Cyprus PIO: Turkish Press and Other Media, 04-05-10

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] US to announce measures for occupied Cyprus.

[02] Forty three bomb attacks have been carried out since 1989 in occupied Cyprus and remain untraceable; The Turkish Cypriot press writes that the terrorists are "on duty".

[03] The occupation regime is preparing the Karpass peninsula to compete with Ayia Napa in the sector of tourism

[04] The number of the illegal workers in occupied Cyprus is estimated between 40.000 and 50.000.

[05] The so-called speaker of the pseudoassembly states that the occupation regime may need to call early "elections".

[B] COMMENTARIES, EDITORIALS AND ANALYSIS

[06] Columnist in KIBRIS assesses the internal political situation in occupied areas.

[A] NEWS ITEMS

[01] US to announce measures for occupied Cyprus

The measures include direct economic aid to occupied Cyprus, steps to introduce direct U.S. flights to occupied Cyprus and close diplomatic dialogue, according to Anatolia news agency.

Turkish Cypriots voted for a U.N. plan to reunite the island in an April 24 referendum, in hope of joining the European Union together with the internationally-recognized Cyprus Republic. But the plan was defeated due to Greek Cypriot rejection at the referendum.

Meeting with U.S. officials in a landmark visit to Washington, the so-called Prime Minister of the pseudostate, Mr Mehmet Ali Talat urged the United States to support efforts to end `economic and political isolation´ of Turkish Cypriots, saying they should not be punished because of Greek Cypriot reversal.

U.S. officials held a meeting alongside Talat's visit to discuss measures to ease Turkish Cypriot sufferings. The meeting was attended by Assistant Secretary of State Elizabeth Jones, officials from the White House, Treasury and the U.S. Agency for International Aid (USAID) and proposed measures to be taken to help Turkish Cypriots, Anatolia said.

The U.S. aid plan will be put into force through a step-by-step process. This is because proposed measures require fulfillment of different legal and technical criteria. Especially on measures concerning financial aid, U.S. Congress approval will be needed.

According to U.S. officials, the administration is planning to channel $400-million in funds, originally earmarked to support reunification on the island, to occupied Cyprus, although the reunification plan failed. Such an amount of aid will require Congress approval, while smaller packages can be directly endorsed by the administration.

The United States, biggest contributor to the IMF and the World Bank, is also expected to seek IMF and World Bank assistance for occupied Cyprus. The IMF assistance might contain regulations for the banking sector and the World Bank may provide funding for certain development projects in occupied Cyprus.

The EU, seeking ways to reward Turkish Cypriots for their "yes" vote in the April 24 referendum, has also pledged an aid package of 259 million euros and endorsed regulations that would allow passage of goods produced in occupied Cyprus through the Green Line that divides Turkish and Greek sections of the island.

Tom Weston, U.S. State Department's special coordinator for Cyprus, said, however, the EU measures were not sufficient. "The EU has taken important steps regarding Cyprus but these are not enough to end the isolation," Weston told the Voice of America.

The United States has said it would coordinate its efforts to help Turkish Cypriots with the EU. Weston said the U.S. steps would be consistent with those of the EU but emphasized there could be unilateral U.S. efforts as well.

Asked on when the measures are to be put into force, Weston declined to give an exact date but said: "We are talking about weeks here, not months. Politically our objective is to end isolation of northern Cyprus."

Weston said U.S. flights to northern Cyprus and direct financial aid were under consideration.

[02] Forty three bomb attacks have been carried out since 1989 in occupied Cyprus and remain untraceable; The Turkish Cypriot press writes that the terrorists are "on duty"

KIBRIS reminds that on 18 February 2004 a bomb exploded at the residence of the so-called Prime Minister, Mehmet Ali Talat. The bomb attack was conducted the night before the beginning of the talks towards reaching a solution to the Cyprus problem in Nicosia. The "dark powers" which are behind the crime have not been revealed, notes KIBRIS.

Furthermore, another bomb attack took place on 4 May 2001 against the so-called Prime Minister of the time, Mr Dervish Eroglu. The bomb exploded in front of the residence of the "Prime Minister". The perpetrators still remain unknown.

According to the paper, the terror and the bomb attacks begun in occupied Cyprus in 1989. Among the victims have also been political parties and newspapers. The Republican Turkish Party has been attacked four times, the Democratic Party once, the leader of New Cyprus Party Alpay Durduran twice, AVRUPA - AFRIKA newspaper twice and KIBRIS newspaper once.

Meanwhile, under the title "The terrorists are on duty", Turkish Cypriot daily ORTAM newspaper (10.05.04) reports that a group of 4-5 unknown persons have visited the house of Mr Mehmet Davulcu, deputy chairman of the Communal Liberation Party (CLP), and violently knocked the front door. When nobody opened, they started to hit the door with their fists, went to the back of the house and knocked the kitchen door. According to eye witnesses, the above-mentioned persons were speaking Turkish with the accent of those who come from Turkey.

Commenting on the issue, Mr Davulcu said that "this is the sad situation of our country" and that he was determined to continue his struggle for the reunification of Cyprus. "If the aim of these people is to terrorize us and make us change our mind, they are trying in vain, because we are not afraid", he added.

[03] The occupation regime is preparing the Karpass peninsula to compete with Ayia Napa in the sector of tourism

The paper writes that in parallel to the huge marina at occupied Rizokarpasso village, which will be able to host 1300 yachts, another eight great projects are planned for the region and are in line for their turn. At Vokolida village the Turkish Kaya Group is building a hotel having the capacity of 450 beds. Furthermore, there are another twelve projects regarding investments in the tourism sector, for which the so-called municipality of Galatia village has given permission.

Furthermore, another hotel is being built near the occupied Trikomo Bay. It is called Deep Blue Hotel and its capacity will be 180 beds. It is expected to open in June 2004.

[04] The number of the illegal workers in occupied Cyprus is estimated between 40.000 and 50.000

[05] The so-called speaker of the pseudoassembly states that the occupation regime may need to call early "elections"

Pointing out that the so-called coalition government between the Republican Turkish Party and the Democratic Party felt into a state of minority, Mrs Ekenoglu stated: "If 'deputies' from other parties who support solution do not come out and give support, then we could go to early 'elections'".

[B] COMMENTARIES, EDITORIALS AND ANALYSIS

[06] Columnist in KIBRIS assesses the internal political situation in occupied areas

"The important and fast developments in the Cyprus problem obscure internal politics, yet there is no difference between our internal politics and a broken shop window. It is not clear who is on whose side in the national `assembly´ that the voter has deadlocked with a 25:25 ratio, something unprecedented in the world. This is true to such an extent that, although the government has lost its majority in the `assembly´ and is unable, even, to approve the state budget, the `assembly´ is unable to attempt to address the issue and overthrow the `government´. Even those who appealed to the court with the argument, "the `government´ is illegal," do not move in this direction, because they are aware that the glass dome that they sit under will collapse on their heads once they tamper with it. They will, as a result, remain under the debris and bid farewell to their political life that is already in agony.

I must emphasize immediately that the Peace and Democracy Movement-(PDM), which emerged as a front of cooperation, has fallen into a regrettable position. After facing the voter with a logical alliance, after advocating policies in line with the new stage and after entering the new stage with the right organization, the PDM broke into pieces before the public referendum. This was a big loss. Furthermore, the PDM ceased to serve as an effective force in overcoming the chaos in which we find ourselves.

The community had never felt the need for such unity, but those who made up the PDM chose to break up despite the fact that the reasons they gave were not so convincing. I hope that the Turkish Cypriots do not suffer the result of their choice.

Meanwhile, the Republican Turkish Party-(RTP) experiences a Nuri Cevikel [RTP-United Forces deputy from Famagusta; illegal settler problem, which is liable to develop into a big headache. Those who read this column are aware that I was among the most enthusiastic supporters of the New Cypriots' concept that Nuri Cevikel and his colleagues had put forward. But, alas, after his election, Nuri Cevikel visited Ankara and went so far as to sound out "forming a party made up of mainland Turks." Moreover, his name has been mentioned together with the fascists with no good record.

The New Cypriots' concept made a positive impression on the EU and the United States, which have a strong say on the Cyprus problem, and the UN, which created the Annan Plan. It was due to this impression that the Annan Plan was shaped around the New Cypriots' concept. Nuri Cevikel and the RTP-United Forces, which nominated him in their list and secured his election, contributed immensely to this end. It is a sad contradiction that Nuri Cevikel has abandoned [the concept].

The pathetic position that the National Unity Party-(NUP) has fallen into is in such a proportion that serves as a lesson. The clique that pestered the NUP leadership for a long time has turned the center-right NUP into a marginal party. The result is such that no one will take any notice if the NUP signature is put under the NJP [Nationalist Justice Party] statements. There is a serious movement within the NUP, which has opposed a solution in Cyprus, which has all along been against the EU, and which, having come into conflict with Turkey, has gone so far as to level strong criticism of an insulting nature against the Turkish Government and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

A group led by a significant number of deputies have come forward with the threat, "We shall resign unless the party's policies are readjusted in a modern way. [NUP leader] Dervis Eroglu, who is no different from cunning town politicians, came up with the, "New vision of the NUP," and thus, chose not to oppose a number of adjustments. He sticks to his old policy, though, which is nothing other than the policy defended by the extremist groups. The NUP is on the threshold of collapse. If Eroglu insists on his marginal position, the NUP could experience a big tremor in the days ahead.

I presume the Democratic Party-(DP) is in the most difficult position among all the political parties. The DP has been losing blood fast ever since it took the initiative to set up a government with the RTP and to get the negotiations started. DP leader Serdar Denktas, through his courageous steps and the responsibility he undertook regarding the Switzerland summit and the final shaping of the Annan Plan, had won the credit of both the people and the Turkish Government.

In the new period, the right-conservative votes seemed to favor the DP. I must, however, emphasize in the common language, "Serdar Denktas is the victim of his father." He opposed, for the sake of his father, the Annan Plan to which he contributed greatly. He announced that he would vote "no." He became a party to his father's quarrel with the Turkish Government, and undermined his relations with the JDP [Justice and Development Party] government, which had carried out a special operation for the DP in the December [2003] elections. Not knowing what kind of a policy to follow, he is now struggling with resignations from his party. I am sure that even Serdar Denktas does not know how he should stop the bleeding.

The RTP goes through the most important days of its history. Although RTP Secretary General Ferdi Sabit Soyer says, "Holding early elections at such a stage will harm the Turkish Cypriots," the party has indeed gathered enough strength to win a majority alone in the national assembly if elections are held today.

Any party needs to get over 45 percent of the votes in order to win 26 seats in the assembly and establish a single-party government. The indications are that the RTP's potential is 45 percent and over."

/SK

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