Cyprus PIO: Turkish Cypriot and Turkish Media Review, 12-08-10

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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] Bank director has reportedly stolen at least one million Turkish liras

[02] Kucuk evaluates the performance of his self-styled government

[03] Turkish Cypriot journalists say the best solution is a "United Federal Cyprus"

[04] Akansoy: AKP has changed its policy for Cyprus

[05] "The first metal of Cyprus"

[06] Davutoglu comments on Syria, said Turkey always paid high attention to its relationship with Iran

[07] PKK attacks rage in west-east. One soldier killed; increase in security expenditure due to PKK's activities

[08] Columnist reports on rumours that Turkish military jet was downed within Syria territory

[09] Turkish President to participate in Islamic summit in Mecca

[10] Turkish mayor to be advisor to Ban Ki-Moon

[11] Turkish education minister in Kyrgyzstan"

[12] Turkey assumes Blackseafor command

[A] TURKISH CYPRIOT / TURKISH PRESS

[01] Bank director has reportedly stolen at least one million Turkish liras

According to the paper, Saruhan did not go to her office for two days and no one saw her or knows where she is. Yesterday, bank officials notified the "police", who issued no statement and gave no details on the matter.

Turkish Cypriot daily Afrika newspaper (10.08.12) refers to the same issue under the title "Loan shark trap in a bank" and reports that the issue came to light when an aged citizen visited the bank to withdraw money from his account in order to use it for the medical treatment of his sick spouse. Everything was revealed when this man was told that he had withdrawn the money earlier. According to the paper, the director of the branch used also money from accounts of other clients, who were not withdrawing often money.

Afrika recalls that the Turkish shareholders of Universal Bank went to "court" to solve their differences with their Turkish Cypriot partner and filed a "lawsuit" at occupied Lefkosia district "court" demanding the closure of the bank. The announcement of the decision is expected in the end of this year.

The paper writes that this is the second scandal regarding banks in the occupied area of Cyprus in one month and argues that if things continue in the same manner, they could face a tragedy similar to the one in year 2000.

(I/Ts.)

[02] Kucuk evaluates the performance of his self-styled government

Kucuk said that his "government" had a plan, implemented this plan and started picking the fruits of working with a plan and a program. He noted that they increased by 30% the "state" income, and significantly decreased the budget deficit which was 623 million TL.

Kucuk said that the number of tourists visiting the occupied area of Cyprus increased by 20% in 2011 and the number of tourists staying overnight increased by 10%. He added that the increase of the same numbers in the first six months of this year was 19% and 20% respectively. He noted that with the chartered flights they have launched, no room can be found now in the 3 and 4-star hotels which had been empty before.

Kucuk said also, that they increased the number of students in the illegal universities from 43 thousands to 47 thousands. He added that their income from tourism exceeded 500 million and the income from education is more than 800 million.

"In the term of duty of my government rural plots of land to nearly two thousand holders of right in totally 42 villages were distributed", said Kucuk adding that they will continue their work of making young people owners of houses.

Furthermore, Turkish Cypriot daily Haberdar newspaper (10.08.12) refers to the same issue and reports that Kucuk said that the tender for illegal Tymvou airport will be concluded in the end of August and within three years the illegal airport will have two landing fields with the capacity of five million passengers. He noted that next month the ILS system will be implemented in the illegal airport so that airplanes can land even when the weather is foggy.

(I/Ts.)

[03] Turkish Cypriot journalists say the best solution is a "United Federal Cyprus"

The survey was carried out by the method of face to face interviews with the participation of 192 journalists, 68.57% of whose work in the 'public' sector and 31.43% in the private sector. The Union's chairman, Cenk Mutluyakali said that almost all journalists who are active in the occupied area of Cyprus, were interviewed.

Asked which they think the best formula for the solution of the Cyprus problem is, the participants in the survey replied the following: 70.74% "United Federal Cyprus" (bi-zonal, bi-communal, politically equal as it is accepted by the UN), 22.87% "two separate recognized states in Cyprus" (confederation), 4.79% "continuation of the current situation" and 1.6% "unification with Turkey" (integration).

The paper writes that 69% of the journalists said they are "not hopeful" that a solution will be found and that only 9.9% said that they are hopeful.

The journalist noted that their most important problem is "freedom of expression" and "the working conditions". 16.76 % of the journalists said that they have been receiving threats or warnings that could be perceived as threats during the execution of their profession.

(I/Ts.)

[04] Akansoy: AKP has changed its policy for Cyprus

"However, the AKP is recently in parallel to the policy implemented for the Turkish Cypriots by the official Turkish foreign policy", he said and added: "The Turkish Cypriots are not unfamiliar with this policy. We began to have hopes that the AKP would have a different point of view and help the Turkish Cypriots, but unfortunately it is at a different point today. I think that there has been a change in AKP's policies, because AKP's policies are not directed only towards the Turkish Cypriots, but they are something related to the regional policy at the same time? They view differently Cyprus as a requirement of their foreign policy".

Akansoy said that the international contacts of the CTP are very important for them and added that the party has a committee which works within this framework. He noted that there is a very important meeting in South Africa in the end of this month and that the CTP will participate in this melting. He noted that right afterwards, the chairman of the party will participate in a meeting in Brussels and added that wherever they go they discuss the Cyprus problem and work on this issue.

According to Akansoy, the most important problem in the occupied area of Cyprus today, is economy. He said that education, health and transportation are also important issues for his party.

[05] "The first metal of Cyprus"

"?As a man of sports I am happy when a metal comes out in a huge organization such as the Olympic Games for an athlete born raised and brought up in Cyprus, either this athlete is Turk, Greek, Armenian or Maronite. Therefore, the fact that Pavlos won a metal has made me happy. Pavlos is an athlete who came out from our beautiful island on which we live and about which we give great struggles. He is an athlete who promotes Cyprus in a sense. I think that everyone of us should be happy with the fact that an athlete who won a metal in the Olympic Games came out from the island of Cyprus after 52 years. We as Turkish Cypriots have a different approach for sports. As Turkish Cypriots we do not have a chauvinistic and racist approach. Therefore, we do not take offense at the fact that an athlete from the Greek Cypriot sector won a metal in the Olympic Games?"

Ortunc goes on and writes that the breakaway regime's self-styled minister of sports should establish a team for making "openings to the outside world' and hold contacts with various international organizations. He expresses the view that they should examine the regulations of the IOC and secure the necessary resources for that team in order to make "serious attacks" before this international organization.

(I/Ts.)

[06] Davutoglu comments on Syria, said Turkey always paid high attention to its relationship with Iran

Davutoglu replied the questions of journalists on his way to Myanmar for a formal visit.

Davutoglu stressed his point of view over the relations between Turkey and Iran and stated that bilateral relations move forward with the care of both sides and said, "It is our right to hear suitable replies and see respect to Turkey from Iranian officials when we hold extensive bilateral relationship with them."

He stated that they make effort for a peaceful Syria. However he said there is a chaos in the country because of the Syrian government's attitude. He also claimed that PKK and Democratic Union Party (PYD) take an advantage from the chaos in the country by standing next to the regime.

More, Davutoglu mentioned that Turkey is still monitoring every incident in Syria and said that from Latakia to El Haseke it is not just a Kurdish region and there are zones of Kurdish, Arab, Nusayri and Turkmen.

Davutoglu answered a question about the "PKK threat" in the region and vwhen asked if it is fictional or not, he said, "The only reality is that PKK militants are there. Al-Assad supports cities of Afrina and Kobani by providing arms. This is not fictional; it is a real threat against us. We take it as a threat and we take our precautions. The only fictional thing is that map. From Qamishli to Latakia, the whole northern Syria region is not just Kurdish."

He stressed that they are not against the rights of Kurds in Syria and said that at the meeting in Irbil, he had Syrian National Council sitting on his left and Syrian Kurdish National Council sitting on his right and said, "I said that the president of Syrian National Council is Kurdish but represents it as a Syrian. And you lot are sitting here as Syrian Kurdish. You can sit down and agree. What we do not want to see is the terrorist threat. First there has to be elections, which include Kurdish, Arabs and Turkmens and after reaching a consensus, you can decide where to give 'autonomy' all together."

[07] PKK attacks rage in west-east. One soldier killed; increase in security expenditure due to PKK's activities

The bus was carrying soldiers to a marine base at the Foca Naval Base when an explosive device, allegedly planted by suspected members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), was remotely detonated at around 8 a.m. The explosion occurred 1.5 kilometers away from the base on a road recently opened to civilian traffic. The road is flanked by summer houses on one side and trees on the other. Several civilian vehicles were damaged in the blast. Military and police first responders had already arrived at the scene when a second explosion hit a fire truck rushing to the blast zone, approximately eight minutes after the initial attack. No one was injured in the second blast, but the fire truck was hit by shrapnel. Soldiers opened fire on woodlands after the second blast, leading witnesses to assume there was fighting at the scene. The barrage stopped after no one returned fire.

"With military operations in Turkey's southeast continuing after more than two weeks, militants from the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) have attacked Turkish soldiers on the western coast and in the southeast at the same time", writes the paper.

The Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the attack was an example of the PKK's efforts to spread throughout the country. "Unfortunately, this is another example of terrorism's spread," he stated.

The Foca Naval Base houses the Turkish Amphibious Brigade, and is the only place in the country where marines are trained. A marine battalion from the brigade was deployed in the south-eastern province of Sirnak between 1993 and 2001 to participate in operations against the PKK.

In addition, Turkish daily Today's Zaman (10.08.12) reports that the ongoing fight against PKK led to a surge in security spending in the beginning of the year and has negatively affected the government's budget planning.

According to statistical data released by the Turkish Ministry of Finance, the spending on salaries of defence and security personnel increased in first half of this year over the previous year. Compared to the first six months of last year, TL 50 million more was spent this year.

In addition, there was an increase in the discretionary fund, which helps meet part of the costs of services of some state institutions that deal with security matters, from TL 296 million to TL 431 million in first of half of 2012, or an increase of TL 135 million. The discretionary fund is mostly used for unbudgeted spending in security issues.

Added to that, the expenditure on military equipment increased approximately eight times. While TL 15.3 million was spent on ammunition in the first six months of last year, the government spent TL 122.8 million in the same period this year.

Another increase was seen in the budget for intelligence service agents; TL 265.2 million was paid to National Intelligence Organization (MIT) personnel for their services to date this year, a TL 48.7 million increase in spending for intelligence gathering compared to the TL 216.5 million expenditure in the same period last year.

Moreover, the amount spent on purchasing new military equipment and services in the first half of 2012 was TL 732.7 million. The Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) spent TL 682 million on its personnel in first six months of last year. With regards to the procurement of new military materiel, equipment and vehicles, the TSK spent TL 317.2 million between January and June of last year. However, the amount fell to TL 202 million for the same period this year.

There was also an increase for the modernization of some military equipment as part of the defence expenditure.

[08] Columnist reports on rumours that Turkish military jet was downed within Syria territory

"How Turkey lost its F-4 reconnaissance plane on June 22 is of course important. Was it shot down by Syria's Russian-made advance air defence missile systems? Was it shot down by anti-aircraft fire by Syrians? Did a loyal Syrian woman miss her spoiled son and hit the Turkish jet with a slipper she threw at the boy? Or did a spoiled kid shoot down the Turkish fighter with a slingshot?

How the Turkish military reconnaissance plane was lost and where it was lost are important questions the answers of which the state will never, ever provide, very much like how indeed the Turkish state bombarded its own civilian citizens the night of Dec. 28, killing 34 people, many of them children, assuming that they were terrorists.

By definition, journalists ought to be "opposition" to virtually everything at the expense of being declared unwanted or even banished to concentration camps like the one in the Silivri area of Turkey. Even though at times media bosses engage in lucrative business deals with the government and direct criticism of the government becomes all the more costly, through cartoons or articles of witty and veteran journalists, the media continues to be the eyes and ears of the public. Why do you think at one point in our recent political history we had a cartoon magazine, "G?r G?r," selling almost 1.5 million copies a week? Or, unfortunately, not all of them live up to their reason d'etre, but why do we have so many columnists in the Turkish media?

A journalist friend, Leyla Kemal, wrote an article in daily Taraf yesterday. I do not like Taraf newspaper. It appears to me that it is a newspaper created by some outside elements to serve a certain aim they want to achieve in Turkey. But, everyone should salute good journalism irrespective of where the story appeared. In her story Leyla wrote about emerging details that Turkey's allies had gathered through their bases on Cyprus, satellites and other means that underline the high probability that the Turkish jet was downed or fell "INSIDE" Syrian territory ? unlike Turkish assertions that it was downed in international airspace.

Well, what difference would it make where the plane was downed (or fell) as long as we lost a plane and the two young officers piloting it?

For an answer to the question let us return to the headline: Freedom of press! What's the connection between what happened and how it happened to the reconnaissance jet and the freedom of media?

Leyla's story was to appear in daily Sabah? The paper of "our Calik," who also owns ATV and the A Haber channels ? lately the prime minister appears on only those two channels to answer the questions of a select group of breast-fed journalists. This week Sabah had announced that it would report an earth-shattering story on the reconnaissance plane? According to "rumours" after it was censored ? pardon, ordered not to run such stories ? and probably considering the many lucrative deals between the government and its boss, the paper forgot to publish its "earth-shattering report."

Well done Leyla? We still don't have a reliable report on what in fact happened to the jet. We don't know how it fell, or whether it was downed by Syrians. Now, we know, however, that the Turkish government lied to the Turkish public and the world when it categorically asserted that the jet was downed in international airspace. The latest evidence apparently showed it was in Syrian airspace when it encountered its fate?

And of course, Sabah lost, along with masters of censorship."

[09] Turkish President to participate in Islamic summit in Mecca

Gul will travel to Saudi Arabia to take part in the 4th Extraordinary Islamic Summit called by Organization of the Islamic Cooperation and it is expected to discuss developments in Syria, Palestine, Myanmar, Sudan and Mali.

The Turkish President is also expected to hold bilateral meetings with his counterparts on regional and international issues.

[10] Turkish mayor to be advisor to Ban Ki-Moon

According to AA's received information from UN officials, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon added new names to his Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

The deadline date for MDGs is 2015 and to advice on the global development agenda beyond 2015, Ban Ki-Moon named Kadir Topbas of Turkey as one of the remaining 26 names.

Ban also announced the names of the three co-chairs of the High-level Panel who are Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono; Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf; and British Prime Minister David Cameron.

The panel, will be holding its meeting at the end of September during the annual UN General Assembly. The panel is expected to prepare a report after the first six months of 2013.

The High-level Panel's is expected to prepare new development challenges for the global development agenda beyond 2015.

[11] Turkish education minister in Kyrgyzstan

Minister Dincer was welcomed by Turkic Council Secretary General Halil Alinci, Minister of Education of Kyrgyzstan Kanat Sadikov, Turkish Ambassador in Bishkek Nejat Akcal and Rector of Kyrgyz Turkish Manas University Professor Dr. Sabahattin Balci.

Minister Dincer will be visiting Turkish schools in capital Bishkek followed by a visit to the memorial site of Ata-Beyit.

[12] Turkey assumes Blackseafor command

A ceremony was held at Turkey's Golcuk Naval Base with the participation of Turkish Admiral Nusret Guner and Russian Colonel Yumy Zemsky.

Zemsky handed over the command to Turkish Colonel Ahmet Hakan Gunes who will lead the Blackseafor.

The Black Sea Naval Co-operation Task Group was created in early 2001 under the leadership of Turkey, with the participation of all other Black Sea littoral states, Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine, Russia and Georgia.

The Blackseafor founding agreement was signed in Istanbul on April 2nd, 2001.

The original purpose of Blackseafor was to promote security and stability in the Black Sea and beyond, strengthen friendship and good neighbourly relations among regional States, and increase tolerance among those states' naval forces.

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