Cyprus PIO: Turkish Press and Other Media, 02-11-04

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

[A] NEWS ITEMS

[01] The Justice and Development Party is the winner in Turkey's elections.

[02] The latest developments in Denktas´ health.

[03] Sukru Sina Gurel: It is out of the question for Turkey to launch negotiations with the UN on the Cyprus problem.

[04] Reference to Cyprus by Bulent Ecevit in his last election rally address.

[05] People in the pseudostate are in favour of union with Turkey, if there is no solution for the Cyprus problem

[A] NEWS ITEMS

[01] The Justice and Development Party is the winner in Turkey's elections

With counting of votes almost complete, it appears that the JDP will hold more than 360 of the 550 seats in the new parliament. The only other party to pass the country's 10 percent electoral threshold was the Republican People's Party, which will return some 180 deputies. The balance of seats will be held by independents.

The JDP's victory means that for the first time in more than a decade Turkey will have a single party government, rather than the coalitions that have ruled since 1991.

However, the JDP still faces an obstacle, with the Constitutional Court due to hear a request by Turkey's chief prosecutor to close the party for breaching the electoral and party laws.

The court, due to hear the case in 11 days, will also hear a similar complaint against the Justice and Development Party's leader, Recip Tayyip Erdoğan, who was not able to stand as a candidate as he is still serving a ban from politics after being found guilty of anti-secular activities.

The JDP, which held 53 seats in the previous parliament, was the only party to be returned. Among the parties which failed to pass the 10 percent electoral threshold were Prime Minister Bülent Ecevit's Democratic Left Party (DLP), the Motherland Party of former Prime Minister Mesut Ylmaz and the True Path Party (TPP) of Tansu Çiller, also a one time Prime Minister.

Erdoğan moved quickly to dispel concerns held by many that the JDP had a hidden pro-Islamist agenda, saying the new government would strengthen Turkey's ties with the West, continue to work with the International Monetary Fund to restructure the economy and adhere to the country's secular constitution.

Meanwhile, according to NTV (04.11.02 internet version) 32.604.525 persons voted yesterday in Turkey out of 41.441.374 registered voters. The number of the valid votes reached 31.328.214. The unofficial results are the following:

Party                               Votes Percentage  MPs
Justice and Development Party   10.780.842  34.4 %    363
Republican People's Party        6.105.424  19.4 %    179
True Path Party                  2.991.341   9.5 %     -
Nationalist Action Party         2.126.313   8.3 %     -
Young Party                      2.277.711   7.2 %     -
Democratic People's Party        1.945.118   6.2 %     -
Motherland Party                 1.612.039   5.1 %     -
Felicity Party                     782.235   2.5 %     -
Democratic Left Party              382.047   1.2 %     -
New Turkey Party                   380.063   1.2 %     -
Great Unity Party                  320.628   1.02 %    -
Independent                        311.239   0.99 %    8
New Party                          294.534   0.94 %    -
Labour Party                       162.880   0.52 %    -
Great Turkey Party                 150.231   0.48 %    -
Freedom and Democracy Party        105.623   0.34 %    -
Liberal Democratic Party            90.444   0.29 %    -
National Party                      69.371   0.22 %    -
Turkish Communist Party             60.390   0.19 %    -

Furthermore, KIBRIS (04.11.02) refers to the extract from JDP's programme regarding the Cyprus issue, where the party expresses its belief that a solution to the problem could and should be reached.

"Undoubtedly, the existence of the Turkish people on the island and the right to decide for its own future could not be ignored in the solution", supports JDP arguing that "the establishment of a state administration consisting of two sovereign communities as in Belgium, would be for the benefit of both sides ".

JDP expresses also the opinion that if the accession of the Republic of Cyprus to the European Union before a solution to the Cyprus problem is realized, it would complicate the situation.

[02] The latest developments in Denktas´ health

In a statement Denktas´ advisor Ergun Olgun said that Denktas was in good health. After his doctors´ advice and his family's wish, Denktas will undergo a new check up next Friday and according to the results the day of his return to the occupied areas will be decided.

The UN Secretary-General's Special Adviser on Cyprus, Mr Alvaro de Soto, visited last night the Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktas and wished him a speedy recovery, KIBRIS (03.11.02) reports.

Olgun said that that Mr de Soto´s visit was of a social nature and stressed that the direct talks were not on the agenda of the visit. He also added that Mr de Soto, Mr Caglar, the Representative of the pseudostate in New York and himself will exchange views tomorrow on the Cyprus problem after which the Turkish Cypriot side will decide on an action plan on the issue and when he (Olgun) will return to the island will be decided after this meeting. They will also discuss all the issues including the formation of the committees.

According to KIBRIS (04.11.02) the US State Department Cyprus Coordinator, Mr Tomas Weston, will today visit Rauf Denktas at his hotel in New York to wish him a speedy recovery.

[03] Sukru Sina Gurel: It is out of the question for Turkey to launch negotiations with the UN on the Cyprus problem

"Mr Denktas, who represents the Turkish people, should find a solution jointly with the opposite site - Mr Clerides -- through direct talks. In the event that the UN Secretary-General seeks to assist in this process, then he can launch initiatives to assist in the negotiation process," he said.

In addition, Gurel said that the EU is expected to display political will at the Copenhagen summit in December and make a decision.

[04] Reference to Cyprus by Bulent Ecevit in his last election rally address

Referring to Cyprus Mr Ecevit said that the power of DLP and Turkey would increase Turkish Cypriots` resistance, and added: ``Some people say that Turkey should give up Cyprus to end the problems. But Turkey cannot give up Northern Cyprus. Because it is the territory of Turkey. No one can violate the rights of Turkish Cypriots, when DLP is in political power. Turkey has the guarantee of internal and external peace in the administration of DLP.``

[05] People in the pseudostate are in favour of union with Turkey, if there is no solution for the Cyprus problem

The opinion poll was carried out through in the Internet site of the Foreign Press Union (hhtp://kktcdbb.tripod.com), which conducts an opinion poll with one question every month. October's poll question was: "If there is no solution for the Cyprus problem, do you think that the pseudostate must be united with Turkey"? According to the paper, between the 433 persons who participated in the opinion poll, 395 answered "yes", 17 answered "no" and 21 answered "maybe".

According to the Chairman of the Foreign Press Union, Metin Catan, these opinion polls have started at the Union's Internet site since August but, as he stated, October's poll was the one that had the most participants. Mr Catan said that next month's question for the opinion poll would be: "Will the Cyprus problem be effected by the fact that European Union did not set a date for Turkey"?

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