Cyprus PIO: Turkish Press and Other Media, 05-09-27

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

[A] NEWS ITEMS

[01] Mehmet Ali Talat: With reasonable and correct moves the opportunity of isolating and putting aside the Greek Cypriot side within the EU could easily occur.

[02] Cemil Cicek: Our target is full membership to the EU.

[03] Leakages to the Turkish press that Turkey is outraged with the draft negotiation framework.

[04] Red Crescent in the occupied territories of the Republic of Cyprus, will apply to International Red Cross for membership.

[05] AFRIKA: 20 years extra time to the statsu quo.

[06] Turkish General criticizes the European Parliament.

[07] Statements by Erdogan before leaving for Oman.

[08] Statements by Erdogan and Turkish parliamentarian after meeting the French Senate´s EU delegation.

[09] Talat and the Commander of the occupation army to visit the Ledra Street (Lokmaci) Barricade today.

[10] The self-styled assembly to discuss the Cyprus problem next Thursday.

[B] COMMENTARIES, EDITORIALS AND ANALYSIS

[11] America´s 3rd October worries.

[A] NEWS ITEMS

[01] Mehmet Ali Talat: With reasonable and correct moves the opportunity of isolating and putting aside the Greek Cypriot side within the EU could easily occur.

DHA: While the Turkish Cypriots expressed their will for a solution at the referendum, the Green Line Regulation came into force for the development of the economy of the Turkish Cypriots, but it has not been functional. There are statements regarding the need for the lifting of the isolations in the report that the UN Secretary General submitted to the Security Council after the referendum. There was no development on this issue as well. The financial aid and the direct trade regulations are shelved as well. While looking to all these, what should we do? Does everything end to South Cyprus? Do we always get stuck on South Cyprus?

TALAT: Of course, South Cyprus is a member of the EU. This was our warning the correctness of which was proved in the process. We have warned regarding the accession of the Greek Cypriot side into the EU. Very serious mistakes have been committed. We had said that the Greek Cypriot side will become an equal member of the EU and push us into very difficult circumstances by using its power. Today this is being realized. Meanwhile, a change of leadership took place in South Cyprus and a fanatic leader came to power. And with this influence, he is putting before us every obstacle he can at any event and any development. This will happen in the future as well. Do not forget, the EU has 25 members. South Cyprus is only one of them. If we take out Greece as well, we have 23 members, which in the end will not become hostages of the Greek Cypriot side with the population of 700 thousands. And in the process the negative stance of the Greek Cypriot side will cause its isolation in the EU. When this happens, our dependence on the Greek Cypriot side and the obstacles put to us by the Greek Cypriot side will be reduced and minimized. A certain time is needed. There will be developments connected to the isolation of the Greek Cypriot side which uses the EU membership to its favour. The policy formulated in the past and with which we lost, is a policy that collapsed. The Cyprus cause we had lost is now formed again. It is formed again in the new conditions with a new understanding. We are living this process of reforming this moment. Therefore, from time to time we are simultaneously being hopeless, feeling uncertainty for the future, anger and joy.

DHA: There is a serious uncertainty on the island. What do you think about the time which passes regarding the solution?

TALAT: The serious dangers for us have been reduced. One of them and the most important are the cases filed at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). There are dangers and opportunities in Turkeys EU process. Turkeys EU process will not be a process that will destroy us seriously. I do not worry from this point of view. The important thing is the legal aspect of the property cases. The political aspect of our problems is not very big and dangerous. As Turkish Cypriots we are not facing very serious problems. There will be dangers, opportunities and possibilities within the process that is before us. It is not easy to make a time forecast.

DHA: You are continuously saying that you extend your hand of peace to South Cyprus. There is no signal from South Cyprus in the direction of meeting with you. The Greek Cypriot leader, Tassos Papadopoulos says that you are not his interlocutor for a solution on the Island and that they consider Turkey as their interlocutor. In the current situation what will the Greek Cypriot side expect? What policy is the Greek Cypriot side following in this process?

TALAT: The Greek Cypriot side thinks that it could take Turkey as its interlocutor at a stage within Turkeys EU process. Furthermore, it thinks that it will ensure the support of the 24 member states of the EU and corner Turkey. However, things are not like this. Even if it seems like this in theory, in the EU practice and the EU law, it will not be like this in practice, because when the discomfort and the boredom created by the Greek Cypriot side in the EU process reach a certain limit, there will be reactions against the Greek Cypriot side, instead of acting together with the Greek Cypriot side. Therefore, the Greek Cypriot side is not making a good assessment. They are talking about normalization of the relations. Some times, the Greek Cypriot side, the diplomats of some countries and even some Turkish opposition leaders are talking about normalization of the relations between the Republic of Cyprus and Turkey. Such a thing is not possible.

Mutual understanding is necessary for the normalization. The Greek Cypriot side and Turkey having mutual understanding is not possible. The Greek Cypriot side behaves towards Turkey as a country that occupies the 37 % of its territories, while Turkey, with its position of the guarantee rights deriving from the Treaty of Guarantee, is looking to the Greek Cypriot side as an aggressive community because of the Greek Cypriot attacks against the Turkish Cypriot community and as a community that seized Cyprus with violence. How will this relation be normalized? It will be normalized when this situation ceases to exist. The normalization of the relations between Turkey and the Republic of Cyprus is possible only with the solution and making steps in the direction of the solution. Therefore, demanding this is not very reasonable. We have to evaluate the opportunities and look at things with an understanding that will put the dangers aside, because Turkeys EU process will be a dynamic process. We will be facing new opportunities, new dangers, and new developments every day.

DHA: What kind of dangers are there in the process until 3 October?

TALAT: There is no danger until 3 October. The substantial period is after 3 October. Because there will be a dynamic process in this period, there will be some issues which Turkey will face and on which it will quarrel with the Republic of Cyprus and Europe. With reasonable and correct moves the opportunity of isolating and putting aside the Greek Cypriot side within the EU could easily occur. It cannot be said that in this process we are silent or inactive, as some people allege, because on the contrary we are very active.

DHA: For years Rauf Denktas has been at the negotiations. It was said that he was intransigent and that he is running away from the table. As a politician, how do you honestly find the policy of South Cyprus?

TALAT: Honestly it is the following: I am seeing a very clever policy, which knows and uses the details very well, and therefore it is different than the one followed during the Denktas period, but from the world point of view it is the same as Mr Denktas opinions on the Cyprus problem. That is, I am seeing a Denktas who is very clever, can make a lot of maneuvers, and evaluates and uses the details a lot. The Greek Cypriot side does definitely not hesitate in being hard. The Greek Cypriots are trying to dominate over the Turkish Cypriots, to take the Turkish Cypriots under their sovereignty. And they are decorating this with very clever maneuvers. Sometimes you are surprised, sometimes I am surprised as well, but afterwards I understand what the development is, because I am expecting that they would do it like this and that they should do it like this. They are very expert and this expertise smoothes their hard policy or covers it. Therefore, the world does not see them and does not react. It shows milder reactions.

The Greek Cypriots want the opening of gates. They want the two communities to have contacts with each other. And on the other side they are threatening the people who want to have contacts saying do not have contacts. They say that they support the bi-communal activities (the common activities of the Greek Cypriots and the Turkish Cypriots). They threaten one by one the people not to participate in the bi-communal activities. And they influence or put pressure on those who intend to participate so as to follow their own state policy. I will use a very delicate and correct expression: South Cyprus follows a sly and schemer policy. In addition to all these, it follows a rough, extremely oppressing, hard and intransigent policy. From this point of view this is a version of our old policy. It is a version, much more sophisticated, much more detailed, much more decorated and with higher quality.

DHA: You are coming from the Republican Turkish Party, which has the best relations with the political parties in South Cyprus. Now they are comparing you with the former TRNC President Rauf Denktas. Have the expectations of the Greek Cypriots changed after you became a President, or have you changed?

TALAT: The best Turk for the Greek Cypriots is the Turk who thinks like the Greek Cypriots. There is no such Turk. Therefore, whoever comes to this duty they will create a Denktas, a Talat out of him. The example before this was Denktas and they are comparing (me) with Denktas. They will attack whoever sits on this position and they will exclude him. Be absolutely sure about this. They will treat in the same way whoever sits at this position, no matter who he is. My statements have not changed. I have said in many of my speeches in Europe, and in various countries of the world that the real aim of the Greek Cypriot administration is to take the Turkish Cypriots under its sovereignty. These are not new for me, but now I am living in them. Because I am a supporter of the solution, I disclosed the policy of non-solution followed by the Greek Cypriot side. The whole world has begun seeing these. This is really a big success. I have not changed. They have taken off the masks. This is the difference. The Greek Cypriot people knew the real situation, because they live in the south. Therefore we took off these masks and their true face appeared. There is another reality: The current Greek Cypriot administration, the Greek Cypriot leadership, is much more fanatic than Mr Denktas and has a much more sovereign understanding.

[02] Cemil Cicek: Our target is full membership to the EU

''We know that EU entry talks will be long and difficult. Our target is full membership to the EU. We do not accept any deviation from this target,'' said Turkish Justice Minister and government spokesman Cemil Cicek on Monday.

Speaking after the Council of Ministers meeting, Cicek said that they discussed relations with the EU in a detailed manner as it was the last Council of Ministers meeting before EU entry talks which will start on October 3rd.

''We took up the counter-declaration of the EU as well as the Negotiation Framework Document,'' he added.

Regarding the Negotiation Framework Document, Cicek said: ''Turkey continues its objections about the document. It is not a final document. Debates can be made on it. Turkey has objections. The document is a draft.''

[03] Leakages to the Turkish press that Turkey is outraged with the draft negotiation framework

Turkish foreign Ministry diplomats have said that putting this expression in the draft in parenthesis as condition before Turkey could not be accepted. They said that this expression should be included as recommendation. The paper reports that if the negotiation framework document is not completed until the 3rd of October then Turkey will demand guarantees from the EU that it will not accept unacceptable conditions to be included in the document.

HURRIYET Brussels correspondent Zeynel Lule reports that the only obstacle pending before the EU-Turkey accession negotiations is Austria´s demand that an expression like Special Partnership should be included in the draft negotiation framework document which will act as the road map in Turkey´s accession negotiations.

Lule reports that Austria will continue to insist on this demand to the very end.

In its front page leader under the title curtailment of its veto rights has enraged Turkey, Turkish Cypriot KIBRIS newspaper (27.09.05) reports the following:

The framework document specifying the negotiations conditions, the road map of the EU-Turkey relations, has become clear. The draft text of the Negotiations Framework Document leaked to the press contains many expressions making Ankara uneasy, but what annoys Ankara most is the condition that Ankara should not veto the participation of EU member states in international organizations.

Invoking Turkish Foreign Ministry sources the paper writes that various points in the document, as for example that the talks be open-ended, the capability of the Union to absorb new members, and the permanent derogations were not a surprise.

The paper further reports that between Turkey and the EU a hard bargaining is under way regarding the opening statement of the 3rd of October.

When Turkey learned that in the British Foreign Secretary, Mr Jack Straw´s, the term-EU president, opening speech are included elements of the counter-declaration, Ankara went into action and is trying to prevent any call for the full implementation of the Additional Protocol and the recognition expectations of the Republic of Cyprus.

The paper adds the following: Officials conveyed to the Term President Britain that they want to see the framework document and the opening statement in advance and we want to see whether there are unacceptable elements. We will not come to Luxembourg without seeing these before 3 October. We shall not accept a fait accomplis similar to the 17 December Additional Protocol.

(K/V)

[04] Red Crescent in the occupied territories of the Republic of Cyprus, will apply to International Red Cross for membership

The self-styled Chairman of OTRC Rauf Unsal told a group of journalists in Geneva that the Turkish Cypriot Red Crescent, which was rendered idle since 1983, with the help of the Turkish Red Crescent Organization it has become active again. He said: They do not see us as state, but they could not refuse us as an association. At this stage, we want to be present at the Seoul, General Assembly of the Red Crescent Red Cross at least as observer. On this issue work is going on at the Turkish Red Cross and the foreign ministry. I hope that our application to the federation, in Geneva will be accepted.

Subtitle: Talat important

The self-styled President in the OTRC Mehmet Ali Talat, regarding the issue, said: The Red Crescent is not an institution that has political objectives; therefore we are after membership. Despite the fact that it is not a final step in doing away with the isolations imposed on the Turkish Cypriots, however, it is an important step for us. It could be considered an important development towards the removing of the isolations.

(M/Y)

[05] AFRIKA:20 years extra time to the statsu quo

AFRIKA further reports that, Turkey, which will start, without any preconditions, the accession negotiations on 3rd of October, has got rid of the obligation to take serious steps towards the solution of the Cyprus problem. The paper also notes that in the course of the accession process Turkey will open its ports and its airports to the ships and planes carrying Cyprus flag, however recognition will be extended towards the end of the accession negotiations.

With this, concludes the paper, once Turkey starts accession negotiations, it will not hurry up to find a solution in the Cyprus problem.

(M/Y)

[06] Turkish General criticizes the European Parliament

''I condemn views and ways of expressing Turkey's fight against terrorism as 'aggressive military operations' in the European Parliament,'' said Turkish Land Forces Commander Gen. Yasar Buyukanit on Monday.

Speaking at the opening of the 2005-2006 academic year in War Academies in Ankara, Gen. Buyukanit said he considered these expressions (describing Turkish Armed Forces' fight against terrorism as aggressive military operations) as rings of a bell which should awaken the Republic of Turkey.

Indicating that the Republic of Turkey was facing two big dangers today, Gen. Buyukanit said the first danger was the existence of groups having fundamentalist ideas which long for a distorted and imaginary order and which still dream of the caliphate and sharia in today's era.

He said the second was the activities of the terrorist organization based on ethnical discrimination against the inseparable integrity of Turkey.

Gen. Buyukanit underlined that those circles, who wanted to put Turkey into a climate of clash and chaos, at the same time prepared their unavoidable end.

Gen. Buyukanit said: ''The Republic of Turkey will not be a tool to the tricks of the bloodiest terrorist organization of the history committing every kind of murder, tricks of those who want to veil those murders and brutality with democracy, freedom and peace, the most sublime values of humanity, and those who advocate them. Destructive and separatist activities, supported from inside and outside the country will be eliminated by the dynamic forces obliged to protect the Republic of Turkey.''

[07] Statements by Erdogan before leaving for Oman

I will soon leave our country together with some of our ministers and deputies. Our talks in Oman will begin tomorrow morning. They will continue until the evening.

We will visit the UAE tomorrow night. We will hold talks in Abu Dhabi and Dubai for two days.

Minister of State Besir Atalay and Minister of State Kursat Tuzmen will accompany me. More than 100 businessmen will be with us during our visit.

We will have bilateral talks with Sultan Qabus in Oman on regional and international issues. We will meet with Omani businessmen and the representatives of the Turkish community in Masqat.

As I said earlier, we will visit Abu Dhabi after our talks in Oman. We will hold talks with Head of State Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahayan and Sheikh Mohammad bin Sultan al-Nahayan.

In Dubai, we will hold talks with Crown Prince and UAE Defense Minister Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashid al-Maktdum. We will then meet with the business circles and investors in Dubai.

We will sign an agreement with the UAE that will encourage and protect investments between the two sides.

Oman and the UAE have achieved significant progress through their economic performances particularly during the past few years. Meanwhile, the work carried out by the Turkish business circles in that area cannot be overlooked. We are convinced that our visit will add momentum to their initiatives.

Oman and the UAE are friendly and fraternal countries, with which we have deep historic and cultural ties. We share similar concerns related to threats and security. In view of that, we believe that promoting our dialogue and cooperation with the two countries at every level will be very important.

We expect the Turkish businessmen and investors to focus on the two countries and take steps to undertake joint investments. That is very important for us. I also believe that creating opportunities to increase the investments made in Turkey by the two countries will strengthen and deepen our relations.

I can now reply to your questions.

Question: The EU draft framework for the talks Turkey will have for its accession has been drawn up. It will be assessed on Wednesday. How will Turkey react if the document described the talks as an open-ended process?

Answer: You are aware that the term open-ended is not new. It was mentioned during the meetings we had on 17 December. It was mentioned in the report on 6 October. Neither Turkey nor the Government is worried. We are convinced that Turkey has successfully fulfilled the requirements of the 35 chapters that are related to the EU acquis. So, Turkey will become a member of the organization when it achieves results. The EU members thinking differently is impossible. We believe that membership will be achieved when this process ends.

[08] Statements by Erdogan and Turkish parliamentarian after meeting the French Senate´s EU delegation

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday that they expected France to extend support to Turkey's EU membership process.

Prime Minister Erdogan received French Senate's EU Delegation Chairman Hubert Haenel and the accompanying delegation in Ankara.

Turkey's EU membership process was high on the agenda of the meeting.

Following the meeting, Haenel said that they would continue supporting Turkey in its EU membership process.

Noting that Turkey and the EU would have a joint future, Haenel said that the negotiation process would start on October 3rd and that Turkey had made a great progress so far.

Meanwhile, French Senator Robert Denis Del Picchia said that the negotiation process should start without prejudices.

Later, Turkish Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Gul met Haenel and the accompanying delegation.

"We don't want EU (full membership) negotiations to be locked on Cyprus", Ali Riza Alaboyun, deputy chairman of Turkish Parliamentary EU Adjustment Commission, said on Monday.

Alaboyun and other members of the commission met Hubert Haenel, head of the French Senate's EU Delegation, in the Turkish capital of Ankara.

During the meeting, Alaboyun said that Turkey had fulfilled its responsibilities about integration with the EU, and stressed that Cyprus question should be solved under the auspices of the UN Security Council.

Alaboyun said that the Greek Cypriot administration was trying to make Cyprus an internal problem of EU, and added, "we want EU to convince the Greek Cypriot administration to reach a solution within the framework of Annan plan. We will recognize the United Cyprus State when the problem is resolved within the scope of this plan."

On the other hand, Haenel said: "France and the EU are supporting Annan plan, and the Cyprus problem should be solved within its framework."

Haenel noted that negotiations with Turkey would be launched on October 3rd as scheduled, and added: "France and Turkey established alliance in every part of history, so they should do the same today and tomorrow."

[09] Talat and the Commander of the occupation army to visit the Ledra Street (Lokmaci) Barricade today

As the paper writes the Barricade will be visited by the following: Mr Mehmet Ali Talat, the self-styled president in the occupied territories of the Republic of Cyprus, Mr Ferdi Soyer, the self-styled prime minister and General Tevfik Ozkilic, the Commander of the Turkish Occupation Forces.

The paper writes that the so-called officials will inspect the works which are continuing at the Ledra Street Barricade.

(C/S)

[10] The self-styled assembly to discuss the Cyprus problem next Thursday

The discussion is going to take place after a proposal made by the National Unity Party (UBP).

In addition, as the paper writes, Mr Tahsin Ertugruloglu announced yesterday in a press conference that he will be a candidate for the leadership of the UBP. The paper invokes sources that Mr Irsen Kucuk will also be a candidate for the same position. Mr Dervis Eroglu, who was the chairman of the UBP for 22 years, announced some time ago that he will not be a candidate. The general assembly of the party will meet on the 24th of December to elect its new leader.

(C/S)

[B] COMMENTARIES, EDITORIALS AND ANALYSIS

[11] America´s 3rd October worries

It is no coincidence that President Bush's new National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley came to Ankara at this time and delivered some striking messages here. If you look simply at what is being said in Washington, this visit of Hadley's had been planned to cover Afghanistan and Pakistan. Turkey was added to the program later and placed as the first stop.

The reason is being put as Washington's concerns over the uncertainties that have emerged in relation to Turkey's EU perspective before 3 October. This is because it is feared that the attitudes being seen in Europe now, what people dealing with Turkey in Washington call "not too friendly", might put Ankara well and truly off the West.

Subtitle: Marc Grossman's opinion

Reportedly, what the US is trying to do via Hadley is tell Turkey, "Whatever the Europeans do we are still on your side." This in fact overlaps with the basic message that former Assistant Secretary of State Marc Grossman delivered in his article published in the Financial Times a little earlier. Grossman, who used to be the US Ambassador to Turkey, wrote why it was that Europe should take Turkey on board, and he clearly hinted that if this does not happen then the US would need to step in and fill the gap created by the deep let-down Turkey would feel.

The background plan of Grossman's approach was filled in by former Assistant National Security Advisor Robert Blackwell, a speaker at a conference I attended in Washington at the end of the week. Blackwell is described by the Turks who attended the conference, arranged by the Washington Near East Institute, as "America's deep state." In reply to one question he said:

Subtitle: The strategic perspective

"We in the United States have been trying to persuade the Europeans about Turkey for the past 25 years. We are at odds here with the French in particular. Yet, there are very, very important strategic interests for our country in Turkey becoming a member of the EU."

To sum up, it is believed here and not just from a daily narrow perspective but from a strategic perspective, that Turkey would go off in an undesired direction if it got a right royal shafting off Europe and was pushed into a void with respect to a sense of belonging, and that this would not be to the West's interests at all.

When we asked for clarification we were told without hesitation that if Turkey were "alienated" it would distance itself from both democracy and secularism. To put it another way they see Ankara's maintaining close ties to the West as having a kind of "anchor" duty here.

Subtitle: Pamuk case and the Armenian conference

We cannot move on here without first mentioning the "belittling" attitude buried within this approach because the blatantly obvious assumption here is that a Turkey not inclined to the West will not be able to keep its democracy or its secularism for a long time. We saw efforts to strengthen this attitude by pointing to the Orhan Pamuk case and even the attempts to obstruct the Armenian conference at the weekend.

As for the issue of secularism; what Robert Satloff, chairman of the Washington Near East Institute, said during his presentation gave a pretty good indication. According to Satloff, were it not for the powerful and pro-Western army (his own words) Turkey with its "Islamist" government would have begun turning from secularism a long time ago. Reading this in reverse makes it say, "Not even the army would be able to protect secularism in a Turkey abandoned by the West." We tried to explain to him how badly mistaken this opinion was. However, we cannot say that we were particularly successful.

/SK

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