Cyprus PIO: Turkish Cypriot and Turkish Media Review, 15-03-17

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] Eroglu sent a letter to Juncker regarding halloumi

[02] More statements by Nami and Toros on the issue of halloumi/hellim

[03] Olgun expressed hopes for the resumption of the talks after April

[04] Sibel said that she will bring forward new ideas on confident building measures for Varosha on the table

[05] "Draft change bill on citizenship" has been approved by the so-called assembly

[06] New survey on the "presidential elections" shows Eroglu to receive 42%

[07] The occupation regime to attend the CeBit International Technology Fair in Germany

[08] Erdogan's claims: Events in Syria are part of attempts to destroy Turkey's power:

[09] Demirtas: Why is there a peace process if there is no Kurdish question?

[10] Opinion poll suggests that AKP may not be able to apply a Presidential System in Turkey

[A] TURKISH CYPRIOT / TURKISH PRESS

[01] Eroglu sent a letter to Juncker regarding halloumi

Eroglu claimed in his letter that many difficulties will arise for the Turkish Cypriot halloumi producers in case the European Commission accepted the application, claiming that this will further increase the isolations "already felt on the north".

He stated that halloumi is a common product in Cyprus and alleged that the file submitted by the Republic of Cyprus creates discrimination against the Turkish Cypriot halloumi producers who will be suffering great financial damage. He also called upon the "justice and impartiality" of the Commission and asked that the Commission take into consideration the special conditions in the island on the issue, so that no any political issues to arise because of this development.

Finally, he stated that designating halloumi/ hellim as a product with Protected Designation of Origin is a potential for cooperation between the two sides in Cyprus and said that the control of halloumi in the occupied area of Cyprus should be conducted by the Turkish Cypriot Chamber of Commerce.

(CS)

[02] More statements by Nami and Toros on the issue of halloumi/hellim

Nami continued and explained that the "government" does not have the intention to file a lawsuit against Turkey or against the Turkish firms and added that the "ministry" continues to exert efforts for solving this issue. He expressed also the belief that the issue is possible to be solved through dialogue and said that he is hopeful that the issue will be solved in 2015.

Nami stated further that the EU Commission is seeking for a formula on the issue of the registration of halloumi/hellim cheese which will satisfy both sides in the island.

Referring to his recent contacts in Brussels where he had the chance to meet with representatives of the EU Commission and discuss the issue, Nami said that he stressed during his contacts the need for the establishment of an exclusive control mechanism in the "north" which will work together with the EU Commission.

Meanwhile, Turkish Cypriot daily Haberal Kibrisli (17.03.15) reports that the chairman of the Turkish Cypriot Chamber of Commerce (KTSO) Fikri Toros, in an exclusive interview to the paper, referred, inter alia, to the issue of halloumi/hellim and said that by no manner of means, the control organ to be established for halloumi, should come under the Republic of Cyprus.

Toros referred also to the recent contacts they carried out together with the "Turkish Cypriot Chamber of Industry" in Brussels regarding the issue of hellim and added that they will continue their lobby activities towards this issue.

(AK)

[03] Olgun expressed hopes for the resumption of the talks after April

Olgun stated that the Turkish Cypriot side has drawn a positive perspective towards the issue of the resumption of the talks and added that in case the Greek Cypriot side acts in the same way, then it is possible for the process to restart and to create an infrastructure in order to have progress and reach to a positive result.

Olgun expressed hopes for the resumption of the negotiation talks from the point they were left, after the "presidential elections" in April.

Referring to the Greek Cypriot Negotiator Andreas Mavroyiannis' recent statement who has said that an opportunity may arise in April for the resumption of the talks, Olgun pointed out to the importance of the solution of the Cyprus problem for the stability in the region and the international community.

Regarding the issue of hydrocarbons, Olgun said that they are seeking for a ground that the two sides will have a joint action on this issue and added that Eide's contacts in the Greek Cypriot side will be decisive as regards the issue of the resumption of the talks.

(AK)

[04] Sibel said that she will bring forward new ideas on confident building measures for Varosha on the table

She also stated that in case she is elected, she will support the confident building measures for Varosha and added that she will bring forward new ideas on the table.

(CS)

[05] "Draft change bill on citizenship" has been approved by the so-called assembly

According to the paper, in case the "draft bill" is approved by the "president", then all the property of those persons will be sold out in a period of six months.

The "law" also foresees that a person who has lost its "citizenship" will be unable to protect the property of his wife and children.

(AK)

[06] New survey on the "presidential elections" shows Eroglu to receive 42%

According to the results, Dervis Eroglu is ahead with 42% of the votes, CTP candidate Siber has 29%, Mustafa Akinci has 20%, Kudret Ozersay 7%, Mustafa Onurer 1% and Arif Salih Kirdag 1%

The full results (which include the indecisive and not voting responses) are:

Dervis Eroglu: 32.9%

Sibel Siber: 22.9%

Mustafa Akinci: 15.8%

Kudret Ozersay: 5.1%

Mustafa Onurer: 0.8%

Arif Salih Kirdag: 0.4%

Indecisive: 12.8%

Not voting: 9.3%

GAE institute chairman Asim Vehbi stated that the poll was carried out over 1,500 people. Vehbi said they also asked the question: if an election was held today, which party would you vote for? The survey results showed that 36.5% responded UBP, 26.5% CTP, 5.3% DP-UG and 7.5% TDP.

[07] The occupation regime to attend the CeBit International Technology Fair in Germany

According to the paper, the occupation regime will attend the fair with its own stand, where Turkish Cypriot firms will promote local products.

The fair will open today with the participation of 3,400 companies from 70 different countries. Also, around 250 thousand people from 100 countries are expected to visit it.

The fair is co-organized by Germany and China.

(AK)

[08] Erdogan's claims: Events in Syria are part of attempts to destroy Turkey's power

"This is the reason for support given to [Syrian President Bashar al-Assad] and also to Daesh [the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant, ISIL]," Erdogan claimed, speaking at the opening ceremony of a new facility of Turkish defence company Aselsan. Without going into details, he pointed to "some circles that do not want Turkey's development."

In addition, Erdogan vowed to continue to support the development of the domestic defence industry, saying that Turkey is constantly strengthening its political power with economic power. He also pledged to diminish the Turkish defence industry's foreign dependency, which he described as "a mistake made from the 1930s until 2000."

Moreover, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu reacted against recent remarks by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry regarding possible negotiations with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad have prompted strong reactions from Ankara. "What is there to negotiate [with al-Assad]?" told reporters in Phnom Penh on March 16 during a visit to Cambodia. The Turkish Foreign Minister said that international efforts must focus on two major issues in Syria: Destroying terrorist groups including ISIL, and toppling the al-Assad regime to lead to a political transition. Cavusoglu also reiterated his call on European countries to tighten their border controls to stop the flow of foreign fighters to Syria.

[09] Demirtas: Why is there a peace process if there is no Kurdish question?

"If there is no Kurdish question, why is the peace process still continuing?" asked Demirtas, speaking to reporters on March 16.

Demirtas further remarked on the contradiction between Erdogan's denial of the Kurdish problem and the words of Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and other government officials about forthcoming steps to be taken in the Kurdish peace process.

"There is a kind of division of labour. One of them rules out the existence of the problem, the other is talking about steps to be taken. These are all pre-election manoeuvres," he said.

Demirtas added that he was concerned that Erdogan and the government will adopt a more nationalistic language in order to attract more votes for the parliamentary elections scheduled for June 7. "We as the HDP have always said we do not trust the Justice and Development Party's [AKP] policies. We have no belief that it will take steps [as part of the peace process]," he said.

[10] Opinion poll suggests that AKP may not be able to apply a Presidential system in Turkey

The paper notes that SONAR had made the most correct estimates in the 2011 elections and in last year's presidential vote.

According to the "March 2015 -- Poll on Political Tendencies and Agenda" conducted by Hakan Bayrakci, owner of SONAR Survey Company, AKP gets 40 % of the vote, the CHP [Republican People's Party] 27.1 %, the MHP [Nationalist Action Party] 18 %, the HDP 10.1 %, (Dogu Perincek's) Homeland Party 3 %, and the others 1.8 %.

Accordingly, the AKP will have 243 seats, the CHP 133, the MHP 116, and the HDP 58 seats. The call President Erdogan has been making in his latest rallies, namely the call, "get me 400 seats and we will bring the presidential system," will not become a reality according to this poll. In other words, the AKP will not get 276 seats, the number necessary to come to power on its own, something it has been dreaming of.

SONAR gets these results by means of a "face-to-face interview system" which it uses every four months. Some 3,000 persons were randomly selected from different economic and demographic groups and in line with age, gender, district/sub-district/town quotas.

Another striking result in the SONAR poll is the section under "If the HDP Remains Under the Threshold." Calculating an error margin of plus-minus 1.7 %, here are the results: The AKP 41.7 %, the CHP 26.6 %, the MHP 18 %, the HDP 9.1 %, the Homeland Party 3.2 %, and the others 1.4 %. According to the simulated results based on these percentages, the party seats would be distributed as follows: The AKP 274, the CHP 148, the MHP 128, and the HDP 0. If the HDP fails to pass the threshold, the AKP may, with a very small margin, get more than 276 seats. TURKISH AFFAIRS SECTION

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

(CS/ AM)

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