Cyprus PIO: Turkish Cypriot and Turkish Media Review, 13-01-25

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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] Davutoglu discussed the Cyprus problem with Ban in the sidelines of Davos meeting

[02] Protocol for religious studies school in the breakaway regime signed in Ankara

[03] Denktas wants a "referendum" before the resumption of the Cyprus talks

[04] "This country is my baby", says the Turkish Minister of Tourism for the occupied area of Cyprus

[05] Reactions against the environmental destruction in occupied Karpasia continue

[06] "Apology, Cyprus hinder Israel's Turkey gas bid"

[07] Turkish Parliament adopts draft law paving way for defense in "mother tongue"

[08] CHP Parliamentarian Firat resigned from CHP in protest to a fellow deputy's remarks on Kurds

[09] Turkish cabinet shuffle

[10] SunExpress Aviation Company to carry out flights at illegal Tymbou airport

[11] The occupied area of Cyprus has been turned into "Texas'

[12] Al Jazeera journalists arrested in occupied Cyprus for entering a military area

[13] British Parliamentarian attended an event for the breakaway regime in London

[14] Mass production of Turkey's first national UAV imminent

[A] TURKISH CYPRIOT / TURKISH PRESS

[01] Davutoglu discussed the Cyprus problem with Ban in the sidelines of Davos meeting

Davutoglu and Secretary General Ban discussed the Cyprus problem, Syria, Iraq and Turkish-UN relations.

Davutoglu met with the Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mahamud, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, Algerian Foreign Minister Mourad Medelci, Australian Foreign Minister Robert John Carr, and President of the Syrian National Coalition for Opposition and Revolutionary Forces Sheikh Ahmad Moaz al-Khatib in Davos on Thursday.

In his talks with Moaz al-Khatib, Davutoglu discussed the international efforts on the Syrian crisis and the situation of Syrian refugees and those displaced due to the civil war in Syria.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu also met Massoud Barzani, head of the regional Kurdish administration in the north of Iraq, in Davos on Thursday.

During the meeting, Davutoglu stressed the importance Turkey attached in prosperity and stability of Iraq, and said that Ankara did not pursue a policy based on ethnical and religious basis. Turkey will continue its dialogue with Iraqi politicians who have similar policy with Ankara, added Davutoglu.

Davutoglu also expressed sorrow over the bomb attack in Tuz Khormato near Kirkuk, and said that Turkey would launch initiatives to take and treat the wounded Iraqis.

Meanwhile, Barzani expressed will to further develop relations with Turkey.

The condition of Syrian refugees was also discussed in the meeting.

[02] Protocol for religious studies school in the breakaway regime signed in Ankara

The protocol was signed by Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Besir Atalay, the self-styled minister of education Mutlu Atasayan, Chairman of the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB) Rifat Hisarciklioglu and the chairman of the "Turkish Cypriot foundation", Hikmet Kaynarca.

[03] Denktas wants a "referendum" before the resumption of the Cyprus talks

In statements yesterday to Ada television, Denktas replied to a question as to whether the Turkish Cypriot side should abandon the negotiating table. He said that they should not hope that they will be able to show their good will to the world, as they have been negotiating for 40 years and were not able to do this and they said "yes" to the Annan Plan, but they were also not able to do this.

He added: "If we will sit at the table, we will sit with careful good will. Before sitting at the table, a referendum should have been held, but because of the quarrel regarding the National Unity Party's (UBP) congress, it has not been possible for the issue to be brought onto the agenda. As DP, we have put forward a seven-paragraph approach plan. By doing this we wanted to both warn the president and draw the attention of the people and make known from now what the stance of the DP is and under which circumstances and how action could be taken".

Responding to a question regarding the relations of the Turkish Cypriots with Ankara, Denktas said: "We must understand now that we exist, that we have a say in the solution of the Cyprus problem and that we are one of the sides which will have a say. Turkey's interests are important of course, but the Cyprus issue is one of Turkey's interests. We will not allow this to be forgotten. Coming to the point, we should be, in our relations with Turkey, is an element which will both ease Turkey in the international arena and secure our voice to be heard when we say to the world something regarding our future".

(I/Ts.)

[04] "This country is my baby", says the Turkish Minister of Tourism for the occupied area of Cyprus

The fair was opened by the Turkish Minister of Tourism Ertugrul Gunay, his Argentinian colleague, Carlos Enrique Meyer and other officials. Argentina is the guest country of the fair this year. The self-styled minister of tourism, Unal Ustel did not participate in the fair, in spite of the fact that his participation had been announced earlier. The self-styled ministry was represented by a delegation headed by its "permanent secretary", Sahap Asikoglu.

After the official opening of the fair, Gunay and Carlos Enrique Meyer visited the stand of the breakaway regime in the occupied area of Cyprus. While they were talking to businessmen in the field of tourism from the occupied area of Cyprus, Gunay turned to Meyer and said for the breakaway regime: "This country is my baby".

The target this year is for 100 thousand persons to visit the fair, which will end on Sunday 27 January.

(I/Ts.)

[05] Reactions against the environmental destruction in occupied Karpasia continue

Many organizations, including the Social Democracy Party (TDP) have signed the complaint. The organizations said in their complaint that the works are being carried out "illegally" and called on the "police" to stop them.

Meanwhile, the initiative announced yesterday that it will hold a protest on Sunday 27 January in the "Special protection Area" in Karpasia near the Blue Sea Hotel.

(I/Ts.)

[06] "Apology, Cyprus hinder Israel's Turkey gas bid"

According to Hurriyer a Turkish official said the following: "[?]The normalization of Turkish-Israeli relations ? which is contingent on the latter apologizing and paying compensation over the deadly 2010 Gaza raid ? would not be enough to effect energy cooperation between the two, due to Israel's energy cooperation with Greek Cyprus.

The revelation emerged yesterday during the 16th Eurasian Economic Summit in Istanbul in which Michael Lotem, the Israeli Foreign Ministry's special envoy for energy, attempted to approach Akkan Suver, the head of conference organizer the Marmara Group (MG) Foundation, with a request to discuss possible energy cooperation with Deputy Turkish Energy Minister Murat Mercan.

But according to sources speaking on condition of anonymity, Mercan refused to speak because Turkey had downgraded its diplomatic relations with Israel to a minimum because Israel had killed nine Turks on board the Mavi Marmara aid flotilla, which was trying to break the Israeli blockade on Gaza in 2010.

Mercan, however, later agreed to speak informally at a coffee break following the conference's "Natural gas as the game changer" session. Replying to Lotem's questions as to the possibility exporting Mediterranean gas via Turkey, Mercan replied that even if Israel fulfilled Turkish demands for getting relations back on track, namely, providing an open apology for the Mavi Marmara killings, compensating the families of the victims and ending the blockade on Gaza, the problem of Israel's resource cooperation with Greek Cyprus would still remain.

Turkey could be a natural energy cooperation partner for Israel because potential gas finds off Israel's shore could find a market in Turkey and Europe. Before the Gaza crisis, Turkey and Israel had been in detailed talks for regional energy cooperation, including constructing pipelines between them through the Mediterranean.

The problems related to Greek Cyprus stem from 2012, when Nicosia declared parts of the Mediterranean as its economic zone for oil and gas exploration and extraction, including territorial waters claimed by the Turkish Cypriot government. The declaration prompted the Turkish government to announce that it would not do business with any country or company that entered into a Greek Cypriot ventures.

Other sources speaking on condition of anonymity, however, said the exchange was not a negative one since it clarified Turkey's position, that it would not do business with any country or company that entered into a Greek Cypriot ventures.

[07] Turkish Parliament adopts draft law paving way for defense in "mother tongue"

According to the law, a defendant could make a defense in a court in a language s/he chooses.

Translators for the defendants will be chosen from lists prepared by provincial judicial committees.

The law adopted on Thursday also makes it possible for married inmates to meet their spouses in a private atmosphere.

[08] CHP Parliamentarian Firat resigned from CHP in protest to a fellow deputy's remarks on Kurds

Firat, parliamentarian from Adiyaman province, told AA that CHP Izmir deputy Birgul Ayman Guler's speech at the Parliamentary General Assembly on Wednesday, was one of the reasons he resigned. Ayman said during the debate of a bill regarding defendants' right to communicate in a language other than Turkish, "Turks and Kurds were not equal as nations."

CHP's number of seats at Parliament dropped to 134, while seats of independents increased to seven.

Distribution of seats at Parliament is as follows after resignation of Firat;

AK Party: 326

CHP: 134

MHP: 52

BDP: 29

Independents: 7

(AK Party-Justice & Development Party, MHP-Nationalist Movement Party, BDP-Peace & Democracy Party)

[09] Turkish cabinet shuffle

A Justice and Development (AK) Party deputy from Mardin, Muammer Guler was appointed as the Interior Minister, Deputy Chairman of the AK Party and a deputy from Adana, Omer Celik was appointed as the Culture and Tourism Minister, an AK Party deputy from Eskisehir, Nabi Avci was appointed as the National Education Minister, while an AK Party deputy from Edirne, Mehmet Muezzinoglu was appointed as the Health Minister on Thursday.

Ministers Idris Naim Sahin, Ertugrul Gunay, Omer Dincer and Recep Akdag have been left out of the Turkish cabinet.

The new Turkish Council of Ministers is as follows:

Prime Minister: Recep Tayyip Erdogan

Dep. Prime Min.: Bulent Arinc

Dep. Prime Min.: Ali Babacan

Dep. Prime Min.: Besir Atalay

Dep. Prime Min.: Bekir Bozdag

Min. of Justice: Sadullah Ergin

Min. of Family and Social Policies: Fatma Sahin

Min. of EU Affairs: Egemen Bagis

Min. of Science, Industry and Technology: Nihat Ergun

Min. of Labor and Social Security: Faruk Celik

Min. of Environment and Urbanization: Erdogan Bayraktar

Min. of Foreign Affairs: Ahmet Davutoglu

Min. of Economy: Zafer Caglayan

Min. of Energy and Natural Resources: Taner Yildiz

Min. of Youth and Sports: Suat Kilic

Min. of Agriculture, Food and Animal Breeding: Mehdi Eker

Min. of Customs and Trade: Hayati Yazici

Min. of Interior: Muammer Guler

Min. of Development: Cevdet Yilmaz

Min. of Culture and Tourism: Omer Celik

Min. of Finance: Mehmet Simsek

Min. of National Education: Nabi Avci

Min. of National Defense: Ismet Yilmaz

Min. of Forestry and Water Works: Veysel Eroglu

Min. of Health: Mehmet Muezzinoglu

Min. of Transport, Maritime Affairs and Communications: Binali Yildirim

[10] SunExpress Aviation Company to carry out flights at illegal Tymbou airport

According to the paper, SunExpress will flight to four more destinations by the beginning of March. The four new destinations of the Company are the internal flight from Izmir to Batman, the flight from Germany to Bremen, from France to Strasbourg and also to illegal Tymbou airport (Ercan), in occupied Lefkosia.

The company will carry out flights to illegal Ercan twice a week, writes the paper.

(AK)

[11] The occupied area of Cyprus has been turned into "Texas'

According to the paper, no day passes without shooting in occupied Famagusta. Four days ago an armed attack against a business named Axess took place. Yesterday an armed attack was held against the shop of Mehmet Guder, a well-known butcher in occupied Famagusta. In the same city, a person threatened another person that if he did not pay his debt to him by a certain hour, he would kill him together with his family.

Moreover, in occupied Kazivera village unknown persons set fire to the vehicle of a person named Salih Ulusan.

Furthermore, in occupied Keryneia two persons quarreled with a not her person named Gokhan Pehlul, beat him up and afterwards threw him into the sea. He is in the hospital with brain hemorrhage.

Turkish Cypriot daily Havadis newspaper (25.01.13) refers to the situation under the banner front-page title "Mafia is in the roads".

Turkish Cypriot daily Haberdar newspaper (25.01.13) also refers to the situation on its front page wondering "What is happening to us?" The paper writes that incidents of violence, which the occupied area of Cyprus had not been used to, "have started becoming a part of the everyday life". The paper notes that yesterday a Molotov cocktail was thrown against the occupied Neapolis "police's antinarcotic department".

(I/Ts.)

[12] Al Jazeera journalists arrested in occupied Cyprus for entering a military area

The journalists were preparing a documentary for the breakaway regime for the Turkish broadcasting of Al Jazeera and were put under arrest in occupied Ashia village "for entering a first degree military area". The journalists are Huseyin Guven and Banu Acun.

[13] British Parliamentarian attended an event for the breakaway regime in London

The event, which was organized at Edmonton area for the benefit of the Cengiz Topel hospital which is located in occupied Lefka, was attended by Edmonton MP with the Labor Party Andy Love, member of the municipality assembly of Edmonton with Labor Party, Yasemin Brett and the "representative" of the breakaway regime in London Oya Tunceli.

In statements, Love stressed the importance for organizing such an event in London for raisin help for a hospital located in the breakaway regime and added that is always near and supports the Turkish speaking community of the area.

[14] Mass production of Turkey's first national UAV imminent

The first domestically manufactured UAV, the Anka (Phoenix), completed its test program with the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) in operations against the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). Mass production of the Anka is expected to start soon.

Final test flights were made on Tuesday. The Anka, which departed from the base of Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) in Ankara, flew towards Konya non-stop for 18 hours. The Anka had its first test flight in December, 2010. It has so far flown more than 140 hours and reached an altitude of 26,000 feet.

According to the information obtained by Today's Zaman, the five Anka vehicles that TAI currently has, will be deployed in the province of Batman in April and be used in counterterrorism operations.

The Anka, originally planned to be ready for use in early 2012, will be used in operations against the PKK and assisting the military in locating terrorists. With a 56-foot wingspan, the ability to fly at a speed of 75 knots per hour and the capability of reaching an altitude of 30,000 feet (9,144 meters), the drone is expected to mostly monitor the activities of PKK militants who enter Turkey from bases in northern Iraq. TURKISH AFFAIRS SECTION

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