 3-4 days to prepare for each
negotiation meeting, Eroglu added: “In addition to this, we hold meetings with
foreign dignitaries and representatives several times a week”.
Pointing out that they were working to reach a
settlement which will not only safeguard the “rights” of the Turkish Cypriot
“people” but will also ensure that they will never again experience the bitter
experiences of the past, he said: “We are working for a settlement that will
ensure the continuation of Turkey’s active and effective guarantee and which
will lead the Turkish Cypriots to a better and brighter future”.
Reminding
that the Turkish Cypriot side had not run away from the negotiating table and
was ready to resume the talks,
Eroglu added: “It is the Greek Cypriots
who left the talks with the excuse that the Barbaros Hayrettin seismic research
ship was conducting exploration activities off the coast of Cyprus”.
Stating that the Greek Cypriot side had been warned on
numerous occasions that the Turkish Cypriot side would take its own steps, if
they proceeded with hydrocarbon exploration, Eroglu noted that the Turkish
research vessel was exploring off shore on behalf of Turkish Cypriots.
“We
first signed a continental delineation agreement with Turkey and the agreement
was then ratified by our parliament. The Turkish Petroleum Consortium is
conducting exploration in the Eastern Mediterranean on our behalf”, he said.
Alleging that that the Greek Cypriot side also
rejected a series of proposals presented by the Turkish Cypriot side on the
issue of hydrocarbon exploration, Eroglu
stated that Anastasiades opposed the idea of bringing this issue to the
negotiating table.
Also, touching upon the issue of “citizenship”,
property and territory, Eroglu said that the Greek Cypriot leadership rejected
all developments in the last 40 years.
“The
Greek Cypriot side wants the Turkish army and all TRNC citizens of Turkish
origin to leave. They want more land to settle all 160 thousand Greek Cypriots
who left the north in 1974 and they want to be the first to have a say over all former Greek Cypriot
properties in the TRNC”, claimed Eroglu, adding that all these “extreme
demands” were a proof of the Greek Cypriot side’s lack of will to reach a
settlement with Turkish Cypriots.
3. Talat urges the need for putting pressure to the
Greek Cypriot side for the solution
Under
the title: “Pressure should be put on the Greek Cypriot side towards the
solution”, Turkish Cypriot
daily Havadis newspaper (11.12.14) reports that the former Turkish Cypriot
leader Mehmet Ali Talat, evaluating during a televised program broadcast by
illegal BRT the latest developments on the Cyprus problem, alleged that the
Cyprus negotiation talks are in fact in a deadlock since 2010.
Stressing the need for pressure to be put on the Greek
Cypriot side towards the solution, Talat claimed that the Greek Cypriot side
does not need the solution as much as the Turkish Cypriot side.
Asked to comment on the natural gas crisis, Talat said
that the problem belongs not only to Turkey but also to the Turkish Cypriot
side and thus as he said determination is necessary to be shown by both sides.
AK
4. Akinci: Fenced off city of Varosha, should not be
used by snakes and rats but be people
Turkish Cypriot daily Kibris newspaper (11.12.14)
reports that Mustafa Akinci, who runs as an independent candidate for the
“April 2015 presidential elections” stated that the fenced off city of Varosha,
should not be used by snakes and rats but by people.
Akinci who was speaking during a television show,
stated that Varosha should be opened for settlement under UN control. However,
he said the Greek Cypriot side should not forget that Varosha is not the only
issue that needs to be solved. “We should not forget the comprehensive
solution. I believe that Varosha should be discussed in parallel with the
negotiation”, he stated adding that the building confidence measures were also
very important for the Cyprus solution.
5. Ottoman
language lessons in the breakaway regime
Turkish Cypriot daily Vatan newspaper (11.12.14) reports
that the Cyprus Academic Development
Platform will offer free lessons in Ottoman language for 2015, “in the
framework of a project on social responsibility”.
One of the project’s coordinators, Fadil Sanverdi,
referring to the discussion on the teaching of the Ottoman language in Turkish
schools stated that the Ottoman language is very important for Cyprus which had
been under Ottoman domination for a long period of its history. He also said
that the knowledge of Ottoman language would be helpful in reading the Ottoman
documents that are kept in the Evkav Foundation which will provide useful
information about Cyprus’ past.
6.Turkish
Cypriot Chamber of Industry at the Iraq’s Agro tourism fair
Turkish Cypriot daily Vatan newspaper (11.12.14) reports
that the Turkish Cypriot Chamber of
Industry is participating in Iraq’s Agro tourism fair which is taking place
between 9-11 of December.
The
breakaway regime is participating in the “Project Iraq” fair with a pavilion
under the name “North Cyprus”.
More than 250 firms from 16 countries are
participating in the fair.
7. Cavusoglu: “TANAP natural gas project is a
priority”
Ankara Anatolia news agency (10.12.14) reported that Turkey’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Mevlut
Cavusoglu said during a meeting with Azerbaijan’s Elmar Mammadyarov and
Georgia’s Tamar Beruchasvili on Wednesday that the Trans Anatolia Natural Gas
Pipeline- (TANAP) is Turkey's priority rather than Russia's last project
proposal.
Cavusoglu spoke on Putin's announcement of the
suspension of the South Stream natural gas project and his proposal for an
alternative route through Turkey to send natural gas to Greece and to European
countries.
"We signed a memorandum of understanding
with Russia but it doesn’t mean that TANAP stays in the background",said Cavusoglu.
The Foreign Ministers of Turkey, Azerbaijan and
Georgia met Wednesday in Turkey's northeastern province of Kars to discuss
energy and transportation projects.
"Russia's
offer is the main issue and we have talked about it with my Georgian and
Azerbaijani colleagues today”, Cavusoglu added.
"We are aware of the importance of TANAP for
Georgia and for Europe. We have already ordered the natural gas pipes. The
project won’t be affected by falling oil prices and will be completed. We
emphasize the importance ofTANAP everywhere," he added.
Additionally, Beruchasvili said that Georgia is happy
to hear of the importance of TANAP from Turkish officials. “TANAP is really
important for the region’s development. It is not just important for the region
but also globally. We are working together for common benefits”, Beruchasvili
stated.
Mammadyarov also showed his support for theTANAP
project and is awaiting Turkey's decision. “We came to an understanding about the TANAP and already made an agreement
on the pipes of the project”, Mammadyarov said.
(…)
According to Turkish daily Hurriyet Daily News
(10.12.14), the ruling Justice and
Development Party (AKP) has proposed to designate an official “state emblem”
for the Republic of Turkey, stating that such an emblem would contribute to the
“institutional personality of the state.”
AnadoluAgency reported on December 9 that a group of
AKP Deputies statedin a bill introduced to the Parliament Speaker’s Office,
that after a state’s flag, an official state emblem is one of the most
important symbols for every country, adding to its reputation.
According
to the bill, among 203 states within the international system, only the
Republic of Turkey and the Dominican Republic do not have state emblems.
“The
emblem used by the Ottoman Empire was abolished along with the abolition of the
Ottoman Sultanate and the subsequent declaration of the Turkish Republic in
1923”, the Deputies said.
“Efforts
were made to design a “Turkish Emblem" in 1927, but did not yield any
official results, and no explanation for this was given at the time”, they
added.
According to the bill, a 12-member parliamentary committee
will be formed to decide on the emblem and the commission will function for
three month.
The Anadolu Agency reported that the first two months
will be used for preliminary work while the last month will be used to finalize
the emblem’s design by an expert working group.
Eventually, if and when the committee approves the
emblem, a proposal to have it approved as the official state emblem of the
Republic of Turkey will be debated and voted on at a General Assembly session
at Parliament.
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