Cyprus PIO: Turkish Press and Other Media, 07-09-24

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

[A] NEWS ITEMS

[01] Avci is having contacts in Italy

[02] Ferry Services to start between occupied Cyprus and Syria

[03] The self-styled commission on high education (YODAK) has become the pre-member of the European Association for quality assurance in higher education

[04] More on the property issue

[05] Turkish Cypriot organisations to participate in a conference of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe- Afrika calls on them to speak about the injustice of the demographic changes in occupied Cyprus

[06] Orams to recourse to the ECHR

[07] EU Approves Annual Follow-up Report on Green Line Regulation

[08] Cakici warned that that the time for Karpasia to be looted has arrived as well

[09] Turkish archives may shed light on history of 30 countries

[10] Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogans contacts in the US

[11] Turkey's FM Babacan discusses foreign policy at Chicago council on global affairs; among them the Cyprus issue

[12] Turkey signs bilateral cooperation agreement to fight financial crime

[A] NEWS ITEMS

[01] Avci is having contacts in Italy

Mr Avci will visit today the headquarters of the Radikal party, which is one of the parties of the coalition in Italy, and will meet with Emma Bonino, Minister for International Trade and European Affairs. Mr Avci will also meet Maurizio Turco - an MP from the Radical Party and Perduca Marco - a member of the Radikal Party both who were granted the TRNC citizenship by the self-styled Council of Ministers. Mr Avci will hand them over their identity cards and passports.

The paper writes that Mr Avci was received at the VIP room at the Rome airport by the Turkish Ambassador to Rome Ugur Ziyal.

In addition Illegal Bayrak television (22.09.07) broadcast about Mr Avcis visit to Rome and reported that he will hold contacts with state officials, parliamentarians, media institutions as well as businessmen during his stay in Rome. According to Bayrak Mr Avci is also expected to come together with officials from the Italian Radical Party whose members recently visited occupied Cyprus. In this framework Mr Avci will meet Maurizio Turco and Perduca Marco who were in occupied Cyprus last July to attend the celebrations for the Turkish invasion. The two men, who were in the TRNC last July to attend the 20th July Peace and Freedom Day celebrations, applied for TRNC citizenship on the 21st of July in reaction to the European Unions failure to honour its promises to lift the international isolation of the Turkish Cypriots, broadcast illegal Bayrak.

Mr Avci and his accompanying delegation are expected to return to occupied Cyprus on Wednesday the 26th of September.

(CS)

[02] Ferry Services to start between occupied Cyprus and Syria

The ferry trips that had been held between the Gazimagusa (occupied Famagusta) port of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) and the Lazkiye (Latakia) port of Syria between 1978 and 1979 were re-launched after an interval of 28 years. The first trip that took place on Saturday was a promotional one and scheduled regular trips will start with the Ramadan holiday.

Government officials, businessmen, representatives from the press organizations, tourism agencies and universities attended the ferry trip. Deputy PM and FM Turgay Avci was present at the port for the first ferry trip after 28 years and bid farewell to passengers. Avci said that the ferry service would foster relations in the fields of tourism, culture, commerce and education, indicating that it would also help peoples of the two countries commingles.

In addition, Turkish daily Todays Zaman newspaper (24.09.07) reports the following on the same issue:

A Turkish Cypriot delegation who travelled over the weekend by ferry from the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (KKTC) to Syria was able to enter Syrian soil by presenting passports issued by KKTC, developments widely considered a step forward in the easing of the international isolation of the country's citizens.

The delegation from the Turkish Cypriot Foreign Ministry travelled on board a ferry going from the Gazimagusa (occupied Famagusta) Port in northern Cyprus to the port of Latakia in Syria for a daily promotional tour. Syria and the KKTC are preparing to launch direct ferry tours on schedule between the two countries on the first day of the upcoming holiday, Ramadan Bayram, October 12. From now on Syria will recognize KKTC passports as valid travelling documents, the Anatolia news agency reported from Latakia, citing Turkish Cypriot and Syrian officials. The same procedure that has been implemented for citizens of other countries will be implemented for KKTC citizens entering Syrian soil, Abdulkadir Sabira, head of the Syrian Chamber of Maritime, told reporters in response to a question. Turkish Cypriots will pay 15 euros for a Syrian visa at Latakia, said Kenan Basaran, a principal clerk for the KKTC Foreign Ministry.

As he sent off the passengers of the ferry boat travelling to Latakia, KKTC Foreign Minister Turgay Avci described the day as one that was historic and important, and expressed hope that the ferryboat tours between the two countries would help not only the improvement of bilateral relations, but also the improvement of Middle East tourism.

Last week Turkish President Abdullah Gul, during a visit to the KKTC, urged the international community to keep its promises to ease the international isolation of the Turkish Cypriots as a reward for their will for reunification of the divided island, which was displayed clearly in simultaneous referenda held in April 2004.

Moreover, on 24 September 2007 Turkish Cypriot daily Yeni Duzen newspapers columnist Cenk Mutluyakali reports about the issue and writes, inter alia, that the fact that the Turkish Cypriots enter Syria using their TRNC passports does not mean that Syria recognises TRNC. As he writes the Greek Cypriots visit Turkey using the passports of the Republic of Cyprus and adds that this does not mean that Turkey recognise the Republic of Cyprus.

[03] The self-styled commission on high education (YODAK) has become the pre-member of the European Association for quality assurance in higher education

Despite of all the efforts of the Greek Cypriot Administration the Commission on High Education (YODAK) has become a pre-member of the European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education.

The pre-membership of YODAK was approved at yesterdays session of the general meeting of the European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education, which was held in the Norwegian capital Oslo between 20th and 21st of September.

The approval was taken despite of the written objection of the representatives of the Greek Cypriot Administration in which they claimed that YODAK as an institution of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus should not be recognized.

The President of YODAK, Tahir Celik, who is in Oslo for the general meeting of the European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education said the pre-membership of YODAK, is an important step for the TRNC universities to take part in the Bologna process.

[04] More on the property issue

According to Afrika in case the decision of the ECHR is positive, other Greek Cypriots are getting ready to apply to the Immovable Property Commission. As the paper writes, the Commission will distribute first property which belongs to Evkaf and then property which belonged to Turkish Cypriot refugees in the south who denounced their property rights. According to Afrika another Greek Cypriot, Thomas Kaoullis, is in negotiation with the Immovable Property Commission.

(CS)

[05] Turkish Cypriot organisations to participate in a conference of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in EuropeAfrika calls on them to speak about the injustice of the demographic changes in occupied Cyprus

Commenting on the issue, Turkish Cypriot daily Afrika newspaper (24.09.07) writes in the Column Afrikadan mektup (letter from Afrika) about the various Turkish Cypriot organisations which will participate in the conference, among them the Journalists Union, the Association of University Graduate Women, Swallow Cultural Association, Cyprus Politics Centre and Associations of the embargoes.

The paper wonders whether the organizations will take this opportunity to inform Europe about what is going on in occupied Cyprus and writes, inter alia, the following: We are curious. We wonder if they will also explain how they made us disappear here with the population which was carried from abroad and how we felt in the state of minority in our own country. In brief how a community was annihilated.

(CS)

[06] Orams to recourse to the ECHR

British couple Linda and David Orams, who are embroiled in a long running legal battle over their Lapta (occupied Lapithos) villa, have filed an application with the European Court of Human Rights, they disclosed this week. The retired couple face a claim from Greek Cypriot Meletios Apostolides that the one donum plot on which the villa stands belongs to him.

Three London Appeal Court judges ruled in June that crucial European Union law issues raised by the Orams case could only be resolved by the European Court of Justice. This followed a British High Court decision last year which stated that judgments obtained against the couple in South Nicosia were not enforceable in English courts.

Mrs Orams told Cyprus Today: We are convinced that, in this case, the European Court of Justice will not interpret its own legislation in such a way as to encourage the use of legal process as a weapon against individual EU citizens acting in good faith.

Such an outcome would be a total denial of the basic principles of the EU, which was established to bring peace and economic development to Europe through co-operation and understanding, as opposed to conflict and enmity.

In the meantime we have filed an application to the European Court of Human Rights to protect our rights by obtaining a judgement to the effect that the proceedings before the District Court of Nicosia and Supreme Court of Cyprus have violated our right to a fair hearing and to an effective remedy under the European Convention on Human Rights.

[07] EU Approves Annual Follow-up Report on Green Line Regulation

EU Commission accepted on Friday the Green Line Regulation annual follow-up report.

The Commission criticized Greek Cypriot administration for not preventing illegal migration, while eulogizing Turkish Cypriots for contributing to decrease the rate of illegal migration.

The Commission published the report to inform EU member states about annual follow-up activities on Green Line Regulation.

Green Line Regulation was put into effect by EU General Affairs & External Relations Council on April 26th. The regulation sets the rules of EU acquis which will be implemented on crossing of persons, goods and services on green line. EU Commission is preparing an annual report both to supervise effective implementation of these rules and to measure how successful are the rules to make two sides closer to each other.

The annual report, which was approved by EU Commission today, examines the economic activities pursued on Green Line between May 1st, 2006 and April 30th, 2007.

According to the report, the value of goods which were traded from north to south is 3.380 million Euros, while the worth of goods traded from south to north is 1.027 million Euros; that doubled last year's figures.

[08] Cakici warned that that the time for Karpasia to be looted has arrived as well

Mr Cakici also stated that the Turkish Cypriots are unhappy and without hope and added that the Republican Turkish Party did not change the status quo but only strengthened it.

Referring to the statements made by the Turkish President Abdullah Gul, during his recent visit to occupied Cyprus, about two states, tow religions and two peoples in Cyprus, Mr Cakici said that these statements do not help towards finding a solution in Cyprus.

(CS)

[09] Turkish archives may shed light on history of 30 countries

The General Directorate of State Archives and the Turkish Historical Society (TTK) have conducted joint work to classify the Ottoman archives.

This classification showed that Ottoman archives contained records and documents that contain important information about the history of 30 countries, established after the disintegration of the Ottoman State. Upon request, these documents and records will be provided to the respective countries. Translation of the archives into English, German and French has already started. The classification work has been under progress for many years and it is about to be finalized to a great extent. During this work, important documents and records have been unearthed which will shed light on the history of not only Turkey, but also of 30 countries in the Balkans, Europe, Africa and the Middle East.

In particular, it was discovered that the Ottoman archives contained very important documents and records pertaining to Armenia, about which Turkey offered to open all archives to international researchers in connection with the so-called Armenian genocide.

The records in the Ottoman archives cover 400-500 years of the history of these countries, which include Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, Libya, Egypt, Sudan, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Jordan, Oman, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Iraq, Syria, Palestine, Israel, Lebanon, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Bulgaria, Kosovo, Romania, Moldova, Macedonia, Greece, Albania, Georgia, Armenia and Cyprus. Officials from the General Directorate of State Archives note that the number of countries that make use of the Ottoman archives had been low, adding that individual researchers will now be given access to the archives.

Subtitle: National archives bill:

The bill on national archives, prepared after the conclusion of research and classification work in the Ottoman archives, is expected to be enacted after the opening of the Turkish Parliament on October 1. During the previous parliamentary term, the bill had been negotiated at the parliamentary Plan and Budget Commission, which referred it to a sub-commission. The government is preparing to enact this bill as soon as Parliament reconvenes. This bill will ensure that the archives are handled in accordance with scientific methods.

Since access to the state archives became forbidden or restricted, many archived documents were either damaged or lost. The bill contains tight measures against such acts. Any person, who steals, destroys or removes documents from the state archives may be sentenced to one to six years in prison and fined up to YTL 5,000.

The bill empowers the General Directorate of State Archives for the determination of archive documents and documents capable of being archived, their protection, their usage in line with national and public interests and their elimination and destruction when necessary.

Documents produced by public organizations and institutions except those of the Presidency, the Parliament, the General Staff, the Defense Ministry and the National Intelligence Organization (M0T) will be archived by the General Directorate of State Archives. The records of the Turkish Red Crescent (Kizilay) and the Turkish Aviation Association (THK) will also be archived.

Archived documents will not be taken out of the archive buildings or the places where they are kept. Permission of the general director will be required for their display at exhibitions or other scientific or cultural activities.

The documents archived at the General Directorate or other archive buildings will be opened for access 30 years after their first processing and classification. Real or corporate persons will not be allowed to keep archive documents other than those relating to their correspondence with public authorities, nor sell, purchase, reproduce, destroy or make them accessible to third parties.

[10] Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogans contacts in the US

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan will participate in the 62nd General Assembly meeting of the United Nations set to begin on Monday.

PM Erdogan will deliver a speech at a high-level UN meeting on climate change on Monday and address the UN General Assembly on Friday (September 28th).

Erdogan will also participate in a reception to be hosted by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon on Monday. He will hold talks with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Portuguese PM Jose Socrates, Spanish PM Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapetero, Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt and Austrian Chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer.

Premier Erdogan will also meet executives of the leading U.S. companies at a meeting to be hosted by the Coca-Cola.

On the other hand, Erdogan will hold bilateral talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Italian PM Romano Prodi and Colombian President Alvaro Uribe Velez on Tuesday.

On Wednesday, Erdogan will attend the opening session of New York Stock Exchange and meet stock exchange executives.

PM Erdogan will take the floor in the meeting to be held by the Foreign Relations Council on Thursday.

He will also take part in a panel discussion to be held under the Clinton Global Initiative on 'Building a Multi-ethnic Global Society' on Friday. Erdogan will also receive the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) SG Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu the same day.

Prime Minister Erdogan is expected to return to Turkey on September 29th.

[11] Turkey's FM Babacan discusses foreign policy at Chicago council on global affairs; among them the Cyprus issue

The presence of the terrorist organization PKK in northern Iraq and its attacks against Turkey from there, is a source of uneasiness in TurkishU.S. relations and we are expecting both the United States and Iraqi governments to take urgent and firm steps in bringing PKK terrorists before justice, Turkish FM Ali Babacan told a meeting on Thursday held at The Chicago Council on Global Affairs.

Babacan noted that the strategic partnership between Turkey and the U.S. had the strength to adapt itself to the changing conditions.

Babacan said that PKK terrorism and the Armenian allegations concerning 1915 incidents are two most important issues to be settled to ease the relations between the two countries.

Turkey cannot accept a third party to play the role of judge or jury, and take side, Babacan said regarding a resolution at the U.S. Congress on Armenian allegations concerning the incidents of 1915.

Armenian allegations have never been verified neither legally nor historically. We would like to see that the U.S. Congress did not take side in this matter, and common sense prevailed. This is an issue that has to be dealt with between Turks and Armenians, Babacan stressed.

Touching on TurkishEU relations, Babacan said that Turkey resolutely continued accession negotiations in its march towards membership to the Union.

We will continue with this transformation process in Turkey and will work to overcome problems we face on this path, he said.

Expressing Turkey's concerns about the developments in Iraq, Babacan said, Turkey and the United States share the same view about Iraq. Both countries are for a peaceful Iraq. Turkey has assisted Iraq in many areas, from humanitarian aid to development of political dialogue among different groups. We need to work resolutely to preserve Iraq's territorial integrity and political unity.

Recalling that it was Turkey which initiated the group of countries neighboring Iraq, Babacan said, now, this initiative also includes the five members of the UN Security Council and G-8 countries. Turkey will host the second meeting of the group in Istanbul in October.

The United States has some plans to withdraw from Iraq. But we will remain in the region. Iraq's future, territorial integrity and political unity are of great importance for Turkey and the other neighboring countries. We believe that all Iraqi people should benefit from the country's natural resources, he said.

Turkey believes that all countries have the right to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. However, we are against development of new nuclear weapons due to national, regional and global security concerns. As for Iran's nuclear program, we have always recommended Iranian authorities to be transparent and frank, he went on.

Babacan said, Turkey aims to become a party as regards settlement of problems in the Middle East, and not a part of the problems. To this end, Turkey's giving sound messages to Iran and Syria as a neighboring country.

Babacan gave the message that it is not correct to isolate those countries.

Turkey is one of the rare countries having good relations with both Israel and Arab states. And we are ready to host an international conference in an effort to solve the Middle East dispute, he said.

Giving information about Turkey's reform process, Babacan said, as a result of increasing foreign investments and a rapid growth rate, Turkey is expected to become the 10th biggest economy of the world in 2023. Turkey has a young and dynamic population. There are many surveys showing that the EU-countries would need some 50 million migrants in the near future due to their low birth rates. Turkey will be quite different in the future as compared with the current one.

Referring to the Cyprus problem, Babacan said, unfair isolation of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) has still been continuing. This isolation must come to an end. We cannot accept status quo as a solution. Turkey wants a fair, durable and comprehensive solution to the Cyprus issue.

Meanwhile, Babacan held talks with representatives of Jewish associations such as the American Jewish Federation and the Anti-Defamation League in Chicago. During the meeting, the representatives said that they are opposing to the bills on the incidents of 1915.

Babacan said that enactment of the bill by the U.S. Congress will have a serious impact on Turkey-US and Turkey-Israel relations.

Later, Babacan met Chicago World Trade Center Chairman Neil Hartigan.

Babacan is expected to proceed to New York on Saturday.

[12] Turkey signs bilateral cooperation agreement to fight financial crime

Turkey continues to sign memoranda of understanding with various countries to support the struggle against money laundering and the financing of terrorism.

The Financial Crimes Investigation Board (MASAK) signed its third bilateral cooperation agreement with Swedish financial crimes intelligence department (Finanspolisen Rikskriminalpolisen -- NFIS) on Saturday after the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (KKTC) and Indonesia did the same. With the agreement, financial crime intelligence services will share reports of suspected people who are involved in money laundering and the financing of terrorism crimes with greater speed and ease, bilaterally. The counterparts will cooperate more and stage joint operations. More memoranda of understanding are to follow; negotiations between MASAK and the related departments of Portugal, Albania, Georgia, South Korea, Poland, Romania, Singapore, Serbia, Syria, Ukraine and Japan are under way.

ES/

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