Cyprus PIO: Turkish Press and Other Media, 03-06-17

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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 Turkish Cypriot leader stresses that he wants to bargain for sitting at the negotiating table.

[02] Reference to Cyprus by the Turkish Prime Minister during visits to Malaysia and Pakistan.

[03] Denktas meets Weston and argues that reaching a solution on the basis of the Annan plan is not possible.

[04] Mehmet Ali Talat stated that Denktas is against a solution in Cyprus.

[05] Hasipoglu: The Turkish troops should stay forever in Cyprus, unless the British troops are withdrawn.

[06] PUM will appeal to the ECHR to prevent the Turkish settlers from voting in the forthcoming "parliamentary elections".

[07] The so-called elections in the pseudostate may be held in October instead of December.

[08] A Byzantine church in occupied Livadia village is collapsing.

[09] The pseudostate will support the illegal Bayrak television with 8 million Euros.

[A] NEWS ITEMS

[01] The Turkish Cypriot leader stresses that he wants to bargain for sitting at the negotiating table

The interview, as reported by KIBRIS, is as follows: "I am talking with President Rauf Denktas. I am asking my questions and getting the replies.

He is a political personality and has been a party to the Cyprus problem for the last 40 years.

I ask him: You have been at the negotiating table for so many years. Have you not made any mistakes?

He replied with no hesitation at all: "I have not made a mistake, because what I am pursuing is not just my policy. The policy I follow has been shaped together with Turkey."

Proceeding from this reply, I ask a new question: Do you not have a policy? If left alone, what kind of a policy would you follow?

He stops to think for a moment, and continues: "If I were alone, the Greek Cypriots would not talk with me. They would not have any talks with us if they did not feel the presence of Turkey behind us."

Meanwhile, he recalls that once he wanted to abandon the negotiating table but remained at Turkey's insistence.

Despite the rather critical stage that the Cyprus problem is currently going through, Mr Denktas believes that this time he can engage in bargaining by not having talks rather than by having talks. He stresses that he wants to bargain for sitting at the table.

On the Annan Plan, Denktas speaks out today about the very thing that he said yesterday. He accuses those supporting peace and a solution of failing to understand the substance of the problem. He gives the impression that he does not want even to hear about any approach other than the concept of two states, as he understands it.

I ask Denktas whether he is in agreement with the JDP [Justice and Development Party] government in Ankara. He replies: "According to what I have been told in my meetings with them, we have no problem."

Although Denktas says there are no problems, it is not difficult for me to realize that his reply lacks the emphasis that he once voiced about his harmony with the Bulent Ecevit government.

As for the Cyprus issue, one can easily realize that Denktas has blown up the bridges behind him regarding any harmonious relations with the opposition. According to Denktas, the differences of opinion on the Cyprus issue with the NGOs and particularly with the Republican Turkish Party are too far apart for any reconciliation to be possible.

Mr Rauf Denktas has two basic conditions for reconciliation:

1. The solution of the Cyprus problem should be resolutely defended on the basis of two states.

2. Cyprus should not demand membership in the EU before Turkey joins the EU family.

At this point I remind him that if the Turkish Cypriots join the EU family, this would be in favor of Turkey too. He almost stopped me from talking. In Denktas' opinion, we have no right of say since Turkey has not expressed such a view.

Mr Rauf Denktas does not feel comfortable about the December general elections. Considering the opposition's stand on the Cyprus issue to be somewhat against him, Denktas takes his position before the election time and sees this as his natural right.

I ask Denktas, "Will you respect the results if the opposition wins a majority in the December elections?"

Before actually replying, he says, "I do not believe we will have such a result." At this point, I remind him of his approach of abandoning his position as interlocutor, and ask him: "Is this not a threat?"

Denktas replies: "No, it is not. How could I serve as the negotiator of a government that does not advocate the concept of two states and supports EU membership before Turkey's membership?"

When reference is made to speculations about a "coup," Denktas reacts abruptly: "I did not say such a thing. The journalist interpreted what I told him."

We spoke for nearly 35 to 40 minutes. The President showed no moderation. I did not discover anything new in the positive sense in the Denktas front. Reading between the lines, I even found Denktas to be most tough and in a state of mind that could do anything to achieve the objectives in his head.

In choosing his tough stand, where does Denktas get his support? I could not find the reply to this question. He either enjoys very powerful support, or wants to play his last cards for having remained alone."

[02] Reference to Cyprus by the Turkish Prime Minister during visits to Malaysia and Pakistan

Touching on the Cyprus issue, Erdogan said that Cyprus was a national cause for Turkey and stated that he believed that a new partnership could be established between "two equal peoples" on the ground of facts in the island.

``We assess that the solution framework should be based on a bizonal structure and it should take into consideration the Turkish-Greek balance. We think that recent initiatives of the Turkish side and `TRNC' Mr Rauf Denktas` proposals will help the lack of confidence between the sides which is an obstacle in front of a fair and lasting solution to be overcome, and contribute to relations to be normalized and bring a new acceleration to efforts for solution,`` Erdogan stated.

Ankara Anatolia (14.06.03) reported also from Kuala Lumpur that Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday, after making a general assessment about his visit to Malaysia, responded to questions of Turkish and Malaysian journalists.

He said that the issues of Palestine, Iraq and Cyprus came to the agenda during his meeting with the Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad.

On Cyprus Erdogan said that he explained his views about the Cyprus issue to Malaysian Prime Minister Mohamad, adding that Turkey wanted the pseudostate to participate in the 11th Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) meeting that would be held in Malaysia at the end of the year, as a full member. Erdogan said that Malaysian Prime Minister was warm to the idea.

Furthermore, Ankara Anatolia (16.06.03) reported from Islamabad that Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan met with Pakistani Prime Minister Mr Zafarullah Khan Jamali the previous day and President Pervez Musharraf the same day.

Replying to questions on his contacts Erdogan said that they exchanged views about issues like Afghanistan, Iraq, Middle East and Cyprus.

In addition, they exchanged views regarding OIC, and Erdogan said that the 11th OIC meeting would be held in Malaysia that year.

Asked about the demand of the pseudostate to be included in the OIC, Erdogan said: ``They found the demand positive. They said that they would evaluate the demand. It is not a moment of decision right now. They said that they would discuss it and then make their decision.``

Asked if membership of the "TRNC" to the OIC would make Turkey stronger in the Cyprus issue, Erdogan said: ``We are taking these steps because it will make us stronger.``

Replying to another question, Erdogan said that he told his interlocutors that they were beside Pakistan regarding the Kashmir issue.

Asked if inclusion of the "TRNC" in the OIC should be considered a move against the EU accession of Cyprus, Erdogan said: ``TRNC is in fact an observer in OIC. Such efforts should be exerted to strengthen `TRNC' in the world. That is, the rightful case of `TRNC' should be explained.``

[03] Denktas meets Weston and argues that reaching a solution on the basis of the Annan plan is not possible

Responding to a question regarding the possibility of the resumption of the Cyprus talks in September, Mr Denktas said after his meeting with Mr Weston that there was plenty of time until September and added: "We shall see". Mr Denktas noted that this issue had not been discussed.

Asked regarding the Annan plan, the Turkish Cypriot leader alleged that the approval of both sides is needed so that this plan returns onto the negotiating table. Mr Denktas argued that having in mind the changes that he and the Greek Cypriot side want, it is obvious that the plan could not be revived.

Mr Denktas reiterated his allegation that the Turkish Cypriots could join the EU only when Turkey becomes a member of the Union. Denktas said on the issue: "We could not go to the EU with our signature. We could not erase Turkey's biggest right with our signature. This (right) is the equilibrium between Turkey and Greece. This is the equilibrium that gives us our security and protects our rights. Therefore, we could not see the EU with a good eye before Turkey joins the EU".

Meanwhile, Mr Weston said that during their meeting they had a "very good and animated" discussion.

Furthermore, commenting on the issue ORTAM (17.06.03), under the title "Diplomatic attack for Cyprus", wrote that from the expression of his face during his statements it was obvious that Mr Denktas did not feel comfortable with the "diplomatic attack which has begun for Cyprus".

[04] Mehmet Ali Talat stated that Denktas is against a solution in Cyprus

As the paper reports, Mr Talat stated that Mr Denktas is against a solution to Cyprus problem: "In our side there is a President who has sworn to be against a solution and who is conducting the negotiations". Mr Talat also stated that regarding this issue there is a side, which was against a solution from the beginning, and added that there is only one alternative to fix this and this alternative is the so-called elections.

Mr Talat also said that he is sure for his party's victory regarding the forthcoming so-called elections in the pseudostate since his party is in favour of the EU accession and the solution of the Cyprus problem.

[05] Hasipoglu: The Turkish troops should stay forever in Cyprus, unless the British troops are withdrawn

In statements yesterday after meeting the US State Department Special Co-ordinator for Cyprus Thomas Weston, Mr Hasipoglu said that after a possible solution and the accession of Cyprus into the EU, Turkey should not withdraw its occupation troops from Cyprus and added: "We support that the Turkish troops should stay here forever. If this could not happen, the British troops should be withdrawn as well".

[06] PUM will appeal to the ECHR to prevent the Turkish settlers from voting in the forthcoming "parliamentary elections"

In a written statement issued on Friday, PUM calls on the international organizations to take some precautions on the issue and remind Turkey that it could not carry people to vote in the "elections" in the occupied areas.

The statement of PUM notes, inter alia, the following:

".During the period since the military intervention, instead of re-establishing the constitutional order, Turkey has occupied the northern part of Cyprus and formed a regime totally dependent on itself. In order to keep the control of this regime in its hands, it has obtained citizenship for the hundred of thousands of people it carried to the island from Turkey, and has prevented the true reflection of Turkish Cypriot people's will to the election results in all elections that have taken place. .

Currently the population that was brought in from Turkey and made citizens is double that of the indigenous Turkish Cypriots. On top of that, there are almost half a million Turkish citizens in Turkey that were made citizens of the northern part of Cyprus without ever living in Cyprus and that can be used as 'substitute voter force' in elections. .".

[07] The so-called elections in the pseudostate may be held in October instead of December

As the paper reports the political parties of the pseudostate will hold important meetings in the coming days in order to decide if the elections will be held in October instead of December. According to the paper a lot of backstage political activities are taking place regarding this issue because more intensive diplomatic developments are expected on the Cyprus problem by the end of this year. The National Unity Party (NUP) and the Democratic Party (DP) will have meetings with the parties of the opposition, the Republican Turkish Party (RTP) and the Communal Liberation Party (CLP) regarding the issue.

The paper also writes that according to its sources, the NUP and the DP, the two partners in so-called coalition "government" also bring the issue of 'hanging the "elections" / date onto the agenda. As the paper stresses these parties believe that the efforts towards the solution of the Cyprus problem must be connected with May 2004 and that a new "government" should be formed earlier in order to observe the timetables regarding this issue.

[08] A Byzantine church in occupied Livadia village is collapsing

According to the paper, the church of Panayia tis Kyras, which belongs to the Byzantine era in the occupied village of Livadia, has begun to fall down due to abandonment and neglect. This church is one of the three churches in the occupied areas belonging to the early period of the Byzantine era, KIBRIS concludes.

[09] The pseudostate will support the illegal Bayrak television with 8 million Euros

The paper is protesting against this move by of the occupation regime to support the illegal Bayrak with 8 million Euros from the "state funds" by writing: "Those who broke out a storm on the issue of the EU financial aid to the Turkish Cypriots, and especially about the 6 million Euros, which will be given to the three municipalities, aiming at the development of the quality services of the municipalities for the Turkish Cypriots are not ashamed of squandering the public money."

The paper challenges those who claimed that the EU financial aid would be used for the election by the opposition to answer to the following question: "The EU financial aid that will be given to the municipalities will be investment for the elections or the 8 million Euros that will be given to the BRT will contribute to the propaganda of the Denktases and Eroglu for the elections?"

/SK

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