Cyprus PIO: Turkish Press and Other Media, 07-06-26

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

[A] NEWS ITEMS

[01] The mortgage draft-law is approved

[02] Four thousand residences were constructed in the occupied area of Ayios Epiktitos since 2004

[03] The issue of the bribery of politicians continues in the Turkish Cypriot newspapers

[04] Allegations regarding the import of unhealthy meat from Romania and Bulgaria through the government controlled areas

[05] The so-called Basketball Federation of the TRNC participated in the 3rd International Trainers Seminar in Turkey

[06] A Turkish journalist has been violently treated in the occupied areas of Cyprus

[07] A group of young politicians from Azerbaijan to hold contacts in the occupied areas of Cyprus

[08] Oktay Kayalp describes as very important the fact that occupied Famagusta is included in the list of the worlds 100 cities the antiquities of which need up-keep

[09] The 39th Traditional Trikomo Festival will begin tomorrow

[10] Talat to visit Sweden and Finland

[11] Erdogan and Karamanlis discuss Cyprus during the BSEC summit in Istanbul

[12] EU to start talks on chapters related to statistics, financial control

[13] Labour Party leader describes US as ´Murderder´of Turkish Soldiers

[B] Commentaries, Editorials and Analysis

[14] The Turkish Press on political party activities ahead of the 22 July parliamentary elections in Turkey

[A] NEWS ITEMS

[01] The mortgage draft-law is approved

The aim of the new law is to facilitate people with average income to own a house with the mortgage system and give incentives to those who live abroad to return to the island. The target of the law is to give the opportunity to people to buy houses by paying 20 % of the sum of money in advance and the rest of the money with instalments for a period from three up to ten years, just like paying rent.

(I/Ts.)

[02] Four thousand residences were constructed in the occupied area of Ayios Epiktitos since 2004

According to the paper, the building continues in the area and about 2000 foreigners are living now in Ayios Epiktitos. Under the title The olive groves became plots of land, YENI DUZEN notes also that the olive production lost its importance for the inhabitants of the area.

(I/Ts.)

[03] The issue of the bribery of politicians continues in the Turkish Cypriot newspapers

The paper describes these statements as not satisfactory and adds that it is clear who the official of Variant Company who gave bribery is. He also admits to whom he gave the bribery, notes AFRIKA wondering why he has still not been arrested and interrogated by the police.

Meanwhile, Turkish Cypriot daily KIBRISLI newspaper (26.06.07) reports that in statements to a television station, ORP chairman and so-called minister of foreign affairs, Turgay Avci was forced to accept that 4-5 months ago he had lunch with Mr Ahmet, director of Variant Company. Earlier Mr Avci had stated that he did not know Mr Ahmet. The paper notes that the name of the director of Variant Company is Ahmet Ozcag, also known in the market as Variant Ahmet.

(I/Ts.)

[04] Allegations regarding the import of unhealthy meat from Romania and Bulgaria through the government controlled areas

Meanwhile, Baki Aygun, director of the so-called trade department, stated that importing meat to the occupied areas is prohibited and called on Mr Naimoglu to share with them the information he has. He also said that establishing the origin of the meat after it enters into the occupied areas is difficult.

(I/Ts.)

[05] The so-called Basketball Federation of the TRNC participated in the 3rd International Trainers Seminar in Turkey

(I/Ts.)

[06] A Turkish journalist has been violently treated in the occupied areas of Cyprus

The chairman of the Foreign Press Union, Mesut Gunsev issued a statement yesterday protesting about the incident and asking the Security Forces Command, the Police Directorate and the General Attorneys Office to do their duty, take any necessary legal action and inform the public opinion about the results of their actions.

Meanwhile, Turkish Cypriot daily VOLKAN newspaper (26.06.07) refers to the issue and reports that the police who beat up Mr Karahasan told him that: This place here is not Turkey. Your press card has no value. The paper wonders who is this so-called policeman who maligned motherland Turkey and from whom he takes his orders.

(I/Ts.)

[07] A group of young politicians from Azerbaijan to hold contacts in the occupied areas of Cyprus

The delegation, which is accompanied by the so-called representative of the TRNC in Baku, will meet with government and party officials as well as the former Turkish Cypriot leader, Rauf Denktas.

(I/Ts)

[08] Oktay Kayalp describes as very important the fact that occupied Famagusta is included in the list of the worlds 100 cities the antiquities of which need up-keep

Oktay Kayalp, so-called mayor of occupied Famagusta said that the fact that the city is included in this list is very important. He noted that their aim was to draw attention to Famagusta and protect its cultural heritage by securing more funds, money and moral support. He said that they have materialized a project of restoring and reviving the area within the citys walls by taking some money from the EU and added that their inclusion into such a list will create more funds.

Mr Kayalp noted that many tourists visit the cities which are included in this list a year after their inclusion because they want to see the antiquities. He accused especially the press of Turkey of presenting the issue in a wrong manner in the beginning and argued that it tried to create the image that the city is collapsing.

(I/Ts.)

[09] The 39th Traditional Trikomo Festival will begin tomorrow

Addressing a press conference yesterday, the so-called mayor of Trikomo, Halil Ibrahim Orun said that they have invited six groups from Turkey, Israel, Spain, Italy, Togo and Azerbaijan to participate in the festival.

Within the framework of the festival a photograph exhibition will take place under the name Once upon a time Larnaca. Families who lived in Larnaca before the 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus will exhibit photos from their lives. The breakaway regime has illegally renamed Trikomo into Iskele (a name which is also used for Larnaca).

(I/Ts.)

[10] Talat to visit Sweden and Finland

President Mehmet Ali Talat of Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) will travel to Sweden and Finland, TRNC Presidential Press Office said in a statement on Monday.

Talat will leave for Sweden on Tuesday as formal guest of Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt. Following a meeting with Bildt the same day, Talat will deliver a speech at Swedish International Relations Institute and meet with Swedish parliamentarians and journalists.

Talat will proceed to Finland on June 28th to meet Finnish Foreign Minister Ilkka Kanerva, former Finnish Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja, parliamentarians and journalists.

Talat will return to TRNC on June 29th.

[11] Erdogan and Karamanlis discuss Cyprus during the BSEC summit in Istanbul

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has met his Greek counterpart Costas Karamanlis in Istanbul.

Speaking after the meeting, the two Prime Ministers expressed their support to a lasting solution to the Cyprus problem.

The two Prime Ministers met at the Ciragan Palace by the sidelines of the summit of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation.

Speaking to reporters at the end of the meeting, Mr Erdogan referred the meeting as very useful and pointed to improving economic relations between the two countries.

On the Cyprus issue, Mr Erdogan said that both Turkey and Greece are in support of a lasting and just solution to the Cyprus problem and expressed the hope that progress will soon be achieved towards a solution.

For his part, Greek Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis pointed growing economic relations between the two countries and said that they have agreed to refrain from taking steps that could trigger tensions in the region.

On the Cyprus issue, he expressed support to a just and lasting solution to the Cyprus issue which is to be found under the aegis of the United Nations and within the framework of the EU principles.

On Turkeys EU accession negotiations, Mr Karamanlis said that Greece will support Turkeys EU membership once it fulfils the necessary criteria.

[12] EU to start talks on chapters related to statistics, financial control

The decision made today at the EU Enlargement Study Group meeting was approved by EU's Committee of Permanent Representatives (COREPER) as well.

By this way, opening of two new chapters during Tuesday's Intergovernmental Conference became definite.

Meanwhile, EU decided to open 6 new chapters with Croatia which began membership negotiations concurrently with Turkey.

On the same issue Turkish daily TODAY´S ZAMAN newspaper (26.06.07) reports the following:

It became clear yesterday that newly elected French President Nicholas Sarkozy has put into action his plans to derail possible Turkish EU membership by not allowing the opening of the economic and monetary policy chapter with Ankara.

European Council term president Germany did not bring economic and monetary policy onto the agendas of either the enlargement working group or the Committee of Permanent Representatives (COREPER) yesterday because of French objections. Sweden, along with six other member countries, protested the fact that the chapter was not brought to the table.

In the intergovernmental conference to be held today only two chapters --statistics and financial control -- will be opened during a meeting in which Turkey will be represented by State Minister Ali Babacan. The EU will be opening six chapters with Croatia tomorrow, making the number of chapters open with Zagreb 12. The statistics chapter will have three opening benchmarks, while financial control will have seven, which diplomats say are purely technical.

Swedish Ambassador to the EU Sven-Olof Petersson, raising the issue in yesterday's COREPER meeting, said he regretted that economic and monetary policy had been taken off the agenda and asked to know the reasons why. The Swedish position was supported by six other member states. While Finland and Estonia voiced their concerns in a bid to support the Swedish position, the UK, Poland, Italy and Lithuania also wanted to take the floor but were cut by the presidency.

As Sarkozy makes it clear he will try to derail the Turkish membership process, Paris says it will block chapters directly related to institutional arrangements. That means at least four or five more chapters will be off the agenda, increasing the number of frozen chapters to 12 or 13 including those already suspended due to Greek Cypriots.

Ambassador Petersson said they would not accept an increase in the number of suspended chapters. The Swedes made it clear to the Germans that they will maintain the right to bring up the issue again. Diplomats say the Swedes and others will handle the issue with the incoming Portuguese presidency. However many also say that economic and monetary policy, unlike culture and education, will not be opened in the foreseeable future.

In Ankara German Ambassador to Turkey Eckart Cuntz said his country had hoped to open talks on four chapters during its term as EU president, but only days before its presidency expired it transpired that this would not be possible. However there still was progress, he told the Anatolia news agency. The EU has opened new talks with Turkey on a total of three chapters during Germanys six-month term presidency. Responding to a question on reports that Greek Cypriots had attempted to block talks on the financial control chapter, Cuntz said German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier had phoned some of his EU counterparts to ensure the successful opening of talks on the chapter.

[13] Labour Party leader describes US as ´Murderder´of Turkish Soldiers

Labor Party (IP) leader Dogu Perincek has said: "Incirlik Air Base is a lair or bandits. The planes that take off from there support those who lay mines under Turkey."

Dogu Perincek participated in the meeting his party held within the framework of its election campaign in the Ugur Mumcu Square in Adana under the slogan: "US is the murderer of Turkish soldiers - Incirlik must be placed under control." Addressing the meeting, he argued that an effort has been made since 1948 to bring about the downfall of Turkey through the imposition of the US plan that calls for the undermining of Ataturk's reforms and the destruction of the republic." He said: "It [US] informs us that we must not produce beet roots and tobacco and graze our livestock in our mountains and grasslands. It also informs us that we must close down the public economic enterprises and customs houses, remove the Turkish currency from our markets, and refrain from providing public services."

Stressing that Turkey is now able to assess the past 60 years, Perincek noted: "Why has the United States occupied Iraq? Why has it divided Palestine and fragmented Lebanon? It has now targeted Syria, Iran, Turkey, and the other countries in the region. The Greater Middle East Project was disclosed by the US secretary of state, who said 'We will change the borders and the regimes of 24 Islamic countries. We will rule in the Middle East.' Turkey is one of the 24 countries. The 12th crusade is taking place at the present time. We will bury it in the Middle East deserts, just as we buried the previous crusades in Anatolia. The United States has drawn up the map of its own grave. We will place the head of the United States in a bag."

Describing Incirlik as "a lair of bandits." Perincek said: "The planes that take off from Incirlik bomb our brethren in the Middle East. The planes that take off from there support those who lay mines under Turkey. In view of that, Incirlik is a matter that concerns the homeland. It is a matter that concerns Turkey's territorial integrity. We will place it under control and turn it into a base that will be under the command of the Turkish military forces. We will turn it into a base that meets Turkey's defense needs under the Turkish flag."

[B] Commentaries, Editorials and Analysis

[14] The Turkish Press on political party activities ahead of the 22 July parliamentary elections in Turkey

In an editorial in the TURKISH DAILY NEWS, Yusuf Kanli cites his observations of Prime Minister Erdogan during the Justice and Development Party, (AKP), election campaign. Kanli sees that Erdogan has started to speak like the late Turgut Ozal, but notes that his overall performance is "one of a tired man trying to salvage whatever is possible."

In a commentary in HURRIYET, Fatih Cekirge views the party leaders running in the 22 July elections, and argues that these elections will be the last one for all except Tayyip Erdogan and Zeki Sezer. Deniz Baykal will not run again even if he wins this time, Cekirge maintains, although Mehmet Agar, Devlet Bahceli, Mesut Yilmaz, Cem Uzan, and Ahmet Turk would run if they won on 22 July.

MILLIYET´s Mehmet Bila recounts his conversation with Erdogan aboard the plane taking them to the AKP election rally in Adiyaman and Diyarbakir. According to the article, Erdogan blamed Deniz Baykal for the failure of their two parties to reach a consensus on the issue of presidential elections, and denied having said that he would be willing to cooperate with the independents backed by the Democratic Society Party.

Another MILLIYET journalist, Taha Akyol, views the Republican People's Party, (CHP), election platform and compares it to the party's election platform of 2002. In his article, the columnist points out that in 2002, the CHP was a social democratic party upholding "individual and cultural rights," promising democratization and a modern, pluralistic constitution respectful of liberties. In 2002, Akyol goes on, the CHP vowed to make Turkey an attractive country for foreign investments and to speed up integration with the EU. The CHP is different in 2007, Akyol argues, and the reason is that the "polarization in the country is pushing the AKP to liberalism and the CHP to Kemalism."

Under the headline, "Democratic fine-tuning to presidential powers," YENI SAFAK publishes a front-page report which provides highlights from the ruling AKP's election manifesto unveiled by Prime Minister Erdogan yesterday. The AKP is preparing to draw up a civilian constitution and curtail the president's powers and redefine his position, the report says.

In an article entitled "Is this really an interview?", YENI SAFAK columnist Kursat Bumin criticizes Hurriyet's Ankara representative Enis Berberoglu for conducting a "so-called interview" with Nationalist Action Party, (MHP), leader Devlet Bahceli where the "mild" quality of the questions posed allowed Bahceli to maintain a "confident" stance throughout as though he was being interviewed by a "party correspondent" rather than by an experienced journalist. As cases in point, Bumin cites sections in the interview where, he claims, Berberoglu refrains from asking Bahceli whether his party's goal of a single-party government is not rather immoderate in the face of "so many opinion polls" which contradict this expectation or pressing him with questions about northern Iraq that should have called into doubt Turkey's "rights stemming from international law" to stage a cross-border operation.

In an article entitled "We need MPs who could talk about gangs", YENI SAFAK columnist Koray Duzgoren discusses the track record of the current parliament. After citing the rejection of the authorization bill on Iraq as "probably the most important" job accomplished by MPs to date, Duzgoren criticizes the National Assembly for what he refers to as its failure to properly control either the Government's actions and the "illegal" and "irregular" practices of the state bureaucracy, to discuss "vital" matters like the "Kurdish issue" and the Armenian question, and to take action against criminal "gangs." He argues that the absence of a "true opposition" in Parliament is largely responsible for this situation and that it is important for this reason that as many independent deputies as possible be elected to Parliament in the following term.

In an article entitled "A few hundred in Diyarbakir and a few thousand in Caglayan", VAKIT columnist Abdurrahman Dilipak adduces what he refers to as the low turnout at some of the recent "neo-nationalist rallies" in Istanbul and Diyarbakir as proof that with allegations that a coup is in the offing, disagreements among neo-nationalist groups, and the failure of anti-AKP groups to go beyond staging protests toward offering substantial projects to society, the crowds gathered by neo-nationalists are dispersing. He also claims that the Republican People's Party, (CHP), and the MHP will continue to lose votes as the discussion over the "deep state," "unrecorded politics," and "gangs" goes on and new criminal groups keep being smoked out.

In a report entitled "CHP grassroots have already internalized the idea of a coalition with the MHP", ZAMAN correspondent Suleyman Kurt relates his impressions of the CHP's recent election rally in Tokat. He quotes certain unnamed officials representing the CHP's youth branch as saying that they want republicans rather than the Republican People's Party to come to power and that they could cooperate with the MHP in opposing Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul's possible re-nomination as president.

In a report entitled "Balances change in the DTP's stronghold", ZAMAN correspondent Erdal Sen argues on the basis of a large turnout at the AKP's rally in Diyarbakir approaching the organizers' target of "70,000 people" that Diyarbakir may no longer be a Democratic Society Party, (DTP), stronghold, a prediction which, he claims, is supported by a shift in the priorities of the people of Diyarbakir from "ideological rhetoric" to economic issues.

In an article entitled "Minority test for parties", TODAY´S ZAMAN Editor-in-Chief Bulent Kenes comments on studies carried out by this daily suggesting that despite being "branded by some as Islamo-fascist and accused of being anti-secular and of following a secret Islamic agenda ..." the AKP is "the first preference ... of our Armenian, Jewish, Greek and Syrian citizens."

In an article entitled "A clash of foreign policy perspectives", TODAY´S ZAMAN columnist Ihsan Dagi argues that "the realm of foreign policy as monopolized by the state elite is in fact the power reservoir of the authoritarian elements within the state" and that "the clash of perspectives in Turkish foreign policy" between the ruling AKP on the one hand and the CHP and MHP on the other should be seen as a manifestation of the "domestic power struggle between the pro-reform groups and the pro-status quo nationalists."

In an article entitled "The DTP's separatist approach", BUGUN columnist Mehmet Metiner slams the DTP for adopting an "ethno centrist-separatist" approach in advance of the general election where it accuses Kurdish citizens that do not support the DTP of not being Kurdish and treats itself as the sole legitimate representative of "the Kurdish cause." Metiner asserts that this attitude has created great annoyance among the Kurdish people and that for a party like the DTP to assume an "exclusionist-separatist" outlook on Kurds indicates that it actually shares the Establishment's outlook on the Kurdish people.

EG/

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