Cyprus PIO: Turkish Cypriot Press and Other Media, 96-12-18

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TURKISH CYPRIOT PRESS AND OTHER MEDIA

No.229/96 18.12.96

CONTENTS

[A] NEWS ITEMS

[01] Pseudostate's draft "Budget" figures.

[02] Denktash says Rifkind proposals are unimportant.

[03] Denktash rejects Rifkind call for new guarantee plan for Cyprus.

[04] Census results ready in three months.

[05] A bleak record for Turkey as regards human rights violations.

[06] Abdullah Catli had travelled to the occupied area using forged travelling documents.

[07] Eroglu on "civil servants" wages, importance of Rifkind visit.

[08] Tore asks for Turkish nationality for all Turkish Cypriots.

[A] NEWS ITEMS

[01] Pseudostate's draft "Budget" figures

The draft "law" on the 1997 Financial Year "Budget", which is expected to increase by 85.3 percent compared to the 1996 "budget", has been submitted to the "Council of Ministers".

In the 1997 draft "budget", 15,400,242,000,000 TL has been appropriated for the "civil servants."

The 9,101,915,000,000 TL appropriation for personnel salaries and other allowances in the 1996 "budget" is expected to be increased by 6,298,327,000,000 in 1997.

In case the 1997 Financial Year "Budget Draft Law" by the so-called Council of Ministers and the so-called assembly is approved as it stands, the appropriation set aside for the "civil servants" will be 70 percent higher compared to the previous year.

In assessing these figures, the economists are commenting that the pseudo-government will be more generous towards the nearly 30,000 "civil servants" in 1997.

It also envisages a 301 percent increase in defense spending, 117 percent in investments, 66 percent in transfers, and 70 percent in current expenditures. Compared to the 1996 "budget", the same draft envisages increases of 98.4 percent in local revenues, 156.8 percent in aid from Turkey, 400 percent in Turkey's credits, 40.4 percent in borrowings, and 100 percent in humanitarian aid received from the UN and third countries.

In his preamble submitted to the so-called Council of Ministers "Finance Minister" Salin Cosar said that the budget is realistic and factual.

If one compares the draft 1997 Financial Year "budget" with the 1996 "budget", which had envisaged raising 29-trillion TL in revenues but only managed to collect 24,604,034,117,969 TL, it could be seen that the 1997 "budget" has been increased by 85.3 percent.

Accordingly, the following is a comparison between the 1996 and 1997 "budgets" in terms of revenues and expenditure.

                  Expenditure 1996     1997      Difference  Increase
                    (million TL)   (million TL) (million TL)   (%)
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Expenditure:
  I. Civil budget   23,606,534.1  41,579,690.0  +17,973,155.9   76.1%
 II. Defense budget    997,500.0   4,000,000.0    3,002,500.0  301.0%
Total:              24,604,034.1  45.579,690.0  +20,975,655,9   85.3%

Revenue Financing:
  I. Local revenues 12,095,580.2  24,000,000.0  +11,904,419,8   98.4%
 II. Fund revenues   1,500,000.0   1,500,000.0
III. Turkey's aid    3,700,000.0   9,500,000.0  + 5,800,00.0   156.8%
 IV. Borrowings      7,179,854.3  10,079,690.0  + 2,899,835.7   40.4%
  V.Turkey's credits   100,000.0     500,000.0
 VI. Humanitarian aid received from the UN and third Countries
                        28,599.6      28,599.6                   100%
Total:              24,604,034.1  45,579,690.0  +20,975,655.9  +85.3%

The "Education Ministry" gets 6,019,120,100,000 TL from the budgetary pie.

The "Public Works and Transportation Ministry" comes second and the "Health and Environment Ministry" third in obtaining the largest shares. The appropriation envisaged for the "Public Works and Transportation Ministry" is 3,450,304,500,000 TL and for the "Health and Environment Ministry" is 3,712,796,000,000.

Only 93-billion has been appropriated for tourism investments out of the 8,461,021,000,000 TL resources envisaged for investment projects. This constitutes 1.09 percent of the resources set aside for all investment projects.

The largest share in the investment projects goes to the "social services" with 2,245,005,000,00 TL.

[02] Denktash says Rifkind proposals are unimportant

Denktash recalled that at their joint news conference, Rifkind said that the Cyprus problem can be resolved between the two sides. Denktash said: "Consequently, Rifkind expressed his own views at his news conference. The views are deficient in places. However, we are not thinking of doing anything more about this issue now."

Assessing Rifkind's news conference for illegal Bayrak Radio and Television, Denktash said that the 10-item British view is not a proposal. He alleged that some of Rifkind's views contain those elements that made President Clerides reject the UN Secretary General's set of ideas. He said that Rifkind did not express an opinion about sovereignty, equality, and the guarantees, issues which the Turkish Cypriots particularly emphasize.

Denktash concluded by claiming: "Rifkind's remarks were suggested by Clerides. Some of Rifkind's views are those views Clerides says he accepts. If that is the case, I say, come and let us negotiate. Why does he not come to the table and negotiate? We can deduce that certain circles are giving him the green light; in other words, Clerides wants the things he says he accepts to be diluted. Rifkind tried to help Clerides by saying that they are his own views even though his original intention was to hear the views of the two sides. That is how we view this issue. In other words, as far as we are concerned, these proposals are unimportant."

[03] Denktash rejects Rifkind call for new guarantee plan for Cyprus

Rauf Denktash in reply to Rifkind's proposal to extend the guarantorship in a way that meets the demands of both communities, claimed that the agreement of guarantorship did not lead to any problems on the island. "On the contrary, it prevented the Greek invasion of the island and the annihilation of Cyprus Turks. It is a good system; there cannot be an alternative.

We cannot give up on the guarantorship of Turkey because we cannot give up on the basic rights granted to us in the 1960 agreements", he claimed.

[04] Census results ready in three months

The pseudostate's so-called State Planning Organization "under secretary" Ahmet Zeki Bulunc has claimed that "Whatever the results, they will be published".

Turkey's State Statistics Institute Chairman Ensari, who had went the occupied area to follow up the census, left the occupied area yesterday.

Prior to his departure Ensari answered questions put to him by journalists. He described the census as "excellent".

He further said that questions asked during the census are questions asked in Turkey or in any other country. "The questions asked are aimed at revealing the social, economic and demographic characteristics of the population". When asked to clarify the use of pencil by the people who were conducting the census, Ensari claimed that "pencil" is used during a census held in Turkey and "the aim is to give the chance to the official to correct mistakes he had made during the census".

Regarding the "concern" that the census results will reveal the number of mainland Turks living in the occupied area Ensari said: "Our evaluation will be done by computers. All information will be loaded to the computer and results will be out. There is no reason for concern"".

Ensari alleged that the DIE's responsibility regarding the census is "technical".

In his turn Ahmet Zeki Bulunc said that "there was no reason to hide the results. Transparency is our basic principle. Whatever the results are, they will be made available to the public and to those who will make use of these results."

[05] A bleak record for Turkey as regards human rights violations

The most serious claims against Turkey involve systematic torture and the increase in "disappearances" of people in custody. In 1992, the Council of Europe said that even though Turkey had improved its human rights record, it had yet to eliminate torture and other violations of basic freedoms. The Council adopted a resolution urging Turkey to prevent torture, pursue reports of human rights violations more vigorously and take more control of security forces. The Council's resolution followed a clash between security forces and Kurds earlier in the year.

During the same year, the British Medical Association said in a report published in London that doctors in Turkey were involved in torture. "We found that doctors had actively participated in the process of torture by certifying the prisoner's fitness for torture, reviving the prisoner after collapse, monitoring the prisoner's state during torture and giving false or inadequate medical care to the tortured person," the report said. "Equally importantly, we found that many doctors who know that torture or other abuses are happening do nothing to challenge it".

The report added that one common form of collaboration in human rights abuses was the preparation of false or inadequate medical certificates for victims.

Turkey, following a two-year period in which it was supposed to set the record straight, was once again blasted by Amnesty International for its increasing attacks on freedom of expression. The group called for an expert mission to be sent to investigate deteriorating human rights in the country. In its annual report, Amnesty also urged Washington to reconsider military aid to the country.

The London-based group also drew attention to the alarming increase in "disappearances". "Urgent measures must be taken to stem the alarming increase in `disappearances' and extrajudicial executions in Turkey", Amnesty said, expressing fears that "the practice of `disappearance', like that of extrajudicial execution, is becoming established as a tool of intimidation in Turkey".

All these reactions were not enough to motivate the state to improve human rights, as clearly seen in the horrifying violations of human rights in 1996. The death of Evrensel Journalist Metin Goktepe in January due to torture while in custody, the hunger strikes in prisons in July, which led to the deaths of 12 people, and the student demonstrations in November were all examples of human rights violations where, despite widespread criticism, the Turkish state remained a spectator.

[06] Abdullah Catli had travelled to the occupied area using forged travelling documents

YENIDUZEN says that Catli wanted to acquire casinos belonging to Topal in the occupied area.

Catli entered the occupied area with forged travelling documents issued in the name of "Mehmet Ozbay".

The accident on 3 November in Susurluk near Istanbul revealed a Mafia-state relation in Turkey, because Catli's friend tribal chieftain and True Path Party Deputy Sedat Bucak was also travelling in that same car involved in the accident. (MY)

[07] Eroglu on "civil servants" wages, importance of Rifkind visit

The Turkish Cypriot "civil servants" held their fifth congress yesterday.

Addressing the congress, Eroglu said that it is out of question to disregard the interests of those workers who work in the privatized institutions, and added that the salaries of the "civil servants" will be paid before the new year.

Noting that 1997 will be a critical and important year in terms of the Cyprus issue, Eroglu added that the United States continues to have a say in the matter. Eroglu further stated that the visit of British Foreign Secretary Malcolm Rifkind to the pseudostate carried importance in terms of showing that there are two separate "administrations" in Cyprus.

[08] Tore asks for Turkish nationality for all Turkish Cypriots

Tore claimed that Turkish Cypriots who are not Turkish citizens face difficulties when they go to Turkey.

Stating that with Cyprus's EU membership the integration of the "Greek Cypriot" side with Greece will be speeded up, Zorlu Tore claimed this will turn the Cyprus problem into not a Greco-Turkish conflict but a problem between Turkey and the EU. (MY) EF/SK