Ba
ar1
r pointed out that a comprehensive investigation was being conducted on the tender for the privatization of the illegal airport of Tymvou which was finalized with a comprehensive agreement.

"An article in the agreement which prevents the establishment and operation of another airport for 25 years is wrong. Who knows what will happen in the country in 25 years. Perhaps we will solve the Cyprus problem. It is possible to open the Ge?itkale airport [editor's note: the illegal airport of occupied Lefkonoiko] as a second alternative once necessary measures are taken, but the agreement prevents that from happening", he complained. He noted that the tender also fails to set up a calendar for the construction of the "new airport facility".

He also commented on the negligence at the illegal ports of Famagusta and Keyrneia, as he stressed the need for creating an additional fund in the budget in order to meet the shortages. He concluded by saying that ticket prices needed to be lowered to ease air and sea transportation to and from the occupied area of the Republic of Cyprus.

[05] Elcil says his appointment in the English School's board is "honourable duty"

Noting that the British colonial administration of Cyprus had transferred the school to the Republic of Cyprus in the 1960's, Elcil argued that 50% of the English School belongs to Evkaf foundation and added that the school has an independent board. He argued that just like the Greek Cypriots, the Turkish Cypriots have also the right to participate in this board and recalled that Izzet Izcan and other Turkish Cypriots had been members of this board before himself.

The paper writes that an educational organization in the government-controlled area of Cyprus named "Nea Pnoi" [New Breath] reacted against the appointment of Elcil, noting that he was the person who organized the Education International Europe's (ETUCE) conference in the occupied area of Cyprus. According to the paper, Nea Pnoi criticized the Cyprus Government for the appointment and the Greek Cypriot educational organizations for saying nothing on the issue.

(I/Ts.)

[06] Egorov paid a farewell visit in the occupied part of Cyprus

Egorov, who has been serving in the Committee for four and a half years, paid a visit to the "society of martyrs families and disabled war veterans" on Tuesday morning.

Welcoming Egorov, the chairman of the society Ertan Ersan said they worked with Egorov in harmony over the past four and a half years. Noting that some of the 502 missing persons have yet to be found, Ersan said that the Committee on Missing Persons needed financial support in order to carry out its work.

The Turkish member of the Missing Persons Committee G?lden Pl?mer K???k, who also accompanied Egorov, said that there are missing persons who have been identified but still waiting to be buried.

Noting that the Committee is still continuing its work with 9 teams, K???k said the remains, which have been found during excavation works in the occupied village of Livera, will be identified following DNA tests.

Also speaking, Egorov said it was not enough to be a good UN diplomat to work for the missing persons and that one needed to commit oneself to the issue.

[07] The term of duty of the deputy commander of the Turkish occupied forces in the occupied area of Cyprus has ended

Soganci paid a courtesy visit to Siber on Tuesday morning as part of his farewell visits to "state and government officials".

Speaking during the visit, Siber thanked Brigadier General Mehmet So
anc1
for his services and then presented him with a shield as a token of appreciation.

[08] The number of offshore banks in the occupied area of Cyprus increased

The paper writes also that the number of the offshore companies in the government-controlled area of the island decreased from 2.300 to 2.166 due to the economic crisis and the measures imposed by Troika.

(I/Ts.)

[09] Israel behind coup to oust Morsi, Turkish PM Erdo
an says

"Who is behind [the coup]? There is Israel," Erdo
an told a meeting of party leaders. "We have document in our hands," he said, citing an open session between a Jewish intellectual from France and an Israeli justice minister before the first free elections in Egypt held in March 2011.

As he was delivering multi-layered messages concerning both foreign and domestic policy at the meeting, Erdo
an furthermore maintained that those, who have been accusing the government of autocratic governance in Turkey, should actually look at Egypt, where the coup rulers have been acting dictatorially. "If you want to see a dictator, go ahead, go to Egypt," he said.

In an apparent reference to moves to topple his government at the time, Erdo
an recalled that Turkey had experienced coup attempts and undemocratic practices. "Here, at this moment, there are those who want to float again the West's understanding which says 'Democracy is not the ballot box,' or 'Democracy is not only the ballot box.' But we say that democracy's path passes through the ballot box and the ballot box itself is the people's will. At the moment, this is what is being implemented in Egypt."

"What do they say in Egypt? They say that 'Democracy is not the ballot box.'"

Erdo
an refers to Bernard-Henri Levy: Claim

A source later told the Associated Press that the evidence on Israel that Erdo
an was referring to was a video "available on the Internet" of a press conference by Israeli Justice Minister Tzipi Livni and French philosopher and author Bernard-Henri Levy.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that as far as he knew, that was the only evidence of the claim. A video of the two, dating back to 2011, shows Levy saying: "If the Muslim Brotherhood arrives in Egypt, I will not say democracy wants it, so let democracy progress. Democracy is not only elections, it is also values."

Pressed further as to whether he would urge Egypt's military to intervene against the Muslim Brotherhood, Levy said: "I will urge the prevention of them coming to power, but by all sorts of means."

" The Muslim Brotherhood will not be in power even if they win the elections, because democracy is not the ballot box.' This is what they said at that time," Erdo
an said.

In Israel, the country's Foreign Ministry spokesman, Yigal Palmor, said Erdo
an's comments did not merit a response. "This is a statement well worth not commenting on." Turkey has been one of the fiercest international critics of what it has called an "unacceptable coup" after the military toppled Morsi last month, lashing out at the West and Arab nations for failing to condemn his ouster.

Touching on the run-up to the upcoming local elections in March 2014, Erdo
an firstly underlined the need for party executives at all level of branches to dedicate themselves to work for the upcoming local elections, instead of focusing on their own political career.

"Thirty metropolitan cities constitute 76%. With this aspect, we have to see how important are the votes we will get from these 30 metropolitan cities," he said, referring to the fact that the number of metropolitan municipalities rose from 16 to 30 after a controversial law on restructuring municipalities was adopted in late 2012 despite strong objection from the opposition parties.

[10] Turkey to ask EU's bid to keep Arab Spring alive

Foreign Minister Ahmet Davuto
lu is scheduled to meet his Italian, German and British counterparts this week to discuss developments in Egypt and how to keep the hopes of the Arab Spring alive, the H?rriyet Daily News has learned.

So long as there are no last-minute changes, the Turkish Foreign Minister is expected to meet German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle, British Foreign Minister William Hague and Italian Foreign Minister Emma Bonino on Aug. 22 and 23, just one day after the European Union is set to assess events in Egypt. Meetings have been decided on following recent phone conversations between Davuto
lu and the aforementioned Foreign Ministers.

The timing of Ankara's move is critically important, as European countries have recently begun to toughen their positions vis-?-vis the interim government in the aftermath of brutal crackdown on Muslim Brotherhood protestors.

Davuto
lu's talks with his European counterparts will focus on two areas. As an immediate urgency, restoring stability and ending the bloodshed in Egypt through the creation of an environment for political dialogue that would also include Mohamed Morsi and other political camps is likely to be at the top of Davuto
lu's agenda. He will seek to discuss how to put further pressure on the interim government to announce inclusive elections as early as possible, as well as how to fully implement a road map for the normalization of the political climate in Egypt.

Alongside the immediate Egyptian case, Davuto
lu's face to face talks with his counterparts will also pave the way for a broad discussion on how to secure the continuation of the Arab Spring movement across the Middle East.

G?l-Erdo
an summit focuses on Egypt

Davuto
lu's diplomatic traffic will follow a series of internal high-level meetings with President Abdullah G?l and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdo
an's summit on Tuesday, just a day before the National Security Council (MGK) was set to convene. Accompanied by Davuto
lu, the G?l-Erdo
an meetings focused on the Egyptian crisis and Turkey's position vis-?-vis developments in the northern African country. There was no statement following the meeting that lasted nearly two hours.

Hours before the meeting, G?l urged mobilization for the restoring of democracy in Egypt, saying there could be no "backward step from democracy," especially since the Egyptian people are now familiar with the notion of democracy.

"Everybody should be mobilized to prevent more casualties," he stressed.

"What must be done in Egypt is to create very quickly an environment in which nobody is excluded from elections, ensuring that representatives are elected by the free will of the people of Egypt and ending this blood-stained environment in Egypt, ending the arrests immediately. I think this is the way out of this deadlock," G?l said, speaking at a joint press conference following talks with visiting Slovak President Ivan Gaa
parovi

.

"It is a fact that Egypt has once recognized democracy. After a long authoritarian regime, it passed to a multi-party system, had elections, in which people voted. You cannot keep such a country outside of democracy for long," G?l added. TURKISH AFFAIRS SECTION

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

YH

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