TURKISH
CYPRIOT AND TURKISH MEDIA REVIEW
C
O N T E N T S
No.
120/16
29.06.2016
1.
36 killed, 147 injured in Brussels-style Istanbul Atatürk Airport terror
attacks
2.
Erdogan strongly condemns Istanbul terror attack
3.
Yildirim: “Daesh is likely behind Istanbul terror
attack”
4.
Yildirim: Normalization with Russia has begun
5.
Turkey, Russia Foreign Ministers to meet at Sochi on July
1
6.
Opposition parties slam government over Israel deal and Erdogan’s apology to
Russia
7.
Turkey and Israel to begin appointing Ambassadors this
week
8.
Burcu on economy after a solution
9.
Distribution of the water from Turkey started in occupied
Morfou
10.
Columnist outlines the economic and political dimension of Turkey’s relations
with Britain
11.
Direct flights from Black Sear region to the breakaway
regime
12.
Turkey voices readiness for normalization with Egypt
1.
36 killed, 147 injured in Brussels-style Istanbul Atatürk Airport terror
attacks
According
to Turkish daily Sabah newspaper (online, 29.06.16), at least 36 people were
killed, 147 injured Tuesday in a triple suicide bombing and gun attack at
Istanbul's main Atatürk airport, in the latest deadly strike to rock
Turkey's most-populated city, which had many similarities with the deadly
attacks carried out in Brussels in March.
Flights
partially resumed in the airport on Wednesday morning, while many of the
schedule flights were cancelled or delayed.
The
assessments show that three suicide bombers carried out the attacks in three
different spots at the airport, Istanbul Governor Vasip Şahin said in a
statement released after the attack.
A
health official, speaking on condition of anonymity due to restrictions, said to
the media that six injured were in a critical condition.
The
blasts occurred at the entrance of international flights terminal, domestic
flights terminal, and the parking lot.
Justice
Minister Bekir Bozdağ said that one of the terrorists opened fire on people with
an AK-47 automatic rifle and then blew himself up.
The
President met with Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım and Chief of Staff Gen. Hulusi
Akar at the presidential complex upon receiving news of the explosion in
Istanbul. Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım, Deputy PM Numan Kurtulmuş,
Transportation Minister Ahmet Arslan and Family and Social Policies Minister
Fatma Betül Sayan will travel to Istanbul.
According
to a Turkish official who spoke to Daily Sabah on the condition of anonymity,
security forces fired shots at suspects at the international terminal's entry in
an effort to neutralize them.
The
Turkish airport attack also follows coordinated suicide bombings at Brussels
airport and a city metro station in March that left 32 people
dead.
Security
experts have said that there are striking similarities between Istanbul airport
attack and the recent attacks in Brussels airport.
Brussels
airport tweeted its condolences, saying: "Our thoughts are with the victims of
the attacks at @istanbulairport. "We wish them, their relatives & all
airport staff strength & courage."
Meanwhile,
United States Ambassador to Ankara John Bass has sent a tweet condemning the
attack. "Horrified by tonight's attack at Atatürk airport. We mourn with the
families of those lost, and pray for speedy recovery for those wounded," he
said. Meanwhile, the U.S. President Barack Obama was also briefed on the
attack.
There
have been no claims for the responsibility of the attacks.
On
the same issue, Turkish daily Hurriyet Daily News newspaper (online, 29.06.16)
reports that one Ukrainian and one Iranian citizen were among the 36 killed
people, officials from the two countries said on June
29.
Around
150 people were wounded in the attack and Saudi media reported that among those
hurt were seven Saudis, who were in good condition.
2.
Erdogan strongly condemns Istanbul terror attack
According
to Ankara Anatolia news agency (29.06.16), President Recep Tayyip Erdogan
strongly condemned the attack at Ataturk Airport that claimed more than 30
victims and injured 147 others late Tuesday, adding that the terror attack on an
airport in Istanbul that targeted innocent people, once again shows the dark
face of terrorist organizations.
“We
expect that a resolute stance against terrorist organizations should be adopted
by the world and especially Western countries with their parliament, media and
non-governmental organizations,” Erdogan said in a statement while stressing
that Turkey would continue its fight against terror groups.
“Turkey
will continue its fight against all terrorist organizations at all costs until
the end of terrorism,” he said.
Erdogan
also stressed that Turkey has enough power, wisdom and potential to fight
terrorism and warned of consequences if all nations fail to join a global effort
to defeat it.
“All
the bad terrorist scenarios, acts -- even we fear to bring them into our minds
-- will come true one by one if all countries do not carry out a joint fight
against terrorist organizations,” he said. The President also offered his
condolences to the victims’ families.
3.
Yildirim: “Daesh is likely behind Istanbul terror attack”
According
to Turkish daily Yeni Safak newspaper (online, 29.06.16), Turkish Prime
Minister Binali Yıldırım said that early signs suggested that the Daesh
terrorist organization was behind the attack at Istanbul's Atatuk airport
.
Briefing
the media, Yildirim condemned the attack and extended condolences to the
victims' families while he confirmed that airport operations had
resumed.
Even
though there are strong indications that the Daesh terrorist group is
responsible for the attack in which three suicide bombers are believed to have
been involved, the Prime Minister said police are conducting ongoing
investigations.
Asked
whether an attacker may have escaped authorities in the chaos of the attack,
Yildirim denied the claim but stressed that security officials are considering
all possibilities.
“We
have injured people. Many of our wounded have been lightly injured," he said.
“Some foreign nationals were also injured," he added.
The
attackers arrived at the airport by a taxi, according to Yildirim, but he said
“there is no security gap at the airport".
The
timing of the attack was very “meaningful", he said, just as Turkey had begun
new foreign relations approaches with Russia and
Israel.
4.
Yildirim: Normalization with Russia has begun
According
to Turkish daily Hurriyet Daily News newspaper (online, 29.06.16), a
normalization process has begun between Turkey and Russia, Turkish Prime
Minister Binali Yıldırım said June 28, a day after President Recep Tayyip
Erdogan penned a letter to his Russian counterpart to express his deep sorrow
over the downing of a Russian warplane last year.
“I
can say that the normalization process has begun,” Yıldırım told his party’s
parliamentary group.
In
another sign of Turkey’s desire to rapidly restore ties with Russia, Yıldırım
said that Turkey was ready to pay compensation to the family of the Russian
pilot that was killed during the incident on Nov. 24, 2015.
“The
content of the letter is obvious. We express our sorrow. We say we share the
pain of the families of the deceased [pilots]. We say we will pay
compensation if need be,” Yıldırım told the Turkish Radio Television Corporation
(TRT) in an interview late June 27.
But
sources from the presidential office corrected Yıldırım’s words on June 28,
underlining that the letter did not mention anything about paying compensation
to either the Russian state or the family of the
pilot.
Yıldırım,
too, corrected his statement on June 28, saying no compensation would be paid to
the Russian state. “No, no, there is nothing like that. We have just expressed
our sorrow and shared their pain. Legal proceedings against the person accused
of responsibility for the killing of the pilot are underway,” Yıldırım said.
Diplomatic
sources said that compensation was a legal definition and should be considered
as a legal issue which has nothing to do with the current situation. “We are
talking about a humanitarian issue here. [Making a payment to the family of the
pilot] should be considered in this context,” a source told the Hurriyet Daily
News.
In
the case, the family of the deceased pilot would accept Turkey’s payment then
the methodological details would be discussed by diplomats from both sides.
In
an address to his Justice and Development Party (AKP) parliamentary group on
June 28, Yıldırım said the “ice between the two countries has been broken”
following Erdogan’s letter. Yıldırım said it was the duty of politicians to
turn extraordinary situations into ordinary processes. “Crises are exceptions;
normalization is essential.”
5.
Turkey, Russia Foreign Ministers to meet at Sochi on July
1
According
to Turkish daily Hurriyet Daily News newspaper (online, 29.06.16), Turkish
Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov will
meet on June 1 at the Black Sea Economic Cooperation meeting (BSEC) in
Sochi, Agence France-Presse has reported, citing presidential spokesperson
İbrahim Kalın.
Moscow
invited Ankara to the economy meeting on June 23, marking the first such move
since relations between the two countries soured after Turkey downed a Russian
jet for violating its airspace last November.
Cavusoglu
accepted the invitation on June 27 after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan
expressed his “regret and sorrow” over the jet incident in a letter to Russian
President Vladimir Putin.
Moscow
believes that Turkey has made a “serious step in the right direction” after
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan expressed his “regret and sorrow” over
the downing of a Russian jet last year, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman
Maria Zakharova said June 28, according to Reuters. However, the Kremlin also
said on June 28 that it would take more than a few days to mend Moscow’s
relations with Ankara.
According
to diplomatic sources, the meeting between the two Ministers will seek to
establish a road map for the normalization of bilateral ties between the two
countries in line with the instructions the two Presidents will deliver to
them.
The
removal of trade and economic sanctions imposed on Turkey and the lifting of
visa requirements for Turkish citizens, as well as the resumption of stalled
energy cooperation between the two countries, will likely be on the Ministers’
agenda in Sochi.
6.
Opposition parties slam government over Israel deal and Erdogan’s apology to
Russia
According
to Turkish daily Hurriyet Daily News newspaper (online, 29.06.16), all three
opposition parties in the Turkish Parliament harshly criticized the government
for the recent Ankara-Tel Aviv deal, which ended a six-year dispute between
Turkey and Israel.
Kemal
Kilicdaroglu, the head of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP),
expanded his criticism to the June 27 letter sent by President Recep Tayyip
Erdogan to his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, about the downing of a
Russian jet in November last year for violating Turkish airspace.
“A
deal was struck with Israel and right after that they sent an apology letter [to
Putin]. The Kremlin announced that ‘Tayyip Erdogan sent a letter to Putin [and]
apologized on behalf of Turkey.’ Who are you to apologize? If you are to
represent the Turkish Republic, then do it in a proper way”, Kilicdaroglu said
on June 28
in comments apparently directed towards the President, while he was addressing
his party Deputies in Parliament.
“You
cannot represent the Turkish Republic. You don’t have the power or capability
for this,” he added.
Kilicdaroglu
said that Erdogan’s stance on the matter constituted a U-turn. “Who
breached our border? The Russians. Who set the rules of engagement? We did it,
and we declared it to the whole world,” he said, adding that statesmen were in a
race at the time to take responsibility for giving the order to down the Russian
Sukhoi Su-24M bomber aircraft near the Syria–Turkey border on Nov. 24,
2015.
“Then
we saw them offering an apology,” Kilicdaroglu said, recalling an Erdogan
interview on CNN International on Nov. 27, 2015, when the President said that it
was Russia which had to apologize for violating Turkish airspace.
“Look,
their foreign policy is this: First you should roar like a lion and then you
should meow like a cat when you cannot dare to do it,” he said.
“You
may be meowing but this casts a shadow on the Turkish Republic,” he added.
On
the Mavi Marmara incident, Kilicdaroglu said that when the ship was to leave
Turkey in May 2010, some ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) Deputies had
initially wanted to get on it but then stepped back “upon news they heard”.
He
said the Israeli attack on the ship was by no means right.
“Turkey
faced an action suitable for a pirate state”, he said, harshly criticizing the
killing of 10 citizens in international waters. However, the ruling party later
named Israel “the number one enemy,” abusing the incident as an instrument of
domestic policy.
Erdogan
had said in 2011 that aid flotillas from Turkey would be accompanied by navy
ships to reach Gaza, but this never happened. Erdogan was the Prime Minister at
the time and Kilicdaroglu criticized him for not keeping his promise. “He did
not send [the ships] and has begun to meow now,” the CHP head said.
He
also recalled that Erdogan vowed to go to Gaza in April 2013, but this also did
not happen.
The
CHP supported the three Ankara demands from Tel Aviv - an apology, an end to the
Israeli embargo on Gaza and compensation.
Still,
Kilicdaroglu said that oral compensation was not enough and Turkey should
receive it in writing.
He
also slammed an Israeli demand for a code approved at the Turkish Parliament
which would ban further individual legal complaints about the killings.
“How
can you sign such a deal?” he asked. “If you have even a little bit of
conscience, how can you withdraw from this case in exchange for $20 million? Are
you with your country, with justice or with those Israeli soldiers who killed
[Turkish citizens]?”
Meanwhile,
Figen Yuksekdag, the co-chair of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), said
that the most crucial item of the deal with Israel was selling “Palestinian”
natural gas to Europe. “They are making a deal to market what belongs to
orphan children in Palestine”, Yuksekdag said, in her weekly address to party
deputies.
“They
are selling the words that they call ‘sacred’ at another bargaining table,” she
said.
On
the Russia crisis, Yuksekdag said that Turkey had apologized to Russia but the
government was pretending not to. Erdogan’s office described the letter as an
expression of regret, not an apology. “In
the letter, the President stated that he ‘would like to inform the family of the
deceased Russian pilot that I [Erdogan] share their pain and to offer my
condolences to them. May they excuse us,’” Erdogan’s spokesman, İbrahim Kalın,
said.
Nationalist
Movement Party (MHP) head Devlet Bahceli said that the “one minute show” that
started in Davos in 2009 was now over.
“One minute” refers to Erdogan’s interruption of a speech by then-Israeli
President Shimon Peres. “When it is time to kill, you know how to kill well,”
Erdogan said at the time, vowing to no longer attend the meeting in the Swiss
city. With the Israeli deal, the “exploitation” has ended, Bahceli
said.
“The
President had repeatedly accused Israel of being a terror state. Israel was
killing Gazan children on beaches. Erdogan was rightfully criticizing this
heavily. He said that Israel even surpassed Hitler in barbarism,” he said,
citing Erdogan’s former remarks. “This means that the government has been
meeting with Israel for years secretly and we were not aware of this,” the MHP
head added.
“If
we were to agree with Israel, make peace and hug each other, what was the
meaning of these very heavy insults?” he asked.
7.
Turkey and Israel to begin appointing Ambassadors this
week
According
to Turkish daily Hurriyet Daily News newspaper (online, 29.06.16), Turkey and
Israel will begin the process of exchanging Ambassadors this week after the
former allies signed a deal to normalize ties following a bitter row which
began in 2010, Agence France-Presse has reported, citing Presidential
Spokesperson İbrahim Kalın.
“This
week we will start the process of Ambassador appointment [between Turkey and
Israel],” Kalın told reporters in Ankara on June 28.
8.
Burcu on economy after a solution
Illegal
Bayrak television (28.06.16) broadcast that Baris Burcu, the spokesman of the
Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci, was commenting on the meetings of two
experts from the World Bank had with the negotiators of the two leaders Ozdil
Nami and Andreas Mavroyannis.
Speaking
to illegal TAK News Agency on the issue, Burcu said that teams from the
International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank had been carrying out
technical work for some time now with the aim of preparing for the financial
aspect of a solution.
Noting
that the data provided by the two sides were the source of the technical work
carried out, he said “analyses are being made both separately and jointly by
the two sides within the scope of the obtained data.
9.
Distribution of the water from Turkey started in occupied
Morfou
Turkish
Cypriot daily Kibris newspaper (29.06.16) reports that according to a
statement by the self-styled ministry of agriculture and natural resources, the
distribution of the water transferred from Turkey has started distributed
yesterday to occupied Morfou. Water distribution started on Tuesday to
occupied Famagusta as well.
The
paper further reports that the “municipality council” of occupied Keryneia
has decided in favor of receiving the water transferred from
Turkey.
Reporting
on the same issue Turkish Cypriot daily Vatan newspaper (29.06.16) writes that
the “municipality council” of occupied Lefkosia will come together on July 1
to re-examine the issue of the water distribution. The “municipality
council” has previously rejected the use of the water transferred from Turkey
due to its selling price.
(CS)
10.
Columnist outlines the economic and political dimension of Turkey’s relations
with Britain
Columnist
Gungor Uras, writing in Turkish daily Milliyet newspaper (28.06.16), under the
title “We Cannot Say ‘It Is None of Our Concern’”, evaluates the economic and
political dimension of Turkey’s relations with Britain in the following
commentary:
“The
British made their decision. They are splitting from the European Union. On our
part, we cannot say, ‘All these bedlams are between Britain and the EU… It is
none of our concern’.
-
Both the British and the EU markets are important for our
exports.
-
Britain and the EU countries are important for the inflow of direct investments
and credits.
-
The British exit from the EU will reshuffle the “established balances”. There
will be a period of uncertainty. Then new balances will emerge. It is hard to
predict how Turkey will be affected by these changes.
-
Lots of our Turkish passport holding citizens are living in Britain and the EU
countries.
Our
markets are in turmoil.
Some
45% of our exports go to EU markets and 38% of our imports come from EU
countries. After Germany, Britain is our biggest export market. It ranks ninth
in imports.
-
During the period of adaptation to the new situation (during the period of
uncertainty, in other words), there will be market contraction both in Britain
and in the EU countries. Whereas, we had placed all our expectations on the
revitalization of important markets.
-
The British exit from EU membership will also upset the parity between the
Pound, Euro, and Dollar. This will affect our export and import
prices.
-
Britain ranks first in capital and credit inflow to Turkey. Portfolio
investments and foreign currency credits enter Turkey via London. Some 15% of
private sector’s long-term loans originate from Britain, 11% from Germany, and
9% from the United States.
-
There are around 200,000 Turkish citizens living and working in Britain. Growing
xenophobia in Britain and the EU countries affect our citizens living
there.
We
Need Friends.
These
are issues of economic importance for us. However, there is also a political
dimension to our relations with Britain.
-
Britain is one of the biggest players on the international political scene.
Britain and Turkey had a relatively normal relation. The anti-Turkish slogans
used during the referendum should not be allowed to spoil Turkish-British
relations.
-
We have an important tie with Britain as regards the Cyprus problem. We must
not lose the support of Britain in the solution of the Cyprus
problem.
All
of these are developments that impact us. The exit decision will generate strong
storms mostly inside the EU. Although Britain’s ties with the EU were weak, it
was nonetheless the strongest supporter of Germany after France. The British
exit will energize the secessionists in other EU countries.
(…)”
11.
Direct flights from Black Sear region to the breakaway regime
Turkish
Cypriot daily Kibris newspaper (29.06.16) reports that the self-styled
minister of transportation Kemal Durust stated that direct flights from the
Black Sea region of Turkey to the breakaway regime will start to be conducted as
of August 3.
According
to the paper, following the demand of the “Black sea culture association) [Tr.
Note: a settlers association in the occupied area of Cyprus), Durust came into
an agreement with Pegasus airlines for conducting flights to the breakaway
regime three times per week. Durust stated that there are 18,000 Black sea
origin persons living in the breakaway regime and that he took into
consideration their demand for direct flights.
(CS)
12.
Turkey voices readiness for normalization with
Egypt
According
to Turkish daily Hurriyet Daily News newspaper (online, 29.06.16), swiftly
after announcing the restoration of diplomatic ties with Israel after a
six-year rupture and expressing regret to Russia over the downing of a
warplane, seeking to mend strained alliances and ease a sense of isolation
on the world stage, the government of Turkey has also suggested the recent
resetting of ties could also extend to Egypt.
“There
isn’t any obstacle [in front of] improving our economic relations with Egypt.
Minister-level visits may start,” said Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım during an
interview aired live on public broadcaster TRT Haber late on June
27.
When
asked about expectations for the normalization of bilateral relations with
Egypt, Yıldırım first of all stated that the Egypt issue was “very
clear”.
“Democracy
[in Egypt] has been subject to a coup. Democracy received a blow. Morsi [former
Egyptian President Mohammed], who took the office through an election, was
forced to lay down his office through a coup,” he said.
“President
[Erdogan] has stated to the world since its beginning that this is a coup and
that we will never approve of this change in such a way. This is just one side
of the matter. Let’s set this aside but on the other hand life goes on,”
Yıldırım said,
noting that the two countries lived in the same region and needed each
other.
“Our
ships sail to the Red Sea though the Suez Canal and from there continue to
[Saudi] Arabia, Jordan, Yemen and to the east of Africa. Therefore we cannot
cut loose our relations even if we wanted to because we have a geographic
connection and intimacy. I’m not even talking about our religious and cultural
ties. Aside [from] the way the regime changed there all the unjust
allegations that were made, particularly to Morsi and his team after being
unseated, there is no reason for the economic relations to [not] improve. Our
businessmen and our investors can mutually go about improving their investments
and this way ground convenient for normalization can perhaps be laid in the
future,” he said.
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TURKISH
AFFAIRS SECTION
(DPs/
AM)
