Cyprus PIO: Turkish Cypriot and Turkish Media Review, 16-01-19

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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 discussed the Cyprus problem with Cameron in London

[02] Akinci due to Davos; he will meet with Davutoglu and Biden

[03] Havadis: President Anastasiades has launched an initiative for including the Turkish language among the official EU languages

[04] Britain has reportedly lifted the decision of freezing bank accounts of Turkish diplomats in London

[05] Serdar Denktas: Rauf Denktas' proposal for federation was accepted

[06] Former CTP "minister": Anastasiades is dreaming on the issue of the withdrawal of the Turkish occupation army

[07] A delegation of the "KTSO" carries out contacts in Baku

[08] Australian Deputy of Turkish Cypriot origin held contacts in the occupied area of Cyprus

[09] A "parliamentary delegation" to attend the meeting of the European Parliament in Brussels

[10] Corendon Airlines to re-launch charter flights to and from the the occupied area

[11] "Cyprus Santa Claus Peace Village" will come into service in August

[12] "TRNC" was represented for the first time in a tourism fair in Oslo

[13] Prosecutor orders investigation on CHP's Kilicdaroglu over "insulting" Erdogan

[14] Neo-nationalist Vatan party applies for closure case against HDP

[A] TURKISH CYPRIOT / TURKISH PRESS

[01] Davutoglu discussed the Cyprus problem with Cameron in London

Both leaders gave brief statements to the press before their meeting.

Davutoglu thanked Cameron for Britain's support on Turkey's European Union membership bid and said he also hoped the Cyprus issue would be resolved with Britain's support this year "after many decades."

Davutoglu further said that the two countries have "an excellent cooperation" with a trade volume of $15 billion in 2015 and their meeting would hopefully "accelerate all the economic and political cooperation", pointing out that he has conducted intensive talks during his London visit.

Cameron on his statements offered his condolences to Turkey concerning Monday's rocket strike on a school in southern Turkey that killed one person and a recent suicide attack by a DAESH terrorist in Istanbul which killed ten German tourists last Tuesday. "We face these challenges together with you, the fight against terrorism, against DAESH, and also the need to bring about change in Syria", Cameron said, adding: "We're going to work very closely together on that, as on many other things as NATO partners and allies with a very strong economic relationship and a very strong political relationship that we've built up over the last few years".

(?)

Meanwhile, delivering a speech at Bloomberg's London offices to pitch his government's reform program to business leaders, Davutoglu said that Turkey's economic reform agenda offers the best hope for investors looking for opportunities in a problematic global economy.

(?)

Touching on the regional political situation, Davutoglu said: "[In our] neighborhood we have several collapsed states where there is no functioning economy anymore. Despite these negative trends that are affecting Turkey, we have some very positive developments as well, which makes Turkey a safe port for investment as well as a safe haven for economic agencies and institutions to work in."

On Turkey's EU bid, Davutoglu said that Turkey is still unable to formally open talks on membership negotiations in many areas of EU law, known as chapters, because of the "Greek Cypriot administration's" veto imposed in 2006.

Davutoglu said that a resolution to the Cyprus problem, which he indicated could be in place by the end of 2016, would help launch a new era in Turkey-EU relations as more chapters will open.

He pointed to the European Commission's latest progress report, which said Turkey had made progress in 27 chapters. They were now in a position to formally open talks on all of them, he said, adding that work was so advanced in some chapters that they could be opened and closed immediately.

[02] Akinci due to Davos; he will meet with Davutoglu and Biden

The paper also reports that Akinci will participate in a panel as a speaker on the Cyprus issue together with the UN Secretary General's Special Adviser on Cyprus Espen Barth Eide and Anastasiades.

On the same issue, illegal Bayrak television (online, 19.01.16) reports that Akinci highlighted the importance of attending the "WEF" in Davos, adding that it is an important event that brings together the world's leading political and economic actors.

Speaking at the occupied airport of Tymbou before his departure for Davos, Akinci said that attending dignitaries will found the opportunity to hold bi-lateral contacts on the side-lines of the summit. Reminding that he will be coming together for a joint meeting with the Greek Cypriot leader Nikos Anastasiades and the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, Akinci said that the meeting is of great significance in terms of evaluating the progress reached so far as well as determining the course of the talks.

Stating that he had scheduled meetings with Davutoglu and Biden, Akinci said that he will be speaking at a panel regarding the future of Cyprus. He expressed the view that important messages will be issued at the panel which will also be attended by Anastasiades and Eide.

Ak?nc? added that he wants to return from Davos with the best possible result. Akinci and his accompanying delegation are expected to return to the occupied area of the Republic of Cyprus on Sunday, the 24th January.

(DPs)

[03] Havadis: President Anastasiades has launched an initiative for including the Turkish language among the official EU languages

Pointing out that President Anastasiades has given instructions to bureaucrats to launch the necessary legal procedure, the paper reports that the application to be filed to the EU and the road to be followed is being examined in the government-controlled area of the island.

"The Greek Cypriot leadership will take a step within the good will framework on the 'official language' issue, which had been on the agenda for a long time but no step was taken", writes Havadis, which citing sources from the Presidential Palace of the Republic of Cyprus reports that no step has been taken for 12 years on this issue because of objections raised by EU administrators and not by the authorities of the Republic. The Turkish language had not become an official EU language with the accession of the Republic of Cyprus to the EU, because of the high cost of this development, argues the paper.

(I/Ts.)

[04] Britain has reportedly lifted the decision of freezing bank accounts of Turkish diplomats in London

Turkish Cypriot daily Diyalog newspaper (19.01.16) covers the issue under the title "The game of the Greek Cypriots did not succeed".

Meanwhile, Turkish Cypriot daily Yeni Bakis newspaper (19.01.16) reports that the Turkish Cypriots Living Abroad Union (ATCA) protested against the freezing of the Turkish diplomats' bank accounts by the British High Court, alleging that this was a move aiming at "putting pressure on the Turkish side" and describing it as "ill-intentioned behavior and decision". ATCA has sent a letter to the British Prime Minister, David Cameron asking for the decision to be reexamined.

(I/Ts.)

[05] Serdar Denktas: Rauf Denktas' proposal for federation was accepted

(DPs)

[06] Former CTP "minister": Anastasiades is dreaming on the issue of the withdrawal of the Turkish occupation army

Referring to statements made by President Anastasiades on the issue of the Turkish occupation army's withdrawal from Cyprus, Uzun alleged that President Anastasiades is "dreaming" on this issue.

He claimed: "Anastasiades says that they were informed that the Turkish army will leave the island. Leaving is one thing and the continuation of the guarantees is another. I consider myself to be a leftist and I believe in this. I believe that I am a good leftist [?] In spite of this, I will never vote 'yes' to a solution which does not include Turkey's guarantees. [?] Let it guarantee the northern part of the island. What do we care about the south, what do we care about the United Cyprus? [?]"

(I/Ts.)

[07] A delegation of the "KTSO" carries out contacts in Baku

The delegation will hold contacts with the Ministry of Economy and Industry of Azerbaijan, the Turkish Ambassador to Baku and with various Azeri foundations and organizations like the Azerbaijan ?Turkey Industrialists and Businessmen Community.

Yesterday, the delegation met with members of the Union of Azerbaijan and Turkish Entrepreneurs (ATIB). The "representative" of the "TRNC" in Baku, Sadettin Topukcu was also present at the meeting.

Speaking during the meeting, Cirali said that their aim is the establishment and development of trade ties between the two "countries". He added that the aim of the visit is "to introduce to the world industrial and agricultural products of the TRNC" and try to find ways for these products to be sold by Azeri firms. He further said that they would like to export agriculture products to Azerbaijan such as potatoes, cheese and citrus fruits and added that they are also thinking to import some products.

Also speaking, Cemal Yangin, businessman and chairman of the ATIB, said, inter alia, that the Turkish Cypriots do not enjoy their "political rights" in the international world and stressed the need to continue their path together in order to develop their business ties. Pointing out to the example of the "Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic" in Azerbaijan which is also under embargoes, Yangin said that ATIB will provide any kind of support to the Turkish Cypriot businessmen.

(?)

(AK)

[08] Australian Deputy of Turkish Cypriot origin held contacts in the occupied area of Cyprus

Speaking during the meeting, Siber said that the connection bonds of the Turkish Cypriots, who live abroad, to their own country, are very important and added that every Turkish Cypriot who lives abroad is "representative and an honorary ambassador for his country".

Suleyman, for her part, said that she will try to create a bridge between the Australian Parliament in Victoria and the "parliament" of the breakaway regime. She added that in April she will visit again the occupied area of Cyprus with some Deputies.

(DPs)

[09] A "parliamentary delegation" to attend the meeting of the European Parliament in Brussels

According to the paper, their participation to the European Parliament has been approved unanimously by the so-called assembly.

(AK)

[10] Corendon Airlines to re-launch charter flights to and from the the occupied area

The decision of the company was announced by the coordinator of the Corendon Group, Urun Mestan who said that the company will re-launch flights as of May 2016.

Corendon Airlines, which belongs to the Corendon Group, was the first airline which carried out the first charter flight to the "TRNC" in 2010. Corendon was bringing approximately 10,000 tourists to the occupation regime per year, with charter flights to and from the occupied area of Cyprus via Turkey, from the Netherlands and Belgium. It, however, on 31st August 2015 announced its decision to suspend its flights to the occupation regime due to several bureaucratic problems.

According to the paper, several "government officials" and officials from the Akmina Travel company which is Corendon's partner, held contacts with officials of the Corendon Group and exerted efforts to convince them to return back to the "TRNC's" tourism market.

Commenting on Corendon's decision, so-called minister of tourism Faiz Sucuoglu described the decision as a positive and pleasing development for the "TRNC's tourism sector" and said: "Among our goals was for Corendon to return back. We achieved this. With this move, openings will be made to the tourism sector", said Sucuoglu.

Referring als o to his recent contacts in the Netherlands, Sucuoglu said that he met with the "chairman" of the "administration board" of the Akmina Travel, Ismail Abidin with whom they verified their existing agreement. He added that he held also contacts with tourist operators in Stuttgart, that he visited fairs in the Netherlands and that they are planning to make big openings in the fairs of Istanbul and Berlin.

(AK)

[11] "Cyprus Santa Claus Peace Village" will come into service in August

In a written statement, Karabulut said that by the end of this month the construction of this village will start. He added that the "Santa Claus village" will be promoted for the first time during the tourism fair "MITT Moscova" in March where the "TRNC" will participate. It is expected that the majority of the visitors to be Russians.

(DPs)

[12] "TRNC" was represented for the first time in a tourism fair in Oslo

The paper reports that "ministry's officials" and tour operators from the occupied area of the Republic of Cyprus had the opportunity to carry out contacts with tour operators from Norway and Scandinavia regarding the tourism sector in "North Cyprus" (translator's note: the breakaway regime in the occupied area of the Republic of Cyprus).

(DPs)

[13] Prosecutor orders investigation on CHP's Kilicdaroglu over "insulting" Erdogan

The investigation was opened after remarks made by K?l?cdaroglu during the CHP's 35th General Congress in Ankara on Saturday.

Kilicdaroglu used the Turkish expression "diktator bozuntusu" [roughly translated as 'sham dictator'] to describe President Erdogan.

Meanwhile, Erdogan himself also pressed charges against K?l?cdaroglu over his remarks at the congress.

In the petition presented to the public prosecutor's office in Ankara by Erdogan's attorney Huseyin Ayd?n, it was said that K?l?cdaroglu repeatedly insulted Erdogan and asked for TL 100,000 compensation for mental anguish.

The petition also asked a civil lawsuit to be launched against the CHP leader for insulting the President.

According to the Turkish Penal Code, Article 299, it is a criminal offense to insult the President. The offense carries a jail sentence of between one to four years.

The CHP is the biggest opposition party in Turkey, with 134 seats in the 550-member Turkish Parliament.

(?)

[14] Neo-nationalist Vatan party applies for closure case against HDP

The party's Vice Chairman Mehmet Turgut Okyay stated that the HDP's closure has become 'a must' to act in accord with the Constitution and keep the country united.

Okyay further claimed that the HDP acts upon the directives and orders of the PKK. "This has been proven through [HDP's] regulations, programs and actions. Finally, the HDP Chairman Selahattin Demirtas confessed to it by saying 'This resistance will end with victory, everyone will respect the people's will. Kurds will now become a political power in their own geography. Perhaps Kurds will also have an independent state, federal state, cantons and autonomous regions'", Okyay said.

The HDP continuing its activities will cause 'incurable wounds' for Turks and Kurds, Okyay alleged, and stated that the General Public Prosecutor's Office should collect all evidences in that regard and file a closure suit to Turkey's Constitutional Court.

(?) TURKISH AFFAIRS SECTION

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(AK / AM)

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