Cyprus PIO: Turkish Cypriot and Turkish Media Review, 14-07-30

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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] Ozersay: The Greek Cypriot side seeks to abandon the issues which were agreed in the past

[02] Atalay: The visit of pilgrims from the occupied area of Cyprus to Hala Sultan Mosque would not be possible without the Church's support

[03] Tourist figures in the occupied area of Cyprus

[04] More data on the breakaway regime's economy

[05] Zhirinovsky called on Moscow to recognize the "TRNC"

[06] Arinc: "Women should not laugh in public"; Reaction from opposition parties

[07] Eleven more police officers arrested in wiretapping probe in Turkey

[08] Turkish official: "No veto from Ankara to the US Envoy"

[A] TURKISH CYPRIOT / TURKISH PRESS

[01] Ozersay: The Greek Cypriot side seeks to abandon the issues which were agreed in the past

Ozersay said that the Greek Cypriot side proposed to us the following: "Let us draw a table. In one column, we should write the subjects/issues which were agreed upon according to the Turkish and Greek Cypriot sides and the issues that both sides think that are agreed. In the other column, let us write the issues that the sides are close to agreeing on and the issues on which there is divergence. Then let us move to the give and take stage."

Ozersay said that a copy of the convergences, which were agreed in the past and registered by both sides, shared by the UN. These are not the debatable and are on the paper. He added that the Greek Cypriot side had said "Let us choose and write down the things that you like and those that we like from the issues which were agreed in the past", explaining that they (the Greek Cypriot side) basically proposed the abandonment of what had been agreed in the past.

Ozersay claimed that if the sides pick and choose from the convergences - the things which were agreed - only what each side likes and toss aside the rest of the agreed issues; this would take them to the situation prior to 2008. He added that this means that the process has gone back to the square one.

Ozersay said that in their majority the Greek Cypriot side's main proposals are the current issues, which are contrary to the ones agreed in the past. He added that the Turkish Cypriot side cannot accept what the Greek Cypriot side wants them to do which is to deviate from the past agreed issues and to ignore those things, which were agreed, without their consent.

[02] Atalay: The visit of pilgrims from the occupied area of Cyprus to Hala Sultan Mosque would not be possible without the Church's support

In statements yesterday, Atalay said that the process was initiated during the US Vice President Joe Biden's visit to Cyprus when the issue of the visits to places of worship was raised and subsequently was transferred to the negotiating table after a discussion they held with the Church. He noted that the framework of the visit was drawn for the first time at the negotiating table and added that with the support of the Church a "political and historic success was achieved". He once again underlined the importance of this "step taken for peace" adding the wish for more similar mutual visits to religious places of worship in the future.

Atalay said that they worked together with the Turkish Cypriot leader Eroglu and the negotiator Ozersay for the visit to Hala Sulta Tekke. Pointing out the "positive contribution of the Church" in this visit, he noted: "If the Church had not offered its support, this visit would not have happened".

Atalay said that the visit was completed without any problem. He noted that they only faced a problem with the water at Hala Sultan Tekke, but this was not a deliberate action. Efforts have long been made to solve this problem, he added.

(I/Ts.)

[03] Tourist figures in the occupied area of Cyprus

According to the figures, in the period between January-June 2014, the number of Turkish tourists who have entered the occupied area of Cyprus through the illegal Tymbou airport and the "ports" of occupied Famagusta, Kyreneia and Karpasia, has reached 476.000. A totally of 133,000 foreign tourists visited the occupied area of Cyprus from the illegal Tymbou airport and the illegal ports.

Also, in the first half of 2014, totally 433,000 Greek Cypriots and 505,000 foreign tourists crossed to the occupied area of Cyprus from the government control areas of the Republic of Cyprus.

In statements on the issue, the chairman of KITSAB, Orhan Tolun, said that in spite of the fact that there is an increase on the percentage of tourists who have visited the "country" compared to the same period of the previous year, this is not reflected to their "overnight stay". Tolun said that the occupancy rate for the first half of 2014 compared to last year's rate decreased by 3%.

Explaining that tourists from the UK who illegally visit the occupied area of Cyprus have not decreased, Tolun said that the majority of them prefer to stay in luxury villas instead of hotels. "The TRNC state, cannot collect a tax from the tourists who stay in villas so this situation affects the economy negatively. This is an unregistered economy. The unregistered economy for the tourist sector is approximately 20%", Tolun added.

Also, the figures show that most of the Turkish Cypriots this year again chose Turkey as their holiday destination, instead of going abroad, because of the economic crisis. Sixty per cent of the "TRNC's citizens" travelled to Turkey during the above mentioned period, while 25% of them travelled to the UK, and 15% to other countries.

AK

[04] More data on the breakaway regime's economy

According to the report, the share of the private banks in the sector increased. The personnel working in the banking sector was 2.709 employees in 2012 and increased to 2.882 in 2013. Sixteen new bank branches opened in 2013 and 173 new employees were hired. The net credits reached seven billion and 870 million TL, while the delayed payments increased from 490.3 million TL in 2012 to 535.6 million TL in 2013. Two billion and 115 million TL were given as credit to the public sector and five billion 755 million TL to the private sector. The share of the credits which are higher than 100 thousand TL was 73.3% of the total credits in the end of 2013.

The banking sector's own resources increased by 13.1% in 2013, reaching 361.3 million TL.

Meanwhile, Turkish Cypriot daily Havadis (29.07.14) reports that according to the same data, the growth rate of the breakaway regime's GDP was 2% in 2013. The GDP was 4 million and 500 dollars in 2012 and increased to 4 million 107 thousand dollars in 2013. Per capita income also increased from 15.395 dollars in 2012 to 15.622 dollars in 2013. It is estimated that this number will increase to 17.220 dollars in 2015.

The regime's exports were 120.7 million dollars in 2012 and reached 120.7 million dollars in 2013. 52% of the exports were made to Turkey, 38.5% to Middle East countries, and 9% to EU countries. The imports decreased in 2013 in comparison to 2012. The respective numbers were 1.699 million dollars and 1.705 million dollars.

The trade between the occupied and the government-controlled area of the island within the framework of the Green Line Regulation decreased by 57% in 2013. In this period, products the value of which reached three million and 837 thousand Euros were sold to the government-controlled area of the island.

The unemployment rate decreased by 0.2% in 2013 reaching 9.7%. Unemployment was 12.5% in 2009, 11.9% in 2010, 11.9% in 2011 and 9.9% in 2012.

(I/Ts.)

[05] Zhirinovsky called on Moscow to recognize the "TRNC"

According to the Turkish daily Yeni Cag, Zhirinovsky, attending a live show on Russia TV, said that Russia should pay attention to its relations with Turkey and Iran.

Asked to commend how Russia can respond to investments from the West, Zhirinovsky said: "We should enhance our trade relations with Iran. We should develop our relations with Turkey. In this respect, there is an unrecognized state, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (Translator's note: the breakaway regime in the occupied area of the Republic of Cyprus). Let us recognize it. In this case, the Turks will be enormously pleased. Erdogan does not talk with Obama anymore. Obama accuses us regarding the Boeing crash in Ukraine. Through the good relations with Azerbaijan, our relations with Turkey will improve."

[06] Arinc: "Women should not laugh in public"; Reaction from opposition parties

Ar?nc described his ideal of the chaste man or woman, saying they should both have a sense of shame and honor. "Chastity is so important. It is not only a name. It is an ornament for both women and men. [She] will have chasteness. Man will have it, too. He will not be a womanizer. He will be bound to his wife. He will love his children. [The woman] will know what is haram and not haram. She will not laugh in public. She will not invite in her attitudes and will protect her chasteness," said Ar?nc, adding that people had abandoned their values.

"People need to discover the Quran once again", Ar?nc said, adding that there had been a regression on moral grounds.

"Where are our girls, who slightly blush, lower their heads and turn their eyes away when we look at their face, becoming the symbol of chastity?" he wondered.

(?)

Ar?nc also complained about high consumption, referring to the number of cars and mobile phones owned by individuals.

Targeting women once more, Ar?nc said that women talk about unnecessary things on the phone.

"Women give each other meal recipes while speaking on the mobile phone. 'What else is going on?' 'What happened to Ayse's daughter?' 'When is the wedding?' Talk about this face to face," he said.

"People should not use their personal cars unnecessarily", he said, adding that even if the Nile River was full of oil, there would not be enough fuel to power cars.

Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, who is running for the Presidency against Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, commented on Ar?nc's statement via Twitter, saying that Turkey needed women to laugh, as well as to hear everybody's happy laughter more than anything.

"If a man can think only this way on a bayram day, then this mentality is problematic. [Prime Minister Recep] Tayyip Erdogan has the same mentality problem," the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) Deputy chairman Burhan Senatalar said yesterday.

"Ar?nc claims that Turkey is in moral collapse, but his own party has been governing the country for the past 12 years," said Cetin Elmas, the chief advisor of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) chairman, Devlet Bahceli.

The Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) Deputy Parliamentary Head Pervin Buldan has even joined the social media protest. "From now on, we will respond to all statements by Ar?nc by laughing", Buldan tweeted.

[07] Eleven more police officers arrested in wiretapping probe in Turkey

Istanbul Judge Islam Cicek ordered the arrests of 11 police officers on Tuesday night. Among the arrested officers is Yurt Atayun, former chief of Istanbul's anti-terror police department.

The court ordered a conditional release for eight suspects and 30 others.

The court ruling brought to 31 the number of officers remanded in custody from a total of 115 police officers who were detained in overnight raids last week. All the other detained officers have been released but may still face charges.

Among the most prominent of the officers kept in custody was Ali Fuat Yilmazer, who oversaw intelligence for Istanbul police and is accused of forming and leading a criminal gang. Others are accused of illegal wiretapping, forging documents and espionage.

The court action followed two high-profile, Istanbul-based anti-graft operations, which were launched in December 2013 and led to the arrest of high-profile figures, including the sons of three Ministers as well as several entrepreneurs.

All those detained in the December probes were later released pending trial.

The Turkish government has denounced the December probes as a "dirty plot" constructed by a "parallel structure" of bureaucrats within the country's key institutions, including the judiciary branch and the police.

[08] Turkish official: "No veto from Ankara to the US Envoy"

Speaking to the paper, a Turkish official made the following assessment: "Bass will assume his duty in Ankara after his confirmation process is completed. Vetoing the US ambassador would cause an irreparable crisis in bilateral relations. It is not wise to take this risk at such a time".

In order to assume his duty when he arrives in Ankara, Ambassador Bass must present his credentials to the Turkish President. Ankara is expected to delay the credential ceremony for some time.

The future US ambassador to Ankara Bass, during his confirmation hearing at the US Senate, replied to a question on whether Erdogan has authoritarian tendencies and said: 'There is a movement in that direction, yes.' Openly supporting this position, the US State Department had declared that these remarks overlap with the concerns and human rights report pertaining to Turkey previously announced by the US Administration.

Ankara, in turn, did not react against this harsh criticism leveled by the United States. The Turkish Foreign Ministry did not issue a written statement. While Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu refrained from criticizing Ambassador Bass in any way, he targeted Senator McCain, and overlooked the statements issued by US authorities.

Before being officially nominated by President Obama, Bass received a certificate of compliance from Ankara. Ankara has the right to veto the ambassador by declaring him a "persona non grata" even after he assumes office.

In order to officially assume his duty, Bass will present his credentials to Erdogan, if the latter is elected President. According to US officials' expectations, Erdogan will not rush to set an appointment with Bass and may make him wait for a few weeks. Turkish officials, for their part, say that both sides are trying to avoid a possible crisis. Turkish officials underline that Bass's "authoritarian" remark clearly does not comply with diplomatic tradition, but the government made a choice in this regard. TURKISH AFFAIRS SECTION

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