Cyprus PIO: Turkish Press and Other Media, 05-06-16

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

[A] NEWS ITEMS

[01] Gul will attend meetings in Brussels and in Yemen.

[02] Turkish Foreign Ministry on Barzani's election.

[03] Durduran criticizes the policy of the occupation regime on the Cyprus problem.

[04] Izzet Izcan: The lifting of the isolation and the embargoes must be promoted in parallel with the vision of solution.

[05] New press reports about PKK in the free areas of Cyprus.

[06] CYPRUS TIMES: Not so secret talks seem hopeless.

[B] COMMENTARIES, EDITORIALS AND ANALYSIS

[07] Commentary in SABAH on the election of Barzani as President of Kurdistan Region from which the contradictory policy of Turkey vis-à-vis Northern Iraq and Cyprus is obvious.

[08] Turkish politicians seeking new 'Political Entity' to challenge JDP.

[A] NEWS ITEMS

[01] Gul will attend meetings in Brussels and in Yemen

The Turkish Foreign Ministrys Spokesman, Namik Tan, briefed reporters on Wednesday about Gul's visits.

Mr Gul will attend the Iraq Conference which will be held at foreign ministers level in Brussels between June 21st and 22nd. He will also attend the 32nd foreign ministers meeting of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) in Yemen between June 28th and 30th.

[02] Turkish Foreign Ministry on Barzani's election

Mr Tan, replying to questions from reporters during the regular weekly press briefing , said: There are efforts being made to include all of the peoples of Iraq in the new constitution. The current Iraq Temporary Administration Laws foresee a democratic, pluralist and federal Republic in Iraq. The federal system should not be based on ethnicity. Rather, the federal system should be realized based on geographical and administrative criteria.

According to Mr Tan, Iraq's future depends on the completion of the new constitution and once the Iraqi people approve the constitution, the constitution will have absolute legitimacy.

Mr Tan added that Iraq's territorial integrity and political union is important for the Iraqis and the region itself.

Asked about the meaning of Barzani's election for Turkey, Mr Tan replied that Barzani's election as the president of Iraqi Kurdistan has no meaning for Turkey.

[03] Durduran criticizes the policy of the occupation regime on the Cyprus problem

In statements to the paper, Mr Durduran noted that there is an obstinacy on the RTP-DP policy on he above-mentioned issues, which reminds the story of the two goats which met on a bridge.

Mr Durduran said that there is a stalemate on the Cyprus problem and that the method of approaching the problem must change. Explaining what methods must be followed in order to reach a solution, Mr Durduran noted:

For example the issue of the missing persons must be settled. The issue of opening new gates must be settled. A possible gesture of good will that could be made unilaterally is to invite the owners of Varosha to settle in their town. These constructions must be stopped as soon as possible. According to the Annan Plan, the end of the year 2001 is the end of the building year engendering rights. An announcement must be made that those who followed cannot demand rights, so that these things are stopped. The foreigners must not be given permission to sell property with subsidiary companies. .

[04] Izzet Izcan: The lifting of the isolation and the embargoes must be promoted in parallel with the vision of solution

Speaking about the solution of the Cyprus problem, Mr Izcan criticised the so-called government in the occupied areas of Cyprus which expects help from the USA and noted: The USA, who appeared to be the lantern of freedom, brought freedom to whom, to Iraq or to Afghanistan?

The chairman of the UCP who accused the pseudogovernment of drawing zigzags, noted that the efforts towards the lifting of the isolation and the embargoes must be promoted in parallel with the vision of solution.

Mr Izcan went on and said the following: We want the demilitarization of Cyprus. Cyprus is not a military base of America but a Copenhagen donum point. We must accept this reality and we must produce policy towards this direction. If there is a vision of solution and we are sincere on this issue, changes must be made in the Annan Plan so that it will be accepted by the two communities in Cyprus and it should be made possible for the Plan to be accepted by the two communities.

[05] New press reports about PKK in the free areas of Cyprus

The Workers Party of Kurdistan (PKK) stepped up its activities in Cyprus during the pro-Western process initiated by the Annan Plan on the island. According to information obtained by the Turkish Peace Force Command intelligence units, some 600 PKK members sought asylum in the Greek Cypriot side after the Annan Plan initiated a new process.

Subtitle: Secret PKK Activities

The Greek Cypriot Administration has issued passports to the leading PKK militants. Many of them put up posters on the walls and hold demonstrations against Turkey and the TRNC from time to time. The Greek Cypriot Administration provides financial aid to the militants.

The PKK leaders in the Greek Cypriot sector frequently cross to north Cyprus. It has been ascertained that they organize meetings in coffee shops to carry out propaganda activities.

Commenting on the objective of the PKK activities in Cyprus, a military official said: They are trying to create clashes between the mainland Turks and the Turkish Cypriots. They are trying to provoke the Peace Force units to intervene, believing that that would create a public reaction against the Turkish Armed Forces.

Subtitle: Special Students in Universities

Meanwhile, [militant] students have been enrolled in the Eastern Mediterranean University and the Near East University and their school fees have been paid. So far, some 2,300 students are reported to have been enrolled in the two universities.

The PKK supporters hold meetings in coffee shops to increase their activities in the TRNC. They also attempt to secure the support of cultural organizations for that purpose. The developments related to the Annan Plan and the EU process created an opportunity for the PKK to increase its activities in north Cyprus.

Meanwhile, Ciwan Hoca sang Kurdish songs to nearly 2,000 people at a concert at the stadium in Gonyeli, which is near Nicosia, on 30 May. It has been reported that the PKK was behind the effort that was made to organize it.

[06] CYPRUS TIMES: Not so secret talks seem hopeless

Newspapers have reported and governmental officials on both sides have started to admit that secret meetings were held in Brussels last week aimed at reaching an agreement for direct trade between `TRNC´ (occupied areas of Cyprus) and the EU before Luxembourg´s presidency of the EU expires at the end of the month. Britain takes over the EU presidency in July.

The meetings also seem to have caused divisions between the `TRNC Presidency´ and the Democrat Party wing of the government. A well-informed source from the `TRNC Foreign Ministry´ told Cyprus Times that the `TRNC Presidency´ accepted an invitation to attend the meeting without the consent of the Foreign Ministry. The same source said that the minister did not cause a problem over the procedural irregularity because they were certain that the Greek Cypriot Government was sure to refuse all demands coming from the Turkish Cypriot side.

Other commentators argue that the meeting held in Brussels was totally out of line with the Turkish Cypriot policy of not letting the Cyprus problem become entangled in the complicated bureaucracy of the European Union instead of the United Nations.

The Greek Cypriots have always wanted to take the Cyprus problem out of the orbit of the UN and take it to the EU, of which they are a full member. That is the main reason they have become an EU member state. Accepting talks under the auspices of the EU Presidency is a huge mistake, said a senior government official.

One source in Ankara told CYPRUS TIMES that the Turkish Government was also reluctant and hesitant about the idea of meeting in Brussels, but the Turkish bid for EU membership stopped it from opposing the meeting openly.

[B] COMMENTARIES, EDITORIALS AND ANALYSIS

[07] Commentary in SABAH on the election of Barzani as President of Kurdistan Region from which the contradictory policy of Turkey vis-à-vis Northern Iraq and Cyprus is obvious

Mas'ud Barzani took up his duties yesterday by swearing, in the regional parliament in Arbil, that he would defend the rights and the interests of the Kurds.

The ceremony, to which the United States, Russia, China, Great Britain, Germany, Italy, Spain, Greece, Egypt, Syria, and South Korea sent special representatives, was also attended by President Jalal Talabani on behalf of the Iraqi state, as well as by various political figures originating in the Southeast [of Turkey], such as Hasim Hasimi, Mehdi Zana, Mahmut Sonmez, Ibrahim Aksoy, and Mehdi Sever...

When Barzani completed his oath, amidst applause, a worry came over me: How are we to address him from now on? How are we to state his title when referring to him?

The name of the institution that elected Barzani to his position: the Kurdistan Regional Parliament.

Barzani's title: President of the Kurdistan Region.

This is an expression that, when spoken, causes Turkey to jump. And not merely to jump: It also creates the danger of investigations being opened regarding those who let it slip their lips.

Just recall: In early 2002, [then-] Prime Minister [Bulent] Ecevit took a report to the United States. It expressed the unease created by the erection of a sign reading "Welcome to Kurdistan" just across the border from Turkey, and from the stamping of the word "Kurdistan", by order of Barzani, into the passports of those crossing into Iraq. The report, which stressed that these initiatives were seen as "indications of a plan for an independent Kurdistan", stated that "From Turkey's standpoint, that area is a part of Iraq, and its name is Northern Iraq."

The United States remained silent, and then with the motion crisis [referring to the March 2003 Turkish parliamentary rejection of the military authorization motion that would have allowed Turkish participation in the invasion of Iraq], Turkey was unable to press the matter much.

Thereafter, Barzani took yet another step: He called for those living in Northern Iraq to carry Kurdistan identity cards. In fact, rumours were even afoot that these identity cards had begun to be distributed in Turkey as well (in the Hakkari region, for instance), and JDP [Justice and Development Party] Balikesir Parliamentarian Turhan Comez took the allegations to the National Assembly with a parliamentary question.

Yet later, "Kurdistan Airlines" was established. When it dared to schedule its first flights between Arbil and Istanbul, Turkey then refused, saying "This is too much".

Not only did it refuse, but, in retaliation, it began to prevent Iraqis who had "Kurdistan" in their passports or in their names from flying aboard THY [Turkish Airlines]. Most recently, in Stockholm, a family with the last name of Kurdistan were stopped just as they were about to board the airplane [as published; in fact, the first name of the mother was Kurdistan]. When all hell broke out in Sweden, one official of our embassy there said "It was wrong for an Iraqi citizen to be stopped for having the name 'Kurdistan'. But this policy can indeed be implemented against those who have Kurdistan written as their birthplace."

But it is even seen as objectionable for that word to be used for animals, let alone people. The name of the red fox, whose Latin name is "Vulpes vulpes kurdistanicus", which has received 30 thousand dollars in support from the UN Development Program (the organization that Kemal Dervis will begin to lead at the end of the summer) in order to prevent its extinction, has been found "of a nature such as to disrupt Turkey's unitary structure", and so the last of the three words in its name was simply dropped. What remains: "Vulpes vulpes..."

Fine, but what are we now to call Barzani? It would not do for us to put "so-called" in front of his title [a reference to the Turkish practice of referring to "the so-called Armenian genocide"]. And if we say "President of Iraqi Kurdistan", this will suggest that there are other Kurdistans.

And hardly any of our leaders has sent a message of congratulations so that we could learn the formula that Turkey has come up with for official correspondence.

But what do I care?; The best thing is probably just to abandon caution and take the easy way out of saying "Vulpes vulpes".

In other words, "Fox fox". One for Barzani, and the other for Talabani!

[08] Turkish politicians seeking new 'Political Entity' to challenge JDP

A group of politicians who find that the JDP [Justice and Development Party] has been ineffective in solving the country's problems despite being government on its own is engaged in a quest for a new political entity that can become an alternative to the JDP. The group, which includes former President Suleyman Demirel, Mehmet Ali Bayar, Husamettin Ozkan, and Ilhan Kesici, convenes frequently to discuss ways of founding a structure that can win the votes of both the left and the right.

A group of politicians has embarked on a new quest in view of the JDP's inadequacy in solving the country's problems despite being government on its own, rising unemployment and poverty, the approaches taken by the JDP to relations with the EU and the United States and the Cyprus problem, the failure of the TPP [True Path Party] and the NAP [Nationalist Action Party] to make the moves expected of them, and the fragmentation on the centre right and the centre left. The group, which includes former President Demirel, Mehmet Ali Bayar who left the TPP, Husamettin Ozkan who parted ways with the Democratic Left Party, and [former Motherland Party deputy] Ilhan Kesici, convenes frequently to assess the situation.

Answering Cumhuriyet's questions Kesici said that the JDP does not represent Turkey and that Turkey's foreign policy and economy have been poorly managed under the JDP administration. He added that there is a need for a big and strong government that can read the new world correctly and that is appropriate for Turkey. Kesici said that in such situations the opposition parties must be the first place to look but that the TPP, the RPP [Republican People's Party] and the NAP have failed to take advantage of this opportunity in their party congresses and that these parties have internal problems.

Noting that some people have been pondering the question of "what needs to be done in the face of this situation," Kesici said:

"Scattered groups of people in Turkey have been ruminating. There is a need for regrouping and tidying up in politics. There is time to do that. A very large portion of the votes cast in Turkey are for what we call the centre right. There is also substantial store of social democratic votes that have not been able to find their place. These are the former DLP [Democratic Left Party] voters who do not like the RPP. Turkey needs a large roof that will bring together the centre, the centre right, and the centre left to have a government alternative against the JDP."

Kesici said that the people pondering the country's problems are not driven by the mentality of "let us form a party" and that they do not have an organization that will surface instantly. He continued: "There is still time for that. It has not yet reached that point. Any action taken before this right moment is reached would be immature and wrong. One issue here is the ability to avoid 'selfishness.' Any mentality of 'it should be under my leadership no matter what happens' would be unattractive and would not produce the right outcome. There is a need for regrouping and tidying up. This is what is being pondered."

Noting that his group is pondering ways of bringing together the centre right and the nationalist and social democratic circles, Kesici said: "These circles have respectable representatives. All of these must be brought together. That is how a government alternative can be formed. However these matters must not be rushed."

In the meantime, outside this group, former Istanbul Mayor Ali Mufti Gurtuna opened an office in Istanbul. Gurtuna is reportedly monitoring developments closely.

Also dissidents inside the TPP and the NAP have stepped up their efforts to convene special party congresses. Dissidents who are dissatisfied with the TPP administration General Chairman Mehmet Ali Agar has named have begun collecting signatures from party delegates for convening a special congress. The number of signatures collected has reportedly reached 200, but at least 400 signatures are required before a special congress can be called.

Efforts to hold a special congress are also continuing in the NAP. The campaign started by NAP Central Decision and Administrative Council member Ercan Koc and former NAP Ankara Province Chairman Emin Yazici has reportedly collected the required number of signatures and will submit the signatures to the party general headquarters next week.

/SK

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