Cyprus PIO: Turkish Press and Other Media, 07-07-27

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

[A] NEWS ITEMS

[01] Protests against the drawing of energy lines for taking electricity from occupied Rizokarpasso to the Cape of Apostolos Andreas continue

[02] Turkish Cypriot columnist wonders why the regime is planning new investments in areas we found from the Greek Cypriots and not on Turkish properties

[03] Turkish Cypriot organizations are reportedly worried because the Turkish Cypriots do shopping in the free areas of the Island

[04] German former MP of Turkish origin becomes honorary member of the CTP

[05] Ahmet Okan is the new director of the illegal Bayrak

[06] Opposition boosts Gül's presidency hopes. MHP will attend the general assembly during presidential elections

[07] The reception for the TRNCs Army Day to be held in Ankara on 30th of July will reportedly show armys reaction regarding the election results

[08] Turkey, Greece and Italy sign agreement on natural gas pipeline project

[09] Pentagon official visits Ankara for talks on PKK arms claims

[10] Erdogan to visit the USA and meet with the U.S. President Bush

[11] Newly elected MHP Deputy died in traffic accident

[A] NEWS ITEMS

[01] Protests against the drawing of energy lines for taking electricity from occupied Rizokarpasso to the Cape of Apostolos Andreas continue

They placed a black wreath in front of the building of the prime ministry, the ministries of finance, internal affairs and environment as well as in front of the office of the EU in the occupied areas of the island. The chairman of the Green Peace Movement, Dogan Sahir said that their activities will continue as long as the officials insist on not applying the laws.

The self-styled minister of environment and natural resources, Asim Vehbi said that their views are the same and that they do not support any decision which will change the flora and fauna and the nature of the area, before the administration plans and similar work is completed.

KIBRIS reports also that the United Cyprus Party (BKP) issued yesterday a statement accusing the prime minister, Ferdi Sabit Soyer and Mr Vehbi of trying to cover up the reality that Karpass will be opened to plundering and pillaging.

Furthermore, Turkish Cypriot daily AFRIKA newspaper (27.07.07) refers to the issue under the title The first black wreath for the EU office. The paper reports that the protesters conveyed to the EU officials their reproach because of the fact that the necessary priority is not given to the area of the Cape of Apostolos Andreas and there is a hesitating attitude on the issue of funding alternative energy projects.

In the letter conveyed to the EU officials, the protesters demanded to allocate an amount of money from the Unions 259 million-euro financial aid to the Turkish Cypriot community for alternative energy projects.

Referring to the issue, Turkish Cypriot daily VOLKAN newspaper (27.07.07) newspaper reports that the self-styled Rizokarpasso municipality, the village heads in the area and other organizations reacted against the protest organized by the Sustainable Environment Platform, accusing it of trying to prevent the development of Karpass and give it away to the Greek Cypriots.

(I/Ts.)

[02] Turkish Cypriot columnist wonders why the regime is planning new investments in areas we found from the Greek Cypriots and not on Turkish properties

The paper reports that according to this law, a commission will be established by the breakaway regime where those who think that they have been given insufficient property in the occupied areas could apply. Those who want to gain back the possession rights of their properties in the government controlled areas of the Republic should return to the breakaway regime the property they were given in the occupied areas.

The permanent undersecretary at the self-styled ministry of internal affairs, Hasan Findik told the paper that those who do not comply with the above-mentioned laws could be punished with imprisonment from three up to five years.

Commenting on the issue, Cenk Mutluyakali, editor-in-chief of YENI DUZEN, notes that if the Turkish Cypriots continue to sell their properties in the free areas of the Republic of Cyprus, they will have no land left when the property issue comes onto the agenda at a possible negotiating process for the solution of the Cyprus problem in the future.

Mr Mutluyakali expresses the opinion that no one will comply with this law and adds, inter alia, the following:

The administrators are right, because if no measure is taken, we will be so much weakened that! Think about it. The proprietorship rights of the Turkish Cypriots, which are few already, will be completely nullified. However, we cannot say that no contradictions exist! For example, what will happen with those who without having any equivalent (property) have taken the most wonderful places of the northern part of Cyprus, completely or for free and afterwards sold these places? And (what will happen) with those who have taken much more (property) than their equivalent in the south? And another reality. While the property issue is not concluded, while it is in such a critical situation, why we are planning the new investments in the areas we found from the Greek Cypriots and not on the Turkish properties?

(I/Ts.)

[03] Turkish Cypriot organizations are reportedly worried because the Turkish Cypriots do shopping in the free areas of the Island

Prime Minister Ferdi Sabit Soyer, Minister of Finance Ahmet Uzun and Minister of Economy and Tourism Erdoan ^anl1da have come together with representatives of the Economic Organizations Platform , which was formed by 13 organizations.

General economic situation in the Republic was discussed during the meeting at the headquarters of the Turkish Cypriot Chamber of Commerce.

Speaking before the meeting, the President of the Chamber of Commerce Erdil Nami underlined the need to take long and short term measures to end economic stagnation in the country.

Prime Minister Ferdi Sabit Soyer, for his part, said that latest figures show that the countrys economy is performing better than previous years.

But, he accepted that some problems are being faced as a result of speedy development achieved in some fields.

Referring to the same issue, Turkish Cypriot daily VOLKAN newspaper (27.07.07) reports that 13 organizations which formed the Economic Organizations Platform have given a strong note to the Republican Turkish Party (CTP) government, asking for measures to be taken for putting an end to the bad course of the economy.

In the note it was pointed out that the Turkish Cypriots spend about five million Cyprus pounds per month in the government controlled areas of the Republic of Cyprus and it was asked for more strict controls at the crossing points to every vehicle by the workers in the customhouses of the breakaway regime.

While the Greek Cypriots do not do shopping in the TRNC, our money flows to south Cyprus, alleges VOLKAN noting that the representatives of the platform complained that the number of the companies which went bankrupt in the occupied areas or have come to the point of going bankrupt is increasing.

[04] German former MP of Turkish origin becomes honorary member of the CTP

(I/Ts.)

[05] Ahmet Okan is the new director of the illegal Bayrak

(I/Ts.)

[06] Opposition boosts Gül's presidency hopes. MHP will attend the general assembly during presidential elections

Foreign Minister Abdullah Gül's troubled bid for presidency -- boycotted by the opposition, challenged by the military and eventually blocked by the Constitutional Court -- is likely to succeed this time with the leader of the opposition Nationalist Action Party (MHP) announcing his deputies will attend the vote.

The attendance of the MHP, which has 70 seats in the 550-member Parliament, will make it easier for Parliament to reach a quorum of 367 legislators, which the Constitutional Court said was compulsory for a vote on the president to be valid. The court cancelled the first vote, held in April, on the grounds that there were less than 367 deputies in attendance, upholding a complaint from the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP).

In remarks published Thursday in Milliyet and Akam newspapers, MHP leader Devlet Bahçeli said his party would attend the next presidential vote, saying this is what consistency requires. He said: We will be there that day. We will enter the General Assembly Hall on the day of the voting.

Bahçeli also said that the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) has the right to elect any nominee they wish as the president, dismissing an argument from the CHP that the next president should be elected by compromise. The decision belongs to the AK Party entirely. They can elect whomever they want, he said. We may not back their candidate. And they don't need this either, he added, referring to the constitutional norms allowing election of the president by simple majority vote of 276 deputies in the third round of the vote.

The AK Party, which secured victory in Sunday's election with 46.6 percent of the vote, is set to control at least 340 seats in the new Parliament. The Constitution requires at least 367 votes in support of a candidate for him to be able to get elected in the first two rounds.

Bahçeli said: The election has been held and the AK Party has come to power again with the will of the people. It can vote in anybody whom it wants as the president; the decision belongs to the AK Party entirely. They can elect whomever they want. However, most certainly it would benefit the country to elect a president who represents the unity of the nation and the state, somebody who is not controversial and who is worthy of Turkey.

Bahçeli continued: There should be no problem of a presidential vote quorum on the day of the presidential election. [The AK Party] already has 340 deputies. There are 24 independent deputies backed by the Democratic Society Party (DTP). The quorum for a presidential vote to be valid is 367. In order to elect a president in the first two rounds, at least 367 deputies should support a nominee. In this sense, the AK Party won't have a problem with meeting the quorum on that day. We will join the meeting, but whether we would vote for their candidate or not is entirely up to us.

Bahçeli's words signal that Turkey will not have to go through the upset caused by not having 367 deputies present in a parliamentary ballot to elect the president, the required quorum for a voting round to be valid according to a Constitutional Court ruling made in May.

On Wednesday Gül signalled he would probably make a fresh bid for the presidency, despite continued resistance from the CHP, which boycotted the voting in May. He said he cannot ignore the people's will, which was clearly expressed in the ballot box.

Despite clear opposition from the CHP to Gül's candidacy, its election ally, the smaller Democratic Left Party (DSP) may take a different stance, observers say. DSP leader Zeki Sezer said yesterday that DSP-origin deputies within the CHP would oppose Gül becoming the president, but he did not say whether they would boycott the vote. We won't support Gül's candidacy, Sezer was quoted as saying by the ANKA news agency. I expect them to take a compromising step. Candidates that are supported by all sections of society are needed.

On Wednesday, Sezer signalled he would not automatically follow the CHP path, saying the DSP deputies would decide on the day of vote whether or not to show up in Parliament.

Subtitle: AK Party welcomes green light from Bahçeli

Bahçeli's remarks were welcomed in the AK Party ranks yesterday, with party officials praising his stance as respect for democracy.

Whatever problems we have, they will be resolved in Parliament. If this is the MHP's stance, it means they are doing a right thing, former Justice Minister Cemil Çiçek said. I find this statement appropriate, the AK Party's Salih Kapusuz said.

Meanwhile, independent deputy Muhsin Yaz1c1olu also announced he would attend the vote in Parliament. My duty is to voice the nation's wishes and will in Parliament. I cannot condone boycotting the Parliament, he said.

Although Bahçeli eased the AK Party's concerns on election of Gül as president, he signaled he would not be readily open to dialogue with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoan. Bahçeli said he deliberately refused to return a phone call from Erdoan made soon after Sunday's elections because of lingering disappointment over Erdoan's past remarks that he would not greet the MHP members even if they manage to enter Parliament.

The prime minister says he has opened a blank page now, but I don't know what we would do with the older pages, Bahçeli said.

[07] The reception for the TRNCs Army Day to be held in Ankara on 30th of July will reportedly show armys reaction regarding the election results

The paper writes that the Turkish Chief of the General Staff may express some views on the issue of Guls candidacy in the beginning of next week. For this reason, the Ankaras backstage is waiting with great interest the reception that will be held in the headquarters of the Central Officers Club in Ankara on 30 of July on the occasion of the TRNCs Army Day. Like previous years, the Chief of the General Staff General Yasar Buyukanit, all the commanding officers of the army and high-ranking commanders will attend the reception. Many journalists have also applied to attend the reception. Supreme Military Councils meeting which will convey one day after the TRNC Army Day Reception carries great importance to the Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan from the point of view of taking the pulse of the army. The Turkish Prime Minister is expecting to take some sounding from the meeting.

The paper also writes that the General Staff may reply through its internet site to the statements made by AKPs deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Ali Sahin who stated, inter alia, that the people of Turkey manifested in the 22 July elections that only the politicians should be involved in politics.

(CS)

[08] Turkey, Greece and Italy sign agreement on natural gas pipeline project

Energy Minister Hilmi Güler on Thursday signed an intergovernmental deal with his counterparts from Italy and neighbouring Greece for the construction of a pipeline to bring natural gas from central Asia to European markets by 2011.

Ankara attributes high importance to the project as it will strengthen the idea of Turkey being the fourth energy artery of the European Union. The deal was signed at a ceremony held at the Economic Development Ministry in Rome with Pier Luigi Bersani, Italy's minister for economic development, and Dimitris Sioufas, Greece's minister for development, putting their signatures on behalf of their governments. The agreement seals months of negotiations aimed at piping natural gas from the Caucasus to Western Europe through Turkey and Greece.

Turkey and Greece will become a bridge for the transmission of gas from Anatolia to the West. My earnest desire is to accomplish the tripartite agreement that includes Turkey, Greece and Italy and to pull together a new collaboration for the south corridor, Güler said last week in Ankara, where he signed a protocol with Sioufas providing for Greek purchases of electricity from Turkey at peak periods.

The Turkish-Greek link, initially planned to be finished in June, is now expected to begin operating in late August, while construction on the Greek-Italian connector -- owned by Italy's Edison and Greece's DEPA -- is expected to begin next year.

The pipeline network would include a 212-kilometer undersea connection from Greece to Italy, and is expected to carry 11.5 billion cubic meters of gas a year into Greece, most of it for re-export. The gas is expected to be of non-Russian origin, after strong US pressure to ensure that Europe get its growing gas imports from multiple suppliers. A visit to Athens by Azeri Economic Development Minister Heydar Babayev this month raised expectations that Azerbaijan could supply much of the project's supply.

A separate project, the South Stream pipeline, would bring Russian gas through Bulgaria to Europe. This marks the latest of several international agreements boosting regional energy cooperation.

In March, Greece, Bulgaria and Russia signed an agreement to build an oil pipeline from Bulgaria to Greece to carry Russian crude to the Mediterranean, bypassing Turkey's congested Bosporus Straits.

[09] Pentagon official visits Ankara for talks on PKK arms claims

A senior Pentagon official had talks in Ankara this week following allegations by former members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) that the US supplied arms to the terrorist group in Iraq, Turkish and US officials said.

General Counsel of the US Department of Defense William J. Haynes, who headed a seven-member team of US officials, held closed-door talks with officials from the General Staff, the Foreign Ministry, the Security Directorate and the National Intelligence Organization (M0T). Haynes is involved in an ongoing investigation into weapons that went missing after they were donated by the US to Iraq.

"Haynes was in Ankara only for one day and he held senior-level talks both with military and government officials. His meetings concerned an ongoing investigation that had been launched a number of months ago about possibly missing weapons. We have been working in cooperation with Turkish officials since then," US Embassy Press Attaché Kathryn Schalow told Today's Zaman on Thursday, noting that the ongoing investigation proceeded into recent reports concerning US-registered weapons ending up in hands of PKK terrorists.

Turkish diplomatic sources said that a US delegation from the Department of Defence held talks on Wednesday in Ankara with "related authorities" within the framework of an investigation that has been launched at the Department of Defence.

The Department of Defence has launched an investigation into US-registered weapons sent to the Iraqi army ending up in the hands the outlawed PKK based in northern Iraq, Foreign Minister Abdullah Gül said on Thursday.

Former members of the PKK escaping from mountain camps in northern Iraq recently gave testimony in which they told security authorities and prosecutors they had seen US trucks delivering arms to PKK camps. Turkish officials suggested there was other evidence indicating the one-time terrorists' charges could be accurate, without elaborating.

Foreign Minister Gül said recently it has been revealed that certain US soldiers were involved in corrupt acts related to the issue of weapons ending up in PKK hands and warned that Turkish-US ties would break apart if it is proven that the US openly supplies arms to the PKK, designated as a terrorist organization not only by Ankara but also by Washington. The finding came out of an internal investigation launched into the PKK arms claims.

Officials view Haynes' visit in a positive light and see his trip as a step on the part of the US to address Turkish concerns. Gül had previously requested a formal explanation from the US over the allegations in a telephone conversation with his US counterpart, Condoleezza Rice. US Ambassador Ross Wilson was also summoned to the Foreign Ministry and shown documents relating to the allegations.

In Haynes' meetings on Wednesday, Turkish officials presented a detailed list of Austrian-made Glock pistols, AK-47 rifles, machine guns, sniper rifles, rocket launchers and hand grenades that have been seized with PKK members.

The US side explained that Washington has provided more than 370,000 weapons, including Glock pistols, launchers, grenades, machine guns and sniper rifles, to Iraq as part of its efforts to support restructuring in Iraq. These weapons, worth some $133 million, were given to Iraq under 19 agreements and that some 142 documents certifying delivery were available.

A congressional report pointing out problems in connection with the fate of weapons provided for Iraq was also debated at Haynes' meetings. The report, prepared by Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR) in 2006, says the US Defence Department registered the serial numbers of only about 10,000 of the 370,251 weapons it provided -- less than 3 percent.

Haynes said in his meetings with Turkish officials, who included Deputy Chief of Staff Gen. Ergin Saygun and Police Director-General Ouz Kaan Köksal, that the weapons that ended up in PKK hands were those supplied to Iraqi security organizations by the United States. He said it was highly probable that the PKK got these weapons from Iraqi security forces.

[10] Erdogan to visit the USA and meet with the U.S. President Bush

(CS)

[11] Newly elected MHP Deputy died in traffic accident

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