TURKISH
CYPRIOT AND TURKISH MEDIA REVIEW
C
O N T E N T S
No.
92/15 20.05.15
1. Akinci to brief Turkish
Cypriot political party representatives on the Cyprus negotiation talks
2. Sources close to the
“presidency” denied allegations that UN experts may carry out inspections in
the fenced off city of Varosha
3. UBP and DP against the new
“citizenship law”, TDP and CTP in favor
4.
Ulucay met with the Kyrgyz Deputy who is visiting the breakaway regime
5. Opposition parties in
Turkey express worries for possible election fraud
6. Turkey has world’s 10th
most powerful army
7. Turkey’s fate and the
importance of strategic votes
1. Akinci to brief Turkish
Cypriot political party representatives on the Cyprus negotiation talks
According to Turkish Cypriot daily Kibris newspaper
(20.05.15), the Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci will brief today
afternoon the Turkish Cypriot political parties represented in the “assembly”
on the Cyprus negotiation talks.
According to a statement issued by the so-called
“presidential palace”, Akinci will brief the Republican Turkish Party-United
Forces(CTP-UF), the National Unity Party(UBP), the Democratic Party(DP) and the
Social Democracy Party (TDP) officials on the negotiations process.
(AK)
2.Sources close to the
“presidency” denied allegations that UN experts may carry
out inspections in the fenced off city of Varosha
Turkish Cypriot daily Kibris newspaper (20.05.15)
reports that a source close to the so-called presidency has denied the
allegations of the Mayor of Famagusta Alexis Galanos who has stated in the
Greek Cypriot press that within the framework of the negotiation talks held by
the two leaders, it is possible that UN’s experts to launch inspection works in
the fenced off city of Varosha. The unknown source stated that the above
statement does not reflect the reality.
(AK)
3. UBP and DP against the new “citizenship law”, TDP and CTP in favor
Turkish
Cypriot daily Detay newspaper (20.05.15) reports that after the submission and
discussion at the so-called assembly of the new “citizenship law” and a “draft
law” regarding the “work permits” of the foreigners and the granting of
“citizenship”, the National Unity Party (UBP) and the coalition party DP have
expressed their strong reaction over the new “regulations” of the “law”.
UBP
and DP reacted particularly over the “regulation” which envisages that those
who are currently working in the occupied area of Cyprus with a “work permit”
will acquire the right to take the “TRNC’s citizenship” in 15 years instead of
5 years as the “law” envisaged before.
Commenting
on the above change of the “law”, the chairman of the National Unity Party
(UBP) Huseyin Ozgurgun said that this regulation is unacceptable and added that
its party will vote against the “law” in the “assembly”.
On
his part, Fikri Ataoglu, “deputy” with the Democratic Party (DP) said that the
“draft bill” is contradictory to human and legal values.
Meanwhile,
commenting on the issue, the “deputy” with the Social Democracy Party (TDP)
Mehmet Cakici expressed full support to the “government” towards the
“citizenship law” and stated that the changes in the “law” are fair and legal
since as he said similar regulations exist in other EU countries.
On
the same issue, Kutlay Erk, general secretary of the Republican Turkish
Party-United Forces (CTP-BG) said that the new “citizenship law” and “draft
law” will pass into “law” after being discussed first. He added that the final
form of the “law” will be discussed as well and expressed the view that the
extension of the period for a person to have a right to be granted a
“citizenship” from 5 to 15 years is in fact very long and should be
re-examined.
(AK)
4. Ulucay
met with the Kyrgyz Deputy who is visiting the breakaway regime
Turkish Cypriot daily Yeni Duzen newspaper (20.05.15)
reports that the “interior minister and acting foreign minister” Teberruken
Ulucay, held a meeting with Dastanbek Djumabekov, the chairman of the “Kyrgyzstan-north
Cyprus friendship group” and chairman of the Fatherland Party who is visiting
the breakaway regime.
During the meeting Ulucay stated that the support of
the Kyrgyz Foreign Minister to the breakaway regime, which can be safeguard
with the help of the Kyrgyz Deputies, will strengthen the hand of the Turkish
Cypriot side at the Cyprus negotiations. On his part Djumabekov said that the
aim of his visit is to improve the relations and the cooperation between
Kyrgyzstan and the “TRNC” and added that trade and education relationship can
be improved even more.
(CS)
5. Opposition parties in
Turkey express worries for possible election fraud
Turkish
Hurriyet Daily News (20.05.15) reports that Turkey’s main opposition Republican
People’s Party (CHP) is taking measures to prevent fraud in the vote-counting
process of the June 7 general election, warning that potential election fraud
would have “serious consequences.”
“If
there are problems concerning election safety, it would have serious
consequences. The government would be seen as illegitimate and elections would
be considered null and void,” CHP head Kemal Kılıcdaroglu told representatives
of Hurriyet and the Hurriyet Daily News at a meeting in Ankara on May 19.
Officials
from the CHP and the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) have both expressed
concerns over election safety, implying that the AKP was in preparation for a
potential fraud. HDP Co-Chair Selahattin Demirtas has even claimed that the AKP
has recruited a group of 3,500 people in order to dominate control of all
ballot boxes across Turkey.
With
less than three weeks left to the polls, the CHP leader claimed that his party
is currently above 30 % in the polls and will increase further to 35 % on
election day. He also claimed that the AKP’s votes were around 37 % and the HDP
was above the 10 % threshold.
6. Turkey has world’s
10th most powerful army
Turkish
Hurriyet Daily News (20.05.15) reports that Turkey ranks 10th in the top
militaries of the world list by Global Firepower, which lines up the strength
of nations’ armies in accordance with their spending, assets and staff.
The
figures on the Global Firepower website showed that Turkey has a relatively
large military population, some 411,000, and a strong tank force of 3,778
vehicles.
The
country is upgrading its navy, which weighs 148,448 tons as of now, while also
bidding to develop its domestic tank, Altay.
The country has an aircraft fleet of 1,020 planes. The study noted that
Turkey has jihadists of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) at its
door step.
The
website marked Turkish military spending at $18 billion, way below the
remaining nine countries on the list, including the top firepower U.S., with
$577 billion. Japan, the ninth military power, spends $42 billion in defense.
7. Turkey’s fate and the
importance of strategic votes
Under
the above title, Bulent Kenes writes the following in Today’s Zaman (20.05.15):
“There
are roughly two weeks until the election slated for June 7. This election may
qualify as the most important election in the history of Turkey. Voters will
elect politicians who will not only steer the country for a period of five
years, but also shape the future of the country. We would be pleased if the
Justice and Development Party (AKP), which has been in power for 13 years, and
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who maintains increasing tutelage over the AKP,
had internalized democracy and if the nearing election were an ordinary
election, not a choice between democratic rule of law and Turkish-type
dictatorship.
But unfortunately, Erdogan
and the AKP have undermined all democratic institutions and rules and
categorically breached many provisions of the Constitution, turning the nearing
election into a critical vote over whether the country will remain a democratic
regime. For this reason, on June 7, Turkey will
make a choice not about which party will govern the country, but what type of
regime the country will have. The choices are clear. On one hand is the quest
for perfecting the parliamentary democratic state governed by the rule of law
as part of 150 years of democratization efforts in Turkey, a country which has
so far failed to implement democracy in a true sense. On the other hand is the
one-man dictatorship whose capacity for unlawfulness, despotism and
arbitrariness can hardly be estimated today...
Do
not be fooled by their repeated reference to a "presidential system."
They never intended to establish a democratic, pluralistic and liberal system
based on the principle of separation of powers, checks and balances and the idea
of decentralization. They just try to conceal their true intentions by calling
what they fail to refer to as a "dictatorship" or
"sultanate" a "presidential system." Just as Adolf Hitler
did in Germany and Benito Mussolini in Italy, they seek to put in place a
fascist one-man regime through elections. To this end, they are motivated to
engage in all sorts of tricks and manipulations.
What
distinguishes a true democracy from other regimes is that it gives the nation
the opportunity not to elect unfavourable political views to power as well as
to remove a corrupt ruling political party from power through peaceful methods,
without causing violence or chaos. The biggest weakness of democracies is that
they may easily fall prey to anti-democratic mentalities that derive power
through democratic means. For this reason, democracies have developed certain
legal and institutional measures to protect against the possibility of a
corrupt ruling party's undermining the democratic system after having come to
power through democratic means. Yet, to our dismay, corrupt populist parties
that have managed to cling to power for extended periods may succeed in
thwarting these measures. The current chaotic process in Turkey is a typical
example of this. The legal mechanisms that are supported to safeguard democracy
have long been turned into the tools for the despotic march that will uproot
all democracy ruthlessly.
Theoreticians
of democracy who ponder ways to safeguard democracy -- by nature, democracy is
naive to a certain extent -- from this bad fate argue that the struggle for
democratic is a never-ending process. They emphasize that democrats should
exhibit full confidence in the safety of democracy, but should always be
vigilant for any deterioration. Unfortunately, I can hardly say that democrats
in Turkey properly comply with these precautions.
Having secured the backing
of the masses which it can deceive with populist policies and an abuse of
national, moral and spiritual values, the ruling AKP has managed to abolish all
democratic institutions and rule of law through gradual erosion, as witnessed
by all the democrats in the country. It now seeks to finalize this process of
destruction with the electoral support it seeks to muster in the coming
election. More correctly, it intends to stamp out the
parliamentary democratic state governed by rule of law and replace it with a
nondescript dictatorial monstrosity. This is the main reason why Erdogan is
fervently holding political rallies to ask voters to support the AKP, although
he took the oath of impartiality.
So
what should the country's democrats from diverse ideological camps do in the
face of such a clear and present danger. Should they just sit and watch the
prospective disaster as it unfolds? Or should they jettison their traditional
political patterns of thinking to contribute to the creation of a political
scene which would trigger a new process to put the parliamentary, pluralistic,
competitive, liberal and democratic state of law back on the right track? I don't remember any previous election in
which the protection of the democratic climate prevailed so strongly over
political preferences and ideological stances. Now that it is an undeniable
necessity to make informed calculations regarding the nearing election, we need
to get properly prepared for the game of democracy.
All
public opinion polls indicate that the AKP is bleeding votes in its
ant-democratic adventure but will still emerge as the strongest party in the
coming election. These polls may or may not be successful in aptly indicating
the nation's political preferences. Worse still, virtually the entire country
is sure that the AKP will employ certain tricks to rig the election, and so
society is busy estimating how many votes will be transferred to the AKP
through such tricks. The June 7 election is characterized by a number of
uncertainties, and it may be that the level at which these tricks are employed
may play a decisive role in shaping the fate of this election. Therefore, it
has never become so critical for democrats not only to go to the polls, but
also to take measures to ensure that their votes are correctly registered.
Leaving
aside the concerns about election rigging efforts, all simulations based on the
recent poll results imply that the AKP will assume power as a single party if
three parties manage to secure parliamentary representation in the election. If
a fourth party manages to enter Parliament, then the AKP, which has become the
center of corruption and crimes against the Constitution, does not have a
chance of forming a single-party government. If this election is a
life-and-death matter for the democratic parliamentary system, then it is the
duty of democrats from all political camps to prevent the corrupt and despotic
AKP from coming to power once again, isn't it? What should be done to this end
is obvious... The party which might enter Parliament as the fourth party might
not only manage to pass the election threshold, but also secure strong
electoral support to turn into a party appealing to the entire country, thereby
signalling the beginning of a new era in which all non-peaceful solutions to
the century-old Kurdish issue are ruled out for good.
[…]
Thus,
if the virtually only option available to us is to ensure that a fourth party
enters Parliament, then the party must enter Parliament. This option is no
longer a simple choice or fantasy for democrats. Rather, this option is a duty
for democrats to fulfil in the nearing election that is a life-and-death
matter.”
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TURKISH
AFFAIRS SECTION
(CS/ AM)
