Cyprus PIO: Turkish Press and Other Media, 01-10-19

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

[A] NEWS ITEMS

[01] The British Foreign Secretary visited Turkey. Cyprus among the topics discussed.

[02] Suleyman Demirel: No need for referendum for early elections.

[03] Denktas ciriticizes the EU and the pseudogovernment.

[04] Denktas calls on the advocates to get into action on the Cyprus problem.

[05] Political pressure forces «KTHY» president to resign; efforts to bring electricity to the occupied areas from Turkey.

[06] Depositors of Kredi Bankasi demand punishment of Salih Boyaci.

[07] The depositors of PEYAK ask for support from the Unions.

[08] Zorlu Tore alleges that NATO and the EU apply double standards in Cyprus.

[09] The «Second International Thalassaemia Summer School and Conference» will be held in the occupied areas.

[10] Ozal Ziya was elected as the General Secretary of Communal Liberation Party.

[11] Izzet Izcan said that Denkats continues his partitionist policy.

[B] COMMENTS AND EDITORIALS

[12] How does the EU view Turkey?

[A] NEWS ITEMS

[01] The British Foreign Secretary visited Turkey. Cyprus among the topics discussed

``Turkey is our ally in the military coalition formed against the terrorist threat originated in Afghanistan,`` Straw said. Straw indicated that during his meetings with Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit, President Ahmet Necdet Sezer and Cem, he discussed humanitarian aid and ways to help the Afghan nation to reestablish their nation after security is maintained in this country.

Straw said European Security and Defense Policy and Cyprus were also topics of discussion in his contacts with Turkish government officials. He said his government was pleased about the ongoing constitutional changes in Turkey.

About the current situation in the Middle East, Straw said a majority of Turkish population were Muslim and Turkey was a secular country which had good relations with the Arab world as well as with Israel.

Cem, who also spoke at the conference, said they had a very constructive meeting and added that Turkish and British foreign ministries should have more frequent meetings about Afghanistan.

[02] Suleyman Demirel: No need for referendum for early elections

«Ninth president Suleyman Demirel said that Turkey should go to early elections without waiting a day longer, the Anatolia news agency reported yesterday. Demirel had visited the Davutpasa Campus of Yildiz Technical University and answered journalists' questions as he left. When asked what he thought of President Ahmet Necdet Sezer's call for a referendum, Demirel replied that President Sezer had the constitutional right to do this. "What we have now is the legal aspect to the whole thing. The political aspect is separate. There is also the matter of it being withdrawn, overturned, manipulated. In other words, how it is going to be run. These are the administrative aspects to it. Everything has its own way of being done. There are no legal errors here and as for the political aspects, I'm not arguing."

When asked whether the referendum was tantamount to a vote of confidence, Demirel replied, "What a vote of confidence means is quite clear; on the other hand, it is up to the government what they read into it. Naturally, if the public rejects the amendment proposal this would not bode well for those that issued it. However, whether or not the government treat this as a vote of confidence is up to them."

When reporters asked Demirel whether or not the referendum would lead to a general election, he replied, "That depends on how those who can decide on a general election perceive the matter." He went on: "There is no need for a referendum in order to have early elections. Turkey should go to the polls without wasting a single day more. When only 10 percent of the people support the government and 90 percent don't, what are those people in charge of the country waiting for?" He said that if a reason for early elections was being looked for, there were plenty to spare».

[03] Denktas criticizes the EU and the pseudogovernment

Mr. Denktas claimed also that the EU has already made up its mind and being afraid of the veto of Greece, it will accept Cyprus. Arguing that one more reason for EU's decision is the fact that Greece and Cyprus are Christian states, Mr. Denktas said:

"They think that they will be able to relieve their conscience and give Cyprus to Greece by taking decisions based on the opinion of 3-5 persons who are paid to publish their lies in the newspapers and say that 'Denktas is finished, the Turkish Cypriots do not want Turkey any more'. They tell us 'we are going to give it, we do not listen to you'. If you don't listen to me, then I will not listen to you. Give as much as you can. What is going to happen with this country afterwards? What is going to happen with the relations between Turkey and Greece, between Turkey and the EU? If you light a fire for the sake of 700 thousand Greek Cypriot supporters of EOKA without taking all these into consideration, then you will suffer the consequences.Our future is in safe hands. Let no one worry. Turkey is the guarantee of TRNC as well as of the whole of Cyprus.".

Furthermore, referring to the economic situation in the pseudostate, Mr. Denktas noted that people are in a very difficult position and asked for the postponement of some payments and the annulment of the bankruptcy cases in the "courts". Doing these actions do not demand any money, said Mr. Denktas wondering where the pseudogovernment is.

[04] Denktas calls on the advocates to get into action on the Cyprus problem

Talking during a meeting with four members of the Magazine Publication Committee of the Nicosia Bar, Mr. Denktas claimed that the fact that the government of the Republic of Cyprus declares that it is the legal government of Cyprus constitutes a violation of the law and added that the duty of the lawyers and their Bar is to explain to the world the legal aspects of the issue.

During the meeting, Enver Ozturk, the president of the Bar, gave Mr. Denktas the magazine published by the lawyers.

[05] Political pressure forces "KTHY" president to resign; efforts to bring electricity to the occupied areas from Turkey

Talking at a press conference Mr. Ozel noted that on 23 July 1997, when he was appointed to the presidency of "KTHY", the company owed 300 million US dollars, whereas now it owes nothing. In addition, within the first seven months of 2001 it made a profit of about 14.8 million dollars.

Three of the five members of the "KTHY" administrative council are appointed by Turkish Airlines and are mainland Turks.

Furthermore, Mr. Ozel referred to his plans as a businessman and said that he would continue his investments in the pseudostate. He noted that he is exerting efforts to bring electricity to the occupied areas from Turkey. In order to achieve this, said Mr. Ozel, he is co-operating with one of the biggest companies of the world and they made their suggestions to the "authorities" on the basis of the Built - Operate - Transfer (B.O.T) model.

When they finish this project, concluded Mr. Ozel, the price of the production of electricity will fall from 10 cent per kilowatt to 6 cent in the beginning and afterwards to 2 cent.

[06] Depositors of Kredi Bankasi demand punishment of Salih Boyaci

Mr. Aroglu accused Mr. Boyaci, who is Serdar Denktas' father-in-law, of stealing 60 million pounds sterling and noted, among other things, the following:

"Attorney general, Akin Sait said very calmly that the police report about Kredi Bankasi is not ready, despite the fact that 18 months passed. Is this not a scandal? Who must be ashamed for this? Why a person who has stolen 60 million pounds sterling is not arrested, while a person who steals a kilo of apples is arrested? .We the depositors are determined on two things: An exemplary punishment must be imposed on those who stole money and all depositors to be paid until the last cent.".

Meanwhile, commenting on the issue Sener Levent, editor of "Avrupa", writes that the so-called "police" must take an order form the General Staff in Ankara to continue with the investigations, as the issue concerns the Denktas family.

[07] The depositors of PEYAK ask for support from the Unions

Suleyman Guclu, president of the administrative council of the PEYAK Depositors Association, said that for over a year they are struggling to take their money and accused the pseudogovernment of committing a crime because it has not secured money to pay the depositors. Mr. Guclu noted that they are fed up with the declarations of the pseudogovernment that "our search for money continues".

[08] Zorlu Tore alleges that NATO and the EU apply double standards in Cyprus

[09] The "Second International Thalassaemia Summer School and Conference" will be held in the occupied areas

The Chairman of Thalassaemia Association, Mustafa Yalyali, visited yesterday the so-called Tourism and Environment Minister Serdar Denktas in order to inform him of the conference. During the meeting, Yalyali stressed that this conference will contribute to the promotion of the occupied areas.

[10] Ozal Ziya was elected as the General Secretary of Communal Liberation Party

In a short statement after his election Ziya said that as an opposition party they would struggle to overcome the economic, social and political problems of the pseudostate.

[11] Izzet Izcan said that Denkats continues his partitionist policy

Izcan pointed out that Denktas insists on his partitionist policy as a reaction to Cyprus application to the EU. Izcan stressed that he is against everything Denktas said at that meeting.

"Only a federal, bi-communal, bi-zonal solution that will safeguard the security of both communities and will lead to the unification of Cyprus is accepted", Izcan said.

[B] COMMENTS AND EDITORIALS

[12] How does the EU view Turkey?

«The Sept. 11 incident has changed everything.

International relations are reshaping. From now on nothing will be the way it was on Sept. 10. No one knows yet where we are heading or what kind of order will be established. These days everybody is writing scenarios. Everybody is involved in a quest.

In the course of all these developments the topic that I am most curious about is whether Turkey's relations with Europe will undergo a change because of Sept. 11. I wonder whether the way the European Union looks at Turkey will be different than in the past. Will everything be as it was in the past? What direction will the value judgements take? For example, will the EU stance on such issues as human rights and democracy in Turkey remain the same?

The main reason I am in Brussels is the inauguration session of the "Europe-Turkey Foundation" established by Nihat Akyol, the Turkish ambassador to the EU.

I too was invited, obviously because I have been following Turkey's relations with the EU and written a book entitled, "Turkey's European Adventure."

The top EU officials attended the inauguration. For the first time I witnessed a meeting where those Europeans who attach importance to Turkey-EU relations attended in such great numbers. Until now no such activity has been carried out. In the past the Turkey-EU relationship was carried out entirely on a state-to-state basis or between Ankara and the EU Commission. The non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and the private sector have started joining the loop only in recent years.

Nihat Akyol made a move to further expand this approach and, truly, he has succeeded.

During the coming days I will try to explain to you how Europe's approach has -- or will have -- changed.

The only thing I can say at this stage is that there are signs indicating that Turkey-EU relations will undergo a significant change.

The Europeans have not fully grasped the change Sept. 11 has triggered in America.

At a time of such confusion, a time when we hardly know what kind of world we will be faced with in the future, a wide variety of views are being expressed about how Turkey's position can change. I will try to relay to you these views.

I can say this much... In the aftermath of Sept. 11 Turkey is once again being put on the agenda. The outcome may be positive or negative. One thing is sure, though. Once again attention is starting to focus on Turkey. Let us not exaggerate. Turkey is not the center of the world. On the other hand, Turkey does tend to become a country that merits more attention. There is a difference between the authorities and the European Parliament on what kind of approach must be taken towards Turkey. However, despite everything, Turkey is not a country that can be ignored.

Well, where do we go from here? Should Turkey make more extensive use of the "strategic importance" card it holds in its hands? Or should it do exactly the opposite?

If you are curious to know how the EU is assessing Turkey's strategic importance, let us meet in this column once again. This is because I have come across interesting clues.

It seems that Europe has already started questioning its own position, some of its old value judgements».

KV/SK

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