Cyprus PIO: Turkish Cypriot and Turkish Media Review, 11-05-12

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

[A] TURKISH CYPRIOT PRESS

[01] The illegal regime will reportedly cooperate with the UN for a population census

[02] Eroglu claims that the Greek Cypriot side is not possible to be satisfied

[03] Akca continues visiting newspapers; Tension during his visit to Afrika

[04] TDP to apply to courts if the illegal settlement continues

[05] No project for Imam Hatip schools in the occupied area of the Republic of Cyprus

[06] So-called education minister due to Ankara

[07] Ahmet Eti will participate in PACE meeting

[08] "YODAK" attends an Islamic World meeting in Astana

[09] Former CTA employees protest

[10] Columnist assesses Plan B of the Turkish side in Cyprus

[B] TURKISH PRESS

[11] Bagis characterized the "Friendship and Peace rally" visit to the occupied area a historic success

[12] Solana: "Turkey's EU bid a long dream"

[13] Turkey signs convention to combat violence against women

[14] Turkey's current account deficit hits new record, markets fall

[15] Turkish aerospace industries sign cooperation protocol with a German company on unmanned vehicles

[A] TURKISH CYPRIOT PRESS

The papers refer also to a statement by Mehmet Cakici on the issue of the population transferred to the occupied area of Cyprus from Turkey, the visits of Eroglu and the self-styled minister of education to Turkey and a statement by the "ministry" of education that they do not plan to establish religious vocational schools in occupied Cyprus.

[01] The illegal regime will reportedly cooperate with the UN for a population census

According to the paper, the method of the cooperation with the UN during the population census scheduled to be carried out soon in the occupied area of Cyprus and the technical assistance which will be provided (by the UN) were discussed at the meeting. The technical details of the issue will be discussed in depth at a meeting today between the UN expert and officials of the so-called state planning organization ("DPO"). According to the paper, these contacts are expected to continue and be intensified within the framework of the preparations until the population census.

(I/Ts.)

[02] Eroglu claims that the Greek Cypriot side is not possible to be satisfied

Eroglu, in his opening speech, briefed the participants on the Cyprus problem and on the ongoing Cyprus talks. He claimed that the Greek Cypriot side is not possible to be satisfied with anything, since they rejected the Annan plan which offered them benefits. Claiming that although the Annan plan was not a plan in favour of the Turkish Cypriots, but it contained a lot of benefits for the Greek Cypriot side, Eroglu said that the Greek Cypriot side rejected the Annan plan. He added: "I continue the negotiations for an agreement which will protect the interests of my people and not for the satisfaction of the Greek Cypriot side".

Noting that the realities and the experiences of the past should be taken into consideration if there will be an agreement in Cyprus, Eroglu said that if there is one, it will be a new partnership.

Eroglu also said that "the Cyprus cause is a joint national cause of Turkey and the TRNC".

Explaining that in the past the Turkish Cypriots lived in difficulties, Eroglu said that the Turkish Cypriots are much better today than yesterday. He added that their only difficulty now is the "embargo".

Eroglu said that Turkey is his motherland and the issue that the people [Turkish Cypriots] do not love Turkey is out of question, adding that "there is no difference in the meanings between Turk from Turkey and Turk from Cyprus".

[03] Akca continues visiting newspapers; Tension during his visit to Afrika

Turkish Cypriot daily Afrika (12.05.11) reports that Akca visited the premises of the paper yesterday and met with its employees for about 45 minutes. When Akca said he finds the language used by Afrika to be "insulting", the journalists reminded him of the statement by Prime Minister Erdogan that Turkey feeds the Turkish Cypriots. Sener Levent, editor-in-chief of Afrika, asked Akca in which country he is "ambassador". When Akca answered that he is "ambassador" in the "TRNC", Levent asked: "In which international organization is registered this ['TRNC']? You are ambassador in the Republic of Cyprus. You are here according to the 1960 agreements. You are illegal as ambassador in the TRNC".

Afrika writes that Levent said to Akca that the whole world knows that "northern Cyprus" is an "administration" subordinated to Turkey. When Levent tried to refer to what he called "military fascism in Turkey", Akca told him to stop there and that he would not discuss with him at a "level which includes heavy insults against Turkey".

Meanwhile, Turkish Cypriot daily Kibrisli (12.05.11) reports that Akca visited the offices of the paper yesterday and met with its editor-in-chief, Dogan Harman. Akca referred to the economy of the breakaway regime and said they started the reengineering of the economy from bringing a balance to the "budget" of the regime. He noted that this was achieved within a short period of time. He added that privatization, strengthening of the private sector, increasing production and achieving economic development and growth are included in the second step which they will be taking.

(I/Ts.)

[04] TDP to apply to courts if the illegal settlement continues

Mehmet Cakici chairman of TDP stressed that it is important that the workshop was realized with the participation of people from various sectors and said that the world has become a world of change and reconciliation. Referring to the fight for existence [of the Turkish Cypriots], Cakici said that they must implement it in unity and that politicians must first address the threats coming from several directions. He said that the controlled and planned transfer of population [in the occupied area] reached the point of threat to the existence of the Turkish Cypriots and if it is not stopped, TDP will be the first "parliamentary" party to submit the problem to international courts. Moreover, Cakici said that water, electricity, education and health services in "TRNC" suffice only for the Turkish Cypriots.

[05] No project for Imam Hatip schools in the occupied area of the Republic of Cyprus

[06] So-called education minister due to Ankara

[07] Ahmet Eti will participate in PACE meeting

Eti will participate in the deliberations of PACE's Committee on Culture, Science and Education.

[08] "YODAK" attends an Islamic World meeting in Astana

According to an announcement by "YODAK", speaking during the meeting, "YODAK" chairman Prof. Dr Hasan Ali Bicak, inter alia, stated that they attended the meeting due to their close relations with various organisations such as AQAAIW, the International Network of Quality Assurance in Higher Education (INQAHE) and the Arab Network for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ANQAHE), as well as due to the contacts they had with various countries in meetings held in Madrid. Stating that the illegal universities in occupied Cyprus are interested in international accreditation, Bicak noted that more efforts should be taken towards this direction.

[09] Former CTA employees protest

[10] Columnist assesses Plan B of the Turkish side in Cyprus

Kar adds, inter alia, the following:

"?Very well, what are the alternative ways if a solution is not reached? ?According to some sources, two alternatives exist. That is, the alternative ways, to which Mr Davutoglu referred, have been considered. Signals of this were given from time to time either by TRNC officials or Turkish officials, who did not refer to its content but said 'our Plan B is ready' (For example, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the TRNC, Huseyin Ozgurgun said our Plan B is ready in case an agreement is not reached, 28 July 2010)?

If you like call it Plan B, or Plan C, D or E, but as I said above, according to some sources, this mad project is the following: The negotiations will continue by keeping alive the current policy and the will for finding a solution. In case the negotiations have a negative result, it will be exhibited that the negotiations came to a dead-end because of the Greek Cypriots. Starting from this point, Ankara will take some measures. The first of these measures is the issue of the army. The Security Forces Command (GKK) will be strengthened. The military forces of the TRNC will be turned into a dissuasive power by the transfer of personnel and possibilities from the Peace Forces Command [Tr. Note: The Turkish occupation army in Cyprus]. The name of the TRNC will be changed into its name in the Annan Plan and will become 'Cyprus Turkish State' as it is accepted now at the Islamic Conference Organization. Within this framework, the activities for recognition will continue with great acceleration.

If the efforts within this framework fail, the second part of the plan will be implemented. According to this, Turkey, which continuously faces obstacles in the negotiations with the EU, will come to the stage of taking a decision and freeze its relations with the EU. After all these preparations, Turkey, which continuously has on its agenda the presidential system, will bring its preparation to the final stage and choose the way of a federation with the Cyprus Turkish State as two countries for both the settlement of its own internal problems and the radical solution of the Cyprus problem... This is the information I obtained from the source to which I referred above?"

(I/Ts.)

[B] TURKISH PRESS

[11] Bagis characterized the "Friendship and Peace rally" visit to the occupied area a historic success

Speaking during a televised interview, Bagis referred to Turkey's EU bid saying that the Turkish citizens would make the final decision on whether or not to become a European Union (EU) member when the time comes.

The Minister said that 56% of the Turkish people supported EU membership; however 66% thought that the Union would not admit Turkey as a member.

Referring to the "Friendship and Peace Rally", he defined it as "historic success" since the participants of the rally went to the "TRNC". The Minister said those joining the rally were uneasy about incidents in Syria and therefore Turkey convinced them to go on their route via "TRNC".

"Almost 700 people arrived in TRNC by four ferryboats yesterday," he said. Bagis alleged that the entrance of 700 citizens of 12 European countries by carrying banners giving friendship and brotherhood messages did what their own countries and states had not done and made them break isolation of the "TRNC".

The convoy, which was sent off from the Turkish capital of Ankara with a ceremony last Friday, visited Kirikkale, Kirsehir, Nevsehir, Kayseri, Kahramanmaras, Adiyaman, Urfa, Mardin, Gaziantep, Hatay, Adana and Mersin during its journey across Turkey and arrived in "TRNC" on Tuesday.

[12] Solana: "Turkey's EU bid a long dream"

Speaking to the paper on Tuesday after a press meeting where a Council of Europe report on diversity was launched, he said that the European Union must liberalize its visa regime with Turkey before the country's accession to the bloc, because Turkey's membership will take a long time to achieve."I don't know [whether visa liberalization will occur before or after membership], but since the accession process will be long, I hope that it will happen before," Solana told the Hurriyet Daily News.

Provisions of an additional protocol to the Ankara Agreement signed between Turkey and the EU in 1971 imply no tougher requirements than the existing ones at the time of the signature can be imposed on people's freedom of movement by either party. "That is true," Solana said, referring to the protocol's provisions on no tougher measurements, but he refused to comment further as he said he was not qualified to discuss the related legal aspects.

Stating that Turkey's accession to the European Union is a very long process and the negotiations will take time, he added: "It is not going to be done in 24 hours. This is a long, long process. Turkey is a very important country, it is a very big country that has a very fast-growing economy," "[The EU] is not bringing in a small country. It is an important country with a foreign policy, with 70 million people, with an economy that is growing faster than the European average."

Solana also said Turkey's EU membership would benefit all parties."I think that we need each other. [Turkey] need Europe and Europe needs [Turkey]," he said.

Asked to comment on a recent statement made by the Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan who has recently claimed that Turkey-EU negotiations will proceed quickly after the June 12 general elections in Turkey, Solana said: "I hope so too, although I do not relate elections to [the negotiations process] unless the results of the election create a government that goes against what has been in the acquis already in the negotiations, which is not going to happen."

He said the fact that Turkey and the EU were negotiating was good for the democratic processes that have taken place in Turkey.

"I would like very much [for negotiations] to go faster. We lost the second part of 2010. I hope that in 2011 there will be [new] chapters open. I hope that the chapter on competition, which is an important one, will move faster in 2011," Solana said.

Turkey has only been able to open 13 chapters out of 35 in its negotiations with the European Union since 2005, with only three chapters left able to be opened in the coming years due to EU countries' blockades on the rest of chapters.

Asked whether the negotiations could reach a bottleneck in the near future, Solana said: "I hope not. This is my wish.... We have to do what we have to do rapidly. What we have to do and what you are obliged to do ... [is] to comply with what is the spirit [of the negotiations] and then [both parties] will share the details and move on. That is what I would like to see."

The Turkish Government has accused EU countries of slowing the talks while the European Union continues to press Turkey to keep its promises to open its ports and airports to Greek Cypriot vessels. Talks on eight chapters are suspended since Turkey is seen as not fulfilling its obligation toward Greek Cyprus. Solana said, however, that both parties shared responsibility for the slow pace of negotiations. "Everybody has part of the responsibility," he said.

[13] Turkey signs convention to combat violence against women

Turkish Foreign Minister and President of Ministers Committee of the Council of Europe (COE) Ahmet Davutoglu signed the Convention to combat violence against women including domestic violence.

So far 13 countries; Turkey, Austria, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Montenegro, Portugal, Finland, France, Spain, Sweden, Slovakia and Luxembourg, signed the Convention.

The Convention enjoins the countries to take concrete measures in criminal law in order to fight against violence and domestic violence on women, and it envisages the countries to extend free legal support to victims of violence.

It also envisions the countries to add gender equality, combating violence against women and mutual respect topics in their education curriculum, and set up a supervision mechanism to follow the implementations of these countries.

The Committee of Ministers of the COE approved this Convention in Strasbourg on April 7, 2011. Negotiations on this Convention have continued nearly for three years, and it is considered as the most important legal arrangement in Europe in this issue.

Violence against women has been defined as a human rights violation and discrimination for the first time with this Convention.

Although it is a Convention of COE, it is open to participation of non-member states.

Turkey has been one of the strongest supporters of the Convention from the very beginning. Turkey also actively contributed in the preparation of the Convention. Its preparation and adoption is seen as one of the most important successes of Turkey's term presidency of the Committee of Ministers of COE.

[14] Turkey's current account deficit hits new record, markets fall

The deficit widened 128% to a record $9.766 billion, central bank data showed, far higher than a Reuters poll forecast of $8.2 billion.

The lira eased to 1.57 against the dollar, the weakest since March 22, from an interbank close of 1.5570. The yield on the benchmark on February 20, 2013 bond rose to 8.5% from 8.39% a day earlier.

The 0
stanbul share index was down 0.79% at 66,732 points, underperforming the emerging markets benchmark MSCI index .MSCIEF, which gained 0.7%.

[15] Turkish aerospace industries sign cooperation protocol with a German company on unmanned vehicles

The protocol was signed on the sidelines of the 10th International Defense Industry Fair (IDEF'11) in Istanbul.

Talarion is an advanced twin-jet unmanned air vehicle (UAV) system developed by EADS to meet the requirements of France, Germany and Spain for a fully autonomous Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance (ISTAR) airborne platform. The program was officially launched at the Paris Air Show on June 15, 2009. The UAV prototype is expected to take to the air for the first time in 2013 with first production series deliveries in 2015. TURKISH AFFAIRS SECTION

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