Cyprus PIO: Turkish Press and Other Media, 01-10-31

Cyprus Press and Information Office: Turkish Cypriot Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next Article

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

[A] NEWS ITEMS

[01] Kivrikoglu rules out making concessions on ESDP.

[02] "Barbaros" military exercise postponed. "Toros-2001" to go ahead as planned.

[03] The Building Contractors Union staged a protest in occupied Nicosia yesterday.

[04] Efforts to activate the Friends of North Cyprus Group in the British Parliament were unsuccessful.

[05] Ferdi Sabit Soyer appointed again as the General Secretary of the Republican Turkish Party.

[A] NEWS ITEMS

[01] Kivrikoglu rules out making concessions on ESDP

Taking questions from journalists, Kivrikoglu said, "Europe wants to establish its own security identity without taking Turkey into consideration. On this issue (ESDP) Turkey can not make any concessions on its position."

Reiterating once more Turkey's determination to achieve the same right within the ESDP that it has achieved within the now-disbanded Western European Union (WEU), Kivrikoglu, however, affirmed that talks will continue on the issue. He said, "We (Turkey) put on the table proposals on main issues but talks have not been concluded yet."

A 10-hour long meeting held in Ankara on October 25, bringing together senior representatives from Turkey, Britain and the United States has appeared not to have yielded much result over a compromise on the level of Turkish participation in the decision making mechanisms of the ESDP.

The parties, however, agreed to meet in London, possibly on November 8, to continue negotiations.

Turkey, a NATO member but not a member of the EU, has been refusing to lift its veto on granting assured access of NATO assets and capabilities including Turkish bases, to ESDP planned to be backed by 60,000-member rapid reaction force.

In order to lift its veto Turkey seeks to take part actively in the decision-making mechanisms of the ESDP, which has been seen by the EU as an infringement of its decision-making autonomy.

Language amended

Meanwhile, a senior Turkish official speaking to Turkish Daily News said that the Turkish side has made some changes in the language of the Turkish proposals while keeping the basic Turkish position in place.

"If one side (The EU) keeps its position expecting flexibility from the other side there can not be any compromise," stressed the same senior general.

He reiterated that in the case of autonomous EU operations that do not require NATO assets, once Turkey states that the operation lies within geographic proximity to its territory or affects its vital security interests, the EU must assure Ankara of participation in the decision-making process and the operation.

Turkey also seeks firm commitment from the EU that it should refrain from crisis management in matters where any of the NATO allies is involved. One of Turkey's deep concerns on ESDP is the possibility that the EU, at times when it does not seek NATO assets and capabilities in any possible military intervention, would meddle in bilateral Turkish-Greek disputes as well as on divided Cyprus.

The core of the failure of a compromise so far among the parties stem from the deep mistrust existing between the EU and Ankara, recalls a Western diplomat, who is also blaming the Union for taking Turkey for granted.

Britain has no mandate

Turkey has also been left alone by its main ally the U.S. on the grounds that Ankara has been pursuing an uncompromising position, encouraging the EU to go independent to establish its own operational cell and duplicating NATO capabilities.

The senior general, however, says "We (Turkey) have always been left alone since the beginning of the ESDP process. In the meantime, Britain has not been given a mandate by the EU for talks with Ankara."

One Western diplomat recalled that Britain has had a mandate from the EU for conducting talks on ESDP with Ankara during Istanbul talks. It is understood that when the Turkish military refused the Istanbul paper agreed mostly by Turkish bureaucracy, the EU decided to lift its mandate given to the U.K.

The EU all together should accept any compromise with Ankara. In the absence of an EU mandate given to Britain, any decisions to be made with Ankara will not have validity in the Union.

Being one of the architects of the new European security architecture British Prime Minister Tony Blair attaches utmost importance for the EU to launch the institutional mechanisms of the ESDP during the Laeken summit in December. Thus Blair wants to remove rifts between Turkey and the EU before December.

[02] "Barbaros" military exercise postponed. "Toros-2001" to go ahead as planned

A General Staff statement noted that the military exercise which would be held in the East Mediterranean between October 31-November 9 by the participation of Turkish naval and air forces has been delayed to a later date.

The General Staff added that "Toros-2001" manoeuvre which was planned to be exercised between 5-7 November in the occupied areas of Cyprus will be held as planned by the so-called Turkish Cypriot Peace Keeping Command and the pseudostate/s Security Forces Command troops.

[03] The Building Contractors Union staged a protest in occupied Nicosia yesterday

The Chairman of the Union, Mr. Sevket Abohorlu, said that for eight months now since 21 February, when the Turkish Lira was devalued against the dollar, they are losing money and they cannot bear this any longer.

They also complained for the fact that all the tenders for contracts are awarded to mainland Turkish firms with the latest example being the tender for constructing a meat factory which is planned to be given to a Turkish firm.

Representative of the Turkish Cypriot political parties met separately with a delegation of the protestors and promised to examine their demands and their problems.

On his part the so-called Tourism and Environment Minister, Mr Sertar Denktas, who also met with the delegation, said the decision on the tender for the meat factory has been postponed for a week and that within the framework of the stabilization programme there will be no increases in Value Added Tax and other taxes and that changes may be brought about to the payment of debts so as a facilitate the contractors.

[04] Efforts to activate the Friends of North Cyprus Group in the British Parliament were unsuccessful

The chairman of the Friends of North Cyprus Group in the British Parliament formerly a British MP and now Lord John Taylor invited 100 newly elected MP' s from the British Parliament in a wine reception within the framework of his efforts to reactivate and enlarge the Group. But apart from him and Lady Butterworth, only the British MP John Mc William accepted the invitation and attended the reception.

The representative of the pseudostate in London Namik Korhan and representatives of some Turkish Cypriot Associations attended the reception with the hope that they would have the opportunity to explain to the newly elected MP's the positions of the Turkish Cypriots.

Speaking at the reception Lord Taylor claimed that the propaganda of the Greek Cypriots is very successful and because of this the Cyprus problem has reached a deadlock.

[05] Ferdi Sabit Soyer appointed again as the General Secretary of the Republican Turkish Party

Soyer, who was the only candidate, thanked the members of RTP for his election and called on them to work harder than before.

KV/SK

Cyprus Press and Information Office: Turkish Cypriot Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next Article