Cyprus PIO: Turkish Press and Other Media, 10-05-04

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] Eroglu says he will continue the negotiations in the direction of the letter he sent to the UN Secretary-General on 23 April 2010

[02] Eroglu holds contacts with delegations from Turkey

[03] One thousand and five hundred persons were granted the so-called citizenship in one year

[04] The constitutional amendment laws submission to referendum on 27 June has been postponed; Tension at the assembly yesterday

[05] Ercin will discuss in Brussels the problems of the inhabitants of Pergamos and Pyla villages because of the Green Line Regulation

[06] A former British deputy claims that the Turkish army is a guarantee in the island

[07] Political party closure article dropped from package

[08] Turkish political party is set to open a representation in the USA

[09] Turkish and Kazakh state officials discuss about cooperation on various fields

[10] German energy company to build a power plant in Turkey

[11] Figures show that Turkeys bureaucracy is dominated by men

[B] COMMENTARIES, EDITORIALS AND ANALYSIS

[12] From the Turkish Press on 03 May 2010

[A] NEWS ITEMS

[01] Eroglu says he will continue the negotiations in the direction of the letter he sent to the UN Secretary-General on 23 April 2010

Mr Eroglu replied the following when he was asked to comment on the above statement: I do not know what Downer said. I know what he discussed with me. I have written a letter to the UN Secretary-General. This letter binds me. Therefore, we will continue our negotiations in the direction of this letter.

The paper writes that in his letter of 23 April 2010, Mr Eroglu said that the Turkish Cypriot side fully supports the framework of the ongoing UN process according to the Joint Statement of 23 May 2008 issued by President Christofias and the then Turkish Cypriot leader Talat. He also noted that the 1960 system of guarantees and the principle of the equal sovereignty of the two peoples are of vital importance for the Turkish Cypriot side. Moreover, Mr Eroglu reiterated in the letter that the basic UN parameters such as bi-zonality, the political equality of the two peoples, the equal status of the two states and the fact that the solution will create a new partnership will continue to be the foundations of any effort towards finding a solution.

In his statements yesterday, Mr Eroglu said that the negotiations for finding a solution to the Cyprus problem might start on 26 May. He noted that he will visit Ankara this weekend or in the beginning of next week and inform the Turkish President, the Prime Minister and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the work done within the framework of the Cyprus talks.

Mr Eroglu said they agreed with Mr Downer that the negotiations could not last forever. He noted that during his meeting with Mr Downer he raised the issue of the so-called isolations of the Turkish Cypriots.

(I/Ts.)

[02] Eroglu holds contacts with delegations from Turkey

Mr Eroglu said that the target is for the negotiations in Cyprus to resume on May 26th and added that the Turkish sides aim is for an agreement to be reached in the negotiations by the end of the year. Noting that Turkey and the Turkish Cypriot side have the duty to perform so that the world to see and accept some of the realities in Cyprus, Mr Eroglu also added that there is a need for a good lobbying which is something that will be established in cooperation with Turkey. He said that the time to stop the Greek Cypriots from throwing their intransigence on the Turkish side has come.

Furthermore, Turkish Cypriot daily Havadis newspaper (04.05.10) reports on a meeting Dervis Eroglu held with a delegation from the Trabzon Chamber of Commerce (TTO) which pays an illegal visit to the occupied territories of the Republic of Cyprus.

Speaking during the meeting, the council chairman of TTO, Ali Osman Ulusoy, said that Cyprus is a part of Turkey and added that in the case the ports and airports of occupied Cyprus open, the region will attract more tourists than Spain, Italy and Greece.

On his part, Dervis Eroglu said that many people from Trabzon live in occupied Cyprus and added that these are hard working people.

According to Turkish Cypriot daily Vatan newspaper (04.05.10), during the meeting with Dervis Eroglu, the chairman of the board of directors of TTO, Suat Hacisalihoglu, said he is in favour of the continuation of the negotiations in Cyprus and the reaching of an agreement which will not be the outcome of a compromise made by the Turkish side.

The TTO delegation met also with the self-styled speaker of the assembly, Hasan Bozer, who called on investors and businessmen from the Black Sea to make serious investments in occupied Cyprus.

(ML)

[03] One thousand and five hundred persons were granted the so-called citizenship in one year

Speaking on the program Morning Mail with Can Servan, Mr Fellaholgu estimated that 1,500 persons became citizens of the breakaway regime during the last year. Noting that responding to a question submitted in writing two months ago by the self-styled CTP deputy, Ozkan Yorgancioglu, the ministry of interior answered that 1.062 persons have been granted the illegal regimes citizenship, Mr Fellahoglu said that during the last period the so-called migration department worked until late and therefore the number of the persons who took the citizenship could have increased to 1.500.

(ML)

[04] The constitutional amendment laws submission to referendum on 27 June has been postponed; Tension at the assembly yesterday

The paper writes that tension was created yesterday at the assembly during the discussion of the issue of the postponement of the referendum. The leaders of the Republican Turkish Party (CTP) and the Democratic Party (DP), Ferdi Sabit Soyer and Serdar Denktas respectively, accused the chairman of the Social Democracy Party (TDP), Mehmet Cakici of being in favour of the amendment of the constitution in the beginning and of changing his mind afterwards. Tension was created when Mr Cakici accused both of them of lying and of being provocateurs. The self-styled speaker of the assembly Hasan Bozer confirmed what Soyer and Denktas said, as member of the Advisory Committee. Mr Cakici, who had abandoned the room, returned and accused Mr Bozer of lying. Mr Bozer replied to Mr Cakici accusing him of being unethical.

(I/Ts.)

[05] Ercin will discuss in Brussels the problems of the inhabitants of Pergamos and Pyla villages because of the Green Line Regulation

(I/Ts.)

[06] A former British deputy claims that the Turkish army is a guarantee in the island

The paper reports that Stephen Day defended the presence of the Turkish army in Cyprus and said: If the Turkish army departs from Cyprus, I will also leave the island. He also added: When the Turkish army came to the island, it brought democracy to the Greek Cypriot side also. The Greek Cypriot perpetrators of the coup. Fell from power and democracy dominated in the south of the island.

Mr Day, who is in the administration of the British Residents Society that represents three thousand Britons living in the occupied part of Cyprus, also said that the Britons are satisfied with the Turkish guarantees and added: The majority of the Britons are thinking to depart from the island if the Turkish army departs. Britons see the Turkish army as a guarantee in the island. Noting that Britain made a mistake during Cyprus accession course into the EU, Mr Day said: However it was not only Britain. The biggest mistake of the EU was that it took the Greek Cypriot sector in the EU without making an agreement on the property issue.

Mr Day also alleged that the Greek Cypriot lawyer of Meletis Apostolides in the Orams case is threatening that he will file charges even against the Britons who stay at Dome Hotel in occupied town of Keryneia and who rent a house in the occupied part of Cyprus. Criticizing Britain because of the Orams case, Mr Day said: If Britain had intervened in this case in order to protect the rights of its citizens, then the verdict would have been very different.

(DPs)

[07] Political party closure article dropped from package

Article 8 of the government-backed constitutional amendment package, which would have made it more difficult to shut down political parties, was rejected in the second round of voting on the reforms, failing to receive the 330 votes required for inclusion in the package. The article, which would have given Parliament the last say on whether a prosecutor could launch a closure case against a party, received only 327 votes.

The Justice and Development Party's (AK Party) failure to pass this particular article is partly a result of its own deputies not backing the package. The Peace and Democracy Party (BDP), the predecessor of which was shut down by the Constitutional Court, also did not back the package.

In initial remarks, AK Party Mersin deputy and head of Parliament's Human Rights Commission Zafer Uskul said the failure to pass the article only served to show that AK Party deputies voted in accordance with their freewill and that there was no pressure on them.

He said the amendment would be included in future reform packages. In an initial statement, Suat Kilic, deputy chairman of the AK Partys parliamentary group, announced that the AK Party had no intention of withdrawing the package. We will continue talks on the package from where we left off, he said.

The first seven articles of the government-backed constitutional reform package did receive the necessary number of votes in the second round, which began on Sunday. This round follows an eight-day parliamentary marathon in the first round. There will be no discussions of the content of the package in this round, in which confidential votes will be cast a total of 31 times.

On Sunday, the first day of voting, six articles were passed: Article 1, which allows affirmative action for women (332 for, 75 against); Article 2, which introduces stricter control over use of information about a persons private life (334 for, 72 against); Article 3, which makes it more difficult to issue international flight bans for suspects in court cases (335 for, 70 against); Article 4, which introduces stricter monitoring on possible child abuse cases (338 for, 69 against); Article 5, which makes it possible to be a member of more than one workers union at the same time (335 for, 70 against); and Article 6, which gives public servants the right to collective bargaining (338 for, 71 against). On Monday, Article 7, which removes limits on strikes by public servants, was also passed with 338 yeas and 69 nays. The voting continued well into the night.

AK Party Deputy Chairman Salih Kapusuz made a statement yesterday prior to the vote on Article 8, saying they were sure that all the articles would pass the 330 threshold in the second round, which would mean that every article in the package would be referred to referendum. This will continue as it is now until the last article. It has become obvious that the oppositions efforts to block the package will not work, he said.

Participation in the second round was higher than the first, and the number of nays appears to have increased.

He said the public widely expects permanent solutions to the countrys deep-rooted problems, adding that he firmly believed that even those articles known as the critical articles --namely the one making political party closure more difficult and two others making changes to the structure of the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK) and the Constitutional Court. He said he expected the voting to be completed by Friday.

An average of 50 amendment proposals has been submitted for each article in the package. Under the bylaws of Parliament, seven of these were chosen by drawing lots. Deputies made five-minute speeches on the proposals.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan also voted yesterday. He briefly talked to and laughed with visually impaired AK Party deputy Lokman Ayva, tapping his finger on his forehead. He also shared the grief of AK Party Sivas deputy Hamza Yerlikaya, who could only make it to Parliament after the fourth article due to attending his sisters funeral in Sivas. Yerlikayas sister had been undergoing treatment at a Sivas hospital for chronic renal and heart failure. She was 28. Yerlikaya was unable to hold back tears, observers noted.

MHP leader Devlet Bahceli has been voting in the second round. CHP leader Deniz Baykal initially watched the talks in the beginning of the vote; however, he walked out of the general assembly hall after the second article. Democrat Party (DP) deputy Mesut Yilmaz, who did not vote in the first round, voted on the first article in the second round.

Izmir independent deputy Recai Birgun, who supported the package in the first round, said he would not join the second round due to criticism from Rahsan Ecevit, co-founder of Birguns former party, the Democratic Left Party (DSP). I would rather not join the second round of the package, for which my support was only on principle, than break the heart of a person very special to me. Birgun previously worked as a personal bodyguard for Ecevits late husband, former Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit.

Meanwhile, Ankara Anatolia news agency (03.05.10) reported the following from Ankara:

The Turkish parliament adopted on Monday a constitutional amendment on the decisions of the Supreme Military Council (YAS). A total of 409 MPs joined the second round vote on the 12th article of the constitutional amendment bill. Three hundred thirty eight (338) MPs voted in favour of the article, while 69 voted against it. Two MPs cast a blank vote.

The amendment paves the way for trial of decisions of the Supreme Military Council (YAS), excluding promotions and retirement due to lack of cadre. A total of 408 MPs had joined the first round of voting on this article. Three hundred thirty six (336) MPs voted in favour, 70 voted against it. One MP abstained, and one vote was invalid in the first round. The ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party holds 336 seats in the parliament. However the parliament speakers are not allowed to vote in the parliament which reduces potential votes in favour of the bill to 335. Both the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) and second opposition Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) declared they would not support the bill. Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) which criticised the amendment boycotted the voting in the first round.

The articles and entirety of the bill needs to receive over 367 of the votes in order to be adopted. If it receives somewhere between 330 and 367 it will be put to referendum. If any of the articles receive less than 330 it will be automatically rejected. If during the voting of the package as a whole it receives less than 330, it will be rejected.

The second round of the voting which began on May 2, Sunday will last until May 9. A total of 30 secret votes will be held in the second round.The amendment package will abolish the provisional article 15 of the constitution which does not allow trial of the members of the National Security Council formed after a coup in 1980. The bill will also abolish the ban on right to general strike; paves the way for a citizen to become a member of more than one union, and the civil servants and other public officials the right to collective bargaining. It also paves the way for trial of parliament speaker, chief of general staff, and senior commanders by the High Tribunal on charges of crimes they commit regarding their positions. If the bill is to be put to referendum, it is expected to be voted as a whole.

[08] Turkish political party is set to open a representation in the USA

Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) will open a representation in U.S. capital Washington, D.C. Formal opening of the representation will be made with a reception at Holiday Inn Hotel on Wednesday.

BDP Chairman Selahattin Demirtas, BDP deputy Emine Ayna and banned Democratic Society Party's (DTP) former chairman Ahmet Turk will attend the reception. Turkish delegation will also hold several meetings in New York and San Francisco.

Members of banned DTP decided to go on politics with BDP in December, 2009.

[09] Turkish and Kazakh state officials discuss about cooperation on various fields

Turkish State Minister Zafer Caglayan said Monday there were more than 80 fields in which Turkey and Kazakhstan may cooperate.

Speaking to reporters following a meeting with Kazakh Deputy Prime Minister and Industry and New Technologies Minister Aset Isekeshev, Caglayan said that his meeting with Isekeshev and an accompanying delegation took place as a preparatory meeting for Turkish President Abdullah Gul's upcoming visit to Kazakhstan on May 24 and 25. We have established a permanent mechanism between Turkey and Kazakhstan. Based on this mechanism, our two ministries will work as a singly ministry, Caglayan noted. We will work to establish a Turkish Private Industrial Zone and a free trade zone in Kazakhstan. Kazakhstan, Russia and Belarus have formed a customs union and the market of the three countries has a total population of 170 million people. Turkish companies will evaluate their investments directed toward this market, Caglayan said.

We requested from Isekeshev to refrain from acts that would negatively affect the investments of Turkish companies in Kazakhstan, Caglayan said. We have proposed to Isekeshev to sign an agreement with Turkey on preferential trade, Caglayan said. Turkish contractors to date have completed projects worth 13 billion USD in Kazakhstan. Kazakhstan began investments for highways and we wish to see more Turkish contractors involved in highway projects of Kazakhstan, Caglayan said. We will continue to cooperate with Kazakhstan in energy. We can make joint investments for ship-building. Turkey's investments in Kazakhstan are worth around two billion USD and we wish to increase this figure, Caglayan also said.

Aset Isekeshev, on his part, extended an invitation to Turkish companies to come and invest in Kazakhstan. Isekeshev said that there were five reasons why Turkish companies should invest in Kazakhstan. The market is large and has a population of 170 million people. There are raw materials in Kazakhstan and, as such, the cost of transportation of raw materials is zero. Energy prices in Kazakhstan are very low. The tax and investment climate favours investors. Kazakhstan is a friend and brother of Turkey, Isekeshev said.

[10] German energy company to build a power plant in Turkey

Germany's leading energy company RWE has announced its final decision to invest in the construction of a power plant in the western Turkish province of Denizli. RWE will cooperate with Turkey's Turcas A.S. for the construction of a 775-megawatt natural gas combined cycle power plant, the company said in a statement on Monday.

According to the statement, the construction license of the project was acquired in April as a result of comprehensive examinations carried out in accordance with EU standards. The project is worth nearly 500 million Euros and the construction phase is expected to start by mid-2010, the statement also said.

Commenting on the project, RWE's Chief Strategy Officer Leonhard Birnbaum said his company had a significant growth potential in Turkey. Describing Turkey as a major connection point between valuable raw material reserves of the Caspian Sea and West Europe's consumption centres, Birnbaum said RWE would improve its commercial activities and participate in new projects in the country.

Moreover, Andreas Radmacher, head of the executive board of the Istanbul-based RWE Holding A.S., said that the new power plant to be constructed in Denizli would have a productivity level above 55 percent, besides, it would contribute to procurement of environment-friendly and safe electricity.RWE is one of Europe's five leading electricity and gas companies. It is active in the generation, trading, transmission and supply of electricity and gas. More than 70,000 employees supply over 16 million customers with electricity and approximately 8 million customers with gas. In fiscal 2009, RWE recorded about 48 billion Euros in revenue. RWE is the No. 1 power producer in Germany, No. 2 in the Netherlands, and No. 3 in the UK. The market position in Central and South-Eastern Europe is being expanded continuously.

[11] Figures show that Turkeys bureaucracy is dominated by men

Turkish bureaucracy is dominated by men, with 93 percent of the countrys top-level administrators being male, Anatolia news agency reported Monday.

Of the 8,284 top-level administrators in Turkey, 7,713 are men and 571 are women, just 7 percent women. According to data received by the agency, state institutions have 2,330,909 civil servant positions. Of these, only 561,179 are occupied by women. The occupation rate of the positions by men is almost 76 percent. Some 93 percent of the positions in religious services are held by men; in education this amount is 92 percent and in the police force it is 91 percent. In general administration the percentage is almost 60. The occupied positions in academic staff are 63 percent male and it is 76 percent in health services.

Subtitle: Out of each hundred civil servants, 66 are male

The distribution of the occupied positions in public services, according to gender, is 66 percent male and 36 percent women. According to data, the number of men working in state institutions is 1,148,000, while 592,923 are women. All 20 under-secretaries are men, and of the 79 deputy under-secretaries, only two are women. In the 96 general directorates, 91 directors are male.

All of the countrys 175 governors are male and only 12 of 450 deputy governors are women. Of 989 district governors, only 19 are women. There is no woman among the 261 provincial directors. Of all the 959 chief administrators, 139 are women.

Subtitle: Women are majority only among attorneys and health service

According to data given by the State Personnel Administration, women in public services outnumber men only in legal counselling and among assistant health personnel. In legal counselling and attorney positions where 2,639 people work, among them 1,576 are women, whereas only 1,063 are men. Of all the 108,364 assistant health personnel positions, 99,564 are occupied by women, and only 8,800 by men.

Today, 46 percent of teachers, 40 percent of academic staff, and 31 percent of doctors are women. Presently, 275,287 female and 317,825 male teachers work in public schools. Similarly, 76,629 doctors work in state hospitals, of which 23,589 are women and 53,040 are men.

The number of female public servants among judges and prosecutors is 24 percent, 7 percent in supervisors, 38 in career experts, 5 in clergy, 26 in technical personnel, 37 in IT system personnel, and 38 among the chief servants.

Subtitle: Same situation applies to KIT

All of the 18 general directors in State Economic Enterprises, or KITs, are men. Only three of 63 deputy general directors are women, and there are no women employees among 22 regional directors. Among 172 chief administrators the number of women is only seven. In KITs, of all the 800 deputy general directors, 18 are women. In KITs, among the 15,175 civil servants, there are 5,024 women, among the 1,234 cashiers, 220 are women. In 36 secretary positions at the KITs, however, 31 are women.

[B] COMMENTARIES, EDITORIALS AND ANALYSIS

[12] From the Turkish Press on 03 May 2010

a) World Press Freedom Day and Turkey:

Ferai Tinc pens an article in Hurriyet, stressing that in the first three months of this year, 69 journalists were charged with violating the counterterrorism law and other laws and face prison terms. The number of journalists who are in prison due to cases that started before 1 January 2010 stands at 39, according to Tinc. "Today is World Press Freedom Day and that is the situation in Turkey on 3 May 2010," she says, adding: "Prison sentences fall completely counter to the freedom of expression and the press. Prison sentences must be lifted in connection with the press."

b) Davutoglus one year in office:

Milliyet's Can Dundar views Foreign Minister Davutoglu's one-year in office in an article. Accordingly, during a speech at Oxford University on Saturday, 1 May, the foreign minister revealed the number of visits he paid to different countries during the past year as follows: "28 visits to Europe, 27 to the Middle East, 18 to the Balkans, nine to Asia, and eight to the United States." One can see that the West is losing its importance for Turkey, Dundar argues, adding: "The minister did not mention the EU at all during his speech on Saturday."

In an article in Sabah, Hasan Bulent Kahraman relates his conversation with the foreign minister during the visit to Oxford. Davutoglu rejects the allegation that Turkey is becoming neo-Ottoman, and argues that "the policies he has been pursuing have brought Turkey and the United States side by side in terms of the formulation of policies in the region."

c) Erdogan's comparison of Inonu to Hitler:

Asli Aydintasbas refers to a remark by Prime Minister Erdogan on 2 May, where he criticized opposition leader Deniz Baykal for likening himself to Winston Churchill and the prime minister to Hitler. Erdogan said: If Baykal is "looking for a political figure who looks like Hitler, let him take a look at the photographs of their former party leaders at their party headquarters." The remarks were in reference to Ismet Inonu, known as the "National Chief" and successor to the founder of the Republic of Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. Erdogan said Inonu tried to imitate the Fuhrer as others began calling him the "National Chief." In her column in Milliyet, Aydintasbas rejects allegations that the prime minister was trying to change the agenda by making provocative remarks against Inonu. She says: "Whether you like him or not, the Erdogan we know is a leader who does not hide his feelings; if he is angry he shows his anger, if he is happy, he shows it. I do not believe that he made the remark about Inonu in order to change the agenda." According to the columnist, "ever since the AKP [Justice and Development Party] came to power, the conservatives have had the tendency to attribute all their problems related to Kemalism to Inonu instead of Ataturk."

/EI

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