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

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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] Burcu and Turkish Cypriot newspapers attack the Government Spokesman

[02] Ertugruloglu held contacts in London

[03] Ozersay on the Cyprus problem and the hydrocarbon issue

[04] Commentary: "The Cyprus conundrum in Turkey-EU relations"

[05] Reactions to AKP's advertisement in Turkish Cypriot newspapers; AKP's TIR arrived in the occupied area of Cyprus

[06] Erdogan: Turkey is preparing for new military operations

[07] Robust turnout abroad in Turkey's referendum

[08] Poll shows that Kurdish origin citizens will vote "no" at the April 16 referendum

[09] 45 Gulen-linked judges and prosecutors dismissed in coup attempt probe

[10] Aegean hoteliers voice anger against Booking.com decision

[11] Agreement regarding the occupied area of Cyprus was signed between Turkey and Emirates airlines

[12] Foreign students in the breakaway regime forced to work even as prostitutes to pay for their tuition fees

[13] Inflation in March was 0.59%

[A] TURKISH CYPRIOT / TURKISH PRESS

[01] Burcu and Turkish Cypriot newspapers attack the Government Spokesman

In a statement issued yesterday, Burcu said that during the dinner held on April 2, the two leaders evaluated the negotiating process and exchanged views, observations and proposals. He noted that it was decided that the only statement regarding the discussions and the results of the dinner would be made by Eide. He also alleged:

"According to this agreement, the sides committed themselves on not making any statement except for this. In spite if this, contrary to the achieved agreement, the spokesman of the Greek administration of south Cyprus Mr Christodoulides made within the day untrue statements and groundless accusations against our president to various media starting from the morning".

Burcu argued that Akinci, showing respect to the agreement achieved before Eide, will be contented with replying that the above allegations [by the Government Spokesman] do not reflect the truth. "Our target as Turkish Cypriot side is to achieve the soonest a bi-communal, bi-zonal federal solution, which will be protecting the security, equality, freedom and peace of both communities, with respect to the achieved agreements", he alleged.

Meanwhile, Turkish Cypriot daily Havadis newspaper (04.04.17) refers to the issue under the banner front-page title "Greek Cypriot Spokesman Puppet of Nikos" and publishes a picture showing the Government Spokesman as a puppet of President Anastasiades. The paper reports that at the dinner the leaders agreed not to make statements and use the "language of peace", but yesterday the Government Spokesman made statements four times accusing Akinci of leading the negotiating process to collapse by using as pretext the decision of the Cyprus House of Representatives on the enosis plebiscite and of not wishing the resumption of the negotiations.

Furthermore, Basaran Duzgun, the paper's general director, writes in his daily column that according to "reliable sources", during the dinner the leaders agreed on the resumption of the negotiations. He argues that the talks would start from the point they had been left after the House of Representatives adopted DISY's proposal with AKEL's support in the direction of changing the decision on the enosis plebiscite. He reports that the dinner lasted more than it was programmed, because the leaders had discussed the format which the negotiations should have. The columnist alleged that while such positive developments were being experienced, the statements made by the Government Spokesman, accusing Akinci of being responsible of the fact that the negotiations did not resume, have caused surprise and disappointment. He concludes claiming the following:

"The disappointment starts from how Anastasiades allows this. The two leaders know better than anyone that everything said in such a tensed climate will have catastrophic influence. And because they know this, Akinci is not talking at all for a long period of time, while Anastasiades refers to general situations when he speaks and refrains from saying things that could cause tension. Very well, what is the spokesman trying to do? Different opinions are being expressed for this. They might be correct or false. However, the reality is the following: Some people please make this spokesman to keep quiet. The last thing we need is the game of blaming each other".

Moreover, Huseyin Ekmekci, columnist in the same newspaper argues that the "outburst of Christodoulides" while the two leaders are keeping quiet should have an explanation. "The Greek Cypriot spokesman should either be a puppet or a provocateur", he alleges.

Finally, Turkish Cypriot daily Kibris Postasi newspaper (04.04.17) refers to the issue under the title "The spokespersons quarreled even before the table is set up" and alleges that the statements made by the Government Spokesman after the dinner 'have broken a record in diplomacy", since "Christodoulides, who in the diplomatic circles is known as 'the hawk at the table', made statements accusing Akinci to four different radio and television stations by midday".

(I/Ts.)

[02] Ertugruloglu held contacts in London

Moreover, in the framework of his "contacts" in the UK, Ertugruloglu met also with the Turkish Ambassador in London, while he also visited the occupation regime's "representation offices".

(AK)

[03] Ozersay on the Cyprus problem and the hydrocarbon issue

Ozersay condemned the Turkish Cypriot side for the policy it followed on the hydrocarbon issue, stressing the need for changing its policy. "The TRNC should undertake steps in the framework of the already existing agreement with the Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO)", Ozersay said.

Referring to the deadlock occurred in the Cyprus negotiation process after the dinner between the two leaders on Sunday, Ozersay stated that this is not a surprising development and pointed out that there were a lot of difficulties in the process until today. "The disappointment that exists today derives from the fact that although there wasn't the necessary progress at the Cyprus negotiation talks, they create the impression that 'everything has been done'", Ozersay alleged.

Ozersay criticized also the Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci for suspending the Turkish Cypriot side's oil exploration activities right after being "elected" as "president". He further accused Akinci for not reacting when the Greek Cypriot side launched its own oil exploration activities. [?].

Ozersay further claimed that the standstill at the Cyprus negotiation process is not because of the Enosis plebiscite. "This is only the spark. The main reason for the standstill at the negotiations is the fact that the Greek Cypriot side has nothing to motivate it for continuing the efforts for a solution. The least that should be done at the moment is to use to natural gas element as an instrument of pressure", stated Ozersay.

(?)

(AK)

[04] Commentary: "The Cyprus conundrum in Turkey-EU relations"

"It would be political short-sightedness not to see that a serious decline in Turkey's relations with Europe is in the making. At this stage, resorting to blame games does not help: Turkey is hardly satisfied with the approach pursued by the EU vis-a-vis Turkey over the last 10 years, while Turkey's performance in complying with EU standards has not been convincing either. So culpability is mutual.

Cyprus started to brew into a problem in 1963, the year when Turkey signed the Ankara Treaty to become an associate member of the 'Common Market', namely today's European Union. It would therefore be wrong to suggest that these two files are mutually exclusive.

Turkey's intervention in 1974 [editor's note: Turkish invasion to Cyprus in 1974] as a guarantor to prevent the island's annexation to Greece under the pretext of 'Enosis' was meant to protect the rights of Turkish Cypriots living on the island. Turkey's application for full EU membership, however, comes much later in history. It is therefore also important to underline that however these two files seem to be related, they have only become so because of the course of events in history.

The Cyprus issue became a major obstacle in Turkey's relations with the EU after the reunification referendum on the island failed to bring about a positive outcome in 2004. With the admission of South Cyprus [editor's note: as he refers to the Republic of Cyprus] into the EU as a member, an unresolved problem between Turkish Cypriots in the north and Greek Cypriots in the south transformed into a problem between Turkey and the EU.

Turkey started its accession negotiations with the EU in 2005. South Cyprus - legally recognized as the Republic of Cyprus by the EU because of its membership of the Union, but short of representing the northern part of the island where Turkish Cypriots live - directly or indirectly blocked any progress in those negotiations.

As long as Turkey's bid for full membership continues, Southern Cyprus as an EU member will continue with this blockage. There is hardly any motivation for them to resolve the Cyprus problem. They assume that it is exactly the opposite for Turkish Cypriots and Ankara, with the latter ready to make concessions if it still aspires to join the EU. It is necessary, therefore, to break this correlation.

The EU is looking for a new way forward in the aftermath of Brexit. Last week, the leaders of the EU at the summit in Rome underlined the importance of a 'multi-speed' Europe.

First, the Union will take the necessary steps to avoid the contagion effect of the Brexit divorce to other members. Second, Brexit will inevitably develop a new model not only for separation from the union but also for the relationship between the EU and outside partners. It may be in the form of a privileged partnership in a variety of models, starting from the customs union to enhanced free trade deals.

Turkey has a unique relationship with the EU as it already has a customs union, despite the fact that it is not a full member. Yet neither Ankara nor Brussels has been capable of taking full advantage of this peculiar relationship. There is therefore an understanding to re-negotiate its terms and references with a view to enhancing the customs union. This process will proceed in parallel with the EU's negotiations with the U.K. for Brexit.

Turkey's full membership of the European Union has long been losing its chances of realization. This is because the union is tending to deepen its integration within, rather than widen its enlargement to bring in new members. This creates further frustration in Turkey and raises questions on whether it is wise to continue the accession negotiations or not. What a mistake!

Accession negotiations keep Turkey and the EU engaged. It is important to keep this interaction going, no matter how discouraging a process it may appear to be, as Turkey's European anchor is a reassurance for its democratization. Any interruption would cause the EU and Turkey to drift so far apart that it would be almost impossible for them to come closer again.

Brexit, in that sense, poses an important opportunity both for Turkey and the EU to redefine their future relationship, inspired by the new mechanisms it may produce. Such a flexible and open-ended vision for the future of EU-Turkey relationship will also delink the process from the Cyprus problem.

This will also lead to a new understanding in the approach of the Cypriots to resolve their problem bilaterally, independent of illusive conclusions that its resolution will open the way to Turkey's full membership of the EU. Under the current circumstances, Cyprus would never become a game changer and would continue to be a spoiler."

[05] Reactions to AKP's advertisement in Turkish Cypriot newspapers; AKP's TIR arrived in the occupied area of Cyprus

Meanwhile, the chairman of the Turkish Cypriot Journalists' Union, Sami Ozuslu said that the above-mentioned move by these papers was "unethical" and noted that his organization will discuss the issue with lawyers. "Your front pages are your honor", he noted.

Furthermore, the Press Workers' Trade Union (Basin-Sen) defended the employees of the above-mentioned newspapers noting that "the front pages sold by the bosses of the media for economic profit are not binding for the workers in the press".

Moreover, the Solidarity movement issued a statement asking the public to boycott the above-mentioned newspapers, while the "Independent Path" organization expressed the view that "it is obvious that the AKP has taken the bosses under control either by [paying] money or by force".

Finally, Turkish Cypriot daily Star Kibris newspaper (04.04.17) reports that the AKP has sent a "YES TIR" to the occupied area of Cyprus within the framework of the campaign for the referendum. The truck, which will remain in the occupied area during the period of the voting from 5 to 9 April, could be turned into a scene and will play AKP's music and films.

(I/Ts.)

[06] Erdogan: Turkey is preparing for new military operations

"The first phase of the Operation Euphrates Shield ended after Syria's al-Bab was cleared of terrorists. Now we are preparing for new operations against terrorist groups in other regions," Erdogan said during a rally held as part of an opening ceremony of multiple projects in the Black sea province of Trabzon.

"The new operations will have different names. We have new surprises for all terror groups including the PKK/PYD, the Daesh and the FETO who are looking forward to the spring," Erdogan added.

"God willing, the following months will be the spring of Turkey and Turkish people, and the deadly winter of terrorists."

Defense Minister Fikri Isik had said Friday that the end of Turkey's military operation in northern Syria did not mean threats were over. "When the need arises and a threat occurs against Turkey's security, Turkey will not hesitate to conduct other operations in order to eliminate this threat," he added.

[07] Robust turnout abroad in Turkey's referendum

Since ballot boxes were opened last Monday, nearly 305,000 Turkish citizens have cast their vote at 13 consulates and polling stations across Germany, according to figures compiled by Turkey's Justice and Development (AK) Party.

The high turnout was reflected in long queues in front of Turkish consulates in Dusseldorf and Cologne on Sunday, two major north western German cities with large Turkish communities.

When expats voted in Turkey's early elections in November 2015, turnout was much lower. Ahead of that vote, only around 250,000 overseas Turks cast their ballots.

The ongoing debate in Germany over Turkey's proposed presidential system plus recent tensions between Ankara and Berlin have increased interest among expatriate Turks.

In Germany, nearly half of three million Turkish immigrants are eligible to vote; they can cast their ballots at one of the 13 polling stations until April 9.

[08] Poll shows that Kurdish origin citizens will vote "no" at the April 16 referendum

The poll was conducted in 16 provinces of Turkey with a sample of 1.091 persons by the Samer research firm (the date is not mentioned). The paper writes that due to the security measures taken in the area, the research was not possible to be conducted with the face-to-face method.

According to the paper, 58% of the persons asked, will vote "no" at the referendum, 29,5% will vote "yes" while 7,9% are undecided.

In addition, 79.8% from the persons in the area that are supporters of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) will vote "yes" while 11,5% will vote "no". At the same time 94,8% from the persons in the area that are supporters of the People's Democracy Party (HDP) will vote "no" while only 0,7% will vote "yes".

Asked about the major issue that concerns them, the persons participated in the poll said with a percentage of 67% that it is the Kurdish problem. The economy and unemployment is the second issue of concern.

Asked if they adopt the AKP policy on the Kurdish issue, 71,4% said "no", while 28,2 said "yes".

(CS)

[09] 45 Gulen-linked judges and prosecutors dismissed in coup attempt probe

The move is part of an ongoing probe into the July 2016 failed coup attempt that left 249 people killed and nearly 2,200 wounded.

Over 4,000 judges and prosecutors have been dismissed since July 15, 2016, according to HSYK.

Meanwhile, HSYK also temporarily suspended the delegation and the trial of Istanbul 25th Heavy Penal Court Prosecutor from duty, who had released 21 detainees out of 29 as part of HSYK's ongoing case regarding FETO's media network.

HSYK Deputy Chair Mehmet Y?lmaz told reporters that the members were temporarily suspended from their duties until an investigation into claims over them concluded. He said the final decision would be taken after HSYK inspectors finish their reports on the suspects.

The Istanbul 25th Heavy Penal Court Head Ibrahim Lorasdag?, court members Bar?s Comert and Necla Yesilyurt Gulbicim, as well as the prosecutor of the case, Goksel Turan, are among discharged members.

The team under the presidency of Lorasdag? had decided to release 21 detainees out of 29, who are allegedly linked to FETO's media network. Some 26 of those were under arrest when the decision for the release was made.

After the order, an Istanbul court had objected to the decision and it was approved by the Istanbul 26th Heavy Penal Court, which had reissued an arrest warrant for eight suspects.

The Istanbul Prosecutor's Office had also decided to detain seven other suspects.

Due to the objections made immediately after the decision on the release of the suspects, the 21 detainees were not released.

[10] Aegean hoteliers voice anger against Booking.com decision

An Istanbul court on March 29 ordered the suspension of the activities of Booking.com in Turkey, citing accusations of unfair competition, following a lawsuit filed by the Association of Turkish Travel Agencies (TURSAB).

The website can still be used from foreign countries to make reservations for Turkish hotels.

The head of the Aegean Touristic Hoteliers Association, Mehmet Isler, accused TURSAB of "harming Turkey's tourism" with the move.

"Booking.com offered our tourism players across the country a chance to introduce and market themselves in a fair and equal manner. Can there be a fairer move than this? The website did not create unfair competition; on the contrary, it offered equal opportunities," said Isler in a press meeting on April 3, as quoted by Anadolu Agency.

The website, which had around 13,000 hotel members from Turkey, began to halt selling rooms in Turkey to Turkish users on March 30, one day after the court decision to block the website in the country.

Isler accused TURSAB of "not being able to keeping pace with today's realities," adding that the association would be named in the future as "the unit which dealt the greatest harm to Turkey's tourism."

A hotelier association from the Ayval?k district of the Aegean province of Bal?kesir also held a demonstration on April 2 to protest the move, claiming that almost 70% of local tourists used to make their reservations via Booking.com.

The head of the Ayval?k Hoteliers Association (AYOP), Hatice Arga, said the association would do whatever is necessary to reverse the ban.

This move will hit the country's tourism in a more disastrous manner than the Russian crisis or the July 2016 coup attempt did, she said in a press statement following a demonstration, according to Dogan News Agency.

"Almost 70% of local tourists made their reservations via Booking.com for local tourism destinations. The average was quite a bit higher for Ayval?k, around 90%. TURSAB's demand to exclude Booking.com from the game will hit us," she added.

Arga questioned how small hoteliers would make a deal with big travel agencies which are a TURSAB member.

"Are we going to chase and find customers by making noisy advertisements at bus stations again? Or will we need to work only with TURSAB members or choose to close down our business? The move will also negatively affect them," she added.

Hoteliers from the Aegean resort of Bodrum will also hold an emergency meeting over the issue on April 4, as reported by Dogan News Agency.

[11] Agreement regarding the occupied area of Cyprus was signed between Turkey and Emirates airlines

According to the paper, the cooperation between Emirates Turkey with the Turkish Cypriot tourism firm Cyprus XP Travel was presented in the Golden Tulip hotel in the occupied part of Lefkosia. According to the bookingagora.com, an online reservation firm based in Turkey, which provides tickets for more than 50 destinations that Emirates goes to, the passengers that would use the occupied Tymboy airport, will be able to travel to various world destinations using Emirates.

(CS)

[12] Foreign students in the breakaway regime forced to work even as prostitutes to pay for their tuition fees

Some students, who talked to the paper, claimed that the mediators in their countries present the occupied part of Cyprus as country member of EU with great work opportunities. Speaking to the paper, the general secretary of KTOS Sener Elcil, stated that the "universities" is a sector that brings a lot of income to the breakaway regime. He also stated that according to some estimation there are currently 93,000 students in the "TRNC"; however around 20,000 of them do not go to school. He also stated that this young population is used as cheap working hands and is forced to work in prostitution.

(CS)

[13] Inflation in March was 0.59%

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