Cyprus PIO: Turkish Cypriot and Turkish Media Review, 12-06-28

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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] Breakaway regime's representatives held a protest in Brussels against the Cypriot EU term presidency

[02] Kucuk alleged that many countries are against the Republic of Cyprus' EU term presidency

[03] DP youth organization launched a campaign against the Cypriot EU term presidency

[04] Statements by Eroglu at the graduation ceremony of illegal DAU

[05] French-German Energy Company officials met with Bozer

[06] Joint declaration by Foreign Ministers of 16 EU countries on Turkey's EU ties; they praise Turkey for showing constructive stance on the Cyprus problem

[07] The problems at occupied Lefkosia's "municipality" continue

[08] More clashes between the self-styled police and students in the occupied area of Cyprus

[09] Erdogan stated that Turkey has no intention to attack Syria; Turkey introduce its first training jet

[10] Turkey to be excluded from Nabucco project; Turkey's experts evaluate TANAP project's importance for Turkey

[11] Turkey and South Korea signed customs protocol

[12] AK government plans to abolish special courts and create "terrorism courts" for coup cases

[13] Turkey caucus in the US reaches record-high membership

[A] TURKISH CYPRIOT / TURKISH PRESS

[01] Breakaway regime's representatives held a protest in Brussels against the Cypriot EU term presidency

During the activity, organized by the Turkish Cypriot Chamber of Commerce, the Turkish Cypriots were dressed as ghosts and protested against the Cypriot EU term presidency alleging that "a problematic country" will overtake the presidency of an organization the foundation of which is unity and human rights. They also reminded of the promises of the EU to lift the so-called isolation of the Turkish Cypriots. They also described as "irony" the fact that a divided Cyprus will be presiding a united Europe.

Graham Watson, president of the Liberals' and Democrats' Group at the European Parliament, Helen Flutre, co-chairperson of the inter-parliamentary Committee between Turkey and the EU, Michael Cashmam, member of EP's Democrats' Group, and Sacit Karim, member of the Conservatives' and Reformists' Group visited the area of the protest and expressed their support to the participants.

The paper writes that media, which were at the area because of EU's Heads of Governments and States Summit, showed great interest for the activity and interviewed many of the participants.

According to Haberdar, the protesters sent a letter to Herman Van Rompuy, President of the European Council, Martin Schulz, President of the European Parliament, and Jose Manuel Barosso, President of the EU Commission. The letter asks for the lifting of the so-called isolation allegedly implemented on the Turkish Cypriots and the beginning of direct trade with and direct flights to the occupied area of Cyprus. They also asked for pressure to be exerted on the Greek Cypriots in order not to use their EU membership to change the UN parameters in the Cyprus talks.

Meanwhile, commenting on the issue, Gokhan Altiner, columnist in Haberdar (28.06.12) says he supports the slogans shouted at the protest, but describes as "contradiction" the fact that these persons visited Brussels using passports of the Republic of Cyprus, against which they were protesting. Altiner publishes his short comment under the title "An odd activity in Brussels".

(I/Ts.)

[02] Kucuk alleged that many countries are against the Republic of Cyprus' EU term presidency

Kucuk made these statements prior to the meeting of the "ministers' council" yesterday.

The self-styled prime minister stated that during his recent contacts in Strasbourg he said to the officials he met with, that accepting "southern Cyprus" as he called the Republic of Cyprus unilaterally in the EU, was a mistake.

He also said that the chairman of the Economic Council of the German Christian Democrats Party also said that Cyprus should not undertake the EU Presidency and alleged that many other countries are against Cyprus' EU Term Presidency. He went on and added that both Turkey and the occupation regime issued warnings on the issue, however, the EU did not show consideration and respect towards their worries.

[03] DP youth organization launched a campaign against the Cypriot EU term presidency

In statements yesterday at a press conference, Huseyin Doygunel, general coordinator of DP's youth organization, said that they should not remain indifferent to the Republic of Cyprus' EU term presidency on 1 July. He asked from the Turkish Cypriots living abroad to support their campaign through the social media and the internet.

Munur Ozturk, chairman of DP's youth organization, argued that the Turkish Cypriots have at least as much rights as the Greek Cypriots on this island and added that they do not accept the Greek Cypriots to administrate the Republic of Cyprus alone and to overtake the EU term presidency. He said that their struggle will continue.

(I/Ts.)

[04] Statements by Eroglu at the graduation ceremony of illegal DAU

Speaking during the ceremony, Eroglu stressed that the "TRNC" was a democratic, contemporary and a peaceful "state" and pointed out that nobody had the right to force the Turkish Cypriot "people" to accept an unwanted solution through imposing "embargoes" on them.

During the ceremony which 1.700 students received their diplomas, Eroglu underlined the important role that "universities" play in bringing together different nationalities and cultures. "The more we share knowledge, culture, different views and inventions, the more we can contribute to the world and humanity" Eroglu said.

He also expressed his pride over seeing people who graduated from "TRNC universities" receiving and achieving important positions in Turkey's political and business circles.

Noting that the support of students coming from "motherland" Turkey has great importance for the "TRNC", he also thanked other foreign students for helping the Turkish Cypriot "people" in their struggle against "isolations".

Moreover, Turkish Cypriot daily Kibris (28.06.12) reports on the graduation ceremony of the illegal DAU University and writes that a total of 1.700 students from 35 countries took their diplomas yesterday. The paper adds that the total number of the graduate students from illegal DAU has reached to 37.000 from 92 different countries.

[05] French-German Energy Company officials met with Bozer

Hasan Ozbafli, director of Green Energy firm which cooperates with French-German Soitec Energy Company, said that they convinced Soitec to come to the occupied area of Cyprus and invest on the issue of solar energy. He added that the investments will start soon and that they have established a dialogue with the "electricity authority" (KIB-TEK), but they are waiting for a "regulation" to be prepared on this issue.

In his statements, Bozer expressed his satisfaction with the visit of Soitec's officials to the occupied area of Cyprus with the aim of making investments and pointed out to the importance of producing environmentally friendly energy, because the occupied area of Cyprus' primary target field for development is tourism.

(I/Ts.)

[06] Joint declaration by Foreign Ministers of 16 EU countries on Turkey's EU ties; they praise Turkey for showing constructive stance on the Cyprus problem

"At a time when the EU faces economic challenges and continuing instability in the Middle East, our relationship with Turkey matters more than ever. Last week saw the 50th EU/Turkey Association Council, which demonstrated the need to work together to promote our shared prosperity, security and values.

Subtitle: Delivering prosperity and mobility

In these tough economic times, increasing trade with Turkey offers opportunities for EU businesses. With a GDP growth rate of 8.5% last year, the second fastest in the G-20 after China, Turkey is now the EU's fifth largest export market. Turkish entrepreneurs in Europe run businesses worth 40 billion euro, employing half a million people. In sectors like aviation, automobiles and electronics, our economies are increasingly integrated. Turkey is well placed to become an energy hub, with both sides benefiting from projects to build the necessary infrastructure, including development of the southern gas corridor.

The commercial relationship is strong, but could be stronger. While EU/Turkey trade has grown steadily, Turkey's trade with other regions has grown even faster. This is partly a symptom of the wider shift of economic power to Asia, but also reflects problems with the EU/Turkey Customs Union and other trade restrictions that prevent our commercial relationship from achieving its full potential. Removing these restrictions should form an important part of wider efforts to boost economic growth, building on the recent G-20 Summit and on the European Council later this week.

We welcome the very recent agreement on a path towards visa liberalization, linked to broader cooperation on migration. This has the potential to promote trade, combat illegal immigration and support wider people-to-people contacts. Here, signature by Turkey of the EU/Turkey Readmission Agreement would be a crucial step on the way towards fulfilling Turkish citizens' aspirations to travel more freely in Europe. As the dialogue between the EU and Turkey on mobility and security grows, we hope to see further concrete results. In this framework, we hope Turkey will extend visa-free travel to EU member states.

Subtitle: Reinforcing collective security

The last few months have again demonstrated Turkey's importance in supporting stability in the Middle East and beyond. Istanbul has hosted a series of key meetings to discuss Syria, Iran, Somalia and terrorism. Turkey is playing a critical and constructive role in increasing international pressure on the al-Assad regime and is a crucial partner in building security in Afghanistan.

Turkey offers its neighbours an inspirational example of a secular and democratic country with a growing middle class. At the same time, the EU remains the largest trading partner for most of these countries and a vital source of investment and ideas. The many priorities the EU and Turkey share in this region make it essential that we continue to deepen our cooperation. Our meeting with Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu in the margins of the March Foreign Affairs Council, initiated by Cathy Ashton, was a good first step. We should build on this through further dialogue on regional issues like the Western Balkans and Southern Caucasus and joint projects in the Middle East and North Africa. The EU and Turkey should be partners in shaping events. Working together we can achieve more and send a stronger message to encourage transformation.

Subtitle: Sharing common values

Turkey's ability to inspire reform in its neighbourhood is linked to its EU accession process. The Turkey of today is radically transformed from the country that applied to join the EU a quarter of a century ago. Just as the EU helped consolidate democracy across Central Europe and continues to promote democracy in Eastern Europe, the accession process has played a powerful role in supporting Turkey's reforms in areas such as civilian control of the military and the independence of the judiciary.

Significant results have been achieved but, as Turkey itself recognizes, reform remains a work in progress. Improvements are needed in the areas of freedom of expression, women's rights and protection of minorities. The work on a new constitution presents a crucial opportunity to address such issues. We encourage Turkey to maintain an inclusive constitutional reform process and welcome the recent discussions between Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Opposition Leader Kemal K?l?cdaroglu, including on how to address the Kurdish issue and the menace of PKK terrorism. Turkey's constructive contribution to a Cyprus settlement and its willingness to open its ports and airports to Cypriot vessels remain key. Progress is also needed on the important issue of EU/NATO cooperation, where we encourage Turkey to show flexibility.

Subtitle: Reinvigorating the accession process

Just as Turkey must meet its obligations to the EU, so the EU must meet its obligations to Turkey. Commissioner Stefan Fule has led the way with his "positive agenda" for EU/Turkey relations, designed to support the accession process and strengthen practical cooperation. He has our full support.

We represent countries that have not always shared the same view on how to realize Turkey's European perspective. But we are united in seeing the accession process as a vital framework for cooperation and a powerful stimulus for reform. Injecting new momentum into the process will benefit both the EU and Turkey. That must be our ambition in the months ahead.

Nikolay Mladenov, Urmas Paet, Erkki Tuomioja, Guido Westerwelle, Janos Martonyi, Giulio Terzi di Sant'agata, Edgars Rinkevics, Audronius Azubalis, Radoslaw Sikorski, Paulo Portas, Andrei Marga, Miroslav Lajcak, Karl Erjavec, Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo, Carl Bildt and William Hague are the foreign ministers of Bulgaria, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and the U.K".

[07] The problems at occupied Lefkosia's "municipality" continue

The paper writes that the "municipality" has no money to buy fuel for its service vehicles, adding that some of the garbage trucks do not work because they have no fuel and some other are out of order.

Ibrahim Taskaran, general secretary of BES trade union, stated that the "municipality" is bankrupted economically, and this is why it can offer no service to the people. He said that soon they will stop the burials as well.

According to Kibris, Irsen Kucuk, self-styled prime minister of the regime, said yesterday that his "government" cannot give money to the "municipality" for paying its employees. Kucuk made this statement yesterday before the meeting of his "council of ministers".

(I/Ts.)

[08] More clashes between the self-styled police and students in the occupied area of Cyprus

The students protested against a letter written by the former self-styled minister of education Nazim Cavusoglu, to officials in Turkey, according to which the students who receive education in the free area of the Republic of Cyprus, should not be allowed to study in Turkey.

The paper writes that students tried to enter the self-styled prime ministry and were prevented by the "police". During the raw taking place, some light injuries between the students occurred.

[09] Erdogan stated that Turkey has no intention to attack Syria; Turkey introduce its first training jet

"We as Turkey and the Turkish nation have no intention of attacking. We are just making provisions to stave off all threats to our unity and integrity, I mean for defence. We have never had an eye on the soil of any country. We have never had a hostile stance towards any country" Erdogan said.

"We respond to hostile behaviours, attacks and threats against us with all our strength, also with power and inspiration from our history, and we never hesitate to do whatever is necessary," he added.

His remarks follow his warning to Syria on Tuesday that the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) were given instructions to treat any approaching Syrian military units as a threat. Erdogan said it is now clear that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime "has become a clear and present danger to Turkey's security."

(?).

[10] Turkey to be excluded from Nabucco project; Turkey's experts evaluate TANAP project's importance for Turkey

Ankara and Baku have long discussed the details of the planned Trans-Anatolian gas pipeline (TANAP). The project has, however, remained out of focus for some time as all eyes have been on Nabucco, a pipeline designed to carry Caspian gas to European markets via Turkey, bypassing the Russian route.

First proposed in 2002, Nabucco has lost its appeal over the years due to various political and financial problems and was finally replaced by TANAP, introduced last year. Nabucco will continue on its way as Nabucco West, without Turkish participation. State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR), Turkish state-owned Petroleum Pipeline Corporation (BOTAS) and the Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO) are partners in TANAP, slated to be 2,400 miles long with an estimated construction cost of $7 billion.

It is set to be completed in six years and will pipe 16 billion cubic meters of gas a year from Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz II field, of which Turkey will keep 6 billion cubic meters.

(?)

Director of Istanbul Technical University's Energy Institute Abdurrahman Satman told Today's Zaman in a phone interview that TANAP is a positive step by Turkey and Azerbaijan to further cement ties in a politically volatile region. "This will strengthen Turkey's hand as a major energy hub while offering the Azeris diversified customer channels. ? It is important that both countries remain committed to finalizing TANAP as suggested."

One detail emphasized by Satman is that Turkey should be able to store and export a certain percentage of the gas that passes through its soil. "We have limited storage space and new natural gas storage projects seem unlikely to happen soon. But Turkey should make sure it protects its right to re-export this gas to third countries," he explained.

Constructing gas storage facilities is as strategically important as building the pipeline, according to Satman, who believes the government should increase focus on this issue.

Turkey currently has a natural gas storage facility in Istanbul's Silivri district with a total capacity of 2.1 billion cubic meters. With the finalization of the planned Tuz Golu project, this capacity should reach 3.6 billion cubic meters. With the addition of separate tanks this capacity could rise as high as 5 billion cubic meters. Observers, however, argue that this means very little when considering that the annual consumption in Turkey is around 50 billion cubic meters.

Evaluating these developments in Today's Zaman, World Energy Council Turkish National Committee board member Necdet Pamir said that TANAP emerges as "a better option" for Turkey. Recalling that Nabucco failed to meet Turkey's expectations for the provision of relatively higher volumes of gas at relatively cheaper prices, to be sold to third parties, Pamir said TANAP may indeed provide cheap gas to Turkey.

A critical fact underlined by Pamir is that Turkey remains highly dependent on natural gas for the generation of electricity. At 47 %, natural gas has the largest share in Turkey's electricity generation costs among major resources, data from the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources show. "The total volume of anticipated electricity from natural gas power plants that have recently received operating licenses from the government is higher than Turkey's current electricity generation volume. ? This means that we are increasing our dependency on natural gas for the coming years. This should not be the case; we need to promote diversification of sources," he explained.

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[11] Turkey and South Korea signed customs protocol

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Altunyald?z said: "Our primary goal with this protocol is for the two customs offices [in Turkey and South Korea] to first exchange information and then cooperate in all areas in which they have expertise".

In particular, Turkey is hoping to benefit from South Korea's technological expertise in cargo systems, passenger registration, and tax exemption sales procedures via new computing and smart systems.

"We know South Korea is a global role model for these systems and we sent our staff to South Korea to examine them. They took a look and now we are working to import these systems to Turkey," said Altunyald?z.

In addition to all these applications, Turkey is also planning to join forces with South Korea in the coming period to combat drug trafficking and other forms of customs fraud. "There will be special joint customs agencies to fight against drug trafficking and customs fraud," said Altunyald?z.

In his turn, South Korea's Customs President Joo stated the following: "Turkey helped us during the Korean War. After this event, we kept supporting one another. There have been protocols before. After this protocol I believe our relations will be even stronger and we will continue to help one another".

[12] AK government plans to abolish special courts and create "terrorism courts" for coup cases

The government is reported to be planning a revision of Article 250 of the Code on Criminal Procedure (CMK), which gives special authority to courts and prosecutors when investigating organized crime and coup plots.

Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Ar?nc said last month that no revision was planned regarding Articles 250, 251 or 252 of the CMK within a judicial package the government hopes to pass. However, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said one day after his Deputy spoke, that these courts may be totally abolished.

Hurriyet reported on Wednesday that the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) once again discussed the issue during a Central Executive Board (MYK) meeting on Tuesday. The daily said that on Prime Minister Erdogan's orders, the board has decided to include the CMK amendments in the judicial package.

According to the planned changes, Hurriyet said that specially authorized courts will be abolished and replaced with "terrorism courts" which will hear ongoing terrorism and coup-related cases. The daily added that an intra-party commission chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdag has already begun working on the amendments to the CMK and that the proposed changes are expected to be completed this weekend.

The government has also reportedly discussed its intentions with the opposition and received support for passing the package before July. Main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Kemal K?l?cdaroglu, a staunch critic of special courts, publicly voiced this support for the government's move on Wednesday and said these courts should be abolished.

Article 250 of the CMK gives civilian prosecutors the power to investigate military personnel accused of crimes that threaten national security, violate the constitution or attempt to topple the government during peacetime. Some of the most important cases undertaken by specially authorized courts are the Balyoz (Sledgehammer) trial and the Ergenekon trial, in which suspects are accused of attempting to overthrow the government, in addition to a case against the Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK), in which suspects are accused of being involved in terrorism.

In an earlier interview, Erdogan pledged that if an amendment was made to the article, it would not weaken the hand of Turkey in its fight against coups and coup plotters.

[13] Turkey caucus in the US reaches record-high membership

TAC said in a statement on Tuesday that the joining of the 150th member is a "critical achievement" that "signifies the growing activism on the part of the Turkish-American community and the strength of the US-Turkey relationship". The current number of the caucus now stands at 153, after three more Congress members joined later on Tuesday, the Anatolia news agency said.

The Turkey caucus is one of the largest congressional caucuses that seek to strengthen bilateral ties between the US and various international allies. The caucus, established by two-dozen members in 2001, currently has representation from 43 of the 50 states.

"As the Congressional Caucus on US-Turkey Relations and Turkish-Americans reaches a historically high membership of 150 members, I am encouraged by the increasing understanding and recognition of Turkey's importance to US interests," Rep. Ed Whitfield, one of the founders of the caucus, was quoted as saying by TAC". The growth of the bipartisan caucus is a "testament to our commitment to the important relationship between the United States and Turkey and our desire to pursue shared interests in this global economy," another founder of the group said. TURKISH AFFAIRS SECTION

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