TURKISH
CYPRIOT AND TURKISH MEDIA REVIEW
C
O N T E N T S
No.
155/15 18.08.2015
1. Gulden
Kucuk: They aim to find the remains of 40-50 Greek Cypriot missing persons
2. Izcan:
The Turkish Cypriots will not be able to pay the compensations on the property
issue, a fund should be established
3.
KamilHur’s house was attacked after he celebrated the establishment of the
Republic of Cyprus
4.
Sucugoglu: We prepare a strategic plan for attracting cultural and sport
tourism
5.
Cavusoglu announced officially his candidacy for UBP’s leadership while
quarrels continue within the party
6. Failure
of AKP-MHP talks herald early polls in Turkey
7.
Davutoglu will return the mandate for forming a government today
8. Turkish
lira plunges to new low as coalition talks fail
1. Gulden
Kucuk: They aim to find the remains of 40-50 Greek Cypriot missing persons
According to illegal Bayrak television
(online, 17.08.15), the Committee on Missing Persons in Cyprus (CMP) is
continuing its workings towards finding, identifying and returning the remains
of the people who lost their lives during 1963, 1964 and 1974.
The CMP started a new excavation at a
military area behind the central prison in the occupied part of Nicosia. The
excavation work aims to find the remains of 40-50 missing Greek Cypriots.
Speaking to the “BRT” about the excavation
works, the Turkish Cypriot member of the CMP Gulden PlumerKucuk said that the
excavation work at the military area behind the central prison in the occupied
part of Nicosia started through a permission obtained from the Turkish
occupation military “authorities”.
She also added that they aim to find the
remains of around 40-50 Greek Cypriot missing persons with the permission they
had obtained from the Turkish occupation military authorities which is the
third excavation this year and 28 in total.
Kucuk also noted that excavation work has
begun in light of the information received.
“Around 40-50 Greek Cypriots fighters who
had died in separate areas in 1974 were gathered and were tried to be returned
to the Greek Cypriot side through the UN however the Greek Cypriot side had
rejected this and therefore these bodies were buried in this area”, Kucuk
claimed.
2. Izcan:
The Turkish Cypriots will not be able to pay the compensations on the property
issue, a fund should be established
Turkish Cypriot daily Star Kibris newspaper
(18.08.15) reports that IzzetIzcan,
chairman of the United Cyprus Party (BKP) has said that the Turkish Cypriots
will not be able to pay the compensations on the property issue and expressed
the view that a fund should be established with the aim of paying these
compensations. In statements on Ada
TV yesterday, Izcan argued that the
recognition of the individual property right is not completely tantamount to
return of property and pointed out that “it is a pre-condition for the
state to ensure the right of residence”.
Izcan said: “Recognizing the property right of an individual is not tantamount to
that all his properties will be returned to the individual. The property
belongs to whom it belonged until 1974. Afterwards it is said that the methods
of compensating, or returning and exchanging this property will be used. In
the Property Commission it was used by mainly giving importance to
compensation. The two leaders went a step further and said that we recognize
the property right of the individual for both communities. This time the individual property right of the Turkish Cypriots is also
recognized. […]”
Izcan
described the issue of the illegal title deeds granted by the breakaway regime
through the so-called “ITEM law” as “the biggest problem on the property issue”
and the most complex problem we will have to face and added:
“The title deeds, properties [given for] 20 Turkish Liras (TL) are contrary to
the international law. A de facto situation is being created before an
agreement is reached. We said that instead of doing this, the state should give
the right of use with the method of long-term leasing, but it should not give
title deeds”.
Noting that all the deposits and the
budgets of the Turkish Cypriots are not enough to cover the compensations on
the property issue, Izcan said: “All our deposits in the banks are six billion
dollars. We have an external debt of five billion TL to Turkey. It makes a
total of eleven billion TL, 3-4 billion dollars, that is, even if we give all our money, we
cannot pay the debt. A resource should somehow be created. Those who have
responsibility for the problem coming to this form should create a resource.
Otherwise, if criteria are put, if you refer to compensation, exchange and
return and if you are mainly directed towards compensation, this money should
be paid from a resource”.
(I/Ts.)
3. KamilHur’s
house was attacked after he celebrated the establishment of the Republic of
Cyprus
Turkish Cypriot daily Afrika newspaper
(18.08.15) reports that unknown persons broke into the house of Turkish Cypriot named KamilHur, who had held
an activity on 16 August to celebrate the anniversary of the establishment of
the Republic of Cyprus, and burned his flags and placards. Under the title “Attack against KamilHur’s
activity for the Republic of Cyprus, They burned”, Afrika writes that the fire
caused damage to other material in the residence’s storehouse.
Hur stated that after the celebration he
went to bed and around midnight he heard some people shouting. He added:“My
warehouse was burning. It seems that persons saw it and notified and the fire
brigade came. The fire was extinguished with the help of my neighbours too.
During every activity the police were coming, taking notice, gathering the
placards and arresting me. This time the police did not come. Only at night
when I was about to gather the placards, a civilian police officer came. He
even helped me in tidying up. Then he told me that his director wanted to meet
and talk with me and then he left. […]”
(I/Ts.)
4. Sucugoglu:
We prepare a strategic plan for attracting cultural and sport tourism
Turkish Cypriot daily Kibrisli (18.08.15)
reports that the self-styled minister of tourism FaizSucuoglu, in an interview
to ARABICA television within the framework of his contacts in Istanbul and
Antalya, said that they should create a new image and concept for the “island”
(translator’s note: the occupied area of the Republic of Cyprus) which will
feature their culture and customs. He added that their strategic plan for the
years 2016-2018 is for the “TRNC” to be a segment market of the culture as well
as of the natural sports tourism.
Sucuoglu also said that they are preparing a strategic plan towards this
target.
Meanwhile, Sucuoglu, replying to criticisms
regarding his proposal for allowing
Turkish origin tourists to cross for a day to the government controlled
area of the Republic of Cyprus by the Cyprus authorities, said that this one
day trips to the government controlled area of Cyprus will not hit the “TRNC
economy”. He explained that if this would ever happen, it would be like a
pilgrimage to Hala Sultan Tekke or the Bayraktar mosque.
(DPs)
5. Cavusoglu announced officially his candidacy for UBP’s
leadership while quarrels continue within the party
Turkish
Cypriot daily Havadis newspaper (18.08.15) reports that Nazim Cavusoglu
“deputy” with the National Unity party (UBP) announced during a press
conference yesterday his candidacy for the leadership of the party. UBP’s
election congress will be held on October 31.
Cavusoglu
stated during the conference that the UBP is the party that Turkish Cypriots
trusted the most and added that a strong UBP meant “a strong state and a strong
society”. He also stated that not only he is a candidate for the party
leadership but a candidate for the “prime ministry” as well since as he said
UBP will win the next “election” and will form a single-party “government”.
In
addition, the paper writes that a new quarrel started in the party as regards
the registration of new members since this will be the first time that the
party’s members will vote to elect the party’s new leader. The paper cites
information according to which as of August 15, 6,843 persons were registered
as UBP’s members. Havadis writes that this development caused the reaction of
Ersin Tatar, who is also a candidacy for the leadership of the party who
questioned whether these persons are truly UBP’s supporters. On his part,
Cavusoglu also reacted, saying that the list of party’s registered members must
be examined very carefully.
(CS)
6. Failure
of AKP-MHP talks herald early polls in Turkey
Turkish daily Hurriyet Daily News (online,
17.08.15) reported that a last-ditch effort by Turkey’s incumbent Prime
Minister, Ahmet Davutoglu, to form a coalition failed on Aug. 17 as a meeting
with the country’s main nationalist party ended with no agreement, paving the
way for new elections.
“Bahceli said that he doesn’t consider a
coalition with the AKP [Justice and Development Party] possible,” Davutoglu
told reporters at a press conference following his meeting with Nationalist
Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahceli.
Bahceli was the one who first put forth his
position on the matter during their meeting, Davutoglu said, adding that the
MHP leader repeated his strict conditions for the formation of a coalition.
Bahceli not only shut down the prospects
for a coalition partnership, but also refused to be part of a short-lived
alliance to govern until early elections and support a minority government that
would be held by the AKP, Davutoglu said.
“He said they would be present in
Parliament in the event of a vote on an early election but would not support
such a decision,” Davutoglu said after the meeting which took place days before
a 45-day deadline to establish a new government runs out on Aug. 23.
For his part, Bahceli constantly repeated
his desire for a constructive effort to prevent the country from being left
without a government, but only on certain conditions that would be difficult to
fulfil for the AKP:
Suspending the peace process with the
outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) to end the three-decade conflict
between Turkey’s security forces and the PKK; sticking to the current
constitutional definition of citizenship, which includes the phrase
“Turkishness,” in order to “end ethnic and sectarian-based polarization;” and
an “effective fight against bribery and corruption,” particularly in regards to
the corruption and graft claims revealed on Dec. 17 and 25, 2013, that targeted
figures close to the government.
President RecepTayyip Erdogan, the founding
leader of the AKP, is also reported to favour new elections in the hope that
the party can win back its parliamentary majority. But the MHP said it had no
interest in propping up an AKP minority administration. Unless the AKP is
prepared to accept nationalist conditions for a full coalition, there is little
point in even negotiating, said the MHP.
7. Davutoglu will return the mandate for forming a government
today
Turkish
daily Cumhuriyet newspaper (18.08.15) reports that the Turkish Prime Minister
and Chairman of the Justice and Development Party Ahmet Davutoglu will return
at 7.30 in the evening today the mandate for forming a government in a meeting
he will have with the Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan.
The paper
notes that 39 days have already passed from the date that Erdogan gave the
mandate to Davutoglu.
The paper
also reports that with just days left until the expiration of the deadline on
August 23 to form a government, speculation is growing over whether Erdogan
will give a new mandate to form a government to the leader of the Republican
People’s Party (CHP), which received the second highest number of votes in the
June 7 election, in line with the political customs of the country.
(CS)
8. Turkish
lira plunges to new low as coalition talks fail
According to Ankara Anatolia news agency
(18.08.15), the Turkish lira has hit a new low against the U.S. dollar on
Monday evening after coalition talks between the country’s Justice and
Development (AK) Party's and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) ended without
an agreement.
The Turkish currency fell to a historic low
of 2.8677 against the dollar in late trading on Monday. Starting the day at
2.8350, the Turkish lira hit 2.86 in the afternoon trading before the party
leaders meeting at 2.00 p.m. (1100GMt) then rose to 2.8677 against the U.S.
currency after the meeting.
Analysts say the growing prospect of an
early election will cause further decrease in the value of the Turkish lira
against the dollar in the coming days.
The Turkish Central Bank monetary policy
committee is due to meet on Tuesday to decide whether to raise or lower the
interest rates. However, economists are forecasting the Turkish Central Bank to
keep interest rates as they are.
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TURKISH AFFAIRS SECTION
(DPs/
AM)
