TURKISH
CYPRIOT AND TURKISH MEDIA REVIEW
C
O N T E N T S
No.
86/16
11.05.2016
1.
Akinci met with the British High Commissioner
2.
Serdar Denktas claimed that the Greek Cypriot side is guilty of war
crimes
3.
Reactions to Denktas’ statements: The Turkish Cypriots should pay 100 times more
than the Greek Cypriots
4.
Ozersay: In case of a Cyprus settlement the federal government should be
responsible for the debts of both sides
5.
Columnist says that Ozgurgun shows how sincere he is by asking the “foreign
minister’s” participation in the Cyprus talks
6.
Public opinion poll shows that the UBP is in the lead
7.
The “high administrative court” examines the demand of EVKAF to participate in a
case as regards a property in the occupied fenced off city of
Varosha
8.
Work to identify 23 remains by CMP is launched
9.
High-Level Political Dialogue meeting between Turkey and EU is
postponed
10.
A bomb attack in Diyarbakır
11.
The Panama Papers include 101 companies and names from Turkey and the occupied
area of Cyprus
12.
Erdogan: Turkey to design its own presidential system
13.
Turkey-Israel should enhance intelligence sharing against terrorism, says
Israeli Envoy
1.
Akinci met with the British High Commissioner
According
to illegal Bayrak television (online, 10.05.16), Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa
Akinci met yesterday with the British High Commissioner to Cyprus Ric Todd at
Akinci’s office.
The
latest developments in the Cyprus negotiations process were discussed at the
meeting.
Akinci’s
spokesman Baris Burcu, his advisor for political affairs and history Meltem
Onurkan Samani and his coordinator for foreign affairs Deniz Birinci were also
present at the meeting which was closed to the press.
No
statement was issued before or after the meeting.
2.
Serdar Denktas claimed that the Greek Cypriot side is guilty of war
crimes
According
to illegal Bayrak television (online, 10.05.16), the self-styled deputy prime
minister and finance minister Serdar Denktas has said that Ankara has been
informed of the “TRNC’s” desire to amend parts of the economic and financial
protocol and that they are waiting for political developments in Turkey to
settle down.
Speaking
on “BRT” on Monday night, Denktas commented on the latest statements made by the
Greek Cypriot Negotiator Andreas Mavroyiannis regarding the financing and cost
of the Cyprus settlement. He argued that Turkish Cypriots have not been able to
benefit from financial support and assistance provided by the international
community, adding that “no one could and should expect that money Turkey was
forced to spend on Turkish Cypriots to be written off”.
He
even claimed: “The Greek Cypriot side is guilty of war crimes and human rights
violations. It has an obligation to pay Turkish Cypriots
compensation”.
Referring
to the Cyprus problem, Denktas said that he is someone, who truly believes in
the “TRNC” and alleged that the “state is the only foundation for all
guarantees”.
On
the economic protocol, Denktas said that they have conveyed to the Turkish
Ministers in Ankara their desire to amend the protocol but are waiting for the
formation of the new government in Turkey. He however added that the basic
financial requirements of the “state” will be met without any
problem.
Responding
to questions regarding the “KIB-TEK” and the “Telecommunications department”,
Denktas said that they are working on privatizing or partially privatizing the
two “authorities” in a bid to provide the public with higher quality and cheaper
services.
Moreover,
Turkish Cypriot daily Demokrat Bakis newspaper (11.05.16) reports that Denktas,
in a meeting with the ‘association of martyrs’ families and war wounded”,
referring to the Cyprus talks, added: “Which will be our path this time if there
is no solution? We should start discussing this issue. Or we will wait again the
new plan with a new General Secretary and a new name?”
Commenting
on the negotiation process, Denktas claimed that the statements made by the
Greek Cyrpiot side show that whatever they do or say it is not for solution and
are against their own good intention.
Meanwhile,
the paper reports that Denktas flew to Ankara last night to attend the
72nd plenary session of the Union and Chambers of Commodity
Exchanges of Turkey. He will return to the occupied area of the Republic of
Cyprus tonight after completing his contacts in Ankara.
(DPs)
3.
Reactions to Denktas’ statements: The Turkish Cypriots should pay 100 times
more than the Greek Cypriots
Writing
in his column in Turkish Cypriot daily Kibris newspaper (11.05.16) columnist
Serhat Incirli comments on the property issue and the statements made by
Serdar Denktas, self-styled deputy prime minister and finance “minister” of
the breakaway regime in the occupied area of the Republic of Cyprus, that the
Greek Cypriots should pay the debts of the Turkish Cypriots. Under the title
“One pair of scissors and the property issue”, Incirli writes, inter alia, the
following:
“[…]
I think that Denktas was joking. […] Because, if we ‘are going to set
off accounts’ with the Greek Cypriots, I think that we will be scattered. Yes,
the Greek Cypriots may have to pay a lot of compensations or ‘right of use’.
However, I have absolutely no doubt that what we will have to pay is at least
100 times more.
The
territory! The property! ‘The user must have the first say’. No one should
doubt for the reality that ‘the individuals must accept this’ and the issue will
be heaped up at the European Court of Human Rights. Who can give the first say
to the user? The owner of the property! That is, will Andreas say to
Ramazan, who lives in his house in Keryneia, ‘ok, since you live here since
1975, express your opinion’? Yes, only this is the way it will happen! Very
well, will Andreas accept this?
I
am sure that you will be able to solve the compensation or the exchange more
easily, but I believe that no one will accept that ‘the current user will have
the first say’.
I
believe that there are some ‘values’ which go beyond the financial
values.
Why? I have a pair of scissors at my desk in the office among my pens. I have
around 100 pens. I am sick about computer bags and pens […] My pens are also
very valuable. Not financially. They are mine. One can take them and use them,
but should bring them back as soon as he finishes. […] With my scissors it is
not the same. I carry my scissors with me for about 30 years. […] No one can
take this pair of scissors away from me. He can only ‘steal’ it. And the one who
steals it becomes a ‘thief’.
The
property issue and the debt issue in the Cyprus problem are very serious. We
have taken the properties of the Greek Cypriots for this or that reason. We have
left our properties to the Greek Cypriots. Some of our leaders came out and
referred to ‘global exchange’. I could not figure out how a leader who was a
lawyer would ‘globally exchange’ the ‘individual property right’! Actually, this
proposal was evidently ‘not wanting a solution’, because the ‘global exchange’
could only take place in the form of communist property. In the individual
property global exchange could not happen.
Afterwards,
after the climate in Turkey ‘became milder’ on the Cyprus issue due to various
other interest relations, the ‘exchange, compensation and return’ came up. By
accepting the ‘exchange, compensation and return’, we have actually accepted
that the property right is an ‘individual one’. Moreover, this acceptance
was a court decision. […]
I
do not give even my scissors to anyone! […] Why should the Greek Cypriots give
away their houses, their fields to you? What I want to explain is the big
difference between ‘wanting a solution’ and ‘appearing as wanting a
solution’.
[…]”
Furthermore,
Turkish Cypriot daily Afrika newspaper (11.05.16) reports that Dogus Derya,
“deputy” with the Republican Turkish Party (CTP) also referred to Denktas’
statements asking him in her social media account “who will pay the money for
the plundered properties in Varosha”. Commenting on the issue in its column
“The hero of the day”, Afrika points out the following:
“It
is so, a lot of assets had been carried away from Varosha. They had been
loaded on ships and were carried away. It is said that even the banks were
plundered and robbed. Varosha was a very rich place. I wonder, does
Serdar know the value of the wealth carried away from there? He did not
reply to Dogus’ question yet”.
(I/Ts.)
4.
Ozersay: In case of a Cyprus settlement the federal government should be
responsible for the debts of both sides
Turkish
Cypriot daily Kibris Postasi newspaper (11.05.16) reports that the leader of the
People’s Party Kudret Ozersay, commenting on the debate started regarding the
debt of the Turkish Cypriots to Turkey, said that this issue is not a new one.
He added: “Greek Cypriot negotiator Mavroyiannis submitted this debt as a new
obstacle in front of the solution”.
Ozersay,
participating at a television program at the private channel Diyalog TV, argued
that this issue has been discussed at the negotiating table and it is not new.
He further said that it was said whoever benefit from the debt will also pay it,
however, the debt belongs to the federal governement. Ozersay added: “The Greek
Cypriots, who insist on the single international identity, should also know that
the United Cyprus is the only responsible for the foreign
debt.
(DPs)
5.
Columnist says that Ozgurgun shows how sincere he is by asking the “foreign
minister’s” participation in the Cyprus talks
Writing
in his column in Turkish Cypriot daily Afrika newspaper (11.05.16) columnist
Ali Kismir comments on the statement made recently by Huseyin Ozgurgun,
self-styled prime minister of the regime and chairman of the National Unity
Party (UBP) that the self-styled foreign minister of the regime should
participate in the negotiations for solving the Cyprus problem.
The
columnist recalls that the regime’s “foreign minister” is Tahsin
Ertugruloglu, who had stated that if the Greek Cypriots have voted ‘yes’ to the
Annan Plan he would have gone up to the mountains to fight.
“This
proposal of Ozgrugun, who says that he wants a solution and he will work in
harmony with the president of the republic, is showing how sincere he is in his
wishes and statements”, writes the columnist recalling that Ozgurgun had
made the same proposal when Mehmet Ali Talat was the leader of the Turkish
Cypriot community in 2009 and the UBP won the “elections” and formed a
“government” alone. When Eroglu was “elected” leader of the community,
Ozgurgun has never participated in the negotiations as “foreign minister” for a
period of three years, notes Kismir.
“They
are criticizing only to harm the process and secure the continuation of the
current system”, he says
adding that these views are “populist” and aim at preventing the process.
“Moreover, they are insincere and so much making fun with the community”, he
notes.
(I/Ts.)
6.
Public opinion poll shows that the UBP is in the lead
Turkish
Cypriot daily Kibris newspaper (11.05.16) reports that the Centre for
Migration, Identity and Rights Studies (CMIRS) has announced the results of a
survey it conducts every three months under the title “Happiness, Social Trust,
Political Trust – April 2016”.
According
to the results of the telephone survey which was conducted with the
participation of 500 persons, after a long period of time, the “people”
started seeing the Cyprus problem as the “most serious problem of the
country”. The director of CMIRS, Mine Yucel said that the “economic
situation” is seen as the second important problem, followed by “unemployment”,
“the incompetent politicians”, the “health system”, the “education system”, the
“increasing criminality” and the “increasing use of drugs”.
Yucel
noted that the replies to the question “which party will you vote for if
elections take place next weekend” show that the participants in the survey
consider the Republican Turkish Party (CTP) responsible for the “very bad
course” of the issues in the community.
The
replies to the above question were the following:
36,01%:
I will not vote
14,1%:
Undecided
6,51%:
Mix vote
15,84%:
National Unity Party (UBP)
11,5%:
People’s Party (HP)
7,38%:
Republican Turkish Party (CTP)
4,77%:
Social Democracy Party (TDP)
3,25%:
Democratic Party (DP)
0,43%:
New Cyprus Party (YKP)
0,22%:
United Cyprus Party (BKP).
Yucel
said also that contrary to the tendency of decrease of the political trust,
the trust to the Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci systematically
increased one year after his “election”. The reason for this, she argued, is
the fact that the participants consider Akinci to be more effective than his
predecessors in the Cyprus problem.
(I/Ts.)
7.
The “high administrative court” examines the demand of EVKAF to participate
in a case as regards a property in the occupied fenced off city of Varosha
Turkish
Cypriot daily Kibris newspaper (11.05.16) reports that the “high
administrative court” of the breakaway regime in the occupied area of the
Republic of Cyprus is examining a dispute between the Greek Cypriot
company Michaelides Brothers Mediterranean Tours Ltd, which had filed an
application to the “property compensation commission” demanding the return of
its hotel in the occupied fenced off city of Varosha and a compensation of 34
million euro for loss of use, and the EVKAF religious foundation which had
exerted efforts to get involved in the case alleging that the property belonged
to Abdullah Pasa Foundation.
According
to the paper, the company had filed an application to the “commission” in
2012 and afterwards filed a demand in the “high administrative court” for
speeding up the case and because the “commission” involved EVKAF in the
case. In 2015, the “high administrative court”, composed of one “judge”,
annulled the decision for involving EVKAF in the case, but EVKAF and the
regime’s “attorney general’s office” filed an appeal for annulment of the
above-mentioned decision. The «lawyers” of the sides addressed the “high
administrative court” yesterday composed of three “judges”.
(I/Ts.)
8.
Work to identify 23 remains by CMP is launched
According
to illegal Bayrak television (online, 10.05.16), the Committee of Missing
Persons (CMP) has launched work to determine the identities of the 23 remains
who were buried at the “Tekke Bahce martyrs cemetery” in
1964.
Nine
individuals buried in the area are believed to be victims killed in the Ayios
Vasilis massacre in December 1963 which had later been moved and reburied at the
cemetery located in the walled city of the occupied part of Nicosia between 13
and 14 January 1964.
The
remaining 14 individuals are believed to have been martyrs who were killed in
Nicosia and surrounding areas.
Speaking
to the “TAK news agency”, the Turkish Cypriot Member of the CMP Gulden Plumer
Kucuk said that the exhumation at the “Tekke Bahce” is taking place using hand
tools instead of heavy equipment. She explained that the bodies of the 9
individuals who had been exhumed and brought from Ayios Vasilios had been
reburied in 1964 without properly being identified because they were in a state
beyond recognition.
She
further said that it was not clear how much time experts would need to complete
the exhumation but stated that all individuals would have a marked grave once
the work is completed.
9.
High-Level Political Dialogue meeting between Turkey and EU is
postponed
According
to Turkish daily Hurriyet Daily News (online, 11.05.16), on May 10, it became
clear that a High-Level Political Dialogue (HLPD) meeting between Turkey and the
EU, originally scheduled to take place in Brussels on May 13, had been
postponed.
“The
EU and the Turkish side agreed together to reschedule the HLPD to a later date
in the coming weeks,” an EU official said on May 10, without elaborating on the
reason for postponement.
A
senior Turkish diplomat confirmed that the meeting was postponed. “It is not yet
clear when it will be held,” the senior diplomat added, speaking under condition
of anonymity.
The
High Representative for Foreign Affairs/Vice-President of the European
Commission Federica Mogherini, Commissioner for European Neighborhood Policy and
Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut
Cavusoglu and Turkey’s EU Minister Volkan Bozkir, were supposed to attend the
HLDP. Bozkır already departed on May 10 for official talks in Strasbourg and
Brussels.
On
May 11, in Strasbourg, Bozkir will hold a bilateral meeting with Mogherini, EU
officials said. A
meeting with Hahn when he proceeds to Brussels was already on Bozkir’s official
schedule posted on May 10.
The
Hurriyet Daily News has learned that Cavusoglu is scheduled to be in Turkey this
week, but diplomatic sources were not able to elaborate on his schedule for May
13.
The
HLPD meetings are part of regular bilateral meetings between the European Union
and Turkey, taking place on a ministerial level twice a year since July
2010.
10.
A bomb attack in Diyarbakır
According
to Ankara Anatolia news agency (10.05.16), three people were killed and another
45 were wounded in a bomb attack targeting a police shuttle near the center of
the southeastern city of Diyarbakır on the afternoon of May
10.
The
Diyarbakır Governor’s Office has stated that the attack was staged while an
armoured police vehicle was transferring seven members of the outlawed Kurdistan
Workers' Party (PKK), who had been detained after seizing a nearby factory, for
medical checks.
11.
The Panama Papers include 101 companies and names from Turkey and the
occupied area of Cyprus
Turkish
Cypriot daily Detay newspaper (11.05.16) reports that
the
Panama Papers include 101 companies and names from Turkey and the occupied area
of Cyprus who
have reportedly avoided paying taxes. Vakkas Altinbas, president of the
Administrative Council of Altinbas Holding, Nusret Alitnbas president of
the Administrative Council of Creditwest Bank and Sofu Altinbas, member
of the administrative councils of Altinbas Holding and the Creditwest Bank
are included in the list from the occupied area of Cyprus.
Turkish
Cypriot daily Afrika newspaper (11.05.16) reports that except for the
above-mentioned names Huseyin Altinbas and Imam Altinbas are also included in
the list. The paper writes that the owners of Altinbas were born in the
occupied area of Cyprus and grew up in Turkey.
Turkish
Cypriot daily Yeni Duzen newspaper (11.05.16) refers to the issue under the
title “The ‘TRNC’ came out of the Panama Papers, There are at least four
names in the list”. The paper reports that in parallel to “one holding”
which has relations with the occupied area of Cyprus there are three more names
among which one company that is based in occupied Keryneia and two other
names one of which possesses a residence or a business in the occupied part of
Nicosia and the other in occupied Karavas. Two other names which are
included in the Panama Papers through an address in the occupied area of Cyprus
have relations with China.
(I/Ts.)
12.
Erdogan: Turkey to design its own presidential
system
According
to Ankara Anatolia news agency (10.05.16), Turkey should design the new
presidential system according to its needs, instead of borrowing it from other
countries, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said.
"It
is the nation that will have the last word over the presidential system, as in
every other issue. We should have no fear about the nation's choice," Erdogan
said in an interview with the Parliament's periodical. He added that many
examples of the presidential system from around the world would be studied “to
find what Turkey needs".
Erdogan
further said that the current parliamentary system could not serve as a solution
to the country’s problems, a fact that he said "has been proven by experience
many times". "The new Constitution is not a political option, but a
fundamental demand of the public", he argued.
13.
Turkey-Israel should enhance intelligence sharing against terrorism, says
Israeli Envoy
According
to Turkish daily Hurriyet Daily News (online, 11.05.16), Turkey and Israel
must begin to share intelligence to defeat terrorism in the region, Israel’s
Envoy in Istanbul has said. “Ultimately, we cannot escape enhancing
intelligence sharing, sharing information and even cooperating on an operational
basis to eliminate this threat [jihadist terror organizations],” Shai Cohen,
Israel’s Consul General to Istanbul, said May 9.
Commenting
on whether cooperation would occur on Turkey’s fight against the outlawed
Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), Cohen said the PKK “is a Turkish
confrontation, a Turkish issue. We don’t intervene in Turkish decisions or
policy vis-à-vis the Kurdish problem. It’s a Turkish thing to be concluded by
Turkey”.
Stating
that normalizing the difficult relations between Turkey and Israel would need to
wait until after the ruling Justice and Development Party’s (AKP) extraordinary
convention on May 22, when a new head of the party will be elected after Prime
Minister Ahmet Davutoglu formally abandons his post.
Cohen
also said Turkey should reconsider its relations with Hamas, which Israel sees
as its worst enemy.
“Hamas is a terrorist organization. It’s our worst enemy and you have to
reconsider your relations with Hamas,” he said.
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TURKISH
AFFAIRS SECTION
