Cyprus PIO: Turkish Press and Other Media, 04-12-31

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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 National Security Council assessed the EU 17 December summit decisions.

[02] Mr Talat poses as the only Turkish Cypriot politician who resisted Turkey's domination in the occupied areas of Cyprus; He says that the Turkish Cypriots will act for a solution to the Cyprus problem before their "elections".

[03] Rauf Denktas accused the Turkish businessman Rahmi Koc of talking like a Greek Cypriot.

[04] Oymen reiterates Baykal´s call for the USA to send ships and planes to the occupied area.

[05] The new president of the Turkish Cypriot Shop Owners in the Ledra Street area calls for the opening of the barricade.

[B] COMMENTARIES, EDITORIALS AND ANALYSIS

[06] Talat´s remarks on independence and panturkism generate discussions on the status of the occupied Greek Cypriot territories.

[07] Columnist in SABAH rules out Turkey giving secretly arms to Denktas as in 1963 when TMT started the struggle to destroy the Republic of Cyprus.

[A] NEWS ITEMS

[01] The Turkish National Security Council assessed the EU 17 December summit decisions

A statement released after the NSC meeting stressed that it was important to hold the negotiation process which targeted membership on a sustainable basis that did not contain any conditions and was not discriminative against Turkey, by eliminating several negative matters in the summit decisions.

The statement noted that participants of the NSC meeting reviewed the timetable that would be followed till October 3rd, 2005, when accession negotiations between Turkey and the EU would begin.

''We stressed the importance of completion of Iraq's political transition process, taking under guarantee its national unity and territorial integrity; and discussed the general security in Iraq, attacks on our citizens and officials in this country, and additional measures that can be taken to prevent occurrence of such incidents,'' the statement added.

Reporting on the issue HURRIYET newspaper (31.12.04) writes that the members of the Council called for extreme care regarding the Cyprus problem and the Armenian genocide issue, and adds that they adopted the following view:

"In the process ahead of us we may come across the problems of security which are associated with Cyprus and the Aegean, the so-called Armenian genocide which France started to raise in order to appease its public opinion, the issue of minorities and the problem of Southeastern Turkey. It is useful to be prepared with extreme care in the face of all the above".

Moreover, Turkish mainland daily CUMHURIYET newspaper (31.12.04) reports under the title "Cyprus condition is disturbing" and says that the military members of the NSC drew the attention to the fact that the Cyprus condition was not among the conditions put forward earlier, and they claimed that on the Cyprus problem Turkey did everything possible.

The NSC which convened under the chairmanship President Ahmet Necdet Sezer, has evaluated the 17 December decisions regarding the accession date given to Turkey.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, chief of the General Staff General Hilmi Ozkok, commanders of the land, sea, air and gendarmarie forces and the NSC General Secretary Yigit Alpogan as well as relevant ministers took part in the meeting that lasted five hours.

[02] Mr Talat poses as the only Turkish Cypriot politician who resisted Turkey's domination in the occupied areas of Cyprus; He says that the Turkish Cypriots will act for a solution to the Cyprus problem before their "elections"

Answering to questions regarding a statement he had allegedly made that the independence of the pseudostate is a "dream", Mr Talat noted, inter alia, the following while entering the meeting of his "council of ministers":

"Some news reports distorted my statement. I did not say that the independence of the 'TRNC' was a dream, but I said that recognition of the 'TRNC' as an independent and sovereign state was a dream. Previous governments and the other political parties accepted Turkey's intervention in many areas. They allowed management of many of our institutions by people appointed from Turkey. Now, they are trying to give me lessons about independence. In fact, I have done everything in my power for 'TRNC's acting as an independent state. I think that my government and I have expended the most coherent and intense efforts to this end."

Mr Talat argued that the Turkish Cypriots wanted a solution to the Cyprus problem and that they were sincere about it. "So we do not have the intention to act for a solution only after the upcoming 'elections'", he added.

Noting that he believed 2005 would bring new developments and discussions about the Cyprus problem, Mr Talat said: "I would like to emphasize that the 'TRNC' does not intend to take action on the Cyprus issue according to the results of upcoming 'elections'".

"We are always ready to take part in the Cyprus process which is the most important issue for us. By showing the elections as a pretext, there will not be any weakness in our international activities or in our efforts on the Cyprus issue. 'The basic thing for us is an agreement which protects the equality of the parties in the island and also the rights of Turkish Cypriots on the basis of a united Cyprus", he concluded.

Furthermore, Turkish Cypriot daily YENIDUZEN newspaper (31.12.04) publishes other statements of Mr Talat, who argued that the Turkish Cypriots "are not lying on the advantages they acquired expecting help from the non-solution of the Cyprus problem", like President Papadopoulos allegedly does.

[03] Rauf Denktas accused the Turkish businessman Rahmi Koc of talking like a Greek Cypriot

Mr Koc stated yesterday that Cyprus has been blocking Turkey's road for the last 30 years. He also stated that Turkey's foreign policy is dependent on Cyprus.

Commenting on Mr Koc's statements the Turkish Cypriot leader stated that he has a lot of love for the Koc family but these remarks have deeply saddened him and added that those who raised Cyprus as an obstacle in the way of Turkey are not Turkey's friends. Mr Denktas said that Mr Koc talks like a Greek Cypriot because the Greek Cypriot side supports that the Cyprus problem is 30 years old, while it is a vital problem for Turkey for the last 42 years. He also said that it is sad to listen to one of the most prominent businessmen of Turkey "supporting the claims of the Greek Cypriots".

[04] Oymen reiterates Baykal´s call for the USA to send ships and planes to the occupied area

"At this stage we are reiterating once more the proposal made by our chairman (Baykal). There is no hope from the EU as regards convincing the Greek Cypriots. In that there remains one thing to do. If the US is really after a solution, then it should take a stance, to bring the Greek Cypriots nearer to a solution. An American plane could land in the `TRNC´ or a ship could call its parts. A gesture could be done, which will remove the isolation. The USA could send a sports team thus removing the sports embargo imposed on the `TRNC´. It is enough if the USA exhibits this will. It is a fact that nothing will happen unless such a stance is taken. Apart from the US, if Russia as well adopts such a stance it will contribute to the solution".

[05] The new president of the Turkish Cypriot Shop Owners in the Ledra Street area calls for the opening of the barricade

Under the title, "The opening of the Ledra Street barricade will deal a blow to isolation", KIBRIS newspaper (31/12/04) reports that the new president of the shop owners, Mr Hurrem Tulga, evaluated to the paper the latest developments regarding the opening of the Ledra Street barricade, which has been discussed for a long time now.

Mr Tulga said that the leaders of both communities must take a step to open the barricade without wasting more time and added that the opening will be profitable for both sides.

Alleging that Mr Papadopoulos´ expressed desire to open all the barricades is not sincere, Mr Tulga said that President Papadopoulos does not want to lift the "isolation" of the Turkish Cypriots and it is for this reason that he does not want the opening of Ledra Street barricade.

Moreover, Mr Tulga said that they issued last month a common declaration with the Greek Cypriot Small Businessmen Union (POVEK) to join their voices for the opening of the barricade.

Mr Tulga also criticized Mr Talat, who commenting on the opening of the Ledra Street barricade, said the issue is at the Greek calends.

Mr Tulga, finally, said that in case the Ledra Street barricade opens, then it would be a big blow to the isolation of the Turkish Cypriots and the doors to a tourist area and to a huge market will be opened.

[B] COMMENTARIES, EDITORIALS AND ANALYSIS

[06] Talat´s remarks on independence and panturkism generate discussions on the status of the occupied Greek Cypriot territories

"Do you think you know the man who declared on the Haber Turk television network that North Cyprus' independence was just a dream? If you look more carefully, you will also recall how many times he took an oath at the `TRNC´ [Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus] Republican Assembly to protect the independence that he describes today as a dream.

Mr Mehmet Ali Talat, upon being appointed from outside the Republican Assembly as minister of culture and tourism in the government of Prime Minister Hakki Atun on 1 January 1994, had stood on the podium to take the Member of Parliament oath in the way it appears in paragraph 29 of his country's constitution.

By swearing upon his honor and dignity, he undertook to "preserve the existence and independence of the State, and the unconditional sovereignty of the people." In the oath that he took, he was also swearing upon his honor and dignity as follows: "I shall not depart from the ideal that every citizen must benefit from human rights and fundamental rights and liberties, and I shall remain loyal to the Constitution."

He repeated this oath when he undertook the same cabinet position again from outside the Republican Assembly on 18 January 1995. He took the same oath once again when he was elected as Member of Parliament from Nicosia in the latest elections and as the RTP [Republican Turkish Party] chairman and prime minister-designate.

A 42-year-old electrical engineer, who graduated from the Middle East Technical University in Ankara, Talat was certainly aware that the `TRNC´, a ministerial position of which he undertook, was established on the foundations of independence of the constitution that made its formation possible. How can a person who without hesitation took the oath to remain loyal to that constitution and to preserve the existence and independence of the State, and the unconditional sovereignty of the people, declare in a television program in the last week of the year 2004 that [occupied] Cyprus is not an independent state?

Moreover, the person who describes the independence as a dream today happens to be the prime minister of that "dream state."

The same person announced with great joy during the same television program that he would take part in the presidential elections of the same "State" as the RTP candidate in April.

And if he wins, he will swear upon his honor and dignity to "preserve the existence and independence of the State, the indivisibility of the homeland and its people, and the unconditional sovereignty of the people." Without hesitation, he will undertake to do so under article 100 of the constitution of the State that he describes as "a dream just like the Turanism [Pan-Turkish] ideal."

The one who can accept and says he doesn't

Does Talat accept that there are two separate and equal nations in the island? Is Talat able to argue that an arrangement exists in the Annan Plan or the EU acquis communautaire that would enable those two separate nations to unconditionally rule themselves separately and in a sovereign status?

Rauf Denktas, who is among those who knows best where the policy of Turkey, which has agreed to use Cyprus as a bargaining tool at the table for accession to the EU, would lead the Turkish Cypriots, declared during the same television program that he would remain loyal to the oath that he took as president for the past 21 years. He said the process that has started now would remove the `TRNC´, and added: "In case I stay in this position and remain a mere onlooker to the process in a passive and limited way, an argument will be advanced, once the process is over, that the result was achieved during the time that Rauf Denktas was also involved. I cannot accept this."

Talat can very easily describe as a, "Collapsed status quo," one of the most revered rights of our times, such as independence, that applies to big and small communities alike. He assumes that defending this right implies aligning with the ideal that had aimed at "uniting the Turks around the world" or "Turanism," which is an expansionist aim and indeed a dream.

Talat is able to describe as a, "Dream state," the State that he has served since 1994 as a cabinet member, a Member of Parliament, and as a prime minister. Moreover, he does not see anything wrong in enthusiastically drawing a salary from that dream state. He does not consider embarrassing to represent his State at home and abroad, and does not hide the fact that he has been entrusted with a specific mission. He declares that he will overcome all these!

Is Mr Mehmet Ali Talat not aware that he commits a shameful act toward his own citizens, let alone the people of other countries, with his double-headed policy?

Rauf Denktas says indirectly that Talat and his allies in Ankara are dragging the island of Cyprus toward a Palestine-type adventure, where not even one shot has been heard for 30 years, that is to say, since 1974. While spending the final months in his office, the `TRNC President´, with one foot in the motherland, occupies the podiums with a view to explaining the approaching danger for the people in Turkey, in particular. He declares openly that there is a resisting group of people in the `TRNC´, and that he will keep up his struggle aimed at organizing them to ensure that their voice is better heard.

The millions of pro-independence people in Turkey should not abandon Denktas and the "resisting group of people in the `TRNC´."

[07] Columnist in SABAH rules out Turkey giving secretly arms to Denktas as in 1963 when TMT started the struggle to destroy the Republic of Cyprus

"Not having seen a "tsunami" wave in all my life, I would not be among those that would engage in empty talk trying to speak at length about that wave.

I shall, however, say a few words about Cyprus, which I have never visited in my life.

There are two tendencies on the island (I mean in our sector): Mehmet Ali Talat and his doves; Rauf Denktas and his hawks, as you know.

Talat declared yesterday: "An independent `TRNC¨ was a dream just like the Turan Empire." Our fascists did not make much noise although they felt much sorrow.

Rauf Denktas and his son [Serdar Denktas] have been making remarks, such as, "In case Turkey sells us out, we shall embark on an armed struggle." The fascists rejoiced over this, but did not resort to heroism. The reason is that no one takes this seriously, except a specific and small section. As a matter of fact, I shall again convey to you one reality that no one talks about: WITH THE EXCEPTION OF A SPECIFIC AND SMALL SECTION, NO ONE HERE CARES ABOUT CYPRUS ANYMORE! [Last sentence in capitals as published]

This is because we are fed up.

The atmosphere in the country has changed so much that Professor Mumtaz Soysal, who was known as a leftist in the past and whose name was mentioned as the prime minister-designate of the 9 March 1971 junta that had failed to realize its own coup, demands that the army should "speak out loudly" on the Northern Iraq and Cyprus issues. No public prosecutor, however, takes him seriously and does not feel the need to initiate an inquiry.

The government has changed in Turkey. The supporters of no solution have been cast out. Those that search for a solution are somehow in power. Whether they will succeed is another matter.

Under the circumstances, would an "armed struggle" be possible in Cyprus again? No. Even if the Turkish army withdraws from the island, the weapons that it would hand over to them would not be enough.

Providing support to them "secretly" by, for instance, setting up a TMT (Turkish Resistance Movement), and giving them assistance in the form of arms and ammunition, as we did toward the end of the 1950s and the beginning of the 1960s, is not possible. A mere reference to such a thing would look out of date.

It is also not possible for the US intelligence and the German and British intelligence services, which monitor even our breathing, not to hear about it and not to raise hell. You will see on the front pages of the Western press right on the next day the photographs of the Turkish officers dressed in civilian clothes that would go there for help!

The year is not 1910. Neither is that place Libya. We do not have an Enver Pasa or Mustafa Kemal [Ataturk] that would get up and go there. Only a few of our truly civilian and "adventure-seeking" youths may go there. Rather than stab one another at the soccer matches, it would be more meaningful to go and die there, of course if they indeed want to die.

The majority of the people had, however, accepted the Annan Plan in the public referendum. Most of them roam about with the passport of the south in their pockets. Who is going to fight? Finding officers is easy, but where will they find the privates?

An armed struggle "after this hour" will reduce Rauf Denktas to the position of Nicos Sampson [President for a few days after the 20 July 1974 coup in Cyprus]. You have not been able to explain our problem to anyone. After this, you will not be able to explain at all. And the door of the EU will close to Turkey never to open again!

You may go ahead and start a guerrilla war if your desire is to destroy both you and us. Our "nationalists" that oppose the EU will certainly like such a development as they will be killing two birds with one stone.

No one should, however, assume that our prime minister, our army, and our National Intelligence Organization are sufficiently naive and imprudent to tolerate such a development.

The Denktas family too is indeed aware of this fact, but regrettably they have no more [gun] powder left to use.

The Nobel Peace Prize came so close to a Turk, though. We have missed it".

/SK

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