TURKISH
CYPRIOT AND TURKISH MEDIA REVIEW
C
O N T E N T S
No. 222/15 21-23.11.2015
1. Ozgur:
If Turkey does not send money, the breakaway regime will bankrupt; New
“economic program” to be signed by the end of the year
2. Tourist
operator aims to bring 27,000 Russian tourists to the occupied area of Cyprus
3.
Ertugruloglu expresses the belief that the new illegal Tymbou airport will be
ready in 20 months
4. Turkish
Cypriot daily says that the illegal Tymbou airport has been given to a Turkish
businessman from President Erdogan’s “close circle”
5. The
number of registered mobile users in the occupied area of Cyprus is 793,133
6. “YODAK”
participated in the 10th European Quality Assurance Forum
7.
Passengers traffic via the illegal airports and ports in the occupied area of
Cyprus for January-October 2015
8. Profile
of the persons visiting Arasta area in the occupied part of Lefkosia
9. The
Mersin Economy platform carried out contacts in the occupied area of Cyprus
10. An EU
delegation to visit Ankara and discuss opening benchmarks for Chapters 23 and
24; Turkish citizens to travel visa-free to EU by 2018
11. HDP
says co-chair Demirtas escaped assassination attempt
12. Turkish
Minister talks energy security with senior US official
13. Turkey’s
Parliament elects AKP’s Kahraman as its new Speaker
14. HDP
lawmaker sentenced to six years in jail for alleged PKK links
1. Ozgur:
If Turkey does not send money, the breakaway regime will bankrupt; New
“economic program” to be signed by the end of the year
Turkish daily Milliyet newspaper (23.11.15,
online) reports that BirikimOzgur,
self-styled finance minister of the breakaway regime in the occupied area of
the Republic of Cyprus, has said that
Turkey finances every year the one fourth of the breakaway regime’s budget.
In statements to Milliyet, Ozgur described this contribution as “very
important” adding that “we will bankrupt
if Turkey does not send resources”.
Ozgur noted that they must the soonest sign with Turkey their “economic program” for the
period 2016-2018.The paper writes that the
above-mentioned program is expected to be signed by the end of the year.
Arguing that Turkey has always been
supporting the development of the Turkish Cypriots, Ozgur pointed out that with Turkey’s aid they pay for the
infrastructure investments, the defence, the private sector incentives and the
salaries.
Noting that
Turkey’s annual aid and donations exceeded one billion Turkish Liras (TL), Ozgur
added: “The aid is absolutely necessary for the functioning of the public
finances. We also receive aid for the
salaries in a sum which annually exceeds 200 million TL on average. Otherwise,
the public finances would become non-functional”.
Pointing out that the Turkish Cypriots are
fortunate because a stable government exists in Turkey, Ozgur argued that in the
past Turkey had been giving aid to the Turkish Cypriots without a plan, but now
this has changed, as they have a program which should continue. “We must defend the programs we sign and as
sides we must do our bid”, he said and claimed that if they do their bid, a
“north Cyprus” with a strong economy will not remain an unfulfilled dream.
According to Milliyet, the breakaway regime monthly pays 150 million TL for salaries and
Turkey transfers a resource of 20 million TL every month for these salaries. It
also spends more than one billion TL for investments and defense expenses.
Meanwhile, Turkish Cypriot daily Kibrisli
newspaper (22.11.15), reports that in other statements, Ozgur said that a delegation of three “undersecretaries” at the
self-styled prime ministry, the “ministry of finance” and the “ministry of
economy” are currently visiting Ankara holding contacts as regards the new
economic program between Turkey and the breakaway regime. He pointed out
that they will exchange views during this visit and said that the delay in
signing the new program derived from reasons that concern Turkey and mainly the
recent elections.
(I/Ts.)
2. Tourist operator aims to bring 27,000 Russian tourists to
the occupied area of Cyprus
Turkish
Cypriot daily Kibris Postasi newspaper (23.11.15) reports that the self-styled minister of culture and
tourism FaizSucuoglu stated that one of the biggest tourist operators in the
world who brings three million Russian
tourists to Turkey, visited the breakaway regime and held contacts with the
“ministry of tourism” as regards bringing Russian tourists to the breakaway
regime.
Sucuoglu
made these statements during an interview he gave to the paper where he
reiterated that the breakaway regime aims to make the tourists, especially
Russians, who do not want to visit Middle Eastern countries after the recent
terrorist attacks in the area, to visit the “TRNC”.
Sucuoglu
stated that the tourist operator is
determined to bring 27,000 Russian tourists in Cyprus, adding that they are
thinking of applying the “touch down system” with planes which will bring the
tourists in the breakaway regime via Turkey or other countries. He said
that there are some troubles as regards this issue but they are on the way to solve
them. “We will either solve or … solve this issue”, Sucuoglu stated. He also stated that “southern Cyprus”, as he
called the Republic of Cyprus is also aiming for the Russian tourist market.
“But we are a step ahead of them”, he claimed.
In addition,
Turkish Cypriot daily Kibris (21.11.15) reported that during a meeting he held
with various members of the “tourism industry”, Sucuoglu stated that there are two airway companies that are
getting ready to bring Russian tourists in the breakaway regime and added
that they are holding contacts with tourist operators in Moscow towards this
direction.
He also
said that they make preparations to increase the bed capacity of the hotels in
the breakaway regime in order to meet the needs of Russian tourists. As he
said, the breakaway regime has a
9,000-hotel capacity for the time being and they aim to increase this up to
19,000.
(CS)
3. Ertugruloglu
expresses the belief that the new illegal Tymbou airport will be ready in 20
months
Turkish Cypriot daily Kibris newspaper
(21.11.15) reported that TahsinErtugruloglu,
self-styled transportation minister of the breakaway regime in the occupied
area of the Republic of Cyprus, has said
that the company which had undertaken the restoration project of the illegal
Tymbou airport expressed the belief that this project will be completed within
20 months.
A briefing was held on Friday at the
illegal airport by T&TAirports Operation, Construction, Industry and Trade
CompanyLtd, which has overtaken the
“airport” for a period of 25 years.The company announced also its targets and
gave information on what has been done until today as regards the construction
of the new terminal and the new landing field.
The president of the administrative board
of the T&T’s partner TasYapicompany, EmrullahTuranli
said that when the project is completed, the operator will employ 500 persons
and together with the personnel, who will work in other [relevant] places, the
project will provide a job opportunity to around 2.000 persons. He said
that according to his estimations, the
“airport” will increase the number of its passengers from 3,5 million to 5-5,5
million.
Speaking before the briefing, Ertugruloglu referred to those who
argue that “this project will never end” and said that they are determined to finish the project and argued that
“Tymbou will put the TRNC on the map”. He noted that Turanli had admitted
that there was a delay of 2-3 years and promised to finish the project within
20 months.
Meanwhile, CenkCoskun, director of Terminal
Yapi Ltd, issued a statement noting that the license to build and operate the
“airport” belongs to his company. He argued that a “law administrator” must be
appointed until the “legal proceedings” launched by his company against TasYapi
are completed.
(I/Ts.)
4. Turkish
Cypriot daily says that the illegal Tymbou airport has been given to a Turkish
businessman from President Erdogan’s “close circle”
Turkish Cypriot daily Afrika newspaper
(22.11.15) reported that the “officials” in the occupied area of the Republic
of Cyprus are saying nothing for what is happening at illegal Tymbou airport, which “had been given away in a scandalous
manner to a company from Turkey”, and for the allegations expressed by the
partners who are accusing each other. According to the paper, the regime’s “officials” say nothing in
order for not confronting with the Turkish President RecepTayyip Erdogan.
T&T
company’s officials, who had been given the administration of the “airport”,
are refraining from implementing the conditions of the privatization, but no
one is asking or finds the courage to ask to whose pocket the forgone profits
are going, notes the paper and wonders in which banks the income gathered
for about three years is deposited and what kind of meetings are held with
“ministers and princes” behind closed doors.
“The
officials who do not want to come face to face with Tasyapi company’s boss
EmrullahTuranli, who belongs to Erdogan’s close circle, are preferring to
remain silent in order for not causing Ankara’s reactions”, writes the paper
recalling that before coming to “power” the Democratic Party (DP) leader
SerdarDenktas had been stating that he would take illegal Tymbou airport back
from the private company, but afterwards he stopped referring to the issue.
According to Afrika, an application submitted by Turanli to build a seven story hotel in
Turkey had been rejected two years ago, but after AKP’s victory in 1 November
2015 elections, the application was approved.
(I/Ts.)
5. The number of registered mobile users in the occupied area
of Cyprus is 793,133
Turkish
Cypriot daily YeniDuzen newspaper (23.11.15) reports that there is a 65 million Turkish Lira increase in electronic communication
in the last three years in the occupied area of Cyprus.
The paper,
which cites information of the “information technology and communication
foundation” reports that the use of smart phones increased up to 102% during
the last two years while the number of the users increased to 230,000.
The users
of mobile phones communicate mainly with Turkey, the UK, Nigeria, “northern
Cyprus” and Pakistan.
YeniDuzen notes that the number of the registered mobile users is
793,133 but adds that among them only 563,453 are active users.
(CS)
6. “YODAK”
participated in the 10th European Quality Assurance Forum Turkish
Cypriot daily Kibris (23.11.15) reports that the so-called higher education planning evaluation, accreditation and
coordination council (“YODAK”) in the occupied area of the Republic of
Cyprus participated in the 10th European
Quality Assurance Forum, which took place in London on 19-21 November, 2015,
hosted by the Quality Assurance Agency / UCL Institute of Education, and
co-organised by ENQA (European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher
Education), ESU (European Students Union), EUA (European University
Association) and EURASHE (European Association of Institutions in Higher
Education).
Prof. Dr HuseyinGokcekus, chairman of
“YODAK”, and Prof. Dr OlgunCicek, member of “YODAK” had bilateral meetings with
the chairmen of Quality Assurance Agencies of many countries as well as with
the chairmen of ENGA, EQAR and EURASHE. They discussed ways of cooperation
within the “universities” and the development of joint projects.
In addition
to this, an agreement was reached to organize workshops, panels and a series of
conferences in cooperation with these institutions on the topic “Quality
Assurance and Accreditation in the Higher Education” in the occupied area of
the Republic of Cyprus in 2016.
(DPs)
7. Passengers
traffic via the illegal airports and ports in the occupied area of Cyprus for
January-October 2015
Turkish Cypriot daily Kibris (23.11.15)
reports that the number of passengers via the illegal airports and ports in the
occupied area of Cyprus, excluding the "TRNC's citizens" increased by
9.3% for the period of January-October 2015, 266 thousands 111 persons more, in
comparison to total 1 million 158 thousand 520 passengers in the same period of
2014.
According to figures given by the so-called
police general directorate of the “ministry of tourism”, the number of persons
(excluding the "TRNC's citizens"), who visited the occupied area of
the Republic of Cyprus through the crossing points, were1 million 747 thousands
and 203, while in the same period in 2014, the number was 1 million 687
thousands and 525 persons.
The paper also reports that the decline
tendency from visits from the Turkish Cypriots, who live in London, through the
illegal airports and ports in the occupied area of Cyprus, is continuing also
in 2015 due to the closure of the “Turkish Cypriot airlines”. It is reported
that the Turkish Cypriots from London use the airports from the government
controlled area of the Republic of Cyprus.
It is also observed that the passengers
from Germany traveling via the illegal airports and ports in the occupied area
of Cyprus were increased to 47 thousands 264 persons in 2015, compared to 23
thousands 890 persons in 2014.
(DPs)
8. Profile of the persons visiting Arasta area in the occupied
part of Lefkosia
Turkish
Cypriot daily HalkinSesi newspaper (23.11.15) reports about a survey regarding the Arasta area in the
occupied part of Lefkosia, which was conducted by the tradesmen and small scale
retailers of the area.
According
to the results, 35,6% of the persons
visiting the area are “TRNC citizens”, 28,9% are tourists from Europe and 24,4%
are citizens of the Republic of Cyprus.
The paper
notes that the tourists visiting the area complained about the collapsing
buildings of Arasta, the dirty environment and the bad condition of the
surrounding roads.
(CS)
9. The
Mersin Economy platform carried out contacts in the occupied area of Cyprus
According to illegal Bayrak television
(online, 20.11.15), a delegation from the Mersin Economy Platform headed by FeridunGunduz
met with so-called state and government officials of the breakaway regime in
the occupied area of the Republic of Cyprus on Friday.
The delegation met separately with
self-styled prime minister Omer Kalyoncu and the self-styled minister of economy,
industry and commerce SunatAtun.
During the meeting, Kalyoncu said that
cooperation between businesspeople from both “countries” is important in
increasing and developing job opportunities. He added that relations should be
established on the basis of a win-win formula.
For his part, Atun touched upon the
importance of the Mersin Port for the “TRNC”, stating that most of their
imports and exports are made through Mersin.
Noting that education and tourism are the
most important sectors for the “TRNC’” economy, Atun said that the market
percentage of the industrial products can be increased from 8% to 20%.
He also said that they aim to increase
their share in foreign markets and to enable Turkish Cypriot brands to take
their place in the Turkish market. Atun also added that their other aim is to
make the “TRNC a transit centre”.
During the meetings, Gunduz expressed
readiness to contribute to the efforts towards further developing relations
between them and increasing the volume of foreign trade of the “TRNC” through
Mersin.
10. An
EU delegation to visit Ankara and discuss opening benchmarks for Chapters 23
and 24; Turkish citizens to travel visa-free to EU by 2018
Turkish daily Sabah (online, 23.11.15)
reports that while the EU is preparing to hold a joint refugee summit with
Turkey on Nov. 29 in Brussels to conclude ongoing talks about its refugee
action plan, diplomatic sources have
said that an EU delegation will visit Ankara on Dec. 10-11 to discuss the
opening benchmarks for Chapter 23 on judicial and fundamental rights and
Chapter 24 on justice, security and freedoms.
The EU has opened 14 of the 35 negotiating
chapters and provisionally closed only one even though Ankara has continued the
negotiation process with the EU for 10 years. Chapter 22, which covers regional
policy and coordination of structural instruments, was the last chapter opened
in November 2013. The EU is planning to
open Chapter 17 on economic and monetary policies in December to end a two-year
hiatus. Turkey has completed the screening process, which is the first
stage of the accession process, for all negotiation chapters on Oct. 13, 2006. However, the benchmarks associated with the
opening of Chapters 23 and 24 were never delivered to Ankara and the EU's
stance raises concerns regarding the transparency of the accession process.
In the European Commission's 2015 Turkey Progress Report it raised concerns
about judicial and fundamental rights and said that there has been a regression
in these areas. This notwithstanding, the Turkish government constantly asks
the EU to open these vital chapters for negotiations to restore the problematic
areas together. In the latest progress report the European Commission suggests
the restoration of all legal guarantees to ensure full respect for the
independence of the judiciary in practice, establish a track record of investigations
and ensure full respect for fundamental rights and freedoms, in particular the
freedom of expression. Sources believe
that discussions over the opening benchmarks for Chapter 23 and 24 will be
useful to define the necessary reforms to solve these problems.
Despite efforts from Turkey for opening
Chapters 23 and 24, talks have stagnated for a couple of years because of the
blockage by the Republic of Cyprus. The ongoing reunification talks on Cyprus,
however, have increased hopes for a permanent solution on the divided island.
Diplomatic sources indicated that there is a high possibility of holding a
referendum on Cyprus in March 2016 if the talks continue as they have. A
permanent solution to the 40-year division of Cyprus could be a game changer
for Turkey's EU bid via lifting the blockage of opening chapters. The
negotiations on eight chapters cannot be opened at present due to a European
Council decision of December 2006.
Meanwhile, the paper (online, 21.11.15)
reported that the head of the European
Union Delegation to Turkey, Hansjörg Haber, said a system for visa-free travel
between the EU and Turkey is planned to start in 2018. Haber also said that if
everything goes well, the plan may see early implementation in 2017.
Commenting on Haber and EU Foreign Ministry
Undersecretary Stefano Manservisi's recent visit to the Trabzon Chamber of
Commerce and Industry in northeastern Turkey on Nov. 20, the chamber head SuatHacisalihoglu
said that the EU's stance on visa-free travel for Turkish citizens looked
"promising".
Explaining that the visa-free regime is
planned for the end of 2018, Haber stressed the importance of "exchanging
information on developments and being in contact".
Noting that the chamber has business
development protocols with 35 countries, Hacisalihoglu said that more and more
protocols are being signed with the EU every day. He added that he does not see
many obstacles on the path to visa-free travel for Turkish citizens as the
continuing relationship between the EU and Turkey is a sign of
"integration".
11. HDP
says co-chair Demirtas escaped assassination attempt
According to Turkish daily Hurriyet Daily
News (online, 23.11.15), Peoples’
Democratic Party (HDP) co-chair Selahattin Demirtas was targeted by an
assassination attempt while travelling in his official vehicle but escaped
unharmed, the HDP said Nov. 23.
Demirtas was in an armoured vehicle in the
south-eastern province of Diyarbakır late on Nov. 22 when it was hit by a
single bullet at head height, the party said in a statement.
However, the Diyarbakır Governor’s Office
denied that Demirtas had been the target of an assassination attempt or that
the car was hit by gunfire. Demirtas “survived the assassination attempt
unharmed thanks to the bullet-proof vehicle [in which] he was riding,” the
pro-Kurdish HDP said in its official Twitter feed.
Meanwhile, the Firat News Agency (ANF) said
that neither Demirtas nor his guards had heard a shot being fired but noticed
the bullet mark when getting out of the car at the end of the journey. There
was also no indication that any bullet or cartridge had been found at the
scene.
In a statement, the Governor’s office said
that the car had been examined by authorities and that a mark three centimetres
in width and height had been found on the left side of the rear window. But it
said no sign had been found that this was caused by “any kind of firearm” and
it had in fact been produced by a “collision with a very hard object.”
Speaking to daily Hürriyet, HDP Deputy
SirriSureyyaOnder raised the possibility that the assailants might have
attacked the car while it was parked in order to intimidate the leader of the
party.
12. Turkish
Minister talks energy security with senior US official
According to Ankara Anatolia news agency
(22.11.15), Turkey’s Energy Minister Ali
RızaAlaboyun said that he discussed several key energy security issues with
U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken in a closed meeting on Nov. 20.
“We talked about security supply and security issues. We exchanged ideas about
the integration of the Iraqi natural gas into the global system, how energy
reserves in the East Mediterranean should be evaluated, and the existing
situation regarding the gas pipelines that pass through Turkey,” Alaboyun said
after his meeting with Blinken in Istanbul.
Stating that Turkey is a “bridge between
huge energy-producing countries and consumers,” Alaboyun added that Turkey has
the potential to host many more pipelines carrying energy sources, mainly gas,
from east to the west.
“In our
meeting with Blinken, we focused on the need to maintain the energy supply
security of Turkey as well as Europe. The energy demand of both Turkey and
Europe has been growing steadily. As Turkey, the energy supply security tops
our agenda,” he said.
Alaboyun also touched on the state of the
planned Turkish Stream projects with Russia, about which question marks have
arisen in recent months. Upon a question about media reports of surprising
support for the project from the EU, he said Ankara is still keen to push
ahead.
Turkey is positive about the development of
the project as the gas flow from Russia to Turkey through the West Pipe will
end by 2021 and this future deficit must be compensated somehow. “We’ll give
the details of the projects to the new cabinet, to be established very soon,
and transfer the issue to the new Minister,” Alaboyun added.
13. Turkey’s
Parliament elects AKP’s Kahraman as its new Speaker
According to Turkish daily Hurriyet Daily
News (online, 22.11.15), Ismail
Kahraman, the Istanbul Deputy from the ranks of the Justice and Development
Party (AKP), has been elected as the new Parliament Speaker in the third round
of the voting on Nov 22.
A veteran conservative politician, Kahraman
served as Minister of Culture in the mid-1990s under NecmettinErbakan’s
governments, which were later shut down by the Constitutional Court. Kahraman
is known as one of President RecepTayyipErdogan’s closest associates. After a
break of 12 years, he returned to active politics through the Nov. 1 elections.
The first two rounds of voting failed to
elect the Speaker as none of the four contenders could garner the 367 required
votes. In the third round, however, when only 276 votes was needed, Kahraman
won thanks to support he received from the AKP (which holds 317 parliamentary
seats) and was elected as Parliament Speaker.
Other candidates included
AyseGulsunBilgehan, the Ankara Deputy of the Republican People’s Party (CHP),
Yusuf Halacoglu, the Kayseri Deputy of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) and
Dengir Mir Mehmet Firat, the Istanbul Deputy of the Peoples’ Democratic Party
(HDP).
14. HDP
lawmaker sentenced to six years in jail for alleged PKK links
According to Turkish daily Hurriyet Daily
News (online, 21.11.15), a court in Turkey's
eastern province of Van has sentenced a lawmaker from the Peoples' Democratic
Party (HDP) to a prison sentence of six years and three months on charges of
“being a member of the PKK [Kurdistan Workers’ Party] terrorist
organization".
The verdict came late Nov. 20 from Van's
Second High Penal Court in a case where six suspects stood trial on charges of
"being members of the PKK terrorist organization and its affiliate KCK
[Kurdistan Communities Union] ".
Four of the suspects, including the HDP’s
Van Deputy LezginBotan and former HDP Van Deputy SelamiOzyasar, were sentenced
to six years and three months while two others were acquitted.
All four suspects were detained back in
June 25, 2011 in Van during an operation by anti-terror squads. The arrests
were part of a nationwide dragnet on suspected Kurdish separatists and
militants and led to the arrests of senior officials, journalists and lawyers.
---------------------------------------------------
TURKISH AFFAIRS SECTION
(DPs/
AM)
