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

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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] Self-styled economic minister Tatar on the economic crisis of the Republic of Cyprus and of the breakaway regime

[02] Bagis wished again for God to save the Greek Cypriots and offered Turkey's financial help via the breakaway regime

[03] Waste water treatment plant opened in Morfou

[04] Akansoy says they will settle accounts with the UBP

[05] Trade Unions' Platform decides to struggle against the economic package

[06] Azeri MP addresses a meeting at illegal DAU

[07] Lagendijk is coming to give a lecture in Gonyeli

[08] "Turkish Cypriot Football Association" and Cyprus Football Association (CFA) together for the first time since 1955

[09] Self-styled embassy of the breakaway regime to Ankara participate in an embassies bowling tournament

[10] Last F-16 jet delivered to Turkish Air Forces

[11] Turkish Council of Forensic Medicine finalizes report on Ozal's death, confirms poison

[12] Turks increasingly losing appetite for EU

[13] Turkey has more journalists in jail than any other country, followed by Iran and China

[A] TURKISH CYPRIOT / TURKISH PRESS

[01] Self-styled economic minister Tatar on the economic crisis of the Republic of Cyprus and of the breakaway regime

"We have 6-7 thousand workers in the south and a substantial part of them had either lost their jobs or seen their salaries cut. Those who lost their jobs had started looking for employment in the Turkish Cypriot side," Tatar told The Anadolu Agency.

Tatar also alleged that the "Greek Cypriot economic crisis" was long anticipated with a huge budget deficit which he said President Demetris Christofias' government had refused dealing with.

In addition, Turkish Cypriot daily Kibris newspaper (12.12.12) reports that Tatar stated the "government" is looking for 300 million Turkish lira in order to pay two salaries for the workers in the "public sector" by the end of the year. He said that in order to pay the 12th and the 13th salaries the "government" may borrow money from the Ziraat bankasi, as it did last year.

[02] Bagis wished again for God to save the Greek Cypriots and offered Turkey's financial help via the breakaway regime

He also said that if the Greek Cypriot administration, as he called the Republic of Cyprus, apply to the breakaway regime via the self-styled prime minister Irsen Kucuk, Turley could financially help.

Bagis said that Turkey does not recognize the Republic of Cyprus therefore, if it apply via Kucuk for financial aid, Ankara will evaluate its demand.

[03] Waste water treatment plant opened in Morfou

Addressing the ceremony, Kucuk said that this project aimed at overcoming the problem of the salting of the area's aquifer and noted that Morfou's water problem will be solved with the water, which they will transfer from Turkey in March 2014.

Kucuk said that his "government" tries to have good relations with the EU and added: "As TRNC, we are determined to continue the relations with the EU at the highest level". He then asked support from the EU on other projects.

Kucuk alleged that during Cyprus' EU term presidency, President Christofias undertook initiatives in order for the aid of the EU to the Turkish Cypriots to be hindered, but as a result of efforts they have exerted they solved this problem and managed to be included into EU's seven-year aid package budget.

Kucuk thanked everyone who contributed to the waste water treatment project and added that they exert efforts to create a "TRNC" saved from "embargoes".

In her statements, Michaela De Bucci said that the project is one of the most important of EU's aid programs and expressed the belief that it would contribute in the ending of the "isolations" implemented on "the northern part of Cyprus" and in the unification of Cyprus.

(I/Ts.)

[04] Akansoy says they will settle accounts with the UBP

Akansoy reiterated his party's view that early "elections" should be held as soon as possible and the "country" should be saved from this instability. He argued that this "government" will not be able to solve the crisis at occupied Lefkosia "municipality" or to implement the economic package. He said: "This system collapsed, a new system is needed. We will think how we will stand on our feet again. We will plan and implement this. We will get this system up by changing it with new laws, by creating a modern society".

Akansoy argued that their relations with Turkey should be "normalized" and noted that they could "never have a trouble such as conflicting with Turkey". He added that they could not accept to be passive in these relations and that even though they are close with Turkey, "the country belongs to the Turkish Cypriots". "Until the solution, the northern part of Cyprus will be administered by the Turkish Cypriots", he alleged and referred to the amendment of some "laws" such as "article" 10 of the "constitution", the "political parties' law", the "elections' law" etc.

(I/Ts.)

[05] Trade Unions' Platform decides to struggle against the economic package

In a statement issued yesterday on behalf of the Platform, Sener Elcil, general secretary of Turkish Cypriot Teachers' Trade Union (KTOS), noted that far from economic measures, the package has a political content aimed at intensifying the social, cultural, and economic annihilation of the Turkish Cypriot community.

(I/Ts.)

[06] Azeri MP addresses a meeting at illegal DAU

(I/Ts.)

[07] Lagendijk is coming to give a lecture in Gonyeli

(I/Ts.)

[08] "Turkish Cypriot Football Association" and Cyprus Football Association (CFA) together for the first time since 1955

President of CTFA Hasan Sertoglu, President of CFA Kostas Kutsokoumnis, FIFA's former director of international relations and CTFA Consultant Jerome Champagne and other authorities were present in the meeting that took place in CFA Headquarters in the free area of the Republic of Cyprus.

Kutsokoumnis said, "We would like to end the segregation in football. Both parties are willing to do so" and added that they were planning another meeting on the Turkish Cypriot side on January 17, 2013.

Sertoglu said, "The island has suffered from politicians deeply. All parties agree that there is a problem and we are going to work very hard to solve the problems."

[09] Self-styled embassy of the breakaway regime to Ankara participate in an embassies bowling tournament

According to the paper, the Swiss Embassy in Turkey won the event at the Bilkent Rollhouse bowling hall, while FYROM came second and Italy was third.

The tournament was overseen by Turkish Bowling Federation, and federation chief Ahmet Recep Tekcan presented the winning trophy to the Switzerland team.

Apart from the top three, Ukraine, Philippines, Russia, Malaysia and the self-styled embassy of the breakaway regime to Ankara, participated in the embassies bowling tournament

[10] Last F-16 jet delivered to Turkish Air Forces

Speaking at the ceremony, Ozcan Ertem, TAI's Aircraft Group president, said the F-16 was a very important and special product, and that the program was successfully completed ahead of the deadline with the delivery of the 308th jet.

"I thank everyone who worked on the project, in the hope that our strong cooperation with TAI that started in 1984 will continue," he said. Serdar Demirel, deputy undersecretary at Turkey's Under secretariat for Defence Industries (SSM), thanked U.S. and Turkish officials, as well as Lockheed Martin and TAI employees, who contributed to the F-16 project. TAI and Lockheed Martin launched the F-16 program in 1984 and TAI produced 308 fighter jets in the program.

[11] Turkish Council of Forensic Medicine finalizes report on Ozal's death, confirms poison

The institution said in a statement that the tests confirmed the presence of poison in the remains of the former president, but members of the council were unable to reach a unanimous conclusion to officially determine that poison was the root cause of Ozal's death.

The report will be sent to the Ankara Prosecutor's Office, which is overseeing the investigation.

Speaking to NTV on Tuesday evening, ATK President Haluk 0
nce dismissed claims suggesting that Ozal's cause of death was other than poison. When the report was made public on Tuesday evening, some pundits and commentators said the report proves that Ozal did not die due to poisoning.

ATK medical experts failed to deliver a final conclusion over the cause of Ozal's death, noting that although they did detect poisonous substances in the remains of the former president, they are unable to say that the substances were the cause of his death.

An investigation into Ozal's suspicious death began earlier this year after a number of witnesses spoke of unusual circumstances on the day of the death of the former president, who was reported to have suffered a heart attack. The Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office recently issued a warrant to exhume the remains of the president for toxicological testing.

Ozal died of heart failure in April 1993 at an Ankara hospital at the age of 65 while serving in office.

[12] Turks increasingly losing appetite for EU

A poll conducted by Bo
azi?i University and published by Turkey's Vatan daily showed that the number of Turks who believe Turkey will not become an EU member or that the membership in the now 27-member club will have negative consequences, is growing.

Only 47.1 percent of respondents said they have a positive view of the EU, a more than 20 percent decrease since 2003, when the number was 69.3 percent.

Following the coming of the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) to power in 2002, which had revived Turkey's EU membership hopes, Ankara and Brussels seemed hopeful that Turkey would become a member of the bloc in the upcoming decade after successfully closing negotiation chapters. The Cyprus problem and opposition of some member states, including France, pushed the process into a deadlock. Turkey declared earlier this year that it would not hold meetings with any EU institutions after the Republic of Cyprus took over the rotating presidency in July. Ireland will assume the presidency in January of next year.

The percentage of Turks who consider Turkey part of Europe has dropped significantly, from 70 percent in 2003 to 46 percent today.

The survey was conducted in 16 provinces across Turkey with 1,200 participants.

Over the past 10 years, those who think that membership in the EU will damage religious values has risen 10 percent, to 64 percent. While only 41.8 percent of respondents said Turkey's membership in the EU will divide the candidate country in 2003, 54 percent believe this to be true today.

One-third of Turks think Turkey will never become a member of the EU (32 percent), while 21 percent say membership won't happen "in my lifetime."

Turkish people and officials have become markedly more critical of the EU due to what they call its "discriminatory and painful" visa process and unfavourable treatment of Turkey in the Cyprus problem. The financial meltdown in Europe, coupled with Turkey's economic rebound in recent years could also be among factors fuelling anti-EU sentiment among the Turkish public.

The survey showed that 51 percent of people would vote "yes" in a referendum to become an EU member, while this number was 74.4 percent a decade ago.

Despite concerns in European cities over massive Turkish immigration if Turkey becomes an EU member, only 14 percent of Turks surveyed think they would consider immigrating within the EU once Ankara joins the bloc.

[13] Turkey has more journalists in jail than any other country, followed by Iran and China

There are 49 journalists in prison in Turkey as of Dec. 1, including dozens of reporters held on terrorism-related charges and other journalists accused of plotting against the government, according to the watchdog. Although the number is lower that the group's previous report on the country, which said there were 61 journalists in prison, Turkey still tops the list.

Iran had jailed at least 45 journalists by the start of this month, followed by China with 32, the report said.

In all, the group identified 232 writers, editors and photojournalists imprisoned as of December 1, a "snapshot" that does not include many journalists imprisoned and released over the course of the year, it said.

The total marked an increase of 53 from the same day in 2011 and the highest since the organization began its survey in 1990.

The previous record of 185 journalists imprisoned worldwide was set in 1996.

Rounding out the top five jailers of journalists were Eritrea, with 28 reporters behind bars, and Syria, with 15. They were followed by Vietnam (14), Azerbaijan (9), Ethiopia (6), Saudi Arabia (4) and Uzbekistan (4). The group identified a total of 27 countries as imprisoning journalists.

The number of journalists in prison reached a record high this year, as dissenting reporters and editors were charged with "terrorism" and other crimes against the state, the New York-based group said. TURKISH AFFAIRS SECTION

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