Cyprus PIO: Turkish Press and Other Media, 09-12-30

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

[A] NEWS ITEMS

[01] Talat said in Newsweek Turkey magazine that the Treaties of Guarantees and Alliance should be adopted in a new order of things

[02] Talat met with U.S. senators

[03] Hasan Ercakica evaluates the Cyprus problem during his final press conference of 2009

[04] Sporting clubs collected signatures against the policies of Omer Adal

[05] Turkish Foreign Ministry appoints new ambassadors

[06] Criminal court orders apprehension of four DTP deputies, among them the leader of the party

[07] The new minimum wage for 2010 was set in Turkey

[08] Annual inflation in Turkey rises by 0.45%

[A] NEWS ITEMS

[01] Talat said in Newsweek Turkey magazine that the Treaties of Guarantees and Alliance should be adopted in a new order of things

Mr Talat explained how the road map in the new year will be shaped and he briefed regarding the new federal structure aimed to be established in Cyprus. Noting that the issue of Security and Guarantees cannot be discussed without the participation of the three guarantor countries Turkey, Greece and Britain Mr Talat reminded that the Turkish side wants the protection of the Treaties of Guarantees and Alliance by adopting it in a new order of things.

Mr Talat also said that he can never make any discrimination among the TRNC citizens and he will not bring the issue of bargaining the citizens. Noting that the negotiations are being carried out with Turkeys strong support, Mr Talat said that at this moment the Cyprus policy aiming to solution is the state policy.

(DPs)

[02] Talat met with U.S. senators

(AK)

[03] Hasan Ercakica evaluates the Cyprus problem during his final press conference of 2009

The Presidential Spokesperson Hasan Ercakica has evaluated the course of the intercommunal peace negotiations in Cyprus at his final press briefing of the year.

Mr Ercakica said that President Mehmet Ali Talat and the Greek Cypriot leader Demetris Chrsitofias held 46 meetings within the year during which only one of the 6 chapters, the chapter of Territory, was not negotiated.

Mr Ercakica said that the chapter of Territory had not been negotiated because of the Cyprus Turkish sides decision not to take up the issue of territory before reaching agreement on all chapters as a whole.

Noting that the talks on security and guarantees were stopped at a point because of the Turkish sides stance, he said the two sides reached agreement in principle on the issue of property, adding that the categorization work carried out on the issue will form the basis of the talks to be held in 2010.

He stated that important progress was achieved on Governance and Power-Sharing, EU Matters and the Economy, adding that 30 joint papers were prepared on issued agreed and disagreed.

Reminding that the first meeting of the New Year will be held on the 4th of January, the spokesperson said that the sides will try to bring the progress achieved so far on these three chapters to a conclusion during the intensified talks to be held in January.

Referring to news that the Spanish Prime Minister whose country is to take over the next EU Term Presidency - is to invite President Talat to his country, he said this shows that Spain has a balanced approach towards the Cyprus issue.

He noted that the plannings of the visit will be made at the beginning of the new year.

[04] Sporting clubs collected signatures against the policies of Omer Adal

(AK)

[05] Turkish Foreign Ministry appoints new ambassadors

The Turkish Foreign Ministry has appointed new ambassadors to Paris and Accra. National Security Council Secretary General Ambassador Tahsin Burcuoglu has been appointed as Ambassador to Paris.

Foreign Ministry Counsellor Ambassador Mehmet Kenan Tepedelen has been appointed Ambassador to Accra, Ghana. Ambassador to Tashkent, Uzbekistan Mehmet Kemal Asya has been reassigned to Ankara.

Also Turkish Ambassador to Washington Nabi Sensoy's reassignment to Ankara has been published in the official gazette. Reportedly, Deputy Undersecretary Ambassador Namik Tan will be assigned as Ambassador to Washington.

[06] Criminal court orders apprehension of four DTP deputies, among them the leader of the party

A criminal court in Ankara on Tuesday summoned four former members of the outlawed Democratic Society Party, or DTP, to appear before the court on charges of praising crime and criminals.

The court also said the four were to be brought in by force if necessary.

Police searched the Peace and Democracy Party, or BDP, headquarters in Ankara early Tuesday looking for former DTP members Aysel Tugluk, Ahmet Turk, Selahattin Demirtas and Emine Ayna. The suspects, however, could not be found there and police left the premises after 15 minutes, reported Anatolia news agency.

Former DTP deputy Tugluk was accused of promoting the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, during a speech in Van on Nevruz, the Kurdish New Year, on March 21, 2007.

After the DTP was banned from politics in early December for maintaining links to the PKK, the remaining DTP deputies joined the BDP. Turk and Tugluk were also banned from participating in politics for the next five years by the Turkish Constitutional Court. But according to broadcaster CNNTurk, the verdict has not been published in the Official Gazette, which means the former deputies still enjoy immunity from prosecution and questioning.

[07] The new minimum wage for 2010 was set in Turkey

For workers under 16, minimum wage was set as 621 TL gross (net 499.62 TL) for the first half of 2010.

Minimum wage will rise 5.2 percent in the second half of 2010 for those over the age of 16 and 4.3 percent in the second half of 2010.

For workers under 16, minimum wage was 589.50 TL gross (net 472.32 TL) and 693.00 (546.48 net) for those who are older than the age 16 in 2009.

The minimum wage will be valid as of January 1, 2010.

[08] Annual inflation in Turkey rises by 0.45%

Monetary Policy Board of Turkey's Central Bank announced Tuesday that the consumer prices index increased by 1.27% in December, causing the annual inflation to rise 0.45% up to 5.53%.

A statement issued by the Central Bank on the recent board meeting said the rise in inflation was due to soaring food, energy and gold prices.

It said the rise in annual inflation was mainly attributable to transitory factors and base effects noting that underlying trend inflation remained subdued.

In sum, the Monetary Policy Board stated that the upcoming period would be marked by strong base effects, particularly leading to a sizeable increase in annual inflation in December.

Yet, the Board said expected core inflation to remain at low levels.

The CB said recent readings suggested that the economy was on track for moderate recovery, with the industrial production increasing by 6.5 percent year-on-year during October, the first year-on-year growth in a long time.

The CB noted however that it would be misleading to judge growth based on October figures reasoning that the rise in production was largely due to the number of working-days in the months October was compared with.

Accordingly, comparing the September-October period with the July-August period suggest that industrial production was on a moderate recovery path in seasonally.

The Board indicated that the economic activity was on a moderate but stable upward trend adding however that resource utilization, hence inflation was expected to stay around low levels in the medium term, given the existing low levels of capital and labor utilization.

It said therefore that core inflation indicators would display modest pace, and hence annual inflation was expected to revert back to a declining trend in the last quarter of 2010, and remain below the annual target.

EG/

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