Cyprus PIO: Turkish Press and Other Media, 01-01-08

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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

[A] NEWS ITEMS

[01] Ankara supports U.S. struggle against terrorism, welcomes humanitarian approach.

[02] Turkish Cypriot politicians comment on the U.S. operation in Afghanistan.

[03] Works at illegal Lefkoniko airport to be completed in November.

[04] Akinci says solution could have benefits for all sides in Cyprus.

[05] Archaeological works completed at occupied Karpass Peninsula.

[06] Voting on the constitutional amendments causes rift between the Islamic parties.

[A] NEWS ITEMS

[01] Ankara Supports US Struggle Against Terrorism, Welcomes Humanitarian Approach

Attending the meeting held at the Prime Minister's Office were General Huseyin Kivrikoglu, chief of the General Staff; Devlet Bahceli, Mesut Yilmaz, and Husamettin Ozkan, state ministers and deputy prime ministers; State Minister Sukru Sina Gurel; National Defense Minister Sabahattin Cakmakoglu; Foreign Minister Ismail Cem; Ahmet Sagar, under secretary of the Prime Minister's Office; MIT [National Intelligence Organization] Under Secretary Senkal Atasagun; Foreign Ministry Under Secretary Ugur Ziyal; Lieutenant General Koksal Karabay, military adviser of the Prime Minister's Office; and Foreign Ministry adviser Engin Sosyal.

A written statement was issued by the Prime Minister's Press Centre in connection with the meeting, which lasted approximately three hours.

Pointing out that the air operation against the airports in the major cities in Afghanistan, against the military targets of the Taliban, and against the al-Qa'ida began at 19:15 [16:15 GMT] within the framework of the US "Enduring Freedom" operation, the statement said that Turkey welcomes US President George W. Bush's remarks today stressing that the operation is targeting only terrorist centres, that care is shown to prevent innocent people from being harmed by the operation, and that measures have been adopted with regard to humanitarian aid to the people of Afghanistan.

The statement noted that US Vice President Dick Cheney telephoned President Ahmet Necdet Sezer before the operation was launched and the government was kept informed via diplomatic and military channels before the operation. The statement continued:

"As we stated on several occasions in the aftermath of the abhorrent attacks perpetrated against the United States on 11 September 2001, as a responsible ally and a friend, Turkey supports the United States in the struggle against terrorism.

"Turkey, which has always advocated the need for an international struggle against terrorism, supports the strengthening of international law in this regard as well as the establishment, if necessary, of an international cooperation organization in this framework.

"The operation is being conducted with the support of certain NATO countries as well as certain non-NATO countries in accordance with UN Security Council Resolutions 1368 and 1373 and within the framework of Article 5 of the NATO Charter.

"All necessary internal and external measures have been adopted in connection with the operation."

[02] TURKISH CYPRIOT POLITICIANS COMMENT ON THE U.S. OPERATION IN AFGHANISTAN

The leader of the National Unity Party, Mr Dervis Eroglu, expressed the hope that the US and UK attacks on Afghanistan will not turn into a Christian-Muslim conflict. Eroglu also said he hopes the operation will not harm the civilian population and that it will come to an end as soon as possible. He stressed that this operation should be a lesson to everyone. I hope terrorism will end in the world, he said.

Salih Cosar, leader of the Democratic Party, asserted that the aim of the operation is to eradicate the terrorist movement. No matter what the reason behind it, he said, war is not something nice. No matter what the aim, a war is a war. Cosar expressed the hope that the war will not last long.

Cosar noted his concern that international terrorist Usama Bin Laden will view the situation as a conflict between Christianity and Islam. This would revive more terrorist activity, he warned.

Mustafa Akinci, leader of the Communal Liberation Party, pointed out that for some time now Afghanistan was surrounded, and that diplomatic ties were established with the countries around Afghanistan with a view to establishing a broad coalition. The development that was expected for some time took place this afternoon, Akinci said, and that US operation mounted in the wake of the 11 September attacks can be viewed as a police measure. He stressed that this is not a surprise, but that on its own it will not be enough to eradicate terrorism from the face of the world. He said that the heroin trade, the other great social injustices, the huge gaps in the distribution of income, the ethnic fighting, and unjust wars in the world must be eliminated. This needs much more time and work, he stressed.

Akinci expressed the hope that the war will end soon and that the people of the world will achieve peace.

Zorlu Tore, leader of the Nationalist Justice Party, pointed out that Turkey has suffered greatly from terrorism but that the world failed to see that. We hope, he said, that after the tragic event that occurred in the United States, all the world countries will conduct a rigorous cooperation against terrorism.

Tore stated that civilians are being hurt in Afghanistan. However, he added, the struggle there aims at eradicating terrorism from the face of the world.

Mehmet Ali Talat, leader of the Republican Turkish Party, said that his hope, expectation, and wish is that the real sources of terrorism are eliminated. The real sources of terrorism, he said, are injustices, the bloody conflicts in the various parts of the world, and imbalances in income throughout the world. Mankind should ultimately fight these elements, he said, but the United States has launched a crusade-like operation. We cannot approve of that. This is another crime against humanity, just like the attack perpetrated against the twin towers in New York. Contrary to what the United States is saying, Talat stressed, the sources of terrorism cannot be eliminated in this way. In fact, the operation will further provoke the sources of terrorism. Talat concluded his comments by condemning terrorism.

[03] Works at illegal Lefkoniko airport to be completed in November

The paper writes that the illegal Tymbou airport would remain closed for a period of time, in order to be repaired. Turkey has announced she would finance the project with the amount of 369 billion Turkish liras.

[04] Akinci says solution could have benefits for all sides in Cyprus

Talking after a meeting with Finnish ambassadors who visited Cyprus, Mr. Akinci said that the important thing is the resumption of the talks towards finding a solution.

"While on the one hand we are trying for a solution of the Cyprus problem and for the accession to the EU, on the other hand it would be very useful if in parallel with that Turkey's accession talks procedure began", he noted adding that then a perspective for all sides to have benefits would be created.

Mr. Akinci argued that the resumption of the talks towards finding a solution addressing the needs of equality, sovereignty and security of the sides is necessary. If these do not happen, the Greek Cypriots will unilaterally join the EU, relations between Turkey and Greece and Turkey and the EU will deteriorate, more Turkish Cypriots will emigrate from Cyprus and the division on the island will be consolidated.

[05] Archeological works completed at occupied Karpass peninsula

Professor Sera Durugol, the head of the archeological group, said that within two months they would submit a detailed report to the "Ministry" concerned. Professor Durugol argued that excavations should continue and added that they would ask for more personnel from the "Ministry" to do the job.

[06] VOTING ON THE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS CAUSES RIFT BETWEEN THE ISLAMIC PARTIES

Arinc further accused Saadet of not voting for Erdogan. He said that although they brought in wheelchair-bound deputy for Kutahya Ahmet Derin for the vote on the Erbakan article, they failed to vote over Article 76. "We supported the proposal for Article 69 (Erbakan article) submitted by our Saadet colleagues, but 14 Saadet deputies did not take part in the vote on Article 76," said Arinc.

Speaking at another press conference in Parliament, Saadet/s party group deputy leader Veysel Candan refuted AK Party's allegations. He said they had not conducted any special lobbying to get the Erdogan article rejected. He maintained that two or all three of the coalition parties had made a ploy to get it rejected."

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