Cyprus PIO: Turkish Cypriot and Turkish Media Review, 13-09-27

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] TURKISH CYPRIOT / TURKISH PRESS

[01] Eroglu's contacts in New York

[02] Nami's contacts in New York

[03] Gul met with the Republic of Cyprus delegation at the UN General Assembly

[04] Ozgurgun says they want "TRNC" to be one of the equal founding partners in Cyprus

[05] Cyprus problem among the subjects discussed during Davutoglu's meetings in NY

[06] Turkish columnist writes that Greece receiving the Turkish Cypriot envoy would mean that Athens has recognized the breakaway regime

[07] Reactions by KTOS and KTOEOS against AKP; They spend 11 million TL for repairing all schools and 22 million TL for building one mosque

[08] The "Near East University mosque" will be the largest mosque of Cyprus

[09] The regime fined Greek Cypriot buses

[10] Turkey to host summit to discuss UN Security Council reform

[11] Chinese corporation wins tender for Turkey's long-range air and missile defense system

[12] Energy Minister: General to play important role in achieving Turkey's energy goals

[13] Turkish Interior Minister Confirms 17 of 18 Fugitives Captured in Eastern Turkey

[A] TURKISH CYPRIOT / TURKISH PRESS

[01] Eroglu's contacts in New York

Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu attended the first reception hosted by Turkey's Ambassador to Washington Namik Tan in honour of Turkey's President Abdullah Gul at the Turkish House (Turk Evi) and found the opportunity to have conversations with Gul and other foreign guests.

Later, Eroglu and his delegation attended a reception hosted by the General Secretary of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Ekmeledin Ihsanoglu to the OIC member countries. Eroglu met with state and head of governments of the OIC member countries attending also the reception.

[02] Nami's contacts in New York

Name met with the Foreign Minister of Qadar Khalid Bin Mohammed Al-Altiyah. According to Bayrak, they exchanged views regarding the improvement of relations between Qatar and the breakaway regime. Nami also expressed to Al-Altiyah his pleasure for Qatar's support towards the breakaway regime.

Nami also gave an interview to the Forward and International Business Times, which is published in Washington.

He also held separate meetings with Eric Rubin, US Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs and Herve Ladsous, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations. He exchanged views regarding the latest developments on the Cyprus problem with the two officials. He also expressed the Turkish Cypriots' will for the launching of the Cyprus negotiations and the solution of the Cyprus problem.

[03] Gul met with the Republic of Cyprus delegation at the UN General Assembly

Gul said that while he was speaking at the United Nations General Assembly, the Greek Cypriots did not walk out of the hall. It was the first time that they did not leave. They must have looked it with a positive agenda. He went on: "We spoke at the reception. I said to them cover the distance, be determined, not prolong this job. With the cooperation of Turkey, Cyprus and Greece, a separate pillar may be formed for the European Union in Eastern Mediterranean."

[04] Ozgurgun says they want "TRNC" to be one of the equal founding partners in Cyprus

In statements during a meeting with the chairman of the so-called National Existence Council, Vedat Celik, Ozgurgun noted that the Cyprus problem is the only issue that could cause a change in what he described as "positive opposition line" which the UBP is following. He went on and said that having as starting point that the "TRNC", breakaway regime in the occupied area of Cyprus, is an equal founding partner (in Cyprus), that the two founding states have equal status and that this is a UN parameter, the UBP accepts no solution outside "an equal partnership solution" in which the "TRNC" will exist as founding state of the new partnership which will be established. Ozgurgun noted that these are their red lines and could never give concession on these. He said that no one should worry about this.

Meanwhile, in his statement, Celik said that his Council includes 30 organizations and institutions, which are "on the national line". He noted that some developments which worry them are happening. Alleging that the demands of the Greek Cypriot side increase every day and that the Greek Cypriots play with time by submitting new preconditions, Celik argued that the conditions are becoming more difficult every day and that the Turkish side remains silent to this.

Celik said that the Council has launched a "legal examination" on the issue of the occupied fenced city of Varosha and alleged that "Varosha is not as Greek as it is assumed". He reiterated the Turkish allegation that Varosha is Evkaf religious foundation's property and argued that the ownership of Varosha should be determined before the resumption of the negotiations for finding a solution to the Cyprus problem.

(I/Ts.)

[05] Cyprus problem among the subjects discussed during Davutoglu's meetings in NY

Davutoglu and Rasmussen took up the NATO-EU cooperation, the Cyprus problem, Syria and other developments in the Middle East high on their agenda, the paper reports.

Meanwhile, Turkish daily Today's Zaman (online, 26.09.13) reported that Davutoglu, speaking on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly's 68th meeting in New York, stated that there has been some progress in mending the ties between Ankara and Tel Aviv; however, he added that Israel has not yet fulfilled all of Turkey's conditions for normalizing relations.

Davutoglu noted that out of the three important conditions Turkey set, only one of them has been met by Israel. An apology was one of three demands Ankara made to Tel Aviv. The other two were compensation for the families of the passengers killed on the ship and the lifting of the blockade on Gaza.

Davutoglu said Turkey's demand for an Israeli apology had been fulfilled, that there had been progress on the second condition of compensation and that the negotiations were still going on over the issue. "We hope this will be concluded," said Davutoglu.

Referring to the third condition of the ending of the Israeli blockade of Gaza, Davutoglu said that Turkey is very concerned about the humanitarian situation in the Palestinian territories, especially in Gaza, following recent developments in Egypt.

In Egypt, the country's democratically elected President Mohammed Morsi was ousted in early July and since then the tension in the Arab country has also had an effect on Gaza. The Egyptian authorities recently closed the border with Gaza on several occasions and the army has destroyed smuggling tunnels to Gaza, compounding supply shortages from the Israeli blockade.

Davutoglu noted that Gaza has been subjected to an Israeli blockade for years.

Moreover, Ankara Anatolia news agency (26.09.13) reported that Davutoglu, speaking at a forum organized by the Caspian Strategy Institute, said Europe needs security in terms of energy and the Southern Gas Corridor Project is the best alternative.

Davutoglu also said that the Trans Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline Project (TANAP), which will bring natural gas from Azerbaijan through Turkey to Europe, will increase Turkey's strategic importance.

He also expressed the view that TANAP and Trans-Adriatic gas pipeline projects will also make major contributions to the international economy and political peace.

[06] Turkish columnist claims that Greece receiving the Turkish Cypriot envoy would mean that Athens has recognized the breakaway regime

"There is jubilation in the team of Nikos Anastasiades, the Greek Cypriot leader. It's no joke, they have achieved something that no other Greek Cypriot leader has managed over the past so many decades since the 1974 Turkish intervention in Cyprus. Thanks to American background diplomacy, Turkey has succumbed to the demands of opening "direct talks" with the Greek Cypriot leadership, bypassing the Turkish Cypriot side. The success was so great that even if no success is achieved on Varosha or any other issue, Anastasiades might complete his five-year presidential tenure and go to the electorate in 2018 as a victorious leader who has achieved a landmark success: Direct talks with Turkey. Although there are some people thinking more soberly, that's the general mood on the Greek Cypriot side.

What was that great achievement? Meeting on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly, the Turkish and Greek foreign ministers agreed reciprocal visits by representatives of the two leaders of Cyprus to Turkey and Greece. The crux, or perhaps the devil, is hidden in the wording. In those visits, the representatives of the two leaders on Cyprus would be received "on equal footing." What does that mean? Neither would be received as an envoy of the state or of a community, but both as presidential envoys enjoying the same status.

If Turkey is to receive the Greek Cypriot envoy, according him the same status that Greece would be according the visiting Turkish Cypriot envoy, this would mean Ankara has recognized the Cyprus Republic. With the same logic, Greece receiving the Turkish Cypriot envoy would mean that Athens has recognized the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. With such oddities, Anastasiades of course might try to appease the Greek Cypriot public, but they are not conducive at all to the notion of peacemaking. Presenting the development in terms that Turkey has succumbed to successful Greek Cypriot diplomacy supported by Washington and Tel Aviv cannot be conducive at all with the spirit of talks that the Turkish Cypriots assume will resume soon.

To start with, the idea of Turkey and Greece receiving representatives of the two leaders of the leaders of two sides on Cyprus was first offered by U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon during the 2011 meeting in Geneva with Turkish and Greek Cypriot leaders. The Turkish Cypriot side immediately accepted the proposal on the condition that representatives of the two leaders were treated equally.

Then Greek Cypriot leader Demetris Christofias asked for time to consider the proposal but never delivered an answer. Why? He, most probably, was bothered by the "equal treatment" clause, scared that Greece meeting with a Turkish Cypriot representative would be considered by some other countries as tacit recognition. At least, how could Greek Cypriots continue asking other countries to shun Turkish Cypriot representatives while Athens was affording diplomatic reception to a Turkish Cypriot presidential envoy?

Each time a foreign dignitary visits Cyprus, meeting the Turkish Cypriot authorities become a big issue. Now, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will be visiting the island soon. Will he meet the Turkish Cypriot side and will the Greek Cypriots allow such contact?

That brings us to the ultimate reality: As long as one side is considered the "sole legitimate state" and the other side as a "minority demanding some rights" from that legitimate state, there cannot be a Cyprus settlement. Such a process can only take us to divorce - negotiated, velvet, or whatever!"

[07] Reactions by KTOS and KTOEOS against AKP; they spend 11 million TL for repairing all schools and 22 million TL for building one mosque

In a joint statement issued by KTOS' chairman Guven Varoglu and KTOEOS' general secretary Mehmet Tasker, the two trade unions criticized the ruling of Turkey's Justice and Development Party (AKP) because of the opening and groundbreaking ceremonies of additional classrooms at the theological college in occupied Mia Milia and of mosques which are expected to take place today.

They said that first the Turkish Cypriots have been turned into minority with the implementation of assimilation policies and now they are struggling to protect their identity. They noted that with the Koran lessons and the construction of mosques and of complexes of buildings adjacent to mosques, "which are not in harmony with the country and the structure of the society, it is as if efforts are being exerted to turn the country into a city of Saudi Arabia".

They pointed out that the groundbreaking ceremony of the Hala Sultan Mosque would take place today in accordance to the statement made by Prime Minister Erdogan that "we want to raise a religious generation". "The fact that 22 million Turkish liras (TL) have been separated for the construction of only one mosque, while 11 million Turkish liras (TL) are separate for repairing all state schools, is clearly showing this mentality", they noted adding that the Turkish Cypriots do not need mosques, dervish lodges, hodjas and pilgrims.

Meanwhile, Afrika (27.09.13) reports also that the general secretary of the United Cyprus Party (BKP), Abdullah Kormazhan called on self-styled prime minister Yorgancioglu not to attend the groundbreaking and the opening ceremony of the religious college today and noted that they should stop the construction of additional classrooms and decide to launch a "due process".

(I/Ts.)

[08] The "Near East University mosque" will be the largest mosque of Cyprus

The "Near East University Mosque" will be the largest mosque of Cyprus in terms of the area it covers and a capacity to serve the highest possible number of worshippers up to 10,000. In total, it will have six minarets, of which four will be 72 meters high with three balconies and two will be 54 meters high with two balconies. The highest minarets of Cyprus will also accompany the highest dome which will be 27 meters high and 27 meters in diameter. The stained glass windows will be a reflection of the continuity of classical Ottoman architecture, and the illustrations will reflect the same spirit.

[09] The regime fined Greek Cypriot buses

According to the paper, the problem was caused yesterday because the buses, which were to carry the Turkish Cypriots to Larnaka, had registration numbers of the Republic of Cyprus. The "police" did not allow the buses to leave occupied Keryneia because they allegedly had not secured "working permit" in the occupied area of Cyprus. According to the paper, the buses could leave only after paying a fine of 350 Turkish liras (TL) each.

The self-styled mayor of occupied Keryneia, Sumer Aygin said that they did not find Turkish Cypriot buses to carry them to Larnaka and therefore they were forced to choose Greek Cypriot companies.

Biray Hamzaoglulari, "so-called deputy with the Republican Turkish Party (CTP) in occupied Trikomo area and former chairman of the "Public Vehicles Operators' Union" (Kar-Is) stated that carrying passengers without having "work permit" is contrary to the "law" and added that permission was given to the buses to leave so that the "senior citizens" not to be victimized.

Moreover, Fuat Topaloglu, former chairman of Kar-Is, criticized those who permitted the buses to leave after paying the fine but without having "permit".

(I/Ts.)

[10] Turkey to host summit to discuss UN Security Council reform

Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, who was speaking at New York at a meeting of Uniting for Consensus (UfC), an international group that aims to create a more diverse and representative UNSC, offered to hold the next ministerial meeting of the UfC in Istanbul in upcoming months to comprehensively discuss the organization's structure.

Representatives from countries attending the UfC meeting welcomed the Turkish Foreign Minister's offer and agreed to hold a ministerial-level meeting in Istanbul later in 2014. Before this meeting in Turkey, a meeting at a vice ministerial level is expected to be held in Mexico to discuss methods of reform.

During Wednesday's meeting, UfC members called for "democratic, representative and equitable" changes to the UNSC. The group also highlighted that reform should accommodate the interests of all member states.

The group said future negotiations should be based on "five pillars of reform," which are the categories of membership, the veto issue, regional representation, the size of a larger UNSC and its working methods and the relationship between the UNSC and the UN General Assembly.

"Turkey has been pushing for reform of the UNSC, particularly since its five permanent members failed to agree on a UN resolution to end the two-and-a-half-year-old crisis in Syria. Russia and China, two strong backers of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime, prevented any UN action against their ally, Syria. Recently, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan criticized what he called the "inaction" of these P5 countries in the face of the Syrian crisis, asking, "What good is the UN doing?" referring to crises in the world.", the paper writes.

Erdogan also gave his support to a campaign called "The World is Bigger than Five" which was launched by Genc Siviller (Young Civilians), a civil society group.

[11] Chinese corporation wins tender for Turkey's long-range air and missile defense system

Under the chairmanship of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the executive committee of the defense industry gathered on Thursday to take decision for the issues on the agenda.

The written statement indicated that the contract negotiation between Chinese CPMIEC Corporation and Turkey to manufacture the systems and missiles has been decided to begin within the framework of the long-range air and missile defense system.

In addition, reporting on the same issue, Turkish daily Hurriyet Daily News (27.09.13) writes that Turkey dismisses NATO allies' bids, by selecting the Chinese firm for the air defense system tender

"Ankara has granted a long-awaited tender for long-range missile and air defense systems to Chinese contenders, dismissing bids from major NATO allies as the United States, France and Italy. With the decision, announced following a meeting of the Undersecretariat for Defense Industries' executive council, which is headed by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Ankara has approved the lowest offer despite worries about the Chinese system's ultimate compatibility with NATO-owned early warning assets.

CPMIEC (China Precision Machinery Export-Import Corp.) submitted an offer for its HQ-9 that included co-production solutions ? which was requested by Turkish authorities ? at a reported $3 billion.

The other bidders were the U.S. partnership of Raytheon and Lockheed Martin, offering the Patriot air defense system; Russia's Rosoboronexport, marketing the S-300; and the Italian-French consortium Eurosam, maker of the SAMP/T Aster 30. Turkey presently has no long-range air-defense systems. The $4 billion program, dubbed the T-LORAMIDS, is being designed to counter both enemy aircraft and missiles", writes the paper.

[12] Energy Minister: General to play important role in achieving Turkey's energy goals

During a press meeting with GE CEO Jeffrey Immelt, Yildiz stated that GE was the biggest shareholder and contributor when Turkey's first bulb factory was opened in 1948 and said that GE will continue to be part of the sustainability of the change and development in the energy sector of Turkey. "In accordance with the new conditions in Turkey, we are at a phase of implementing energy-saving LED systems and other equipment and we have given GE a pilot zone in regards to the issue. We have achieved a 45 percent energy saving during the pilot program, which has strengthened the mutual trust between both sides," he added.

According to Yildiz, the main purpose of the meeting was further cooperation in the field of energy. While underlining the significance of wind energy within Turkey's renewable energy projects, Yildiz explained that "wind energy is very important as we have formed a system where 5.7 billion kilowatts of electricity per hour is produced. But it is not enough and we might develop a new system with GE."

Responding to questions about whether GE will invest in Turkey, Yildiz said: "We have TL 1.2 billion [$600 million] worth of operational costs related to street lightening and we need to take steps to increase energy savings. However, such investments require big companies to take part and we will talk about it today." He continued by saying that the Turkish government has emphasized these investments should be towards local production and international companies such as GE have agreed to that.

Meanwhile, Immelt commented that energy investments in Turkey are of significant importance for the company and stated that he cannot wait to discuss projects related to windmills, gas turbines and LED bulbs.

He stated that GE has a notable history regarding its presence in Turkey and that energy investments in Turkey are one of the leading focus areas for GE. Immelt also referred to GE's commitment to Turkey to make $900 million worth of investments in the country, adding the company will stick to its promises. "We expect to continue our investments in Turkey as planned. We have some notices to be released but these will be announced later."

GE, also known as General Elektrik A.S. in Turkey, is expected to manufacture turbines and parts. In addition, Turkey's Locomotive and Engine Industry Corporation (TULOMSAS) and GE currently jointly manufacture high-tech locomotives in Eskisehir.

[13] Turkish Interior Minister confirms 17 of 18 fugitives captured in eastern Turkey

Search operations continue to arrest the terrorist on the run, said the minister.

TURKISH AFFAIRS SECTION

http://www.moi.gov.cy/pio

/CS

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