TURKISH
CYPRIOT AND TURKISH MEDIA REVIEW
C
O N T E N T S
No. 26/16 09.02.2016
1. Akinci
comments on President Anastasiades’ statements and says that behaviors which
would harm the negotiations must be avoided
2. Durust:
“We are not giving Morfou”
3.
Columnist evaluates the latest statements of the illegal Turkish ambassador in
the occupied area of Cyprus
4.
Columnist wonders whether Merkel can convince Cyprus to lift its EU veto on
Turkey
5. Siber
carried out contacts in Ankara
6. Havadis
argues that the water crisis is coming to an end today
7. Atun met
with the IDB Director
8.
Self-styled minister of education stated that their aim is to increasethe
number of students to 100,000
9.
“Cosmopolitan university” will be established in the occupied village Exometoxi
10. Turkey
and Germany agreed on action plan to cooperate on the Syrian refugee crisis;
they also discussed the Cyprus talks
1. Akinci
comments on President Anastasiades’ statements and says that behaviours which
would harm the negotiations must be avoided
Turkish Cypriot daily Kibris newspaper
(09.02.16) reports that Turkish Cypriot leader, Mustafa Akinci has said that positive developments and a momentum
exists in the Cyprus negotiations and argued that behaviours which could harm
this must be avoided.
In an interview with illegal TAK news
agency yesterday, Akinci claimed that in his recent statements President Anastasiades conveyed the issues
which he said that the two sides had agreed “only from his own point of view”
and added that the “points of agreement” are issues which only the two sides
together could announce. “We are
ready for this. Otherwise, what
Anastasiades has done is a unilateral interpretation and includes at least
deficiencies and mistakes”. Akinci said that the leaders have the right to
express their positions, but an announcement on behalf of the two sides could
be made jointly and with the consent of both sides.
Akinci said
thata confederation formed by two sovereign states has never been at the
negotiating table and added that what is discussed at the inter-communal talks is a federal Cyprus
established by two founding states which will be politically equal and will not
dominate over each other. He admitted, though, that “some Turkish Cypriot
leaders” had referred to confederation from time to time.
Referring
to President Anastasiades’ statement that he does not accept the “rotating
presidency”, Akinci claimed: “Unfortunately this continuous stance of the Greek
Cypriot side is a serious disappointment for us. However, let me say the
following: If the Greek Cypriot people will not digest a Turkish Cypriot being
at the head of the common federal state during just periods, this means that
there will be no agreement”.
Asked to give an example on what he called
as a “unilateral interpretation” by President Anastasiades, he replied:“For example,
let us take a look at the issue of
population. When you look at the statement it is perceived as if we have also
agreed the proportion of population to remain constant. There is no such a
thing. To start with, our citizens will without discriminations become citizens
of the new united federal Cyprus. The population in Cyprus will develop in
its natural flow. If the effort is to
say that the demographic structure in Cyprus will not be spoiled with
population transferred from outside, this is something else.In any case we also
do not want this. However, there is still no text on which we have agreed
on this issue. There are some proposals”.
Asked to comment on the four freedoms
issue, Akinci said:“Cyprus will on the
one hand be a bi-zonal, bi-communal federation and on the other will be
committed on the EU values and principles because we will be in the EU. Within
this framework freedoms will exist of course. We also want to live in a
modern country based on the human rights in which the freedoms will be valid.
In this sense, the right of everybody
living anywhere they want will be respected (right to abode).This means the
following: If one has his legal residency in his own area and wants to have a
summer house, to stay in a hotel in the other area and establish a business
with the permission of the municipality, he will be able to do this. These
persons will use their political rights in the area where their legal residency
is. […] However, this is the one side of the coin. In the other side, there is the protection of the bi-zonal,
bi-communal character. In this sense, the Founding State will have the power to
regulate on the issues of permanent residency and internal citizenship”.
Akinci said that within this framework,
they do not want to “endanger the Turkish Cypriot majority in the north” part
of the island. He argued:“[…] Our understanding when we say bi-zonality is not
limited only to ‘political majority’. We
cannot make our people approve an agreement in which we will not be the clear
majority in the sense of population and property in the north. This issue
has been many times expressed by our side at the negotiating table. Within this
framework, it is obligatory for the Founding States having powers on the issue
of purchasing properties in the future, at least until a certain balance is
achieved between the two economies”.
Asked to
comment on President Anastasiades statement that there is “progress to a great
extent” on the property issue, Akinci replied: “This is correct. Therefore, when in the past we have been saying
that progress exists only on the issues of Governance, Economy and the EU, now
we can include the property in these. I have also said this recently. There are still unsolved aspects of the
property, of course, but it is true that some distance has been covered. It is
also true that the old owner of the property will file the first application.
However, the situation of the person living in it will also be taken care of.
It does not necessarily mean that the first to make an application will take
that house. The issue is that comparing to someone who lived in the house 42
years ago only for a few years, the other who lives in that house for many
years after 1974 has more rights. The ECHR’s decision on Demopoulos case is
in this direction”.
Replying to a question on the issue of the
“rotating presidency” which President Anastasiades said that could not be
accepted by the Greek Cypriot side in spite of the expectations of the Turkish
Cypriot side in the opposite direction, Akinci alleged:“Unfortunately, the continuous stance of the Greek Cypriot
side on this issue is a serious disappointment. However, let me say the
following: If the Greek Cypriot people
will not digest a Turkish Cypriot being at the head of the common federal state
during just periods, this means that there will be no agreement”.
Replying to a question on the issue of the
guarantees, Akinci said:“We have said it many times. The guarantees will be discussed at the very end within a five-party
framework. Both we and Turkey have many times announced that this issue
will be discussed when the day comes. The
allegation from now that the guarantees will be abolished and moreover that we
agree with this is wrong. It is obvious that the Turkish Cypriot community wants the continuation of Turkey’s
guarantee.The important thing here is what kind of a formula we can find so
that while the Turkish Cypriots feel safe, the Greek Cypriots will not feel
threatened. I believe that the way of this will be found, but when time comes”.
Asked whether he wanted to add anything
else, Akinci alleged:“What I want to add
is about what it is written on how the state will come up. It is known that we
have differences on this issue. According to them, only the Republic of
Cyprus exists and it will be evolved, because according to them, the TRNC does
not exist. According to us, however, the
TRNC exists and it will turn into a founding state with the solution. When the
past international agreements are examined, the agreements we have made will
also be examined, not only those made by the Republic of Cyprus. Those which
are not in contrary to the new constitution and the foundation agreement will
continue being valid. The point I want to finally stress is the following:
Positive developments and a momentum exists in the Cyprus negotiating process.
We must stay away from any kind of behaviors which would harm this. In both
sides, circles exist which immediately start predicting calamity at every
opportunity and are panicked when the possibility for a solution increases. We
are not going to pay attention to these circles, the intention of which is known.
However, we should behave carefully with the statements we make. I repeat, the
leaders are of course free to express their positions. However, making a
statement on behalf of the two sides could happen only with the consent of the
two sides and jointly. We are ready to enter into such an effort”.
(I/Ts.)
2.Durust: “We are not giving Morfou”
Turkish
Cypriot daily Gunes newspaper (09.02.16) reports that the self-styled minister
of education Kemal Durust stated that it is out of the question to abandon the
land they are on.
Durust who
was participating in a television program stated that anyone must get
compensation for his property. “However it is out of the question to abandon
the land we are on, the land we made our fatherland […] the places we have established
our universities. By no means we will not let this happen”, he stated.
Asked about
the return of occupied Morfou, Durust stated that the issue is used by the
Greek Cypriot side for political purposes in the framework of the election
campaign and said: “We will not give Morfou back, there is not such an issue”,
he stated.
(CS)
3. Columnist
evaluates the latest statements of the illegal Turkish ambassador in the
occupied area of Cyprus
Under the title “Ankara’s envoy shouldn’t
lecture Turkish Cypriots”, columnist BarcinYinanc, writing in Turkish daily
Hurriyet Daily News (online, 09.02.16), comments on the latest statements by
the illegal Turkish “ambassador” in the occupied part of Lefkosia in the
following commentary:
“It is said that the stars are allied for
finding a solution on the island. But I really don’t think it is these stars
that are saying ‘let’s reach a solution’. The Turkish Cypriots have interests
and plans. But nobody other that the Turkish Cypriots and Turkey ever says ‘the
Turks of the island should have their rights; injustices should be ended and
the Turkish people should never be subjected to atrocities, murders and
discrimination’.”
These words belong to Turkey’s ambassador
to Turkish Cyprus (editor’s note: the breakaway regime in the occupied area of
Cyrpus). DeryaKanbay made these ‘eye-opening’ statements while meeting a
Turkish Cypriot NGO that is concerned about the way peace negotiations are
proceeding on the island. While Turkey is the only country that recognizes the
Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (editor’s note: the breakaway regime in the
occupied area of Cyrpus), Kanbay’s address to his host country was in total
contradiction of what should be a relationship between equals.
His statement sounded like a badly
formulated International Relations 101 course: ‘Countries engage in give and
take either because they are competing with each other or they fear each other.
If one is committing an atrocity in one place, the other remains silent; then
when the latter commits an atrocity, the former remains silent. That’s how they
go about their business. While they are busy fighting, the innocent people
suffer. That is what you experienced on the island for years.’
While my professors were lecturing my
classes at university, even they approached us in a more sophisticated way.
But why did the envoy feel the need to
speak like this? So far Ankara has been careful to maintain a ‘hands off’
approach, in order not to damage the conviction on the island that any solution
is ‘home made’. It is no secret that prior to the Justice and Development Party
(AKP) government, the Turkish establishment was usually suspicious of the
approaches made by left-wing Turkish Cypriot parties, finding them too naive
and unnecessarily keen to reach a solution.
Is Ankara concerned about the way the
current negotiations are taking place? Did it feel the need to give a warning? As far as I understand it, Kanbay’s
statements do not reflect discontent on the part of Ankara. On the contrary, it
seems that Ankara knows about every detail in the negotiations and is so far
satisfied with the way they are being conducted by Mustafa Akıncı and
OzdilNami.
Obviously, there will come a time when Ankara
will have to weigh in - especially on an issue like the guarantees of outside
powers. In fact, the Turkish Cypriots
have already knocked on Ankara’s door, for example on the issue of properties.
I have previously written that the issue of
property is at the centre of the whole Cyprus problem. If there is a
satisfactory solution to the property issue then there is a strong conviction
on Turkey’s part that the rest can be overcome. There are very strong signals
that the two sides have agreed on how to solve the property issue in the
current negotiations. My understanding
is that the current design is even more in favour of the Turkish Cypriots than
the Annan Plan, since the option of ‘restitution’ has been kept extremely
narrow. When you remove the option
of “exchange,” (since there are more Greek Cypriot properties in the north than
there are Turkish Cypriot properties in the south), the last remaining piece of the solution puzzle is the compensation
issue.
But who will pay the bill? Both sides - but
especially the Turkish Cypriot side - rely on funding from the international
community. At a time when European
capitals are having such difficulty getting together 3 billion euros to handle
an urgent crisis that is on their doorstep, it will be highly unrealistic to
expect any international financial support for Cyprus. After all, there is
no bloodshed on the island and the lack of a solution does not pose an urgent
threat. Why would the German taxpayer sacrifice their income in order to
compensate a Greek Cypriot and ensure that a Turkish Cypriot becomes a
house-owner. In fact, Ankara seems to think the same for its own taxpayer, as
it has not pledged any financial support for the Turkish Cypriots.
The Annan Plan foresaw a negotiation
between the ‘original owner’ and the ‘last user’, meaning that the ‘last user’
would have to share part of the burden. Instead of giving lessons on
international relations, perhaps the Turkish ambassador should tell the Turkish
Cypriots that they might have to chip in to secure a solution, as ‘unfair
gains’ could also hurt the social fabric in the island’s Turkish community.”
4. Columnist
wonders whether Merkel can convince Cyprus to lift its EU veto on Turkey
Columnist Murat Yetkin, writing in Turkish
daily Hurriyet Daily News (online, 09.02.16), under the title “Can Merkel
convince Greek Cyprus to lift its EU veto on Turkey?” wonders whether Merkel
can persuade the Republic of Cyprus in the following, inter alia, commentary:
“(…) Yesterday in Ankara, Merkel and her
Turkish host Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said in a joint press conference
that the two countries have decided to work together regarding the Syrian
refugee crisis on 10 topics in particular. (…)
EU Foreign Policy Chief Federica Mogherini
has called on Turkey to open its borders, (while just a few weeks ago, after
the crisis over Turkey’s downing of the Russian jet in November last year, U.S.
and EU officials were calling on Ankara to seal the border with Syria). This situation shows that the EU has no
strategy and no proper policy regarding the migrants – it only wants Turkey
stop them from piling up on EU borders, hoping that the promise of a 3 billion
euro budget will be enough. (…)
While accusing Turkey of not doing enough,
the EU has only opened one negotiation chapter so far - the only one of the six
that is not vetoed by Greek Cyprus (editor’s note: the Republic of Cyprus). (…)
Davutoglu is expected to hold talks in the
Netherlands (the current term president of the EU) today (Feb. 9), while on
Feb. 18 there will be the second “like-minded” EU countries’ meeting with
Turkey. In the meantime, it will become clear whether the U.S. approves of the
Turkish-German joint proposal to involve NATO in the Syrian refugee crisis.
The issue
of Syrian migrants is such a pressing issue - not only for Merkel but for all
EU leaders – which these days they tend to avoid debates sensitive to the
Turkish government, like those over press freedom or court independence. They just
want to stop the flow, without even considering that it will probably only slow
down (but not stop) when the Syrian civil war is brought to an end.
But even if
it does somehow slow down, for a better implementation of the readmission
agreement Turkey wants the negotiation chapters under Greek Cypriot veto to be
opened. Turkish EU Affairs Minister VolkanBozkir said recently that
Ankara wants to see at least the 24th chapter on Justice, Freedoms and Security
to be opened before June, before the readmission agreement is put into effect.
How
difficult will it be for Germany and the other EU powers to convince the Greek
Cypriots to lift the EU veto on Turkey in order to secure relative relief in
the refugee crisis? That will be the next scene on the stage.”
5. Siber
carried out contacts in Ankara
Turkish Cypriot daily Star Kibris
(09.02.16) reports that the self-styled speaker of the parliament of the
breakaway regime in the occupied area of the Republic of Cyprus SibelSiber, who
is currently in Ankara with a delegation for a series of contacts, met
yesterday in separate meetings with Turkish President RecepTayyip Erdogan,
Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and the Speaker of the Turkish Grand
National Assembly Ismail Kahraman.
On the same issue, Turkish daily Hurriyet
Daily News (online, 08.02.16) reports that Siber said that as a “nation”, the
Turkish Cypriots are backing peace and a resolution to the more than
40-year-old dispute on the divided island, where a peaceful solution is
currently being sought with U.N.-brokered talks. “We are a nation that has
absorbed peace. We also support a resolution at the [peace] talks, which are
currently ongoing”, said Siber on Feb. 8, after meeting with Kahraman. “Our
resolution and will for peace was also high in 2004,” she added.
Siber further said that the “Turkish
Cypriot parliament” is working to pass contemporary laws, arguing that the
“parliament” has performed well in regards to being an organ for both
legislation and supervision.
6. Havadis argues that the water crisis is coming to an end
today
Turkish
Cypriot daily Havadis newspaper (09.02.16) reports that the problem with the
water issue, which was going on between Turkey and the breakaway regime for
months, is coming to an end today and the two sides came to an agreement.
According
to the paper, “prime minister” Omer Kalyoncu is going shortly to Turkey and
after that the water is expected to be distributed to the occupied part of
Lefkosia. Kalyoncu will present a document that will safeguard that the water
will be administrated by a partnership between the “state” and by the private
sector. Havadis writes that the Turkish
delegation dealing with the issue is seeing positively the proposal.
According
to the document, the regulation and prices of the water will be administrated
by the “state” while the investments and the collection of revenues will be
administrated by private sector. The “municipalities” will also have authority
on the water administration.
(CS)
7. Atun
met with the IDB Director
According to Turkish Cypriot daily
(09.02.16), the self-styled minister of economy, industry and commerce
SunatAtun met yesterday with Dr Abdul-Hakim Elwaer, Director of the Cooperation
and Economic Integration at the Islamic Development Bank (IDB).
During the meeting, they exchanged views on
various issues, particularly, the support of exports with the IDB potentials,
as well as to support the Turkish Cypriot Small and Medium-Scale Enterprises
(KOBI).
(DPs)
8. Self-styled minister of education stated that their aim is
to increasethe number of students to 100,000
Turkish
Cypriot daily Gunes newspaper (09.02.16) reports that the self-styled minister
of education Kemal Durust stated that 82,000 students are currently studying at
the illegal universities of the breakaway regime and added that their aim is to
increase the number to 100,000.
Durust made
these statements during a meeting he held with the “North Cyprus Alumni
Foundation”.
He stated
that even countries that do not recognize the “TRNC”, recognize the
certificates that the universities offer. He went on and added that around
50,000 of the students come from Turkey and said that foreign students
contribute both politically and financially to the breakaway regime.
In
addition, the paper further reports that the “North Cyprus Alumni Foundation”
was established two months ago by Turkish citizens who studied at the
universities of the breakaway regime.
(CS)
9. “Cosmopolitan
university” will be established in the occupied village Exometoxi
Turkish Cypriot daily HaberalKibrisli
(09.02.16) reports that ErtanBirinci, the founding chairman of the Birinci
media institution and chairman of the board of trustees of the “Cosmopolitan
university”, announced that the “legal procedures” of the name of the “university”
are completed and that they took the necessary “licenses” for founding the new
“university” in the occupied village Exometoxi. He added that this “university”
will be a “boutique university”.
(DPs)
10. Turkey
and Germany agreed on action plan to cooperate on the Syrian refugee crisis;
they also discussed the Cyprus talks
According to Turkish daily Sabah (online,
09.02.16), German Chancellor Angela Merkel arrived in Ankara Monday to hold
official meetings regarding the ongoing Syrian crisis where she met President
RecepTayyip Erdogan and Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu. She and the Prime
Minister held a joint press conference following their meeting where he
underlined that the international community should not expect Turkey to
shoulder the refugee burden alone just because it has an open-door policy to
those seeking asylum. While both leaders stressed the significance of the
crisis, Davutoglu said that humanity is being tested in Syria, as tens of
thousands of people are affected by the ongoing crisis. He said that joint
efforts are necessary to deal with the issue, announcing a 10-step cooperation
plan to tackle the refugee crisis. Providing further details on the official
meeting, Merkel said that the two leaders agreed to carry out "joint efforts"
for greater NATO involvement in the refugee crisis by seeking the use of NATO's
observation capabilities on the Syrian border and in the Aegean Sea. Prime
Minister Davutoglu said that although the topic of discussion was primarily
Syria and the refugee crisis, the two leaders also discussed bilateral
relations.
At the press conference, emphasizing that
the matters Turkey and Germany will cooperate on will be applied in the
framework of the EU's refugee action plan, Davutoglu said: “The first matter we
agreed on is to begin a diplomatic initiative together to encourage halting all
assaults on civilians in Syria as the peace talks begin. Secondly, we agreed to
aid the Syrian refugees at the border through joint cooperation between AFAD
[Disaster and Emergency Management Authority] and the German Technical Aid
Group. We also discussed the
developments in the Balkans and the Caucasus and discussed the Cyprus talks”,
Davutoglu added.
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TURKISH
AFFAIRS SECTION
(DPs/AM)
