Cyprus PIO: Turkish Cypriot and Turkish Media Review, 11-12-29

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

[01] The Turkish side argues that the natural gas reserves found in parcel 12 of the Republic of Cyprus's EEZ are very little

[02] How the Turkish Press covers the finding of natural gas reserves in Parcel 12 of Cyprus's EEZ

[03] No result from TPAO's exploration for natural gas in the Black Sea

[04] Turkish environmental engineers say the nuclear power plant to be built in Mersin constitutes a threat for Cyprus as well

[05] Ankara denies allegations saying that it will withdraw its troops from Balkans during the Republic of Cyprus' EU term Presidency

[06] "Denmark plans to open three chapters during its EU Presidency"

[07] Turkey and Russia signed agreement on the South Stream natural gas pipeline; Statements by Russia's Putin and Turkey's Yildiz

[08] Turkey's MGK conveyed; The Armenian Bill and the developments over the PKK, Iraq, Syria among the matters of discussion

[09] The building of 800-1000 bed capacity hospital in occupied Lefkosia among the targets of the occupation regime for 2012

[10] Gulin Kucuk had lunch with the German ambassador to Lefkosia

[11] Cyprus Turkish Journalists Union chairman says press freedom faced a troublesome year

[12] BDP Deputy Leyla Zana says autonomy not enough for Kurds; She calls for independence TURKISH CYPRIOT / TURKISH PRESS Reactions to the announcement made yesterday by President Christofias regarding the natural gas reserves found by Noble Energy International in parcel 12 of the Republic of Cyprus's Exclusive Economic Zone, the departure of Exxon Mobil's vessel from Turkey after not finding natural gas or oil in the Black Sea, a research by Turkish environmental engineers on the dangers to the area from a possible accident at the nuclear power plant to be built in Mersin, a statement by Ahmet Kasif on the targets of the regime in the field of health for 2012, and other internal matters are the main topics covered by the Turkish Cypriot press today. The papers refer also to statements by Yorgancioglu accusing the policy implemented by the UBP, criticism by Cakici against UBP and CTP regarding the incidents which took place the day before yesterday at the self-styled parliament, and accusations by Serdar Denktas against the "parliament" and the "government". A natural gas pipeline deal between Turkey and Russia, reactions to Leyla Zana's statements regarding a Kurdish state, an MGK meeting having France and Syria on the agenda, a debate over a recent hike in retirement pensions of Turkish lawmakers, the death of a Turkish folk singer popularly associated with the 1980 military coup, and other domestic issues are the main subjects of today's Turkish press.

[01] The Turkish side argues that the natural gas reserves found in parcel 12 of the Republic of Cyprus's EEZ are very little

Turkish Cypriot daily Kibris (29.12.11) refers to the issue under the banner front-page title "'A chance for peace'" and notes that President Christofias announced that Noble Energy found a natural gas reserve of seven trillion cubic feet and that the Turkish Cypriots will also benefit from this wealth.

Moreover, the paper publishes statements by Sunat Atun, self-styled minister of economy and energy of the breakaway regime, who argued that the quantity which was found might be important for the needs of the Greek Cypriot side, but it could cover the need of a big country like Turkey only for three years the most. He expressed the view that this quantity is not as big as to place the Greek Cypriots at an influential position in the world energy market. Atun alleged that the statement by President Christofias that the Turkish Cypriots will also benefit from this wealth is not sincere and it was made only for being used in the internal and external politics.

Turkish Cypriot daily Haberdar (29.12.11) covers the issue under the banner front-page title "'It is the four-month need of the EU'' and reports that officials from the Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO) described the quantity of natural gas found in parcel 12 as "comical" and argued that this quantity of natural gas could meet the needs of the European Union (EU) only for four months. In statements to Haberdar after the announcement made yesterday by President Christofias, TPAO officials said that the value of this natural gas is around 54.7 billion US dollars and its quantity is estimated at 0.2 trillion cubic meters. They noted that the annual needs of the EU member states for natural gas is around 550-600 billion cubic meters.

Turkish Cypriot daily Havadis (29.12.11) publishes the developments under the title "Christofias held on to the natural gas" and argues that President Christofias, who reportedly lives difficult days both in the internal politics and in the Cyprus negotiations process, related the solution of all the problems to the hydrocarbon reserve which he announced that it has been found in parcel 12.

Some papers cover the issue under the following front-page titles:

Halkin Sesi: "Aphrodite made Christofias happy"

Star Kibris: "The 'gas' of the Greek Cypriots came out"

Yeni Duzen: "Christofias announced the results of the drilling: 'There are 7 trillion cubic feet of natural gas'"

Afrika: "Natural gas has been found"

Bakis: "The results are positive".

Vatan: "The results of the South's drilling were announced: The estimated volume is 7 trillion cubic feet!"

The rest of the papers refer to the issue in their inside pages under the following titles:

Kibrisli: "200 billion cubic meters of natural gas"

Volkan: "The results are positive"

Gunes: "Christofias: 'The results are positive'"

Ortam: "Christofias announced the results of the drilling: 'The results are positive'"

(I/Ts.)

[02] How the Turkish Press covers the finding of natural gas reserves in Parcel 12 of Cyprus's EEZ

Yeni Safak: "Natural Gas reserves 230 cubic metres"

Zaman: "Greeks and Greek Cypriots are happy with the discovery of natural gas"

Aksam: "Greek Cypriots in a single parcel in the Mediterranean found $60 billion"

Milliyet: "Natural Gas Christmas present to Greek Cypriots"

Hurriyet: "Natural Gas in Cyprus proven small; 240 years for Cyprus, 6 months for the EU"

Radikal: "Celebration in the Greek Cypriot side: natural gas was found"

Bugun: "Fortune settled upon Greek Cypriots"

Sabah: "Christofias: Drilling results positive"

Today's Zaman: "Greek Cyprus: Field holds 5-8 trillion cubic feet of gas"

[03] No result from TPAO's exploration for natural gas in the Black Sea

(I/Ts.)

[04] Turkish environmental engineers say the nuclear power plant to be built in Mersin constitutes a threat for Cyprus as well

According to the research, in case of an accident the radioactive dispersion will influence an area of 300 kilometres around the power plants. "If an accident happens in Mersin, the island of Cyprus will remain under a great danger", writes the paper, which publishes also a map of the areas that will be affected within a period of four days from a possible accident.

(I/Ts.)

[05] Ankara denies allegations saying that it will withdraw its troops from Balkans during the Republic of Cyprus' EU term Presidency

"The chairmanship in the Common Security and Defense Policy [CSDP] belongs to the EU high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, Catherine Ashton. She is therefore our interlocutor, while commanders within the CSDP are already from other countries".

Diplomatic sources approached by Today's Zaman said on Wednesday in response to a report published in a Turkish daily, that Turks would withdraw from the Balkans in order to avoid taking orders from the Republic of Cyprus, a country Turkey does not recognize. Although the CSDP is in the domain of the European Council, Ashton manages the council's external relations, and acts as an interlocutor to Turkey before any decision regarding the country is taken to the council.

Meanwhile, Turkish officials, with first-hand knowledge of Turkey's contribution to CSDP forces, also raised doubts over the credibility of the report, saying that EU Affairs Minister Egemen Bag1
s was in Denmark less than a month ago, and no information regarding a Danish refusal to take over command was delivered to the Turkish delegation. "Danish officials would get in touch with us if they were planning to refuse to take over command and the Greek Cypriots took charge instead, being well aware of Turkey's concerns regarding the Greek Cypriot presidency," officials told Today's Zaman on Wednesday.

The argument that Turkey's relations with the EU would be compromised under the rotating EU presidency of the Republic of Cyprus was drawn closer to the first day of the new year when the Aksam daily reported on Wednesday that Denmark, the upcoming president, would not take command of the CSDP since it was not a part of it. Speculating on the possibility that Cyprus might take charge instead, the report said Turkey could "withdraw its police force in Kosovo and troops stationed in Bosnia in order to not take orders from Greek Cypriot (t.n.: as is described the Cyprus Government) command."

Ankara also clarified that Turkey had made it clear earlier that it would not take part in any meeting chaired by the Greek Cypriots, and that this would still apply if they take command of the peace forces in the Balkans, while adding that such a conflict was not expected to happen since "Turkey is not invited to EU defense ministers' meetings as the country is not an EU member in the first place."

The Aksam report alleged that Turkey would refuse to take commands from the "Greek Cyprus administration", as the Republic of Cyprus is called, and warned that it could freeze military ties with the bloc, during their command of the forces.

Refraining from moves that could disrupt a strong and long alliance between Turkish troops and other members of the CSDP project, Ankara restated that details on controversies that could erupt, out of the Greek Cypriot presidency would be handled on a "case by case" basis.

Turkey has a large number of police forces in Kosovo under the EU rule of law mission, known as EULEX, as well as a small group of troops in the European Union Force Althea (EUFOR Althea). The commanders in these peacekeeping forces are from diverse backgrounds and different nationalities. Aksam's report suggested that Turkey would either withdraw these forces or keep only the lowest ranking officials and at minimal numbers in the event that Greek Cypriot command over the EU umbrella defense project comes earlier than expected. Turkey voiced its concerns over a freeze to come in the accession process when the Republic of Cyprus takes charge of the EU in July, but said it would keep up the ties at a technical and bilateral level until the end of the year, unless a solution is reached over the division on the island of Cyprus.

[06] "Denmark plans to open three chapters during its EU Presidency"

Wammen said, inter alia: "Denmark fully supports Turkey's EU membership. The EU commission accepts that the accession talks have stopped for a long time. It has become certain that as long as no solution to the Cyprus problem is found, this process will also not advance. Despite all this negative atmosphere, in front of us there are chapters like competition, public procurements and social policies that we can still open. I think that we are able to open these."

[07] Turkey and Russia signed agreement on the South Stream natural gas pipeline; Statements by Russia's Putin and Turkey's Yildiz

The deal for the South Stream -- a proposed pipeline which would bypass Ukraine to transport Russian natural gas to the Black Sea to Bulgaria and further to Greece, Italy and Austria -- was signed in Moscow by Turkey's state-run oil and gas Pipelines Company and the Russian Gazprom.

The signing ceremony was supervised by Turkish Energy and Natural Resources Minister Taner Yildiz as well as by Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and Deputy Premier Igor Sechin.

Speaking at the signature ceremony, Vladimir Putin said that "the dialogue began with the Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Today, we have seen that the Turks are a really reliable partner".

Taner Yildiz, in his part, said that "with the agreement signed today, the strategic cooperation between Turkey and Russia has reached a higher level. We will continue to work to boost Turkish-Russian relations within the goals placed by Erdogan and Putin".

"There is no new agreement with Russia concerning the purchase of natural gas from the Westline", Yildiz said. "We have signed a new addendum until private companies sign agreement for the Westline", Yildiz also said.

[08] Turkey's MGK conveyed; The Armenian Bill and the developments over the PKK, Iraq, Syria among the matters of discussion

According to MGK on Wednesday, It was seen how wrong to re-write the history by the biased decisions of the parliaments.

Referring to the recently adopted Armenian Bill by the lower house of the French parliament which criminalizes rejection of Armenian allegations pertaining to the incidents of 1915, MGK stated that it was still expecting France to step back, adding that if the resolution became a law, it would be objected in every way.

The resolution is violating freedom of expression, scientific studies and related international laws, said MGK, adding that this issue harmed the rooted Turkish-French relations.

During its meeting, MGK also discussed the PKK terrorist organization, and it stated that the effective and determined fight against PKK would be pursued in every area.

Other topics of the MGK meeting were Iraq and Syria.

MGK stated that Turkey attached importance in Iraq's security and stability, and was closely following the recent developments in this country, adding that it was important to solve the political crisis --which emerged immediately after the withdrawal of the U.S. troops from Iraq-- with the understanding of pluralist democracy and respect towards the supremacy of law.

Regarding Syria, MGK statement said, that violence against civilians and opposition in Syria should immediately be stopped, adding that the future of Syria should be set by Syrian people.

[09] The building of 800-1000 bed capacity hospital in occupied Lefkosia among the targets of the occupation regime for 2012Turkish Cypriot daily Halkin Sesi (29.12.11) reports that the self-styled minister of health Ahmet Kasif stated that their target for 2012 is the building of a hospital at the center of occupied Lefkosia which will have 800-1000 bed capacity.

[10] Gulin Kucuk had lunch with the German ambassador to Lefkosia

Reporting on the issue in his column Kulis (Backstage), Haberdar's journalist Gokhan Altiner, writes that former EP Deputy, Ozan Ceyhun was also present at the lunch. Altiner writes that the lunch was organized by Ceyhun together with Dr Faiz Sucuoglu.

[11] Cyprus Turkish Journalists Union chairman says press freedom faced a troublesome year

Mutluyakali also said that due to political pressures some journalists lost their jobs, programs stopped being broadcasted. Also, journalists faced serious obstacles due to political pressures in "public institutions". Additionally, he referred to cases were journalists were physically attacked, during the protests of the former "Cyprus Turkish Airlines" employees when 2 cameramen, 1 photo reporter and 1 reporter were suddenly beaten by "police".

[12] BDP Deputy Leyla Zana says autonomy not enough for Kurds; She calls for independence

Zana, who was in Germany to attend a conference about the history of Kurdish migration to Europe, told Kurdish news portal Rudaw that "Kurds should determine their own future." "Some Kurds in Turkey want autonomy. The question is how many of them want autonomy. There has to be a discussion on this issue as well. I believe Kurds should be able to decide on their future on their own. It is true that we initially demanded autonomy, but today the Kurds in Turkey believe autonomy is not enough," she was quoted as saying.

In June, the Democratic Society Congress (DTK), a platform that brings together Kurdish non-governmental organizations, met and declared "democratic autonomy" within Turkey's territorial integrity in Diyarbakir. Abdullah Ocalan, the imprisoned leader of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), is known to be the mastermind behind the idea of democratic autonomy, a term no one can clearly define. The pro-Kurdish BDP argues that the term refers to strong local government, but the government and other parties claim that it will lead to the use of a separate language and flag, which they argue is out of the question.

Zana recalling two referenda held in Quebec, Canada, for the secession of the province from the rest of the country, said that she thinks the time has also come for Kurds to decide on their future through a referendum. "The policy of coercion towards Kurds must end. ... Freedom, autonomy, federalism and independence are also the right of Kurds. For example, Turkey can create a federal system like that in Germany. Ankara can decide on federal issues while the Kurds should be able to decide on regional issues. Kurds should determine their future through a referendum. We will accept the results of the referendum, which could be autonomy, federalism or independence for the Kurds in Turkey. Kurds should be able to decide their future like any other nation in the world, and the world must accept that," Zana added.

Noting that Kurds have been demanding independence in the Middle East for almost a century, Zana argued that the governments of Iran, Turkey, Syria and Iraq are trying their best ensure that the Kurds stay under their authority. "Sometimes these countries are against each other and you sense that there is no agreement between them. But when it comes to the Kurdish issue, they are all united. The Kurds in Syria, Turkey and Iran are still being oppressed and divided," Zana argued.

Zana was a former deputy elected from the now-defunct Democracy Party (DEP) and returned to politics in the June 2011 elections as a deputy from the BDP. She gained notoriety in 1991 for taking part of her oath of office in Parliament in Kurdish, a language not recognized as an official language in Turkey. She was convicted in 1994 and served 10 years in prison. She was released in 2004 after an appeals court overturned her conviction. She currently faces charges of spreading propaganda for the PKK in cases recently filed against her. TURKISH AFFAIRS SECTION http://www.moi.gov.cy/pio

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