Cyprus PIO: Turkish Press and Other Media, 02-03-14

Cyprus Press and Information Office: Turkish Cypriot Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next Article

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

[A] NEWS ITEMS

[01] The Turkish Cypriot leader insists that the illegal settlers will stay in the houses and properties of the Greek Cypriots. He says that Karen Fogg/s days in Turkey are numbered.

[02] HURRIYET/s correspondent in the occupied areas alleges that the British Bases in Cyprus will be used against Iraq.

[03] The pseudo-state is upset by the Cyprus Republic's arming in order to defend itself from the massive presence of Turkish occupation troops in the island.

[04] ORTAM: "To how many persons was given citizenship".

[05] 90 million dollars for a university campus in occupied Morphou.

[06] Talat says the pseudo-state is an illegal state.

[07] AFRIKA: "Affected bank depositors say: this time we will go over the barricades".

[08] Strong reactions against the "passport law".

[A] NEWS ITEMS

[01] The Turkish Cypriot leader insists that the illegal settlers will stay in the houses and properties of the Greek Cypriots. He says that Karen Fogg/s days in Turkey are numbered

Denktas met today with a committee of the Turkish Union [Turk Birligi, Turk Bir] Cultural Association headed by Erhan Arikli. Denktas said at the meeting: "We derive our force from our motherland and from our people".

He stressed that nobody can interfere in the persons who came from Turkey and settled in the occupied areas because those persons are citizens of the pseudostate. He said: "Nobody can interfere in our citizens or send them away from their homes and from their land".

Denktas charged that it is the Greek Cypriot side that turns these issues into a problem, adding: "There are difficulties. It is not that these difficulties have been eliminated. We are doing and we will do all we can to eliminate the difficulties."

He reiterated that an agreement will not be signed unless agreement is reached on all the issues.

Mr Rauf Denktas further charged that Karen Fogg, the EU representative in Turkey, paid reporters to write articles and reports undermining him. He asked: "What does the EU want to achieve by doing this? How can they undermine our people? I am the representative of these people".

Denktas alleged that reports and articles undermining him appear both in the Turkish and in the Turkish Cypriot press. The aims of these reports and articles are obvious, he said, adding: "I have never seen such diplomacy or such a diplomat. It is natural to want to get information and to resort to all kinds of ways to get information, but I have never seen a diplomat who tried to create opposing fronts within a country, who tried to undermine that country's national cause, or who would pay money and commit treason in order to undermine an elected person. Surely, her days in Turkey are numbered".

Denktas said that he considers Karen Fogg as a person who damaged the relations between Turkey and the EU extensively. He warned that similar moves will be made in the future too with a view to dividing the two peoples.

Denktas charged that the EU is trying to quickly admit Cyprus as a member only in order to serve its own interests. The Turkish Cypriots are aware of these games, Denktas said, and he called on the EU to stop behaving unfairly. We need to defend our basic rights, he said, and while defending our rights, we took every step that was called for. The Greek Cypriots wanted to join the EU with one voice. We took a huge step and accepted that. The rest concerns our security and future. They must all show understanding for that.

[02] HURRIYET/s correspondent in the occupied areas alleges that the British Bases in Cyprus will be used against Iraq

"US Vice President Cheney, on a tour of 12 countries including Turkey to discuss Iraq, has announced that no decision will be made during the tour. During Cheney's talks with Britain's Prime Minister Blair in London yesterday, it was disclosed that Britain had taken the decision to make its Sovereign Base Areas in southern Cyprus advanced operation centres. It is now being said that Iraq will be attacked from these bases.

While Vice President Cheney was setting off on a 10-day tour to discuss operation plans for Iraq, Britain took the decision to turn its two bases on Cyprus into advanced operation centres. This new arrangement concerning the bases, which received logistic aid and were used as transit points for units participating in earlier operations in the region, has been interpreted as meaning the Iraq operation will be staged from Cyprus.

John Reith -- the commander of the Joint Operations Permanent Headquarters in Northwood, Britain -- went to Akrotiri and Dekhelia on Cyprus to inspect them. Being one of the three guarantors on Cyprus, when Britain withdrew from the island in 1960 it received two Sovereign Base Area totaling 280 square kilometers. The Dekhelia and Akrotiri bases are near the ports of Larnaca and Limasol and acted as staging points during the Gulf War.

Sub-title: No Decision

Cheney announced that no decision regarding Iraq would be made during the 10-day "Topple Saddam Tour". Cheney is due to come to Turkey on 19 March. After his meeting with Britain's Prime Minister Tony Blair yesterday, the two leaders held a joint press conference. Cheney said that during the tour only the matter of the threat posed by weapons of mass destruction [WMD] and future likelihoods would be discussed. "America is not going to make any decisive statements during this time," he said. Blair also said that no decision was made but that there was no doubt Saddam Hussein used WMDs against his own people. Blair said they would continue discussing the Iraq question during his visit to President George W. Bush on his ranch in Texas.

[03] The pseudostate is upset by the Cyprus Republic/s arming in order to defend itself from the massive presence of Turkish occupation troops in the island

The statement further alleged that the fact that the Republic of Cyprus bought attack helicopters from Russia and made anti-Turkish statements at the signing of the military and technical cooperation agreement with Armenia during Armenian Defense Minister Serj Sarkisyan's visit raises doubts as to whether the Greek Cypriot side is serious about a lasting conciliation.

Noting that these initiatives prove to the world that the Greek- Greek Cypriot's armament efforts and military activities are increasingly continuing within the framework of the joint military doctrine, the statement said that that this situation gives rise to the question of what the real intention of the Greek Cypriot side is.

The statement of the pseudo-Foreign Ministry continued: "It is evident that the irresponsible and adventurous stance of the Greek-Greek Cypriot duo within the scope of the joint military doctrine will have a negative reflection not only on the direct talks but also on the sensitive balances in the eastern Mediterranean region".

[04] ORTAM: ''To how many persons was given citizenship''

The paper further adds that students holding Turkish citizenship, in order to benefit from the low tuition fees applied to the Turkish Cypriot students studying in the so-called universities in the occupied area, use every means to acquire the so-called ''TRNC citizenship''and as a result of this there was a boom in the number of Turkish students studying in the occupied area.

Quoting reliable sources the paper says that each week scores of people were given ''TRNC'' citizenship. The paper then ask the occupation regime to disclose the number of people to whom ''TRNC citizenship was given'' in the first 2.5 months of this year.

[05] 90 million dollars for a university campus in occupied Morphou

Talking at the presentation, Turkey's so-called ambassador, Hayati Guven said that the campus, the building of which started this year, will take an area of 303 hectares and is expected to be completed in 2007. The first students will be accepted in 2003.

Talking at the ceremony, the Turkish Cypriot leader, Rauf Denktas noted that the project would contribute to the economic development of the region and create job opportunity for many people.

Furthermore, the so-called Prime Minster, Dervish Eroglu, expressed his satisfaction because this project was approved by the Turkish Grand National Assembly and added that the campus is being built in a region for which there are fears that it is going to be returned to the Greek Cypriots. With this campus the concerns are addressed, he claimed.

[06] Talat says the pseudostate is an illegal state

The paper argues that the statement of Mr Talat, who was talking yesterday to Sinasi Basaran on Akdeniz FM radio, constitutes a crime.

VOLKAN writes that Mr Talat said that even if in Turkey there is some law, in the pseudostate it is proved that there is absolutely no law. Such situations could be seen only in the illegal states, added the Turkish Cypriot politician who noted that the pseudostate "has the appearance of an illegal state".

[07] AFRIKA: ''Affected bank depositors say: this time we will go over the barricades''

The "Association of Affected Bank Depositors'' in a statement yesterday warned against such measure and said:' Those in the past who expressed the view that it would be wrong to hold protest rally at the Ledra Palace check point with a view to carrying this issue on to the international forums-who in fact precluded such protest meeting-should know that this time neither they nor other people would be able to stop the affected bank depositors from crossing of all the borders and check points.

People reached to their wits/ end, they have reached to their limit. In fact no one thinks about the TRNC nor its people.''

Strong reactions against the so-called passport law

YENIDUZEN (14/3/02) reports that the "draft law on punishment", known as the "passport law" was approved by the so-called Law and Political Affairs Committee of the pseudo-assembly after intensive pressure of the National Union Party (NUP) and Democrat Party (DP) political parties .

The representative of the Communal Liberation Party (CLP) at the committee, Dervis Akter did not appear at the committee and just made a statement: "We do not know what will happen during the day". Despite the efforts of the representative of the Republican Turkish Party (RTP), Kadri Fellahoglu, to withdraw the "draft law", the "draft law" was approved by the votes of NUP-DP.

Although representatives from the so-called Foreign and Defence Ministry, the Union of Lawyers, the Chamber of Commerce and the Turkish Cypriot State Employees (KAMU-IS) were called to express their opinions, did not show up. On the other hand, the representatives of the Turkish Cypriot Public Servants Trade Union (KTAMS), Turkish Cypriot Higher Education Teachers Trade Union (KTOEOS), the Turkish Cypriot Federation of Labour Unions (Turk-Sen), the Association of Human Rights and the Association of Rights and Freedoms were present at the meeting of the committee and they were against the "draft law".

Erdogan Sorakin, on behalf of the Administrative Council of the Turkish Cypriots Teachers Union (KTOS), made yesterday the following announcement regarding the "passport law":

"While the current talks are continuing in order to find a solution to the Cyprus problem, which is gaining an international dimension, and our hopes for a solution are at the maximum level, the sovereign forces that control our country are trying to lift the granted rights of the Turkish Cypriots.

The Turkish Cypriots, like the Greek Cypriots, are the founding partners with equal political status of the Cyprus Republic (which was established in 1960) and accepted by the international law. It is the right of the Turkish Cypriots to benefit from all rights provided by the Republic and its constitution to the founding partners (such as Cyprus pound, identity, passport, etc). We have realised the mistake when the use of Cyprus pound was forbidden."

The Secretary of the Patriotic Union Movement, Rasih Keskiner criticised the "passport law" and said that with such applications they try to put under pressure the Turkish Cypriots and to prevent them from becoming EU citizens. Finally, he stressed that every Turkish Cypriot has the right, which emanates form the Constitution of 1960 to hold a passport of the Cyprus Republic.

KV/SK

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