Cyprus PIO: Turkish Press and Other Media, 02-03-13

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

[A] NEWS ITEMS

[01] Statements by the Turkish Cypriot leader before and after meeting President Clerides.

[02] 81 businessmen applied to invest in the occupied areas of Cyprus since September.

[03] KTAMS against the so-called "passports law".

[04] Gunter Verheugen/s Spokesman is quoted to have said that the EU will make exception for Cyprus.

[B] COMMENTS AND EDITORIALS

[05] The reasoning behind the Euroosceptics in Turkey as expressed by Professor Erol Manisali.

[A] NEWS ITEMS

[01] Statements by the Turkish Cypriot leader before and after meeting President Clerides

When he left the occupied areas to go to the meeting, Denktas replied to reporters' questions. Asked to comment on the Greek Cypriot press reports that the meeting today would be critical, Denktas said this was an exaggeration, adding that the talks were being conducted with the understanding that no agreement will be reached unless an agreement is reached on every issue. Therefore, he said, we must wait until the end.

Asked to comment on the remarks by Cyprus Government Spokesman Mr Michalis Papapetrou that there cannot be two separate sovereign forces in Cyprus, Denktas alleged that two separate sovereignties exist in Cyprus today.

In statements after the meeting, Denktas said that President Clerides would be going to Spain and that therefore the meeting scheduled for 15 March would not be held. The next meeting will be on Tuesday, 19 March, Denktas said.

Mr Rauf Denktas also replied to reporters' questions related to the death of former President Spyros Kyprianou. Denktas said that he had normal and good relations with Kyprianou as two persons. He pointed out that Kyprianou was a leader who waged a struggle for long years for a cause he believed in. Denktas recounted that Kyprianou used to worship the late leader Makarios. We discussed the issue of a federation with him for 11 years, but he did not really believe in that, Denktas alleged.

Denktas recalled that after he lost the elections, Kyprianou disclosed that he never believed in a federation, and that he merely fulfilled Makarios' last wish. Denktas said: "Makarios' last wish was obvious; he had brought Cyprus as close as possible to Enosis, he did not want anyone to take any step back from that".

Denktas extended his condolences to Kyprianou's widow whom he knows well, broadcast illegal Bayrak radio.

[02] 81 businessmen applied to invest in the occupied areas of Cyprus since September

The paper writes that the so-called "State Planning Organization" approved, until today, 16 applications. The majority of the investors are Turkish Cypriots, but it is believed that the interest of the Turkish businessmen to invest in the pseudostate will increase after Turkey's State Minister responsible for Cyprus, Sukru Sina Gurel's recent illegal visit to the occupied areas and his announcement for incentives.

[03] KTAMS against the so-called "passports law"

In a written statement KTAMS notes that this so-called "law" is contrary to the international law and violates the human rights.

[04] Gunter Verheugen/s Spokesman is quoted to have said that the EU will make exception for Cyprus

She reports that in case an agreement is reached in Cyprus the EU has signalled that it will make exception regarding the freedom of movement of persons and goods, which is one of the fundamental bases of the EU's Constitution.

Leloglu reports that Mr Gunter Verheugen, EU Commissioner responsible for enlargement, returning from Cyprus has conveyed the message that they will provide every facility and flexibility so that Cyprus as a whole will become an EU member.

Verheughen's spokesman Jean Christophe Filori in a statement in Brussels said that with a view to providing harmonization to Cyprus it is possible that they could review the principles they have set for Cyprus earlier.

Filori said that theoretically they do not make any exception to any member, however, they made some exceptions as regards Malta. Malta put the condition as regards to right to own property that in order to own a house in Malta one should reside there for five years.

Filori further said that if the leaders reach an agreement until June this will be considered very positive by the Eustis will give the chance to the Turkish side to complete the deficiencies regarding the harmonization.

[B] COMMENTS AND EDITORIALS

[05] The reasoning behind the Eurosceptics in Turkey as expressed by Professor Erol Manisali

"Our columnist Erol Manisali spoke at the symposium on "How to Form a Ring of Peace Around Turkey?", held at the War Academies Headquarters last Friday, at which National Security Council General Secretary Tuncer Kilinc spoke. Manisali's remarks to the effect that a "new body was needed encompassing Iran and Russia" in order to counter the EU have created a new argument. Here is the entire text of his speech, after which Air Chief Marshal Kilinc replied, "I wholeheartedly agree."

The European Union's effects on the geographical area Turkey is located in.

1. Assumptions held during the assessment

The region under evaluation was limited to the Aegean and the Balkans, the Eastern Mediterranean, the Middle East, the Caucasus and Iran together with non-EU Black Sea region. This area encompasses Turkey, the Arab Middle East, Israel, Iran, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Russia, Ukraine,Belarus, Albania, FYROM and Bosnia Herzegovina.

The EU's influence on this region was evaluated on the basis of political, economic, military and cultural influences.

The analyses were based on the assumption that the EU was not going to suddenly suspend its current unification process and that there would ultimately arise a United States of Europe as either a federation or confederation. In order for the EU to be able to oppose a US-centered world order in the post-Cold War era (short term) and later (long term) not recoil in the face of a China-dominated Asia Platform, it has emerged that it is absolutely indispensable for the EU to advance towards forming a United States of Europe, despite all its internal problems. Therefore, the EU is obliged to unite under one roof with a single currency, a single military force and a common constitution.

The main reason for this is all to do with not lagging behind as "a strategic power in the world" and in fact advancing as such.

Another assumption I accepted in the analyses was that the EU would never take (or be able to take) Turkey as full member in the long term. I have laid out in detail the reasons for this assumption in my book "Europe's Dead End". It would cost the EU far, far too much politically, economically and culturally for it to accept Turkey. By virtue of the 1995 Customs Union, the EU can take all it wants from Turkey and what is more at no cost whatsoever. Should the EU accept Turkey, the cost would be phenomenal because a) Free movement of labour would see Turkey's population flood into the EU; b) the burden on the EU to give Turkey huge amounts of economic aid because of the provision whereby the rich countries of the EU give money to its poor countries; and c) Being the most populous country in the EU, Turkey would be running the EU together with Germany.

Furthermore, it is impossible for the EU to accept Muslim Turkey while keeping Christian Russia, Ukraine and Belarus out. By taking on both Turkey and these countries, the Western Europe would see its level of welfare reduced.

If the EU were going to accept Turkey, it would not be causing problems for Turkey on one-sided issues such as Cyprus, the Aegean, the Southeast, the so-called Armenian genocide and the European Army (ESDP).

The fact that it is making impositions on Turkey over all these issues shows most clearly that the EU is unwilling (and unable) to accept Turkey in the future.

2. The EU's Policy for the Region

The EU wants to form "a second link" in this region. It wants to make those countries it will not accept unilaterally dependent on it. The "Customs Union" Agreement the EU made with Turkey is an example of this. Turkey is currently unilaterally bound to the EU. "Despite being outside the EU, Turkey is obliged to conform with EU foreign trade policy." These responsibilities are slowly making Turkey more and more dependent on the EU.

Business circles, certain labour unions, some public institutions, the universities and certain media institutions are slowly falling under EU guidance. The domination of multinational EU firms in the Turkish market is steadily increasing. Many firms in the manufacturing industry have changed hands and EU firms are becoming more and more dominant in this field. They are rapidly entering the fields of banking, tourism, transport, health and education.

They are pursuing a policy whereby this structure, which will eventually make Turkey totally dependent on the EU and then "ossify it", will be unable to be changed by nationalist circles within Turkey. When we look at the statistics for the past 12 years, especially from 1995 onwards, we see the emergence of an one-sidedness that is continuously picking up speed. Statistics for the fields of industry, trade, agriculture, tourism, transport, banking, education and health all show this "painful truth" in all its nakedness.

The EU has begun to rapidly enhance its relations with the Mediterranean countries it is not going to take on board (from Morocco to Jordan) using organizations such as MEDA (Mediterranean Economic Development Program). When the United States and Great Britain militarily occupied the Gulf after the crisis of 1990-91 and brought the Arab Middle East under their supervision, the Mediterranean was left to "its former owners" the EU and the MEDA program increased in priority. The EU has begun to follow a policy whereby the Arab countries stretching from Morocco to Jordan (and the PLO) will become economically dependent on the EU as its "second link" in the south.

By making bilateral free trade agreements with the countries of North Africa, the EU is pursuing policies of tying these countries to it both economically and commercially. These are not "candidate" countries.

What is interesting is that "candidate country" Turkey has also been included in the MEDA program. Turkey is receiving EU aid that "Greece vetoed" in a symbolic nature by virtue of it being in MEDA.

In connection with this, the EU regards the Mediterranean as an inland sea and is pursuing a policy [there] allowing its own economic, political and strategic supervision. Its tough, one-sided and hurried behaviour over Cyprus to get it on board as soon as possible is the upshot of its policy of "not taking Turkey on board in the future". If it were going to let Turkey join tomorrow it would have given more time for the deadlock on Cyprus to be resolved and have easily resolved it concurrently with Turkey's entry to the EU.

The EU's policy for Turkey makes itself apparent in the Aegean. On the matter of disputed territories in the Aegean, the European Parliament ruled on 15 December 1996 that "Turkey had trampled over EU and Greek rights in the Aegean. This shows that the EU regards the Mediterranean as an inland sea and that it will never accept Turkey into the EU.

The EU is pursuing similar policies in the Balkans to those in North Africa. It plans to have "second link" relations with Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina and FYROM. (New) Yugoslavia and Croatia, but not Slovenia, are definitely going to be taken into the EU in the future.

The NIC (National Intelligence Council), which holds certain reservations regarding Romania and Bulgaria, was mentioned in the (CIA) Global Trends 2015 Report issued on 2 December 2000. Again, this report states that Turkey will not become an EU member.

3. The EU's Middle East Policy, Energy and the PKK

While talking about the EU, it would be more correct to bypass Britain and really consider "continental Europe".

The United States and Great Britain moved into the Middle East as "strategic partners" following the Gulf Crisis. Furthermore, the two British military bases on Cyprus, "which are considered to be on British soil" are being used by the United States.

The EU's "big two" France and Germany are pursuing policies in the Mediterranean, the Caucasus and the Middle East to counter the "US-UK double act". The most striking point here is that when it comes to the region's Kurds, both groups are constantly at odds with each other.

Turkey is being made to pay for this conflict of interests. At least, this is how the policies they are pursuing could develop.

The US-UK partnership has been running entirely from abroad what is effectively a puppet Kurdish state in northern Iraq since 1992. Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit has told the Turkish public of this in various papers and on TV in December 2001 and January 2002. However, the Turkish Armed Forces [TAF] have announced that declaration of such a puppet state would be cause for war. In response to the policies being followed by the United States and Great Britain, the EU (continental Europe) wants to politicise the Workers Party of Kurdistan [PKK] under EU guidance and use Anatolia to balance out US-UK moves in northern Iraq.

In response to the US-UK card in northern Iraq, the continental Europe regards the PKK as a tool it can use along the Middle East-Caucasus line, a kind of bridge toll keeper.

This is the real reason behind continental Europe giving political backing to the PKK. They are simply tools to be used by the major powers in the argument over strategic share of the region.

Another assumption is that the United States will in the future construct a base similar to Incirlik within northern Iraq and this would make important changes to the balances in the Caucasus and Central Asia. This would result in countries like France and Germany seeing their energy policies weakened. 4. The EU and the Black Sea Region

The EU is going to continue as it has been and not accept Russia, Ukraine or Belarus, just as with Turkey. It will attempt to keep these countries economically, commercially and financially dependent on the EU. Germany is already making important moves in this regard. The EU via Germany is making intense use of Russian natural gas and this is giving Russia some good aces to play.

Interestingly enough, in their relations with the EU Turkey, Russia, Ukraine and Belarus all share the same fate. Not one of them will ever be taken into the EU but the EU wants to keep them all dependent on the EU as a second link.

If the Asia Platform that both Russia and China want to see formed with the countries of Central Asia actually comes about then a "significant economic, political and military power center" will emerge in Asia. This would significantly affect the EU's relations with the countries on its eastern borders as much as it would for the United States.

5. EU Regional Policy and Turkey

The EU is not going to alienate Turkey but, for the reasons I have stated, nor will it incorporate Turkey into a United States of Europe.

The EU's principle aim is to keep Turkey within its sphere of influence (supervision) just as in its Russia-Ukraine and North Africa policies.

The EU wants to spread the one-sided commercial and economic attachment that began with the [Customs Union] document of 6 March 1995 to the areas of bureaucracy, education and NGOs and thus keep Turkish politics under its supervision.

Turkey's candidacy process, which began in 1999, is being run with the aim of forever moving the goalposts. Pressure is being applied to place Cyprus and the Aegean under Greek supervision via the EU.

Refusing to accept the PKK as a terrorist organization and attempts to politicize it plus the active support of EU countries is a policy that will soon adversely affect Turkey-EU relations.

With the Armenian issue, the EU is saying, "If Turkey refuses to acknowledge a genocide took place, Turkey-EU relations will not progress."

It is shunning Turkey on the matter of the European Army (ESDP).

All of these are obstacles that "currently" face Turkey. They could well add more obstacles tomorrow. This EU policy can be summed up as, "Forever keeping Turkey waiting at the door and while doing so getting as many concessions as possible out of it and ossifying the one-sided attachment."

Conclusion: The EU's policy regarding the region Turkey is in conflict with Turkey's national policies in a good many fields in the light of the points highlighted earlier. The basic problem revolves around the fact that "the EU will never accept Turkey." If Turkey perpetuates its one-sided attachment to the EU, it will be obliged in the medium and long terms to give strategic concessions over issues such as Cyprus, the Aegean, the PKK, the Armenians and the ESDP.

As the United States also pursues policies with regard to northern Iraq, Cyprus, the Aegean and Armenia that are in conflict with Turkey's national interests, we cannot evaluate the EU and the United States by saying they have mutually exclusive policies vis-a-vis Turkey. Therefore, even though there is competition and conflict between them, it can be seen that on those particular issues they stand together in that their policies do not favour Turkey's national interests.

It is an unavoidable truth that Turkey has to forge balances to counter the EU's adverse effects in the immediate region.

The most important element in the search for new checks and balances will be to improve relations with the countries of the region and to develop mutual interest points with the Asia Platform.

One has to evaluate the TAF/s taking the initiative and ensuring progress here as a positive development in the search for new checks-and-balances policies".

KV/SK

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