Cyprus PIO: Turkish Cypriot and Turkish Media Review, 10-08-16

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

[A] TURKISH CYPRIOT PRESS

[01] Eroglu: If an agreement is not reached by the end of the year, everyone will go on their own way

[02] Erdogan on the Cyprus problem and EU

[03] Columnist: Signals of weariness from New York

[04] Izcan: Turkeys aim is to turn Cyprus into Taiwan

[05] Cyprus Vakiflar Association in the occupied areas appeals to international organisations

[06] Project to promote DAU and the occupation regime launched

[B] TURKISH PRESS

[07] Turkish Foreign Ministry refutes allegations that it used chemical weapons against PKK militants

[08] US OIG report on US diplomatic activity in Turkey

[09] Turkey and Mexico sign cooperation agreement

[10] Highlights: 14-15 August 2010

[A] TURKISH CYPRIOT PRESS

[01] Eroglu: If an agreement is not reached by the end of the year, everyone will go on their own way

Commenting on the ongoing Cyprus talks, Eroglu reiterated that the Greek Cypriot side wants to discuss issues of the displaced and territory in parallel with the property, and stressed that the Turkish Cypriot side favours separate discussion on each chapter.

If an agreement is not reached by the end of this year, Eroglu reiterated that everyone will go on their own way. The TRNC is in peace and safety due to the security of the Turkish Armed Forces and Motherlands guarantees, Eroglu said. Eroglu said that he aims an agreement that will be permanent and viable, unlike that of 1960.

Eroglu said that he is continuing the negotiations in order to reach a settlement that will be approved by the people, however, he added this does not only depend on the Turkish Cypriot side.

Eroglu also said that he has been exchanging views with the political parties with seats in the parliament, adding that as representative of the Turkish Cypriots at the negotiations, he will exchange views with the people through the establishment of a Public Council, shortly.

(DPs)

[02] Erdogan on the Cyprus problem and EU

In an address at a fast-breaking dinner in Ankara, Erdogan said that important responsibility lies with the European Union (EU) as regards the Cyprus problem, as it accepted South Cyprus unilateral application for membership to the Union, arguing that the promises made to the Turkish Cypriots have not been honoured. On Turkeys EU membership, he said artificial obstacles should not be raised in Turkeys its EU accession process. The Cyprus issue has been malevolently taken away from its real framework and has been turned into a problem between Turkey and the European Union. This is completely wrong, he added.

Recalling that Ankara supported the Annan Plan, he said that as a guarantor power Turkey has fulfilled its responsibilities on the Cyprus issue. But, neither Greece nor Britain --two guarantor countries-- showed similar sensitivity on the issue, he noted.

[03] Columnist: Signals of weariness from New York

According to Dr Atun it is clear that the UN are determined to solve the Cyprus problem or to drop it from their agenda. He explained that activities of organizations such as NATO, EU, Common Defence and Security Policy, Partnership policy for Peace, Euro Control, Security Flight System as well as Turkey-EU accession talks have begun to be influenced negatively by the prolongation of the Cyprus problem.

He also writes that the ECHRs decisions regarding the Cyprus problem, Turkish Prime Minister Erdogans statements, and the announcement that 2010 will be the turning point for the Cyprus problem, strengthen the argument that the Cyprus problem will be dropped from the UN agenda.

He adds that the property issue, which is the essential component of the Cyprus problem, has undergone dramatic changes suddenly with latest ECHRs ruling, and has entered a very different course. He also explains that according to news coming from the UN, the property issue could be solved by implementing a new concept with regard to the protection of the rights of both people living on the island. Once solution of the property issue is achieved, the other issues will be easy to tackle.

According to those who do not want unification of the island, it is highly probable that after solution of the property issue the existence of two separate states on the island will be legitimized, Dr Atun concludes.

(DPs)

[04] Izcan: Turkeys aim is to turn Cyprus into Taiwan

Moreover, Izcan expresses the conviction that an early solution is not Turkeys priority. Turkey does want to go through a crisis in the December 2010 EU Summit, where its EU progress will be evaluated. Izcan argued that the only way out for Turkish Cypriots is an early federal solution, and added: If Mr Erdogan wants a solution by the end of the year, he should refrain from presenting separatist, (in deviation from UN parameters), maximalist, requests. Instead, he should adhere to a federal base and contribute in the negotiations [by submitting] proposals which would have a result.

(IS)

[05] Cyprus Vakiflar Association in the occupied areas appeals to international organisations

According to illegal BRT, Vakiflar calls on the sides to do what is necessary and urges the Greek Cypriot side to give up what it describes as disrespectful approach towards history and the Muslim community. The letter says it is improper on the part of the Greek impropriety to follow such a stance, and places itself as the champion of cultural heritage.

Moreover, Vakiflar administrations director, Mustafa Kemal Kaymakamzade, has brought complaint to the US Ambassador Frank Urbancic on the same issue. Kaymakamzade stressed that properties owned by Vakiflar cannot be sold or transferred.

[06] Project to promote DAU and the occupation regime launched

[B] TURKISH PRESS

[07] Turkish Foreign Ministry refutes allegations that it used chemical weapons against PKK militants

Claims that our country might possibly have used chemical weapons do not reflect reality. As a signatory to the Chemical Weapons Convention since 1997, our country does not produce, possess or use chemical weapons, the Foreign Ministry statement said late on Friday.

According to T.Z, German magazine Der Spiegel reported on Thursday that some PKK members had handed a German human rights delegation photos of eight PKK terrorists, supposedly killed in September 2009. Moreover, the paper adds that a forensic report released by the University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf confirmed the suspicions, arguing that it is highly probable that the eight Kurds died due to the use of chemical substances.

The Foreign Ministry statement urged those who suspect Turkey of using such weapons to seek further details from international institutions. Such claims show that the PKK terrorist organization aims to distort the extraordinary efforts of our security forces against terrorism within the bounds of the rule of law, the statement noted.

[08] US OIG report on US diplomatic activity in Turkey

The report said, "the Turkish Government has committed itself to working towards regional stability on almost all of its borders and beyond, sometimes in ways that please the United States and other times not. Turkey's outreach to Kurdish community aims at finding a solution to the longstanding unrest within the context of a unitary state. Turkey, nonetheless, retains a robust posture against the Kurdish opposition across the border in Iraq."

The report said the U.S. was pleased with Turkey's strong diplomatic presence in Iraq, its links with regional administration in the north of Iraq, a premier position in trade and investment with Iraq.

It also said: Turkey's ambitious foreign policy initiatives attract major U.S. policy attention: support for reconciliation in Cyprus, contributions in Iraq and Afghanistan, openings to Iran, relations with Israel and Armenia, a large Islamic population in a secular state, and the role of groups in the United States that arise from diasporas.

The report adds Turkey had the 16th largest economy in the world, as measured by gross domestic product, adding that as a result of firm regulatory oversight, it weathered the 2008-2009 global financial crisis relatively well.

[09] Turkey and Mexico sign cooperation agreement

Speaking at a joint press conference, Davutoglu said that the last time a Mexican Secretary of Foreign Relations visited Turkey was 18 years ago. Inter alia, Davutoglu said that they had a very comprehensive meeting with Espinosa and that they reviewed bilateral relations and took a joint decision to meet prior to all international forums. We decided to make mutual visits each year and facilitate a diplomatic exchange programme. We have agreed to hold talks in order to encourage investments and prevent double taxation, Davutoglu said. Thanking Mexico for easing visa procedures for Turkish citizens, Davutoglu said that Turkey will begin issuing visas to Mexican citizens at airports. We look at Mexico as the most important strategic country in our Latin America and Central America move, Davutoglu noted.

[10] Highlights: 14-15 August 2010

In an article in Taraf (14.08.10), under the headline "The AKP government is changing its Cyprus policy," Emre Uslu writes that the government is reportedly going to assume a harsher attitude. Uslu says: "Everybody knows that Dervis Eroglu is a leader who does not want a solution. Especially international observers believe that the new policy to be followed by the AKP will help Eroglu, and cause a return to the pre-2004 era in Cyprus."

b) Referendum

Yeni Safak (14.08.10) carries a front-page report which that a number of Nationalist Action Party (MHP) and Republican People's Party (CHP) mayors have resigned from their parties because they do not share the party line against the constitutional amendment package.

Yeni Safak reports on the results of a MetroPoll survey suggesting that the proportion of no to yes votes in the forthcoming referendum will be 33,6% to 49,6% respectively. The survey suggests that some 27,5% of MHP supporters and up to 30% of BDP supporters will vote in favour of the constitutional reforms and that overall voter support for the ruling AKP has increased by 5% to reach 43,1%.

c) PKK truce debate

Murat Yetkin in his column in Radikal (15.08.10) says that the Turkish governments' initial failure to take the PKK seriously and later on to openly admit the Kurdish rebellion has now reached a point where the initiative has passed to the PKK and the present government waits with bated breath for Ocalan's authorization from his Imrali cell. The unbelievable mistakes committed by this government during the Kurdish overture and its unwillingness to even introduce such simple democratic reforms as the lowering of the election threshold have boomeranged on it and passed the initiative to the PKK, he argues.

Can Dundar, in his column in Milliyet (15.08.10), expresses the same view and adds that seeing that the Kurdish overture process is now being run by Ocalan, the government has to either openly involve him in the peace process or do something to regain the initiative.

Fikret Bila, in his column in Milliyet (15.07.10), believes that the Kurdish side extended the cease-fire beyond the referendum and plans to use its "yes" vote to force the government into negotiations. Bila considers that such an expectation on the part of the PKK and some columnists are not realistic, as the referendum will be followed by general elections and the government will not initiate any talks with the PKK after the referendum.

Oral Calislar, in his column in Radikal (15.08.10), notes that alongside the announcement of cease-fire, the KCK also proposed that the state should stop military operations, 1,700 Kurdish politicians should be released from jails, Ocalan should participate in the peace process, and the 10% election threshold should be lowered. He adds that the Turks should realize that they are now facing an entire

Kurdish people voicing their basic demands, and that the truce and KCK proposals should be met so as to facilitate the solution of the Kurdish problem.

Turker Alkan, in his column in Radikal (15.08.10), suggests that the best way to make headway in the problem would be to bring all Kurds into a single organization to give them one single voice. That would enable the Kurds to distance themselves from violence, adopt a more responsible policy, and thus open the way for peaceful struggle for the sake of ensuring Turkish-Kurdish coexistence.

Ahmet Altan in Taraf (15.08.10), welcomes the cease-fire and praises Ocalan's role in creating a new opportunity for peace for both Turks and Kurds, adding that as a reciprocal gesture Ocalan should now be allowed to at least watch television and read morning papers, a right that has been recognized to "other prisoners".

In an article entitled "Before it is too late for everything", Vakit columnist Ayhan Bilgin considers the calls for Kurdish autonomy as a development indicating Turkey's need to adopt very urgent and effective measures against the separatist Kurdish campaign being conducted "under the pretext of voicing democratic demands ... with support from the United States, the EU, and Israel."

d) Supreme Council of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK)

Vakit (14.08.10) carries a front-page report that as many as eight members of the Supreme Council of Judges and Prosecutors are members of the Association of Justices and Prosecutors (YARSAV), meaning that the YARSAV, with membership accounting for "only 10% of all judges and prosecutors in the country," enjoys 80% representation in the HSYK. According to the report, "all the fuss about the referendum has to do with the fact that the reform package going to public vote will end YARSAV's occupation of the HSYK."

e) Arinc expects 60% "yes" at referendum

In an interview to Hurriyet's (15.08.10) Metehan Demir, Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc says he is expecting a 60% "yes" vote in the referendum, adding that such a result would boost AKP's morale ahead of the general elections and undermine the unity and even the very existence of opposition parties.

f) Turkey against Dink at ECHR

Turkish newspaper reports give prominent coverage to the defence statement the Turkish government submitted to the ECHR over the prison sentence of Armenian journalist Hrant Dink under Turkish Penal Code Article 301, before his murder in 2007. When Hrant Dink was sentenced to prison by a local court for an article that was construed as insulting Turkishness, he appealed to the ECHR but was murdered a week later. In the defence statement to the ECHR, which is now looking into the case combining Dink's own appeal with an appeal by Dink's family, the Turkish government argues that the Ministerial Committee of the Council of Europe has a recommendation against resort to hatred; Dink insulted Turkishness and fomented hatred and therefore the ECHR should find him guilty as it did a German Nazi leader who had penned an article praising Nazism.

Radikal (15.08.10) hosts the reports on the same issue, under the headline "Dink was murdered for a second time with the defence statement submitted to the ECHR."

Milliyet and Vatan report use as headline the statement by Dink's brother to the effect that the government's "bloodcurdling" defence has scuttled every hope for the elucidation of the murder.

g) Turkey's energy imports

Gungor Uras, in his column in Milliyet (15.07.10), says the Energy Ministry is mishandling imports, pointing out that Turkey is paying an extra $1.1 billion to Azerbaijani gas so as not to offend the "so-called fraternal country," and an equal amount to Iran for the same reason for the gas that Turkey does not even use. In general, the columnist adds, Turkey's energy payments in foreign currency have been steadily increasing; in the first six months of 2010, Turkey paid $ 17.5 billion for energy imports. TURKISH AFFAIRS SECTION http://www.moi.gov.cy/pio

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