TURKISH
CYPRIOT AND TURKISH MEDIA REVIEW
C
O N T E N T S
No.
45/15 07-09.03.15
1. Eroglu: The agreement will be a partnership formed by
two sovereign states; If you give Varosha today, they will ask for another
place tomorrow
2. Nami: Greek Cypriot mentality torpedoes the efforts
for a solution
3. VeyselEroglu to promote the “TRNC water transfer
project” at the 7th World Water Forum in South Korea
4. “Near East University hospital” will provide health
services to 200,000 tourists
5. The Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran visited
the illegal GAU university
6. Data on the imports and exports of the breakaway
regime for 2014
7. Thirty TV stations and 44 radio stations operate in
the occupied area of the Republic of Cyprus
8. Turkey’s Foreign Ministry reacted on Greek Defence
Minister’s statement on the Cyprus problem
9. Columnist views a power game between Erdogan and
Davutoglu in AKP
1. Eroglu: The agreement will be a partnership formed
by two sovereign states; If you give Varosha today, they will ask for another
place tomorrow
Turkish
Cypriot daily Kibris newspaper (09.03.15) reports that Turkish Cypriot leader, DervisErogluhas alleged that the Greek
Cypriots have excessive demands at the negotiating table and that the agreement to be reached in Cyprus “will
not be the continuation of the Republic of Cyprus, but a partnership formed by
two sovereign states”.
In
statements during a visit to occupied villages in Keryneia area, Eroglu claimed that the joint declaration
of 11 February 2014 says that sovereignty derives from the “two peoples” and
added: “This is sine qua non for us”.
Eroglu
reiterated that he became “candidate” in the forthcoming “presidential
elections” on 19 April in order to conclude the Cyprus problem within two
years. He argued that the Greek Cypriot leader is currently not at the table,
but within the forthcoming period the negotiations will definitely resume. “I am still at the table and I will be there
until 18 April”, he alleged.
Meanwhile,
Turkish Cypriot daily Star Kibris newspaper (08.03.15) reported that in
statements to Turkish CNN-Turk television, Eroglu
argued that his mission is not to settle the issue of the occupied fenced off
city of Varosha, but to solve the Cyprus problem. Asked why he is against
the return of Varosha [to his legal owners], Eroglu replied: “My aim is not to solve the Varosha issue.
It is to comprehensively solve the problem. One colleague says: ‘Let us
open Varosha, it will contribute to the economy’. Another says ‘let it open
under our control’. When we refer to the continuation of the negotiations on
the one hand and we open Varosha under our control on the other, there will be
no negotiating table left. Another says
‘let us give it’. In such a case, it will be tantamount to you accepting a
crime of war, as the Greek Cypriots allege. […] My mission is to solve the
Cyprus problem, not Varosha. You will
give Varosha today and tomorrow they will ask for other places and this salami
policy will continue. There will be no solution with this method”.
Asked whether he has any expectations from the newly
elected Greek Prime Minister Tsipras, Eroglu said he had no expectations
and argued that whoever comes to power in Greece, the way Greece sees the
Turkish Cypriots and the Greek Cypriots will not change.
Asked about the role of the UN and the EU in the
solution, Eroglu argued that “we cannot agree today [on the island] because of
the mistakes committed by these two organizations”.
“The main responsible for not having an agreement today on the island is the UN
Security Council and the EU. The UNSC has five permanent members. Three of them
are in favour of the Greek Cypriots. While the situation is like this, why
should the Greek Cypriots want an agreement?”
(I/Ts.)
2. Nami: Greek Cypriot mentality torpedoes the efforts
for a solution
Turkish
Cypriot daily Kibris newspaper (09.03.15) reports that OzdilNami, self-styled foreign minister of the breakaway regime in
the occupied area of the Republic of Cyprus, has alleged that the mentality of the Greek Cypriot side torpedoes the
efforts for a solution and peace in Cyprus. In statements to Turkish NTV
television, Nami argued that the Greek
Cypriot side thought it could do whatever it wants, but the Turkish side could
not accept this.
On
the issue of the explorations for oil and natural gas in the Republic of
Cyprus’ exclusive economic zone, Nami claimed: “Even if the resources found are of the anticipated quantity, their
extraction and usage for the benefit of the Cypriots is a process of perhaps
ten years. That is, we are face to face with a mentality which torpedoes the
efforts for a solution, the efforts for peace today because of an issue which
is not fully known whether it will bring a profit after ten years”.
Furthermore,
Nami referred to the so-called isolation allegedly implemented on the Turkish
Cypriots and reiterated the view that “no justified reason is left” for this
“isolation” to continue. He
argued:“There is absolutely no justified reason left for the big international
organizations to keep the Turkish Cypriots under isolation. All countries have
taken decisions saying that they should establish bilateral or multilateral
relations with the Turkish Cypriots. We want the implementation of these
decisions. We have waited for ten years and there is still no concrete step. Only the Republic of Turkey has taken
concrete steps against this isolation. However, other states should also join
in. We have big expectations especially from the Organization of Islamic
Cooperation member states on this issue”.
Nami
said that during his recent visits to Jeddah, Oman and Qatar, he met with the
OIC’s general secretary and held other “good contacts” during which he
reiterated the demand of lifting of “isolation” as soon as possible.
Meanwhile,
in an interview with Turkish Cypriot daily YeniDuzen newspaper (08.03.15), Nami also referred again to these visits to
Gulf countries and said that they will take the necessary steps with their businessmen
and industrialists for developing their cooperation with these countries,
especially in the field of economy. He noted that they held important
discussions on issues such as the marketing, in these countries, of products
produced in the occupied northern part of Cyprus and securing tourists and
investments. Replying to a question on the issue of exports of halloumi-hellim
cheese to these countries, Nami said
that they export halloumi to Kuwait, but not to Qatar or Oman and “there is no
reason” for not exporting halloumi there.
Nami
recalled a statement by a Greek Cypriot official saying that if the Turkish
side does not renew its NAVTEX, the negotiations may resume after the
“elections” of 19 April. Asked whether
the Turkish Cypriot side will renew its NAVTEX which ends on 6 April, Nami
replied that “everything must be balanced” and “if they also do not renew
[their NAVTEX] and postpone it for this or that reason, we will show the same
reaction to this”. “However, if they
continue their works in the area, we will show the same reaction to this as
well”, he added arguing that the position of the Turkish side has not changed
since December and if the Greek Cypriots [Translator’s note: This is how he
describes the Republic of Cyprus] interrupt their explorations, the Turkish
Cypriots will do the same.
Asked to comment on the statement made by the Turkish
Prime Minsiter regarding the need for a “Ban Ki-moon Plan” for the solution of
the Cyprus problem, Nami said that the Annan Plan was the result of long-lasting
negotiations and components have been registered in UN records. “Therefore,
when reference is made to a Ban Plan, Ban is not the one who will write it.
This is a process…”
Nami reiterated the view of the Turkish side that the
communities should agree on the issues they can andthe rest of the issues
should be settled with UN arbitration, if
this is possible. He alleged: “Most probably in some issues such arbitration
will be needed. We are ready for this as well. As long as a plan is produced,
reconciliation is reached, a plan supported by both leaders is submitted to
referendum and the Cyprus problem ends […]”.
(I/Ts.)
3.VeyselEroglu to promote the “TRNC water
transfer project” at the 7th World Water Forum in South Korea
Turkish
Cypriot daily Kibris newspaper (07.03.15) reported
that Turkey’s Minister of Environment and Forestry VeyselEroglu will represent
Turkey at the 7th World Water Forum which is scheduled to take place
between April 12-17, in South Korea.
According
to the paper, Eroglu will also represent
Turkey at the “Water Showcase” competition which will take place in the
framework of the Forum and will promote and present during the competition the
“TRNC water transfer project”.
The
competition will declare the three best innovated projects globally.
According
to the paper, voters will be able to
vote for the “TRNC water transfer project” at the link:
(AK)
4.
“Near East University hospital” will provide health services to 200,000
tourists
Turkish Cypriot daily Vatan (09.03.15)
reports that the illegal Near East University hospital, which is taking part in
the ITB travel fair in Berlin, signed an agreement in Berlin with tour
operators in the occupied area of the Republic of Cyprus NTL Travel, DMG Cyprus
and Puzzle Travel, guaranteeing provision of health services to the tourists
that will be transferred to the occupied area by Germany, France, Slovakia,
Austria, Hungary, Slovenia and Iran.
According to the agreement, a road map
to medical tourism has been prepared. The “Near East University hospital”
assures that it will provide health services to 200 thousands tourists.
Meanwhile, the paper reports that
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu visited the pavilion of the “Near
East University hospital” in the ITB fair in Berlin. Cavusoglu expressed his
satisfaction that the “NEU hospital” promotes the possibility of providing
services for medical tourism.
(DPs)
5.The Ambassador of the
Islamic Republic of Iran visited the illegal GAU university
Turkish Cypriot daily Havadis newspaper (09.03.15) reported that
the Ambassador of the Islamic Republic
of Iran, Dr Reza Zabib visited the illegal American University of occupied
Keryneia (“GAU”) where he exchanged views with members of the academic staff
and students as well as with “university officials” on the issue of cultural
and scientific cooperation.
In statements after the meeting, Prof. Dr SadikUlker, “vice
rector” of the illegal GAU, referred to
how the embassy of Iran has so far shown its appreciation of the “TRNC’s
universities” and informed the Ambassador that totally 150 students from Iran
study at the “TRNC’s universities”.
Moreover, Zabib referred to the
“deep cultural ties” between the two “countries” and said that in spite of the
fact that Iran has been living under embargoes for 25 years, it still ranks
among the first ten countries in the fields of biotechnical and nanotechnology.
Zabib also stated that they are
ready to provide any kind of support to the Iranian community and Iranian
students in “GAU”.
(AK)
6.Data on the imports and exports of the breakaway
regime for 2014
Turkish
Cypriot daily Kibris newspaper (09.03.15) reports in its economic pages that
the “TRNC’s exports” for the first
eleven months of 2014 have reached 122.7 million US dollars, while the imports
have reached 1 billion 389,4 million US dollars (excluding hydrocarbon and fuel
expenditure).
According
to data provided by the occupation regime’s “Trade Department”, some 64.7% of imports came from Turkey. Meanwhile, imports from non-EU countries
have increased by 4.6% and reached 21.1% until November 2014, while an increase
on imports from Middle East countries has been observed as well.
Meanwhile, according to the figures, exports
to Turkey during 2014 have increased by 6.3 points and reached 58.5%
(AK)
7.
Thirty TV stations and 44 radio stations operate in the occupied area of the
Republic of Cyprus
According to Turkish Cypriot daily Vatan
(09.03.15), the so-called broadcasting supreme board (YYK) announced that there
are 30 licensed television stations and 44 licensed radio stations in the
occupied area of the Republic of Cyprus.
The YYK also announced that the board’s
aim is not to impose penalties to radio and TV stations, but to increase the
quality of broadcasting to the people, because they believe in democracy and
polyphony.
(DPs)
8.
Turkey’s Foreign Ministry reacted on Greek Defence Minister’s statement on
the Cyprus problem
According to Ankara Anatolia news agency
(08.03.15), Turkey's Foreign Ministry claimed on Saturday that the recent
actions and statements of the Greek Minister of National Defence are
unacceptable and are raising tension in the Aegean.
"We invite the Greek Government to
display common sense and to control these irresponsible actions as soon as
possible", the Ministry said in a press release.
In February, Greek Defence Minister
PanosKammenos said that the Cyprus problem remains a subject of invasion and
occupation for the Greek government, criticizing the presence of the Turkish
seismic vessel Barbaros in the Exclusive Economic Zone of the Republic of
Cyprus, calling it a provocation.
"It is clear that the continuation
of these irresponsible actions will not serve any purpose other than increasing
tensions in Turkish and Greek relations and in the Aegean", Turkish
statement said.
"It is also obvious that this
attitude will harm efforts towards improving bilateral relations between the
two countries and the settlement of disputes in the Aegean".
It is also stressed in the statement
that Turkey is determined to protect her rights and interests in the Aegean
"by taking measures within the framework of international law".
(DPs)
9.
Columnist views a power game between Erdogan and Davutoglu in AKP
Columnist Murat Yetkin, writing in
Turkish daily Hurriyet Daily News (online, 09.03.15), under the title “Power
game within the AK Party”, outlines the power game between Turkey’s President
RecepTayyip Erdogan and Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu as follows:
“Erdogan is gathering the cabinet today,
March 9, for the second time since he assumed power last August, before the
dust has even settled on the debates after the first such meeting chaired by
Erdogan on January 19.
The
first meeting was quite tense. Before an eight-and-a-half hour meeting, at
which the President was briefed on six key items, Erdogan and Davutoglu had an
80-minute one-to-one meeting, after which Davutoglu did not even try to hide
his tension from the cameras as they entered the room together.
He sat with a long face in the line with the other ministers – not sharing the
head of the table which is an acknowledgement to his position – as all former
Prime Ministers have been allowed to do.
But the tension between the two had
started almost a month before that meeting, when Erdogan’s unofficial adviser,
former Transport Minister BinaliYildirim, took the liberty to go public and
announce that the President would call Davutoglu’s cabinet for a meeting.
(…)
After that, Erdogan reportedly started
to complain that Davutoglu was doing things – such as drafting laws - without
acquiring his consent in advance. These actions are perfectly constitutional
but apparently not acceptable for Erdogan.
Then came the resignation of HakanFidan,
who was head of the National Intelligence Organization (MİT). Despite being a
key figure in talks with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in pursuit
of a political settlement to Turkey’s chronic Kurdish problem, it had been
rumoured for some time that he would resign, join the AK Party, and probably
become Davutoglu’s Foreign Minister after the elections. If of course, this was
approved by the President.
Everyone thought that this was by
Erdogan and Davutoglu’s joint plan, until Erdogan’s outburst on Feb. 8, the day
after Fidan’s resignation, saying that he resigned after Davutoglu’s wish and
despite his own objections.
That constituted major damage in
Erdogan’s imperious image, ironically inflicted by and to himself, which confused the AK Party group in parliament
about who would be chooseing the names for the candidate list of the June
election. Would it be Erdogan, as it used to be, or would it be Davutoglu, who
holds all the legal power?
The essence of this power game should
not be missed: It is about the ultra-presidential model with vague separation
of powers and weak checks-and-balances that Erdogan promotes, through passing a
new constitution after the election. Neither Davutoglu, nor the AK Party
government that Erdogan was leading for many years, have publicly supported
that model yet, according to which there would be no place for a Prime Minister
and the Parliament’s role would be reduced to simply rubber stamping the
President’s decisions.
As we get closer to the June 7 elections
and still hear no support for the presidential system from Davutoglu (in
addition to affairs like the Fidan resignation and the row over the Central
Bank’s interest rates), Erdogan is raising the bar of his target. He is aiming
for the support of 400 deputies in the 550-seat parliament, which seems far
from realistic given Turkey’s fragmented political spectrum, and he recently
brought the name of former President Abdullah Gul back to the power game.
By
raising Gul’s name, Erdogan wanted to tell Davutoglu that he is not without an
alternative, and the alternative is a much stronger name than the Prime
Minister. But Erdogan made the call in such a way that it sounded like Gul
needed Erdogan’s approval to be a candidate in the elections, as if he had
actually asked for it. This could cause further
confusion within the AK Party about who is in charge now and who will be in the
future.
Davutoglu, meanwhile, is trying to keep
his calm and do what he has to do in terms of government affairs, avoiding
confronting the President in public.
It all proves that Davutoglu is not just
a sitting target as perhaps Erdogan thought he was when hand-picking him in
order to cut Gul’s path back to the AK Party before the presidential election
last August. Now, Davutoglu is certainly a key player, in contrast with his
original image.
The power game within the AK Party is
likely to become more exciting as soon as Gul’s decision for his candidacy is
clear”.
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TURKISH AFFAIRS SECTION
(DPs/
SPS)
