Cyprus PIO: Turkish Press and Other Media, 06-07-17

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

[A] NEWS ITEMS

[01] More on Erdogans schedule during his visit in occupied Cyprus

[02] Joost Lagendijk: Cyprus is a problem but not a reason for suspending accession negotiations

[03] Abdullatif Sener: Turkey will continue its EU aspirations without making any concessions on the Cyprus problem

[04] Soyer supports that the demand of the Republic of Cyprus regarding the implementation of the Additional Protocol is related to the opening of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan Pipeline

[05] The coalition government will continue

[06] Rasbash: The future of the Direct Trade Regulation is unknown; Turkish Cypriot unionist accuses the occupation regime of following a separatist policy

[07] A new organization named Cyprus NGO Network established in occupied Cyprus

[08] Gunay Ozen took over as the new Police General Director in occupied Cyprus

[09] A think-tank in Europe made three recommendations to the Finnish Presidency regarding the Cyprus problem

[10] Turkey ranks fifth among the European countries in which they have the highest defence expenditures

[A] NEWS ITEMS

[01] More on Erdogans schedule during his visit in occupied Cyprus

Erdogan, who is expected to arrive in occupied Cyprus on Wednesday, will also hold bilateral talks with Turkish Cypriot leaders with whom he will exchange views as regards the Cyprus problem. Erdogan is expected to meet with the Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat, parliament speaker Fatma Ekenoglu, Former Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash and the self-styled prime minister Ferdi Sabit Soyer.

He will also participate in the ceremony to launch the 2007-2009 Economic and Financial Cooperation Accord and meet with leaders of Turkish Cypriot political parties on Thursday following the celebrations for the Turkish invasion.

Turkey will also be represented at the celebrations by Presidential Defence Advisor retired General Nezihi Cakar, Turkish Parliament acting Speaker Ali Dincer and high-ranking officials from the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK).

Furthermore, Turkish Cypriot daily KIBRIS newspaper (16.07.06) reports that Mr Erdogan will also participate in the foundation laying ceremony of the second stage of the Lefkosia- Morfou main road.

[02] Joost Lagendijk: Cyprus is a problem but not a reason for suspending accession negotiations

Excerpts from the interview:

Derya Sazak: Could Justice and Development Party (AKP) dare to suspend accession negotiations because of the Cyprus problem and the Additional Protocol?

Joost Lagendijk: The AKP is locked on to this issue. The AKP does not have that much emotional attachment to the Cyprus problem as Ecevit and the Army have. However, it thinks that considering the day to day inclinations existing in Turkey, it had done all it could and now it is the EU turn to make an attempt. At this point, however, both the AKP and the EU should jointly make an attempt. From this moment on a new attempt by the AKP could cause a major quake within the election grassroots of the AKP. They could make attempts on Kurdish issue or freedom of expression, it seems that they could not do a new attempt on the Cyprus problem.

Derya Sazak: Could the EU suspend the negotiations if the Additional Protocol is not implemented and ports are not opened to the South Cyprus Ships?

Joost Lagendijk: No, it will not suspend. However, it is on the agenda that there are rumors that there will be a crisis. The EU is insisting on the ports, on the airports and on the embargo issues. Regarding the Ankara protocol there is a disagreement between Turkey and the EU. Turkey on the one hand, says that it could look into the trading of goods warmly and on the other hand, it is exhibiting a negative stance as regards services provided by the ships and planes.

Therefore, it is possible that Turkey could say that it will not fulfill this condition and through mediation it could settle this issue later on, in coming years. As mentioned by the British Foreign Secretary, the majority of the EU member-states want continuation of the negotiations with Turkey.

The Turkish press taking into consideration of the negative statements and stance of France, Cyprus and Austria makes evaluations. One should not forget that they are 3 countries out of 25 member-states.

In conclusion, despite the fact that Cyprus is a problem, however, it is not an issue that will cause suspending of the negotiations. Also, notwithstanding the fact that the problem between Turkey and Cyprus is very big, I do not think that a single state will be able to suspend the negotiations. The sending of a representative to the island by Kofi Annan could help reducing the tension. This meeting which was arranged by the UN within the EU context could help at least the sides listen to each other.

(MHY)

[03] Abdullatif Sener: Turkey will continue its EU aspirations without making any concessions on the Cyprus problem

Mr Sener stated that Turkey will continue its EU aspirations without making any concessions on the Cyprus problem. Explaining that Turkeys diplomacy had gone through difficult times in the past, the Minister of State said that todays diplomacy has an advantage as Turkey now has something to demand.

Stating that the Cyprus problem is a national cause for Turkey, Mr. Sener said the following: Speaking the same language as the international community, shaping policies according to recent developments and setting national objectives as a priority are the major principles of Turkeys Foreign policy.

[04] Soyer supports that the demand of the Republic of Cyprus regarding the implementation of the Additional Protocol is related to the opening of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan Pipeline

Mr Soyer made these statements after his return from Turkey where he and Mr Serdar Denktas attended the opening ceremony of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan Pipeline.

Reminding that the EU has decided to base its energy policy on the use of gas, Mr Soyer said that the new project will affect the relations between Turkey and the European Union. Yesterdays opening ceremony brought to light the reason behind the Greek Cypriot Sides insistence to use Turkish ports and its rejection of the lifting of the isolation on North Cyprus, he alleged.

Mr Soyer also argued that the Republic of Cyprus has been working hard to benefit from all these developments in the region while trying to keep the Turkish Cypriots out of all social, economic and political developments.

He said that the opening of the BTC pipeline should be taken into consideration and all kinds of restrictions on the two sides in Cyprus should mutually be lifted, noting that such a move will be beneficial for the two peoples of the island.

Reminding that the construction of a Turkey-Greece natural gas pipeline is to be completed soon, Mr Soyer said the continuation of the Cyprus problem is unacceptable as Ankara and Athens are enjoying such cooperation.

Mr Soyer referred to his visit to Turkey and said that he had had very useful contacts with officials both from Turkey and many other countries who also attended the opening ceremony of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan Pipeline.

[05] The coalition government will continue

As the paper writes, the Republican Turkish Party (CTP) and the Democrat Party (DP) which held several meeting in the last few days as regards the future of their coalition since last months bi-elections in which the CTP raised its number of seats to 25 in the 50-seat TRNC self-styled parliament, decided that they will continue their road together.

C/S

[06] Rasbash: The future of the Direct Trade Regulation is unknown; Turkish Cypriot unionist accuses the occupation regime of following a separatist policy

In statements to Turkish Cypriot journalists who visited Brussels between 11 and 13 July within the framework of a program organized by the European Commission, Mr Rasbash expressed the opinion that the EU behaves in a just manner to the Turkish Cypriots and noted that it exerts efforts for the Direct Trade Regulation. He said, however, that some legal obstacles exist on this issue and added that their effort is to overcome them.

Furthermore, Mr Rasbash said that in the projects which will be carried out in the occupied part of Cyprus, the property rights will be respected and in case the owner of the property is a Greek Cypriot, consultations will be conducted with him before any investment is made.

Asked what the EU will do to overcome the obstacles allegedly put by the Greek Cypriots for the Direct Trade Regulation, he said: I do not know what it will do. The future of the Direct Trade Regulation is not known, it is indefinite. There are obstacles deriving form the full membership of the Greek Cypriot side. We are under heavy pressure. We are trying to conduct the necessary work under the rules.

Meanwhile, according to KIBRIS (16.07.06), Mr Rasbash met also with a delegation consisted of organizations members of the Platform This Country is Ours, which visited Brussels between 12 and 14 July. The delegation gave to Mr Rasbash a text with common views regarding the Cyprus problem. In their letter the organizations alleged that the main obstacle for reaching a solution in Cyprus is the lack of will of the Greek Cypriot side to see the Turkish Cypriots as equals with it.

Speaking to KIBRIS on behalf of the organizations, the General Secretary of the Turkish Cypriot Teachers Trade Union (KTOS), Sener Elcil said that the Turkish Cypriots are not understood well in Brussels. He noted that this is due to the lack of contacts by the Turkish Cypriot civilian organizations in Brussels.

Pointing out that the embassy which is bound to the self-styled Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the TRNC (breakaway regime in the occupied areas of the Republic of Cyprus) is working for the division, instead of working for the solution, Mr Elcil said: Instead of saying that we want solution and accession into the EU, the policy of the continuation of the TRNC is followed. This is a policy completely contrary to the Presidency of the TRNC. That is, the government in this form is

causing harm. The government must reexamine this. Otherwise giving our support would become impossible.

(I/Ts.)

[07] A new organization named Cyprus NGO Network established in occupied Cyprus

During a press conference held at the headquarters of the Management Centre of Mediterranean (MC Med), the Chairman of the Green Peace Movement Committee Dogan Sehir, said that the aim of the Cyprus NGO Network is to increase local, national and international activities, enforce the democratic discussions and increase the dialogue among the NGOs.

The nine organizations which participate in the Cyprus NGO Network are as following: the Association of Educational Studies, the Association of Patients´ Global Rights, the Association of the Friends of Karpass, the Turkish Cypriot Diabetic Association, the Folks Arts Association, the Association of Life Support from Women, the Kemal Saracoglu Foundation for Children with Leukaemia and Fight Against Cancer, the Green Peace Movement and the Management Centre of Mediterranean (MC Med).

(M/L)

[08] Gunay Ozen took over as the new Police General Director in occupied Cyprus

The ceremony took place on Friday evening at the gardens of the co-called General Police Directorate.

During the ceremony, Mehmet Ozdamar and Huseyin Eraslan also took over their duties as the self-styled First and Second Deputies Police General Director.

Mehmet Ali Talat, Ferdi Sabit Soyer, Fatma Ekenoglu and Rauf Denktas were among those who attended the ceremony.

(M/L)

[09] A think-tank in Europe made three recommendations to the Finnish Presidency regarding the Cyprus problem

According to the paper, Prime Minister of Finland Matti Vanhanen, was the guest of honour at a July 12, 2006 CEPS dinner debate on the priorities of the Finnish Presidency. The event was chaired by H. Onno Ruding, Chairman of the CEPS Board of Directors. CEPS researchers also prepared a background reader drawn from their recent research results and publications containing concrete policy recommendations on many of the policy areas that the Finnish Presidency will have to grapple with over the next six months. CEPS also outlined priorities for the Finnish Presidency on the Cyprus problem.

The report includes the following chapter on the Cyprus problem under the title Strategic Issues in the Wider Europe by Michael Emerson:

According to the Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn the EUs accession negotiations with Turkey are heading for a train wreck unless Turkey has recognised the Republic of Cyprus and opened its ports to Greek Cypriot ships by the end of the year.

These are in themselves reasonable conditions to put to the candidate state. However, Turkey is also making a reasonable request, namely that the EU removes its present embargo on traffic through northern Cypriot sea harbours and airports. The Commission proposed removing this embargo after the Annan Plan was rejected, but Greek Cyprus vetoed it.

The citizens of northern Cyprus are (or can be) passport-holding citizens of the Republic of Cyprus, and therefore, also citizens of the EU. As a result the EU has its obligations to the citizens of northern Cyprus, first of all their right to enjoy all the four freedoms that are at the heart of the EUs legal order. Northern Cyprus cannot be blamed for the continued division of the island since they voted for the Annan Plan, which is the only internationally recognised formula for resolving the conflict.

The Greek Cypriots rejected the Annan Plan in a democratic referendum, whose legitimacy has not been contested. However the government of the Republic of Cyprus has not been made clear how it would like to renegotiate the Annan Plan and has in the meantime blocked Commission proposals to lift the sea port and air embargoes.

The stakes are high: the future of Turkeys relations with the EU, Turkeys future political orientations and even stability, and the EUs reputation for effective and equitable policymaking. The future on all these accounts is now held hostage to Greek Cyprus wish to renegotiate the Annan Plan according to its (so far unspecified) wishes. This is a counterproductive and unacceptable situation. Counterproductive, because in overplaying its hand Greek Cyprus will get no benefits for itself, yet achieve huge collateral damage to wider European interests. Unacceptable, because northern Cyprus is being punished after accepting the Annan Plan by the Greek Cypriots, who did not.

What can be done? There are three alternatives.

The first and best in principle would be actually to get agreement to an amended version of the Annan Plan. The two presidents have agreed to meet to talk about this. But Greek Cypriot politics and discourse leaves little grounds for optimism, since the Greek Cypriot desire to revert to a much more strongly centralised federation would be unacceptable to the Turkish Cypriots, and fail in a referendum on their side.

The second is for the rest of the EU to apply pressure on Greek Cyprus to agree to cancel all EU restrictions on movements in and out of the ports and airports of northern Cyprus. But the difficulty here is that the 24 other EU members states are disinclined to have an open confrontation with a fellow member state, something which would be contrary to EU values.

The third approach would be to bypass and ignore the absurd legal blockage. A number of EU member states could open up bilateral channels of assistance to northern Cyprus. The legal blockade of northern Cypriot sea and air ports are pretty well ineffective in any case. There are presumably many ships registered in Panama, as well as from Turkey that are happy to visit Famagusta port. The use of the port might be legalised with the aid of some special international status. Tourists from the EU can fly into northern Cyprus with a short stop in Istanbul. At some point the Greek Cypriot leadership may appreciate that their blocking tactics are counterproductive, since in the meantime they will not have achieved any of the gains they could have got (for example territorial) through the Annan Plan. The Turkish government could go along with this approach, recognise the Republic of Cyprus, and welcome Greek Cypriot ships. Turkey would gain goodwill and secure continuation of the accession negotiations. The Northern Cypriot side is for its part already proceeding with regularisation of the title and disposal of Greek properties in the North, which will progressively unwind an important problem in the status quo.

(Tr. Note: The TRNC is the breakaway regime established by Turkey in the occupied territories of Cyprus)

(DPs)

[10] Turkey ranks fifth among the European countries in which they have the highest defence expenditures

Sources told A.A correspondent that Iran has the highest defence expenditures among the Middle Eastern countries, with approximately 37.1 billion USD.

This country is followed by Saudi Arabia, which spends 35 billion USD for its defence capabilities. Israel has 27.2 billion USD of defence expenditures and is ranked the third among Middle Eastern countries.

Turkey spends 9.9 billion USD for its defence, and is ranked the fourth in the Middle East.

The other six Middle Eastern countries with highest defence expenditures are Syria (6 billion USD), Kuwait (4.8 billion USD), Egypt (3.3 billion USD), Oman (2.7 billion USD), United Arab Emirates (2.5 billion USD), and Jordan (800 million USD).

When Middle Eastern countries other than Turkey, Iran and Israel directly purchase defence materials, Turkey gives importance to original designs, and spends 3.5 billion USD p.a. on new systems. On the other hand, Turkey is ranked the fifth among European countries which have the highest defence expenditures.

The first four are Britain, France, Germany and Italy, while Turkey is followed Spain.

/X.CHR.

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