Cyprus PIO: Turkish Press and Other Media, 05-05-23

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

[A] NEWS ITEMS

[01] Namik Tan said Turkey can't accept any other alternative than full membership.

[02] Soyer blamed President Papadopoulos for the isolation of the Turkish Cypriots and noted that the occupation regime is the guarantee of the businessmen and the property buyers.

[03] Ferdi Sabit Soyer elected as the new chairman of the Republican Turkish Party.

[04] Rauf Denktas on the discussions for the right of the Turkish Cypriots living in the free areas of Cyprus to participate in the elections and be elected.

[05] Turkish Minister of Transport visited the occupied areas of Cyprus.

[06] Skal Internationals administrators visit occupied Kyrenia.

[07] The ancient walls of Famagusta are collapsing.

[B] COMMENTARIES, EDITORIALS AND ANALYSIS

[08] Turkey is waiting for the outcome of the French vote on the EU Constitution.

[09] Mehmet Levent: By Keeping silent the turn is coming.

[A] NEWS ITEMS

[01] Namik Tan said Turkey can't accept any other alternative than full membership

Replying to a question on the issue, Mr Tan referred to the news reports and articles published and broadcast in Turkish media saying that Turkey was offered privileged partnership regarding its relations with the EU.

The essence of Turkey´s relations with the EU is based on Turkey's full membership to the Union said Mr Tan and other that Turkey's relations with the EU had always targeted full membership and that the 1999 Helsinki Summit confirmed once again is target.

Turkey which will start accession talks with EU on October the 3rd, 2005 due to the decision taken on 17th December EU summit, has concentrated all of its energy on the full membership target. On the basis of these realities, Turkey can't accept another formula or alternative than full membership, Mr Tan concluded.

[02] Soyer allegedly blamed President Papadopoulos for the isolation of the Turkish Cypriots and noted that the occupation regime is the guarantee of the businessmen and the property buyers

Mr Soyer alleged that the obstacle for the lifting of the isolation of the Turkish Cypriot is not the international law but the Papadopoulos administration, as he described the Government of the Republic of Cyprus and added that the will that the Turkish Cypriots expressed at the 24 April referendum is their basic aim.

Speaking about the issue of the properties, Mr Soyer stated: The state is the guarantee of the businessmen and the property buyers. He also added that the construction sector plays a very important role in the struggle of existence of the Turkish Cypriots.

[03] Ferdi Sabit Soyer elected as the new chairman of the Republican Turkish Party

The partys leadership was vacant since 17th of April when Mehmet Ali Talat was elected as the president of occupation regime. Mr Ferdi Sabit Soyer, who is the former Secretary General of the RTP, was the only candidate standing for the position. Mr Soyer became the fourth chairman of the RTP after Ahmet M. Berberoglu, Ozger Ozgur and Mehmet Ali Talat.

Addressing the RTP Congress following his election, the new RTP leader said that the RTP had taken over the leadership of the republic at a very critical period and added that finding a solution to the Cyprus problem was not only important for the two communities on the island but also for Turkey and Greece.

Mr Soyer stated that there was no need to lose faith and hope, due to the non-solution of the Cyprus problem and said that strengthening the economy of the pseudostate will contribute to the efforts aimed at achieving a settlement on the island.

Referring to the court cases filed against Turkish Cypriots, the RTP leader said that the Turkish Cypriots will continue to struggle against such attempts in a determined and calm manner. Mr Soyer also said that the Turkish Cypriots have never seen the Greek Cypriots as their enemies while working to bring about a solution to the Cyprus problem.

[04] Rauf Denktas on the discussions for the right of the Turkish Cypriots living in the free areas of Cyprus to participate in the elections and be elected

Mr Denktas argued that the same right should be given to the foreigners living in the occupied part of Cyprus, but he added that this could happen only in case the Greek Cypriots and the Maronites living there do not exceed the 10 percent of the Turkish population.

Mr Denktas alleged that the Turkish Cypriots must make the EU and the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) accept this. Otherwise, they will shortly be turned into a minority, he claimed.

[05] Turkish Minister of Transport visited the occupied areas of Cyprus

Mr Yildirim attended a conference titled The Developments and Local applications in the Telecommunications sectors in Turkey and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus at the Eastern Mediterranean University.

Mr Yildirim also had a meeting with the so-called Minister of Public Works and Communications, Salih Usar. He also met with the Turkish Cypriot leader, Mehmet Ali Talat later in the afternoon.

Mr Usar, in a short statement made after the meeting with the Turkish Minister, said that they discussed about the investments concerning the ports, the road networks and the telecommunications. He also noted that the occupation regime has invested a lot to the infrastructure of the occupied areas of Cyprus. He added that the contribution of the Turkish government to these investments is huge.

[06] Skal Internationals administrators visit occupied Kyrenia

Skals administrators have been participating in a meeting of the organization that took place last week at Hilton Park Hotel in the government controlled part of Nicosia. They visited the occupied part of the city and Kyrenia upon invitation by Mr Mustafa Sahin, chairman of the Kyrenia Skal Club and administrator of the Union of the Mediterranean Skal Clubs.

During the visit, Mr Jim Power said that the occupied part of Cyprus had a wonderful potential in the field of tourism and that they might organize one of their future meetings in occupied Kyrenia.

Mr Power announced that the twenty new applications sent by young persons from the occupied part of Cyprus have been directly accepted.

[07] The ancient walls of Famagusta are collapsing

The paper writes that because of the weeds that grew on the walls and the lack of maintenance the ancient monument began to collapse.

[B] COMMENTARIES, EDITORIALS AND ANALYSIS

[08] Turkey is waiting for the outcome of the French vote on the EU Constitution

When the French vote on the new European Union Constitution on May 29, Turks will perhaps be waiting even more eagerly for a Yes vote than French President Jacques Chirac.

As polls in France reveal that the No camp is ahead by a whisker, Turkish markets have locked their attention onto the result of the vote and discussions of a Privileged Partnership Status as an alternative to full membership to the EU--which was a taboo subject until recently--started in mainstream Turkish newspaper columns.

A No vote from French voters would be seen in Turkey as a refusal for its entry into the EU, although it would have no direct impact upon Turkey's accession talks scheduled to start on October 3.

However, the rejection of the EU Constitution in France would have an indirect blow to Turkey's efforts to join the EU, as refusing Turkey's membership was central to the propaganda war between opposing camps.

A No vote would signify a mood in Europe against the entry of a Muslim and culturally different country into the 25-nation bloc. Given the predictions that right-wing political parties, which openly oppose Turkey's membership, would win the next general elections in France and Germany, the sentiment in Turkey becomes even gloomier.

Rejection also could, in theory, torpedo the whole EU treaty because it needs the approval of all 25 EU members. Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker, his country holds the rotating EU presidency, said it will be impossible for the EU to proceed with its constitution without France, but warned Paris its leadership role will shrivel if the landmark document is rejected.

There is another factor that would probably be a problem for Turkey's bid for EU membership if the EU Constitution is rejected by France and maybe by the Netherlands, as some claim. The community would then revert to the Treaty of Nice as its main document, which gives each member weight in decision-making according to their population. So the political realities of a Europe operating under the rules of the Treaty of Nice could also force a decision to rescind the offer of membership to Turkey upon fears that it would become the second biggest power within the EU.

Subtitle: Markets anxious

Turkey's stock and money markets are expected to spend the next week literally sitting on their hands waiting for the outcome of the EU vote. Investors have pinned their hopes for a Yes vote as they think EU membership would secure Turkey's future and boost its economy.

Some analysts believe a No vote would not push stock prices down and destabilize the lira against major currencies. This has already been factored in, one broker said. But he claimed a Yes vote in France could boost market confidence and could cause an upward movement in the stock market.

Subtitle: Privileged partnership status

As the possibility of a No vote in France started to sink in, Gündüz Aktan, a former Turkish ambassador, and now a columnist for centre-left Radikal newspaper, wrote that French think tanks were working on plans to make Privileged Partnership Status appealing to Turkey.

Aktan said in his article that while it was not known that this new status would be adopted by the French government as an official standpoint, there were a number of thorny issues put in front of Turkey as if to block its way during full membership talks to the EU and to push Ankara to an alternate route.

He said these issues ranged from Greek Cypriot intransigence in Cyprus to Greek desires in the Aegean, to pressure on Turkey on Armenians. Most of these issues could prove unacceptable to Turkey at some point during accession talks.

Now the problem is whether (to wait) to hit an obstacle or do what is necessary as you see the inevitable? Both alternatives are hard and costly, Aktan wrote in his article.

Subtitle: Proposals to Turkey on privileged status

The proposals on the Privileged Partnership Status were conveyed to Aktan by the head of a French think-tank known to be close to Jacques Chirac.

Aktan summarized the points expressed by the French academic on what would happen if Turkey backtracked from its desire for full membership and opted for a privileged partner status as follows:

(i) Membership talks would last 15 to 20 years and they are open-ended. A privileged partnership could be established relatively fast. Turkey may decide to continue full membership talks and these two can go on simultaneously.

(ii) Turkey could receive economic aid almost on a par with what it would receive as a full member.

(iii) Turkey could become a member of the Defence Ministers Committee as a voting partner on European security and defence.

(iv) Turkey would not have to spend up to $12 billion to adjust its industry to EU standards.

(v) After EU members take measures to secure their borders, visa procedures against Turks would be relaxed.

(vi) On issues where the EU countries expect unilateral concessions like Cyprus and later on the Aegean as a precondition for accession would drop from the agenda. Aktan was told the Greek Cypriots and Greeks would not have any veto power during privileged status talks.

(vii) There will be no talk of Armenian claims and Kurdish problem would cease to be part of Copenhagen political criteria.

Aktan said the French were worried about the adverse reaction of the Turkish Stock Market might show if Turkey decided to switch to a privileged partner status. They thought the reaction might be softened by collaboration between the two sides, Aktan wrote.

Subtitle: Pandora's box

Editor in Chief of mass-circulation daily HURRIYET Ertugrul Özkök in his influential column also discussed the privileged partnership.

It seems Pandora's Box is being opened. The first concrete signs about the privileged partnership some Europeans proposed to Turkey have started to emerge, he wrote, mentioning points conveyed to Aktan by the French.

He said that at this stage Turkey should not do anything about these issues as the target is to start talks for full membership to the EU.

Doors should not be opened to any proposal or formula that could dilute this. Such a mental exercise however, hurts no one, Ozkok concluded in his column.

[09] Mehmet Levent: By Keeping silent the turn is coming

From now on one has to admit the following reality that, Ankara by removing its old puppets from the stage and replacing them with new puppets has taken one of its most well-timed steps of recent years in continuing its occupation and extending its hegemony in north Cyprus.

Ankara put an end to the opposition. The volcano which was ready to erupt was rendered harmless. The safety valve of the pressure cooker which was ready to blow up has been opened and the extra pressure has been released thus dropping the pressure and doing away with the danger! Now Ankara is at ease, it can rule the occupied area for another 30 years. It can easily survive until it enters accidentally to the EU.

The Greek Cypriots are mistaken if they think that the north with its present structure cannot resist more, and it will collapse and surrender!

May be it was possible to dream this, in those days when people were on the streets and protesting.

An end was put to this dream, when Ankara, took an urgent action and removed the walk-on at the puppet theatre.

Personally I am not dreaming that this people could ever come on the streets again.

You have seen already The striking workers were clubbed by military regime, and no trade union raised a strong protest! One or two days people speak about it and the third day no one mentioned it. It was forgotten. The puppets of Ankara, in their newspapers, fall short of not saying `you deserve it´ regarding the clubbing. Few days later they have banned the strike at the Vakif Bank! The newspapers of the puppet regime silently, fend off this as though it was not worth of reporting. This banning as well had the similar fate as the clubbing

At one time `this country is ours platform´ tried to stand up, it too `much ado about nothing´ attempt of handing out of the memorandum was nothing but a show.

As you will see, Ankara, through the Republican Turkish Party (RTP) hands have overrun the people´s struggling fronts one by one. Now everything is under control. For us the public order is in shambles, but for Ankara it is perfect This is the point the struggle was brought to.

/SK

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