Cyprus PIO: Turkish Press and Other Media, 03-04-15

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

[A] NEWS ITEMS

[01] RADIKAL reports that Turkey will walk out of the signing ceremony of the Accession Treaty.

[02] Turkish Cypriot journalists will cover the signing ceremony of the Accession of the Republic of Cyprus to the EU in Athens.

[03] The director of Wakf Administration demands that the occupied Varosha area be given to the foundation.

[04] PUM will celebrate the signing of the Republic of Cyprus' accession agreement to the EU.

[B] COMMENTARIES, EDITORIALS AND ANALYSIS

[05] AFRIKA criticizes Turkey's policy on Cyprus and supports that Abdullah Gul is ashamed of it and that is why he will reportedly abandon the room where the signing of the accession agreement will take place.

[06] Mehmet Ali Birand assesses General Ozkok's position on Cyprus and other issues.

[07] KIBRISLI: The two-headed Turkish foreign policy on Cyprus is going on.

[A] NEWS ITEMS

[01] RADIKAL reports that Turkey will walk out of the signing ceremony of the Accession Treaty

The paper reports that the Turkish delegation will resort to this step in order not to applause the membership of Cyprus and demonstrate its protest.

However, RADIKAL reports that Turkey is more worried about the word "Republic of Cyprus" in the Cyprus protocol to be attached to the Accession Treaty than attending the meeting and creating the impression that it recognizes the Republic. The paper reports that Turkey believes that the name "Republic of Cyprus" will render the Cyprus problem and EU-Turkish relations more complicated.

[02] Turkish Cypriot journalists will cover the signing ceremony of the Accession of the Republic of Cyprus to the EU in Athens

KIBRISLI newspaper will be represented by journalists Kartal Harman and Harun Denizkan, who will also report for local TV station Genc TV.

KIBRIS Media Group, which owns KIBRIS newspaper, KIBRIS FM Radio and KIBRIS TV, will be represented by its Chief Editor Suleyman Erguclu, ORTAM by its columnist Hasan Kahvecioglu and YENIDUZEN and SIM FM by the journalist Sami Ozuslu.

[03] The director of Wakf Administration demands that the occupied Varosha area be given to the foundation

Mr Dervis noted that in Varosha there are tourist installations of about 10 thousand -bed capacity and added that five thousand new working places could be created there. This, he continued, could increase the per capita income of the puppet regime in US dollars by up to 50 %.

Furthermore, Mr Dervis claimed that during the British colonial administration the Wakf foundation had lost approximately 500 billion sterling pounds. Mr Dervis argued that this money too should be returned to the Turkish Cypriots.

[04] PUM will celebrate the signing of the Republic of Cyprus' accession agreement to the EU

In a written statement issued yesterday, PUM calls on everybody to attend the celebration and says: "Now the red passport is a reality. We are citizens of Europe. Come, let us celebrate all together".

[B] COMMENTARIES, EDITORIALS AND ANALYSIS

[05] AFRIKA criticizes Turkey's policy on Cyprus and supports that Abdullah Gul is ashamed of it and that is why he will reportedly abandon the room where the signing of the accession agreement will take place

Under the title "It must be because he is ashamed", the paper writes the following:

"Tomorrow in Athens ten countries will be officially accepted into the EU. Turkey's Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdullah Gul too will attend this ceremony. Only, they say that during the signing ceremony he will abandon the room. He will do this in order not to applaud. Not to applaud the fact that the Republic of Cyprus is accepted into the EU. Is he not right? He is.

Turkey, which using its guarantee rights landed its army onto the island in 1974 to restore the constitutional order, did nothing since then to restore the constitutional order. On the contrary, it did everything it could to burry the Republic of Cyprus in history. It divided Cyprus in two. It committed a war crime by bringing into the island a 30-thousand strong army and more than 100 thousand civilians. Its efforts had no result. It has nothing in its hands. In any case, Gul will be forced to abandon the room, not because he opposes the Republic of Cyprus' accession to the EU, but because he is ashamed because Turkey did not fulfill its guarantee rights for 29 years".

In another column, Mehmet Levent writes in AFRIKA that Turkey has been cornered because of its policy on Cyprus and adds, inter alia, the following:

".Turkey will be forced to recognize the Republic of Cyprus which it has not been recognizing for 29 years, and which the whole world recognizes. Therefore, it is searching for a way out. Firstly it announced that it would participate in the ceremony with its Minister of Foreign Affairs and not its Prime Minister. As if in case the Foreign Affairs Minister goes, this does not mean that it recognizes the Republic of Cyprus! It is trying to console itself, the poor one. Afterwards, it saw that it would not be consoled with this absurd action and thought of another absurd action! .They said that Abdullah Gul would abandon the room when the signing ceremony begins, to avoid applauding!!! They said that this would mean that they do not recognize the Republic of Cyprus!!! Are you laughing or crying? What a situation they have led Turkey to?! Is this how you are a respectable state? Is this how you are a serious statesman? .".

[06] Mehmet Ali Birand assesses General Ozkok's position on Cyprus and other issues

The commentary is as follows:

"Since the day he took office Chief of Staff Gen. Hilmi Ozkok has adopted a certain approach which is quite different than that of his predecessors, especially than that of Kivrikoglu.

He does not appear on TV much. He does not speak out unless he has to. He does not want his headquarters to speak up either.

When he spoke up after Parliament rejected the troop deployment motion, he came to be criticized by various circles who said, "He spoke up too late."

Yet, I think this can be seen as a sign attesting to Ozkok's basic line. His approach boils down to the following: Politicians must take responsibility for their own actions. They must not hide behind the military whenever they find themselves in a bind.

In fact, last weekend he told members of Parliament's Defense Committee, "Take a political decision and we will do our share of the duty."

Subtitle: The way he views Cyprus, Iraq and relations with USA

Those officials who took part in the summit meetings and heard the chief of staff speak, point out that -- unlike the president and some other commanders -- Gen. Ozkok has never taken a rigid or final stance against Kofi Annan's Cyprus Plan though he saw the hazards of the plan and dwelt on these.

He has seen the plan as a "lesser evil" and, displaying a flexible stance, he preferred to let the politicians take a decision.

On Northern Iraq and on Turkey's relations with the USA -- as far as I am told by the diplomats and politicians who heard him speak on these issues -- he takes far greater care about Turkey's strategic position and long-term interests.

He has seen that any step we would take in Northern Iraq would have ramifications on the Kurdish problem in our own country and he has tried to take his steps accordingly.

Though -- as all the other soldiers -- he has been highly sensitized on the basic principles of the Republic, especially on the principle of secularism, he does not give the impression that he believes that the JDP, for example, should be suppressed wherever it gets to be seen or that one should have an adverse reaction to every move the JDP makes.

He gives the impression that he would rather see the JDP kept under surveillance as long as the latter remains within the boundaries of the Republic's basic principles, that one should have an adverse reaction only when "required".

Obviously he believes that problems should be solved with a rational approach, by seeking a consensus, and not by way of fighting, coercion or impositions.

Here are the key words Ozkok has uttered: You take the political decision and we will do whatever that requires.

However, this does not mean that the Turkish Armed Forces has no "red lines". What Gen. Ozkok has said does not mean that the kind of decisions that would go against the country's national interests would be implemented as well.

Generally speaking, politicians' indecision has created a "vacuum" in this country from time to time in the past. Whenever that happened the military entered the scene in order to fill the gap. And politicians condoned -- even encouraged -- that. Afterwards they tried to shun responsibility by saying, "What could we do? The military did not want that."

I may be wrong but I do have the impression that Gen. Ozkok wants politicians to shoulder their own responsibilities and take the decisions in their own sphere so that the Turkish Armed Forces can fulfil its own responsibilities. In other words he wants the system to gradually revert to "normal" .

For Turkey 2004 will be the European Union year.

It is as if Gen. Ozkok is trying to clear the mines on Turkey's EU path.

Subtitle: Relations with EU - It is no use fearing the inevitable Today's rendezvous between Turkey and the EU is extremely important. The meeting will take place in Luxembourg between EU term president, Greek FM Papandreou and Abdullah Gul -- at the "association council" level.

This meeting has a highly symbolic value. Tomorrow, in Athens the EU's -- probably last -- enlargement summit will be held. Agreements will be signed with the 10 countries joining the union and pledges will be made to the rest. Turkey is at the end of the list and is yet to receive a final pledge.

More importantly, Greek Cypriots will be a full member, representing the entire island in the eyes of the EU. Since Turkey does not officially recognize it Turkey will be forced to establish a relationship with the Greek Cypriot government -- or it will come under strain in its relations with the EU. So as not to be seen in that picture politically, Erdogan is sending Gul to Athens in his place. In reality nothing will change. It is useless to fear the inevitable. Turkey will have to choose between the EU and Cyprus. However, since politicians live day-by-day, Erdogan prefers to send Gul in his place, postponing the "inevitable" decision day for later".

[07] KIBRISLI: The two-headed Turkish foreign policy on Cyprus is going on

The paper writes that a new page will be opened in the Cyprus problem tomorrow and as a result of the agreements to be singed the whole of Cyprus will be accepted as part of the EU sovereign area, and adds:

"With the Accession Treaty not only Cyprus' membership will be officially registered but the defeat of the `non-solution is a solution' policy as well will be enlisted. Turkey, which will attend the signing ceremony as a candidate state, will silently bow to the agreements. the 16th of April will be inscribed in the annals of our history as the Black Day."

In a clear effort to maintain the balances and satisfy the feelings of both tendencies among the Turkish Cypriots, the paper goes on:

"The two-headed Turkish foreign policy on Cyprus is going on. The fact that Turkey, far from protesting the accession it is participating in the ceremony, shows that it does not adopt Denktas' crisis policy. Denktas expected that based on the 1960 agreements Erdogan would follow the "reaction without limits" policy designed during the Ecevit administration.

With the Security Council resolution the Annan plan will be again on the negotiation table and the solution will be sought on the basis of this plan. However, the Greek Cypriots have from now rejected all the privileges and deviations and declared that they would demand that it should comply with the EU laws.

Turkey does not adopt the crisis policy and does not react to the Accession in order not to jeopardize its relations with the EU. Turkey's determination for solution, on the one hand corners the non-solution supporters, and on the other, it puts new historic responsibilities on the shoulders of the leaders of the opposition to Denktas and to the crisis policies.

The Turkish Cypriots should put aside those enemies of the people who want to maintain the status quo and work in cooperation with Turkey in order to promote the self-determination policy. By organizing mass rallies our people should demand from the Greek Cypriots, from the UN, from the EU and from the USA our sovereignty and equality rights based on the right of self-determination.

Some circles, which are interested in nothing but preserving their privileges derived from the status quo, are struggling for the non-solution, while at the same time they put forward our equality and sovereignty rights. However, they have never really supported these rights. Now the people will defend its own rights".

/SK

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