Cyprus PIO: Turkish Press and Other Media, 02-10-30

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

[A] NEWS ITEMS

[01] Alvaro de Soto will visit the Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktas.

[02] The National People^Òs Movement will file charges against the ^Ómayor^Ô of occupied Nicosia, Kutlay Erk.

[03] Top court to hear closure case against pro-Kurdish party.

[04] The Democratic Left Party is trying to capitalize on the Turkish invasion in its election campaign.

[B] COMMENTARIES, EDITORIALS AND ANALYSIS

[05] Turkish Cypriot columnist notes that the most important obstacle in the way of the solution of the Cyprus problem is the military administration in Turkey.

[06] Columnist in Turkish Daily News supports that Kofi Annan^Òs proposals are a disaster for the Greek-Greek Cypriot side.

[A] NEWS ITEMS

[01] Alvaro de Soto will visit the Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktas

One of Denktas´ doctors, Dr Cetin Erol, in a statement to Ankara Anatolia News Agency, said that the condition of Denktas after his cardiac surgery is getting better and apart from his weakness, all his vital functions are well, and so is his appetite. Dr Erol also added that the date of returning to his home will be decided after being checked by the doctors on Friday, 1 November.

Denktas´ adviser Ergun Olgun said that he will meet with the UN Secretary-General^Òs Special Adviser on Cyprus, Mr Alvaro de Soto, at the end of the week when he will be in New York. Mr Olgun also added that Mr de Soto will pay a visit to Rauf Denktas to wish him all the best for his recovery.

[02] The National People^Òs Movement will file charges against the ^Ómayor^Ô of occupied Nicosia, Kutlay Erk

According to the paper, the ^Óaccusations^Ô against NPM were published last Sunday (27.10.02) in the Australian Sunday Herald Sun newspaper, which wrote: ^ÓNPM is an organization that makes death threats, places bombs against those who want peace and spreads fear^Ô. The so-called mayor of occupied Nicosia and member of the Republican Turkish Party (RTP), Kutlay Erk, stated in the paper that the NPM follows a military policy towards the Cyprus problem. The teacher and member of the Patriotic Unity Movement (PUM) Ulus Irkad said that NPM is a very dangerous organization that put a bomb in his brother^Òs car and made death threats against him. Kemal Nami, a Turkish Cypriot who lives in Australia, made accusations against the NPM in the paper as well.

As VOLKAN writes, NPM decided to take legal action for big compensation in Melbourne against the person who wrote the article in the Australian paper and against Kemal Nami. NPM will file charges for big compensation in occupied Cyprus as well, against Kutlay Erk and Ulus Irkad. Furthermore, NPM´s General Coordinator, Taner Etkin, will give a press conference next Thursday regarding the issue in order to explain the Movement^Òs position to the public.

[03] Top court to hear closure case against pro-Kurdish party

Supreme Court of Appeals Chief Prosecutor Sabih Kanadoglu filed a suit with the top court to shut down the party on the grounds that the party's bylaws included statements contradicting the state's principles and indivisible integrity.

The top court will hear Kanadoglu's verbal statement on Thursday, while the court will hear the verbal defenses of the party administrators on November 7. Following the verbal defences of the party administrators, the court will decide whether to close the party.

Kanadoglu's indictment reads that the party set the solution of the Kurdish problem as its emergency goal and defines the Kurdish problem as the basic problem of Turkey in its bylaws. Kanadoglu supports that the party's approach includes discrimination between the Turks and the Kurds and accepts the presence of a separate Kurdish nation.

As the party bylaws include a definition "the Turks and the Kurds" Kanadoglu stresses that this discrimination was against the state's indivisible integrity and asked for the closure of the party.

[04] The Democratic Left Party is trying to capitalize on the Turkish invasion in its election campaign

Caglayan began his speech by focusing on two "very important" foreign policy issues that will gain prominence in the coming months -- Iraq and Cyprus. Caglayan said: "Our Prime Minister Ecevit is doing his utmost to prevent a war in Iraq, and exerting efforts to ensure that a possible operation does not affect Turkey. We do not want war in Iraq, because we do not want to shed the blood of our youths. We do not want to sustain a new blow, now that we have emerged from an economic crisis. We do not want our national security to be endangered. We are seriously concerned over the sincerity of the United States with regard to the disruption of Iraq's territorial integrity in the event of an operation and the possible developments in Northern Iraq.

"The DLP is vehemently opposed to the establishment of a new state in Northern Iraq in terms of our national security. We want Iraq's territorial integrity to be respected. We want the UN resolutions to be implemented. Moreover, we certainly do not want to serve as the broker for settling the unfinished accounts of another country in Iraq. No pressure, internal or external, has ever succeeded in making a DLP-led Turkey commit mistakes, and it will not succeed in the future. A country led by the DLP, however, has the power and determination to undertake the necessary moves against any eventuality that runs counter to our national security and interests.

"As for Cyprus, the EU is playing a dangerous game in Cyprus. It is practically undermining the Denktas-Clerides talks by supplying the Greek Cypriot side with assurances. It appears that the EU is about to divide the island into two with its own hands by unilaterally admitting the Greek Cypriot side. This situation will lead to an atmosphere of confrontation on the island. The 1974 peace operation brought peace and tranquillity to the island, and two states and two nations have since been living there in peace. The EU should take its hands away from Cyprus. Turkey will not be responsible for the consequences of a possible error. Ecevit and the DLP cadres trained by him are ready to demonstrate the same resolve in protecting our national interests in Cyprus as Ecevit did in 1974."

[B] COMMENTARIES, EDITORIALS AND ANALYSIS

[05] Turkish Cypriot columnist notes that the most important obstacle in the way of the solution of the Cyprus problem is the military administration in Turkey

^ÓLeaving aside their differences and contradictions representatives of the labour and the capital in Northern Cyprus have decided to work together in order to achieve the solution and the European Union target in Cyprus. They called this decision ^Ñcommon vision^Ò. Can this work constitute a pressure element against the powers, which will ensure the solution?

Denktas keeps the solution in Cyprus under his monopoly. Can the business circles, the industrialists and the leftist organizations try to break this monopoly? A short time is left until Copenhagen. The circles, which created this vision and those who support them are still silent. With the word ^Ñsilence^Ò I am referring to the lack of action.

I think that only a speech or an announcement is not enough to show the will for solution and the EU and to scare the powers, which oppose this. ^ÅIf the masses support you, more active measures and actions are necessary. ^Å According to the fact that political parties also support the expressed demands, you have to try ways to push backwards the powers, which oppose.

More active and joint pressure must be exerted together with Turkey^Òs industrialists and business circles as well as with all the massive organizations, which support the solution and EU vision in Cyprus. What will the benefit be, if the military regime in Turkey, which is against the EU, is not forced to make a step backwards?

Those who close the road of Turkey are the protectors of this regime. Those who do no want a democratic Turkey do not wish to stop the tortures and the oppression. The most important obstacle in front of peace and the solution in Cyprus is Turkey^Òs military administration. ^Å^Ô.

[06] Columnist in Turkish Daily News supports that Kofi Annan´s proposals are a disaster for the Greek-Greek Cypriot side

We knew that the Greek-Greek Cypriot side would finally find itself in trouble. Greek Cypriots have an extraordinary talent to project a compromising image to the outside world. But at home, they convinced each other that they are always right and the Turkish side is utterly wrong. In their view, events of 1963-74 were all the Turks' fault. Because these events were nothing but reciprocal resort to violence by both sides. When the matter is about land division, they never forget that Turks constitute only 18 percent of the island's population. But they tend to quickly forget the fact that they, with their population four times bigger than that of Turks, oppressed Turks for 11 years.

Acting upon such a mentality, the Greek Cypriots aim at the following by a solution to the Cyprus issue: To preserve the internationally-recognized "Cyprus Republic", administered by themselves; to force Turks to join this Republic and resign to minority status; to eventually eradicate the two-region structure in the island under the pretext of freedom of settlement and employment in the northern part of the island, in line with rights and freedoms granted by the European Union regulations; to set the stage for the return of Greek Cypriot refugees to northern Cyprus.

U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan's proposals, granting "founding state" status to both sides and envisaging veto right in political decision-making mechanism, practically terminates the Greek Cypriot-dominated state. Building the new state on such a model is indeed very well in line with international models and, what is more, is reasonable. But it is just a disaster for the Greek-Greek Cypriot side, who has never allowed anything to be said against their rightness. The press remarks of Costas Simitis and Glafcos Clerides reveal that they are working hard to change the aforementioned proposals of Annan. Reports indicate, in this regard, that Annan's special Cyprus envoy Alvaro de Soto has been given a warm welcome in Athens, in line with the "Greek tradition."

While pressing the EU to give us a date for the beginning of accession talks on the one hand, diplomats from Athens, on the other hand, argue on international platforms that Ankara cannot be given a date because it has not yet fulfilled the Copenhagen criteria. The Greek press emphasizes that everybody agrees that Turkey can never transform into a Western democracy because of its roots in Asia. In this way, having a big geographical size and strength, like Turkey, is associated with being backward, while small size and past defeats are presented as features of civilization and democracy, allowing Greece to look down on Turkey. It is strange that Greeks think we do not understand this simple mechanism of psychological compensation.

The same Greek circles strongly desire Greek Cyprus' becoming an EU member before a solution is found to the Cyprus issue and Turkey's not creating obstacles for that. What they say in sum is this: "We are supporting Turkey's EU membership. But you should allow Greek Cyprus' accession into the EU without a solution to the Cyprus issue. The EU already does not want to set a date for talks because you have not fulfilled membership criteria."

Success of this scenario relies on the Greek-Greek Cypriot side's ability to stop Annan's package of proposals from progressing, or, if this cannot be achieved, to force the Turkish side to turn down the proposals before themselves by inserting provisions unacceptable to it. In this case, both Turkey will not receive a date for the beginning of accession talks and Greek Cyprus will become an EU member.

The fact that Greece pushes for such a high-risk scenario that could reverse overnight the progress achieved in Turkey-Greece relations over two years is indicative of how much they are afraid of Annan's package.

One other scenario unacceptable to Turkey is EU's granting membership to Greek Cyprus before a solution to the Cyprus issue in return for giving a date to Turkey for the beginning of accession talks. This, in turn, will oblige us to accept a solution to the Cyprus issue in line with the Greek Cypriot theses in order to get our accession agreement into the EU approved by Greek Cypriots.

That means that the only sound scenario should comprise of the following elements: A solution to the Cyprus issue in line with a realistic and reasonable Annan package; the island's accession into the EU upon permission from the guarantor state Turkey; and the EU unconditionally giving a date to Turkey for the beginning of accession talks.

Despite difficulties facing it, Turkey should launch diplomatic activities to counterbalance the Greek-Greek Cypriot side.

Greece should stop pushing for risky scenarios that might eventually bring trouble to itself.

Friends and allies of both sides should not let this historic chance be missed because of the Greek attitude.

The EU should show that it is capable of thinking on strategic terms about Turkey.

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