TURKISH
CYPRIOT AND TURKISH MEDIA REVIEW
C
O N T E N T S
No.
86/15 12.05.15
1. The dinner between the two leaders in Cyprus held last
night at Ledra Palace
2. Nami resigned from his post as “foreign minister”
3. Cavusoglu: Turkey will always be a step ahead as
regards the Cyprus problem
4. Columnist for Davutoglu’s statement: Every road they
connect from Anatolia to Keryneia leads to new tragedies in Cyprus
5. The Committee for Missing Persons met with the UNSG
6. Turkey and EU to renew Customs Union agreement
7. Political parties represented in Turkey’s Parliament
won’t attend Evren’s funeral
1.The dinner between the two leaders in Cyprus held last night
at Ledra Palace
Under the
title “A good beginning”, Turkish Cypriot daily Kibris newspaper (12.05.15)
reports about the dinner between the two Cypriot leaders NicosAnastasiades and
Mustafa Akinci which took place yesterday at Ledra Palace Hotel and was hosted
by UN Secretary-General's Special Adviser for Cyprus, Espen Barth Eide.
Anastasiades and Akinci were accompanied by their negotiators, Mavroyiannis and
Nami and according to the paper it was conducted in a very positive atmosphere.
The dinner
lasted for 2 hours and 15 minutes and the two leaders decided for the
re-launching of the Cyprus negotiations on May 15.
The paper
writes that commenting on the dinner, Eide stated that the two leaders
developed and shared the vision for the future of Cyprus and that in the spirit
of the Joint Declaration of the 11th of February 2014, they agreed that it was
important to use the momentum created and this new opportunity to move forward
without delay.
The paper
also writes that Akinci twitted about the dinner noting: “I think that we had a
good meeting with Anastasiades and we made a good start”.
(CS)
2. Nami
resigned from his post as “foreign minister”
According to illegal Bayrak television
(online, 11.05.15), OzdilNami has resigned from his position as “foreign
minister”. Nami handed to the self-styled prime ministerOzkanYorgancioglu his
letter of resignation on Monday afternoon.
In a statement to “BRT”, Nami said: “After
accepting the duty of the negotiator, I’ve announced that I will resign from
the ministry. Within the framework of my last duties as a foreign minister, I
paid a visit to Germany”. He also
thanked all the personnel at the “ministry” for their contribution and work,
adding that he will focus in the negotiations in order to be successful.
(DPs)
3.Cavusoglu: Turkey will always be a step ahead as regards the
Cyprus problem
Turkish
Cypriot daily Dialog newspaper (12.05.15) reports that the Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu stated that Cyprus will
always be a step ahead from everyone as regards the Cyprus problem and added
that Turkey wants a permanent two-state solution.Cavusglu made these
statements speaking to TRT.
Evaluating the agreement signed by Cyprus, Egypt and Greece,
during the summit taken place in the end of April, Cavusoglu claimed that it
does not make sense from the geographical, physical and legal point of view and
added that an agreement signed in Eastern Mediterranean in which Turkey does
not take part is not valid. “Because we criticize the Egypt
government, we consider this act by Greece and the Greek administration to be a
childish action”, he said.
(CS)
4. Columnist
for Davutoglu’s statement: Every road they connect from Anatolia to Keryneia
leads to new tragedies in Cyprus
Turkish Cypriot columnist Mehmet Levent assesses in Turkish
Cypriot daily Afrika newspaper today (12.05.15) the statement made by Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutogluwho referring to the project of carrying water from
Turkey to the occupied area of the Republic of Cyprus has said that“we are connecting another road from Anatolia to Keryneia”.
Under the title “Look those who will make
peace”, Levent notes that “now they are connecting another road as if the road
they had connected in 1974 and the chain of tragedies it wrapped around Cyprus
and the Cypriots were few”. The columnist adds, inter alia, the following:
“[…] They say that they will bring water
here. Do you know what will happen if they succeed in doing this? The water
that they will bring will poison every one of us. Just like they always insult
and humiliate us saying ‘we have rescued you, we cut off from Anatolia people’s
bread and nourish you’. This time they will say: ‘We are the ones who provide
you even with water and you are being ungrateful without being ashamed?’
They say that they will connect another
road from Mersin to Keryneia! Every road
which they connected and which they will connect is nothing else than a jet
black and rusty dagger sunk into the chest of peace and the solution!
And on the
other side, they, without being ashamed, expect [good] will and steps from the
Greek Cypriots for a solution! […] They say that they want a
solution, but the Greek Cypriots should also want this… Do you know what their solution is? The legalization of all the illegal
fait accompli they have created in North Cyprus, which they keep under military
and civilian occupation for forty years, by disregarding the international law
and the human rights. That is, the approval of the occupation law and
conditions with new international agreements!
Look at those who will make peace and
solution in Cyprus. They are connecting another road from Keryneia to Anatolia!
Every road which they connect leads to
new tragedies in this island! Let no one doubt about it […]
(I/Ts.)
5. The
Committee for Missing Persons met with the UNSG
According to illegal Bayrak television
(online, 11.05.15), members of the Committee for Missing Persons in Cyprus have
met with the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.
The Turkish Cypriot member Gulden
PlumerKucuk, the Greek Cypriot member NestorasNestoros and the third member of
the Committee met with the UN Chief in New York.
The Secretary General was briefed on the
activities and work carried out by the Committee.
An
agreement was reached for the preface of a book to be published by the
Committee later this year to be written by the UN Secretary General and for the
book to be promoted at the UN headquarters in New York. The book is being
written by British author Rory Maclean.
As part of its contacts in New York, the
delegation also met with the UN Secretary General’s Under-Secretary-General for
Political Affairs Jeffery Feltman and the Director of the UN Department of
Political Affairs’ Europe Division, Elizabeth Spehar.
Speaking to the TAK news agency Mrs Kucuk said that the Committee has
become a model for other countries in the Middle East. She said that work had
been launched to share their experiences with Iraq, Iran, Lebanon and countries
in the Balkans.
6. Turkey
and EU to renew Customs Union agreement
According to Ankara Anatolia news agency
(12.05.15), Turkish Economy Minister NihatZeybekci said on Monday that Turkey
and the EU will sign a comprehensive agreement on Tuesday for the renewal of
the Customs Union Agreement.
Zeybekci said: "As Turkish Government,
we clearly conveyed to the EU that the Customs Union Agreement will be
unsustainable if the agreement is not be updated or the demands of the Turkish
government will not be satisfied. The negotiations have started since
then."
According to Zeybekci, the four items that
both EU and Turkish sides have agreed to are:
1. Turkey will take part in any decision
making mechanism.
2. Turkey will be automatically part of any
free trade agreement signed between the EU and third countries.
3. The EU will remove all obstacles and
tariffs that obstruct the free movement of the Turkish goods in the EU market
within the scope of the Customs Union Agreement.
4. The EU will include the agriculture, the
service sector and public procurement which were excluded in 1996.
"This will be the first step of the
most comprehensive renewal of the agreement", Zeybekci added.
Turkey has been a candidate country to join
the EU since 1999. According to the European Commission website, the EU is
Turkey's number one import and export partner while Turkey ranks seventh and
fifth in the EU's top import and export markets, respectively. Turkey's exports
to the EU stood at $68.5 billion and its imports from the bloc at $88.7 billion
in 2014.
7. Political
parties represented in Turkey’s Parliament won’t attend Evren’s funeral
Under the title “Turkey’s convicted coup
leader to have state funeral: Turkish military”, Turkish daily Hurriyet Daily
News (online, 11.05.15) reported that Turkey’s General Staff has announced that
a state funeral for KenanEvren, the country’s former coup leader and seventh President
who died late on May 9, will be held at the “protocol mosque” of Ankara on May
12.
All four political parties represented in
parliament, the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), the main opposition
Republican People’s Party (CHP), the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) and the
Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), have already announced that they won’t join
the funeral and the military ceremony.
Chief of General Staff Gen. NecdetOzel will
be absent, too, as he is on sick leave, though the other four forces commanders
are expected to be present at the ceremony.
The government has stayed largely silent so
far with no official condolence messages released. Ministers, however, have
taken conflicting positions.
---------------------------------------------------
TURKISH AFFAIRS SECTION
(DPs/
AM)
