Cyprus PIO: Turkish Cypriot and Turkish Media Review, 17-01-26

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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] Turkes: "Even if there was not a single Turk living on the island, there would still be a Cyprus issue for Turkey"

[02] The target of the Turkish side is a new date for the international conference

[03] Ozgurgun reiterated that they will not abandon Turkey's guarantees in Cyprus

[04] Denktas in Ankara to meet Turkes

[05] "Development bank EBRD readying northern Cyprus plans"

[06] The occupation regime grants tens of "citizenships" every week

[07] Eroglu criticized Akinci for submitting a map

[08] "Early elections" on the agenda for Turkish Cypriot parties

[09] Ozgurgun said that he plans to meet with the Turkish government to discuss ways of opening the way for Turkish Cypriot football

[10] Former CTP member joined UBP

[11] The Mufti of Montenegro held a meeting with Atalay

[12] Erdogan said he will swiftly ratify constitutional reform package

[13] Four HDP lawmakers detained

[14] TANAP pipeline project ahead of schedule: Turkish envoy

[A] TURKISH CYPRIOT / TURKISH PRESS

[01] Turkes: "Even if there was not a single Turk living on the island, there would still be a Cyprus issue for Turkey"

Turkes said that claims that Turkey és only concerned about the Turks living on the island did not reflect the truth and added: "Even if there wasn't a single Turk living on the island, there would still be a Cyprus issue for Turkey…it is not possible for Turkey to abandon Cyprus".

Speaking at the conference on the Cyprus issue organised by the Economic and Social Researches Centre (ESAM), Turkes said that Turkey attaches great importance to Cyprus. He further alleged that the "TRNC" (editor's note: the breakaway regime in the occupied area of Cyprus) has been democratically governing itself for the past 30 years.

Touching upon the Cyprus negotiations process, Turkes alleged that the issue in Cyprus is to reach a point of agreement which maintains the interests of both sides at a minimal level. "The negotiations cannot be conducted solely on the demands of one side alone", he added.

Referring to the population issue, Turkes argued that there is a miscalculation regarding the population figures on which negotiations were based on in the past. "The calculation that there are 820 thousand Greek Cypriots and 220 thousand Turkish Cypriots is wrong. There are over 300 thousand Turks living in Cyprus", he added.

The Turkish Deputy Prime Minister also argued that a mistake was being made by excluding the Turkish Cypriots living abroad when calculating the population of the "TRNC". "Work is underway to determine the number of Turkish Cypriots living in the UK", he added.

On the issue of security and guarantees, Turkes said that Turkey will be more actively involved once all that needs to be done is completed and alleged that Turkey must be granted the four freedoms in Cyprus if there is a settlement to take place.

Alleging that there are misguided attempts to put the blame of a non-solution in Cyprus on the Turkish side, Turkes claimed that it was the Greek Cypriot side and not the Turkish Cypriot side which is not secular. He argued: "The Greek Cypriot administration (editor's note: as he refers to the Cyprus government) is not secular. The church has power and influence over both the politicians and the people".

[02] The target of the Turkish side is a new date for the international conference

The Turkish side wants a date for the continuation of the conference to be determined, notes the journalist, adding that "various voices" started to be heard from the Greek Cypriot political parties and mainly from AKEL, which expressed the view that there should be no hurry for holding new meetings within the framework of the international conference and that the right framework should be prepared for achieving the right agreement.

According to the journalist, it is known that some of the issues which are still open will remain for the very end of the process, but some others could be solved. The target is to exert efforts towards solving these issues at the level of the leaders by showing political will and within the framework of a certain program.

(I/Ts.)

[03] Ozgurgun reiterated that they will not abandon Turkey's guarantees in Cyprus

Evaluating the latest developments on the Cyprus problem to "BRT", Ozgurgun also claimed that there are two reasons why the Cyprus problem remained unsolved, the first is because Greece and the Greek Cypriot side see Cyprus as a Hellenic island and secondly because Turkey and the Turkish Cypriot "people" do not accept this.

He further alleged: "A settlement would take place if we as Turkish Cypriots accept becoming a minority in the so-called Republic of Cyprus which is currently under the sole control of the Greek Cypriots. Or just the opposite, if Greece says it is abandoning the idea that Cyprus is a Greek island, it recognizes the Turkish Cypriots as equal partners and accepts the continuation of Turkey's guarantees on the island".

Ozgurgun argued that the Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras' latest statement that there is currently no basis for a solution in Cyprus only serves to prove this argument.

Pointing out that the talks in Geneva between the two sides and the three guarantor powers, the first in 57 years, had collapsed shortly after starting, Ozgurgun claimed that the 1960 partnership state had collapsed for the very same reason. "Let's assume that Turkey stops being a guarantor state in Cyprus and that we reached an agreement that scraps the security and guarantees provided by the Turkish Armed Forces. We would be going back to conditions in 1960. This is unacceptable for Turkey and the Turkish Cypriot people", he said.

Ozgurgun also alleged that in addition to the political differences between the two sides, relations between people on both sides of the divide have not flourished in 14 years since the crossing points first opened. "Contact between the two sides has been limited to only 10%", he claimed.

[04] Denktas in Ankara to meet Turkes

Denktas will be meeting with the Turkish Deputy Prime Minister in Charge of Cyprus Affairs Tugrul Turkes at 4pm this afternoon.

He will also be attending a panel organized by the Ankara Forum Society titled "The Cyprus cause and the latest developments in the negotiations" at 7pm this evening.

Denktas is expected to return to the occupied area of the Republic of Cyprus tomorrow morning.

[05] "Development bank EBRD readying northern Cyprus plans"

International mediators are cautiously optimistic of a deal this year with two moderates at the helm of its respective Greek and Turkish sides attempting to negotiate the reunification as a two-zone federation.

"Should the referendum [on a Cyprus deal] be positive then we will certainly aim to increase our investment, particularly in the north," EBRD President Suma Chakrabarti told Reuters.

That would open up the debate of whether the development bank would continue to invest in Cyprus beyond 2020, the deadline set when it became a 'temporary' recipient of EBRD support in 2014.

"It's undoubtedly true that the north is very much under developed compared with the south and will require years of investment to catch up", Chakrabarti said. "So we'll have to see if Cyprus makes the case for an extension of mandate and how the shareholders will react."

The EBRD will hold its annual meeting in Cyprus in May so the situation is likely to be one of the main topics of discussion among the national finance ministers and central bankers that double as its decision-makers.

[06] The occupation regime grants tens of "citizenships" every week

While the "citizenships" "granted" upon a decision of the "council of ministers" are known, the "citizenships" "granted" with a "ministerial decision" remain unknown and are not published in the "official gazette", notes the paper adding that during the period 2012-2016 the "citizenship" was "granted" to 796 persons upon a "ministerial decision".

A source close to the [Turkish Cypriot] negotiating team in the Cyprus talks commented on the issue and said that "the principle that all TRNC citizens will become citizens of the United Federal Cyprus is put in danger and the leadership is weakened".

Teberruken Ulucay, self-styled former interior minister and "deputy" with the Republican Turkish Party (CTP), told the paper that 40-50 "citizenships" are "granted" every week upon a "decision" of the "council of ministers" and added that "we are heading towards a direction of an unknown number of citizenships".

(I/Ts.)

[07] Eroglu criticized Akinci for submitting a map

Eroglu criticized Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci, who submitted a map at the negotiating table before solving completely the problems. He alleged: "Akinci made a mistake. The Greek Cypriot side is extremely satisfied that for the first time we have submitted a map that provides with some of the locations that we will give".

He further claimed: "I cannot say that I am hopeful for solution. Esteemed Akinci said 'Solution by the end of 2015'. We saw that it did not happen. Then he said again 'Solution by the end of 2016', but it did not happen again. One of his statement was open, 'if there is not a settlement, then we continue the path with the TRNC. (…) In my opinion, if this does not happen, they should say 'this is the end', and permission for a new process should not be given".

(DPs)

[08] "Early elections" on the agenda for Turkish Cypriot parties

Commenting in the issue, the paper wonders if the leader of the Democratic Party (DP) Serdar Denktas, the junior partner of the "coalition government" between DP and UBP is aware of this decision. It also wonders if this is the time for elections or time for solution in Cyprus.

On its part, Turkish Cypriot daily Havadis newspaper (26.01.17) reports that the chairman of the Republican Turkish Party (CTP) Tufan Erhurman, stated that his party "has been ready since yesterday" for the "elections".

Erhurman, who was speaking during a meeting for replacing the members of the central committee of CTP who resigned some time ago, referred to recent statements of Ozgurgun who claimed that CTP did not comment on the possibility of conducting early "elections". "We said, if early elections are going to take place, let it be; however the opposition did not say a word over it", Ozgurgun stated. Erhurman stated that his party is ready and promised that as chairman of CTP he will support such a demand for "early elections" if is brought in the "assembly".

(CS)

[09] Ozgurgun said that he plans to meet with the Turkish government to discuss ways of opening the way for Turkish Cypriot football

Speaking on a sport program on "BRT1", Ozgurgun pointed out that an extremely good relationship exists between the Turkish and "TRNC" football federations.

He further alleged that "it could be possible to arrange TRNC teams to play friendly matches with Turkish teams or for Turkish referees to conduct games" and added: "We would be more than glad to help whenever the Turkish football federation requests our assistance". He noted that any problems that existed could be overcome through cooperation.

Ozgurgun also argued: "We tried to overcome this problem with the Greek Cypriot football federation. There was an initiative undertaken by FIFA but these efforts ended in deadlock because of the Greek Cypriot side's usual stance. It seems that Turkey is our only way out. There is the reality that we have not been able to play even a friendly match with Turkish teams for all these years. The reason is the threat of being penalized by FIFA and UEFA".

Claiming that the recent talks in Geneva had revealed that there is no way of moving forward with the Greek Cypriots, Ozgurgun said that he plans to meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim to discuss ways of opening the way for Turkish Cypriot football.

[10] Former CTP member joined UBP

Sennaroglu joined UBP together with all the members of the "municipality council".

(CS)

[11] The Mufti of Montenegro held a meeting with Atalay

Speaking during the meeting, Feyzic stated that he is very pleased with his visit and that he follows the news regarding Cyprus. He also invited Atalay to visit Montenegro and added that they will discuss ways for co-operation.

On his part Atalay stated that the co-operation and solidarity between them are very important.

Feyzic and his delegation will leave the breakaway regime on January 27th.

(CS)

[12] Erdogan said he will swiftly ratify constitutional reform package

During his speech, delivered at a press conference with his Malagasy counterpart Hery Rajaonarimampianina, Erdogan answered questions regarding the legislation.

He said that the constitutional amendment package, foreseeing a switch to a presidential system, would be ratified without losing any time.

[13] Four HDP lawmakers detained

Meanwhile, the jailed and ousted Mayor of the southeastern province of Mardin, Ahmet Turk, was taken to hospital in the eastern province of Elazig in order to obtain a health report. His lawyer and family have repeatedly said his health condition is deteriorating.

[14] TANAP pipeline project ahead of schedule: Turkish envoy

"The TANAP will be completed before the projected time and will start working," Erkan Ozoral told state-run Anadolu Agency.

The TANAP project aims to bring natural gas, produced from Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz-2 gas field and other areas of the Caspian Sea, primarily to Turkey but also onto Europe via the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP).

The project is planned to be operational in 2018, with an initial capacity to carry 16 billion cubic meters (bcm) of Azeri gas through Georgia to Turkey. While 6 bcm will be for Turkey's domestic consumption, the rest is destined for transfer to Greece, Albania, Italy and further into Europe.

"These projects are steel belts that will ensure Azerbaijan's integration with the world," Ozoral said, describing the TANAP as a "crucial" project and saying the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway will complete "the missing link of the chain."

"This is part of a railway project that will link the Chinese port of Shanghai to London," said Ozoral.

The Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway, set to go into service in mid-2017, is expected to link London with Beijing. The railway will reduce shipping times to 15 days and shorten the distance from Europe to Asia by 6,800-7,500 kilometers. TURKISH AFFAIRS SECTION

http://www.pio.gov.cy

(DPs / AM)

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