Cyprus PIO: Turkish Cypriot and Turkish Media Review, 14-03-06

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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] Nami: Time for a solution to the Cyprus problem has arrived

[02] The breakaway regime describes as positive the references to Cyprus in EP's report on Turkey

[03] Candan: The time has come for the Turkish Cypriots to be integrated in the EU institutions

[04] Eroglu met with the Ambassadors of several countries

[05] The "local elections" in the occupied area of Cyprus will be held on 29 June

[06] CTP and DP to meet on Friday

[07] The occupation regime to participate in ITB Berlin Fair

[08] Kanatli was discharged

[09] Erdogan admits meddling in trade deals, says he will leave politics if AKP not come first in local elections and signals lifting three-term presidency

[10] Believe it or not! The PM admits manipulation

[11] The Venice Commission urges the Turkish Constitutional Court to annul judiciary bill

[A] TURKISH CYPRIOT / TURKISH PRESS

[01] Nami: Time for a solution to the Cyprus problem has arrived

During the interview Nami stated that due to uncertainty regarding the Cyprus problem many issues remain unfruitful and resources are being wasted. "All of these uncertainties result in lack of constructive or rational environment for investments".

Nami said: "With current conditions it would take ten or twenty years for Greek Cypriots to reach their former life standards. Resolution of Cyprus problem would make economic improvement possible. Both sides would benefit from this. Potential of a unified Cyprus will definitely be more than two sides' divided potential. For this reason the Greek Cypriots should pay attention to a solution"

Referring to the water project, Nami noted: "Water pipeline can be built in order to bring water from water-rich areas of Turkey to Cyprus which suffers from chronic drought. Greek Cypriots can benefit from this if the planned power lines are utilised for water transfer".

Commenting on the joint declaration, Nami said: "After four months of negotiations between the two communities, the joint declaration which serves as a basis for current negotiations was created. The declaration outlines the solution as bizonal, bicommunal federation". He claimed that main issues such as citizenship, international representation and other constitutional issues are mostly cleared out and the remaining topics are resolvable technical issues.

Nami believed that if realistic and determined approach is followed, negotiations can be finalised in 5-6 months, adding, however that Greek Cypriots mention an 18 months period and in any case it's a matter of months, not years.

He concluded: "Negotiations should be contributed with the implementation of confidence building measures which can make daily life easier."

[02] The breakaway regime describes as positive the references to Cyprus in EP's report on Turkey

The "ministry" said that the "expectations of the Turkish Cypriot people have not been met yet", in spite of the fact that "some calls are made" in the above-mentioned report regarding the implementation of the "promises" given to the Turkish Cypriots within the framework of the decision taken on 26 April 2004 regarding the lifting of their so-called isolation.

"The lack of expression for the representation of the Turkish Cypriots in the European Parliament constitutes one of the most important deficiencies of the report", argues the statement noting that the insistence of the Turkish Cypriot people to be represented in the EP continues.

(I/Ts.)

[03] Candan: The time has come for the Turkish Cypriots to be integrated in the EU institutions

In statements after the meetings, Candan said that during this period in which the solution process in Cyprus has resumed, the time has come for the Turkish Cypriots to be integrated in the EU institutions in an irrevocable manner. Candan noted that during his contacts he expressed their view that they want the way for the Turkish Cypriots' more active participation in the EP to be paved and that this is absolutely necessary.

Candan reiterated the view that it would be unacceptable for the Turkish Cypriots to participate in the EP elections that will be held in the government-controlled area of the Republic of Cyprus and added that they told the European officials that the government of the Republic of Cyprus could allegedly not pass the relevant draft-law from the House of Representatives.

Candan said that during their contacts they expressed the view that the harmonization process of the Turkish Cypriots with the EU should be intensified and speeded up while the solution of the Cyprus problem comes nearer. "There is a need for the Commission to provide a more active support in legal and technical sense", he noted.

(I/Ts.)

[04] Eroglu met with the Ambassadors of several countries

The meeting took place at the so-called presidential palace and no statements were made before or after it.

(AK)

[05] The "local elections" in the occupied area of Cyprus will be held on 29 June

Speaking during a press conference after the "council of minister's meeting", Nami announced that the proposed date for "local elections" for 29 June is accepted and will be sent for "parliament approval". According to the proposal, electoral silence will be invoked on 30 April.

[06] CTP and DP to meet on Friday

Self-styled prime minister Yorgancioglu said that they will meet with DP/UG (Democratic Party ? National Forces) on Friday, where they will discuss the UBP-DP (National Unity Party ? Democratic Party) collaboration and the future of the "coalition government".

[07] The occupation regime to participate in ITB Berlin Fair

As the paper writes, the fair will take place between March 5-9 and in total 10.147 organizations and foundations will attend the fair. Also, as the paper writes, it is expected that more than 110 thousand people will visit it.

In statements on the issue, the member of the executive board and director of tourism businesses of the illegal YDU Hospital, Ahmet Savasan said that, in the framework of their participation in the fair, they will hold contacts with several tour operators, with the aim to promote "north Cyprus history, culture and touristic prosperity" and as the "most healthy tourism destination".

(AK)

[08] Kanatli was discharged

[09] Erdogan admits meddling in trade deals, says he will leave politics if AKP not come first in local elections and signals lifting three-term presidency

However, on March 5, he said he was ready to step down if his ruling party Justice and Development Party (AKP) failed to win the most votes in the March 30 elections. "I am ready to quit politics unless my party emerges as the winner in the elections," Erdogan said.

Moreover, Erdogan has indicated that he is open to a change of internal party rules which would let him stand for a fourth term as leader of Turkey. "I do not have such a demand. However, if my party wishes so, I may run at the [party] congress," Erdogan said yesterday.

Erdogan's remarks came at a meeting with representatives of local media outlets in Ankara, where he was asked whether he would consider moving on after his third term in office, which began in March 2003, following the first victory of his Justice and Development Party (AKP) in November 2002.

[10] Believe it or not! The PM admits manipulation

"(?) Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan has not only admitted that he attempted to manipulate a court decision through his former justice minister and cancelled a military tender by manipulating a competition against the winning company, but he has also defended those moves as 'natural'.

(?)

On the morning of March 5, Erdogan admitted that he had indeed asked the Justice Minister to pursue the court case. As he had heard some unpleasant stories about the case from the SPK (Capital Markets Board), it was 'only natural' for him to step in, he said.

The second group of recordings - released on March 4 - was made up of alleged phone conversations between Erdogan and Metin Kalkavan, a businessman close to him. In them, Erdogan allegedly advises Kalkavan to file a complaint against the Koc Group, which had won (and had already started to deliver) Turkey's National Warship (MILGEM) project. This despite the fact that Kalkavan had not officially applied for the tender. As a result, the project was taken from Koc, in a similar way that a giant ring road project for the third Istanbul bridge project in 2013 was taken from it.

In a March 5 speech, Erdogan also admitted that intrusion, and justifying it by saying there was an incoming complaint and the price for the project - which was later handed to another company - was too low. (?)

Erdogan was furious that his phone conversations have been thoroughly compromised and recorded. He is right in that sense. The tapping of a Prime Minister's telephones is a crime in all countries.

Turkish intelligence sources assume that all conversations on phones encrypted by TUBITAK (Turkey's technology and research agency) may have been compromised, recorded and sent abroad through Gulen sympathizer experts. This could be accepted by no government on earth.

However, to manipulate courts in democracies and to manipulate trade deals in market economies could also not be accepted.

So why is Erdogan acting so boldly in admitting these manipulations? The answer lies in his understanding of democracy and his over-confidence in his voters.

He believes that his Justice and Development Party (AK Parti) is going to secure the most votes in the March 30 local elections, which would clean him of all allegations of corruption, with no further need for independent courts.

This bold attitude fuels worries that voting in Turkey is turning into a sort of majoritarianism where the elected leader tends to assume all three powers of the state on himself. The conflict between Erdogan and Gulen, which surfaced after the Dec. 17 graft probes, is poisoning Turkish politics."

[11] The Venice Commission urges the Turkish Constitutional Court to annul judiciary bill

"The independence of the judiciary is a fundamental value of the Turkish Constitution. If the law is brought to the Constitutional Court, the Venice Commission believes that the Court will play its role of guarantor of the Turkish Constitution and its basic values," Daniel Holtgen, the Venice Commission's spokesperson said in a written statement in response to the Hurriyet Daily News' question on the HSYK law. TURKISH AFFAIRS SECTION

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