Cyprus PIO: Turkish Press and Other Media, 04-07-27

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] Mehmet Ali Talat: Once Turkey gets a date for negotiations from the EU then it has to help solve the Cyprus problem.

[02] Statement by the Turkish Foreign Ministry. It calls for direct trade with the Turkish Republic of occupied Cyprus.

[03] Reference to Cyprus by the Turkish Foreign Minister during a joint press conference with his Sudanese counterpart.

[04] The Turkish Cypriots are hiding behind the referenda results to perpetuate the occupation of Cyprus and the exploitation of the properties of the Greek Cypriots.

[05] New regulations from the pseudo assembly as regards the entry of persons from Turkey in the occupied areas.

[B] COMMENTARIES, EDITORIALS AND ANALYSIS

[06] Ozgur Politika stresses that Turkey will become EU member when it withdraws its troops from Cyprus.

[A] NEWS ITEMS

[01] Mehmet Ali Talat: Once Turkey gets a date for negotiations from the EU then it has to help solve the Cyprus problem

Talat noted that he did not reject the Confidence Building Measures announced by the Cyprus government but he did not find them sincere.

Referring to the "yes" vote by the Turkish Cypriots, Talat said that the Turkish Cypriots with their "yes" votes removed the obstacle erected before Turkey, and once Turkey gets a date from the EU then it has to help to solve the Cyprus problem.

Talat went on and said that the Greek Cypriots will realize what is going on once the direct flights start from the occupied area: "They either will change their leadership or their leaders will change their vision", he alleged.

Finally, Mr Talat expressed his support in favour of holding early so-called elections.

[02] Statement by the Turkish Foreign Ministry. It calls for direct trade with the Turkish Republic of occupied Cyprus

The Foreign Ministry has said: "At their meeting on 26 April 2004, the EU foreign ministers made a political commitment to end the isolation of the Turkish Cypriots. They have not fulfilled their promise yet and today, they failed to take the valuable opportunity presented to them at the EU foreign ministers meeting"

In its statement, the Foreign Ministry pointed out that the EU Commission had been instructed to come up with proposals to end the isolation of the Turkish Cypriots; that on 7 July, the Commission announced its two draft statutes regarding direct trade with and financial aid to the "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus"("TRNC") and that the EU member countries had to approve these statutes for their implementation.

The Foreign Ministry said: "The drafts presented by the Commission are a positive first step in the process to end the "TRNC's" isolation. Nevertheless, the EU foreign ministers have not been able to implement a decision they reached in April. The EU foreign ministers´ meeting held today was an important opportunity, but it was not taken. This means that at the earliest, the draft statutes can be discussed at the next meeting which is slated for 13-14 September.

"Turkey attaches great importance to the implementation of the draft statutes as soon as possible and without any changes.

"The time has come to end the unjust restrictions facing the Turkish Cypriots who have expressed their will in favor of a solution in the referenda held on the island."

[03] Reference to Cyprus by the Turkish Foreign Minister during a joint press conference with his Sudanese counterpart

Gul and Mustafa Osman Ismail, the Sudanese Minister of External Affairs, held a joint news conference after their meeting. Ismail said in his part that they have discussed events in Darfur region besides bilateral relations and added that they wanted a solution in a short time.

Noting that peace agreement would be signed 1-1,5 months later, Ismail said that they were expecting a serious economic jump after the agreement and they wanted assistance of Turkish businessmen in this period especially on infrastructure area.

When recalled that the European Union (EU) called the United Nations to impose sanctions on Sudan if the crisis was not solved, Ismail said that he met foreign ministers of some EU countries like the Netherlands and France yesterday, adding that they did not need any threat.

Noting that Sudanese people could consider an external peace force as an occupier force like in Iraq and Afghanistan, Ismail said that the condition in the region should be settled by Sudanese security forces.

Upon a question, Gul evaluated the statements of Greek Cypriot officials that the Annan Plan could be renegotiated.

Recalling that referenda were held in Cyprus and the Greek Cypriot side voted ''no'' to the Plan in the referendum, Gul said that Turkey expects the promises which were given to the Turkish Cypriot side to be kept.

Noting that the EU did not demand the renegotiation of the Annan Plan, Gul said that the EU was now busy with the ways of fulfilling its responsibilities, adding that promises should be kept rapidly.

Gul said that there were some disagreements between the EU Commission and the EU Council on keeping promises which were given to the Turkish Cypriot side. He added that everybody was expecting the promises to be kept.

[04] The Turkish Cypriots are hiding behind the referenda results to perpetuate the occupation of Cyprus and the exploitation of the properties of the Greek Cypriots

The statement repeated that 65 percent of the Turkish Cypriots accepted the plan, and added: "However, regardless of the move the Turkish Cypriot people made with goodwill, 76 percent of the Greek Cypriots said no, indicating that they do not want to share authority and coexist with the Turkish Cypriots. In fact, they showed in clear terms that they do not want to accept the Annan Plan in any way."

Stressing that the Turkish Cypriots made their final decision by saying yes to the Annan Plan, the statement asserted: "The Annan plan is not open for changes and as such the process has been completed. As a result our side can not accept any attempt aimed at changing the plan, be it by Mr. Papadopoulos or any other third party". The statement claims that the Turkish Cypriot Community by saying "yes" to the plan has said its last words.

[05] New regulations from the so-called assembly as regards the entry of persons from Turkey in the occupied areas

With these amendments, new regulations were introduced as regards the entry of Turkish people to the occupied areas of Cyprus. As the paper writes, the new law aims to prevent the distress of persons who come to the occupied areas and work without having 'permission'. From now on only Turkish people who visit the occupation regime as tourists can enter the occupied areas of Cyprus with their identity card, while those who want to work must enter with their passports.

[B] COMMENTARIES, EDITORIALS AND ANALYSIS

[06] Ozgur Politika stresses that Turkey will become EU member when it withdraws its troops from Cyprus

In addition to the purchase of the planes that will cost Turkey $3 billion, Erdogan has also given the French as a present tenders such as the sales of certain banks and the construction of nuclear plants. The fact that he returned from this visit as if he has won a victory has naturally made the diplomatic circles very angry. Former diplomat Nuzhet Kandemir compared the visit conducted by Erdogan, who generously marketed his values, to "selling carpets in an eastern market." Furthermore, he firmly criticized the prime minister who gave France the economic card in return for support in the EU.

The agreement that was signed between the AINF (Airbus Industrie No'l Forgeard) and the Turkish Airlines at the Elysee Palace for the purchase of five A330-200, 12 A321, and 19 A320 planes amounts to more than $3 billion. Furthermore, in his meeting with MEDEF, French Employers' Federation, Erdogan also generously repeated that he is opening the markets in Turkey, which has a population of 70 million, to the French. Stating that in addition to the sale of certain banks, a rapid privatization process will be initiated in the months ahead, Erdogan gave the French the good news that certain privileges will be given to French businessman in order to deepen the relations with France. In his meeting with French employers, Erdogan also hinted that Turkey will construct some nuclear plants in the period ahead.

Why did the media turn a blind eye?

Despite all this however, Erdogan was not able to persuade the representatives of the UDF [Union of French Democracy] and the UMP [Union for a Popular Movement], the rightist coalition parties that oppose Turkey's EU membership, to extend support to Turkey. UDF Leader Francois Bayrou asserted that "Turkey does not adopt the European culture," while former UMP leader Alain Juppe once again noted that Turkey will be given a conditional candidacy.

As a matter of fact, even French Socialist Party leader Francois Hallande, who had supported Turkey's EU membership in the past, said to Erdogan that Turkey will become a member only if "it complies with the Copenhagen criteria and if it officially acknowledges the Armenian genocide."

Despite the fact that the press featured pages and pages of reports that noted that Jacques Chirac supports Turkey's membership, it failed to focus on the fact that Chirac merely extends conditional support. Nonetheless, Chirac, who had repeated the same things over and over again in the past, did not say anything positive during Erdogan's visit. In his meeting with Erdogan, Chirac once again said: "Turkey's integration with the EU will be desirable when it becomes possible." However, using a diplomatic language as usual, Chirac avoided giving an exact date regarding when "Turkey's membership will become possible." After all, he wanted to ensure that the Americans do not snatch the tenders. Nevertheless, the French president asserted that he extends support to the efforts made by Turkey for becoming an EU member, rather than to Turkey's accession to the EU itself.

Why did Chirac, who demanded "one last effort" from Erdogan, not understand Erdogan or why did he conceal the fact that he understood Erdogan? Maybe Erdogan's words were misinterpreted! And why did Erdogan not ask Chirac the exact date for membership and the reasons behind his remarks? Let us say that Erdogan forgot, but why did the bourgeois media not focus on these issues and why did it applaud Erdogan's defeat, which was introduced as a victory?

This is because everyone very well knows that Turkey will become an EU member when it becomes possible -- in other words, when it truly democratizes, when it acknowledges that the Kurds are the actual founders of the republic and that they have equal rights with the Turks, when it accepts the Armenian genocide and apologizes to the Armenian people, and when it withdraws its troops from Cyprus.

Erdogan winked to the genocide

Meanwhile, no one is asking why in the public polls that were conducted more than 60 percent of the French people noted that they are against Turkey's EU membership.

This is because 450,000 Armenians live in this country. The Turks had massacred one and a half million Armenians and had driven the rest away from their land. And the Armenians told and are still telling each and every French person they live with what the Turks did to their forefathers.

Furthermore, more than 200,000 Kurds live in France as refugees. The Turks have been massacring the Kurds for the past two centuries. As a matter of fact, they are still killing Kurdish youths with chemical weapons and they are still cutting off their ears and noses. Despite the fact that these Kurds were not able to properly explain the nature of their problems, the French are able to follow the things that happen to them in this age of communications. Instead of stopping his soldiers who cut off the noses and the ears of Kurdish youth and instead of putting Turkey in order, Erdogan is bribing the French politicians and he is calling upon them to turn a blind eye to all this and to extend support to Turkey. Despite the fact that they received the tenders, the French repeated that they will not extend support to Turkey under the current conditions.

Regardless of what anyone says, after the projects that were given to France without even holding a tender, it is the 450,000 Armenians who live in France and the Armenian genocide that actually sealed Erdogan's visit to France.

Turkey will not be able to become an EU member as long as it avoids taking the necessary steps toward democratization, as long as it avoids officially acknowledging the Kurdish identity and the fact that the Kurds partners of the republic who have equal rights with the Turks, and as long as it avoids accepting and apologizing for all the massacres that it has conducted -- from the Armenian genocide to the Dersim genocide."

/SK

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