Cyprus PIO: Turkish Cypriot and Turkish Media Review, 15-04-07

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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] The target in the Cyprus talks is reportedly to hold a referendum in the first quarter of 2016

[02] Dincyurek: "Cyprus negotiations should resume soon without any preconditions"

[03] Sibel paid visits to football sport clubs escorted by Sertoglu

[04] Denktas: "TCFF to apply to become member of KOP is making weak the Turkish Cypriots at the negotiations"

[05] Tacoy announced the privatization of "telecommunications" in the occupied area of Cyprus

[06] Social media blocked in Turkey yesterday for 8 hours; Turkey threatened to block Google search engine as well

[07] EP' President due to visit Turkey for high level contacts with Turkish officials

[A] TURKISH CYPRIOT / TURKISH PRESS

[01] The target in the Cyprus talks is reportedly to hold a referendum in the first quarter of 2016

The columnist writes that the target during the contacts which the UN Secretary-General's Special Adviser on Cyprus, Espen Barth Eide will hold on the island today is the beginning of a productive process as of May and the binding of this process to a timetable. He goes on and says:

"Are the sides ready? The reply was very clear: 'We do not see a problem in the Turkish Cypriot side. We believe that the preparation of Anastasiades will also be secured'. Very well, what kind of a road map is expected for the following period? Behold the road map which comes up from what he said:

'In May the leaders will meet in Cyprus or in a third country and a time table will be determined either this is named as such or not. The meeting of the leaders may last for 3-4 days and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon may participate in the meeting. The negotiations will intensively continue according to the determined timetable. The Governance and Power Sharing and the property issue will primarily be discussed simultaneously and the basis and trust will be secured for the other issues. Agreement will be reached in many chapters until the meeting in which the guarantor powers will participate. The guarantees issue will be settled with the participation of the guarantors. As soon as the issue of guarantees is settled, the process will be completed with the territory, the map and a final big bargaining. If everything goes well, the target is to hold a referendum in both sides simultaneously in the first quarter of 2016'. [?]"

Meanwhile, Kibris cites a Turkish Cypriot source close to Turkish Cypriot leader Eroglu's office, who said that the resumption or not of the negotiations will become evident today after Eide's meeting with President Anastasiades. The source argued that the Turkish Cypriot side is ready to unconditionally begin the talks, but the statements made by the Greek Cypriot leadership have allegedly caused confusion. "The statements made during the past few days by Anastasiades smell preconditions", the source claimed adding that Eide should clarify this issue during his visit to the island. "The ball is in Anastasiades' field now", the source alleged.

Furthermore, according to Kibris, Eide discussed the Cyprus problem yesterday in Istanbul with Feridun Sinirlioglu, Undersecretary at the Turkish Foreign Ministry. After the meeting, Eide shared a picture with Sinirlioglu through his twitter account, describing their meeting as "very productive".

(I/Ts.)

[02] Dincyurek: "Cyprus negotiations should resume soon without any preconditions"

"The Greek Cypriot administration has seen the international community's reaction to their leaving the negotiation table while it was win-win situation for some, and while it was a give-and-take situation for others. They left the table when both sides were about to make some decisions. This kind of politics is not acceptable," he argued.

Dincyurek further alleged that the Greek Cypriot exploration for natural gas and hydrocarbon resources is making things difficult to find solution in the island, and that is unacceptable. "If the Greek Cypriots continue to explore for hydrocarbons around the island, someone has to remind them that the Turkish Cypriots also have rights to these natural resources", said Dincyurek.

"If the Greek Cypriots engage in drilling activities without the accord of Northern Cyprus, the other side also will have the right to do so," he added.

Turkey has removed its exploration vessel Barbaros Hayrettin Pasa from the seas around the island, while the Saipem 10000 drillship, which was exploring on behalf of Eni and Kogas, has stopped operations and left the area.

Dincyurek, however, alleged that the actions of the exploration vessel were not the main reason for the Greek Cypriots' leaving the negotiations, and added: "There is no relation between the Greek Cypriots leaving the negotiations and the actions of the Barbaros ship, and there cannot be any such relation. There is, however, now no reason to hold up the negotiations", Dincyurek said.

[03] Sibel paid visits to football sport clubs escorted by Sertoglu

During her visits Siber was escorted by Hasan Sertoglu, the chairman of the "Turkish Cypriot Football federation" and as the paper writes she discussed the recent developments regarding football in the occupied area of Cyprus and the future steps that must be taken.

Sibel stated that sports are not a symbol of conflicts but a symbol of peace and friendship. "We support all the teams. Their success makes me happy. It is one of my greatest wishes to see Turkish Cypriot football teams competing in the international arena", she stated. She also said that "sport embargoes are inhuman" and that she supports all the struggles against them.

(CS)

[04] Denktas: "TCFF to apply to become member of KOP is making weak the Turkish Cypriots at the negotiations"

Denktas stated that he supports Dervis Eroglu because "he embraces Turkey's guarantees, he believes in the state and is fighting for the rights of the Turkish Cypriots". He also said that a new procedure is starting in Cyprus with the visit of the UN Secretary-General's Special Adviser, Espen Barth Eide.

He also claimed that since 1960 sports between the two communities in Cyprus have been administrated separately and alleged that in case of a solution the "Turkish Cypriot Football Federation" will separately become member of FIFA like Scotland and San Marino which, despite not being UN members, are members of FIFA under a different federation. He also alleged that the latest actions of the "Turkish Cypriot Football Federation", to apply to become member of Cyprus Football Association (KOP), are making weak the position of the Turkish Cypriots at the negotiation table.

(CS)

[05] Tacoy announced the privatization of "telecommunications" in the occupied area of Cyprus

Stating that the liberal operating form under the framework of the cooperation model between the state and the private sector will constitute the new structure of the service part of the "telecommunication department", Tacoy clarified that the personal rights of the 389 workers at the "telecom sector" will be totally protected.

Explaining that Telsim (Vodafone) and Turkcell provided so far subscription to the 700 thousand subscribers in the occupation regime, Tacoy said that they exert efforts in order for a third operator to be able to provide services in the "TRNC".

Tacoy added that they are planning to open tenders on May.

(AK)

[06] Social media blocked in Turkey yesterday for 8 hours; Turkey threatened to block Google search engine as well

A recent court ruling seen by daily Hurriyet ordered authorities to block a total of 166 websites that published the controversial photos. Beside the world's largest social media websites in the list, there are also specific links to the stories published by Turkish newspapers.

The decision, signed by Bekir Altun, the judge at Istanbul's 1st Criminal Court of Peace, was taken after Istanbul's Chief Public Prosecutor's Office's Terror and Organized Crime Investigation Bureau demanded the ban on news and videos.

The decision stated that content removal would be implemented and a possible blockage would be put in place if this was not done.

A number of Turkey's leading Internet service providers implemented the ban in the afternoon of April 6, an official confirmed after widespread complaints about access problems to the social media websites.

(?)

Speaking on the issue, the Presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kal?n said that a prosecutor had demanded the block on access to the social media sites because some media organizations had acted "as if they were spreading terrorist propaganda" in sharing the images of the hostage-taking.

"This has to do with the publishing of the prosecutor's picture. What happened in the aftermath (of the prosecutor's killing) is as grim as the incident itself," Kalin said.

"The demand from the prosecutor's office is that this image not be used anywhere in electronic platforms," Kalin stated during a press conference in Ankara.

This is not the first time Turkey has blocked social media platforms. Twitter was banned on March 20 2014, 20 hours after then Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan had vowed to "eradicate" the Twitter network during an election rally.

The Constitutional Court, which swiftly considered a number of individual applications filed following the blocking, unanimously ruled that the ban was a violation of free speech guaranteed by Article 26 of the Constitution on April 3, 2014.

Meanwhile, Turkish daily Hurriyet Daily News (07.04.15) reports that a court has threatened to block Google in Turkey, if the world's most popular search engine does not comply with its ruling against the publication of images showing a prosecutor who was killed during a hostage crisis in Istanbul.

A Turkish official told daily Hurriyet on April 7 that Google had removed the images which the court deemed illegal, following similar action by YouTube.

Istanbul's 1st Criminal Court of Peace notified Turkey's Internet Service Providers Union (ESB) late on April 6, ordering the body to block access to Google's search engine and its video platform, YouTube, if they continue to link to or directly host images of slain prosecutor Mehmet Selim Kiraz.

(?)

[07] EP' President due to visit Turkey for high level contacts with Turkish officials

Accompanied by a large delegation, Schulz will meet leaders from both the government and the opposition parties. His trip is packed with meetings and private talks with a number of prominent political figures.

Schulz will first meet with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. He will also hold separate meetings with Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and the EU Affairs Minister and Chief Negotiator Volkan Bozk?r.

Sources said that Schulz will raise the issue of the state of freedoms and democracy in Turkey during his meetings. He is expected to address the creeping government pressure on the media amid arrests and detentions of journalists for their critical comments on the government's policies.

(?)After meeting with government officials, he will also hold meetings with opposition party leaders, including main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) chairman Kemal K?l?cdaroglu and pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) co-chair Selahattin Demirtas during his trip to the southeastern province of Gaziantep.

Meanwhile, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) President Anne Brasseur will make an official visit to Turkey, according to a statement from the PACE website. She will visit Ankara, Gaziantep and Istanbul.

Having a busy schedule, she will meet with the President and Prime Minister after being accepted by Parliament Speaker Cemil Cicek. Brasseur is also expected to meet with members of different parties and the Constitutional Court President. The Foreign Minister and EU Affairs Minister will also accept Brasseur for talks about Turkey's stalled EU negotiations process.

(?) TURKISH AFFAIRS SECTION

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(AC/ AM)

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