Cyprus PIO: Turkish Press and Other Media, 06-08-04

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

[A] NEWS ITEMS

[01] Talks continue on how to resume the process of negotiations.

[02] Mr Talat plays upon words regarding President Papadopoulos´ suggestion to meet and discuss progress.

[03] Talat continues the discussion of the latest developments in the Cyprus problem with the political parties.

[04] Turkish Cypriot paper critical of returning to the original Greek names of the places in occupied Cyprus.

[05] Erdogan met the Iranian President and the Pakistani Prime Minister in Kuala Lumpur.

[06] The OIC Parliamentary Union to discuss Lebanon between 1314 August in Damascus.

[07] Barzani advisor claims Turkish forces already in Northern Iraq.

[B] COMMENTARIES, EDITORIALS AND ANALYSIS

[08] Niyazi Kizilyurek calls for a moment of respectful silence for the displaced Greek Cypriots.

[09] Columnist in TDN calls on Turkey not to ignore the fact that Cyprus is an EU member state

[A] NEWS ITEMS

[01] Talks continue on how to resume the process of negotiations

The `Presidential Undersecretary´ Rasit Pertev and the Greek Cypriot official Tassos Djonis met again this afternoon to continue their discussions aimed at agreeing on an agenda for fresh negotiations on the Cyprus problem, and on the formation of the proposed technical committees.

Todays meeting which focused on how to restart the process of negotiations lasted for two hours, and again took place at the buffer-zone residence of the UN Secretary-Generals Special Representative to Cyprus Michael Moller.

Todays two-hour meeting, the third in a week, focused mainly on how to kick-off the process of fresh negotiations on the Cyprus issue, and on a common agenda for such a process.

The two men have been trying to agree on an agenda in line with the lists of issues and guidelines they exchanged during their first meeting on Monday, and which they believe need to be discussed as part of solution efforts concerning the Cyprus problem.

Today, the Turkish Cypriot Side was also expected to reaffirm its support for the immediate resumption of the negotiations process aimed at finding a solution to the Cyprus problem, and to express its desire for the setting up of technical committees.

[02] Mr Talat plays upon words regarding President Papadopoulos´ suggestion to meet and discuss progress

`President´ Mehmet Ali Talat has denied Greek Cypriot press reports that claimed the leader of the `Greek Cypriot Administration´ Tassos Papadopoulos has sent him a letter of invitation for a meeting.

The `President´ told reporters this morning that he hasnt received any such paper of invitation from Mr Papadopoulos.

Reminding, however, that there was indeed - an expression in the papers exchanged between officials from the two sides earlier this week that proposed a meeting between the two leaders after the 10th of this month, the `President´ said that if the press reports were referring to this expression, then, it was correct.

He added that the Turkish Cypriot Side has already responded positively to this offer.

[03] Talat continues the discussion of the latest developments in the Cyprus problem with the political parties

The latest developments in the Cyprus problem were taken up during the meeting.

[04] Turkish Cypriot paper critical of returning to the original Greek names of the places in occupied Cyprus

The paper further reports that the self-styled Council of Ministers, in its last meeting has approved the decision taken at the Congress last April .The decision was published in the so-called Official Gazette and put into effect. During coming days work will start to return the village, road and places names to their original Greek names.

The paper expresses its opposition to this arrangement and criticizes the so-called coalition government of the CTP-DP.

(MHY)

[05] Erdogan met the Iranian President and the Pakistani Prime Minister in Kuala Lumpur

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan held bilateral meetings with leaders of countries participating in the Executive Board meeting of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia today.

Erdogan met Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz after the morning session of the OIC meeting.

Erdogan told reporters that Aziz and he discussed issues that made the OIC meeting necessary.

"We discussed how we can contribute to a stabilization force in Lebanon and under which conditions," said Erdogan.

Asked how he evaluated the low level participation by Arab leaders in the OIC meeting, Erdogan stressed that "the low level participation has caused sadness."

Prime Minister Erdogan later met Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinajad.

Erdogan and Ahmadinajad talked on Israel's attacks on Lebanon and Palestine.

[06] The OIC Parliamentary Union to discuss Lebanon between 1314 August in Damascus

The Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) Parliamentary Union will convene in an extraordinary meeting to discuss recent Israeli attacks on Palestine and Lebanon.

The meeting will be held in Damascus between August 13th and 14th upon call of OIC Parliamentary Union term president and Turkish Parliament Speaker Bulent Arinc.

Parliament speakers of member states are expected to issue a joint declaration at the end of the meeting.

Earlier, Arinc, as OIC Parliamentary Union term president, had released a declaration and called for an urgent cease-fire. He had noted that Israel harmed not only civilians but also the efforts to settle peace and stability in the region. He had stressed that uncompromising attitude of Israel incited clash between civilizations.

The OIC Parliamentary Union has 47 member states.

[07] Barzani advisor claims Turkish forces already in Northern Iraq

An advisor for Kurdish Iraqi leader Mesud Barzani has accused Turkey of sending special forces into Northern Iraq's Kandil Mountain region, a region that Turkey has said repeatedly is home to PKK training camps.

Fuad Huseyin asserted yesterday "We have some information, and there has been activity in the border area. We know that some Turkish soldiers have entered villages near Zaho." Huseyin said that Turkey was preparing for a wide-spread operation, noting "Over the past 3 weeks, there has been a large build-up of Turkish soldiers along their border. This is very clear." Huseyin also asserted that the new Baghdad administration was considering what to do in the event of a Turkish incursion into Northern Iraq.

Huseyin noted too that the US administration would not be in support of any Turkish operation in Northern Iraq, recalling the close links between the Kurdish leadership and Washington, DC. He said "Those who know the relation between the US and the Kurds should be more realistic."

Kurdish government minister Muhammed Ihsan commented on the accusations of Turkish preparation for a military operation against the PKK, saying "The center of PKK activity is inside Turkey's own borders. The Turkish government should solve the problems in its own country, and not make any incursions over our borders."

[B] COMMENTARIES, EDITORIALS AND ANALYSIS

[08] Niyazi Kizilyurek calls for a moment of respectful silence for the displaced Greek Cypriots

We, though somewhat briefly, discussed in our articles regarding the July 15 coup how the 20 July 1974 situation was reached. It is obvious that it was not a bus accident, nor did it take root from a violent instinct. Just like everything else, the road to July 20 has a lengthy history. However, just because there is such an historical background, we cannot ignore the pain the people suffered in History with a capital `H´.

Turkish Cypriots did not sufficiently strike into the subject regarding what July 20 meant to ordinary Greek Cypriots and how it was experienced by them. Partly feelings of vengeance, partly nationalistic reflexes cause us to have trouble in understanding the sufferings of the Greek Cypriot community. Let me state this for the readers who are impatient to state that the Greek Cypriots did something similar to the Turkish Cypriots during their hard years; what I am going to discuss today is not a suffering competition.

Subtitle: Evil done to Greek Cypriots

For many years, both in Turkey and in the Greek Cypriot community, politicians, who stated that peace was brought to the island and the Cyprus Problem was over thanks to July 20, were in power. I bet there are ones out there who say such things today anyway I have considered such an approach as an insult to the Greek Cypriot community since the very beginning, because, not only a situation was shown as an ideal situation of which reasons reach back to complicated historical and political events, but at the same time it was also being hinted that the Greek Cypriots were supposed to be happy about it. Moreover, they included stories of Greek Cypriots who were happy to be taken prisoners by Turkish soldiers in schoolbooks. To me this seems like a big wrong done to a human community. Because, if there is an explicable side to having miserable people because of complicated historical and political conditions, there is no explanation for attempting to show this miserable situation as a pink painting or the end of history. What is worse is asking people, who were aggrieved by the consequences of July 20, to accept that peace was brought to the island; and that is ruling out the identity and freedom of those people, as well as their existence.

No educated person can deny the fact that there is still a `peace and a reconciliation´ problem in Cyprus. Respecting the identities and freedom of people is one of the basic conditions of making peace. Certainly, no peace treaty can provide justice for every individual. However, it is not necessary to ignore the misery of the miserable or to double it through a historical truth. If you visit an old Greek Cypriot who lost his son during the 1974 war, you cannot talk about the essential consequences of historical conditions. A similar situation exists for the ones who will not be able to return to their homes in the North after a case of reconciliation. What should be done in such situations is, as Alpay Durduran stated in a conference addressed to the Greek Cypriot emigrants, to apologize and make up. I find this expression more fertile than the empathy concept.

Because, when you make up and apologize, you do not only put yourself in the shoes of the others, but you also tend to recognize the separate and legitimate existence of the other while being aware of yourself.

Subtitle: Sense of history and justice

Most of the time, people´s expectations of justice and the progress of history do not overlap, just as our expectations from life and the process of life do not overlap. The process of history is not always dependent on the reflection of our will. What stands against us as history is, most of the time, a result of conflicts and tensions created by other wills. Therefore, there is a gap in the history of every community between the sense of justice and the progress of history. This has always been like this. What we call reconciliation comes out of this truth. Therefore, reconciliation is life itself, and if it is going to be understood as something negative, it can only be understood as negative as life itself. However, reconciliation should not be understood as a pragmatic flexibility that we practise because we are aware of the balance of powers. A true peace and reconciliation concept in every treaty require the acknowledgement of the fact that the miserable do not completely disappear. Just exactly for this reason, to make up and apologise is not only a virtuous behaviour, but it is also essential.

Therefore, I propose to have a one-minute empathy-homage on July 20, which considers them along with the egocentric ceremonies. Let us put ourselves in the shoes of the Greek Cypriots and try to understand what they experienced.

Such an effort would not only mean an ethically virtuous attitude, it would also mean an extremely political attitude that would help us comprehend why we have to reconcile. Otherwise, it is inevitable to join the nationalistic chorus who says we won the war; we lost the deal or who do not wish to give away even one pebble.

Subtitle: Daydream of the return home

Being exactly the opposite of the common belief, there was no population exchange following July 20, 1974. There is no such agreement. However, people voluntarily or compulsorily migrated, and consequently a radical relocation was experienced on the island. While some of the Turkish Cypriots had to migrate because of the ethnic violence prior to 1974, most of them chose to settle in the north of the island. While only a small number of Greek Cypriots were forced to relocate prior to 1974, most of the community had to flee to the south of the island following the 1974 military intervention. Consequently, Cyprus became one of the rare countries where the population relocated in high amounts. For some reason, the social consequences of this extremely important concept were never sufficiently explicated. Except for the references to the political dimension of the event, how and in which way the relocation affected the individuals separately and the communities in general stands in front of us as a serious subject for research.

At first glance,, it can be said that the motivation for the relocation of the Turkish and Greek Cypriots show some differences, and this can cause the relocation concept to be experienced in different ways. While we can talk about a partial willingness referring to the Turkish Cypriots who gathered in the north of Cyprus, we can not say the same thing about the Greek Cypriots who have been forced to live in the south of the island. Therefore, the desire to return home remained, for many years to say the least, as a very strong one for the Greek Cypriots. In spite of all this, Greek Cypriots who settled in the south worked with an extraordinary determination starting everything over, and gave the new and alien place they lived in a taste of home by working very hard. The taste of home which came through production and work, though, only partially soothed the pain of migration and the desire to return home slowly left its place to the daydream of returning home.

Subtitle: Setting is not settling in life

The situation is a little bit different for the Turkish Cypriots. Although there was no policy or desire to return home after the gathering in the north we can even say that the formal policy administered a nostalgia ban a temporariness regarding the relations with the location draws attention. The North was never internalized as a permanent homeland. It is necessary to state Evliya Celebi´s beautiful expressions Tavattun and Temekkun; in other words it was seen once more with this incident that settling in life and settling in are not the same. Settling in the north does mean settling in Life there.

One of the basic reasons behind this is the banal and metaphysical nationalistic attitude, which thinks that a homeland can be created by painting the mountains and rocks in white and red, and the other one is the Turkish Cypriot community´s forming a habit of living off of loot and aid to actualize itself more than actually producing. If we consider loot as a yield with no labour investment, and aid as a source with no production, it becomes easier to understand that these two limit the individuals and the communities from realizing their potential. Just as the opposite of what nationalistic metaphysics thinks, in turning a place into a homeland, the importance of actualization through labour, desire and willingness is great.

Another social consequence created by this situation is the difficulties faced by the production avoidant community in rationalisation. While production - oriented permanent improvement does not materialize due to easy income and easy social status earned in new structures, business ethics gradually become corrupt.

Therefore, neither a considerable rational social improvement was provided, nor could the producing influences be sufficiently improved. When the situation is such, the community´s organizing itself to produce again and carrying out radical reforms confront us as an unavoidable necessity. Therefore, the concept of speaking the language understood by the world, which was successfully adopted by politics, should also be adopted in social life. Otherwise, it may not be possible to cope with the competitive 21st century and to dispel the current temporariness in the north of Cyprus even just a little bit.

[09] Columnist in TDN calls on turkey not to ignore the fact that Cyprus is an EU member state

The Turkish-EU train is heading towards a very dangerous track. The EU sees it. Ankara sees it. But, excluding some cosmetic attempts by the Finnish term presidency, no one appears to be doing anything to at least avoid a crash and overcome what appears to be a destined crisis that has been avoided with a brief lull in the accession negotiations process.

Ankara is still acting under the unrealistic assessment that at the end of the day the EU will adopt a realistic approach, take its overall interests into account and rather than trying to appease the `Greek Cypriot state´ of 700,000 people will act in a manner so as not to lose the Turkey of over 70 million.

Of course, there is a logic in Turkey's approach, but we are afraid this logic is not built on a sound foundation because it ignores one fundamental element of realpolitik: The `Greek Cypriot state´ is a member of the European Union and Turkey is a country in the accession process. Turkey might not be happy with this reality, but we cannot act like an ostrich and believe that since we don't recognize the `Greek Cypriot state´ as the Republic of Cyprus, representing the entire population and territory of the eastern Mediterranean island, no one can oblige Turkey to take steps to act contrary to this position.

Sorry, but that's not a viable approach. Before any move Ankara takes regarding its EU accession process, it must act with the awareness that the `Greek Cypriot administration´ is one of the 25 equal members of the EU bloc and that it has as much weight in the club's decision-making mechanism as any other member country.

We cannot simply put apples and eggs in one basket. There is a difference between a pledge not being respected and the failure to fulfill an obligation you committed yourself to undertaking with an additional protocol to an agreement.

Besides, Turkey acted incorrectly right from the very beginning of this additional protocol to the customs union business. We should have opened our ports and airports to the Greek Cypriot side while the issue was still technical and finished off this problem to prevent it taking on a political dimension and thus becoming tantamount to extending recognition to the `Greek Cypriot state´ at the expense of the `Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus´ (`KKTC´).

Now it is perfectly justifiable for Turkey to complain that the EU and the rest of the world, including the United States -- which promised the Turkish Cypriots before the April 24 referendum on the U.N. peace plan that they would not be left out in the cold should the deal falter because of a Greek Cypriot oxi (no) vote -- have not fulfilled their pledges over the past two years.

But isn't Ankara helping the EU and the United States in not fulfilling those pledges by continuing to talk about easing the `isolation´ of `northern Cyprus´ rather than pushing for a change in the global perception of the reality on the land? As long as the `Greek Cypriot administration´ is considered the government of the entire island, a special status cannot be introduced for `northern Cyprus´, and even if under political pressure is could be done, then it would take a very short period for the `Greek Cypriot government´ to get it annulled through a court decision.

Besides, there is a pressing need to create some motivation for the Greek Cypriots to start exploring a settlement as well. If they cannot gain anything with a settlement -- the professed reason behind their 2004 rejection of the U.N. plan -- then they should be shown that they can indeed lose something if they don't act quickly for a settlement.

For example, if northern Cyprus could be declared some sort of a protectorate or self-administering territory within the EU, such a move would show the Turkish Cypriots that they should give up their dream of becoming a full-fledged second state on Cyprus enjoying recognition until the moment the EU decides a Cyprus settlement cannot be achieved, while for the Greek Cypriots there would be a clear message that the north can become an independent state without making any painful compromise if the Greek Cypriot side insists on remaining adamant.

Such a move may not make either Turkey, the Turkish Cypriots, Greece or the Greek Cypriots happy, but it would definitely open up the possibility of a compromise deal on Cyprus because for the first time since the 1964 ouster by force of Turkish Cypriots from the joint administration, both peoples of Cyprus will have something to gain and something to lose.

If there is the will, there is a way out for all problems.

/SK

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