Cyprus PIO: Turkish Cypriot and Turkish Media Review, 14-10-09

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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] Turkey's MFA on the suspension of the Cyprus negotiation talks; Greek Ambassador in Ankara was summoned to the Ministry; Statements by Bozkir

[02] Statement by the self-styled foreign ministry on the Cyprus talks

[03] Ak?nc?: "Turkey and the TRNC do not recognize the international law"

[04] KTOS: Turkey is preventing the solution of the Cyprus problem

[05] Yorganc?oglu and other Turkish Cypriot politicians on the suspension of the Cyprus negotiation talks

[06] Eide after his meeting with Eroglu: "I am seeking ways to encourage the two leaders to return to the negotiating table"

[07] Eide visited the CTP; Yorgancioglu announced that CTP will have meetings with AKEL and DISY party to defuse the tension

[08] Cabinet reshuffle in the "coalition government"

[09] Statement by Ozersay after his dismissal: "I hope the best for our country"

[10] Turkey says that the EU's 2014 report "balance and objective"

[11] Turkish columnist supports that Turkey's foreign policy goes through a very difficult time

[12] Davutoglu blames opposition parties and UNSC's member countries over the developments with ISIL and Syria

[13] Demirtas: "The Turkish government can stop protests by vowing to confront ISIL"

[14] Ebola alert in the breakaway regime

[A] TURKISH CYPRIOT / TURKISH PRESS

[01] Turkey's MFA on the suspension of the Cyprus negotiation talks; Greek Ambassador in Ankara was summoned to the Ministry; Statements by Bozkir

The statement said the "Greek Cypriot administration", as it called the Republic of Cyprus had been "insincere" about the peace talks. "It is well known that Turkey and the Turkish Cypriots want political equality about the issue, which has been going on for more than 50 years, but efforts coming only from the Turkish side will not solve the stalemate," said the statement.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry also stressed that Ankara would not let the Turkish Cypriots be regarded as a "minority on the island" and called on Greece to weigh in to find a solution for the island's future "immediately".

Meanwhile, Ankara Anatolia news agency (08.10.14) reported that the Greek Ambassador in Ankara, Kyriakos Loukakis, was summoned to the Turkish Foreign Ministry following the suspension of peace talks over Cyprus.

The move came on Wednesday after the "Greek Cypriot administration" suspended negotiations over the divided island after Turkey sent a warship to monitor oil and gas exploration off the coast of Cyprus.

"Turkey expects the Greek Cypriots to quickly reverse a decision to halt reunification talks with the Turkish Cypriots and resume their dialogue or risk harming peace prospects in a troubled region", Turkey's EU Minister Volkan Bozkir said on Wednesday at a press conference to discuss the EU's annual report on Turkey's progress towards meeting criteria for membership.

"The (decision) is unfortunate, and I don't think it's sustainable. I expect the (Greek) Cypriot administration to change this wrong decision quickly", Bozkir said.

"This is saddening as it harms glimmers of hope for our region, which is undergoing huge problems ... We hope that all of those who have an interest in peace and stability in the region will contribute to changing this decision that has surprised everyone," Bozkir added calling on Greece, the United States and the EU to intervene to keep the peace talks on track.

Bozkir reiterated that the Greek Cypriots are exploiting the island's natural resources for their own gain and exclude the Turkish Cypriots from their share.

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[02] Statement by the self-styled foreign ministry on the Cyprus talks

"Starting from this mentality, we call on the Greek Cypriot side to stop the soonest this serious mistake it has committed and return to the negotiating table", claimed the statement describing the stance of the "Greek Cypriot leadership" as "far from being sincere and contradictory", because on the one hand it allegedly claims that the natural resources which are in the island and its surrounding area are a separate issue from the comprehensive solution negotiations and on the other interrupts the negotiations "showing the natural resources as pretext".

The statement alleges that the "positive expectation" created after the joint declaration of last February in the direction of finding a solution "has not been reflected" in the negotiating table "due to successive negative steps taken by the Greek Cypriot leader".

(I/Ts.)

[03] Ak?nc?: "Turkey and the TRNC do not recognize the international law"

In his statements Akinci said that the suspension of the talks cannot be explained simply by saying that the "Greek Cypriots don't want to share their authority".

According to Ak?nc?, in order to evaluate the situation correctly, a more in depth analysis of different factors should be done. Ak?nc? said that in order to assess the situation, two different issues should be mentioned. "One is the s300 rockets issue form the late 1990s and accession of the Greek Cypriots to the EU in the Cyprus Republic's name.

"The s300 rockets caused great tension in the late 1990s. The Greek Cypriot president at the time, Clerides was insistently claiming that it was sovereign zone and that he wanted to purchase the rockets for security reasons. With Greece's initiative, these rockets were taken to Crete; these rockets were coming from Russia. It wasn't only the Turkish Cypriots and Turkey who opposed this but the EU and the US didn't want the Greek Cypriots to station the rockets here so in the end the issue was closed. The second issue is the EU issue. According to the guarantorship agreement, Cyprus cannot become a member of an international organization unless all of the guarantors are also members. Turkey is not an EU member", Akinci said.

Ak?nc? also stressed the need for the natural gas international law not to be ignored. "Turkey acts as if the continental shelf that is internationally recognized is not correct and draws its own lines. If anyone wonders if the Greek Cypriots are exploring gas in an area that is a matter of dispute between Turkey and the Cyprus Republic, they will quickly realize that the 12th parcel they are exploring is actually in the southern shores of Larnaca and Limassol. The work that the Greek Cypriots are conducting is in the framework of the international maritime law. They are exploring in their EEZ", said Ak?nc?. "Both the 12th parcel and the 9th parcel are in Greek Cypriot's internationally accepted and recognized EEZ. The only countries who don't recognize this are Turkey and TRNC, while the rest of the world recognizes these operations" added Ak?nc?.

Stating that after the natural gas, the Cyprus problem was taken out of the freezer, he, however, added that resources like oil and natural gas cause blood and tears in the Middle East and expressed his hope that they can be used for peace.

Ak?nc? ended his comments by adding that the latest developments have once again proved that a solution to the Cyprus problem is an urgent matter. "In such situations what should be done is not to send warships. That stayed in 1974. These kinds of intimidations are not functional. What needs to be done is to find a middle ground through dialogue. Negotiations should continue on that course. If there is wealth, the Turkish Cypriots also have rights on them, but we can only have our rights through negotiations, diplomacy, solution and peace", said Ak?nc?.

[04] KTOS: Turkey is preventing the solution of the Cyprus problem

Elcil noted that the land and the natural gas that Turkey wants belongs to the Cypriots and wonders what Turkey's actions would be if oil or natural gas was discovered in occupied Keryneia.

Elcil accused the ruling in Turkey Justice and Development Party (AKP) that the new policy of "New Turkey" that it started to follow as regards the developments in Iraq and Syria creates a crisis in the region and added that this can create problems in Cyprus as well.

In addition, the Cyprus Socialist Party (KSP) accused Turkey of following a "tension policy" in Eastern Mediterranean.

[05] Yorganc?oglu and other Turkish Cypriot politicians on the suspension of the Cyprus negotiation talks

"The Greek Cypriot side prepared the grounds for the suspension of the talks to be suspended by granting an Italian company permission to carry out seismic research in the area. This is unacceptable", said Yorganc?oglu.

Yorgancioglu said that it was possible to turn all crises into opportunities and called on the Greek Cypriot leadership to exercise commonsense.

Reminding that the letter sent by the Greek Cypriot side to the UN only stated that they would not be participating in the talks that were to take place tomorrow, Yorganc?oglu said that despite this, the issue has been reflected in a totally different light to the public.

Underlining the fact that the issue of natural gas was not an issue that was being discussed at the negotiations process, he said that he did not find it fitting to use the issue of natural gas to slow down the negotiations process.

"Natural gas belongs to the Cypriots on the island and will affect the future of the island once a solution is found. For one side to use this as a weapon is unacceptable", he added.

Moreover, the leader of the Social Democratic Party (TDP) Cemal Ozyigit who also evaluated "south Cyprus'" decision to withdraw from the Cyprus negotiations process said that a new obstacle has been placed in front of the talks at a time when everyone was waiting for the Cyprus issue to end.

"We claim that we were thrown out of the Republic of Cyprus on the 4th of March 1964, the Greek Cypriots claim we ran away but the order established nevertheless continued. At the end of the day Turkey has been here for 40 years to protect the peace and the constitutional order. What has happened, have there been constitutional changes that all of a sudden after 40 years we as Turkish Cypriots have remembered our rights?', asked Ozyigit.

He said that the Turkish Cypriot side had remembered that it had rights once the issue of natural gas and petrol had come to the agenda, prompting them to work for an immediate solution to the Cyprus problem.

Ozyigit said that both Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots possessed equal rights on the island and added that the Cyprus negotiations process and talks on natural gas must continue parallel to one another.

He also said that petrol and the issue of the closed city of Maras (fenced off city of Varosha) should also be discussed before a comprehensive solution is found to the Cyprus problem.

"Ercan airport should open to international flights as well", said Ozyigit and added that our only salvation is through finding a solution to the Cyprus problem and be integrated with international law.

Commenting on the same issue, so-called deputy prime minister, "minister of tourism, culture and sport" and chairman of the Democratic Party-National Forces (DP-UG) Serdar Denktas stated that they consider the decision of the Greek Cypriot side to suspend the talks as a new maneuver.

Denktas continued and proposed the suspension of the negotiation talks until the 12 of October, when the Classic Automobile Festival will take place and until this situation is to be normalized.

Accusing the Greek Cypriot side for trying to block the talks from the day they were started, Denktas said that they used as an excuse the latest incident with the warship of the Turkish Naval Forces in order to leave the negotiating table.

Also speaking, the chairman of the National Unity Party (UBP) Huseyin Ozgurgun described as sudden and unrestrained the decision taken by the Greek Cypriot side to suspend the negotiation talks and said: "Nothing is solved by leaving the table, if there are difficulties, those can be overcome at the table".

Stating that they have never believed in the Greek Cypriot side's sincerity at the negotiation table, Ozgurgun said that despite this, efforts should be exerted in order for result-oriented talks to take place.

AK

[06] Eide after his meeting with Eroglu: "I am seeking ways to encourage the two leaders to return to the negotiating table"

Speaking to reporters following his meeting with the Turkish Cypriot leader Eroglu, Eide said that he was seeking ways to encourage the two leaders to return to the negotiating table as soon as possible.

He said that it was his view that if the talks proceeded as planned rapid progress could be achieved.

Stating that both of his meetings with Eroglu and Anastasiades had been fruitful and productive, the UN Special Adviser said that his efforts were aimed at exploring ways to get the negotiations back on track.

"My aim is to continue to develop bridging ideas and proposals, continue to discuss this with the two sides so that when the leaders are ready to talk the UN will have more ideas to share with them", he said.

Eide also noted that both leaders have repeatedly stated that the status quo is not acceptable and that by implication the current situation is dangerous and not favorable.

He also expressed the view that should this be achieved, the island will have a prosperous future.

"As and when there will be a bi-zonal, bi-communal federal solution on the basis of political equality, then the discovery of oil and natural gas will be a blessing for all Cypriots" he said, adding that failure to get there will be a curse for everyone on the island as it will only serve to further heighten tensions.

Reminding that one of his obligations in charge of the UN Good Offices Mission is to try and bridge understandings between the two sides, Eide said that there was no change in his agenda.

Asked to comment about Ozersay's dismissal, the UN Special Adviser said that he hoped that the process will move forward smoothly irrelevant of such changes.

He said that the process is not dependent on individuals and that he expected the Turkish Cypriot side to appoint a negotiator as soon as possible.

Responding to another question, Eide explained that both leaders have reiterated their commitment towards reaching a solution adding that a positive atmosphere could be re-established should both sides continue to talk and be in dialogue.

Eide also said that he will talk to Ankara about the issue of the presence of Turkish warships in the region.

[07] Eide visited the CTP; Yorgancioglu announced that CTP will have meetings with AKEL and DISY party to defuse the tension

The leader of the ruling Republican Turkish Party-United Forces (CTP-BG) and "prime minister" Ozkan Yorgancioglu met with Eide at the party headquarters yesterday afternoon.

The party's Secretary General Kutlay Erk, the CTP-BG foreign affairs secretary Armagan Candan and the party's public relations and human resources secretary Birikim Ozgur were also present at the meeting which lasted for 30 minutes.

The UN Special Adviser left the CTP-BG headquarters without speaking to the press.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Yorgancioglu said that his meeting with the UN Special Adviser had focused on the latest situation regarding the negotiations and the drilling activities off the southern coast of the island.

He said that his party had taken on the initiative to hold meetings with Greek Cypriot parties in an attempt to keep the channels of dialogue open.

Yorganc?oglu said that they will be meeting with the Greek Cypriot AKEL party on Monday.

The CTP-BG leader also said that they had plans to meet with the ruling DISY party.

Stating that the current opportunity should not be missed, Yorgancioglu stressed that that running away from the negotiating table would not benefit anyone.

Reminding that all of Cyprus' resources belonged to everyone living on the island, Yorganc?oglu added: "We are concerned that the Greek Cypriots will move away from a solution if they discover natural gas. Everyone will benefit from the island's resources. A solution is the top priority. We discussed the issue with Turkey? The message given by Turkey is a call to the Greek Cypriot side to return to the table".

Reminding that the Turkish side had proposed to set up a joint company for the exploration of natural resources, Yorganc?oglu said: "That would have been a good confidence building measure. All exploration activities should be carried out jointly. However, no one believes that the Turkish Cypriots will benefit enough from any resources discovered by the Greek Cypriots".

[08] Cabinet reshuffle in the "coalition government"

Ozdemir Berova was appointed "minister of education", Hasan Tacoy was appointed "minister of public works and transportations" and Hakan Dincyurek was appointed "minister of environment and natural resources".

[09] Statement by Ozersay after his dismissal: "I hope the best for our country"

In his statement he wished that the decision given about his dismissal will be best for the country. "After I announced my decision to be a candidate in the presidential elections, today I was informed that the president has put an end to my job as a negotiator. I hope this decision will be good for the country", Ozersay said.

[10] Turkey says that the EU's 2014 report "balance and objective"

"We will continue to benefit from the Progress Report as a constructive tool for Turkey's progress in the EU accession and reform process," he said

"Those areas that have been criticized in previous Progress Reports for years are now being praised. Besides the reforms, Turkey's economic and foreign policy performance of the past 10 years have also been reflected in the report."

According to the EU minister, the report underlines that Turkey is a key actor in its region. Bozk?r also stated that regional and global challenges better reveal the value of the accession process both for Turkey and the EU. "Turkey will make significant contributions that will make the EU to be more powerful, secure and wealthier," added Bozk?r.

The European Commission presented the Turkey 2014 Progress Report on Wednesday, praising Turkey's efforts in the reconciliation process.

In addition, Turkish Cypriot daily Kibris newspaper (09.10.14) reporting on the same issue, writes that in the report is stated that the EU supports the continuation of the Cyprus talks aiming to find a comprehensive solution in the island and sends the message to Turkey that positive steps should be made towards this direction. However, writes Kibris this statement may change after the current decision of the Greek Cypriot side for the suspension of the Cyprus talks.

[11] Turkish columnist supports that Turkey's foreign policy goes through a very difficult time

"The war in Kobani is intensifying. Kurdish fighters who are trying to hold the city and ISIS forces, supported by armored vehicles, tanks and artillery, give a very hard time to the defenders. All of this is happening a few hundred meters from the Turkish border where armored divisions and artillery have taken position and wait for international legitimacy to intervene. This kind of legitimacy will probably never come as the U.N. Security Council system will not allow a major scale intervention in Syria and Iraq. This is unfortunately what is presently needed. The Turkish government does not want to step into a war without its NATO allies and it is out of question to send in ground troops for NATO countries, as declared by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry.

The Kurdish nationalist movements in Turkey have decided to wage a very large protest movement across Turkey, initiated by the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP). There have been very violent clashes between security forces and protesters - which is not new. There have also been clashes between different protest movements where whole districts have been attacked by people coming from other districts - this is new and very dangerous. A curfew has been declared in some southeastern cities of Turkey, including Diyarbak?r, not to give security forces a better control of the situation, but to prevent civilians from attacking each other. Ankara has to try to appease this situation, which is basically unheard of in Turkish political history. Instead, a very challenging and threatening discourse has been used by the interior minister, and that may be a very bad idea for the time being.

The EU has also made public its yearly Regular Report on Turkey concerning the EU accession negotiations. A document that was essential to the Turkish political agenda a few years ago goes perfectly unnoticed today. This is mainly because the "preventing Turkey's accession at all costs" strategy adopted by the EU has been successful enough and nobody believes anymore that accession negotiations can ultimately end up with full membership for Turkey. But besides that, the Greek Cypriot administration has become a useful tool in the hands of international actors to destabilize Turkish foreign policy. If read carefully, the new Regular Report in its preamble gives a very detailed set of conditions regarding the possibility for Greek Cypriot planes and vessels to circulate freely in Turkish ports and airports - basically establishing a sine qua non condition for a semblance of normalization in the negotiations. The Greek Cypriot authorities have been very favorably impressed by this unexpected support and have sent an exploration vessel for deep sea extraction of natural gas, contrary to the gentleman's agreement between the Turkish and Greek Cypriot governments. In retaliation, Turkey has sent two medium sized warships to the region, which allowed Greek Cypriot authorities to slam the door and leave the negotiating table. Greece has also vehemently protested against Turkey through diplomatic channels and all of a sudden, a very promising stability and peace process in the Aegean and the Mediterranean has been severely sabotaged. The Russian Federation, main funder and mentor of Greek Cyprus does not seem overly chagrined over these developments.

These are really difficult times for Turkish foreign policy and a very good idea would be to organize perhaps a summit to establish at least a loosely defined strategy for bringing peace to the region with major actors of Western democracies. The relations between the U.S. and Turkey have been rather confusing over the last few days but there is an urgency to settle the differences and speak with one voice. Leon Panetta, who served in the Barack Obama administration as director of the CIA from 2009 to 2011 and as secretary of defense from 2011 to 2013, recently expressed the same opinion. What is needed is decisiveness on the part of the U.S., this will help all the democratic countries in the region, not least Turkey".

[12] Davutoglu blames opposition parties and UNSC's member countries over the developments with ISIL and Syria

"The ones who were silent in the face of the death of 300,000 people in the past 3.5 years, ignoring the use of chemical weapons, SCUD missiles and barrel bombs [in Syria], are suddenly putting an effort to create an international perception as if Turkey must immediately solve the problem in Kobane itself", Davutoglu said on October 8, following a security summit in Ankara. He pointed at Turkey's opposition parties, as well as the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council.

He also declared calls to hold rallies in support of Kobane to be "against democracy."

The Chief of General Staff Necdet Ozel, Deputy Prime Ministers Bulent Ar?nc, Ali Babacan and Yalc?n Akdogan, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, Interior Minister Efkan Ala and National Defense Minister Ismet Y?lmaz were among the senior officials who attended the meeting.

The meeting was focused on the aftermath of the violent protests against the advance of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) on the Kurdish town of Kobane near Syria's border with Turkey.

The death toll rose to 21 on October 8 with two more bodies found in the emptied streets of Mardin, one of the six southeastern provinces in which the government declared a curfew to quell the unrest, mainly fueled by the supporters of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and Hizbullah, a radical Islamist group in Turkey whose members are mostly Kurdish.

"I would like all our citizens to know about our resolute position for the solution process [to solve Turkey's Kurdish question]. We can't sacrifice the solution process to any vandalism. However, we also can't take a position that will tolerate violence for the sake of the solution process", Davutoglu added.

(?)

[13] Demirtas: "The Turkish government can stop protests by vowing to confront ISIL"

Demirtas also directly called on protesters to avoid vandalism and said that one of the reasons for the violent protests was the anger caused by the perceived inaction of the Turkish state over the ongoing peace process and developments in Kobane, which is besieged by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) militants.

Demirtas stated that the Kurds in Turkey widely believe that Turkey is supporting ISIL militants, though the government has denied this. "The government should say: 'Kobane will not fall, we will not allow Kurds to be in the hands of ISIL barbarism,' rather than saying: 'we will attack those who protest ISIL.' If the government says it will confront ISIL, this will be enough to raise an atmosphere of peace once more" Demirtas added.

Demirtas stressed that the Kurds were angry with both the government's inaction and the police's fierce intervention in the protests.

[14] Ebola alert in the breakaway regime

According to the paper, the student of the illegal Near East University in occupied Famagusta and came to Cyprus 20 days ago, was transferred to the hospital with high fever. Tests are conducted in order to be determined that the student has the Ebola virus or not, writes Kibris. TURKISH AFFAIRS SECTION

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