TURKISH
CYPRIOT AND TURKISH MEDIA REVIEW
C
O N T E N T S
No.
146/15 05.08.2015
1. Akinci briefed the media representatives on the Cyprus
talks
2.VeyselEroglu to illegally visit the occupied area of
Cyprus
3. Atun due to Turkey to discuss new business
opportunities
4. “Turkey’s aid committee” published a report on the
economic situation in the occupied area of the Republic of Cyprus
5. New trade union under in the occupied area of Cyprus
6. The first “heart transplant surgery” took place in the
occupied area of Cyprus
7. Foreign folk-dancing teams to attend the
“International Folk-dancing Festival” in occupied Pergamos
8. Erdogan to open world’s largest Islamic-Ottoman social
complex in US
9. HulusiAkar takes over as Turkey's new Chief of General
Staff
10. 7.5 years in prison sought for 18 Turkish journalists
11. EU urges Turkey over scale of its response to PKK
attacks
12. CHP and HDP seek to reduce tension, call on PKK to
stop violence
1. Akinci
briefed the media representatives on the Cyprus talks
According to illegal Bayrak television
(online, 05/08/15), the Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci briefed this
morning the representatives of media on the Cyprus talks. He reminded them what
he did at the negotiation process since he took office.
Noting that a number of concrete steps have
been taken on the Confidence Building Measures (CBMs) issue, Akinci explained
that these CBMs included the sharing of information regarding minefields, the
lifting of using “visa slips” at the crossing points, the interconnecting of
power grids, island wide network coverage for mobile phones, ending radio
frequency clashes and the opening of new crossing points.
He also pointed out that the technical
committees on cultural heritage and gender equality is working intensively and
reminded that he attended with the Greek Cypriot leader NicosAnastasiades some
events.
Stressing that the main goal of the
negotiations is to reach a comprehensive solution on the Cyprus problem, Akinci
said that speculation reports are published in the Greek Cypriot press from
time to time and asked them not to rely on them.
Akinci, who said “Our aim is to achieve
results and not to torpedo the process”, added that the parameters of the
solution have been discussed for years and they are clear. “We remain committed
to a bi-zonal, bi-communal federal settlement” he said, reminding that this is
what he has been defending ever since running for the “presidency”.
Stating that much progress has been
achieved on the chapter of governance and power sharing, Akinci said that they
have not yet reached an agreement on the issue of rotational presidency, and
added: “This issue is an indispensable part of our political equality”.
Also pointing out that the issues of
property and guarantees have been discussed for years, Akinci said that
property is the last thing on the list to be discussed.
On the issue of guarantees, he said that
this issue has to be discussed with the participation of all three guarantor
powers. “Of course, all these issues will be discussed when the time comes. Our
freedom, political equality and security are extremely important for us. Any
agreement to be reached will safeguard all three elements”, he added.
Commenting on various press reports that
certain parts of the “TRNC’s population” will be shipped back to Turkey, Akinci
said that these reports are totally fabricated as the settlement to be reached
will also safeguard the human rights of all residents on the island.
On the issue of territory, Akinci said that
only criteria to be applied to the territory issue have been discussed during
the talks, adding: “We have not discussed any percentages, maps, villages,
places or areas under the chapter of territory”.
Finally, he also reminded that the process
is a UN led process but the support of the European Union is also needed.
(DPs)
2.VeyselEroglu to illegally visit the occupied area
of Cyprus
Under the title: “Eroglu is coming”, Turkish Cypriot
daily Ortam newspaper (05.08.15) reports that the Turkish Minister of Forestry
and Water Affairs VeyselEroglu will pay an illegal one-day visit to the
occupied area of Cyprus on Friday, in order to carry out contacts and
inspections on the works which are taking place in the “TRNC” for the water to
be transferred from Turkey.
According to
information acquired by illegal TAK, Eroglu
is expected to carry out contacts with “government and state officials” and
also will carry out inspections in the areas where works are taking place for
the installation of water pipelines.
Meanwhile, on
the same issue, Turkish daily Milliyet
newspaper (05.08.15) reports that the “project of the century”, as the water
transfer project from Turkey is expected to be completed either on August 30 or
on October 29. The paper adds that
Turkish President RecepTayyip Erdogan will attend the inauguration ceremony
which is planned to take place after the completion of the project.
Also, referring
to the same issue, Turkish Cypriot daily Havadis newspaper (05.08.15) under the
title: “Last month for the water”,
reports that only 2,5km were left for the installment of water pipelines under
the sea and the works are expected to be completed by the end of this week.
Invoking reliable sources, the paper writes that the
water is expected to come to the “TRNC” in one month the latest.
The paper writes
also that Turkey’s National Security
Council website reports that Turkey and the “TRNC” continue their contacts for
the transferring of electricity from Turkey to the “TRNC” which is to take
place after the completion of the water transfer project. According to the
website, the transfer of electricity with cables, will strengthen the “TRNC’s
hand” and will also facilitate the solution.
(AK)
3. Atun due to Turkey to discuss new business
opportunities
Turkish Cypriot
daily Kibris newspaper (05.08.15) reports that the self-styled minister of
economy, industry and trade SunatAtun, in statements during a press conference yesterday
presented the new “government program”.
Atun stated,
inter alia, that among their goals is to find new markets in order to lift all
the obstacles towards the employment in the “country” and to carry out works
towards the increase of the national income.
Atun explained
that in order to meet their goals, they will focus in three markets which are
two new centers in Turkey, three new countries in the Middle East and “south
Cyprus”, as he called the Republic of Cyprus. He added that they have already
launched works and undertook initiatives towards these markets and pointed out
to the need for the restructure of the Green Line Regulation.
Stating that
they will focus their work towards the increase of the national income and to
seek out solution on the employment problem which is one of the most important
problems of the “ministry”, Atun added that they pay great importance in
developing their sectors of services and products in order to achieve having an
access in new foreign markets.
Meanwhile, according
to illegal BRT (05.08.15-online in Turkish) Atun departed today for Turkey to
carry out a series of contacts.
Within the
framework of his contacts in Turkey, Atun is to meet with Turkey’s Economy
Minister NihatZeybekci with whom is expected to discuss the cooperation between
Turkey and the “TRNC” in the economy sector.
Moreover, Atun
will carry out contacts with businessmen in Ankara and Konya in order to
exchange views concerning new business opportunities. The paper adds that Atun
will also discuss with Turkish businessmen the possible steps to be taken
towards increasing the market share and developing trade ties with Turkey.
Atun will be
accompanied during his contacts in Turkey by a delegation of Turkish Cypriot
businessmen.
(AK)
4. “Turkey’s
aid committee” published a report on the economic situation in the occupied
area of the Republic of Cyprus
Turkish Cypriot daily YeniDuzen (05.08.15)
reports that the “directorate of the aid committee” of Turkey’s illegal
“embassy” in the occupied part of Nicosia published a “report on the economic
situation of TRNC in 2014” signed by former Turkish “ambassador” Halil Ibrahim
Akca.
According to the report, the per capita
income in the occupied area of the Republic of Cyprus is 15 thousand dollars,
where the economy of “TRNC” (translator’s note: the breakaway regime in the
occupied area of the Republic of Cyprus” ranks among the top of the “world
middle income group”. The economy of the Turkish Cypriots ranks at the 120th
position among the “low income countries”.
Noting that the major problems of the
economy are that the “future of the country is at the negotiating table” and
that the “interaction with the world is limited”,Akca added that even the
implementation of qualified measures for a reform did not safeguard progress.
According to the report, while the “local
growth rate” reached to 4.3% level from 1.1%, the budget deficit decreased from
(-) 411 million TL to 355 million TL.
The report refers that in a population of
289 thousands 252 persons, they export 134 million dollars and import 1.784
million dollars in a year. The 66.5% of the imports are from Turkey.
The number of tourists, who visited the
occupied area of the Republic of Cyprus in 2014, reached 1 million 366
thousands 77.
The unemployment rate is announced as 8.3%
in 2014, where the youth unemployment rate is 20.3%.
It is also reported that while the aid from
Turkey was 282 million dollars in 2002, it reached to 600 million dollars in
2009. However, with the effect of fiscal discipline, the aid from Turkey
dropped to 469 million dollars in 2014.
(DPs)
5. New trade union under in the occupied area of
Cyprus
Turkish Cypriot
daily Kibris newspaper (05.08.15) reports that a new trade union called
Ozel-Sen has been established in the occupied area of Cyprus.
According to the
paper, the known lawyer BarisMamali is the founder of the new trade union which
aims to protect the rights of the workers in the private sector, and to provide
better conditions and developments in the worker’s lives.
(AK)
6. The first “heart transplant surgery” took place
in the occupied area of Cyprus
Turkish Cypriot
daily Kibris newspaper (05.08.15) reports that the first “heart transplant
surgery” took place at the “state hospital” Dr. OrhanNalbantoglu in the
occupied part of Lefkosia.
The paper
describes this step as a big step for the “country’s health sector”.
(AK)
7. Foreign folk-dancing teams to attend the
“International Folk-dancing Festival” in occupied Pergamos
Turkish Cypriot
daily Ortam newspaper (05.0815) reports that folk-dancing teams from foreign
countries, that is Turkey, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Slovakia, Poland, Serbia and Russia will attend the
“International Folk-dancing Festival” of the occupied municipality of Pergamos.
The festival has
been launched last night and will be completed on August 8.
(AK)
8. Erdogan
to open world’s largest Islamic-Ottoman social complex in US
According to Turkish daily Sabah (online,
05.08.15), Turkey’s President PresidentRecepTayyip Erdogan will reportedly open
the world's largest Islamic-Ottoman social complex in Maryland, U.S. during his
upcoming expected visit to America.
Erdogan
recently stated that he will visit the U.S. on a diplomatic mission before
attending the G20 meeting on November 15-16 which will take place in Turkey's
southern province of Antalya.
During his visit to the U.S., Erdogan is
also expected to attend the opening ceremony of "Maryland Kulliye",
an Ottoman architectural concept which designates a complex with a central
mosque and a series of ancillary buildings - such as a library, hospital, and
public fountain - surrounding it.
9. HulusiAkar
takes over as Turkey's new Chief of General Staff
Turkish daily Sabah (05.08.15) reports that
the Commander of Turkish Land Forces,
HulusiAkar, was appointed as the new Chief of General Staff on Tuesday, on the
second day of Turkey's Supreme Military Council meetings.
SalihZekiColak filled Akar's position as
the new Commander of the Turkish Land Forces. Air Force Commander General Ali
Ozturk was made a member of the Supreme Military Council and his position was
given to General AbidinUnal.
Deputy Chief of Staff YasarGuler will also
continue to serve as General, making him the strongest candidate for Chief of
Staff in 2019 after HulusiAkar.
Aegean Army Commander GalipMendi was
assigned as the new Gendarmerie General Commander in place of the retired Galip
Abdullah Atay. 3rd Army Commander UmitDundar was appointed as the new Aegean
Army Commander.
Navy Commander Admiral BulentBostanoğlu's
term of office was extended for one year. Continuing his duty as the Naval
Commander with the rank of vice admiral, VeyselKosele raised in rank to
admiral.
The final decision will be made public
after Turkish President RecepTayyipErdogan's approval.
10. 7.5
years in prison sought for 18 Turkish journalists
Turkish daily Hurriyet Daily News (online,
04.08.15) with the above title reports that the Istanbul Chief Prosecutor’s Office has prepared an indictment against
18 journalists who are accused of “making propaganda for a terrorist
organization”, asking the court to jail them for up to 7.5 years each.
The journalists, including daily Cumhuriyet
Editor-in-Chief Can Dundar, have been charged after the investigation into the publication
of photos on April 1, showing Prosecutor Mehmet SelimKiraz’s captivity in the
hands of militants.
Kiraz was killed on March 31 following an
eight-hour standoff that began after SafakYayla and BahtiyarDogruyol, two
members of the outlawed Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party-Front (DHKP-C),
took him hostage in Istanbul’s Caglayan Courthouse.
The indictment claimed that the journalists
tried to portray a terrorist organization as “strong and capable enough for any
action.” Dundar, on the other hand, said his newspaper “intended to portray the
dark and ugly face of terrorism; not to legitimize it”.
Besides Cumhuriyet, journalists from
dailies Millet, Sok, Posta, Yurt, Bugun, OzgurGundem, Aydinlik and BirGun were
described in the indictment as suspects, along with a note that they had
pleaded not guilty.
In April, President RecepTayyip Erdogan had
lambasted media organizations for their coverage of the hostage crisis,
accusing them of treason for being the “partners of the terrorists” who were
involved in the killing of the late prosecutor.
It was not the only time that journalists,
particularly Dundar, have drawn the ire of the Turkish President.
In June 2015, Erdogan personally filed a
criminal complaint against Dundar over another critical news report by
Cumhuriyet, asking him to be jailed for life, hours after he said the
journalist would pay a “heavy price” for printing photos of National
Intelligence Organization (MİT) trucks allegedly shipping weapons and
ammunition to jihadists in Syria.
11. EU
urges Turkey over scale of its response to PKK attacks
According to Turkish daily Hurriyet Daily
News (online, 04.08.15), the European
Union has expressed “deep concern” about recent violence between the Turkish
government and the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and urged Ankara to
issue a “proportionate” response to avoid endangering the peace process.
In a phone conversation with Turkish EU
Minister VolkanBozkir, EU Commissioner for European Neighborhood Policy and
Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn said that the Union “acknowledged the
commitment of the Turkish authorities to stepping up the fight against ISIL
[Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant] and reaffirmed the EU’s strong support
for these efforts,” a written statement from the Commission read.
“At the same time, the commissioner
expressed the EU’s deep concern about recent developments which have a negative
impact on the Kurdish-Turkish settlement process,” Hahn was quoted as saying.
“The EU acknowledges that Turkey has the
right to prevent and react to any form of terrorism, which must be
unequivocally condemned. We count on Turkey to live up to its important and
strategic role for the whole region, by refraining from any action that could
further destabilize the region,” he said, without specifically citing the PKK.
Hahn also spoke to Peoples’ Democratic
Party (HDP) co-chair SelahattinDemirtaş on July 31 and told him that “all
parties should re-commit to the peace process and work now on a broad and
inclusive political solution.” The cease-fire should be commenced once more for
the benefit of all Turkish citizens, Hahn said.
12. CHP and
HDP seek to reduce tension, call on PKK to stop violence
According to Turkish daily Hurriyet Daily
News (online, 04.08.15), with the tension across the country rising following
clashes between terrorists and Turkish security forces, two of Turkey’s opposition parties met to seek ways to calm the
situation and issued calls for the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) to
end its attacks.
The calls came after Republican People’s
Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu met with the co-leaders of the Peoples’
Democratic Party (HDP), Selahattin Demirtas and FigenYuksekdag, on August
4.
Saying the leaders of the two parties have
discussed how to stop the bloodshed in the country, CHP deputy parliamentary
leader Engin Altay told reporters, “We want everybody to feel at ease. Turkey
will never ever be divided”. Terrorism can never be acceptable, he said,
calling on all parties to take a united stance against it. “No peace can be
demanded with weapons in hand,” he stressed. “The PKK should immediately drop
weapons and adopt the language of peace. And the state should do its part. In
order to let pro-freedom voices be heard, the PKK should absolutely drop
weapons.”
Altay added that the CHP will do its share
to bring peace to Turkey, and appreciated Demirtas over his genuine calls on
the PKK.
HDP deputy parliamentary group leader
IdrisBaluken blamed President RecepTayyip Erdogan and the Justice and
Development Party (AKP) for causing tension in the country in the name of
becoming a single-party government again.
“The weight of politics reduces at times of
such conflicts. That’s why we have discussed that weapons should be silenced.
Both sides should remove their hands from the triggers of their weapons. The
operations should cease and the PKK should end its attacks,” he said.
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TURKISH AFFAIRS SECTION
(DPs/
AM)
