Cyprus PIO: Turkish Cypriot and Turkish Media Review, 13-08-19

Cyprus Press and Information Office: Turkish Cypriot Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next Article

From: The Republic of Cyprus Press and Information Office Server at <http://www.pio.gov.cy/>

[A] TURKISH CYPRIOT / TURKISH PRESS

[01] Fire in occupied Limnitis burns 1000 hectares of land; Eroglu says this is the third fire in Limnitis starting in government-controlled area

[02] CTP-BG decides for its possible "partner"; CTP and DP disagree on the Cyprus problem; Erdogan meets with UBP's presidential candidate

[03] Talat: Cyprus problem is the source of all problems in the country; Eroglu does not support the solution

[04] Kucuk: the merging of UBP and DP into a single centre right party is impossible

[05] TDP discusses holding a congress; Ozyigit says he might run for chairman; Names of other candidates are discussed

[06] Talat said that only in the occupied part of Cyprus 44% of its population was not born in Cyprus

[07] Young people and children constitute 53% of occupied area's population; Unemployment rate was 9.9% in 2012

[08] Erdogan accused the Egyptian authorities of administering "state terrorism"

[09] Turkish government furious against OIC chief, calls for resignation

[10] Ruling AKP, BDP in row over Kurdish peace bid

[11] CHP visits abroad spotlights on foreign policy differences with government

[12] AKP opens office in Brussels

[13] Parties shaping their local election candidates

[A] TURKISH CYPRIOT / TURKISH PRESS

[01] Fire in occupied Limnitis burns 1000 hectares of land; Eroglu says this is the third fire in Limnitis starting in government-controlled area

According to the paper, the flames, which surrounded Limnitis due to the strong winds in the area, sounded alarm in the "entire country". Citizens, the occupation army and the "forestry department" exerted efforts to put out the fire. A helicopter from Turkey also contributed in these efforts upon the daylight.

The Turkish Cypriot leader, Dervis Eroglu visited the area yesterday and attended a briefing on the situation with the commander of the so-called security forces, major general Baki Kavun, the commander of the 39th mechanized division, major general Ibrahim Yilmaz and other officials. Afterwards Eroglu toured the area.

In his statements, Eroglu said that this is the third time that a similar fire broke out and argued that in all three times the fire started from Pyrgos village in the "south", as he described the government controlled area of Cyprus, and was directed towards the "TRNC", the occupied area of the island.

He went on and claimed: "Even if we have some worries and suspicions here, I do not want to make a comment until this is proved". He said that they should debate the issue of whether or not this situation was a coincidence or it has been deliberately caused.

Eroglu said that in the past there have been joint efforts of putting out fires in the buffer zone and added that teams of the United Nations tried to extinguish the fire at Pyrgos village, but when the fire passed into the occupied area of Cyprus, they abandoned the area.

In statements on the issue, self-styled prime minister, Sibel Siber said that the fire was taken under control at 02.00 hours in the morning and that the helicopters [from Turkey] are still waiting at illegal Tymvou airport. She said that around 1000 hectares of land have been turned into ashes.

Meanwhile, the self-styled minister of agriculture and natural resources, Sami Dayioglu said that it would take ten years to revive the nature in the area. He said that they should urgently decide to purchase a fire-fighting helicopter.

(I/Ts.)

[02] CTP-BG decides for its possible "partner"; CTP and DP disagree on the Cyprus problem; Erdogan meets with UBP's presidential candidate

Akansoy said that tonight CTP-BG will determine the party with which it will hold discussions on establishing a "government" for the next five days. He added that if a result is not achieved, they will hold meetings with the other party.

According to the paper, the DP-UG's general secretary, Bengu Sonya submitted his party's evaluation yesterday, while UBP's general secretary, Necdet Numan is expected to do this today in the morning.

Meanwhile, Kibris (17.08.13) reported that delegations from the CTP-BG and DP-UG held a two-hour meeting on Friday. CTP-BG's delegations submitted documents on various internal and external issues during the meeting.

In statements after the meeting, CTP-BG's chairman, Ozkan Yorgancioglu said that they have views which coincide on internal issues with the DP-UG chairman Serdar Denktas, but they have different views on the Cyprus problem.

On his part, Serdar Denktas said that they would not prevent the negotiating process on the Cyprus problem, but added that they conveyed to CTP-BG's delegation the view of DP-UG that the negotiations should be attached to a timetable.

Moreover, Turkish Cypriot daily Afrika newspaper (19.08.13) reports that the Turkish Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan has invited Huseyin Ozgurgun, the only candidate for the presidency of the UBP during the party's forthcoming congress, to Ankara. According to some information, writes Afrika, Ozgurgun was expected to depart for Ankara yesterday and hold a meeting with Erdogan today. It is alleged that they will discuss a "new road map".

(I/Ts.)

[03] Talat: Cyprus problem is the source of all problems in the country; Eroglu does not support the solution

In statements on a television program, Talat said that in case non-solution continued in Cyprus there would be a lot of crises and the Turkish Cypriots would continuously ask money from Turkey. He noted that priority must be given to the solution of the problem.

Talat said that the relations of the Turkish Cypriots with Turkey are at their worst level since 2010. Arguing that Turkey is not their enemy, Talat expressed the view that through good relations and dialogue many problems could be solved.

Talat reiterated his view that the National Unity Party (UBP) and the Democratic Party ? National Forces (DP-UG) have the same mentality and argued that the DP is under Turkish Cypriot leader Eroglu's custody today.

Talat said that Eroglu does not support the solution of the Cyprus problem. Talat pointed out that CTP knows better than anyone that Eroglu's mentality is that "the non-solution is the solution" in the Cyprus problem and wondered why the CTP could not establish a "collation government" with the UBP which had been cleared from Eroglu, if it can establish a "coalition" with the DP which is under Eroglu's custody.

Talat argued that he has been criticized very badly, mercilessly and perfidiously during the process of establishing a "coalition government" in the occupied area of Cyprus, and that he has been almost declared as Turkey's spokesman. Noting that the views he expresses are his own evaluations, Talat said that he has discussed this issue neither with Prime Minister Erdogan nor with the Turkish "ambassador" to occupied Nicosia.

Talat argued that making policy through Facebook is tantamount to indiscipline and ugliness. He said that this ugliness contaminated the CTP as well, adding that discipline must be achieved in the party or else very negative developments might be experienced.

(I/Ts.)

[04] Kucuk: the merging of UBP and DP into a single centre right party is impossible

He said that the process leading to and following the UBP congress and the "municipal elections", had taken its toll on the party.

Evaluating the "election results" and the ongoing efforts to form a "coalition government", the outgoing UBP leader 0
rsen K???k said that the UBP had lost votes to the Democrat Party (DP) as a result of the interference of the Turkish Cypriot leader Dervi
Ero
lu.

Ruling out the possibility of the UBP merging with any other political party, K???k said that "deputies" could be transferred to other parties, but the merging of the UBP and DP parties into a single centre right party, was not possible.

Touching upon ongoing efforts to form a "coalition government", Kucuk said that it was not numbers but the intention which was important. He expressed the view that the best "coalition model" would be between the Republican Turkish Party ? United Forces (CTP-BG) and the UBP.

Commenting on his meeting with the CTP leader ?zkan Yorganc1
o
lu on Friday, K???k said that the meeting had been conducted in a positive atmosphere.

Also describing the nomination of a single candidate for the UBP's upcoming extraordinary congress as an important development, the UBP leader said that their aim was to win back the party's strength, bringing the UBP back on its feet. Meanwhile, the UBP will be holding its extraordinary party congress on the 31st of August at 11am.

[05] TDP discusses holding a congress; Ozyigit says he might run for chairman; Names of other candidates are discussed

Commenting on TDP's chairman Mehmet Cakici's statement that he would resign, Ozyigit noted that they plan to hold their congress in September or October, regardless of whether the resignation mechanism works or not. He argued that the TDP should be restructured and added that some people within the party, supported his candidature for the presidency.

Meanwhile, Turkish Cypriot daily Havadis newspaper (17.08.13) reported that other candidates for the same post were Mehmet Harmanci, self-styled minister of tourism, environment and culture in Sibel Siber's temporary "government", and Dr. Suphi Hudaoglu, TDP's candidate in the last "local elections" for the post of the "mayor" in occupied Nicosia.

(I/Ts.)

[06] Talat said that only in the occupied part of Cyprus 44% of its population was not born in Cyprus

[07] Young people and children constitute 53% of occupied area's population; Unemployment rate was 9.9% in 2012

The distribution of the population according to their age group was the following in the census held in 2011 in comparison with the census held in 2006:

Age Group     2011          2006        Increase
0-14         52.710        47.595        10,7%
15-19        20.807        21.356        -2,6%
20-24        33.309        34.008        -2%
25-29        29.292        28.786         1,75%
30-34        27.823        21.921        26,9%
35-39        22.853        18.483        23,6%
40-44        19.118        17.770         7,5%
45-49        17.707        15.105        17,2%
50-54        15.271        13.118        16,4%
55-59        13.154        11.073        18,7%
60-64        10.952         8.066        35,7%
65-69         8.261         6.685        23,5%
70-74         6.091         4.957        22,8%
75-79         4.372         3.518        24,2%
80-84         2.710         2.151        25,9%
85 and above  1.827         1.357        34,6%

Meanwhile, Turkish Cypriot daily Yeni Duzen newspaper (17.08.13) reported that according to data published by the Turkish so-called embassy to Nicosia in the regime's "2012 Economic Situation Report", the number of the unemployed persons increased from 9.522 in 2006 to 10.784 in 2012. According to the same report, 4.093 Turkish Cypriots were working in the government-controlled area of the island in 2006 and this number was decreased to 1.200 in 2012.

The number of the persons who are in the age of being able to work increased to 221.193 in 2012. According to the report, 50.8% of this population is not included in the workforce of the occupied area of the island.

Unemployment rate was 11.9% in 2010, 9.7% in 2011 and 9.9% in 2012.

The number of persons working in the "public" and private sectors was 93.000 in 2010, 97.103 in 2011, and 99.117 in 2012.

(I/Ts.)

[08] Erdogan accused the Egyptian authorities of administering "state terrorism"

Turkey and Egypt have cancelled naval military drills and recalled their ambassadors amid strongly worded criticisms by Turkish leaders in the wake of the July 3 coup that ousted Morsi and a subsequent brutal crackdown on his supporters which left hundreds dead. A Turkish journalist working for state television TRT, who was detained at a Cairo mosque by Egyptian security forces along with pro-Morsi demonstrators, was also still in custody as of Sunday afternoon, further straining ties.

Erdo
an and President Abdullah G?l were due to meet on Sunday for talks on Egypt but the meeting was postponed to Thursday. There was no statement as to why the meeting was put off at the last minute.

Furthermore, the paper reported that Erdo
an, speaking at the opening ceremony of an urban transformation project in Bursa's Y1
ld1
r1
m district, blamed the interim government in Egypt for the bloody incidents in the country, which have resulted in the deaths of hundreds since Wednesday, and reiterated his criticism of those who support Egypt's military intervention. Condemning the attacks on houses of worship, Erdo
an repeated his calls to both the government and supporters of Morsi to show sensitivity.

"Places of worships are sacred, but [the Syrian and Egyptian government] ruined and burned our mosques in Egypt and Syria. There is no difference between Egyptian army Chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and al-Assad. Those who support them are not any different from them," Erdo
an maintained.

The Prime Minister also repeated accusations against the international community for maintaining its silence over the incidents in the Middle East.

Erdo
an criticized foreign countries for remaining silent over the incidents in Egypt and asserted that the countries "that gave $16 billon in support to the coup government in Egypt are the partners of it," in reference to the Gulf countries.

[09] Turkish government furious against OIC chief, calls for resignation

"If I were the secretary-general of the OIC, I would invite all member countries to adopt a joint position against the coup in Egypt and to stand against these killings," Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozda
said in an interview with Kanal 24 on Saturday. "If member countries rejected that, then I would resign in reaction. If I were him, I wouldn't stand as the head of an organization in the face of such a dishonourable move."

0
hsano
lu, a Turkish citizen, was elected as the secretary-general of the 57-member OIC in 2005 for a nine-year term after Turkish government exerted great effort for his election to the important international organization.

"Is there anybody who knows what 0
hsano
lu is doing? This person had accused [ousted President Mohamed] Morsi after the coup," H?seyin ?elik, deputy leader of the Justice and Development Party (AKP), said via Twitter late Aug. 17. Recalling that Turkish President Abdullah G?l and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdo
an had pushed for his election to the post, ?elik said, "As I recall, I say  what a pity.'"

Referring to the heavy crackdown on Muslim Brotherhood protesters on Aug. 14, 0
hsano
lu called on "all parties to exercise restraint and to return to dialogue in order to forge national consensus and bring about social peace."

"What  all parties?' Which  restraint?'" asked Bozda
. "There is no conflict between two parties. One of the parties has its thoughts, faith and spirit. The other party has its weapons, force and power."

According to the deputy prime minister, both the OIC and the Arab League have failed on the Egyptian test, arguing that the OIC was not the organization of kings but of Islam. "Its original name contains the word Islam. How can an organization named after Islam remain silent against this kind of cruel killings of hundreds of women and children," asked Bozda
.

The latest conversation between 0
hsano
lu and the Turkish government took place on Aug. 17 when Foreign Minister Ahmet Davuto
lu phoned the OIC chief to discuss the developments in Egypt after security forces besieged a mosque in Cairo. Davuto
lu reportedly called on the OIC to be more active in the international field regarding the developments in Egypt.

[10] Ruling AKP, BDP in row over Kurdish peace bid

While the government is criticizing the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) for prolonging the withdrawal of its militants into northern Iraq, the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) is firing back against the government over its reluctance to announce the democratization package. BDP's co-chairperson Selahattin Demirta
's statement that the government should make its package public on Sept. 1, and legislate it before Oct. 15, caused a fresh rift between the two.

"There are steps to be taken, we will take these.  Take it until this date.' We have not taken these steps because the terrorist organization or the BDP wanted them, and we will not after this point," deputy leader of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) Mehmet Ali ^
ahin said in an interview with the Anadolu Agency on Aug. 18.

^
ahin chose to speak vaguely of the contents and the timing of the package. "As far as I have learned, it is presented to Mr. Prime Minister. Maybe it comes up on the agenda of the Central Executive Board [MYK] meeting to be held next Monday, maybe our related friends and our Mr. Prime Minister will inform us at the MYK. Since I am not a part of that commission, I have no information on the contents," ^
ahin reiterated.

^
ahin also repeated Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdo
an's previous statement about how the first phase, the withdrawal of the armed forces of the PKK, has not been completed.

"The promises on leaving Turkey have not been fulfilled. In a very simple sense, it is such that 20%, and these are children, old women and such. Apart from this,  withdrawal' is not the case," Erdo
an has said, as daily H?rriyet reported on Aug. 17. A day after Demirta
's remarks, BDP deputies have once again visited Abdullah ?calan, the imprisoned leader of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) on August 17, and delivered his message where he affirmed that the negotiations continued.

"Meetings and negotiations we have with the state delegations continue. Until this stage, I gave meaning to my position to be valued as an instrument, but from now on, my position must evolve from being instrumental into a more strategic position," ?calan was reported as saying.

"I think that for the process to proceed healthily, the government too must take practical steps on democratization with democratization packages which will be prepared through a participatory method," ?calan added.

[11] CHP visits abroad spotlights foreign policy differences with government

Kemal K1
l1
?daro
lu, leader of the CHP, is scheduled to pay a five-day visit to Iraq early next week. He has harshly criticized the government's foreign policy in the Middle East, maintaining that Turkey, having problems with almost all its neighbours since the beginning of the Arab Spring, has been going through the most difficult period in foreign policy since the establishment of the republic. "We propose peace, while the AKP [the Justice and Development Party, also AKP] proposes war," K1
l1
?daro
lu said on a CNN T?rk television program on Monday evening.

The CHP believes that Turkey should encourage a diplomatic process without interfering in other countries' domestic affairs rather than becoming involved as a participant in crises by taking sides in the various conflicts in the Middle East. Elaborating on the main difference between positions of the ruling party and the CHP on matters of foreign policy, Faruk Lo
o
lu, the CHP's deputy chairman in charge of foreign policy, told Sunday's Zaman that "while the CHP struggles to rebuild peace and resolve conflicts in the region, the AK Party on the other hand, is positioning itself as a party to the conflicts."

During the Iraq visit, K1
l1
?daro
lu will meet with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. The Turkish government has been on bad terms with Maliki for some time, because of Turkey's rather close energy ties with the Kurds of northern Iraq. Maliki fears the Kurds may seek to separate from Iraq if they can find ways to sell their oil without authorization from the Iraqi central government.

Turkey's main opposition party, which has been criticizing the government for not adequately informing it about the latest developments on foreign policy issues, intends to make more international visits in the future. "Not only doesn't the ruling party provide us with information on foreign policy, but it doesn't even adequately answer the written questions we submit in Parliament," Lo
o
lu added.

The CHP has received similar official invitations from other countries as well. In an effort to increase its international profile, the CHP plans to pay visits to countries such as Iran, Tunisia and the Turkic states in Central Asia in the future. "It's not only for the interests of the CHP, but also for Turkey's future, which will be shaped by the CHP, that we would like to share our vision with the world," Lo
o
lu said at a press meeting in Ankara on Tuesday.

[12] AKP opens office in Brussels

According to the paper, two reasons played a role for the opening of a representation office of AKP in abroad. The first one is to improve the relations with EU institutions. The second reason is that the Turks, living abroad, will start from next May to vote in all general elections and referendums in Turkey, apart from the local elections. The Turkish citizens, who are two million, five hundred fifty thousand in abroad, are not obliged to travel to Turkey in order to vote. They can use the ballot boxes in the foreign representations of the countries that they are living.

The paper also reports that the opening of AKP representation office in Berlin is also in the agenda.

[13] Parties shaping their local election candidates

In this context, local elections, which will deeply impact the country's future and are likely to have a triggering effect, have already kicked off. Perfectionist party leaders are attaching a special importance to the three strategically crucial metropolitan municipalities of Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir. Surveys are being conducted, organizations audited. And slowly, candidate profiles for these cities are being shaped.

There are multiple scenarios and name predictions enumerated for the capital city. Let us take a look at who stands a better chance in which city, and which names outshine others.

Istanbul: Istanbul means Recep Tayyip Erdo
an. In a scenario where the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) loses Istanbul, it will create a demoralization in the party, as much as putting a minus sign to Erdo
an's 11 years of success. Therefore, Erdo
an is being meticulous while picking out the candidate. If the AKP complies with its three terms limit, which indicates that no party official can hold office for more than three terms, it is likely that a strong Minister from the current cabinet will be shifted to govern the city. Kadir Topba
, the current Mayor, stands a weak chance; he is expected to be made a deputy. Among the names discussed are Transport Minister Binali Y1
ld1
r1
m, EU Minister Egemen Ba
1

and a surprise name, Industry Minister Nihat Erg?n. Ba
1

is being considered for Beyo
lu Municipality, an area still under the rule of the AKP. In this context, there are rumours that a change in the cabinet will occur in the fall, yet Erdo
an is rumoured to make the change right before the election, towards the new year.

The main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) is seeking to compete with a promising candidate. In a lot of surveys, the difference between the AKP's Kadir Topba
and the current ^
i
li Mayor, Mustafa Sar1
g?l is measured to have fallen to four points, despite the fact that Sar1
g?l has not become a CHP member yet. Sar1
g?l is close to becoming CHP's candidate, but some, in the nationalist wing of the CHP, object to his membership. Another prominent name for CHP's candidate for Istanbul is the deputy leader of the party, G?rsel Tekin. Other names for CHP candidacy include party spokesperson Haluk Ko?, deputy group chair Muharrem 0
nce, journalist Can Atakl1
, former Gaziantep Mayor Celal Do
an, yet they are given slight chances.

The Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) is not expected to come up with a strong candidate for Istanbul. Even though party leader Devlet Bah?eli expressed that they are against coalitions, if the CHP comes up with the right candidate, it seems inevitable that the CHP will receive votes from the MHP electorate. The MHP is said to be considering Istanbul provincial chief Abdurrahman Ba
kan for candidacy.

For the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP), S1
rr1
S?reyya ?nder stands out after being in the ascendant in the Gezi Park resistance. The decision by Abdullah ?calan, the imprisoned leader of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) will be decisive too on ?nder's candidacy. This decision will be affected by the attitudes taken if the alliance between the AKP and the BDP on the solution of the Kurdish problem continues.

It is being estimated that if ?nder, a sympathetic figure for the Left, is to become a candidate, it will harm the votes of the CHP.

Ankara: Melih G?k?ek has been claiming the post of Ankara Mayor for the past four terms, with two of them under the roof of the AKP. In 2009 election, G?k?ek entered the elections saying "I will run for the last time." With his statements supporting Erdo
an during Gezi protests, he once again took the advantage in candidacy. Erdo
an might surprisingly nominate another. Deputy PM Ali Babacan, even though he said he is not interested, and Sports Minister Suat K1
l1
? are mentioned. It is also rumoured that K1
l1
? can become AKP's candidate for Samsun.

The CHP is having troubles in Ankara. Deputy leader G?khan G?nayd1
n, who became prominent with his latterly performance, may run for the office. Other names mentioned are Ankara deputies Emine ?lker Tarhan and Levent G?k and former Minister of State Mustafa Y1
lmaz.

In 2009 elections, the MHP have made a surprise with 27%. In this election, the MHP is considering party's deputy leader Mevl?t Karakaya or theologian Mustafa Erdem for candidacy. In the meanwhile, the BDP is not ambitious for Ankara.

Izmir too is critical for the AKP. A strong name of the cabinet, Y1
ld1
r1
m, who was elected from Izmir in general elections, is at the forefront. Izmir deputy R1
fat Sait, who is of Balkan origin, is also willing for the candidacy. Izmir provincial chief ?mer Cihat Akay is also being considered. Among the expectations is that Erdo
an might enter the race with a surprise name.

The CHP is accenting on the current Mayor Aziz Kocao
lu for Izmir, a city known to be CHP's "castle," due to its historic landslide victories. Another assertive name is Konak Mayor Hakan Tartan. Izmir deputy Birg?l Ayman G?ler and former deputy Canan Ar1
tman have already declared their candidacies, yet are given slight chances.

The MHP is expected to proceed with provincial chief Necat Karata
, while the BDP is expected to compete with an unassertive candidate. TURKISH AFFAIRS SECTION

http://www.moi.gov.cy/pio

YH

Cyprus Press and Information Office: Turkish Cypriot Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next Article