Cyprus PIO: Turkish Cypriot and Turkish Media Review, 17-01-04

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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] Akinci to meet with Erdogan tomorrow

[02] Obama condemned Istanbul nightclub attack, discussed Cyprus talks with Erdogan

[03] Cavusoglu to meet new UN chief Guterres for Syria and Cyprus talks

[04] Ertugruloglu accused Anastasiades of trying to change the format of the Geneva summit

[05] CTP leader went to Ankara for talks on the Cyprus problem

[06] Members of the negotiation team of Eroglu will be part of the UBP's delegation which will attend the Geneva talks

[07] Reactions to the "deportation" of Turkish fashion designer Barbaros Sansal

[08] A protest against KTOS took place yesterday in the occupied area of Cyprus

[09] Reports say that the three members of CTP who resigned from the party will join the TKP

[10] Turkey identifies Daesh terrorist who carried out the Istanbul nightclub attack

[11] Yildirim called on Trump to end 'shameful' Obama policy on PYD

[12] Another pro-Kurdish HDP Deputy detained

[13] Turkish Lira at new low record due to inflation, security concerns

[A] TURKISH CYPRIOT / TURKISH PRESS

[01] Akinci to meet with Erdogan tomorrow

Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci will be travelling to Ankara tomorrow where he will be meeting with Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The upcoming conference on Cyprus will be discussed at the working meeting.

Akinci and his accompanying delegation will be departing from the occupied airport of Tymbou at 10am tomorrow morning.

[02] Obama condemned Istanbul nightclub attack, discussed Cyprus talks with Erdogan

In a phone call with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Obama condemned the Daesh terror attack on a popular nightclub in Istanbul on New Year's Eve as well as the PKK terror attack in Kayseri on Dec 17.

Conveying his condolences to the families of the victims killed in the attacks, the U.S. President wished a speedy recovery those injured and said that the U.S. will continue working alongside its NATO ally in the fight against terror.

Obama also praised Turkey's efforts to extend the ceasefire in Syria to the whole country as well as its efforts to start political dialogue and negotiations between the opposition and the Assad regime.

The two leaders also discussed the latest advances made in Iraq and Syria in the fight against Daesh, and agreed that Turkey and the U.S. should maintain close cooperation on the issue.

The two also touched upon the upcoming Cyprus reunification talks, expressing hope for a unified, bizonal and bicommunal solution. The Cyprus meeting will take place in Geneva on January 12.

[03] Cavusoglu to meet new UN chief Guterres for Syria and Cyprus talks

In a statement released from the Foreign Ministry, it was said that Cavusoglu will travel to the US on Jan. 5 to meet the new Secretary General. Guterres took over the duty from Ban Ki-moon on Jan. 1.

The Ministry said in the statement that Cavusoglu will also discuss other regional issues and developments with the new UN leader.

[04] Ertugruloglu accused Anastasiades of trying to change the format of the Geneva summit

In a written statement issued yesterday, Ertugruloglu said that Anastasiades insisted that the conference on Cyprus will not be a five party conference but a four party conference to be attended by the Republic of Cyprus and the three guarantor countries, Turkey, Greece and the UK.

Claiming that Anastasiades chose to ignore the official agreement reached and instead tried to change the meeting's format to suit his own interpretation and preference, Ertugruloglu alleged: "This is in direct contradiction with the Burgenstock format and the Good Offices Mission of the UN Secretary General".

Ertugruloglu further claimed that such an attempt, made intentionally only days before the Geneva talks, aimed at preventing any chances of reaching a successful conclusion from the summit. "The agreement reached between the two leaders on December 1st and announced by the UN clearly states which parties or countries will be taking part in the 5-party conference", he alleged.

Ertugruloglu also claimed that the current negotiations process held under the auspices of the Secretary General's Good Office's Mission are held on the basis of equality and did not envisage any preconditions.

He concluded by alleging that the UN should not remain silent over such attempts to derail the upcoming Geneva talks.

[05] CTP leader went to Ankara for talks on the Cyprus problem

According to the paper, Erhurman will hold meetings with officials of the Turkish Government and of the main opposition party regarding the Cyprus talks.

He is escorted by "Morphou deputies" Mehmet Caglar and Armagan Candan.

(CS)

[06] Members of the negotiation team of Eroglu will be part of the UBP's delegation which will attend the Geneva talks

Ertug, Olgun and Hasipoglu participated in the negotiation team of the former Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu and will be part of the National Unity Party's (UBP) delegation which will attend the Geneva talks. As the paper notes the UBP delegation will consist of 15 persons, including the above mentioned politicians.

(CS)

[07] Reactions to the "deportation" of Turkish fashion designer Barbaros Sansal

Meanwhile, in a statement regarding Sansal's "deportation", self-styled interior minister, Kutlu Evren argued that they implemented the "law" and did what was required. He said that they "deported" Sansal, because he had "insulted Turkey using excessive expressions".

Turkish Cypriot leader, Mustafa Akinci, the chairman of the Republican Turkish Party (CTP), Tufan Erhurman, the chairman of the Social Democracy Party (TDP), Cemal Ozyigit, the chairman of the People's Party (HP), Kudret Ozersay, the New Cyprus Party (YKP) and the Cyprus Socialist Party (KSP) issued statements commenting on the issue.

Akinci said that they should not allow hatred, enmity and the lynching culture and added that in spite of the fact that he cannot approve Sansal's words which caused reactions, they should be puzzled by the fact that the "deportation" implemented by the "ministry of interior" based on a past decision led to lynching at the airport.

Erhurman noted that he watched Sansal's video and he does not approve of what he had said, but the "government" cannot act without having the "law" as legal ground.

Ozyigit said that they do not approve the attacks against Sansal and criticized the "government".

Ozersay pointed out that the culture of lynching has no place in a "state of rule of law" and wondered whether Sansal was "deported" or "extradited" upon a request of his state, i.e. Turkey.

The YKP expressed its support to Sansal and to Turkish Cypriot primary school teachers' trade union (KTOS) for the attacks they suffer and called on everyone to common action against "reactionary movements" and "fascism" in order to protect peace, democracy and human rights and freedoms.

The KSP criticized the "government" and called on the political parties and organizations to convene and take urgent measures, noting that it plans on visiting parties and organizations to this end.

Turkish Cypriot daily Afrika newspaper (04.01.17) reports that Serdar Denktas, "deputy prime minister" of the breakaway regime in the occupied area of the Republic of Cyprus, said yesterday that it is not the "council of ministers" which decided to "deport" Sansal and added that he was informed about the decision from television. He noted that he will ask to be briefed during a meeting of the "cabinet" and expressed the view that it is not right for anyone to suffer this kind of attacks for any reason.

(I/Ts.)

[08] A protest against KTOS took place yesterday in the occupied area of Cyprus

The protesters were shouting slogans such as "Sener do not be confused, do not exhaust our patience", "Cyprus is Turkish and will remain Turkish", "trade union resign", "traitors shall go to the south", "we are the descendants of Arpaslan Turkes" and other.

In a written statement, the teacher Naziye Beyoglu on behalf of the "initiative" condemned strongly KTOS for the calendar, alleging that it has unilaterally misinterpreted the Turkish Cypriot history.

Beyoglu called also the teachers in the occupied area of Cyprus to protect their "union", stating the following: "Ôhe trade union is yours. It is a union belonging to the teachers, and not a political one. So, protect it".

(AK)

[09] Reports say that the three members of CTP who resigned from the party will join the TKP

Sonay Adem was (former "deputy"), Ali Gulle was (former "deputy" and chairman of Dev-Is trade union) and Ibrahim Korhan (leading CTP member).

In statements to the paper, Ibrahim Korhan said: "We have not resigned from CTP with the aim to join TKP" and added that they have not had any contacts with other parties yet. In spite of Korhan' statements, the paper writes that Mehmet Davulcu, one of the founding members of the TKP has stated the opposite.

Davulcu explained that the founding member of TKP, Mehmet Cakici met with Adem, Gulle and Korhan for dinner the night before yesterday and stated that the party's door is open for all three former members of CTP.

(AK)

[10] Turkey identifies Daesh terrorist who carried out the Istanbul nightclub attack

Speaking on Anadolu Agency's Editor's Desk, Cavusoglu said that the identity of the terrorist has been established, but did not name him or give more details and added that works conducted to reveal more details on the attack are continuing.

[11] Yildirim called on Trump to end 'shameful' Obama policy on PYD

"The world talks about Daesh [Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant – ISIL] but it does not fight [against it]. It is only Turkey that fights against Daesh. The United States and others do nothing. They just supply the PYD with weapons", said Yildirim on Jan. 3, in a weekly parliamentary address to his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) members.

"What we expect from the new administration is to bring an end to this shame," Yildirim said, referring to Trump, who will assume the presidency from President Barack Obama on Jan. 20.

"We do not hold the new administration responsible for this situation, because it was the achievement of the Obama administration," he added.

Turkey and the U.S. are at odds over the designation of the PYD and its military wing, the People's Protection Unit (YPG). While Turkey sees them as terror organizations due to their ties with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), the U.S. designates the PKK as a terror organization but does not regard the PYD and YPG the same, seeing them instead as partners in the fight against ISIL.

On Dec. 29, 2016, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused the U.S. of directly supplying the PYD with weapons.

[12] Another pro-Kurdish HDP Deputy detained

According to Diyarbakir Chief Public Prosecutor's office, Ziya Pir had also been sought for failing to answer a summons linked to a counter-terrorism investigation.

Turkish lawmakers have long enjoyed legal immunity, but that was reconsidered after five HDP Deputies made an alleged "declaration of autonomy" during a meeting of a terror group affiliated with the party in the Kurdish region in southeastern Turkey.

(…)

Thousands of officials from the HDP have been detained since 2015. Turkey detained 200 HDP members following the December 10 attack in Istanbul.

The government accuses the HDP of having links to the PKK, a charge that the HDP denies.

[13] Turkish Lira at new low record due to inflation, security concerns

The Lira traded almost at 3.6 per dollar, down 1.4%, after sharp rises in food and drink prices pushed Turkish inflation to 1.64% in December for an annualized 8.53%.

That further soured sentiment towards Turkish assets, already battered by a series of terror attacks in recent months, including a New Year's Day mass shooting.

Worries about a slowdown in the economy and plans for an executive presidency have also undermined confidence. The security situation also makes it unlikely that tourism, a key part of the economy, will recover in 2017. TURKISH AFFAIRS SECTION

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(DPs / AM)

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