Cyprus PIO: Turkish Press and Other Media, 08-11-04

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

[A] NEWS ITEMS

[01] The sixth meeting between Christofias and Talat

[02] Soyer will have a series of contacts in Turkey

[03] More illegal immigrants have been arrested by the so-called police

[04] A delegation from HAK-IS syndicate of Turkey will pay a visit in the occupied areas

[05] The cost of living for October is 1.2%

[06] British poultry supplier who was accused for selling rancid meal lives in the occupied areas

[07] The self-styled government refused to bail out Gary Robb and its Amaranta Valley scheme in occupied Cyprus

[08] Gul views Cyprus problem at European Economic forum

[B] COMMENTARIES, EDITIORIALS AND ANALYSIS

[09] Turkish Cypriot columnist accuses Britain for betraying Cyprus as a whole

[10] From the Turkish Press of 3 November 2008

[A] NEWS ITEMS

[01] The sixth meeting between Christofias and Talat

Turkish and Greek Cypriot leaders met at the buffer zone in Cyprus for the sixth time on Monday.

President Mehmet Ali Talat of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) and Greek Cypriot leader Demetris Christofias gathered at the buffer zone in the island for the sixth time within the scope of comprehensive Cyprus talks.

Leaders will continue negotiating administration and share of power as well as legislation in Monday's meeting. Also their envoys Ozdil Nami and George Iacovou will deal with execution.

Cyprus talks were launched on September 11. In their previous five meetings, the leaders discussed administration and share of power. They first handled authorities and then negotiated federal administration.

In their last meeting on October 22, Talat and Christofias started to debate legislation.

Leaders are expected to discuss the property issue after they close the administration and share of power issues.

Moreover, Turkish Cypriot daily Kibris newspaper and all the other Turkish Cypriot newspapers (04.11.08) report in their first pages on yesterdays 6th meeting between the two leaders in Cyprus aiming at finding a lasting and just solution to the Cyprus problem. Kibris, under the title They are making progress writes that the two leaders discussed yesterday the issue of federal executive and legislation. According to the paper, the Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat stated after the meeting, that it went well, it goes well, while Demetris Christofias stated I am fine.

Moreover, reading out a short press statement at the end of the three-hour long meeting, the UN Secretary-Generals Special Representative to Cyprus and Chief of Mission Taye-Brook Zerihoun announced that Talat and Christofias have agreed to hold their next meetings on Tuesday, the 11th of November during which he said cameras and videos will be allowed in to take footage and the next one on the 14th of November. The paper reports on the UN Special Representatives statement that the two leaders have once again instructed their special representatives Ozdil Nami and George Iacovou to maintain discussions on the federal executive, in an effort to narrow remaining differences between the two sides on the issue.

The paper reports also that Mehmet Ali Talats Special Advisor for Negotiations, Mr. Ozdil Nami answering to the question of a reporter of the illegal TAK, has said that the Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat during yesterdays meeting put on the agenda of the meeting, the matter of the leaking of information regarding the negotiations to the Greek Cypriot press. The paper writes that the two leaders agreed to be more careful.

The Turkish Cypriot newspapers cover the 6th meeting between the two leaders with the following titles:

AFRIKA: Talat-Christofias They met for three hours

ORTAM: Progress was made.

YENI DUZEN: There is progress.

KIBRISLI: They are making progress, but in which direction?

HALKIN SESI: Talat, warned Christofias on the issue of blackout.

STAR KIBRIS: They are making progress.

Turkish daily Sabah newspaper (04.11.08), under the title The progress has lead to two new meetings, publishes a short report by Cenk Mutluyakali from occupied Lefkosia on yesterdays meeting between President Demetris Christofias and Turkish Cypriot leader, Mehmet Ali Talat. The report briefly gives details on the meeting, noting that during yesterdays meeting, progress was achieved and that the two leaders will hold two new meetings next week.

(AK / ML)

[02] Soyer will have a series of contacts in Turkey

Prime Minister Soyer who flew to Istanbul this morning will move on to Ankara tomorrow where he will have official contacts with Turkish state and government officials.

In Ankara, he will meet with Turkish President Abdullah Gul, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Deputy Prime Minister- Minister of State in charge of Cyprus Affairs Cemil Cicek.

In Istanbul Mr Soyer is attending the working meeting of TUSIAD.

Deputy Prime Minister-Foreign Minister Turgay Avci and Minister of Finance Ahmet Uzun are accompanying the Prime Minister.

Moreover, Turkish Cypriot daily Kibris newspaper (04.11.08), under the title A summit over Cyprus in Ankara reports that the self-styled Prime Minister Ferdi Sabit Soyer went yesterday to Istanbul and that this morning, after concluding his contacts, he will move on to Ankara where he will have official contacts with Turkish state and government officials. According to the paper, Ferdi Sabit Soyer will meet tomorrow with the Turkish President Abdullah Gul, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State responsible for Cyprus Affairs Cemil Cicek. The Cyprus problem and economic matters will be high on the agenda of the meeting. Soyer will return to the occupied areas on Thursday, 6th of November.

In Istanbul Mr Soyer will attend the working meeting of TUSIAD and he will participate in another working-meeting. The self-styled Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Turgay Avci and the so-called Minister of Finance Ahmet Uzun will accompany the so-called prime minister Soyer in Ankara.

Turkish Cypriot daily Afrika newspaper (04.11.08) reports in its front page on Soyers trip to Turkey and writes that the self-styled Prime Minister, Ferdi Sabit Soyer in the past stated the following: Nobody will force me to ask for money from Turkey. The paper writes that Soyer stopped being obstinate and went to Turkey with his delegation in order to ask for economic support. The paper also writes that on the eve of his visit to Ankara, the self-styled Minister of Finance, Mr. Ahmet Uzun gave a promise to the assembly that he will not cut the 13th salary and bonus.

Turkish Cypriot daily Ortam newspaper (04.11.08) reports on the same matter under the title Mum, give us money.

(AK)

[03] More illegal immigrants have been arrested by the so-called police

(A.K.)

[04] A delegation from HAK-IS syndicate of Turkey will pay a visit in the occupied areas

(AK)

[05] The cost of living for October is 1.2%

The highest increase (7.6 %) in comparison with last month was recorded in the prices of clothing and shoes. The prices of other goods and services increased as follows: entertainment and culture 2.5 %, furniture, domestic equipment and domestic care services 2.3 %, food and non-alcoholic drinks 1.0 %, various products and services 0.9 %, communication 0.9 %, education 0.7 %, restaurants and hotels 0.6 %, health 0.4 % and transportation 0.2 %.

The prices of the houses, water, electricity and gas and other fuel decreased by 0.6%.

(ITs)

[06] British poultry supplier who was accused for selling rancid meal to schools and hospitals lives in the occupied areas

The man dubbed 'Maggot Pete' for racking up a small fortune selling rancid meat to schools and hospitals is trying to protest his innocence.

Peter Roberts, 73, who fled to North Cyprus and spent three years on the run here after skipping bail in Britain, says in a letter to Cyprus Today that no-one fell ill eating the meat his Denby Poultry Products supplied.

But papers from his legal teams that he included in his letter show they have advised Roberts, serving out a six-year jail sentence at Ashwell Prison in Oakham, Rutland, that he has no grounds for appeal.

In September, Derby Crown Court ruled that Roberts, who pocketed £435,183 from the food scam in which chickens rejected by poultry processors were sold on for human consumption, should pay up £167,610 all that is left from his ill-gotten gains, tied up in his UK home, bank accounts and endowment policy.

His wife, Shari, has remained in North Cyprus. Andrew Stubbs, from the Crown Prosecution Service, said she had agreed to transfer her share of the home and endowment policy into her husbands name so it could be seized by the court.

He said: 'Police have no intention of arresting or interviewing Shari Roberts. It is not in the public interest to prosecute her on any matter arising from this case'.

Mr Roberts, in his letter to Cyprus Today, said: 'A statement by an independent solicitor clearly proves there was nothing wrong with this chicken. would like to add that this chicken was never analysed by the prosecution although asked that this be done'.

He claimed that the BBC was to blame for his extradition back to Britain after previous attempts by the British police had failed.

'When they failed they persuaded the BBC to become involved' he claimed. 'By this time the case was four years old and was dead and buried. There would have been no mileage in this for the media'.

Mr Stubbs told the court that the rat-infested factory that Roberts ran sold food that was not suitable for animals, but it ended up being sold to schools and hospitals at more than £2,000 per tonne.

The chicken could have caused fatal food poisoning, the court was told. Roberts was convicted of conspiracy to defraud, along with five other men, in his absence in June 2003. He was tracked down to north Cyprus last year and deported to Britain.

He masterminded the scam which was uncovered in December 2000 when police officers began surveillance of Denby Poultry Products, in Denby, Derbyshire.

The business was a pet food processing plant which received waste and rejected meat from poultry slaughterhouses to use in its products. It only had a licence allowing the sale of food for animals.

The premises were raided in March 2001 and Roberts skipped bail and fled to North Cyprus.

Justin Wigoder, a Nottinghamshire solicitor, said in a letter: 'The details alleged that between August 1995 and March 2001 [Roberts] and others conspired to defraud corporations, firms and persons who make purchases of poultry for human consumption by dishonestly causing or permitting meat which they knew was not fit for human consumption to be sold as being fit for human consumption.

'At first blush, the point Roberts makes is a valid one because it is necessary to analyse the words 'fit for human consumption'. However, it is no defence to say that the Crown, with all their resources, had been unable to trace one single individual who had been made unwell by the product.

The real issue goes back a stage. This was potentially a criminal offence, not because Denby were putting into the food chain food which may at most have some minor problem, but because they were putting into the food chain [that] which had previously been identified as low-risk waste and hence was suitable only for being sold as pet food.

'Indeed there was evidence that on occasion, due to the failure by the various poultry producers to understand the regulations Denby was in fact supplied with either high-risk waist or a mixture of the two.

'Forensic examination of such items, even if possible given the time which had elapsed between the raid on Denby and the trial date, would not have established anything in relation to the fundamental issue the allegation that Denby were putting such items which by definition of law as opposed to practice, were not fit for human consumption.

'It follows that do not believe there is any basis for an appeal against conviction in relation to this aspect of the case'.

[07] The self-styled government refused to bail out Gary Robb and its Amaranta Valley scheme in occupied Cyprus

The TRNC government has refused to bail out the troubled Amaranta Valley and Hazreti Omer housing schemes.

Gary Robb, who runs Aga Development Construction, the company behind the stalled estates, has repeatedly asked Prime Minister Ferdi Sabit Soyer to take on the scheme.

But a statement by the Prime Ministers Office stressed: 'It has to be reiterated once again that the request made in meetings for the government to take over the construction sites and realise their completion is not possible. This position has previously been expressed on many occasions'.

However, it does say it is prepared to pay up-front for road, electricity and water connections at Amaranta Valley.

This could amount to as much as £3 million, according to Mr Robb, who has agreed to refund the cash to the government.

But the figure has been disputed by the Prime Ministers Office, which stresses it has simply agreed to consider providing electricity and water to the site, and also to provide a road to the state at Arapkoy [occupied Klepini].

The statement said: 'Co-operation of all parties involved to find solutions for problems are highly welcomed. The government is prepared to carry out any reasonable and legal action possible.

The government is carrying out detailed research to verify if the infrastructure of the Amaranta Valley site is complete, to facilitate the roadworks, electricity and water connections to the site, on condition that the costs of these will initially be covered by the government, the total in question will be repaid to the government by Gary John Robb and/or Aga Developments at a later time.

'Gary Robb has agreed to complete a list of buyers on a certain parcel of the site and continue with the transfer of title to these purchasers.

Mr Robb, on the run from British police on serious drug charges, started the housing developments at Amaranta and Hazreti Omer in 2004 but ran out of money. His move to Thailand in 2005, where he had a child by a Thai woman, saw the government cancel his citizenship and seized his assets.

A deal was brokered for his return amid suggestions the government would pick up the tab for the housing schemes. Since then progress on completing Amaranta has been stilted. Two construction firms working on the site downed tools over unpaid bills.

Mr Robb has ignored at least two court orders to refund seriously-ill Amaranta buyers Bob and Elaine Chittock, who agreed to accept an £18.000 pay-out instead of the £30,OOO they were owed.

Mr Robb said: 'I estimate the cost of infrastructure would be around £3 million. I think the prime minister wants to go ahead and once the work is completed we can finish off the properties and pass them to their buyers.

There have been several false dawns over the past three years but, subject to final approval of the scheme, we should soon see the end of the Aga saga'.

However, Yonca Senyigit, from the Prime Minister's Office, said yesterday: "The ministries of Finance and Transportation and Public Works are looking into the issue. They are researching the cost of a transformer that will be put up for Amaranta and the road which will be constructed to the entrance.

There is also the water we are looking into and if the government decides to go ahead the cost will definitely not be £3 million. Where would the government find £3 million to give Gary Robb?

[08] Gul views Cyprus problem at European Economic Forum

Turkish President Abdullah Gul reiterated his country's support for a settlement of the Cyprus issue that would reunify the divided Mediterranean island.

"We remain determined over finding a lasting, fair and a comprehensive solution to the Cyprus problem which would strengthen peace, prosperity and security in southeast European and the Eastern Mediterranean," Gul told a European economic forum on Monday.

Gul also urged European governments and political and economic institutions to engage in sincere cooperation and exert efforts to solve problems awaiting urgent solutions.

[B] COMMENTARIES, EDITIORIALS AND ANALYSIS

[09] Turkish Cypriot columnist accuses Britain for betraying Cyprus as a whole

The British High Commissioner in Cyprus, Peter Millet, recently has become 'the star' of the Greek Cypriot media.

His pro-Greek-Greek Cypriot tendency can no longer be concealed. He has betrayed himself.

His country, Britain, double-crossed Greek Cypriots, Turkish Cypriots and the Cyprus Republic on several occasions. It is no secret that before granting independence to the Cypriot peoples, Britain set one community on the other.

Back in the 1950s, especially after 1 April 1955, when launched its terror campaign and started its bombings and assassinations, British police, troops and civilians became targets for saboteurs and hit-men. The black-mile murders have gone in the black pages of history.

Subtitle: Cypriot vs. Cypriot

The colonial rulers in the island; the Governor, District Commissioners and commanders, successfully diverted the attacks onto the Turkish Cypriot people. They enlisted and trained 650 young Turkish Cypriot men and hundreds of others as 'auxiliary police-men and Mobile Reserves', armed them and set them to chase terrorists. They themselves, thus, slipped out of the hands of the guerrillas, led by George Grivas and Archbishop Makarios.

Now, Turkish Cypriots were targets of fighters. At the start, Turkish Cypriot policemen were shot, ambushed, killed and kidnapped. The turn of Turkish Cypriot civilians came when special squads of British intelligence decided it was time for armed clashes between the two communities. Hundreds of Turkish Cypriots were abducted from their fields, orchards, villages and from their working places - like the Barclays Bank manager in Varosha - never to be seen again... Turkish villages were evacuated by their inhabitants who had to move to comparatively safer areas.

The British watched and sipped their tea.

Subtitle: Sovereign bases Britain's main concern

Many lives were lost, much blood was shed until 1958 and 1959 when Turkey and Greece came to the brink of war and decided to put an end to the sufferings and misery in Cyprus by agreeing to meet and bargain for a solution. In Zurich and London, the then Greek and Turkish Prime Ministers, Foreign Ministers and experts met. British Ministers and officials were also present.

Archbishop Makarios and Dr. Fazil Kucuk, as leaders of the two communities were invited to London, to sign an imposed settlement. Britain double-crossed them. The two communities would be partners in the independent Cyprus Republic provided Britain was given its share: British sovereign bases.

The deal was, willy nilly signed by the Cypriot leaders. Britain took 99 square miles of the island, with other minor monitoring stations and withdrew into Akrotiri and Dhekelia. They were sovereign in those parts and the two communities were supposedly rulers of the remaining territory. That was not enough for Britain. It demanded and became a guarantor of the new Cyprus Republic, together with Greece and Turkey. The three guarantor powers undertook to guarantee the independence and sovereignty of the fledgling Cyprus Republic and the rights of its peoples. Cyprus would, never, join any organisation, bloc or union, neither as a whole nor in part, of which Turkey, Greece and Britain were not members.

Subtitle: Britain never cared

And what happened in December 1963 when Greek Cypriots launched their campaign of onslaught against the Turkish Cypriots with the aim of annexing Cyprus to Greece, before the very eyes of the British? And what happened in July 1974 when the Greek colonels toppled President Makarios with a bloody military coup and declared 'the Hellenic Republic of Cyprus' installing the notorious killer Nikos Sampson as President? Did Britain and its troops based at the BSBA move? NO. It did not even accept the Turkish offer by Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit for joint intervention - as guarantors - to stop the bloodshed and reinstate Makarios and restore Constitutional order. Turkey took unilateral military action; saved Cyprus and its peoples. It restored democracy in Greece and helped Karamanlis to return to take over a civilian government.

Does Mr. Millet not know the history of Cyprus? Surely, he must have looked in the British archives.

He must know why the island was divided and why there was a population exchange in 1975 allowing Greek Cypriots to move South and Turkish Cypriots to move North under UN supervision.

Now he is talking about a united, independent, sovereign Cyprus republic. "We do not want partition, we want a united Cyprus. Recognition ¿f the TRNC-Turkish Cypriot Republic is out of the question," he is quoted as having said to the Greek Cypriot media. He defended the existence of the British Sovereign Bases (BSBA) and said they would not be evacuated and handed to the Cypriots, because, they also served European defence. Pah, Pah!!

Where were the Brits when the independence, territorial integrity, sovereignty of the partnership republic was seized by faits accomplis and the Turkish Cypriots were deprived of all their basic, constitutional and human rights?

What is the meaning ¿f the Gordon Brown-Demetris Christofias agreement? Is Peter Millet sending out threatening messages to the Turkish Cypriots and Turkey, through the Greek Cypriot media? We do not like double-talk.

Why has he not, so far, after repeated requests, offered me an opportunity for an exclusive interview? His predecessors, Lin Parker and others, did so with pleasure.

He must have guessed the questions he would face. His biased stance and double-talk, cannot be overlooked and would be exposed in detail.

[10] From the Turkish Press of 3 November 2008

Following are the summaries of reports and commentaries of selected items from the Turkish press of 3 November:

Kurdish Question:

In an article entitled "For the Attention of News Editors of Television Stations," Hurriyet columnist Mehmet Yilmaz says that the PKK is organizing widespread protests in southeast in a bid to show that it has not lost its strength as a result of cross-border operations carried out by the Turkish armed forces in northern Iraq. Pointing out that there is actually a low turnout in those riots where children are usually at the forefront, Yilmaz urges television stations not to broadcast video footage of pro-PKK riots in a manner that could create an impression that there is a popular uprising in Kurdish cities.

In an article entitled "A $7 Trillion Fight Against Many Enemies," Hurriyet columnist Ferai Tinc blames the current impasse in the Kurdish question to what she describes as an ambiguous stance taken by the Democratic Society Party, DTP, and the ruling Justice and Development Party's, (AKP), failure to take decisive steps to resolve the problem despite its significant political power.

In an article entitled "Post-Ocalan PKK's Attempts To Prove its Maturity," Vatan columnist Rusen Cakir ascribes recent riots in Kurdish cities to a stiff competition between the AKP and the DTP which, he notes, want to lead other political parties by a wide margin in the local elections to be held early next year. Cakir also argues that the PKK's imprisoned leader Abdullah Ocalan's conditions should be improved or he should be transferred to another prison in order to dispel rumours that he is being maltreated by prison officials.

In an article entitled "DTP is Committing a Suicide," Vatan columnist Okay Gonensin accuses the DTP of contributing to the PKK's tactics aimed at heightening ethnic tension by using allegations that Ocalan is mistreated in prison as a pretext which, he notes, actually plays into the hands of the hawks within the government. He says: "If the DTP opts to put the PKK's strategies into action rather than acting as a political party contributing to the legitimate and democratic process as its primary objective, it would eliminate the reasons for its own existence which would amount to a political suicide."

In an article entitled "Where is the Government?" Ortadogu columnist Orhan Karatas criticizes Prime Minister Erdogan for calling on Kurdish insurgents to embrace democracy rather than resorting to violence. Karatas comments: "Speaking about democracy rather than demonstrating the State's power in response to their treason serves no purpose other than taxing the Turkish nation's patience."

In an article entitled "The Prime Minister's Tour of the Southeast," Radikal columnist Oral Calislar says that Prime Minister Erdogan should take new steps in order to resolve the Kurdish question and to ease tension following his recent visits to southeast because, he cautions, a possible settlement could become even more unlikely as a result of mounting ethnic tension. Calislar also urges DTP leadership to realize that violence invites more violence and thus to "put on the brakes."

A report entitled "DTP Looks for Popular Candidates" in Taraf quotes unidentified sources as saying that the DTP plans to nominate some popular Kurdish politicians, including Leyla Zana and Hatip Dicle as its candidates in the upcoming local elections. According to the report, Zana and Dicle may be named as the DTP's candidates in Diyarbakir and Van, respectively, while Diyarbakir Mayor will probably be nominated as the party's candidate in Van following a screening process by a special committee set up within the party.

In an article entitled "A Civil and Civilized Political Language", Yeni Safak columnist Fehmi Koru asserts that Prime Minister Erdogan has started to question the DTP's legitimacy in a way that could "signal danger" for this party and lead to consequences more serious than a possible Constitutional Court decision to close down the DTP. He asserts that Erdogan referred to the DTP as a "terrorist" group during his visit to Van "if we did not misunderstand his words," adding that a political party characterized in this manner by a prime minister could never find a functional place for itself within the political system. He goes on to claim that the DTP is wrong in hoping to obtain international support for the ongoing anti-government riots in the southeast because "Turkey is too important a country in terms of global balances to be left to the mercy of terrorism." He ends by asserting that "the DTP should develop a civil and civilized political language if it wants to be part of the game."

In an article entitled "This is Bloodthirsty Madness", Vakit columnist Selahaddin Cakirgil denounces the riots in eastern and southeastern provinces staged during Erdogan's visit to the region as provocations intended to sow discord among Muslims in this country. He asserts that the DTP and the PKK have come to "a very dangerous point where they need bloodshed to be able to survive" and are escalating tensions in the hope that they can turn public opinion against the ruling AKP in the region ahead of the local elections. He also claims that the DTP is exploiting a model employed by the secular/Kemalist Establishment in the past 80 years in using "a person who has been turned into an idol and icon" as part of its efforts to obtain support through "threats" and "blackmail."

/ES

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