Cyprus PIO: Turkish Press and Other Media, 03-11-19

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

[A] NEWS ITEMS

[01] Memhet Ali Talat plans to remove Denktas from negotiator if he wins the so-called elections.

[02] Reference to Cyprus by the Turkish Foreign Minister during a visit to Sweden.

[03] Norwegian observers are in the occupied areas for the ^Óelections^Ô.

[04] Mukhtars and village council members will also be elected on 14 December.

[05] The new administrative committee of the illegal Settlers^Ò Association stresses its connection with the pseudostate, Denktas and Turkey.

[A] NEWS ITEMS

[01] Memhet Ali Talat plans to remove Denktas from negotiator if he wins the so-called elections

Mr Mehmet Ali Talat, Chairman of the Republican Turkish Party - United Forces (RTP) in the statements he made to the MILLIYET newspaper prior to the so-called elections to be held on 14 December, emphasized that they are determined to remove Rauf Denktas from the position of head negotiator.

Talat said: "When we come to power, we will not make `President´ Denktas the negotiator", and in response to pressures that could come in an opposite direction from Turkey, he challenged Turkey with the statement: "Turkey is obliged to take us into consideration. It cannot force us to take a decision". Mehmet Ali Talat had said in his previous statements that he accepts the Annan Plan and spoke as follows:

^ÓWhen we come to power, Turkey is obliged to take us into consideration. Turkey will establish a dialogue with the will of the Turkish Cypriot people. We will not make `President´ Denktas the negotiator. Turkey cannot tell us to continue with `President´ Denktas as the negotiator. According to our `constitution´, the `government´ determines the negotiator.

When we come to power, we will remove `President´ Denktas from being the negotiator. Turkey cannot force us to take a decision. This is impossible. If Turkey wants, it can take `President´ Denktas as an adviser.

I cannot say anything about Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan coming to the `TRNC´. Probably everything is arranged according to the upcoming elections. But Prime Minister Erdogan did not express support for any side. Prime Minister Erdogan's coming to the `TRNC´ is interpreted as a 'welcome' to us.

The RPP [Republican People's Party] leader Deniz Baykal interfered in the elections. He made a statement at the `Presidential´ Residence. He asked for votes for the proponents of `President´ Denktas, just as `President´ Denktas would have done. It was as though `President´ Denktas spoke. Unfortunately, the initiative for interfering with the elections came from the Social Democrats, from Mr Baykal. No one should interfere in the elections.

Prime Minister Erdogan's promise, "We will never leave you alone", was said to the Turkish Cypriot people, not to `President´ Denktas. Even if he said it to `President´ Denktas, this is an official visit. Official statements are made at an official visit. What Prime Minister Erdogan said are official statements. I do not find the statements made by Prime Minister Erdogan to be strange.

`President´ Denktas thanked Prime Minister Erdogan for his speech. Even if `President´ Denktas were spattered with mud, he would say, "Thank God, it is raining". Consequently, the response of `President´ Denktas to the words criticizing him in the most open manner is to thank for it. He remains standing with foreign support. This support comes from the military wing and those who do not want the EU.

I said to Prime Minister Erdogan that it is necessary to solve the Cyprus problem for Turkey's EU process. I added that it is impossible to do this in the present-day conditions. I emphasized that the Cyprus problem could not be solved due to the political structure in the `TRNC´. But I said that a suitable political structure would be formed for this after the 14 December elections. Prime Minister Erdogan said that he wants the Cyprus problem solved and that the Cyprus problem is a national cause, like the EU. He said that Turkey would behave completely neutrally in the elections.

We will win the elections, because the RTP expresses the society and represents the society. Our actions after the elections will be concentrated in two different areas. On the one hand, we will make efforts for our joint targets with Turkey and on the other hand, we will bargain through dialogue with the Greek Cypriots. We will give and take with the Greek Cypriot side.^Ô

[02] Reference to Cyprus by the Turkish Foreign Minister during a visit to Sweden

As TRT 2 reported, tomorrow is the last day of the period granted by the Council of Europe to Turkey to pay compensation to Loizidou, a Greek Cypriot woman, in line with the ruling of the European Court of Human Rights and Mr Abdullah Gul announced that Turkey will pay the compensation if a mutual agreement is reached within the framework of the mechanism set up in the occupied areas of Cyprus.

Replying to questions at Esenboga Airport before he left for Sweden, Gul said that work is being conducted in connection with the Loizidou case. Noting that the court is handling cases similar to the Loizidou case, Gul said: We hope that these cases will not be handled yet, that they will be postponed, and that this case will not prove to be a precedent.

Abdullah Gul pointed out that certain steps have been taken to conclude the Loizidou case in the courts set up in the ^ÓTRNC^Ô. There are still certain hitches, he said, and we will pay the compensation if we reach a mutual agreement on these hitches.

Asked if an agreement can be reached by tomorrow, which is the deadline, Gul replied: ^ÓTomorrow is not very important for us.^Ô

Meanwhile, Ankara Anatolia (18.11.03) reported from Stockholm that Mr Gul responded to questions of journalists on his way to Sweden. Replying to a question about the Cyprus problem, Gul said: ^ÓWe are now in a critical period. According to my point of view, it will be rightful to assume productive approaches^Ô.

[03] Norwegian observers are in the occupied areas for the ^Óelections^Ô

KIBRIS writes that the three members of the group are professor Aanund Hylland, from Oslo University, Gunnar Karslen form Norway^Òs Helsinki Committee and Elisabeth Rasmusson, from Norway^Òs Refugees^Ò Council.

The observers told KIBRIS that they were in the occupied areas since last week and they would stay until one week after the ^Óelections^Ô. They said that they met with various parts of the society, without however, making any detailed study yet or setting forward any finding.

The members of the group noted that they had great experience in observing elections and added that they had been sent by Oslo University to the occupied areas in order to prepare a report about the 14 December ^Óelections^Ô.

[04] Mukhtars and village council members will also be elected on 14 December

According to a written announcement by the so-called Supreme Electoral Council, ^Óelections^Ô for mukhtars will be conducted at two out of four villages, which do not have a mukhtar right now and for which interest from more than one person had been shown. ^ÓElections^Ô for mukhtars will be conducted at a region of occupied Kythrea and at occupied Arnadi village.

Meanwhile, KIBRIS newspaper reports that the mukhtar of Dumlupinar district in occupied Famagusta and four members of the council of the same district were arrested yesterday after their signature had been found on false residence documents. Yesterday KIBRIS reported that the mukhtars and some members of the local ^Óauthorities^Ô of the occupied Davlos and Aheritu villages had been arrested for the same reason.

[05] The new administrative committee of the illegal Settlers^Ò Association stresses its connection with the pseudostate, Denktas and Turkey

The new administrative committee stated at the press conference that it is connected ^Ówith the state, the flag, president Rauf Denktas who is in the higher position of the state, the army and the Turkish Embassy who represents the motherland Turkey^Ô. Mr Hakan Yozcu, who was elected as the new chairman of the Association, stated that the new administrative committee is not a political organisation and added that the association will keep equal distance from every political party.

(Tr. Note: The new committee was formed after a number of the Associations^Ò members decided to elect a new board because they did not agree with the previous committee^Òs actions. There are two chairmen and two administrative committees for the illegal Settlers^Ò Association for the time being).

/SK

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