Cyprus PIO: Turkish Cypriot and Turkish Media Review, 13-10-10

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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] Davutoglu: level of meetings of Mavroyiannis and Ertug in Ankara and Athens respectively may be upgraded

[02] Nami informed the Foreign Relations Committee of the Turkish Grand National Assembly on Cyprus negotiations

[03] Atalay: Turkey has always maintained the solidarity with the breakaway regime

[04] Ertug said that their aim is to bring the leaders together

[05] Cicek expressed to his Korean counterpart his distress for the participation of a Korean firm to hydrocarbon tender of Cyprus

[06] Eroglu met with the ambassadors of Austria and Denmark

[07] The breakaway regime instead of spending money in schools, is building mosques

[08] Leaking on the EU Report of Turkey

[A] TURKISH CYPRIOT / TURKISH PRESS

[01] Davutoglu: level of meetings of Mavroyiannis and Ertug in Ankara and Athens respectively may be upgraded

Reminding that Turkey and Greece, which are guarantor countries, have special status in the process, Davutoglu said: "Unfortunately, until now, the contacts and the reciprocal meetings have been always held on a horizontal level; either between the two communities in the island, or Turkey with 'TRNC', or Greece with the 'Greek Cypriot administration'. The possibility of Turkey to see the perspective of a representative from the 'Greek Cypriot administration' or Greece to see directly the perspective of 'TRNC' would not be done until now."

Davutoglu went on: "After this, this level may be upgraded, the meetings may take place in different forms, it is wished that we can sit and talk in a four-way meeting. This geography is our geography. The people of Greece and Turkey, Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, who have been living together and next to each other for centuries now, will take the most correct decision together. I see this as the beginning".

Meanwhile, Servet Yanatma, writing in Turkish daily Zaman (online, 10.10.13), citing diplomatic sources, reports that the reciprocal meetings of the two negotiators in Athens and Ankara will happen on the same level. At this stage, it's not a level of ministers, but a meeting at the level of undersecretary and deputy undersecretary that's being planned. However, Ankara has no reservation for a meeting at the level of ministers. After these meetings which Turkey may upgrade in time, Turkey's aim is to arrange an international meeting. However, the Greek Cypriot and Greek sides have approached so far this proposal, negatively.

[02] Nami informed the Foreign Relations Committee of the Turkish Grand National Assembly on Cyprus negotiations

"Nami told the members of the Commission that the Turkish Cypriot side is targeting to have a new plan for a comprehensive solution in Cyprus by the beginning of next year and to reach a positive conclusion after putting the solution plan to a referendum", Bayrak reported.

Noting that the Cyprus problem has currently reached an important stage, Nami said that "the international community also started to talk about final efforts towards the solution of the Cyprus issue"

Finally Nami thanked "motherland Turkey" for its support to the breakaway regime.

[03] Atalay: Turkey has always maintained the solidarity with the breakaway regime

Atalay stressed that Turkey has always maintained the solidarity with the breakaway regime and the Turkish Cypriots would always continue to do so.

Nami reminded that a "government" has been formed in the breakaway regime adding: "The governments in TRNC are able to change, but Turkey's support to TRNC never changes. Pointing out the close alliance with Turkey, Nami said that Turkey and the breakaway regime will work together "to uplift TRNC as it was before".

[04] Ertug said that their aim is to bring the leaders together

Commenting on the latest call of Cyprus President Anastasiades to Turkey to lift the embargo on Cypriot vessels, Ertug described the statement as "ironic", given the so-called embargoes imposed to the occupied area of the Republic of Cyprus. Ertug argued that they cannot get anywhere with this mentality.

Referring to the visit of US Undersecretary of State Eric Rubin, Ertug said that the heighted interest of the USA over the Cyprus problem means that they see a window for opportunity for a Cyprus settlement.

Moreover, speaking to Turkish daily Today's Zaman (online, 09.10.13) in an exclusive telephone interview, Ertug indicated that the special representatives' visits will definitely take place; however, he added the dates are not yet clear.

"We consider these visits an important development. They have a symbolic and psychological significance. It is important to overcome psychological barriers by making the special envoy an interlocutor. We wish the visits to take place after the Eid al-Adha [Feast of the Sacrifice] holiday," Ertug said.

Stating that such a visit would be the first in history, Ertug noted that the goal is to bring the leaders of the two sides to the negotiating table.

[05] Cicek expressed to his Korean counterpart his distress for the participation of a Korean firm to hydrocarbon tender of Cyprus

He made these statements during a meeting he held with the Speaker of the Korean Assembly Kang Changhee.

Cicek added that Turkey felt sad because the Korean Kogaz Firm participated in the hydrocarbon tender of the Republic of Cyprus. "This really made us sad and the relations between Korean and Turkish firms could enter a trouble period because of this" he stated. He went on and said that he is saying this in a friendly matter adding that the "embargoes" imposed on the breakaway regime are unjust and must be lifted.

[06] Eroglu met with the ambassadors of Austria and Denmark

In addition, Eroglu met on Wednesday with the Danish Ambassador to Lefkosia Kirsten Rosenvold Geelan.

The meeting was held behind closed doors and no statement was issued before or after the meeting.

[07] The breakaway regime instead of spending money in schools, is building mosques

The two organizations were protesting for the lacking of teachers, headmasters, caretakers and infrastructure at the schools in occupied Cyprus, noting that the regime does not spend money in schools but spend money in building mosques.

[08] Leaking on the EU Report of Turkey

Ankara Anatolia news agency reports that Turkey's democratization package is positive that a comprehensive reform of rules and procedures of the Parliament was launched to move beyond a confrontational approach and to improve Parliament's functioning, the European Commission (EU) said in its draft report on Turkey.

Turkish government announced a democratization package on September 30. The draft report, obtained by Ankara Anatol?a news Agency, praised the democratization package but cautioned for more attention. It opens the perspective for changes to the 10% threshold for representation in Parliament and provides for the decrease of the threshold for budget support to political parties, the report said.

"More attention needs to be paid to the adoption of an inclusive approach to law making, with systematic consultation of all stakeholders, including on sensitive issues," it said.

It said the legal framework on elections and political parties' needs to be aligned with European standards.

Reporting on the same Turkish daily Today's Zaman newspaper writes that EU will praise the Turkish government for its commitment to political reforms and democratization but will strongly criticize the way it handled the Gezi Park events as well as limits on freedom of expression and the media, according to a draft of the EU's progress report obtained by Today's Zaman.

The draft of the report, which will be published on Oct. 16, does not call on EU members to postpone the talks on Chapter 22. The chapter was officially opened in late June, but its actual launch was postponed until after the progress report.

The EU's draft welcomes the Sept. 30 democratization package, saying: "For the implementation of the package, both legislation and decrees will need to be adopted by Parliament and the government respectively. The package opens the perspective for changes to the current 10 percent threshold for representation in Parliament and provides for the decrease of the threshold for budget support to political parties, the easing of conditions for the establishment of political parties and the removal of restrictions on political party membership. It would also allow the conduct of political activity in languages and dialects other than Turkish, education in languages and dialects other than Turkish in private schools, the removal of criminal sanctions for the use of letters 'Q,' 'X' and 'W' used in Kurdish and the change of names of villages back to the versions which preceded the 1980 coup."

Although the draft says the Constitutional Reconciliation Commission had reached a consensus in principle on close to 60 articles, there was no consensus on key political issues such as the separation of powers or a new definition of citizenship without ethnic references, a key demand of the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP).

The government is also praised in the report for its civilian-military relations and settlement process. However, the EU strongly criticized the government on the Gezi Park events. "A divisive political climate prevailed; the government notably adopted overall an uncompromising stance during the protest[s in] late May and early June, including a polarizing tone towards citizens, civil society organization and businesses. The government did not conduct sufficient consultations with stake-holders on the adoption of key policies and legislation and failed to carry out adequate impact assessments," the report draft says.

[09] Protesters opposing Turkish PM during Middle East Technical University event indicted on terror charges

All the 11 people, including members of several leftist student collectives, were indicted on terrorism-related charges.

The indictment said that security forces were aware that groups such as DEV-YOL (The revolutionary left) were planning a demonstration during the ceremony, adding that the group attacked the police "with stones and sticks," setting up barricades and damaging public buildings.

"It is known that terror organizations are driving university youth to violent acts under the pretense of the innocent seeking of rights such as tuition fees, democratic education, education in mother tongue, etc." the indictment said, adding that "similar" activities were seen in recent nationwide demonstrations, in reference to the Gezi Park protests across Turkey.

"Similarly to the incident brought up in the indictment, in the demonstrations held during the last [months] across the country, the terror organizations, acting together, damaged public property through violence in public statements, marches, open air debates, or protests [?] aimed to create a chaotic environment in accordance with ideology, strategy and goals," the indictment said.

Police used tear gas and water cannon against the protesting students, who were not allowed to approach the ceremony hall. A total of 26 students were detained while five were injured as a result of the police's use of tear gas. TURKISH AFFAIRS SECTION

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