Cyprus PIO: Turkish Cypriot and Turkish Media Review, 13-03-11

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

[A] TURKISH CYPRIOT / TURKISH PRESS

[01] Jack Straw proposed the occupation regime's recognition if the Republic of Cyprus continues blocking Turkey's EU bid; He described as a huge mistake Cyprus's admission to the EU

[02] Statements by Tacoy in Brussels

[03] Eti and Caglar will attend meetings of PACE

[04] A delegation of Turkey's MFA carries out contacts in the occupied area of the Republic of Cyprus; Eroglu met with Mathew Kidd

[05] Will Erhan Ercin be the new negotiator of the Turkish Cypriot side?

[06] Representative of "TRNC" in London aims to bring British MEPs in the occupied area of the Republic of Cyprus

[07] Yildiz reiterated that the energy resources to be found should be equally share between the two sides in the island

[08] Smuggling of cigarettes is reportedly carried out through occupied Famagusta port

[09] One million dollar health insurance for every German tourist illegally visiting occupied Cyprus

[10] The breakaway regime participated in the 5th Educational Fair in Kirgizstan

[11] Erdogan's calling to PKK: "Lay down your arms, conduct politics in Parliament"

[12] Gul to carry out contacts in Sweden; Turkey to sign a strategic partnership agreement with Sweden

[13] Turkey's "Gokturk-3" satellite to be launched to space in 2019

[A] TURKISH CYPRIOT / TURKISH PRESS

[01] Jack Straw proposed the occupation regime's recognition if the Republic of Cyprus continues blocking Turkey's EU bid; He described as a huge mistake Cyprus's admission to the EU

"You have sometimes to get people to understand what the consequences of their actions are. It may still be this that if the Greek Cypriots continued to block the accession approach of Turkey, then my view is certainly that we have to move towards recognizing the KKTC", Straw said.

In the interview Straw did not mince his words both for the Greek Cypriots and the EU regarding their Turkey policies. Calling the admission of Greek Cypriots into the club without the solution of the Cyprus matter "a huge mistake," Straw said it was now time to get tough with the Greek Cypriots and argued that if they would continue to block Turkey's accession process, then the "TRNC" should be recognized. Straw said it was a disgraceful story to keep Turkish Cypriots out in the cold despite the fact that they said "yes" to the Annan plan. Straw's very critical remarks come right after Nikos Anastasiadis who said "yes" to the Annan plan in 2004 has been elected President of "Greek Cyprus", as the Republic of Cyprus is called.

Straw was the British Foreign Secretary when Turkey started accession talks back in 2005. After a marathon session of talks spanning 40 hours, he said he was "very angry and very sad" on the state of Turkey's accession talks with the European Union. Known as the "architect of the accession of talks," Straw worked very hard together with former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair on October 2 and 3 to break the "resistance" of the Greek Cypriots and the Austrians in particular and kick-start talks with Turkey.

Remembering the night of October 3, Straw said the Austrians reacted as if there was a third siege of Vienna by the Turks and that the Greek Cypriots were warned that there would be "consequences" if they blocked the start of the talks.

Following is a part of Straw's interview:

Q: "You were the UK Foreign Minister in 2005, and the UK was the term President of the EU when the accession talks started with Turkey. You personally did a lot to convince the Austrians in particular and then the Greek Cypriots to get their "yes." In your book you said it was your proudest personal achievement as UK foreign secretary. But now the process is in a shambles, almost half of the chapters are suspended and the process is not going anywhere. How do you feel?

I feel very sad and also very angry that this great opportunity for the European Union of having a really important country, Turkey, in an active process of accession has been stalled -- blocked as a result of some petty politics by the Greek Cypriots and a strategic mistake that was subsequently made in 2005 by France and Germany. That [mistake] was particularly made by former President Sarkozy. I have some hope now that with Francois Hollande as the president of France and what appears to be a quite marked shift by Chancellor Angela Merkel in Germany that there may be a better understanding inside the EU of the importance of getting these talks going. The other view I have is that now is the time for the European Commission and large countries generally inside the European Union to start being tough with the Greek Cypriots. There's a history as to why Greek Cyprus was allowed into the EU, it shouldn't have been, but it was a mistake that we were involved in as well.

Q: Do you sometimes think it was a huge mistake?

No question about it, it was a huge mistake. There was a reason for it, which was that the party that appeared to be obdurate and continually unhelpful at the time for some years was north Cyprus when it was run by Mr. [Rauf] Denktas, whereas south Cyprus always appeared reasonable. It was strategically a huge mistake. Particularly after Cyprus President Tassos Papadopoulos wilfully broke his own promise and campaigned for a 'no' vote when he signed for a 'yes' vote in the Annan negotiations, so big mistakes. I'm afraid one can't repair those mistakes immediately, but we ought to be able to make progress, and I say now that people have seen exposed the true nature of the financial shambles of Greek Cyprus and its huge indebtedness to Russia and many other problems, which is worrying Germany among others. It's time I think to get tough with the Cypriots.

Q: People in Turkey have now lost nearly all hope in the EU. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has started to talk about whether Turkey should be in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

One of my arguments always was that Turkey is such an important strategic country, such a largely important country, that its strategy would not be stable and it wouldn't always be looking West. If we push them away, they would look East. What else would any leader elsewhere in Europe do in that situation? So I think that a process in which Turkey looks East if its Western partners are pushing it away is inevitable; it's regrettable but inevitable.

Q: You were the architect of the October 3 night. We waited 40 hours for you to convince the Austrians. You had the impression then that the Austrians were behaving as though Vienna was under another siege by the Turks.

You can't engage in any complex negotiation in Europe which affects the individual country's sense of their nationhood without understanding their history. To the Austrians and the Christian heritage countries in the Balkans, what happened in the continuing clashes with the Ottoman Empire feels to some of them like yesterday. So that's why I said that and it was true.

Q: Another problem was the Greek Cypriots. There were rumours that you actually convinced them together with Prime Minister Blair by telling them that if they didn't agree that night then you would recognize the Turkish side of Cyprus. Was it true?

It wasn't quite as stark as that, but we had to explain to them that there would be consequences if a very small state of a divided island kept a very large state from even starting to negotiate. Critical to the shift by the Greek Cypriots was the approach of George Papandreou, the foreign minister of Greece at the time, who is a great man, and he too could see strategically why it was so important for Greece as well as for the Greek Cypriots to end this standoff with Turkey and with the Turkish Cypriots. You have to sometimes get people to understand what the consequences of their actions are. It may still be that if the Greek Cypriots continue to block the accession approach of Turkey, then my view is certainly that we have to move towards recognizing the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus [KKTC]. I've written about this, that we can't go in my view forever pretending that you can bring these two sides together if that is impossible. Part of the difficulty at the moment is that you've got a de facto partition, anyway, as for the Greek Cypriots there is little or no incentive for them for a compromise because they've got all the benefits of a partition without any of the disadvantages. So in time we may have to get there, and it's not the end of the world; after all some of the former provinces of Yugoslavia were separated and partitioned.

Q: Gunter Verheugen, the then-enlargement commissioner, said in the European Parliament publicly that he felt cheated by the Greek Cypriots, and then there was the direct trade regulation by the council two days after the referendum that was never implemented. The Turkish Cypriots were left out in the cold.

It's a disgraceful story, if that's what you're saying to me, and it makes me very angry. That is why I have moved over the last decade from a position of relative neutrality between the position of the Greek Cypriot government and that of the Turkish Cypriots to one where I believe that a great injustice has been done to the Turkish Cypriot community, and this has nothing to do with the feelings for the Greek Cypriot population who I feel great affection for, but it is about their system.

Q: People criticize Britain as well, saying they did not help at all. A British Airways plane could have landed in Ercan, for example, they say.

Well, I wanted that to happen; I devoted a lot of time looking at the detailed regulations, very detailed regulations, getting legal advice, and I'm afraid to say that my time ran out because then, I was moved from the Foreign Office to the leader of the House of Commons. If I had stayed I might have been able to resolve that, but it was a contest, not least without lawyers, and their default setting is to say 'No, you can't do this'."

[02] Statements by Tacoy in Brussels

Claiming that this would be tantamount to "waste of time", Tacoy recalled that so-called elections will be held in the occupied area of Cyprus in 2014 and argued that "it seems that this will be positively reflected on the solution process".

He argued, inter alia, the following: "If Anastasiades' aim is to suspend the negotiations to 2015, he is committing a big mistake. The negotiating table should be launched the soonest with pressure exerted by the countries and the sides which want a solution in Cyprus. The visit of Downer to the island on 11 March should be encouraging within the framework of the beginning of the negotiations without delay. Anastasiades should see that if he wants to get rid of the economic crisis, the solution will bring many benefits. If Anastasiades thinks that he will be saved with the loan from Russia, he is mistaken?"

Tacoy alleged that Russia used the opportunity given by the crisis in the Republic of Cyprus in order to come down to the Mediterranean, "in spite of the strategic allies of Turkey". He argued that this seems a development which will "push Turkey's allies to the wall" in the future.

(I/Ts.)

[03] Eti and Caglar will attend meetings of PACE

According to an announcement by the so-called TRNC assembly, Eti and Caglar will first attend the committee meeting on Culture, Science, Education and Media in Paris between 11 and 12 of March. After this, they will attend the Committee meeting on Political Affairs and Democracy in Rabat, Morocco, between 13-14 of March. Between 17-18 of March, they will take office at the Committee meeting on Equality and Non-Discrimination in Warsaw, Poland. On the 19th of March, they will attend the Committee meeting on Legal Affairs and Human Rights in Paris.

[04] A delegation of Turkey's MFA carries out contacts in the occupied area of the Republic of Cyprus; Eroglu met with Mathew Kidd

No statements were issued to the press prior or after the meetings.

The Turkish delegation was headed by the Turkish Ambassador, General Director of the Maritime and Aviation of Turkey's MFA, Ahmet Vakur Gokdenizler.

During the meeting of the delegation from the Turkish Foreign Ministry with Eroglu, so-called Turkish Ambassador in the occupied area of the Republic of Cyprus Halil Ibrahim Akca, Eroglu's undersecretary Hasan Gungor, and Eroglu's special representative and spokesman Osman Ertug were also present.

Meanwhile, Eroglu also had a separate meeting with the British High Commissioner to Cyprus Mathew Kidd, according to illegal Bayrak television (08.03.13).

The latest developments on the Cyprus problem were taken up at the meeting attended by Eroglu's undersecretary Hasan Gungor and Eroglu's special representative Osman Ertug.

[05] Will Erhan Ercin be the new negotiator of the Turkish Cypriot side?

Ercin, who according to the paper was criticized for thinking more about the EU interest in the breakaway regime than the interest of the breakaway regime in the EU, was closed to the former Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat and managed to obtain the position of the currently head of the "TRNC Prime Minister's Office of EU Coordination Centre" when the National Unity Party (UBP) came to "power".

Volkan who cites "trustworthy sources", write that Ercin will first be appointed to the position of prime ministry undersecretary and then the position of the negotiator.

[06] Representative of "TRNC" in London aims to bring British MEPs in the occupied area of the Republic of Cyprus

During the meeting with the Turkish journalists, Tuncali explained to them their work and achievements. She announced that they have established a new organization called "Turkish Cypriot Political Strategic Group", in London, by Turkish Cypriots who live in the UK, aiming to make the voice of the Turkish Cypriots residing in Britain be heard in a stronger and clearer way and to strengthen their political profile.

Tuncali also stressed that the deputy leader of the Liberal Democrat Party Simon Hughes visited the occupied area of the Republic of Cyprus last May via the illegal airport of Tymbou as a result of their suggestion. She added that Lord Maginnis also attended the Turkish Cypriots World Congress.

Tuncali also said that their aim of this year is more British MEPs to visit the occupied area of the Republic of Cyprus and carry out contacts with high rank officials of the breakaway regime.

[07] Yildiz reiterated that the energy resources to be found should be equally share between the two sides in the island

Asked to reply to a question why Turkey is not doing business in the north of Iraq and why the Turkish state is not signing deals with the KRG, Yildiz replied as follows:

"Turkey is continuing with its road map, be it with timing, or be it with procedures. Turkey is a county that does not act against international law. When we say in Cyprus that the Republic of Northern Cyprus and the administration in South Cyprus should have a fair share of energy resources, we show the same consistency here. If revenue is generated, there should not be any differentiation between the south and north [of Iraq]".

[08] Smuggling of cigarettes is reportedly carried out through occupied Famagusta port

After the incident, the self-styled minister of finance, Ersin Tatar visited the ships with a boat and was briefed on the smuggling. He argued that the "TRNC", breakaway regime in the occupied area of the Republic of Cyprus, could not be used in smuggling and pointed out to the importance of finding out about the smuggling of cigarettes and of doing what was necessary. Recalling of the loss of income from this smuggling both for the regime and for Turkey, Tatar said that no one should doubt that the breakaway regime will do whatever is necessary and continue the struggle against the smuggling.

Meanwhile, Turkish Cypriot daily Volkan newspaper (11.03.13) reports that the smuggling of cigarettes had been going on for a long period and that those who buy these cigarettes earn big profits, while the "state" suffers losses. Noting that the interrogations are focused on the names of the persons to whom the cigarettes were sold, the paper cites information according to which the attention on this issue has been turned to some casinos functioning in the occupied area of Cyprus. "It is alleged that some casinos give for free these cigarettes, which they buy cheaply, to their clients who gamble", writes the paper.

Turkish Cypriot daily Afrika newspaper (11.03.13) refers to the same issue and reports that the smuggling of cigarettes is not something new for the occupied area of Cyprus. The paper writes that during the "war against the gangs", which it had declared many years ago, it had also brought onto the agenda the issue of the smuggling of cigarettes the worth of which reached many million dollars. The paper had reported then that a "godfather" known as "doctor" or "Arab" had been the head of this issue. On 24 October 2010, the paper had said regarding the smuggling, that swindling of trillions of Turkish liras is carried out through the occupied port of Famagusta and that the "police" had a lot of information about it. According to the paper, if the local collaborators of the smugglers are not arrested, the smuggling cannot be prevented.

(I/Ts.)

[09] One million dollar health insurance for every German tourist illegally visiting occupied Cyprus

The issue was discussed between "YDU officials" and the NTL Travel director Dogan Yakti, during the ITB Berlin tourist fair which took place in Germany last week.

According to the paper, this development will raise the interest especially by third age German tourists and will pay an important role for them to choose occupied Cyprus for their vacations.

The paper also writes that the number of German tourists towards occupied Cyprus is expected to be increased in 2013.

[10] The breakaway regime participated in the 5th Educational Fair in Kirgizstan

According to the paper, the illegal Eastern Mediterranean University, the Lefka European University and the International Cyprus University participated in the Fair.

The fair was organized by the World of Education Firm, and participated universities from Turkey, UK, USA, Malta, China, Australia and other countries.

[11] Erdogan's calling to PKK: "Lay down your arms, conduct politics in Parliament"

"There is only one thing to be done: You will [lay down] your weapons. You will conduct your political acts at Parliament. If you have an idea or a thought to say, you will express it. If you do that, you will find an interlocutor," Erdogan said in the heavily-Kurdish province of Siirt in Turkey's southeast, where he was elected to Parliament for the first time following the repeal of his electoral ban in 2003.

Erdogan asked again for locals to support the "resolution process" and reiterated his disregard for ethnic nationalism while insisting his government would not accept anything that challenged Turkey's indivisibility. "Twelve years ago, we said no to ethnic nationalism. We said no to policies of denial and assimilation. We are also against regional nationalism. The East will have exactly the same as the West. Wither with a central government or a local government," he said.

During his speech, Erdogan also reminded the audience that his wife, Emine Erdogan, was originally from the Siirt. "In Afyon, I said 'one people' against those who want to split us apart because that's our belief. I love my Kurdish brother, my Arab brother and my Turkish brother in the same way. I don't discriminate," said Erdogan. "If I did that sort of discrimination, why would I marry an Arab girl from Siirt? This is the best proof of it", he said.

Erdogan asked the government's counterparts in the peace talks for honesty and goodwill. "My people have appropriated the resolution process. We won't give credit to those who want to split us. We won't give credit to terrorism," he said.

[12] Gul to carry out contacts in Sweden; Turkey to sign a strategic partnership agreement with Sweden

Describing the visit to Sweden, which is the first ever at the Presidential level, as "very significant," Sweden's envoy to Turkey said the strategic partnership agreement will be a "very good platform when we [Turkey and Sweden] look into cooperation in new areas," obviously excited over the potential the two countries may set in motion in an effort to knit closer ties.

Apart from the strategic cooperation agreement to be signed by the Foreign Ministers of both countries, business will be a major focus of the President's visit. Gul is being accompanied by more than 100 Turkish businessmen together with the Deputy Prime Minister in Charge of Economy, Ali Babacan, Turkey's European Union Minister and Chief Negotiator Egemen Bagis and Foreign Affairs Minister Ahmet Davutoglu.

The group left for Sweden on Sunday for a three-day state visit to officially start on Monday.

For the Swedish ambassador to Turkey, Hakan Akesson, the prospects for cooperation on the business front are high, and Swedish and Turkish companies "match well." "An interesting area of cooperation for companies may be in third markets," he told Today's Zaman, noting that Turkey has knowledge of markets in the region and Swedish firms the technological skills and knowhow.

The trade volume between the two countries totalled $3.3 billion at the end of 2012. The ambassador is hopeful it may increase considerably in the coming years. "My guess is that it's possible to double bilateral trade given the size of both economies and the fact that both economies are growing healthily," he said. During the visit, the Turkish head of state will not only address a large business forum on the subject of boosting bilateral trade but will also give a speech in the Swedish Parliament, a sign of excellent diplomatic relations.

Around 250 people including journalists were expected to accompany Gul during the visit, in which for the first time in history a minority representative, Patriarchal Vicar of the Syriac Orthodox Church Mor Filiksinos Yusuf Cetin, will also take part. Syriacs are a sizable community in Sweden, with nearly 120,000 members, 45,000 of whom are Turkish citizens, according to data from the Directorate of Overseas Turks and Relative Communities.

President Gul, accompanied by his wife, Hayr?nnisa G?l, will be received by Sweden's King Carl XVI Gustaf and the queen. With Turkey's profile having grown considerably on the world scene in the last decade, interest in Turkey is relatively high in Sweden. A research institute to be inaugurated with the participation of the Turkish President and the king of Sweden, the Institute for Turkey Studies of Stockholm University, demonstrates the fact very well. The institute, financed primarily by the university, but also by the private sectors of both countries, is fully focused on studies of contemporary Turkey.

Sweden gives full support to Turkey's EU bid. There are three reasons for this, according to the ambassador. The first is that Sweden believes Turkey's membership would make the EU stronger politically. The EU's foreign policy would also gain strength from the knowledge, experience and perspectives Turkey has that the EU does not, such as in issues surrounding the Middle East.

Secondly, Turkey would also strengthen the EU economy with its dynamic economy and young population. And thirdly, social and cultural considerations play a role. "Turkey's membership would clearly show the EU is not a Christian club, but rather a union for members sharing the same values," Akesson commented.

(?)

Defense is an area Sweden and Turkey have cooperated on for some time. Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI), which has set out to produce the country's first fighter jet, is cooperating with Sweden's Saab.

Gul cancelled a planned visit to Sweden, which receives Turkish delegations on average twice a year, in September of last year for health reasons.

[13] Turkey's "Gokturk-3" satellite to be launched to space in 2019

Speaking to the Anadolu Agency (AA), a senior official with the Turkish National Defense Ministry, Mujdat Uludag said that they were making preparations to send "Gokturk-3" to space in 2019. "We began working on a 'Satellite Launch Center' so that we can send our satellites to space with our own means. We will begin working on the launch center within 2013", Uludag also said. TURKISH AFFAIRS SECTION

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