Cyprus PIO: Turkish Press and Other Media, 07-06-13

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] Turkish Commander: The international waters and airspace in north Cyprus are under Turkeys authority

[02] Turkish Cypriot mass media have been prevented by the Turkish occupation forces command from attending the briefing session of the military exercise taking place in the occupied part of Cyprus

[03] Talat meets the commander of the Turkish Navys South Sea Front

[04] Turkish Cypriot parties to exchange documents regarding the constitutional amendments and the election law

[05] Ercakica assessed the latest U.N. Secretary-Generals report

[06] The Missing Bus documentary produced by Racit Pertev will be shown at the European Parliament in Brussels on Thursday

[07] Mr Asim Idris was elected as the Communal Democracy Party Secretary-General

[08] The speaker of the assembly Mrs Fatma Ekenoglu will visit Britain

[09] Erdogan meets with the Italian Foreign Minister

[10] Diplomatic sources on the meeting between the NATO chief and the Turkish Foreign Minister in Turkey

[11] A third Turk in the UN

[A] NEWS ITEMS

[01] Turkish Commander: The international waters and airspace in north Cyprus are under Turkeys authority

The Search and Rescue Exercise Martyr Lieutenant Caner Gonyeli starts today.

On the same issue, Ankara ANATOLIA news agency (12.06.07) reports the following from occupied Keryneia:

"Turkey will continue to take every measure in order to show its determination to preserve its rights stemming from international laws, including training and military exercises," Gen. Mehmet Eroz, the Commander of Turkish Cypriot Security Forces, said on Tuesday.

The Greek Cypriot administration signed two agreements on restriction of economic zones, including one with Egypt on February 17th, 2005 and with Lebanon on January 17th, 2007, recalled Gen. Eroz in a briefing he held for journalists on the first day of the Sehit Tegmen (Martyr Lieutenant) Caner Gonyeli 2007 search and rescue exercise.

"Turkey does not acknowledge these two agreements. It is against international laws and invalid for the Greek Cypriot administration to sign agreements to unilaterally explore oil in the south of Cyprus," Gen. Eroz added.

(MHY)

[02] Turkish Cypriot mass media have been prevented by the Turkish occupation forces command from attending the briefing session of the military exercise taking place in the occupied part of Cyprus

The papers report that the occupation forces command did not allow correspondents of KIBRIS, AFRIKA, STAR KIBRIS, KIBRISLI and YENIDUZEN newspapers to attend the press briefing given by the occupation army commander on todays illegal military exercise to be held in the occupied territorial waters of the Republic of Cyprus.

KIBRIS reports that correspondents of the aforesaid media establishments, when they demanded accreditation from the occupation forces press office, the press officer told them that the Office of the Turkish Chief of the General Staff did not consider suitable your attendance to the military exercise and refused to provide accreditation to them. The occupation army also refused permission to the illegal BRT, GENC TV and KIBRIS TV to watch the military exercise. The semi-government Anatolia Agency of Turkey reported that the illegal BRT was not allowed to cover the exercise because in the past it broadcast the documentary Duvar (The Wall) which brands Turkey as occupier in Cyprus.

KIBRIS reports that the Turkish Cypriot Journalists Union and the trade union BASIN-SEN both criticized the action and declared that this was an unacceptable behavior.

KIBRIS gave the news under the banner headlines: Military Exercise Ban on the media.

AFRIKA; Blacklist from the Army.

YENIDUZEN: Embargo from the commander to the media which supported the YES (in the referendum).

On the same issue, Ankara Anatolia news agency (12.06.07) reports the following from occupied Lefkosia:

Bayrak Radio and Television [BRT], the official broadcasting organ of the KKTC [Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus], was not allowed into the briefing session held at the KKTC Security Forces Command in connection with the Martyr Lieutenant Caner Gonyeli -2007 Search and Rescue Exercises.

Our correspondent has learned that the BRT team was not allowed as a reaction to BRT Director Huseyin Gursan's decision to air a documentary called "Our Wall" which describes the Turkish soldiers as "occupiers" and the Turkish Resistance Movement members as "aggressors."

The BRT team was not allowed to watch the exercises as a reaction to the removal of the Turkish and KKTC flags from the BRT website and to the stand and policies of the BRT director.

The BRT will not be able to follow the actual exercises tomorrow.

Speaking to our correspondent, BRT officials said that the team that went to the briefing session was told: "You cannot watch the exercises."

Meanwhile, the authorities did not accredit Kibris Genc TV which broadcasts in the KKTC from satellite.

(MHY)

[03] Talat meets the commander of the Turkish Navy´s South Sea Front

The Commander of the Turkish Navys Southern Sea Front, Vice Admiral Alev Gumusoglu who is in the Republic for the Martyr Lieutenant Caner Gonyeli-2007 Search and Rescue Exercises - paid a courtesy visit to President Mehmet Ali Talat this morning.

Admiral Gumusoglu was accompanied by the Commander of the Cyprus Turkish Security Forces Major General Mehmet Eroz during the visit where the Presidential Undersecretary Rasit Pertev, was also present.

Speaking during visit, the Commander of the South Sea Front Vice Admiral Alev Gumusoglu said that the Martyr Lieutenant Caner Gonyeli-2007 Search and Rescue Exercises was important as it will strengthen further the coordination among all search and rescue units.

Also speaking, President Mehmet Ali Talat expressed the belief that this years exercises will be successful as it was last year.

Noting that he will have an opportunity to watch the exercises more closely during tomorrows phase at the sea, the President said those kinds of search and rescue operations are very important as they establish cooperation among all units.

[04] Turkish Cypriot parties to exchange documents regarding the constitutional amendments and the election law

(MHY)

[05] Ercakica assessed the latest U.N. Secretary-Generals report

The Presidential Spokesman Hasan Ercakica has said that the Presidency has ordered a probe into how the confidential property claim details were leaked to the Greek Cypriot Media.

He however added that no breakthrough had been achieved in the investigation so far.

The Presidential Spokesman also said that the 8-July Process should be carried out in line with the views expressed in the UN Secretary-Generals Ban Ki Moons latest report to the UN Security Council.

Mr. Ercakica´s words came during his weekly press briefing where he evaluated the UN Secretary-Generals latest report to the UN Security Council as well as the property issue.

In addition to the routine press briefing by the Presidential spokesperson, Ahmet Okan, a cultural advisor to the president, who is in charge of research and work carried out by the commission on the preservation of Cultural Assets in Cyprus, briefed members of the press about the destruction and carnage of 30 Turkish Cypriot villages in South Cyprus.

Speaking at the briefing, the Presidential Spokesman said the 8-July process should progress in accordance with the views expressed in the Secretary Generals latest report adding that the Turkish Cypriot Side was in full compliance with the aim of setting up working groups and technical committees to address day-to-day issues.

It will be possible to achieve progress on the 8-July process as well as restart the Cyprus negotiations process if we act in accordance with the UN report he said, adding that the Turkish Cypriot Side will continue to work to that end.

Also touching upon the property issue, Mr. Ercakica said that it is impossible to find a comprehensive solution to the Cyprus Problem without solving the property dispute, which is one of the main elements of the Cyprus Problem.

Stating that the TRNC immovable property commissions aim is to create a temporary legal basis for Greek Cypriots who urgently want their property back or gain compensation, Mr. Ercakica said that the commission was an affective domestic remedy which was gaining the widespread approval of the international community.

It is not the commissions intention to resolve the property issue in its entirety he said, adding that that was only possible through a comprehensive political settlement.

He said the commission also served the purpose of highlighting the urgency for finding a political settlement on the island and of demonstrating that the property dispute had adverse effects on both peoples on the island.

The Presidential spokesman also drew attention to the fact that Turkish Cypriots who applied to Greek Cypriot domestic courts for property re-instatement and compensation failed to achieve positive outcomes.

[06] The Missing Bus documentary produced by Racit Pertev will be shown at the European Parliament in Brussels on Thursday

(MHY)

[07] Mr Asim Idris was elected as the Communal Democracy Party Secretary-General

Asim Idris has been elected as the Communal Democracy Party Secretary General.

Nine members of the Party Executive Committee were elected by the Party Assembly which convened last night.

[08] The speaker of the assembly Mrs Fatma Ekenoglu will visit Britain

In statements to Bayraks Sabah Haber (Morning News) Program, Mrs Ekenoglu said that they have received an invitation from three members of the House of Lords who had visited the occupied areas of Cyprus in the past. She noted that they will hold meetings with members of the House of Lords, but their program was not finalised yet. The final program is expected to be known by the end of this week, she added. Mrs Ekenoglu said, though, that one of their meetings will be with the Speaker of the House of Parliament Jack Straw.

She noted that they invited all the political parties of the assembly to participate in the visit and argued that they should be united like one fist and leave aside their internal problems and the boycott of the parliament, because they are going to Britain as an assembly. She criticized the fact that the National Unity Party and the Democratic Party will not participate in the delegation.

(I/Ts.)

[09] Erdogan meets with the Italian Foreign Minister

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan received the Italian Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Massimo D'Alema on Tuesday.

The Erdogan-D'Alema meeting took place at the Prime Ministry Office and lasted almost an hour. The meeting was closed to press corps.

According to sources, the two leaders discussed Turkish-Italian relations, regional issues and the EU.

D'Alema reaffirmed Italy's support to Turkey's EU membership during the meeting with Erdogan. D'Alema also indicated that the United Nations is the right platform for finding a solution to the Cyprus problem.

[10] Diplomatic sources on the meeting between the NATO chief and the Turkish Foreign Minister in Turkey

Arriving in Turkey to a fragile and grief-filled atmosphere amid almost daily losses in the fight with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer asked Ankara on Tuesday to show "maximum restraint" in dealing with PKK terrorists based in northern Iraq, while also expressing solidarity with Turkey in its fight against terrorism.

"NATO cannot play a direct role there, but it shows its solidarity and is involved in the fight against terrorism. NATO hopes a solution can be found with the maximum of restraint," De Hoop Scheffer told reporters following his talks with Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul. The NATO chief also condemned PKK attacks, which he described as "a heinous form of terrorism, which the NATO allies and I reject in the strongest possible form."

During their talks Gul briefed De Hoop Scheffer in detail concerning PKK activity in northern Iraq and said, "It is known from where the bombs that they have been using are coming," without elaborating, diplomatic sources told Today's Zaman, speaking under condition of anonymity. Gul highlighted the political vacuum that has emerged in north of Iraq as a hindering factor in the fight against the PKK, the same sources said.

Making it clear that Ankara is not against improving relations in the field of defense between NATO and the EU, Gul also reiterated Ankara's stance of expecting the two international organizations to stick to existing cooperation mechanisms instead of designing a new one.

Turkey said an agreement reached at the EU Copenhagen summit in December 2002 allowing the EU to have political and military arrangements in place to access NATO assets and operational planning capabilities (the so-called Berlin-Plus arrangements) provide a sufficient framework for such a bilateral cooperation between the two bodies.

EU member Greek Cyprus argues and lobbies for the assumption this existing agreement should be expanded to new members of the bloc that joined in May 2004. Ankara said through this move Greek Cyprus wants to gain further visibility for its illegitimate recognition by the international community as the official representative of the entire island.

"Parameters were already set in 2002. You shouldn't expect further flexibility from Turkey, a country that has introduced major contributions to NATO as an ally, on this issue. Besides it shouldn't solely be Turkey which is expected to be flexible. Like NATO does in these kinds of situations, the EU should find a solution to this issue itself without using its form of a decision mechanism as an excuse," Gul told De Hoop Scheffer during their meeting.

Difficulties that hindered Turkey's participation in the European Defense Agency (EDA) were also brought up by Gul during the meeting, diplomatic sources said. Turkey's relations with EDA, the body set up to nurture EU-wide defense industry policy, were to be formally established through an "administrative arrangements" document that was ready for signatures as of April 2005. However at a technical-level EU meeting in April 2005, the Greek Cypriot administration blocked the document on the grounds of "political considerations."

[11] A third Turk in the UN

(DPs)

EG/

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