Cyprus PIO: Turkish Cypriot and Turkish Media Review, 12-06-14

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

[A] TURKISH CYPRIOT / TURKISH PRESS

[01] Eroglu's contacts in London

[02] Bagis says TUMSIAD businessmen association will open an office in occupied Cyprus on 1 July when Cyprus overtakes the EU term presidency

[03] Kucuk met with Liberals in Strasbourg

[04] Akansoy: Ozersay's resignation was in-place and a registration of the failure

[05] Turkish Economy Minister: "EU is a pharisaic and hypocritical union-We do not recognize Greek Cypriot EU Term Presidency"

[06] Saner sees Egyptian interest for the occupied area of Cyprus

[07] Tension was reportedly created in Pyla village

[08] A Greek Cypriot woman arrested by the so-called police

[09] Basin-Sen trade union to participate to the general assembly of the EFJ in Italy

[10] Davutoglu to visit Kabul for Afghan conference

[11] EU criticizes court ruling on Kurdish Deputy; It praised Turkey on the issue of introducing the Kurdish lessons in schools

[12] Ankara aims to bring Iran trade up to $35 billion by 2015

[13] Turkey to provide 100 million Euro loan for Bosnia and Herzegovina's development

[14] Survey reveals that 76% of Turks supports religious courses in schools

[15] Figures on Turkish exports in 2012; Germany on top of the list

[A] TURKISH CYPRIOT / TURKISH PRESS

[01] Eroglu's contacts in London

Moreover, within the framework of his contacts in London, Eroglu met at the "representation office" of the regime with boxer David Haye. He also visited the Turkish Community Football Federation in London. Today he is expected to make statements to London Turkish Radio and have lunch with Turkish Cypriot members of the municipal council. Tonight he will give a lecture at Grand Palace Banqueting Site in Wood Green area for the Turkish Cypriot living in London.

Tomorrow Eroglu will have breakfast with journalists and he will be hosted for lunch by the Turkish Ambassador to London, Unal Cevikoz.

On Saturday he will visit Dr Fazil Turkish School and watch activities of Namik Kemal and Blackfen Turkish Schools. He will also have a dinner with businessmen. On Sunday in the morning he will return to the occupied area of Cyprus.

(I/Ts.)

[02] Bagis says TUMSIAD businessmen association will open an office in occupied Cyprus on 1 July when Cyprus overtakes the EU term presidency

Asked when TUMSIAD will open a branch in the occupied area of Cyprus, Bagis replied that "within the six-month period [of Cyprus's EU term presidency] the state we recognize will be crowned with a branch of TUMSIAD".

Addressing the same opening ceremony, Kucuk expressed his satisfaction with the decision for opening a branch of TUMSIAD in the occupied area of Cyprus and stressed "TRNC's" dependence on Turkey and that the "TRNC" could never exist without Turkey.

Bagis said that Kucuk was not alone in Strasbourg and that he was holding contacts with the support of Turkey.

Noting that he felt honoured because he was opening TUMSIAD's branch in Strasbourg together with Kucuk, Bagis added: "I want something to be very clearly understood from Europe's capital. Turkey has never left the TRNC alone and it will never leave it alone".

Bagis reiterated that the "cause of the Turks of Cyprus" is Turkey's national cause and that they will never abandon this cause. He argued: "We will abandon neither northern Cyprus for the European Union, nor the European Union for northern Cyprus..."

Bagis then referred to the economy of the breakaway regime and the progress it achieved during the last 9.5 years, noting that per capita income increases faster than Turkey's income. He argued that the whole world understands how Turkey supports the breakaway regime, when the number of students in the illegal universities in the occupied area of the island and the occupancy rate of the hotels are seen.

In his statements, Kucuk said that the opening of TUMSIAD's branch in the occupied area of Cyprus will help them overcome the difficulties they experience in their exports. He argued that the success of the Turkish businessmen in the whole world makes the Turkish Cypriots to feel proud. He said that the breakaway regime's annual imports reach 1.5 million US dollars and that the most of these imports are carried out from Turkey. Kucuk noted that they would be very pleased if the imports from countries other than Turkey, were carried out through Turkish businessmen who are based in Europe.

Kucuk said that the breakaway regime has many products such as artichoke and citrus fruits that could be sold to Europe, but problems are experienced in the marketing of these products. He noted that the opening of TUMSIAD branch in the occupied area of Cyprus will be very beneficial in the export of these products.

According to the paper, TUMSIAD maintains 55 branches in Turkey and 10 in Europe.

Meanwhile, according to Turkish Zaman newspaper (13.06.12, online), commenting on the fact that President Christofias will not run for candidate in the forthcoming presidential elections, Bagis alleged: "This is a typical Greek Cypriot job. He left it undone, in the middle".

(I/Ts.)

[03] Kucuk met with Liberals in Strasbourg

Aytug Plumer, advisor at the self-styled ministry of foreign affairs, Erhan Ercin, chairman of the so-called EU coordination centre as well as Hasan Tacoy and Teberruken Ulucay, "MPs" with the National Unity Party (UBP) and the Republican Turkish Party (CTP), who are visiting Strasbourg to follow EP's general assembly session, participated in the half-hour long meeting.

(I/Ts.)

[04] Akansoy: Ozersay's resignation was in-place and a registration of the failure

In an interview with journalist Ali Kismir, Akansoy said that the resignation of Kudret Ozersay from the post of Turkish Cypriot leader's special representative was in-place and a registration of the failures of the Turkish side. He argued that there were serious mistakes in the technique [used by the Turkish side] in the negotiations and pointed out that the cross voting was rejected in the beginning and was accepted afterwards.

Akansoy said that the stance and the lack of willingness of the Turkish Cypriot side have been noted in its views sent to the UN Security Council. He argued that Eroglu is now giving an image of "being bored, without energy and without concentration".

Akansoy argued that President Christofias is paying a price for ignoring the Annan Plan and added that if the President of right-wing Democratic Rally (DISY) Party, Nikos Anastasiades or any other candidate who is in favour of the solution in Cyprus wins the presidential elections in February, the negotiating process will gain a dynamic again.

(I/Ts.)

[05] Turkish Economy Minister: "EU is a pharisaic and hypocritical union-We do not recognize Greek Cypriot EU Term Presidency"

He said that one of the main hypocrisies of the EU was the fact that the Turkish Cypriots accepted the Annan Plan and after that they were "punished" and the Greek Cypriots became member of the EU. The Turkish Cypriots he said are under embargoes and isolation since 2004, and stated the following: "We (Turkey) do not recognize the Greek Cypriot EU Term Presidency. We will not let them get away despite any kind of hypocrisy on behalf of the EU and the Greek Cypriots. We will continue our negotiations during this period despite any kind of hypocrisy", he stated.

He also said that the Greek Cypriots will undertake the EU presidency in July and EU relations with Turkey, again, faced with a double standard approach. The EU does never behave as a gentleman he claimed and added: "How does a country, which violates its own constitution, will become EU President? How will the EU explain this to the word?". He also said that from one hand it is said that the whole of Cyprus is a member of the EU. And from the other hand the Turkish Cypriots are kept under embargoes and isolations, despite the decision of the European Council for the direct trade regulation.

He also said that everybody knows what the EU is trying to do and added that everybody know the reason why the Greek Cypriots were unilaterally accepted to become member of the EU. He said that the complicated and not honest relations between the bosses of the EU and "South Cyprus" are known. He went on and said that he openly condemns the EU and that he wants to underline that they do not recognize the Greek Cypriot EU Term Presidency.

(C/S)

[06] Saner sees Egyptian interest for the occupied area of Cyprus

In statements to illegal Bayrak yesterday, Saner referred to his recent contacts in Mersin within the framework of the 3rd Mediterranean Port Cities Congress. He said that they established "serious contacts" with some countries and added that officials from Egypt especially, showed great interest for the "TRNC", breakaway regime in the occupied area of the Republic of Cyprus. He noted that they exerted some efforts "in relation to the forthcoming days".

Saner said: "Especially within the scope of this congress, we made some serious evaluations with leading cruise companies of the world. We felt proud that the TRNC is evaluated as destination. We were saddened because of the isolations".

Meanwhile, according to Kibris (14.06.12), Akgunler Navigation Company will start ferryboat cruise lines, twice a week, between occupied Keryneia and the Turkish port of Alanya.

(I/Ts.)

[07] Tension was reportedly created in Pyla village

According to Turkish Cypriot daily Afrika newspaper (14.06.12) the policemen chased the Turkish Cypriots until their house and afterwards apologized to them saying that if their vehicle had suffered any damage they were ready to repair it.

(I/Ts.)

[08] A Greek Cypriot woman arrested by the so-called police

According to the paper, the Greek Cypriot woman who owns to the occupation regime a huge amount of money for traffic offenses, has crossed the day before yesterday (12 June) to the occupied area of Cyprus through the Agios Dometios crossing point with his car with the placards HHM 2, without performing the necessary procedures and arrested while attempting to return to the free areas of the Republic of Cyprus in the same way.

Maria Christodoulou appeared at the occupied "Lefkosia District Court" which ordered to remain into custody for one day.

According to the paper, the Greek Cypriot woman was accused with the charges of "entering to the TRNC with no permission by the competent authorities and for violating a A' degree military zone".

(AK)

[09] Basin-Sen trade union to participate to the general assembly of the EFJ in Italy

According to the paper, the delegation is composed by Kemal Darbaz, chairman of Basin-sen, Canan Onurer, secretary-general and Ali Kurtoglu, secretary responsible for foreign relations.

In a written statement on the issue, Kemal Darbaz said, inter alia, that a total of 60 delegations from EU countries will participate to the EFJ's meeting.

(AK)

[10] Davutoglu to visit Kabul for Afghan conference

A statement released by the Turkish Foreign Ministry on Wednesday said that Davutoglu will co-chair the conference with his Afghan counterpart, Zalmay Rasoul. The gathering will see the ministerial-level participation of several nations.

The statement added that along with Turkey, regional countries such as Azerbaijan, the United Arab Emirates, China, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan and allies such as Germany, the US, Australia, Denmark, France, Finland, Iraq, England, Spain, Italy, Japan, Canada, Egypt and Norway are expected to participate in the conference.

International institutions like the United Nations, the Economic Cooperation Conference, the Organization for Islamic Cooperation (OIC), NATO, the Organization for the Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the Shangai Cooperation Organization and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will also be represented at the conference.

The Foreign Ministry's statement also noted that Turkey believes in the importance of regional cooperation when it comes to restoring peace and stability in the region and making Afghanistan a self-sustained prosperous nation. The statement added that Turkey will continue to contribute in any way to the Istanbul Process, launched on November 2, 2011 at the Istanbul Conference on Afghanistan. Thursday's conference in Kabul is part of this initiative.

Davutoglu is also expected to hold bilateral talks with his counterparts on the sidelines of the conference.

[11] EU criticizes court ruling on Kurdish Deputy; It praised Turkey on the issue of introducing the Kurdish lessons in schools

In a written statement, the European Commission asked Turkey to address the problem of broad interpretations by courts hearing terrorism-related cases.

A statement made by Peter Stano, the spokesperson for European Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy Stefan Fule, stressed that Turkey should make a clear distinction between incitement to violence and the non-violent expression of ideas. Stano added that the EU Commission will closely follow what happens during the appeal process.

The statement said: "We are seriously concerned about the ruling in yet another case of a Kurdish politician being sentenced. While supporting Turkey in its fight against terrorism, the Commission regards freedom of expression as a fundamental value, the protection of which should be compatible with an effective fight against terrorism. Turkey should address the too broad interpretation by terrorism courts, and make sure a clear distinction is made in law and in practice between the incitement to violence and the non-violent expression of ideas. The Commission will follow closely the appeal of this case."

The Anatolia news agency reported on Tuesday that the court sentenced Tugluk to 14-and-a-half years in prison, citing Article 7/2 of the Counterterrorism Law (TMK) on "making propaganda for a terrorist organization" and Article 314/3 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK) on "engaging in crimes on behalf of a terrorist organization".

In addition, the EU statement praised the newly announced plan of the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) to offer Kurdish as an elective language course in Turkish schools. "We welcome the announcement of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan that optional Kurdish language classes will be made available in Turkish public schools already in the 2012-2013 [academic year] where the need arises," the statement read.

[12] Ankara aims to bring Iran trade up to $35 billion by 2015

In statements during a meeting with Iranian Minister of Agricultural Jihad Sadegh Khalilian in Ankara, Y?lmaz underlined that there was no reason for Turkey not to be able to meet that target. "The common target for us now is $35 billion [in bilateral trade]. The figures for the first four months of this year give us hope to that end," he said.

Being natural trade partners thanks to their long shared border, Turkey and Iran have substantially increased their trade with each other in the past few years. According to Turkish Statistics Institute (TurkStat) data, the bilateral trade volume of just more than $4 billion in 2008 became $14.5 billion last year. The two neighbours' trade is, however, heavily imbalanced to the benefit of Iran because of Turkey's energy purchases, as high as $13 billion, from the Middle Eastern country.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Monday that America would exempt Turkey as well as India, South Korea and four other countries from financial sanctions because they have significantly cut purchases of Iranian oil. Cutting back on its energy trade with Iran, Ankara has begun talks with Riyadh on long-term crude oil purchases, Energy and Natural Resources Minister Taner Y?ld?z said on Tuesday. Turkey cut its imports from Iran to 140,000 barrels per day (bpd) in May from an average of 210,000 bpd in the first four months of this year, shipping data showed.

In his remarks on Wednesday, Y?lmaz, however, emphasized that Turkey and Iran are the two largest economies in their region and that current talks on signing a Preferential Trade Agreement should be concluded as soon as possible. What should later follow, for Minister Y?lmaz, are negotiations on a Free Trade Agreement. He also said that commercial ties should be strengthened with mutual investments in both countries.

Also speaking on Wednesday, Khalilian said that the trade between the two neighbours could become $21 billion by the end of this year and that the volume will further be boosted after the signing of the Preferential Trade Agreement.

[13] Turkey to provide 100 million Euro loan for Bosnia and Herzegovina's development

The loan program aims to finance sustainable return of people to their homelands which they had to leave during the war, agriculture, production and tourism and develop Bosnia and Herzegovina's economy.

The loans will be granted through Turkish Ziraat Bankasi and Bosnia Bank International. Loans can be repaid in ten years, and the interest will be 0-3.99 %.

During Third Sarajevo Business Council, Turkey's Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan had announced Turkey's decision to grant 100 million Euro finance to Bosnia and Herzegovina through Ziraat Bankasi under reasonable conditions to finance sustainable return, agriculture, and rural development and tourism projects.

[14] Survey reveals that 76% of Turks supports religious courses in schools

The results of the report called: "The Perception of Islamic divinity high schools (Imam Hatip) in Turkey," showed that 76 % of Turkish society was in favor of the elective classes, whose forthcoming introduction has recently stirred debate.

TIMAV Chairman Ecevit Oksuz said: "The elective Quran courses regulation was one of the most significant services [that has been offered to the people] in Turkish Republican history"

Speaking to Hyrriyet Daily News yesterday, Oksuz said that they had been carrying out a study so that they could aid in the teaching of the religious courses. The survey, which was conducted among 2,689 people between April 24 and May 18, also showed that only 44.6 % of people supported the new "4+4+4" education system, while the remaining 27.3 % opposed the initiative. The remainder of those surveyed, 28.1% said they had no idea about the new education system.

The courses on the Quran and the Prophet's life will be taught in elective courses starting next year, when the controversial new education system is implemented.

The elective classes have been slammed by opposition parties and civil society groups on the grounds that they could soon become "compulsory" due to social pressure. Meanwhile, 52.2 % said they approved of a new regulation that will allow fifth-grade students to attend Islamic divinity high schools.

Despite successive European Court of Human Rights rulings that have declared Turkey's compulsory religion courses to be a violation of the European Convention on Human Rights, 52.8 % of Turks said they supported the obligatory classes in elementary schools.

[15] Figures on Turkish exports in 2012; Germany on top of the list

According to records of the Assembly of Turkish Exporters (TIM), 5 of the top 10 countries receiving most Turkish exports were EU countries, despite the economic crisis in the union.

Below is a table showing countries to which Turkey made exports in the first 5 months of 2012 and exports were worth at least 1 billion USD:

Country Exports (USD) 1-Germany 5,565,986

2-Iraq 4,123,897

3-Britain 3,224,438

4-Russia 2,704,629

5-Italy 2,679,258

6-France 2,627,169

7-USA 2,328,005

8-Saudi Arabia 1,679,157

9-Egypt 1,635,683

10-Spain 1,628,345

11-UAE 1,420,167

12-Netherlands 1,376,625

13-Iran 1,233,197

14-China 1,075,372

15-Romania 1,052,678

16-Azerbaijan 1,025,283 TURKISH AFFAIRS SECTION http://www.moi.gov.cy/pio

/EI

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