Cyprus PIO: Turkish Cypriot Press and Other Media, 01-02-22

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From: The Republic of Cyprus Press and Information Office Server at <http://www.pio.gov.cy/>

TURKISH CYPRIOT PRESS AND OTHER MEDIA

No. 37/01 -- 22.2.01

[A] NEWS ITEMS

[01] Denktash says he is ready for talks to find common ground.

[02] "Universities" in the occupied areas to impose headscarf ban.

[03] Mustafa Akinci will attend tourism fairs in Istanbul, Crimea and Berlin.

[B] COMMENTS AND EDITORIALS

[04] Ozker Ozgur: 50,000 Turkish Cypriots emigrated in 27 years.

[06] Ilter Turkmen: Turkey to reassess its foreign policy and to set for itself more realistic targets.

[A] NEWS ITEMS

[01] Denktash says he is ready for talks to find common ground According to KIBRISLI (22.2.01) the Turkish Cypriot leader, Mr. Rauf

Denktash departed from Turkey after attending some meetings in Istanbul. Speaking to journalists prior to his departure, Denktash alleged that the Greek and Greek Cypriots are making efforts to get the title deed of Cyprus by means of the European Union (EU), noting, "unfortunately, the documents pushed in front of us help this effort".

Referring to the talks on Cyprus, Mr. Denktash said: "It is asked that the doors for substantive negotiations be opened before a common ground between the two sides is found. We are ready for laying the groundwork, but the ground has not been prepared. For this reason, we did not want to start the core negotiations. We could not accept the conditions which were put forward".

Noting that he denied statements to the effect that Turkey spends 500 million US dollars in the occupied areas every year, Denktash said that he had announced that such a big amount of assistance is not made, and continued: "Turkey has some national interests in the Cyprus question. If Turkey leaves "TRNC" to Greece, a danger may occur because Greece will close all the south coasts and set up a chain of islands. Such a development may have a more strategic importance when the Iskenderun pipeline project is implemented. To this end, Turkey attributes vital importance to Cyprus".

"There is a big effort. There are efforts which are backed from outside. The two sides should be very careful, the Cyprus question is the most important geopolitical and strategical issue of Turkey. It is Turkey/s national cause. It is a very rightful cause. We have to be more conscious and clever against the efforts of the Greek Cypriots who try to overcome this question in their favour by using the EU", Denktash added.

Denktash returned to the occupied areas yesterday.

[02] "Universities" in the occupied areas to impose headscarf ban According to Ankara Anatolia (21.2.01) and the Turkish Cypriot press, ban on

Under a joint decision taken by the "universities", the students who have head scarves, will be warned at first within the framework of the new discipline rules, and later an investigation will be launched against them if the warnings are not effective.

Some of the "universities" started to implement the ban according to a "protocol" signed between the pseudostate/s National Education and Culture Ministry and Turkey/s Higher Board of Education and some of them will implement the ban in the spring term.

[03] Mustafa Akinci will attend tourism fairs in Istanbul, Crimea and Berlin According to KIBRIS (22.2.01) the so-called State Minister and Deputy Prime

First, Akinci will attend the ITTE 2001-International Travel and Tourism Fair in Istanbul between 22-25 February, then he will visit the Tourism Fair that will be held in Crimea between 28 February to 3 March and finally the International Travel and Tourism Fair in Berlin, which is one of the biggest fairs in the world, between 3-7 March.

Akinci will be accompanied by the "State Undersecretary" Bulent Kanol, the "director of Tourism and Marketing Department" Orhan Tolun and four officers.

On February 24, Akinci will meet the foreign press and the foreign tourist agencies. He is expected to return to the occupied areas on the 6th of March.

Moreover, the pseudostate will be represented at these International Travel and Tourism Fairs with its own stand. As regards the Fair in Crimea it will be the first time that the pseudostate will take part.

[B] COMMENTS AND EDITORIALS

[04] Ozker Ozgur: 50,000 Turkish Cypriots emigrated in 27 years.

Union Movement, PUM, leadership continues to visit villages in the occupied area.

The paper reports that the PUM leaders visited the occupied Komi Kepir and Mora villages, on 15.2.01. Speaking to villagers the PUM General Secretary Izzet Izcan pointed out the contradictions and inconsistency between what the so-called NUP-CLP coalition government promised during the election campaigns and what it is doing today as a ruling power.

Speaking to villagers in Komi Kepir, PUM Party Assembly member Ozker Ozgur said: "As in all cases one has to be honest in politics as well. When the troops landed in Cyprus on 20 July 1974 Ecevit was Prime Minister in Ankara. He is Prime Minister today as well. When the troops were landing in Cyprus in 1974 they were saying that they are landing in Cyprus to save the Republic of Cyprus, but today they speak about two separate states, they are trying to consolidate the partition and make it permanent. In 1977 Denktash agreed with Makarios on Federation, but today he speaks about confederation, that is partition.

Less than six thousand Turkish Cypriots emigrated from Cyprus between the years 1963-74, however since 1974 more than 50 thousand Turkish Cypriots have emigrated.

There must be a reason for this.

Today division, partition and non-solution are forcing the community to emigrate, to decline, to peter out and to get annihilated.

With this mentality and approach there is no way out.

If Ecevit and Denktash continue to insist on the two separate state view, the Greek Cypriot side will be admitted to the EU by the year 2004.

Mr. Akinci, who recently attended a conference in England, made a significant warning.

"Time is running short", he said.

If we do not return to the negotiating table and do not contribute to the solution of the Cyprus problem, South Cyprus will be accepted to the European Union, he said.

Tahsin Ertugruloglu, the Foreign Minister, who was behind him, replied to him. He repeated that the "TRNC" will not return to the negotiating table unless it is recognized.

Is Akinci not Deputy Prime Minister and Ertugruloglu Foreign Minister? What kind of a government are they?

The one calls something white and the other black.

Such a partnership cannot exist.

Such a coalition cannot exist.

Look, how nice they explain the issue of implementing the economic package...

As regards the shrinking income of the workers and the couples they cannot lie to each other.

Despite their differences on an issue so important as the Cyprus problem they continue to be together.

Within such contradictory government how can they persuade the world, how can they be credible?

Those who are saying they want an early solution must be honest, they must unite their forces and be credible to those who are against solution and favour partition and establish an alternative force". Ozgur said.

[79] Ilter Turkmen: Turkey to reassess its foreign policy and to set for itself more realistic targets

"The Quest for Stability in the Caucasus" conference staged in Istanbul last week by the Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation (TESEV) helped shed light on the EU policies involving the region.

"Unlike what they did in similar occasions in the past the Armenian representatives did not reiterate their well-known arguments. This comes at a time Turkey is giving the message that it is now more inclined to adopt a new policy towards Armenia.

"Also interesting was to see the easing of the tensions in Turkey/s relations with Iran and Russia. The Foreign Minister/s recent visit to Iran obviously proved quite satisfactory. And the controversial `Blue Stream/ project (for the transportation of Russian natural gas to Turkey) on which work is accelerating, serves as a factor bringing the two countries closer. Soon high-level contacts will take place.

"Meanwhile the European Union is not inclined to give the Caucasian countries a full membership perspective. But it does intend to enter into very close cooperation with them. It assumes that when Turkey becomes an EU member it will have a common border with the Caucasus, a region where it has strategic interests. For Europe the region/s natural gas is what really matters rather than the oil deposits in the region. Europe intends to meet its natural gas needs from the Caucasus and the Middle East via a pipe line across Turkey. This means that not only the United States but the EU too attaches a strategic importance to Turkey.

"According to an old Turkish saying, one disaster teaches a person more than a thousand pieces of advice would. The `Armenian genocide/ resolution passed in France seems to be causing Turkey to reassess its foreign policy and to set for itself more realistic targets. Still, one has to take greater care about the priorities and the interaction between various problems. And one has to ensure that the policies to be adopted will always be consistent with the overall, long-term strategic goals".

From the Republic of Cyprus Press and Information Office (PIO) Server at http://www.pio.gov.cy/

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