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Cyprus PIO: Turkish Cypriot and Turkish Media Review, 19-12-17Cyprus Press and Information Office: Turkish Cypriot Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The Republic of Cyprus Press and Information Office Server at <http://www.pio.gov.cy/>Turkish Cypriot and Turkish Media Review, 17.12.19 Contests[A] Turkish Cypriot Press
[B] Turkish Press
[A] Turkish Cypriot Press[01] Reactions for the decision to allow UAVs to be stationed at the occupied Lefkonoiko airportTurkish Cypriot daily Halkin Sesi (17.12.19) publishes statements by Turkish Cypriot politicians on the decision to allow unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to be stationed at the occupied Lefkonoiko airport. The flights were launched yesterday.The Cyprus Socialist Party (KSP) criticizes the decision, saying that the Turkish Cypriot people do not want to take sides in the war in the Middle East. It also stated that the island should be cleared of all foreign forces, nuclear warheads, fighter planes and UAVs. The Left Movement (SH) stated that Turkish Cypriots want neither drones nor military bases in the island. The leader of the Communal Democracy Party (TDP) Cemal Ozyigit stated that the "government" should have consulted or at least informed the Turkish Cypriot parties before such a decision was taken. The leader of the United Cyprus Party (???) Izzet Izcan stated that the drones would increase tension in the area. He also underlined the need for the Cyprus negotiations process to start as soon as possible to create a demilitarized Cyprus. Under the title: "Drone go home" Afrika (17.12.19) writes that the general secretary of KTÖS (Turkish Cypriot Teachers' Union) Sener Elcil stated: "The transformation of Lefkonoiko Airport into a military base and the military advances made by Turkey with the excuse that the Greek Cypriot side was in an arms race and the British were using its bases to launch attacks is a direct attack on those supporting peace in Cyprus. The Turkish Cypriot Secondary School Teachers' Union (KTOEÖS) has criticized both "Turkey and the Greek Cypriots for their armament policies and for giving nationalists concessions". In a written statement on Monday, KTOEÖS President Selma Eylem said that authorities on both sides of the divide were trying to maintain the status quo thus implementing or advocating policies that will lead to war. "Deputy speaker of parliament" Zorlu Töre said the decision "was a proper move in line with increasing military activity in the area". In addition, illegal Bayrak (17.12.19
https://www.brtk.net/?englishposts=atakan-speaks-on-uavs) broadcast that
the so-called minister of public works and Tolga Atakan alleged that "it
was necessary and the right move to allow UAVs to use Lefkonoiko Airport".
Speaking to BRT, Atakan said that "it was possible to see how justified
and necessary the move was when one looked at the reason". "If there
were no problems in the region then perhaps we could have discussed
the urgency and necessity of such a move," said Atakan, claiming that
"one should not ignore the moves made by the Greek Cypriot side".
The paper further writes that Oktay also shared the first video footage
taken of the TB2 type Bayraktar UAV landing at occupied Lefkonoiko
airport.
(DPs)
According to the paper, Asim Akansoy, "deputy" with the Republican Turkish
Party (CTP) asked the "ministry of tourism and environment" to confirm
or deny whether there were plans to construct a naval base in the forest
area in occupied Trikomo, following a report in Havadis newspaper, with
the title "A military base in the heart of tourism", on October 29, 2019.
In a written response, the "ministry of tourism" said that there were
no such plans. However, the "Turkish peace forces in Cyprus" [Turkish
occupation forces in Cyprus], in its response to Akansoy's question
sent to the "prime minister's office" confirmed its plans to build new
headquarters, barracks and facility at the site, which used to be an
old harbour used for carob trading.
(DPs)
According to the "draft bill", Greek Cypriot owners of property in the
occupied area of Cyprus will now have another 24 months to apply to the
"commission" for remedies concerning their properties.
The "remedies" on offer supposedly include restitution (return) of the
property, exchange of property with Turkish Cypriot-owned property in
the Republic of Cyprus and compensation for loss of use.
Speaking in the so-called parliament on Monday, the "chairman of the
committee for legal and foreign affairs", Oguzhan Hasipoglu claimed
that there were currently 6629 applications at the IPC, 1203 of which
had been finalized. He also alleged that the remaining 5232 cases were
still pending at the commission.
Hasipoglu claimed further that there were some cases which have been
pending examination for six years and that there are 280 applications
concerning property located within the fenced-off city of Varosha [Maras].
Hasipoglu alleged also that there was an intention to improve the "ipc"
but claimed that "the Greek Cypriot side continued its guardianship
regime" regarding Turkish Cypriot-owned properties in the south. "They
are also introducing obstacles to the Direct Trade Regulation and freedom
of travel," he added.
Hasipoglu added: "In spite of the fact that the TRNC was not recognized
internationally, international law and human rights were trying to be
implemented in the country".
Besides Ersoy, so-called deputy prime minister and "foreign minister"
Kudret Ozersay, so-called prime minister Ersin Tatar, so-called tourism
and environment minister Unal Ustel and so-called Turkish ambassador, in
the occupied area of Cyprus Ali Murat Basceri, were present at the event.
Speaking during the inauguration ceremony, Tatar claimed that the "TRNC"
has become a strategic center in the Eastern Mediterranean region after 45
years. "The TRNC is now in an extremely important status in the Eastern
Mediterranean for Turkey's tranquility, security and peace," Tatar said,
adding that it is their duty to work further for strengthening the
"TRNC and increase its prosperity".
Stressing the importance of the opening of TIKA office in the "TRNC",
Tatar described this as an important project and an important step.
Speaking at the same event, Ersoy said TIKA has gained international
prestige with its strong corporate structure, achievements and original
projects.
"TIKA is an institution which transforms humanitarian and conscientious
judgments coming from the national and spiritual values of the Turkish
nation into concrete actions and projects," Ersoy said. He recalled that
recently, with TIKA's contribution, the residence of Arpaslan Turkes
was restored.
According to the paper, there are 41,219 foreign students from 140
countries, while the total number of students is 103,748 compared to the
previous 2018-2019 academic term. In addition, the paper writes that the
majority of the students come from Nigeria (7,916) and Jordan (3,405);
the rest of the students are from Syria, Pakistan, Cameroon, Iran, Iraq,
Zimbabwe, the Republic of Congo, Libya, Egypt and Palestine.
(CS)
The MoU on defense and security was signed on Nov. 27 between senior
government officials from two countries along with another deal on the
delimitation of the maritime jurisdiction areas in the Mediterranean.
The agreement pledges a legal basis for substantial cooperation in the
field of defense and security including establishing defense offices in
each other's countries, training, allocating of air, ground and naval
vehicles, holding joint exercises and intelligence.
The move has come as the Tobruk-based General Khalifa Hafter forces
have intensified attacks against the United Nations-backed government
in Tripoli under the leadership of Prime Minister Mustafa Fayez al-Sarraj.
"Demands for increasing our security and military cooperation came from
Libya. We already had some works on it, and we just accelerated them,"
Deputy Foreign Minister Faruk Kaymakçi said in his introduction of the
content of the deal to the panel.
"We think that the agreement will make a great contribution to Libya's
stability, improving the country's crumbling infrastructure and protect
Turkey's interests in the Eastern Mediterranean and North Africa, along
with contributing to the stability of Libya" Kaymakçi said, also informing
that Turkey signed similar agreements on security with 77 countries.
He noted that the agreement would form the legal infrastructure for
Turkey-Libya relations.
"What are we in Libya for? For what were we in the Syrian marsh? The
government has to take lessons from what happened in the Syrian marsh,"
Kilicdaroglu told daily Hürriyet in an interview on Dec. 16.
Kiliçdaroglu's warning came after Turkey and the United Nations-backed
Libyan government inked a memorandum of understanding on security and
defense cooperation which would constitute a legal framework for the
deployment of the Turkish troops in Libya.
The memorandum was approved at the Parliament's Foreign Affairs Commission
on Dec. 16, but the opposition parties voted against it on the grounds
that it would make Turkey a party to an ongoing civil war between the
two factions in the oil-rich country.
CHP officials expressed their support to another memorandum signed
between the two parties that provides the delimitation of the maritime
jurisdiction areas in the Mediterranean Sea. But they say they won't
approve sending troops to Libya as it would put the lives of the
Turkish soldiers in danger. The government needs to get the consent of
the parliament for the deployment of troops to other countries, and it
requires a simple majority.
(
)Upon questions, Kiliçdaroglu evaluated the current state of ties
between Turkey and the United States in the wake of the latter's attempts
to sanction Ankara for its unilateral military operations into Syria
and the former's threat to shut down U.S. bases on its soils.
"Our wish is to see the reconciliation of ties between Turkey and the
U.S.," he said, urging both sides to follow common sense and a mature
understanding. "Sanctions would lead to further strain in ties and to an
irreversible break-off. Both sides should refrain from it," he stressed.
On a question about whether Turkey should bar the US from using the key
military bases, Incirlik base and Kürecik radar site, in retaliation,
Kiliçdaroglu advised the government to engage in dialogue with Washington
instead of threatening it.
"Using this language in almost every incident is against the interests of
Turkey. Instead, an approach that prioritizes diplomacy through keeping
dialogue channels open should be embraced", Kilicdaroglu added.
"The two memoranda of understanding Turkey signed with Libya on Nov. 27
have already changed balances on both the eastern Mediterranean and the
Libyan civil war theaters.
The one on the delimitation of the maritime jurisdiction areas in the
Mediterranean has already been brought to the attention of the UN while
other littoral countries, as well as the European Union, slammed the
move as not complying with the Law of the Sea and cannot produce any
legal consequences for third parties, meaning Greece and Greek Cyprus
[Translator's note: RoC]. A discussion on its legal parameters will
likely go on in the coming period.
The other MoU between Turkey and Libya's Government of National Accord
(GNA) on defense and security cooperation was submitted to the Turkish
Parliament for the accomplishment of necessary legislative procedures
over the weekend although parliament is heavily busy with the 2020 budget.
The scope of the agreement has been outlined under article 4 of the
MoU. Training, consultancy, experience transfer, planning and material
support for the establishment of a Rapid Reaction Force covering police
and military responsibilities in Libya are among the fields the two
parties will cooperate in. If requested, establishing a joint Office
of Defense and Security Cooperation in each other's soils with enough
personnel and experts will also be possible. This item can be regarded
as the legal basis of Turkey's potential deployment of troops to Libya.
Allocation of naval, air and ground vehicles as well as weapons, executing
joint counter-terror operations, cooperation in the field of intelligence,
maritime law and exchange of military personnel constitute other areas
of cooperation envisaged by the bilateral agreement.
The agreement document gives the impression that the expenses that will
come out of the implementation of this deal will be covered by Turkey.
It is expected that the MoU will soon be ratified at the Parliament so
that it could enter into force as soon as possible.
The rush for this has reasons. From the Turkish strategic perspective,
it's of vital importance that the GNA under the leadership of Fayez
Mustafa al-Sarraj survives and keeps its power in Libya as the U.N.-backed
authority. At a time when the Tobruk-based Libyan National Army (LNA)
under the command of General Khalifa Haftar has intensified its military
campaign against the Tripoli-based al-Sarraj forces with the backing
of its international sponsors, including Russians and some major Arab
powers, Turkey sees that it has no time to lose.
Turkey's support for Libya's GNA has three important objectives: First,
the GNA under the leadership of al-Sarraj is Turkey's sole ally in the
entire Mediterranean basin. The importance of Turkey's political and
military investment into Libya could be better understood when thinking
of the growing alliance between Greece, Greek Cyprus [Translator's note:
RoC], Egypt and Israel at the expense of ignoring the rights of the
Turkish Cypriots and Turkey itself. A defeat of the GNA against the
Haftar forces would be a defeat of Turkey as well.
Related to this, the fate of the delimitation of maritime jurisdiction
agreement is also very much dependent on the continued presence of the GNA
in power. Therefore, the security and defense cooperation deal functions
in fact as the guardian of Turkey's rights in the Mediterranean Sea.
The third is about the historic relationship between the two countries
and the projected bilateral economic and energy partnership. Turkish
businesspersons have been in Libya for a long time and even at very
difficult times and it's only natural for Turkey to play its role in
line with its own interest.
According to the statements from the Turkish authorities, Turkey seems
to have the intention to deploy troops to Libya when requested from the
Tripoli government. Many in Ankara suggest that this deployment would be
limited to provide training and consultancy services to the GNA without
any combat mission. However, even this move would be seen as a violation
of existing U.N. Security Council resolutions on the arms embargo. Plus,
physical involvement in the Libyan civil war would make Turkey become
a party of the military conflict and put it under the spotlights of the
international community, unlike many others who are playing their cards
behind the scenes".
Over the last number of years, Turkish and European officials have been
carrying out talks focused on revising the 24-year-old customs union
agreed upon between both parties. Although talks have been stalled and
rocked by political tensions over the last three years, business circles
and officials from both sides still endeavor to maintain dialogue. Thanks
to this persistence, the latest round of negotiations is scheduled to
take place on Thursday, Dec. 19.
Turkey is the only non-European Union country with a customs union
agreement with the bloc. The deal was penned with the European Economic
Community (EEC), forerunner to the EU, in 1966. In its Dec. 21,
2016, assessment, the EU Commission proposed revamping the deal, which
currently only covers a limited range of industrial products and excludes
agriculture, public procurement and services. With the inclusion of
these sectors with third-party countries, bilateral trade between Turkey
and the EU is expected to reach $300 billion, a stalk increase from its
current level of $165 billion.
The updated Customs Union is expected to expand Turkey's gross domestic
product (GDP) by 2% by 2030, and bring about a 24.5% increase over
the normal rate of increase in total exports and a 23% increase over
imports. With the public procurement tenders available as a result of
an expanded version of the deal, Turkey aims to secure access to bids
in European countries and participate actively in the decision-making
processes. Talks are ongoing, however, and will cover a wide range of
issues, including the trade of agricultural produce and entrance of
second-hand automobiles to the country.
(
)
According to the findings of the investigation, Oguz contacted FETÖ's
so-called "secret imams" and communicated with them over the phone.
The mayor was transferred to a court on duty, where he was arrested.
Meanwhile, Ankara Anatolia news agency
(17.12.19-https://www.aa.com.tr/en/turkey/turkey-171-feto-terror-group-linked-suspects-arrested/1675690)
reports that the Turkish police arrested 171 suspects on Monday over
links to the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), the group behind
the 2016 defeated coup attempt, security sources said.
The arrests on charges of using ByLock, the terror group's encrypted
smartphone messaging app, came after prosecutors in the capital Ankara
issued arrest warrants for 260 suspects, including seven suspects
currently abroad, said the sources, who asked not to be named due to
restrictions on speaking to the media. Police continue the hunt for the
remaining suspects.
TURKISH AFFAIRS SECTION
(AK/ EH)
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