TURKISH
CYPRIOT AND TURKISH MEDIA REVIEW
C
O N T E N T S
No.
72/15 21.04.15
1. CTP
decided to actively support Akinci in the second round of the “elections”
2. Ozgurgun
said that they will do what is “necessary” for those who acted against the UBP
decision after the “elections”
3. Ozersay
evaluates the “election” results
4.
Columnist says that no one can follow a sustainable policy in the occupied area
of Cyprus without taking into account the Turkish settlers
5.
Cavusoglu: 2015 will be an important
year for the Cyprus problem
6. “Turkish
Cypriot Football Federation” will submit for approval its new regulation
7.
Yeniduzen: Atalay met with Archbishop Chrysostomos in spite of the fact that he
is on “compulsory leave”
8.
Davutoglu offered his condolences to the grandchildren of Ottoman Armenians
1. CTP
decided to actively support Akinci in the second round of the “elections”
Turkish Cypriot daily YeniDuzen newspaper
(21.04.15) reports that the Republican
Turkish Party – United Forces (CTP-BG) decided last night to “actively support”
Mustafa Akinci in the second round of the “presidential elections” which will
be held on Sunday 26 April 2015. The
extended committee of the party decided to postpone for until after 26 April
the evaluation of the results of the first round of the “elections” and the
issue of holding a congress.
Turkish Cypriot daily Kibris newspaper
(21.04.15) reports that CTP-BG’s chairman, OzkanYorgancioglu said that a new
meeting will be held next Monday when the “election results” and an
“extraordinary congress” will be on the agenda.
Kibris reports also that both candidates in
the second round of the “elections”, DervisEroglu
and Mustafa Akinci, had separately visited the CTP earlier yesterday and met
with Yorgancioglu and the party’s general secretary, KutlayErk.
Yorgancioglu said that they held no bargaining with any of the two
candidates.
In his statements Akinci said that with the CTP they share the same ideals and therefore
it is the part of the community from which they expect the biggest support to
his candidature. He argued that the CTP-BG also wishes a “president” who is
sensitive on the issues of the solution of the Cyprus problem the
democratization etc. Responding to a question, Akinci said that he leaves “very
satisfied” from the meeting. He noted
that he would meet with KudretOzersay, the fourth candidate who could not make
it for the second round, after the latter’s press conference expected to be
held this morning. He reiterated that Ozersay’s decision not to direct his
voters to support a certain candidate in the second round is wrong. He noted
that Ozersay has seriously contributed in the “elections” and “carrying forward
this contribution is important”.
Asked
whether Ozersay will participate in the Turkish Cypriot negotiating team in
case he wins the “elections”, Akinci replied that he never said this, adding
that this is something which will be discussed later, but Ozersay had earlier
stated that he will not become negotiator any more.
Eroglu also visited the CTP-BG yesterday
and met with Yorgancioglu and Erk. Eroglu said that their meeting was sincere
and thanked them for their interest. Responding to a question, Eroglu said that he did not like the fact
that the turnout in the first round of the “elections” was low and argued
that those who had not voted were waiting for the second round or wanted to
send a message to some circles. Eroglu
expressed the belief that the turnout will increase in the second round because
these are “elections” during which the Turkish Cypriots will decide for their
future.
Eroglu said that he will meet with Ozersay
today.
(I/Ts.)
2. Ozgurgun
said that they will do what is “necessary” for those who acted against the UBP
decision after the “elections”
According to Turkish Cypriot daily Kibris
Postasi (21.04.15), the party assembly of the National Unity Party (UBP)
convened yesterday. The evaluation of the results of the “elections” was taken
up during the meeting
Speaking to the press after the meeting, the leader of UBP Huseyin Ozgurgun
announced that they will support the “independent candidate” DervisEroglu at
the second round of the “elections”. He also said that there were some who did
not act accordingly to the decision of the UBP in the first round of the
“elections”, adding that they will do what is “necessary” regarding this issue
after the “elections”.
He also said that they had evaluated the
outcome of the first round of the “elections” and exchanged views on work to be
carried out for the second round which will be held this coming Sunday, the
26th of April.
Ozgurgun claimed that Eroglu should be
re-elected to his post due to his experience and knowledge.
Noting that
a large number of people had not voted in the first round of the “elections”,
Ozgurgun said that they will work towards bringing those people to the polls.
(DPs)
3. Ozersay
evaluates the “election” results
According to illegal Bayrak television
(online, 21.04.15), first time independent “presidential candidate”
KudretOzersay said that this will not be the last time he runs for the office
of “president”.
Ozersay, a first-time candidate with no
party backing, finished fourth with a healthy 21.2% just behind the CTP’s
SibelSiberwith 22.54%.
Ozersay,
evaluating the “elections results” at a press conference today, repeated that
he will keep his pre-election promises and will not instruct or influence his
supporters on how to vote in this Sunday’s second round.
A large group of his supporters filled the
conference hall at the Turkish Cypriot Chamber of Commerce where the press
conference was held.
Pointing out that it is out of the question
for him to openly support any of the two candidates in the second round,
Ozersay however said that he will be voting in Sunday’s election as a citizen.
“This is the first time I ran for office.
Throughout the elections the biggest challenge I faced was the question in
peoples’ minds whether I truly had a chance to win the election”, he added.
Expressing his belief that the outcome of
the “election” could have been different if he had a few more days to campaign,
Ozersay said that he nevertheless believes that he has achieved a great
success.
“I proved to everyone that a truly independent
candidate can win the elections. I believe we restored the public’s confidence
in what society can achieve” he said, adding that most of the votes he received
were not reaction or revenge votes but were votes cast in support of his
vision.
(DPs)
4. Columnist
says that no one can follow a sustainable policy in the occupied area of Cyprus
without taking into account the Turkish settlers
Writing in Turkish Cypriot daily Star
Kibris newspaper (20.04.15), OkanVeliSafakli reports that no “presidential candidate” and/or no political party could follow a
sustainable policy without taking into consideration “the sensitivities” of the
Turkish settlers in the occupied area of the Republic of Cyprus.
Publishing two tables from the “population
census” held by the breakaway regime in 2011 in order to justify his position,
Safakli writes the following, under the title “How much of the TRNC voters
potential are Turkish Cypriots and how much are Turks in Cyprus?”:
“A lot of discussions were once made on the
TRNC’s demographic structure in order to support some political views or
arguments. While some leftist extremists were putting forward the argument that
the population carried to the TRNC would turn the Turks of Cyprus into a
minority, the fundamental point was Article 49 (6) of the Fourth Geneva
Convention of 1949. Contrary to this, it was argued by mainly our founding
president of the republic [Translator’s note: RaufDenktas] that the population
coming to the TRNC was not a problem, but on the contrary, because they were
Turks, they contributed to the workface especially in agriculture. Today when we enter into the election
period for the presidential elections, this issue is not discussed so much.
Because all candidates need the votes of
the population carried afterwards to the TRNC in order to become president of
the republic. Very well, in spite of this, what is really the situation of
the demographic structure in the TRNC? Has the transferred population really
the power to neutralize the will of the Turks of Cyprus if it behaves in an
organized manner? For a response to these questions, we will take as basis the
data of the 2011 population census.
Two methods could be used in order to
understand the demographic analysis of our people currently living in the TRNC.
One of them is their place of birth and the other is their nationality.
As it is seen from the table, in year 2011,
the TRNC population was counted to be 286,257. The distribution of the TRNC
population is better seen as a percentage. The
percentage of the Turkish Cypriots, whom some people call as original Cypriots,
is 47.64%.The percentage of those who are solely nationals of Turkey is 28.14%.
The percentage of those who have both the TRNC and the Turkish nationality is
13.30%.It is understood that the potential of the population of Turkish
Republic origin to determine the voters’ will is totally 41.44%
(28.14+13.30). When the place of birth is taken into consideration, it is
possible to reach a similar structure: 104,641
persons out of the 286,257 persons of the TRNC population in 2011 were born in
Turkey. The percentage of the
population born in Turkey is 37%. When the children of these persons born from
their marriages and their children are taken into consideration, it should be
considered as very normal if this 37% approached 50%.
THE ABOVE SITUATION SHOWS THAT ANY
PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE AND/OR ANY POLITICAL PARTY WHICH DOES NOT TAKE INTO
ATTENTION THE SENSITIVITIES OF THE PEOPLE OF TURKISH REPUBLIC ORIGIN, MAINLY ON
THE PROPERTY ISSUE, HAVE NO POSSIBILITY OF FOLLOWING A SUSTAINABLE POLICY”.
(I/Ts.)
5. Cavusoglu: 2015 will be an important year for the Cyprus
problem
According to illegal Bayrak television
(online, 21.04.15), Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has given an
important message on the Cyprus issue during his contacts in Washington, during
a speech at a conference titled “The role of Turkey in the unsteady Middle
East” which was organized by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
think tank.
Touching also upon the Cyprus issue during
his speech, Cavusoglu said that a window
of opportunity to find a political solution to the Cyprus issue which has been
going on for over 50 years exists. He also expressed the belief that 2015 will
be an important year for the Cyprus problem.
Claiming that their commitment for a
solution continues, he said they are expecting the stalled negotiations to
resume soon. Cavusoglu also expressed the Turkish side’s readiness to put
forward an extra effort to help the two sides to reach a solution before the
end of this year. He however added that it takes two to tango.
Expressing that political will is needed to
achieve a solution in Cyprus, the Turkish Foreign Minister claimed: “If the
Greek Cypriot side and Greece show the same strong will then there is no
obstacle in the way of reaching a solution in Cyprus.”
Meanwhile, Turkish daily Sabah (online,
21.04.15) reports that Cavusoglu is expected to meet with U.S. Secretary of
State John Kerry on Tuesday. Cavusoglu is expected to focus his efforts on urging
Washington not to use the word "genocide" in Obama's speech.
Apart from this issue, Cavusoglu and Kerry are expected to discuss the crisis in Yemen, the
latest developments in Syria, the ongoing fight against the Islamic State of
Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) and Turkey's contribution to a possible ground
operation in Mosul, the resumption of peace talks on Cyprus, Ukraine and the
issue of energy security. Turkey's demand for the U.S. to deport the
U.S.-based imam FethullahGulen will also be on Cavusoglu’s agenda.
Apart from his meeting with Kerry, on Tuesday
Cavusoglu will also meet with the U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell,
a Republican from Kentucky, and will continue his working visit by attending a
meeting with Kerry and the Senators, which is expected to last for two hours.
He will meet with U.S. National Security Advisor, Susan Rice, on Tuesday and is
expected to discuss strategies to fight terrorism and resolve regional crises.
(DPs)
6. “Turkish
Cypriot Football Federation” will submit for approval its new regulation
According to Turkish Cypriot daily
YeniDuzen (21.04.15), the board of managers of the Turkish Cypriot Football Federation” (KTFF) announced that they have
completed the works to standardize their
regulations with FIFA and that they will submit it for approval to the 42 clubs
at the general congress, which will be held on May 8, 2015.
Hasan Sertoglu, Chairman of the “KTFF”
announced that the approval of the regulations will be the only item in the
agenda of the general congress, adding that after the approval of the new
regulations they will take other concrete steps on their membership to the
Cyprus Football Association (CFA/KOP). He also said that legal and
administrative steps will be taken in order the “Steering Committee”, which
will consist of four Turkish Cypriots and four Greek Cypriots, to be
established. Therefore, it is expected
that officials from both federations (KTFF and KOP) to go to Zurich again
before the FIFA congress by the end of May.
(DPs)
7. Yeniduzen:
Atalay met with Archbishop Chrysostomos in spite of the fact that he is on
“compulsory leave”
Turkish Cypriot daily YeniDuzen newspaper
(21.04.15) reports that the
administrative council of EVKAF religious foundation has decided to give
TalipAtalay, head of the “religious affairs department” in the occupied area of
Cyprus, a “compulsory leave” until 26 April, because of his attempt to be
nominated as candidate with the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) in
Turkey for the forthcoming parliamentary elections. According to the paper,
in spite of the fact that a “legal
investigation” is held against Atalay and the fact that the EVKAF’s decision
had earlier been handed over to him, Atalay met yesterday with Archbishop
Chrysostomos.
The head of EVKAF’s administrative council,
Mustafa Ozgu stated yesterday that they had asked a “legal opinion” for
Atalay’s application for undertaking a political post without resigning from
his current “office” and added that they had officially informed him that he is
on a “compulsory leave” during this procedure. He said that EVKAF was not informed about Atalay’s meeting with
Archbishop Chrystostomos yesterday and added that Atalay should comply with
the decision of the administrative council.
(I/Ts.)
8. Davutoglu
offered his condolences to the grandchildren of Ottoman Armenians
According to Ankara Anatolia news agency
(20.04.15), Turkey's Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has offered his condolences
to the grandchildren of Ottoman Armenians who lost their lives during World War
I.
His comments came in a statement on Monday
in which he said that the deaths of Ottoman Armenians would be commemorated on
April 24 in Turkey in a religious ceremony to be organized by the Armenian
Patriarchate.
Davutoglu said: "Our common
responsibility as the grandsons of two different peoples who shared the same
joy and sorrow, is to relieve the pain of the past century and rebuild our
humanitarian bond."
"During the last years of the Ottoman
Empire, many Ottoman citizens from different ethnicities, who lived together
for centuries in peace, suffered great torments. We commemorate the innocent
Ottoman Armenians and convey our condolences to their grandchildren,"
Davutoglu added.
In 2014, when incumbent President
RecepTayyip Erdogan was Prime Minister, he expressed his condolences for the
first time to all Ottoman citizens who lost their lives during the 1915 events,
including Armenians.
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TURKISH
AFFAIRS SECTION
(DPs/ AM)
