Cyprus PIO: Turkish Cypriot and Turkish Media Review, 12-07-18

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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: No agreement was reached with Christofias, we will reach nowhere with the negotiations

[02] Kucuk has reportedly asked for support in Ankara for being reelected at the leadership of UBP

[03] Cakici asks recommencement of the Cyprus talks during the Cypriot EU term presidency

[04] Osman Ertug' response to President Christofias; He accused the President of trying to gain political interest from the fire incidents in occupied Cyprus

[05] New violations of the airspace and territorial waters of Cyprus by Turkish F16's and frigates in the framework of the celebrations for the 1974 invasion

[06] Turkish Turkcell has 442 thousand subscribers in occupied Cyprus

[07] CHP's congress kicked off yesterday; K?l?cdaroglu re-elected as CHP leader; Reference to the Republic of Cyprus' oil exploration activities

[08] Erdogan will allegedly use a defense project as diplomatic card during his visit to Russia

[09] Iraq warns Turkey on territory and airspace violations

[10] The Netherlands lifted visa requirements for Turkish businessmen

[11] Turkey and Tunisia signed a development cooperation agreement

[12] A US aircraft carrier docked in Antalya

[A] TURKISH CYPRIOT / TURKISH PRESS

[01] Eroglu: No agreement was reached with Christofias, we will reach nowhere with the negotiations

Referring to the economic problems in the occupied area, Eroglu said that the people see their pockets and not the numbers announced by the "minister" of finance. He noted that they are not at the point they hoped to be and that a plan and a program are needed for overcoming the difficulties. He said that the views of all sectors should be taken for the preparation of these.

Eroglu argued also that having a "warm dialogue" with Turkey is also a precondition and added that no one has the right to wear out Turkey in front of the Turkish Cypriot "people".

Called to comment on the decisions of the "government" regarding the occupied Lefkosia "municipality", Eroglu said that the "government" committed a mistake from the very beginning and that when he was "prime minister" he was not meeting the trade unions if these were on strike. He argued that if he was "prime minister", the situation would not have come to the point of issuing a "decree in the power of law" providing for giving a 90-day obligatory vacation to the "mayor" and the members of the "municipal council".

Referring to the internal developments in the UBP, Eroglu described them as "disappointing" and said that he visited four times the "council of ministers" to express his views, but he understood that "prime minister" Irsen Kucuk was annoyed by this. (I/Ts.)

[02] Kucuk has reportedly asked for support in Ankara for being re-elected at the leadership of UBP

Noting that from the very first day of Kasif's announcement the process towards the congress has been turned into a duel between the so-called president and the "prime minister", the paper reports that illegal TAK news agency published a statement issued yesterday by all the "mayors" elected with the UBP, who expressed their support to Kucuk, but later the same statement was published again noting that only "some of the 'mayors'" supported Kucuk. According to Yeni Duzen, this change happened with Eroglu's instructions.

Meanwhile, the paper writes that Kucuk, who visited Ankara yesterday, participated in a lunch hosted to his honor by Besir Atalay, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister. Sources from Ankara said that Kucuk held discussions regarding the congress, met with "publicity agents" who offer "communication strategy" services to the Justice and Development Party (AKP), and agreed to cooperate with them for the congress.

(I/Ts.)

[03] Cakici asks recommencement of the Cyprus talks during the Cypriot EU term presidency

Cakici said that the divided Cyprus is one of the biggest problems of the European Union (EU) and asked the immediate recommencement of the Cyprus negotiations. Cakici argued that the EU should follow a more proactive policy in the direction of achieving a solution. He expressed the view that tension was created between the Republic of Cyprus and Turkey because of the explorations for oil and natural gas and added that with efforts by the EU, a milder climate could be created replacing the tension. He said that the Cypriot EU term presidency should be used as an opportunity for finding ways of recommencing the talks and finding a solution.

According to Cakici the parameters of the solution are known. He said that the solution should be a bi-zonal, bi-communal federation based on political equality and two constituent states with single citizenship and single sovereignty. He argued that the Turkish Cypriots should accept the cross voting and the Greek Cypriots the rotating presidency. He noted that the property issue could be solved with return, exchange and compensation of property and that this could happen based on mutual understanding.

Cakici argued that the issue of the Turkish settlers should be solved with an agreement between the sides that some of them might stay, but, he said, the demographic structure of the Turkish Cypriots should not change with the number of the "citizens of the new state". He said that the existing system of guarantees in Cyprus should be amended taking into consideration the views of both the Turkish and the Greek Cypriots, and that the oil and natural gas reserves found in the south of Cyprus should be used for the benefit of all Cypriots.

Referring to the issue of the occupied fenced city of Varosha, Cakici argued that the city should be returned to its "old owners", as he described the city's legal owners, and in return for this, the Famagusta Port and the airport in Tymvou should open for international trade and flights, and the Direct Trade Regulation should be implemented.

(I/Ts.)

[04] Osman Ertug' response to President Christofias; He accused the President of trying to gain political interest from the fire incidents in occupied Cyprus

Commenting on the proposal, Ertug said that the proposal was delayed since the fire was under control by the time it was made, and added that this was announced several times by the radio and televisions.

Evaluating the Republic of Cyprus' proposal to send a fire-fighting airplane to the occupation regime through the UN, Ertug characterized it as malevolent and accused Christofias of trying to gain political interest from a humanitarian incident.

(AK)

[05] New violations of the airspace and territorial waters of Cyprus by Turkish F16's and frigates in the framework of the celebrations for the 1974 invasion

The celebrations for the invasion will start tomorrow with 21 artillery shootings and Turkish Cypriot leader Eroglu's address which will be broadcast by illegal Bayrak.

Besir Atalay, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister, will illegally visit the occupied area of the island in order to participate in the celebrations.

TCG C.G Hasanpasa (A-579) frigate of the Turkish naval forces will also anchor in occupied Kyrenia's harbor on 19 and 20 July within the framework of the celebrations. The public can visit the frigate on both days.

The "official" ceremony at Fazil Kucuk boulevard in occupied Lefkosia will start at 09.30am at the presence of Eroglu and Atalay, who are expected to deliver a speech.

(I/Ts.)

[06] Turkish Turkcell has 442 thousand subscribers in occupied Cyprus

In statements during a press conference on the work and the targets of the company, Karaatmaca noted that Turkcell has 60.4 million subscribers in nine countries in the world and that with the 422 thousand subscribers it has in the occupied area of Cyprus it holds 70% of the market share there.

(I/Ts.)

[07] CHP's congress kicked off yesterday; K?l?cdaroglu re-elected as CHP leader; Reference to the Republic of Cyprus' oil exploration activities

K?l?cdaroglu's re-election as CHP chairman was indeed no surprise as he was the sole candidate for the post. A total of 1,282 delegates cast votes in the election and 1,164 delegates' voted in favor of the CHP leader.

In a speech following his election, K?l?cdaroglu spoke about transformation and change and thanked delegates who re-elected him.

President Abdullah Gul and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan sent letters of congratulations to the leader of the main opposition party.

The main motto of the congress was "Democracy and Change." "The CHP has gotten stronger after every congress. This will be the case for this congress, too," he told reporters. The CHP chairman delivered a speech before the voting began, and said his party would continue to defend change both in the party and in Turkey. "Those who cherish the [existing] system will not be happy with a change.

His speech continued with strong messages that targeted the Government in which he implied that the way the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) Government rules Turkey leads to disorder in many fields. "One in every four of our young people is unemployed. Women are forced out of the labor force. Divorces are on the increase. We are number one in workers' deaths in Europe. Prisons are chock-full", he indicated.

Meanwhile, according to Turkish daily Aksam (18.07.12) in his speech during the CHP congress, Kemal Kilicdaroglu expressed, inter alia, strong criticism to the AKP Government for its policy on the issue of the "Greek Cypriot administration's", as he called the Republic of Cyprus, oil and exploration activities in the Eastern Mediterranean and recalled Turkey's warning: "Do not make drillings, If you make, it will be a casus belli". Kilicdaroglu said that in spite of their warnings, they (Greek Cypriots) continued with research activities. He explained that Turkey sent the Piri-Reis ship in the Eastern Mediterranean which was forced to return back because of a breakdown.

Recalling the statement made by a Greek Cypriot Minister who said; "They speak like this, however, this does not do anything", Kilicdaroglu said that as the leader of the main opposition party and a Turkish citizen, he felt offended by those statements and added: "Turkey should not come down to this position. Those who put Turkey in this position should not be in the position to look the people on their face."

(AK )

[08] Erdogan will allegedly use a defense project as diplomatic card during his visit to Russia

The tender has fostered growing resentment from Russian firms over Turkey's choices in past tenders.

Amid growing uncertainty and constant conflicts in its region, Turkey has accelerated projects to beef up its defense capabilities in order to avert any threat to its national security.

Chief of General Staff General Necdet Ozel, Defense Minister Ismet Y?lmaz, head of the Undersecretariat for the Defense Industry (SSM) Murad Bayar and force commanders attended the meeting, which was held at the SSM building in Ankara.

The main competitors for the tender are the Patriot missile long-range air defense system, produced by US partners Raytheon and Lockheed Martin; Russia's Rosoboronexport with its S-400 system; China's HQ9, exported as FD-2000; and Italian-French Eurosam with its SAMP/T Aster 30.

Turkey has dismissed NATO's warnings against purchasing non-Western systems, namely Chinese and Russian systems, to prevent those nations from accessing classified NATO information. Regardless, Turkey invited Russian and Chinese defense companies to compete for the tender. According to Western officials, this is nothing more than a tactic employed by Turkish officials to curb the prices of the Western systems.

However, this seems to have led to strong resentment among Russian firms, as Turkey has generally purchased Western systems, in particular American systems, instead of Russian products for its defense needs. Russian companies have always been invited to tenders held by the Turkish Ministry of Defense but have generally been disappointed with the result, as Turkey has not chosen their products.

Sources from the Defense Ministry told Today's Zaman that a Russian firm had warned the Turkish Government that in the event of another failure to obtain a tender, it would no longer participate in tenders held by Turkey.

According to the same sources, Turkey had delayed the final decision ahead of Erdogan's visit to Russia. Speculation has circulated in Ankara that Erdogan would use the procurement of the air defense system as a diplomatic card during his visit to Russia.

However, the nature of that diplomatic card remains unknown at present. Sources suggest that Erdogan may offer procurement of a Russian system in return for a change in Russian foreign policy towards Syria. But the likelihood of this seems slim, as Russia is holding firm despite unfolding events in the ongoing Syrian crisis".

[09] Iraq warns Turkey on territory and airspace violations

The Iraqi government has instructed the Foreign Ministry to register a complaint at the U.N. Security Council.

"We are warning Turkey against any violations or breakdowns of the airspace and land of Iraq," Government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said in a statement. "The Cabinet has directed the Foreign Ministry to file a complaint with the Security Council," he said.

Turkish diplomatic sources told Hurriyet Daily News that Iraq had not delivered any complaint against Turkey in either Ankara or Baghdad by late yesterday.

In recent months Turkish jets have bombed northern Iraq, targeting militants of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). Al-Dabbagh's remarks were the latest in a cooling of ties between Iraq and Turkey, with Baghdad also warning Ankara last weekend to stop accepting "illegal" transfers of crude oil from the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) or risk damaging bilateral ties.

The statement followed al-Maliki's remarks earlier in the day in which he issued a warning to his neighbors for what he said are "frequent violations of Iraqi airspace," adding that his administration will not remain silent in the face of these violations.

Al-Dabbagh's statements also came after three Turkish passenger planes were stranded at Arbil International Airport due to a technical failure in the country's radar system. Two Turkish Airlines (THY) planes and a Pegasus Airlines flight were grounded at Arbil's airport for eight hours as they waited for permission to take off.

Ties between Iraq and Turkey, which had been improving, have cooled considerably since December, particularly over Turkey's refusal to extradite Iraq's fugitive Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi, who is currently on trial in absentia on charges he ran a death squad. Al-Hashemi is residing in Istanbul. The extradition spat added to a deterioration of ties between the two countries, with Iraq summoning Ankara's Ambassador to Baghdad twice in a single month to complain about various incidents.

Meanwhile, the Iraqi government has urged all of its citizens living in Syria to return home immediately to escape the escalating civil war there.

Al-Dabbagh said Baghdad called on the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad and the opposition forces seeking to overthrow him to resist harming Iraqis who may be caught in the crossfire.

"They are not part of the conflict going on in Syria now," al-Dabbagh said in a statement. He cited a "rise in killings and assaults on Iraqis residing in Syria." The U.N. estimated there were 1 million Iraqi refugees in Syria and 3,000 more seeking asylum as of January.

The Iraqi government will help Iraqis return from Syria, al-Dabbagh said, although he did not explain how. Thousands of Iraqis fled to Syria to escape widespread sectarian fighting during the worst of the violence in their homeland between 2005 and 2007. Now, the traffic is heading the other way, with Iraqis and Syrian refugees heading east, away from the conflict, while the International Red Cross just days ago predicted a civil war.

[10] The Netherlands lifted visa requirements for Turkish businessmen

According to a letter issued by the Dutch Ministry responsible for migration and integration last Friday to the Dutch parliament, starting from August 15, Turkish service providers and self-employed Turks will be able to enter the Netherlands without needing a visa on the condition that they document their status as such. Turkish businessmen are recommended to obtain a document from Dutch consulates or embassies that indicates their status as either self-employed or a service provider.

The move is expected to have a positive impact on trade relations between the two countries. A finance official who wished to remain anonymous told Today's Zaman that the Eurozone crisis is the main reason behind the move. Noting that many European countries have suffered from economic growth-related problems, the source said: "These countries need to grow. In order for that to happen, their trade capacities must increase. Turkey, which remained unaffected by the global financial crisis, can be a good trade partner for all European countries."

Four months ago, the Council of State of the Netherlands ruled that Turkish businessmen can enter the country without a visa and stay there for no longer than three months without a residence permit.

Netherlands-based Turkish lawyer Ejder Kose, in remarks to the Anatolia news agency, said there was no turning back from the letter, which stipulates visa-free entry to the Netherlands for Turkish businessmen, unless Turkey takes a step otherwise. "This decision will strengthen Turkey's hand in its relations with the EU," he said, adding that Turkey's Ministry of Transportation, Maritime Affairs and Communication should also make the necessary changes to its regulations since Turkish airline companies do not accept passengers without a visa stamp in their passports.

The EU put forward three conditions for Turkey to obtain a visa exemption, one of these regarding the signing of a readmission agreement for the return of immigrants who illegally enter EU countries through Turkey.

[11] Turkey and Tunisia signed a development cooperation agreement

Speaking to the Anadolu Agency (AA), Yilmaz said that the agreement was in preparation since January.

"The Turkish government will extend a grant of 100 million USD to Tunisia and provide a loan of 400 million USD", Yilmaz stressed.

"The Turkish International Cooperation Agency (TIKA) will follow-up on the agreement so that the articles of the cooperation agreement with Tunisia get implemented", Yilmaz also said.

Minister Gharbi, in his part, said that the most important factor that prevented investments in Tunisia was "bad economic structure". "Such an economic structure was the result of corruption during the administration of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali", Gharbi indicated, adding that they need to work on laws and regulations so as to facilitate investments in Tunisia.

[12] A US aircraft carrier docked in Antalya

The carrier has a crew of 5,000 sailors and 80 aircrafts. The future route of the ship has not yet been announced. The crew will enjoy services in a residential facility within the port during their stay in Antalya.

The US has recently bulked up its navy presence in the Gulf region and in the Middle East amid growing tensions with Iran. Iran has threatened to cut oil supply by blocking the Straits of Hormuz, a strategic point through which Gulf oil passes to the rest of the world.

The US has said it will never tolerate any attempt to blockade the straits and in such an, they event would launch military retaliation.

Whether the presence of the ship, which was in the Gulf earlier this year, is linked to the Syrian crisis, and intends to counterbalance the presence of the Russian navy in Eastern Mediterranean, remains unknown. TURKISH AFFAIRS SECTION

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