TURKISH
CYPRIOT AND TURKISH MEDIA REVIEW
C
O N T E N T S
No. 23/16 04.02.2016
1. Nami and
Mavroyiannis in Brussels to discuss technical issues
2.
Columnist argues that Cyprus is 15 billion euro away from settlement
3. A report
in Afrika shows how building plots in occupied Cyprus changed hands
4. The
breakaway regime is taking part in the Logistica Winter Fair for Fruits and
Vegetables in Berlin
5.
Turkey-Russia crisis led to the reduction of dairy product exports by the
breakaway regime
6. Bozkir:
Turkey may double trade with EU with new customs deal
7. Turkey
sends back recalled Vatican Ambassador
8. Turkey
to impose visas for Russian journalists
1. Nami
and Mavroyiannisin Brussels to discuss technical issues
According to illegal Bayrak television
(online, 04.02.16), the negotiators of the two leaders OzdilNami and Andreas
Mavroyiannis are in Brussels to meet with officials from the EU commission.
Officials from the UN will also be present
at the meetings which will focus primarily on the EU harmonization process
following a settlement. Both leaders, Mustafa Akinci and Nikos Anastasiades
will be meeting twice this month. The first meeting will be on Monday, 8th
February, while the second meeting will take place towards the end of the
month, on the 26th.
Speaking to “BRT” yesterday, Akinci’s spokesman BarisBurcu said that the
negotiating teams of the two sides are currently focusing on the chapters of
Governance and Power Sharing, EU and Economy as well as Property.
“Currently Mr Nami and Mr Mavroyiannis are reviewing the convergences reached
on these issues as well as determining existing divergences. They are working
hard to minimize divergences on the outstanding issues”, he added.
Pointing out that the negotiators of the
two leaders will be travelling to Brussels on Thursday for contacts with EU
officials, Burcu said: “The negotiators will be in Brussels tomorrow (today) to
discuss technical issues. They will be
holding contacts at the technical level as part of the work being carried out
by the Ad Hoc committee established upon the instructions of the two leaders to
prepare the Turkish Cypriot community for the EU Acquis. Officials from the
UN will also be present during those meetings”.
2. Columnist
argues that Cyprus is 15 billion euro away from settlement
Columnist BarcinYinanc, writing in Turkish
daily Hurriyet Daily News (online, 04.02.16), under the title “All we need is
money in the Cyprus love song”, argues in the following commentary that if the
money for property compensations is found then the Cyprus problem is pretty
much solved:
“Ever since I started covering the Cyprus
issue in 1990, I have heard two main things from Turkish officials, things
which I considered the most rational and realistic approaches:
1 - The parameters of the solution are
known to both sides, there’s no need to discover America over and over again.
What is needed is for the actors to take the bitter pill and go that last extra
mile.
2 - The
key is the property issue. Once that is solved, the others are (relatively)
much easier.
Some 26 years have passed since I wrote my
first article on Cyprus and I have never come across a better environment for
peace talks than today. Not surprisingly, the two points I mentioned above
stand as key factors to a final agreement.
A lot of headway has been made in the
negotiations, which started last May following the election of Mustafa Akinci
as ‘president’ of Turkish Cyprus. I am sure the personal chemistry between
Akinci and his Greek Cypriot counterpart, Nikos Anastasiades, has helped the
progress registered on issues such as how to share power and the nature of
legislative and judicial institutions, as well as the political equality of the
two communities.
There is a convergence on the thorny issue
of guarantees (that is, Turkey’s guarantor status) and a rotating presidency,
as well as territory (how much of the land under Turkish control would be
returned to the Greek Cypriot side). An agreement on these three issues will
take that special extra effort on the part of the political leaders on the
island, as well as other stakeholders.
If the
property issue was solved, there is a fair amount of confidence among those on
the Turkish and the Turkish Cypriot side that the issues left to the very end
of the negotiation process could be overcome.
So, the
devil is in the property issue.
The reason why the Annan Plan failed was
the conviction among Greek Cypriots that they would get back their property,
even in the absence of a peace deal on the island following the Loizidou
decision by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). It was expected that the
ECHR’s 1996 decision, that TitinaLoizidou had the right to return to her
property and that Turkey had to pay her compensation, would force the Turkish
side to seek a solution, but at that time it was dragging its feet. But the
unintended consequence of the Loizidou decision turned out to be the main
reason for Greek Cypriots’ refusal to accept the Annan Plan.
Then the ECHR took a decision in 2010 which
changed the course of the property issue. Known as the Demopoulos decision, it
reversed the understanding that restitution was the only principle in the
property issue. The court ruling, that the issue could not only be solved
through the return of property, but also through compensation and exchange of
properties, established the essential framework of the solution today.
Now the two sides seem to have registered
the most important progress on the property issue, as they seem to have reached
an agreement over certain guidelines which will determine whether the property
in question should be subject to return, exchange or compensation.
Since it is
foreseen that the Turkish Cypriots will have the majority of the ownership of
property in the territories under their control, a measure to safeguard the
population balance, especially on the Turkish side of the island, there will be
considerable compensation.
It is estimated that 15 billion euros will
be needed for compensation. Finding that
amount of money seems to be the most important challenge in front of a peace
deal, since Greek Cypriots will not say “yes” in a referendum if they are not
convinced that the compensation mechanism will work in a timely and efficiently
manner.
So it seems Cyprus is 15 billion euros away
from lasting peace.”
3. A report in Afrika shows how building plots in occupied
Cyprus changed hands
Turkish
Cypriot daily Afrika newspaper (04.02.16) reports on a 32-donum building plot that
is located in occupied Keryneia, which was lent by the “government” of
IrsenKucuk when it was in power, to Rose &AkasanEnterprices Ltd. The plot
was to be used for touristic purposes.
According
to the paper, as AhmetBastas, the owner of the firm had not constructed
anything on the plot for a long period of time, the plot changed hands and was
lent to Adali Tourism Firm ltd which is of Turkish interests.
Aiming to
fight for his rights Bastas applied to a “court”. However, according to some
documents obtained by Afrika, Bastas finally agreed to abandon his rights on
the plot after receiving two million euros as compensation by the Adali Tourism
Firm ltd.
(CS)
4.The breakaway regime is taking part in the Logistica Winter
Fair for Fruits and Vegetables in Berlin
Turkish
Cypriot daily Kibrisli newspaper (04.02.16) reports that the breakaway regime
is participating with a 50-metre pavilion in the Logistica Winter Fair for
Fruits and Vegetables which is taking place in Berlin, Germany between 3-5 of
February.
According
to the paper, the “Turkish Cypriot Chamber of Industry” which has organized the
breakaway regime’s participation in the fair, is participating with four firms.
The
“minister of economy, industry and trade”, SunatAtun along with the so-called
representative of the “TRNC” in Berlin Kemal Gokler visited the fair.
More than
2,700 firms and 65,000 professionals from 120 countries are participating in
this year’s fair which is co-organized by Germany and Egypt.
(CS)
5.Turkey-Russia crisis led to the reduction of dairy product
exports by the breakaway regime
Turkish
Cypriot daily Havadis newspaper (04.02.16) reports that the crisis which
occurred between Russia and Turkey and led to the reduction of Russian tourists
who visit Turkey, had consequences on the breakaway regime as well.
According
to the paper, after the Russian crisis and the attack at the Sultanahmet area,
tourist reservations in Turkey have been reduced and as a result the exports of
dairy products of the breakaway regime to tourist locations in Turkey were
reduced as well. According to Havadis, 50% of the milk produced in the occupied
area of Cyprus was targeted to the Turkish market and as a result, tones of
milk have remained unwanted.
Speaking to
the paper, the chairman of the “stockman union”, Mustafa Darbaz, stated that
50-60 tons of milk produced cannot be sold due to the tourism crisis which
occurred in Turkey and added that the breakaway regime faces a lot of problems
in exports to Turkey due to this issue.
(CS)
6. Bozkir:
Turkey may double trade with EU with new customs deal
According to Turkish daily Hurriyet Daily
News (online, 04.02.16), the mutual
trade between the European Union and Turkey may double to $300 billion thanks
to coming updates to the Customs Union deal, Turkey’s EU Minister and the chief
negotiator with the bloc has said.
“We have a Customs Union relation [with the
EU],” Minister VolkanBozkir told journalists on the sidelines of official
meetings in Paris on Feb. 3. The Union and Turkey exchange some 14,300 items of
goods, he added.
“We conduct $150 billion in [mutual annual]
trade,” he said, adding that an update in the Customs Union deal with the EU
was on the agenda.
“Agriculture, services, public procurements
will contribute to this, and we are heading for $300 billion in trade,” he
said, comparing the figure to the EU-U.S. trade volume, which stands at $700
billion.
“Trade and investments will grow together,”
he said.
The Minister was commenting on the changing
paradigm in Turkey-EU ties. The two main
elements in the change in the nature of the relations are the joint challenge
against the refugee crisis and the struggle against terrorism, the Minister
said. “Unfortunately, for years Europe, allowed some terrorist
organizations to operate … instead of [moving against] them,” he said.
On refugees and terrorism, the EU’s initial
approach was “a panic attack”, leading it to offer Turkey money and support to
improve refugee camps, he said. “We told
them that we don’t want money or anything else. If you think that this is a
problem that could be resolved together, then make us feel like part of the
family,” he said.
Bozkır conducted meetings with French
Secretary of State for European Affairs Harlem Desir at a working lunch on Feb.
3 in addition to his scheduled meeting with the members and chiefs of France’s
Foreign Ministry and EU Commission.
Bozkir was also scheduled to join French
business leaders at a dinner hosted by Turkey’s Ambassador to France,
HakkıAkil, later or Feb. 3. He will also meet European Commissioner for
European and Social Dialogue ValdisDombrovskis and European Commissioner for
International Cooperation and Development NevenMimica in Brussels as part of
the visit that will last until Feb. 5.
Meanwhile, Turkish state channel TRT
(online, 03.02.16) broadcast that EU
countries on Wednesday approved a fund worth 3 billion euros ($3.3 billion) for
Turkey to aid mainly Syrian refugees in the country in exchange for Ankara
ensuring to help stem the refugee flow after more than a million people reached
the continent last year.
The EU would provide 1 billion euros from
its own budget; the rest is to be provided by 28 governments, with Germany
being the top contributor at 427.5 million euros ($473 million) in 2016.
The joint
action plan also includes "accelerating the fulfilment of the visa
liberalisation roadmap and re-energising the accession process with
Turkey," the EU said in a press release.
7. Turkey
sends back recalled Vatican Ambassador
According to Turkish daily Sabah (online,
04.02.16), Turkey's Foreign Ministry
Spokesperson TanjuBilgiç made a statement late Wednesday in response to the
Vatican's statement, which he hailed as 'a positive development' for both
countries, while announcing that Turkey would send back its recalled Vatican
Ambassador Mehmet Pacaci.
"It was decided that our Ambassador to
the Vatican, Mehmet Pacaci, who has remained in the capital for consultations
since the General Audience held on April 12, 2015 in St Peter's Basilica in the
Vatican, will return to duty."
Stating that the Vatican - in a Feb 3
statement- acknowledged Turkey's repeated commitment to "make its archives
available to historians and researchers of interested parties in order to
arrive jointly at a better understanding of historical events and the pain and
suffering endured by all parties regardless of their religious or ethnic
identity," the Foreign Ministry said that Turkey's 2005 call for a joint
history commission was also appreciated.
The Vatican also condemned the
assassination of Turkish Ambassador to the Vatican TahaCarım in June 1977 by
Armenian terrorist group ASALA, the Turkish statement added.
The Turkish
statement also pointed out that the Pope referred to the 1915 events as the
"tragic events of 1915" instead of using 'genocide' to describe the
events like he did last year.
Pope Francis had previously called the 1915
events "the first genocide of the 20th century," which led Turkey to
recall its ambassador to the Vatican and also summon the Vatican envoy in
Ankara.
8. Turkey
to impose visas for Russian journalists
Turkish daily Hurriyet Daily News (online,
04.02.16) reports that ongoing tension
between Turkey and Russia will soon be reflected in the sphere of journalism,
as Ankara will begin imposing visas for Russian journalists starting from Feb.
15, the Hurriyet Daily News has learned from diplomatic sources.
“Russian
journalists planning to come to Turkey for short-term journalistic activities
will first have to apply to the Turkish Embassy’s Press Counsellor to get a
necessary visa”, diplomatic sources said. Information about Russian
journalists and the duration of their visits will then be transferred to the
Directorate General of Press and Information in Ankara for better registration.
Russia had reinstituted visas for Turkish
citizens beginning on Jan. 1 as part of its harsh sanctions against Turkey in
the aftermath of the downing of a Russian warplane by Turkey over an airspace
violation. Turkey had yet to respond to the move but has now decided to
restrict free travel for Russian journalists to Turkey.
Sources said the imposition of visas for
Russian journalists was decided within the principle of reciprocity, as Turkish
journalists willing to go to Russia for journalistic activities have long been
subject to strict visa procedures.
Another reason for the visa imposition was
because Turkey has been observing increasingly biased news reported by Russian
journalists who were not hesitant to distort the facts, sources said.
Journalists from other countries will not
be affected by this implementation but sources said a gradual change in the
existent very-liberal procedure could take place in line with the principle of
reciprocity. The procedure for journalists planning to stay more than six
months was not changed.
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