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Sunday, 17 November 2024
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Cyprus PIO: Turkish Press and Other Media, 06-06-06Cyprus Press and Information Office: Turkish Cypriot Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The Republic of Cyprus Press and Information Office Server at <http://www.pio.gov.cy/>TURKISH PRESS AND OTHER MEDIA No.107/06 06.06.06[A] NEWS ITEMS
[B] COMMENTARIES, EDITORIALS AND ANALYSIS
[A] NEWS ITEMS[01] The Turkish Foreign Ministry among the investors at occupied VokolidaUnder the title Buildings are springing up at occupied Vokolida, Turkish Cypriot daily YENI DUZEN newspaper (06.06.06) reports that the occupied area of Vokolida will be transformed into a paradise tourist centre, with the Turkish Foreign Ministry, among the investors.The Chairman of the Union of Vokolida Tourism Investors, Mr Gurel Inan, said that the infrastructure work has been undertaken by Turkish Republic Aid Mission. Among the infrastructural projects will be construction of a desalination project and an electricity power station. The newspaper reports that the construction of the hotel complex, which has started two years ago and still is in progress, is expected to be completed in 2008. According to Mr Gurel Inan, the total hotel capacity will be 12,500 beds. The first hotel is expected to open in September 2006 under the name Kaya Artemis Resort. The complex will include 11 units for the total of 450 million dollars. Each hotel approximately is to cost 40 million dollars, while the capacity of each will be between 1000-1500 beds. The paper publishes the table of the names of the hotel investors, and the total amount to be spent per investor. The list of the investors and their amount to contribute is as follows: Parcel No. Investors Name Investment Worth ($) EKSEN Projects Tourism Construction and Trade 40.000.000 (EKSEN Proje 0naat Turizm ve Tic.A.^)
3 KARPAZ Tourism and Trade Ltd, Çank1r1 Building and Trade
40.000.000
(KARPAZ Tur.Tic.Ltd. Çank1r1 int
tic.)
4 GÖÇTUR Investment
Cyprus 38.000.000
(GÖÇTUR K1br1s Yat. Ltd)
5 KAYA Tourism
Installations 50.000.000
(KAYA Tur. Tesisleri Titreyengöl
Otelcilik A.^)
6 ^0M^EKLER Building and Tourism
Ltd 40.000.000
(^0M^EKLER 0n. Ve Tur. Taah.
T1c.^ti. (limak a..)
7 ETKEN Tourism
Industries 29.000.000
(ETKEN Tur. 0n. San.ve T1c.Ltd.)
8 Turkish Foreign Ministry (700 bed
capacity) .................
(T.C Diileri Bakanl11 700 yatak)
9 ADA Cyprus
Ltd 40.000.000
(ADA K1br1s Ltd.)
(S. Valley Ltd (al1
Çakmakta)
8.000.000
12 Turinta Turism Ltd. (koçol1
a..) 40.000.000
(Turinta Tur. Ltd. (koçol1 a..)
10-13-14 Eren
Talu
80.000.000
(Eren Talu)
(M/L)
The chairman of the Cyprus-EU Association, Ali Erel has said that the
time to end using the Turkish lira, which caused many deep economic and
democratic wounds in the occupied areas of Cyprus, came since a long
time ago. Mr Erel expressed the opinion that the Turkish Cypriots must
introduce the Euro as their currency without further delay. He pointed
out that the fluctuation of the exchange rates will reach more serious
dimensions and the crisis will grow.
Furthermore, economist Necdet Ergun said that introducing the Euro is a
political decision and has nothing to do with nationalism. Noting that
they must look at the issue from the economic point of view, Mr Ergun
described the use of the Turkish lira in the occupied areas of Cyprus
as economic foolishness.
Expressing the opinion that the politicians in the occupied areas
continued using the Turkish lira because they did not want to dishonor
motherland Turkey, Mr Ergun added: I did not understand what kind of
mother this is. She gives to her child who was born ill in her body,
her blood which poisons even herself. I wonder, does our mother not
love us?
The paper writes that the fluctuation of the exchange rates increases.
The US dollar was bought for 1.570 Turkish liras yesterday and its
selling price increased to 1.605. The prices of other currencies were
the following: Euro 2.035 (buying) 2.075 (selling), Sterling 2.960
(buying) 3.00 (selling) and Cyprus pound 3.530 (buying) 3.570
(selling).
Meanwhile, commenting on the issue, the self-styled Prime Minister of
the TRNC (breakaway regime in the occupied areas of the Republic of
Cyprus), Ferdi Sabit Soyer said that his self-styled governments long
term plan is to introduce the Euro as their currency.
Responding to reporters questions yesterday morning, Mr Soyer noted
that this makes it necessary for government spending to be met by
domestic revenues, in other words, as he put it, for the budgetary
deficit to be met by domestic revenues.
Furthermore, Turkish Cypriot daily ORTAM newspaper (06.06.06) reports
that while Mr Soyer states that they must introduce the Euro, the
self-styled minister of finance, Ahmet Uzun told the Turkish service of
BBC that it is not possible for the Turkish Cypriots to stop using the
Turkish lira. He said that they receive important financial aid from
Turkey and therefore they cannot abandon the Turkish lira and introduce
the Euro.
(I/Ts.)
Responding to a question concerning the Greek Cypriot press reports
about the weekend visit to the TRNC (breakaway regime in the occupied
areas of the Republic of Cyprus) by representatives from the European
Parliaments socialist group, Mr Soyer said there is nothing strange
about the visit, and that other political groups from the European
Parliament would soon be in the TRNC for similar contacts.
Speaking during a visit paid to him today Mr Soyer stated that in the
coming days, parliamentary groups from the Liberals, Conservatives,
Greens and others will be in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.
He added that contacts like these at international level would
continue.
Stating that the forces of the status quo in the occupied areas were
finally defeated, Prime Minister Soyer expressed the hope that the
supporters of the status quo in the free areas of Cyprus will also be
defeated.
Reminding that the Republican Turkish Party will be represented at the
Socialist International and attend the socialist group meeting under
observer status, Mr Soyer said the efforts to achieve full member
status will continue.
The paper writes that the claims which were published in a magazine in
Turkey that there was A MIT (National Intelligence Organization) finger
regarding the attack at the Council of State were denied. However, the
claims regarding the generals relations with the bombs at AFRIKA
remained unanswered by the officials of the army, therefore the
suspicions against the generals are increased.
The paper also writes that the silence on the part of the Generals who
are under suspicion makes the public having various questions as
regards the issue.
(C/S)
The figures released by the State Planning Organization today mean that
the annual rate of inflation has reached 9.5 percent.
The OIC Secretary-General will meet with senior Russian officials to
discuss hot international issues such as developments in the
Palestinian question, the situation in Iraq and new developments in the
Iranian nuclear dossier.
The meetings will also deal with issues of common concern given that
Russia joined the OIC as an Observer Member State at the last OIC
Ministerial Conference held last year in Sana'a.
The visit takes importance from the weight of the Russian Federation in
the international arena as a permanent member of the UN Security
Council and as a member of the Quartet. Russia also presides over the
Council of Europe for the first time and is preparing to host the G8
Summit. Its OIC Observer Status and the fact that important Muslim
communities live inside the Russian Federation, give the OIC- Moscow
consultations an added importance.
After meeting with Tuygan, Crouch told a press conference that US
President George W. Bush made a very important decision last week and
put a very sincere proposal on the table to the Iranian leadership.
Stressing that the incentive package offered would benefit Iranians,
Crouch expressed hope for a positive response from Tehran. He said once
the proposal is accepted, then all the relevant sides could sit at the
negotiating table and bring diplomatic solutions to the problem.
Despite roasting temperatures -- nothing atypical in June on Cyprus --
it appears there is no letup in Cyprus diplomacy. Turkish Cypriot
President Mehmet Ali Talat is expected to meet with his Greek Cypriot
counterpart, Tassos Papadopoulos, in July. Pressures are mounting on
Ankara to comply with the customs union additional protocol and open
its ports and airports to the Greek Cypriots. Talat is warning that
such a development would lead to a crisis. Europe is warning that
failure to comply with that would lead to a crisis in Turkish accession
talks. Many Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots have started seeing
partition and a two-state resolution on Cyprus as inevitable.
There is a live debate on Cyprus. One major subject of debate is the
Varosha issue. Back on Feb. 25 of this year, we wrote that time perhaps
has come to make some moves on the Varosha issue so that we can leave
behind the stalemate on Cyprus, which we are afraid, is doomed to land
Turkey's European Union membership process in a major crisis in October
-- if by then we manage to at least get a new exercise under way for
resolution of the more than four-decade-old intractable problem of
power sharing between two peoples of the eastern Mediterranean island.
We should underline, as we did in our Feb. 25 article, that what we
wrote was a "suggestion" by a "Turkish Cypriot intellectual" who is
very much committed to a resolution of the Cyprus problem through
negotiations and on the basis of political equality of the two peoples
of the island and in no way reflected any official consideration in
Ankara or northern Cyprus.
That article, however, triggered an intensive debate on the Varosha
issue, particularly amongst the Greek Cypriot side, and drew much
attention in the international Cyprus peacemaking diplomatic army.
Among the Turks and Turkish Cypriots involved in the Cyprus peacemaking
efforts, however, we were accused indeed of "leaking water into ears"
and "bringing to the forefront an issue we would not like to discuss
now." I did not take such remarks so seriously, knowing that some
efforts were indeed under way, but that was the official position of
Ankara and northern Cyprus on the issue.
Subtitle: What was our suggestion?
Thus, in the Feb. 25 article we suggested a three-phase approach to the
Varosha issue.
1. Renewal of the infrastructure of the district through a fund
created by the Turkish government with the contributions of a prominent
organization bringing together all the top brass of Turkish industry
and the business community.
2. Following the renewal of the region's infrastructure, the former
Greek Cypriot residents could be invited to resettle and they could be
offered cheap loans to renovate their residences and workplaces, while
hotels could be handed back to their pre-1974 owners irrespective of
whether they are the property of Greek Cypriots or international hotel
chains.
3. Transferring the region's local security to the United Nations,
while the area remains under Turkish Cypriot sovereignty, pending an
overall settlement to the Cyprus problem.
Now for the past two days we have again been back in Cyprus for talks
with Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot politicians and to feel the
pulse of the two communities.
As we observed two months ago during a short trip to both sides of the
island, we have observed that the Varosha discussion is still
continuing and indeed has accelerated. While two months ago, the
discussion in southern Cyprus was more or less confined to the Turkish
Daily News editorial under the incorrect assumption that it reflected a
new approach of the Turkish Foreign Ministry, we have now seen that
they at least have three other alternate Varosha scenarios.
According to the first two scenarios, while the Turkish Cypriot side
keeps on stressing that Varosha could be discussed as part and parcel
of an overall settlement on the island, by September north Cyprus may
declare a phased opening of the district to Greek Cypriot settlement
under its sovereignty pending the outcome of the peace talks.
Electricity, water and other of the region's municipal infrastructure
would be renewed by the Turkish Cypriot government. Greek Cypriots
willing to return to Varosha will have to apply to a Turkish Cypriot
land commission and give up their claim to be compensated for the
period they were denied to make use of their former properties in the
north. In a three-year period all Varosha districts -- except a few
streets, directly adjacent to Turkish Cypriot inhabited areas -- will
be opened to Greek Cypriot resettlement. A third scenario, on the other
hand, underlines that besides the opening of Varosha, the Turkish
Cypriot side may open five more Greek Cypriot former habitations --
empty villages on or adjacent to the buffer zone in the Famagusta area
-- to Greek Cypriot resettlement along the lines explained above.
How realistic are these scenarios? Knowing the speculative nature of
Greek Cypriot journalism, we doubt the accuracy of these reports.
However, as we have information that some work is being done regarding
the Varosha issue behind closed doors and in transatlantic Cyprus
dialogue between the U.N. Secretariat, Washington, London, Ankara and
Athens, we cannot totally discard them, either.
Perhaps we may have an answer on these issues from Turkish Cypriot
President Mehmet Ali Talat
/SK
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