Cyprus PIO: Turkish Cypriot and Turkish Media Review, 17-12-04

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From: The Republic of Cyprus Press and Information Office Server at <http://www.pio.gov.cy/>

CONTENTS

[A] TURKISH CYPRIOT / TURKISH PRESS

[01] Akinci sent a letter to the UN regarding the researches for remains taking place at the Athalassa Psychiatric Hospital

[02] Akinci met with Cohen

[03] Atun claimed that "the natural resources in the TRNC territorial waters are Turkey's national reserve"

[04] Afrika argues that persons involved to the Zarrab scandal may have escaped to the breakaway regime

[05] The occupation regime continues the "preparation for early elections"; Eight political parties "to run for the elections"

[06] Only the 25% of workers are "TRNC citizens" in the breakaway regime

[07] Number of vehicles sold in the last ten months

[08] Onen, chairman of the bi-communal technical committee argues that there is still a problem on "extradition" of suspects

[09] New residential projects in the occupied area of Famagusta

[10] Erdogan accused the US of trying to discredit Turkey for not submitting to 'scenarios'

[11] K?l?cdaroglu gives President Erdogan Dec 5 as a 'deadline' on Zarrab

[12] Mattis: "Arming YPG to stop after Trump and Erdogan phone talk last week"

[A] TURKISH CYPRIOT / TURKISH PRESS

[01] Akinci sent a letter to the UN regarding the researches for remains taking place at the Athalassa Psychiatric Hospital

According to a statement made by the so-called presidency, Ak?nc? stated that the Turkish Cypriot side is ready to make the necessary contributions so that the identities of five Turkish Cypriot persons, believed to be buried in the area around the Athalassa Psychiatric Hospital can be identified and can be buried according to Muslim customs.

Ak?nc? is asking the UN involvement in order to establish contact regarding this special situation and create conditions of cooperation, according to the statement.

(CS)

[02] Akinci met with Cohen

So-called presidential spokesman Bar?s Burcu, Akinci's "special adviser on diplomacy and EU Affairs", Erhan Ercin, the "member of the negotiations team and second secretary" Sertac Guven and the US Ambassador to Nicosia, Kathleen Doherty were present at the meeting.

The one and a half hour meeting took place at the "presidential palace".

At the end of the meeting Burcu made statements to the press, stating that Ak?nc? and Cohen had last met in February this year and had made evaluations regarding the developments that have taken place since then and in Crans-Montana.

"During the meeting president Mustafa Ak?nc? explained to the US official why the Greek Cypriot side does not want to share its authority with the Turkish Cypriots equally and gave examples of this", Burcu alleged.

He further argued that Akinci also informed Cohen that "the Turkish Cypriots are being forced to remain under embargoes", something as he claimed which is not assisting in any way in the solution process of the Cyprus issue.

"The president said that this needed to be changed, as any change would assist in the solution process" Burcu claimed.

Burcu also argued that Akinci during the meeting underlined the reality that the Turkish Cypriot side would never again embark on a solution process that is open- ended.

[03] Atun claimed that "the natural resources in the TRNC territorial waters are Turkey's national reserve"

Reminding that the first drilling will be carried out in the first semester of 2018 within the framework of the drillings carried out with the Barbaros Haayrettin Pasha seismic research ship between Turkey and the "TRNC" within the framework of the "National Energy and Mining Strategy", Atun noted that their relationship with the Turkish Energy Minister Berat Albayrak is extremely good.

Stressing that the natural gas project provides significant extraordinary advantages within the projects being implemented with Turkey, Atun alleged that within the framework of these programs, they, as "economy and energy ministry", gave to Turkey the "exclusive authority and privileges" for 30 years under the partnership of Turkish Petroleum.

Claiming that "the foreign trade opening of the TRNC is approximately $1.7 billion, Atun alleged that "the TRNC has a current surplus of $280 million comparing to the overall current account balance, and that the reason is on the reforms made in 2009, 2010 and 2011". Atun further claimed: "As TRNC, an important part of our national income comes from the services sector. We have an annual $35 million income from the universities. We have revenue of $695 million from the tourism sector. Other invisible revenues are about $250 million. Today, the TRNC has a trade deficit; our foreign trade deficit is around 1.7 billion dollars. However, when we look at the overall current balance, the TRNC has a current surplus of $280 million. This is also based on the reforms we have made in 2009, 2010, 2011. (…)".

(DPs)

[04] Afrika argues that persons involved to the Zarrab scandal may have escaped to the breakaway regime

According to the paper, the Deputy with the Republican People's Party Murat Emir issued a question to Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim regarding the former Chairman of the Halkbank, asking Yildirim if he knows where Aslan is. "Who knows? Perhaps Aslan is in Cyprus", the paper writes.

(CS)

[05] The occupation regime continues the "preparation for early elections"; Eight political parties "to run for the elections"

The "YSK" announced the temporary list of the "candidates" on Saturday. Following the evaluations of the "YSK", the "candidates" will become definite on the 10th of December and will be "declared" on the 11th of December. A "draw will be held at the YSK on the 11th of December in order to determine the propaganda order". The "official propaganda period" will begin on the 12th of December.

According to the "election calendar", the political parties have to "apply to the YSK by the 17th of December in order to carry out propaganda on BRT and the ballot box poll list has to be completed by the 18th of December".

"Public opinion surveys and researches" cannot be published after the 23rd of December. The 4th of January is the last day for "the distribution of election certificates and informative brochures".

The "propaganda process" which started on the 12th of December will end on the 6th of January 2018 and on the 7th of January 2018 the "TRNC citizens will be going to the polls to elect the new 50 deputies".

Eight political parties will be running for the "elections". The National Unity Party (UBP), the Republican Turkish Party (CTP), the Democrat Party (DP), the Social Democratic Party (TDP), the Communal Liberation Party-New Forces (TKP-YG), the People's Party (HP), the Rebirth Party (YDP) and the Nationalist Democracy Party (MDP) presented their candidates for the "elections".

Meanwhile, the New Cyprus Party (YKP) decided to boycott the elections while the Cyprus Socialist Party (KSP) announced that it will support two "independent candidates".

The "new elections and referendum law will be implemented during the upcoming elections and for the first time the voters will be choosing candidates from all over the country, as the TRNC has become a single electoral region".

"Citizens will be able to elect candidates from all 6 districts".

"Voters will either be able to stamp for a party, stamp and tick candidates from the same party or a combination vote".

"16 candidates from Lefkosia, 13 from Famagusta, 10 from Keryneia, 5 from Trikomo, 4 from Morfou and 2 candidates from Lefka will be elected to the 50 seat republic's sssembly".

The "YSK announced the number of eligible voters as 188 thousand 688".

[06] Only the 25% of workers are "TRNC citizens" in the breakaway regime

According to the report, 53% of the workers are of Turkish citizenship, 21% are of foreign citizenship and 11% are illegal workers.

(CS)

[07] Number of vehicles sold in the last ten months

According to the paper, the number of luxury cars that sold in the breakaway regime has increased during the last ten months as well.

(CS)

[08] Onen, chairman of the bi-communal technical committee argues that there is still a problem on "extradition" of suspects

According to the paper, the "north Cyprus" (the Republic of Cyprus) avoids to "extradite" 19 different suspects, requested by the "TRNC" (the breakaway regime in the occupied area of the Republic of Cyprus) for felony or drugs crimes.

Speaking to the paper Hakki Celal Onen, Chairman of the Bi-communal Technical Committee for Crime and Criminal Matters, said that the "extradition of foreign nationals" between the two sides is being done through the medium of the UN, however this problem has not been entirely overcome. Onen argued: "South Cyprus refrains to extradite Turkish Cypriots because they perceive it as if they are raising our status. I don't share the same approach with the Greek Cypriots on the issue of the extradition of Turkish Cypriots. At this moment, there are 19 persons requested from the Greek Cypriot side. These 19 persons are being wanted for drugs and other felony crimes. However the Greek Cypriot side does not extradite them by saying 'These are also my citizens'."

Legal experts, speaking also to the paper, said that there is "crime explosion" in the occupied area of the Republic of Cyprus, adding that an instant solution should be found in this problem.

Lawyer Levent Kizilduman suggested that a federal police force on issues like terrorism and other should be formed before waiting a comprehensive solution on the Cyprus problem.

(DPs)

[09] New residential projects in the occupied area of Famagusta

(DPs)

[10] Erdogan accused the US of trying to discredit Turkey for not submitting to 'scenarios'

"They [U.S.] are trying to punish, judge and discredit us because we did not submit to those scenarios. The scenario and the plot are obvious and they are doing this with their co-operators in our country. They are doing it with FETO [Fethullahist Terrorist Organization]. You will not be able to deceive us, you should know that," Erdogan said at the provincial congress of his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) in the eastern province of Agr?.

"They aggravated the PKK [outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party] for that. They put FETO to the front and sent Deash [Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant – ISIL] to our country and even now they are using the person who is the head of the main opposition, also known as the main 'treason party,' for the same purpose," he added, referring to the Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Kemal K?licdaroglu who has recently alleged that the President and his relatives had off-shore accounts.

Speaking about the trial in New York, Erdogan said: "They wish to obtain the results they could not in the past in our country, with the same mastermind, material and scenario thousands of miles away."

"Our nation should know that these attacks, defamations and games are not independent from each other. All are aimed at the same thing; all aiming to make Turkey kneel down and to pit us against each other. They may try as hard as they want, they will not succeed," he added.

Erdogan's remarks came a day after he said Turkey could never be "condemned by virtual courts" in the U.S.

"My country can never be condemned by virtual courts set up by FETO scoundrels and fake representatives," Erdogan further said during a speech in the eastern province of Kars.

"Someone has gotten up and decided they will put in trial my country in their falsely set up courts. Don't bother!" Erdogan added.

(…)

In his speech in Agr?, Erdogan also pointed at the unity of Turkey while addressing citizens of Kurdish origin. He stressed that the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) cannot represent them, claiming that foreign circles were using the group as a proxy.

"Nobody [in Turkey] can say they are oppressed because of their race or religion," he stated.

"We are against both Kurdish racism and Turkish racism," Erdogan further claimed.

[11] K?l?cdaroglu gives President Erdogan Dec 5 as a 'deadline' on Zarrab

The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) previously gave the U.S. two diplomatic notes to return Zarrab to Turkey, on the grounds that he is "a clean guy," Kilicdaroglu said on Dec. 2 in an opening ceremony in the southern province of Mersin.

"[But] once Zarrab started to sing like a canary, then [the AKP said] he was a spy, a traitor. Up until yesterday, he was your guy and you were arm in arm. When he received the money, he was good, but now that he is talking, he is bad. I give Erdogan until Tuesday [Dec. 5] to explain who exposed the state's secrets to Zarrab," Kilicdaroglu stated.

His comments came a day after Turkish prosecutors ordered the seizure of Zarrab's assets, citing a part of the Turkish penal code that addresses the leaking of state secrets. Zarrab had previously claimed in a trial in a Manhattan court that he had paid millions of dollars in bribes to a former Turkish economy minister to facilitate illegal gold transactions with sanctions-hit Iran.

"I live with the hope of 80 million people [in Turkey]. The 80 million want to live in this country in peace. We will fight for this together. We have written law and justice in the world of history. Everyone should know this very well. Law and justice is a right for all of us. We will fight until we achieve it," said Kilicdaroglu.

(…)

[12] Mattis: "Arming YPG to stop after Trump and Erdogan phone talk last week"

"Yeah, we are going to go exactly along the lines of what the President announced," Mattis told reporters on a military plane en route to Cairo when asked whether the U.S. would stop arming the group, its main ally in the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in Syria.

Trump and Erdogan spoke over the phone last week to discuss the recent Sochi summit, the Syria crisis and bilateral ties.

During their conversation, Trump told Erdogan that Washington will not give the YPG weapons anymore.

Ankara considers the Democratic Union Party (PYD) and its military wing, the YPG, as the Syrian branches of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), hence terrorist groups.

Mattis also said that the U.S. will change the formation of its military power in Syria in order to support ongoing negotiations in Geneva.

(…)Recalling a recent U.S. announcement that it would withdraw its artillery units from Syria, Mattis said the focus would move toward holding territory instead of arming the YPG.

"The YPG is armed and as the coalition stops offensive then obviously you don't need that, you need security, you need police forces, that is local forces, that is people who make certain that ISIS doesn't come back," Mattis said, using another acronym for ISIL.

He further said that the U.S. took this decision in Syria in order to support diplomats to bring an end to the war.

"The troops are changing their stance...that includes with our allies who are now changing their stance as they come to the limits of where they are going," Mattis added.

TURKISH AFFAIRS SECTION

https://www.pio.gov.cy/moi/pio/pio2013.nsf/All/EDB254ABD6F3EAE1C225816F00425E83?OpenDocument

(AK / AM)

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