TURKISH
CYPRIOT AND TURKISH MEDIA REVIEW
C
O N T E N T S
No.
64/15 07.04.15
1.
The target in the Cyprus talks is reportedly to hold a
referendum in the first quarter of 2016
2. Dincyurek: “Cyprus negotiations should resume soon
without any preconditions”
3. Sibel
paid visits to football sport clubs escorted by Sertoglu
4. Denktas:
“TCFF to apply to become member of KOP is making weak the Turkish Cypriots at
the negotiations”
5. Tacoy announced the privatization of
“telecommunications” in the occupied area of Cyprus
6.Social media blocked in Turkey yesterday for 8
hours; Turkey threatened to block Google search engine as well
7. EP’ President due to visit Turkey for high level contacts
with Turkish officials
1. The target in the Cyprus talks is reportedly to
hold a referendum in the first quarter of 2016
Writing in
Turkish Cypriot daily Kibris newspaper (07.04.15), columnist Hasan Hasturer reports that the target in the Cyprus talks is
to hold a referendum for the solution of the Cyprus problem in the first
quarter of 2016. Citinginformation
acquired from a foreign diplomat of “a country which could be regarded as a
side in the Cyprus problem”, Hasturer notes that the diplomat seemed
unexpectedly optimistic regarding the Cyprus problem and expressed the view
that there is no issue which has not been discussed during the talks and that
what is needed is the will for reaching a final solution.
The columnist
writes that the target during the
contacts which the UN Secretary-General’s Special Adviser on Cyprus, Espen
Barth Eide will hold on the island today is the beginning of a productive
process as of May and the binding of this process to a timetable. He goes
on and says:
“Are the sides ready? The reply was very
clear: ‘We do not see a problem in the Turkish Cypriot side. We believe that
the preparation of Anastasiades will also be secured’. Very well, what kind
of a road map is expected for the following period? Behold the road map which comes up from what he said:
‘In May the leaders will meet in Cyprus or
in a third country and a time table will be determined either this is named
as such or not. The meeting of the
leaders may last for 3-4 days and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon may
participate in the meeting. The negotiations will intensively continue
according to the determined timetable. The
Governance and Power Sharing and the property issue will primarily be discussed
simultaneously and the basis and trust will be secured for the other issues.
Agreement will be reached in many chapters until the meeting in which the
guarantor powers will participate. The guarantees issue will be settled with
the participation of the guarantors. As
soon as the issue of guarantees is settled, the process will be completed with
the territory, the map and a final big bargaining. If everything goes well, the
target is to hold a referendum in both sides simultaneously in the first
quarter of 2016’. […]”
Meanwhile,
Kibris cites a Turkish Cypriot source
close to Turkish Cypriot leader Eroglu’s office, who said that the resumption
or not of the negotiations will become evident today after Eide’s meeting with
President Anastasiades. The source argued that the Turkish Cypriot side is
ready to unconditionally begin the talks, but the statements made by the Greek
Cypriot leadership have allegedly caused confusion. “The statements made during
the past few days by Anastasiades smell preconditions”, the source claimed
adding that Eide should clarify this issue during his visit to the island. “The ball is in Anastasiades’ field now”,
the source alleged.
Furthermore,
according to Kibris, Eide discussed the Cyprus problem yesterday in Istanbul
with Feridun Sinirlioglu, Undersecretary at the Turkish Foreign Ministry. After
the meeting, Eide shared a picture with Sinirlioglu through his twitter
account, describing their meeting as “very productive”.
(I/Ts.)
2.Dincyurek: “Cyprus negotiations should resume
soon without any preconditions”
Ankara Anatolia news agency (06.04.15) reported that
the so-called minister of environment
and natural resources Hakan Dincyurek,in statements to Ankara Anatolia on
Monday said: 'We believe that the Greek Cypriots will resume negotiations
without any preconditions. Until now, the Greek Cypriot administration has
imposed various conditions to restart talks with the TRNC. But now we believe
that they will resume negotiations without any preconditions".
"The Greek Cypriot administration has seen the
international community’s reaction to their leaving the negotiation table while
it was win-win situation for some, and while it was a give-and-take situation
for others. They left the table when both sides were about to make some
decisions. This kind of politics is not acceptable," he argued.
Dincyurek
further alleged that the Greek Cypriot exploration for natural gas and
hydrocarbon resources is making things difficult to find solution in the
island, and that is unacceptable. “If the Greek Cypriots continue
to explore for hydrocarbons around the island, someone has to remind them that the
Turkish Cypriots also have rights to these natural resources”, said
Dincyurek.
"If
the Greek Cypriots engage in drilling activities without the accord of Northern
Cyprus, the other side also will have the right to do so," he added.
Turkey has removed its exploration vessel Barbaros
Hayrettin Pasa from the seas around the island, while the Saipem 10000
drillship, which was exploring on behalf of Eni and Kogas, has stopped
operations and left the area.
Dincyurek,
however, alleged that the actions of the exploration vessel were not the main
reason for the Greek Cypriots' leaving the negotiations, and added: “There is
no relation between the Greek Cypriots leaving the negotiations and the actions
of the Barbaros ship, and there cannot be any such relation. There is, however,
now no reason to hold up the negotiations”, Dincyurek said.
3. Sibel
paid visits to football sport clubs escorted by Sertoglu
Turkish Cypriot daily Yeni Duzen newspaper (07.04.15)
reports that the “speaker” of the “assembly” and candidate for the
“presidential elections”, Sibel Siber paid a visit to the “Fenerbahce
Association” in the breakaway regime and to “Kucuk Kaimakli (occupied Omorfita)
sport club”.
During her visits Siber
was escorted by Hasan Sertoglu, the chairman of the “Turkish Cypriot Football
federation” and as the paper writes she discussed the recent developments
regarding football in the occupied area of Cyprus and the future steps that
must be taken.
Sibel stated that sports are not a symbol of conflicts
but a symbol of peace and friendship. “We support all the teams. Their success
makes me happy. It is one of my greatest
wishes to see Turkish Cypriot football teams competing in the international
arena”, she stated. She also said that “sport embargoes are inhuman” and
that she supports all the struggles against them.
(CS)
4. Denktas:
“TCFF to apply to become member of KOP is making weak the Turkish Cypriots at
the negotiations”
Turkish Cypriot daily Bakis newspaper (07.04.15)
reports that the “deputy prime minister and minister of culture and sport”
Serdar Denktas made statements for the reasons he supports the candidacy of the
Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu for the “presidential elections” and also
evaluated the latest development as regards football in the occupied area of
Cyprus.
Denktas stated that he supports Dervis Eroglu because
“he embraces Turkey’s guarantees, he believes in the state and is fighting for
the rights of the Turkish Cypriots”. He also said that a new procedure is
starting in Cyprus with the visit of the UN Secretary-General's Special
Adviser, Espen Barth Eide.
He also claimed that since 1960 sports between the two
communities in Cyprus have been administrated separately and alleged that in
case of a solution the “Turkish Cypriot Football Federation” will separately
become member of FIFA like Scotland and San Marino which, despite not being UN
members, are members of FIFA under a different federation. He also alleged that
the latest actions of the “Turkish Cypriot Football Federation”, to apply to
become member of Cyprus Football Association (KOP), are making weak the
position of the Turkish Cypriots at the negotiation table.
(CS)
5.Tacoy announced the privatization of
“telecommunications” in the occupied area of Cyprus
Under the title: “Step by step for the privatization
of telecom”, Turkish daily Halkin Sesi newspaper (07.04.15) reports that the so-called minister of communication and
transportation Hasan Tacoy, replying to questions of Ankara Anatolia news
agency’ correspondent has announced that the “Telecommunication Department” of
the occupation regime which is under the state control at the moment with 50
million TL revenues, will be privatized with the (BOT) -build operate-transfer
model.
Stating
that the liberal operating form under the framework of the cooperation model
between the state and the private sector will constitute the new structure of
the service part of the “telecommunication department”,Tacoy clarified that the
personal rights of the 389 workers at the “telecom sector” will be totally
protected.
Explaining that Telsim (Vodafone) and Turkcell
provided so far subscription to the 700 thousand subscribers in the occupation
regime, Tacoy said that they exert efforts in order for a third operator to be
able to provide services in the “TRNC”.
Tacoy added that they are planning to open tenders on
May.
(AK)
6.Social
media blocked in Turkey yesterday for 8 hours; Turkey threatened to block Google
search engine as well
Turkish daily Hurriyet Daily News (06.04.15) reported
that the Turkish authorities have
blocked access to Twitter, Facebook and YouTube over their initial refusal to
remove photos of a prosecutor who was taken hostage by militants in Istanbul,
but the ban was revoked as all three social media platforms complied with a
court order after eight hours.
A recent court ruling seen by daily Hurriyet ordered
authorities to block a total of 166 websites that published the controversial
photos. Beside the world's largest social media websites in the list, there are
also specific links to the stories published by Turkish newspapers.
The
decision, signed by Bekir Altun, the judge at Istanbul’s 1st Criminal Court of
Peace, was taken after Istanbul’s Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office’s Terror and
Organized Crime Investigation Bureau demanded the ban on news and videos.
The decision stated that content removal would be
implemented and a possible blockage would be put in place if this was not done.
A number of Turkey's leading Internet service
providers implemented the ban in the afternoon of April 6, an official
confirmed after widespread complaints about access problems to the social media
websites.
(…)
Speaking
on the issue, the Presidential spokesman İbrahim Kalın said that a prosecutor
had demanded the block on access to the social media sites because some media
organizations had acted "as if they were spreading terrorist
propaganda" in sharing the images of the hostage-taking.
"This
has to do with the publishing of the prosecutor's picture. What happened in the
aftermath (of the prosecutor's killing) is as grim as the incident
itself," Kalin said.
"The demand from the prosecutor's office is that
this image not be used anywhere in electronic platforms," Kalin stated
during a press conference in Ankara.
This
is not the first time Turkey has blocked social media platforms. Twitter was
banned on March 20 2014, 20 hours after then Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
Erdogan had vowed to “eradicate” the Twitter network during an election rally.
The Constitutional Court, which swiftly considered a
number of individual applications filed following the blocking, unanimously
ruled that the ban was a violation of free speech guaranteed by Article 26 of
the Constitution on April 3, 2014.
Meanwhile,
Turkish daily Hurriyet Daily News (07.04.15) reports that a court has
threatened to block Google in Turkey, if the world's most popular search engine
does not comply with its ruling against the publication of images showing a
prosecutor who was killed during a hostage crisis in Istanbul.
A Turkish official told daily Hurriyet on April 7 that
Google had removed the images which the court deemed illegal, following similar
action by YouTube.
Istanbul’s
1st Criminal Court of Peace notified Turkey's Internet Service Providers Union
(ESB) late on April 6, ordering the body to block access to Google's search
engine and its video platform, YouTube, if they continue to link to or directly
host images of slain prosecutor Mehmet Selim Kiraz.
(…)
7.EP’ President due to visit Turkey for high level
contacts with Turkish officials
Turkish daily Today’s Zaman (06.04.15) reported that the European Parliament (EP) President
Martin Schulz is set to visit Ankara on Wednesday to hold high-level talks with
Turkish authorities amid growing European concerns over the worsening state of
democracy and freedom in Turkey.
Accompanied
by a large delegation, Schulz will meet leaders from both the government and
the opposition parties. His trip is packed with meetings and private talks with
a number of prominent political figures.
Schulz will first meet with President Recep Tayyip
Erdogan. He will also hold separate meetings with Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu,
Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and the EU Affairs Minister and Chief
Negotiator Volkan Bozkır.
Sources said that Schulz will raise the issue of the
state of freedoms and democracy in Turkey during his meetings. He is expected
to address the creeping government pressure on the media amid arrests and
detentions of journalists for their critical comments on the government's
policies.
(…)After meeting with government officials, he will
also hold meetings with opposition party leaders, including main opposition
Republican People's Party (CHP) chairman Kemal Kılıcdaroglu and pro-Kurdish
Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) co-chair Selahattin Demirtas during his trip to
the southeastern province of Gaziantep.
Meanwhile, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council
of Europe (PACE) President Anne Brasseur will make an official visit to Turkey,
according to a statement from the PACE website. She will visit Ankara,
Gaziantep and İstanbul.
Having a busy schedule, she will meet with the President
and Prime Minister after being accepted by Parliament Speaker Cemil Cicek.
Brasseur is also expected to meet with members of different parties and the
Constitutional Court President. The Foreign Minister and EU Affairs Minister
will also accept Brasseur for talks about Turkey's stalled EU negotiations
process.
(…)
---------------------------------------------------
TURKISH AFFAIRS SECTION
(AC/
AM)
