TURKISH
CYPRIOT AND TURKISH MEDIA REVIEW
C
O N T E N T S
No. 33/16 18.02.2016
1. Terror
attack kills 28, injures 61 in Turkish capital; Erdogan and Davutoglu vow to
increase fight against terror
2.
Davutoglu: YPG, PKK carried out Ankara’s terror attack; Erdogan: Despite YPG
and PKK leaders’ denial to the involvement, it is identified that this is done
by them
3. Syrian
PYD leader rejects responsibility for Ankara attack
4. Blast
hits Turkish culture association in Stockholm
5. Three
political parties in Turkish Parliament issued a joint declaration condemning
terror
6. Turkish
jets hit PKK in northern Iraq; Explosion rocks military convoy in Diyarbakir
7. The
water crisis is continuing; Kalyoncu will discuss the issue with Turkish
officials; Talat and Ozgurgun called Davutoglu
8. Positive
reactions on the EU decision to place the “Task Force for the Turkish Cypriot
Community” under Juncker’s management
9. A
delegation by the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of
Europe to visit Cyprus on April in order to prepare a report
10.
“Interior ministry” announced that the new “regulations” will not affect the
ongoing high rise projects in occupied Keryneia
11. Telsim-
Vodafone Turkey plans to increase its investment in the breakaway regime
12. The
occupation regime included in the Google map implementation
1. Terror
attack kills 28, injures 61 in Turkish capital; Erdogan and Davutoglu vow to
increase fight against terror
Turkish daily Hurriyet Daily News (online,
18.02.16) reports that at least 28
people were killed and 61 others were injured in a bomb attack on Feb. 17
targeting shuttles carrying military personnel in Ankara.
The Turkish General staff announced on Feb.
18 that 30 of the injured were discharged from hospitals while the other 31
were in fair condition, continuing to receive treatment in various hospitals.
Turkey will
use its legitimate right to defend itself always and everywhere, President
RecepTayyip Erdogan said in a statement. “Our
determination to retaliate to these attacks that target our unity and our
future, in Turkey and abroad, are increasing with such actions”, he added.
“Turkey’s losses in its struggle against
terrorism are challenging its patience,” he added, stressing that Turkey would
overcome the attacks. Turkey will
continue its struggle against “these pawns and powers behind them, every day,
with determination”, he said.
Erdogan has
cancelled a visit to Azerbaijan scheduled for Feb. 18, while Prime Minister Ahmet
Davutoglu, who was scheduled to leave for Brussels later on Feb. 17, also
cancelled his visit.
The attack occurred in the centre of the
city, just a few hundred meters away from the top military headquarters,
Parliament and Prime Minister’s office. It happened at a time when a high-level
security meeting was being held at the Presidential Palace under the
chairmanship of Erdogan.
“We will
never step back from our righteous struggle against all terror organizations,”
said Davutoglu in a written statement, following the security summit. “The state
of the Turkish Republic will keep defending humanitarian values that will
primarily protect its national security in the name of all without digressing
from the line of law and justice and without compromising to terror and
violence,” he said.
The leaders
of the three opposition parties in parliament condemned the attacks.
Deputy Prime Minister NumanKurtulmus said
the attack was carried out with a car bomb. “We are facing simultaneous terror
attacks, as if they were controlled by the same people, trying to intimidate
Turkey”, Kurtulmus told reporters.
“We do not yet know the perpetrators of
this attack,” the Deputy Prime Minister said, adding that seven prosecutors had
been assigned to the case and those behind the attack would be found out as
soon as possible. “This attack did not only target our military personnel in
those shuttles,” Kurtulmus said.
“This
attack openly targets out entire nation. We condemn those who carried out this
attack, those who used the perpetrators as tools, and those who gave logistical
intelligence and even political support to such attacks,” he said.
Kurtulmus called on the international
community to stand by Turkey. “I want everybody to know that some plain
condemnations no longer satisfy Turkey. Whatever they do, the terrorist
organizations and the powers behind them will not be able to reach their
targets,” he said.
Most of the injured are in fair condition,
Health Minister Mehmet Muezzinoglu said. “Terror has attacked treacherously in
Ankara. We curse this attack,” ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP)
spokesman Omer Celik said on Twitter.
Meanwhile, the Turkish General Staff also
strongly condemned the attack in a statement, saying there were military
personnel among the casualties.
“Deeply saddened, shocked by the terror
attack in Ankara. Our hearts and prayers go out to those who are affected,”
U.S. Ambassador to Turkey John Bass said in a tweet.
The British Ambassador to Turkey, Richard
Moore, also extended his condolences via Twitter, giving solidarity messages.
“U.K. stands shoulder to shoulder with Turkey at this difficult time. Utterly
condemn terrorism,” Moore tweeted.
2. Davutoglu:
YPG, PKK carried out Ankara’s terror attack; Erdogan: Despite YPG and PKK leaders’
denial to the involvement, it is identified that this is done by them
According to Turkish daily Sabah (online,
18.02.16), Turkey’s Prime Minister Ahmet
Davutoglu said on Thursday that the deadly Ankara attack was carried out by a
YPG suicide bomber from Syria in collaboration with the PKK terrorist
organization.
Speaking to reporters in Ankara, Davutoglu
said that the attack was carried out by a Syrian national named SalehNajar, who
was born in Syria's Hasakah province.
"It has been determined with certainty that this attack was carried
out by members of the separatist terror organization PKK, together with a
member of the YPG who infiltrated from Syria", Davutoglu said.
He said that Turkish security forces have
detained nine people in connection with the deadly attack, which killed 28
people and injured 61, while noting that 26 of the 28 people killed in Ankara
attack were soldiers. "Their connection to the YPG has been
confirmed," Davutoglu said and added that he cannot comment further as the
investigation is still proceeding.
Davutoglu underscored that there is
concrete evidence about the YPG's involvement in the attack, and added that
Turkey expects support in accordance with the evidence.
Davutoglu
noted that he has given instructions to the Minister of Foreign Affairs Mevlut
Cavusoglu to distribute documents containing information about the incident, to
the members of the United Nations Security Council, known as the Permanent 5. "It is our right to expect a common
stance against terrorist organizations," he said, urging all allies to
display a firm stance against the YPG.
He reaffirmed that Turkey will retaliate
against the perpetrators of the attack and said that the Turkish Air Force have
conducted cross-border operations in Northern Iraq, killing over 70 PKK
terrorists, including senior members.
"We
will take all precautions under the scope of legitimate self-defence and will
retaliate with no hesitance," he said.
The Prime Minister also said that the same
way Al-Qaida and Daesh cannot sit on peace tables, the YPG also cannot sit on
the peace table and they do not have the 'right to represent the Syrian
people'.
Davutoglu
warned YPG supporters and said that those directly and indirectly supporting
the terrorist organization, risk losing Turkey's backing. He noted that it is
unacceptable for members of NATO and the United States to have relations with
an organization which carried out terrorist attacks 'in the heart of Turkey'.
He told reporters that the Assad regime,
which openly expresses support for the YPG is also responsible for the attack,
and said the YPG is a 'pawn' of the Assad regime.
The Prime Minister also touched on Russia's
condemnation of the attack and said it was a 'positive thing' while he urged
Russia to stop using its force against innocent civilians in Syria.
Moreover, President RecepTayyipErdogan said on Thursday that Turkey's
initial investigation indicated that the PYD and PKK terrorist organizations
were responsible for Wednesday's terrorist attack in Ankara, despite their
leaders' denials. "Even though those who head the PYD and PKK say this
has no connection with them, based on the information obtained by our Interior
Minister and our intelligence agencies, it is identified that this is done by
them," he added.
Previously
Salih Muslim, co-chairman of the PYD, said that the group's forces had "no
link" with the bombing, while the PKK's senior leader CemilBayik said that
he does not know who was behind the attack.
3. Syrian
PYD leader rejects responsibility for Ankara attack
According to Turkish daily Today’s Zaman
(online, 18.02.16), the leader of the
Syrian Democratic Union Party (PYD) has rejected the accusation that the
organization carried out the Wednesday evening bombing attack in Ankara that
killed 28 people and wounded 61.
The declaration comes after Turkish Prime
Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said that a member of the People's Protection Units
(YPG), the armed wing of the PYD, was behind the attack. "We are not responsible for the Ankara bombing", Saleh Muslim
was quoted by the Arbil-based Rudaw media network as saying.
"We are completely refuting that.
(...) Davutoglu is preparing for something else because they are shelling us as
you know for the past week", Muslim told Reuters by telephone.
"I can assure you not even one bullet
is fired by the YPG into Turkey ... They don't consider Turkey an enemy,"
he said.
The
co-leader of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) umbrella group, CemilBayık, was
quoted by the Firat news agency as saying that he did not know who was
responsible for the Ankara bombing. But the
attack, he said, could be an answer to "massacres in Kurdistan",
referring to the Kurdish region spanning parts of Turkey, Syria, Iraq and Iran.
4. Blast
hits Turkish culture association in Stockholm
According to Turkish daily Hurriyet Daily
News (online, 18.02.16), an explosion severely damaged a Turkish cultural
association building in a southern Stockholm suburb, local media reported on
Wednesday.
All the windows of the centre were blown
out, newspaper Swedish Aftonbladet reported on its website, quoting police,
adding that there was no information about whether there were injuries.
An eyewitness told the daily that the
Turkish cultural association building had been vandalized and hit by rocks last
Sunday.
The president of the Botkyrka Turkish
cultural association, Ismail Zengin had stated Sunday that PKK and its Syrian
wing Democratic Union Party (PYD) terrorists had physically attacked the
members of the association and that the Swedish police had not been very active
in preventing the attacks.
The blast occurred on the same day a
terrorist attack hit military-owned vehicles in central Ankara, killing at
least 28 persons and wounding 61 others.
5. Three
political parties in Turkish Parliament issued a joint declaration condemning
terror
According to Turkish daily Today’s Zaman
(online, 18.02.16), three political parties represented in the Turkish
Parliament issued a joint declaration late on Wednesday to condemn terrorism,
in the wake of the terrorist attack in the Turkish capital last evening that
has killed at least 28 people.
The ruling
Justice and Development Party (AK Party) and opposition parties Republican
People's Party (CHP) and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) signed the
declaration, while the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) did not
approve the declaration on the ground that it fails to condemn previous
terrorist attacks in Diyarbakır, Suruc and Ankara.
“As political parties represented in
Parliament, we strongly condemn inhumane terrorist attacks that target our
unity and integrity as well as our peace and security. Terrorism and violence
will never reach its goal. We declare that our nation will never bow to terror
and that it has the power to foil these plans,” the statement said.
6. Turkish
jets hit PKK in northern Iraq; Explosion rocks military convoy in Diyarbakir
According to Turkish daily Hurriyet Daily
News (online, 18.02.16), Turkish
warplanes conducted a wide-scale air operation on Feb. 17 targeting outlawed
Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) positions in northern Iraq. The Turkish Air
Force jets targeted around a group of 70 including the top executives of the
PKK in the Haftanin region in northern Iraq.
The
operation came hours after a deadly car bomb attack targeting shuttles carrying
military personnel in Ankara, which killed at least 28 and injured 61 others.
Meanwhile, the paper also reports that a large explosion hit a military convoy on
February 18 in the south-eastern province of Diyarbakır. Casualties have been reported after the
attack, which was reportedly staged by outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK)
militants after the detonation of a roadside bomb.
Six soldiers have been killed while another
has been heavily wounded as a PKK-placed improvise explosive device (IED) hit a
military convoy on Feb. 18 in the southeastern province of Diyarbakır, Turkish
Army announced in a statement.
7. The
water crisis is continuing; Kalyoncu will discuss the issue with Turkish
officials; Talat and Ozgurgun called Davutoglu
Under the title “The water crisis was not
solved”, Turkish Cypriot daily Kibris newspaper (18.02.16) reports that the crisis as regards the administration
and the operation of the water brought from Turkey to the occupied area of
Cyprus is continuing. In statements yesterday after the meeting of the
“council of ministers”, self-styled prime minister Omer Kalyoncu said that the “coalition government” continues and that
he will visit Turkey within the forthcoming days to discuss the water issue
with Turkish officials. Kalyoncu noted that the “cabinet” discussed
“routine issues” and exchanged views on the water as well.
Turkish Cypriot daily Vatan newspaper
(18.02.16) reports that after the discussion at the “cabinet”, the chairmen of the two “coalition
partners”, Mehmet Ali Talat (Republican Turkish Party) and Huseyin Ozgurgun
(National Unity Party) met at the former’s office and discussed the water issue.
According to Vatan’s information, during the meeting the two leaders held a telephone conversation with the Turkish Prime
Minister, Ahmet Davutoglu. Under the title “The party chairmen asked
‘improvements’ from Ankara”, the paper writes that Talat and Ozgurgun informed Davutoglu that they want some amendments to
be made in the “water agreement text”. The leaders will reportedly work in
the direction of urgently signing the agreement.
Moreover, in statements after the
“cabinet’s” meeting, SunatAtun,
self-styled minister of economy, industry and commerce, said that drought
exists in the occupied area of Cyprus and this drought may continue. Therefore,
the debates on the agreement with Turkey
are “groundless and timeless”, he argued. Atun criticized the accusations against Turkey on this issue and said
that the UBP could not remain a spectator to these developments, adding
that his party is ready to conclude the issue on the basis of the agreement
reached with Turkey. “The UBP conveyed
this view to the prime minister at today’s cabinet meeting. The UBP ministers
are very determined on this issue upon instructions they received from their
chairman”, he added and expressed his sorrow for “some propaganda conducted
against Turkey”.
Finally, Kibris (18.02.16) reports also
that the Social Democracy Party (TDP)
visited the “municipalities” of occupied Goneyli, Keryneia, Trikomo and
Famagusta asking for support in its struggle against the agreement achieved
between Turkey and the self-styled government of the regime on the water issue.
In statements after their meeting
yesterday, Ismail Arter, self-styled mayor
of occupied Famagusta, said that the water issue has been discussed for a long
time but the “municipalities” have been left outside these discussions.
“We have been following the issue through
the press for one year. The last text has been sent to us by mail because we
asked it”, he noted adding that they started debating the issue after
everything was over. He said that the
occupied city of Famagusta has an agreement until 2023 with a private company
which operates a desalination facility and when they asked the regime’s
officials what will happen with this facility which covers half of the needs of
the city, they could not get a satisfactory reply. “While there are so many
disagreements on the water issue, how we will be able to determine the common target
on the Cyprus problem”, he wondered.
(I/Ts.)
8. Positive reactions on the EU decision to place the “Task
Force for the Turkish Cypriot Community” under Juncker’s management
Turkish
Cypriot daily Havadis newspaper (18.02.16) reports that the European Commission
has placed the “Task Force for the Turkish Cypriot Community” under the direct
management of Commission President Jean Claude Juncker and Vice-President
Dombrovskis.
Commenting
on the issue, FikriToros, chairman of the Turkish Cypriot Chamber of Industry
(KTTO), stated that this is a very positive step towards further improving the
relations between EU and the Turkish Cypriots. He also said that this is an
encouraging decision that was as a result of the arguments provided by KTTO
either in writing or during talks.
Kibrsili
newspaper (18.02.16) reports that ArmaganCandan, “deputy” with the Republican
Turkish Party (CTP) stated that this is a very positive development which shows
the importance that is given to the solution procedure for the unification of
Cyprus.
(CS)
9.A
delegation by the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of
Europe to visit Cyprus on April in order to prepare a report
Turkish Cypriot daily Star Kibris
newspaper (18.02.16) reports that the “mayor”
of occupied Gioneli and “chairman” of the “municipalities’ union”
AhmetYalcinBenli and the “mayor” of occupied MorfouMahmutOzcinar, attended the
meeting of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe
which took place in Paris between February 12-13.
According to paper, the two “mayors” addressed the members of the Monitoring Committee of
the Council of Europe.
Meanwhile,
as a result of the “official membership” which was granted to the
“Turkish Cypriot municipalities union” in the past, a delegation
of observers from the Council of Europe will be visiting the occupation regime
on April 5-7 in order to carry out inspections in both sides of the island and
prepare a report.
Also, according to the paper, Benli described as an important development
with lots of benefits for the democratization of the local authorities the
report to be prepared by the observer’s delegation coming to Cyprus. “Cyprus
experiences a serious dynamism and the hopes for the solution of the Cyprus
problem increases. A report by the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities
of the Council of Europe will contribute to the solution process in Cyprus and
is of a vital importance”.
Referring also to their visit to Paris,
Benli explained that within the framework of their stay there, he met with the
chairman of the German delegation in the Council of Europe, Dr. Bernard
Vohringer and briefed him about the Cyprus negotiation process and the support
of the “municipalities” to the process.
(AK)
10. “Interior
ministry” announced that the new “regulations” will not affect the ongoing high
rise projects in occupied Keryneia
Turkish Cypriot daily YeniDuzen (18.02.16)
reports that the self-styled ministry of interior and labour announced that the
152 applications to the “town planning department”, which were made from 2015
until February 18, 2016, when the new “decree” was put into effect regarding
the developments at the “Keryneia white zone” will be approved.
“Interior ministry” announced that the new
“regulations” will not affect the ongoing high rise projects in occupied
Keryneia. It also announced that the 104 applications for permits from the
total 152 are for new buildings. The permits will be 12 for 10-storey
buildings, 3 for 9-storey buildings, 6 for 8-strorey buildings, 28 for
7-strorey-buildings and 18 for 6-storey buildings. The rest of the buildings
will be less than 5-storey.
The measures, announced by the “ministry”,
introduce immediate stop-gap changes to the “Keryneia white area decree” and
foresee the completion of a “Keryneia zoning law”. The measures aim to preserve
the town’s character.
(DPs)
11.Telsim-Vodafone Turkey plans to increase its investment in
the breakaway regime
Turkish
Cypriot daily Havadis newspaper (18.02.16) reports that a delegation of
Telsim-Vodafone Turkey held a meeting with the so-called prime minister Omer
Kalyoncu and the so-called minister of communication TahsinErtugruloglu.
According
to the paper, during the meeting the Turkish delegation gave information about
the future investments of the firm in the occupied area of Cyprus and also
noted the importance the company gives to its development in the breakaway
regime. The delegation stated that it aims to increase its developments in the
occupied area of Cyprus.
Speaking
during the meeting, Ertugruloglu stated that with the firm’s help they could
transform Cyprus “into an island of information technology.”
(CS)
12.The
occupation regime included in the Google map implementation
Turkish daily Milliyet newspaper
(18.02.16) under the title: “Google has
‘recognized’ the TRNC”, reports that Google, the biggest search engine
globally, has included as of yesterday the “TRNC” among the countries which are
included in the implementation of the mobile map. The word “TRNC” is included
in the map both in Turkish and English.
According to the paper, this step by Google has pleased “TRNC
officials” since it was not until so far included in the Google map
application.
Commenting
on this development, the “chairman” of the “Turkish Cypriot travel agencies’
union” OrhanTolun described this step by Google as very important and said that
this will bring important touristic and political benefits to the Turkish
Cypriots.
(AK)
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TURKISH
AFFAIRS SECTION
(DPs/AM)
