Cyprus PIO: Turkish Cypriot Press and Other Media, 00-07-26

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

TURKISH CYPRIOT PRESS AND OTHER MEDIA

No. 141/00 -- 26.7.00

[A] NEWS ITEMS

[01] Denktash says proximity talks going well.

[02] 8 people standing "trial" for storming "parliament" remanded for one day.

[03] Hasipoglu on depositors/ demonstration.

[04] "Security Forces" commander on events in pseudostate.

[B] COMMENTS AND EDITORIALS

[05] Sener Levent on depositors/ demonstration.

[07] AVRUPA sees Ozeyranli revenging against Turkish Cypriots.

[A] NEWS ITEMS

[01] Denktash says proximity talks going well

Addressing journalists following his meeting with Alvaro de Soto, the Special Representative of United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan to Cyprus, Denktash said, "they listened to us and invited to talks again. We do not know when we will hold talks again."

[02] 8 people standing "trial" for storming "parliament" remanded for one day

The detainees are being accused of storming the "parliament" building, breaking doors and windows and damaging "state" properties.

The "prosecutor" requested extension of their detention period for one more day till damage assessment works are finalized.

[03] Hasipoglu on depositors/ demonstration

Stating that the majority of those who participated in the incidents were administrators of leftist parties and not depositors, Hasipoglu added that some 1,500-2,000 persons participated in the protest demonstration. Hasipoglu said that the doors to the protocol and visitors entrance were broken down during the protest and that the demonstrators occupied the whole of the "assembly".

Hasipoglu continued: "The police forces intervened because the demonstrators insisted on not leaving the assembly building, and seven persons were detained". Noting that the "policemen" were forced to use tear gas and sound bombs in order to disperse the demonstrators, who did not heed the warning to disperse, Hasipoglu said the demonstrators were dispersed after pressurized water was used against them. He added that the "police" had never felt the need to break up demonstrations for the past 26 years because there was no violence involved. "For the first time, the security forces command had to adopt a clear cut stand and display determination. In this way, the incidents were put under control before they grew out of control, those who were guilty were detained, and the incidents were put down after bad-intentioned groups were dispersed", he said and further claimed:

"It was determined that the depositors/ demonstration was organized and provoked by anti-state and pro-Greek Cypriot persons and party administrators and institutions, organizations, and labour unions belonging to these circles. It is being assessed that the aim of the provocateurs in question could be to carry out actions against the Turkish Embassy, the Prime Ministry/s Office, and the Finance Ministry immediately after occupying and destroying the Assembly. It is being assessed that the demonstrators could have planned to plunder shops and in this way try to show that the state is in a weakened condition". Hasipoglu said that this assessment was made within the framework of the intelligence reports received.

In reply to reporters/ questions, Hasipoglu said that he agrees with the expression "pro-Greek Cypriot organizations" used in the intelligence reports and added: "There is no other justification in provoking such actions during the negotiation process".

In reply to a question on "police" reports describing certain political parties as pro-Greek Cypriot, Hasipoglu recalled that expressions such as Cyprus is under occupation and Turkey is a colonialist belong to the Greek and the Greek Cypriots. "The pro-Greek Cypriots mentioned in the report are those who use the above expressions", he said.

[04] "Security Forces" commander on events in pseudostate

"Cyprus is boiling. According to some, the spying uproar in recent days was simply the open manifestation of the paralysis of an unsuccessful government that has depleted the local resources. The disagreement between the Prime Minister (Dervis Eroglu) and the President (Rauf Denktash) in an island (northern Cyprus) with a population of 200,000 , the disappearance of billions of liras of deposits with the collapse of six banks, talk of rampant bribery among state officials, economic packages serving no development purpose, the unchecked incitement of distinction between the (Turkish) Cypriots and Turks (from Turkey), the fears of thousands of people that live on assistance from the Motherland (Turkey), the increasingly politicized state institutions, the searing heat, and a South Cyprus progressing on the EU path are all the present day realities of Cyprus.

The anti-Turkey movement being nurtured here in recent years in this prolonged murky climate prompted no one to action on time. And when the Brigadier General, serving here as the commander of the island/s Security Forces for the last 22 months, finally exploded he came under attack from various quarters at this crucial time when a troubled Cyprus is being moved out of the Mediterranean into Europe.

The manifestation of the crisis in the form of `spying case/ has perturbed everybody on the island.

From the time I left Tymbou Airport under the searing heat of July, I heard nothing but deep sigh of despondency from all those whom I ventured to ask about their welfare. `We trust no one any more/, said the islanders, adding: ` We just came out of the elections. Corruption was the only winner at that election. Those who occupied positions to render services are actually lining their pockets and the pockets of their wives and daughters. All the investments belong to the families of the politicians. The President and the Prime Minister are at loggerheads. It seems we have fought for nothing on the mountains. It was the state that sank the banks and destroyed the island. The people are emotionally drained. Should this have been our fate 20 years on?/

Turenc then says when he asked him to comment on the sentiments expressed by the ordinary people, "Security Forces" Commander Brig. Gen. A. Nihat Ozeyranli, the man at the center of storm, was not very forthcoming to talk with the "lawsuit" (against AVRUPA journalists) still in progress. While sharing the people/s irritation, he was annoyed for having become a side in this disturbing event in the last month of his term of office.

"The Commander simply could not stand anymore the publications that said:

`The Turkish Cypriots are being annihilated. The Turkish General Staff has launched a terror operation in the TRNC to crush the Cypriot patriots. The people targeted are being detained on the pretext of silencing AVRUPA or on false charges of spying. Avoid the wicked commander. The General Staff is sabotaging peace on the island/. And when he did speak out, what he said fell like a bombshell over the island", Turenc says. Rauf Denktash rushed to his help, whereas "prime minister" Dervis Eroglu remained silent, something that did not escape attention, Turenc adds.

Turenc further says that Brig. Gen. A. Nihat Ozeyranli, in conversing on the Cyprus issue with him on the Kyrenia Range, claimed: "These lands are our homeland. I am a Turk. We have historic rights over these lands". Turenc says that when Ozeyranli saw the opposition calling him to "go back to Sanliurfa" (his hometown in Turkey), he responded claiming: "This is part of the psychological warfare. They cannot say what a general from Sanliurfa is doing here. The Turks have been protecting these lands for the last 430 years. We have struggled for 26 years for the sake of our martyrs. I have rights that spring from history. I am a Turk and this place is my homeland".

[B] COMMENTS AND EDITORIALS

[05] Sener Levent on depositors/ demonstration

"When did we last see all these things?

These truncheons, these shields, these gas masks...

The men who drive police vehicles over the people...

Those people who kick elderly women after dragging them on the ground... Those who beat up journalists who are carrying out their duties... These police cordons, these rapid reaction forces...

These tear gas bombs that cause blindness...

This violence and savagery...

When did we last see all these things?

Did we last see these things on 27-28 January 1958?

No, the incidents that took place yesterday were much worse than the incidents that took place on 27-28 January 1958. Even the commandos of the British governor were not as cruel as the rapid reaction forces of Ali Nihat Ozeyranli and Erdem Demirbag.(so-called chief of "police": Tr. Note).

Those who did not witness yesterday/s incidents cannot realize the severity of the situation... The incidents were more terrifying than they appeared in the newspapers or on television screens yesterday. Tear gas bombs were exploding one after another. The street in front of the parliament building turned into a war zone. The police were holding people by their throats, hurling them into minibuses, and taking them to the police stations. Female citizens were being dragged on the ground. It looked as if a mass annihilation was in process.

Whence did the orders come, Erdem Bey? The order again came from high places, did it not? Is this an order issued after a dinner on Yilan Island?

Rauf Denktash, Ali Nihat Ozeyranli, you, and Dervis Eroglu - who, although he does not sit at the same table with you, is always with you in his heart - are all the same... There is no difference whatsoever among you. You created this hell on this paradise as if you have made a sacred agreement among yourselves for this purpose... You consumed the people in a fire, and then you danced around the flames... Is there any difference between your dance and the dance of the evil spirits?

You, the Prime Minister, Ministers, and honourable MPs, hid yourselves in your lair! You did not even dare to look through the windows of the parliament building! While you were sitting inside the parliament hall, people outside the parliament building were being subjected to beatings with truncheons...

Do you now dare to look at the face of the citizens? Hey Dervis Eroglu, hey Mustafa Akinci, how are you going to face your conscience now? In the beginning, you stole the money of the citizens from the banks... Thereafter you hurled bombs at them! How is this possible?

You are now lamenting that the citizens caused damage to the property in the parliament building... You are exerting every effort to clear yourselves of any fault by blaming others for every kind of problems...

Do you think that these people do not know how to seek for their rights? Hey efendis, these depositors referred to you for the umpteenth time in a civilized manner asking you to solve their problems. However, you made fun of these citizens. What did you expect them to do now?

While I was writing these lines, the tension of a July night was prevailing outside... The police were raiding houses, arresting people, and taking them to jail. I also was thrown into one of those cells. Fifteen people cannot fit into 11 of those cells. However, at this moment there are about 200 citizens in those cells. These people are among the most enlightened citizens of our community...

All these are in vain, o hawks... You are not aware of it, but this is a law of nature... Whatever comes out of the bottle does not go back into it any more! This nation will not bow before you any more!"

[84] AVRUPA sees Ozeyranli revenging against Turkish Cypriots

The Rapid Reaction Unit yesterday crushed our people, including the elderly and the children, upon orders issued by Ali Nihat Ozeyranli. In this way, Ozeyranli revenged against that great meeting organized at the Kyrenia Gate.

The number of citizens arrested following yesterday/s incidents has exceeded 200. All the members of unions were arrested and thrown behind bars. Hundreds of citizens were crammed into the poorly ventilated cells of Sarayonu police station that is fit to accept not more than 15 people.

The following officials were among the arrested citizens: KTOS Chairman Mehmet Suleymanoglu, Turk-Sen Chairman Onder Konuloglu, KTOEOS Chairman Ahmet Barcin, Dev-Is Chairman Ali Gulle, KTAMS Chairman Ali Seylani, and YBH (Patriotic Unity Movement) General Secretary Izzet Izcan.

Our writers Kubilay Ozkirac and Salih Taskin were also arrested.

The police violence reached its extreme during yesterday/s demonstrations. The gas bombs used during the incidents turned the area into a war zone. A large number of our citizens were wounded and their blood was spilt. The police, who beat up the demonstrators with truncheons, even dragged young girls and female citizens on the ground.

While citizens were being beaten up on the streets, MPs stayed inside the parliament hall and did not dare to come out of the building. UBP (National Unity Party) Leader Dervis Eroglu and TKP (Communal Liberation Party) Leader Mustafa Akinci attracted reaction and anger from the people for calling the incidents a provocation.

Journalists have also got their share of the violence that erupted in response to orders issued by Brigadier-General Ali Nihat Ozeyranli. The police have also beaten up Hasan Karaokcu, Nezire Gurkan, Selda Icer, Ayse Tasseven, Huseyin Gursan, Harun Ucar, and Kaya Emiroglu. Meanwhile, the police have arrested TAK (Turkish Cypriot News Agency) reporter Hasan Canpolat after beating him up. By some strange coincidence, such incidents erupt when Dentkash is out of the country".

From the Republic of Cyprus Press and Information Office (PIO) Server at http://www.pio.gov.cy/

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