Cyprus PIO: Turkish Cypriot and Turkish Media Review, 16-01-08

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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] Akinci: "We are continuing our efforts for solving the Cyprus problem productively and with determination"

[02] Bozkir: EU must keep its promises to Turkey

[03] MHP accuses the Turkish Cypriot negotiation team of being insufficient in knowledge about EU law issues

[04] "Turkish embassy" to the breakaway regime strongly criticized CTP for its reaction on the water management issue

[05] Talat and Akansoy responded to the statement by the illegal Turkish embassy in the occupied part of Lefkosia

[06] More about the scandal with the illegal Tymbou airport; Accusation statements between Ertugruloglu and the "ombudsman"

[07] Self-styled minister of tourism will hold contacts with Turkish officials in Ankara

[08] New casino to be constructed in occupied Galatia village

[09] YKP to be represented at the EL meeting in Berlin

[10] The annual inflation rate of the breakaway regime in the occupied area of Cyprus at 7.78%

[11] Russia cancels nuclear training deals with Turkish universities

[12] Twitter files lawsuit against Turkish fine over "terrorist propaganda"

[A] TURKISH CYPRIOT / TURKISH PRESS

[01] Akinci: "We are continuing our efforts for solving the Cyprus problem productively and with determination"

Akinci stated that negotiations will continue on 14th January and added that the Cyprus negotiations are continuing productively and with determination with the aim to find a lasting solution. He also stated that following Davos visit, he will meet with Anastasiades on 29 January.

(CS)

[02] Bozkir: EU must keep its promises to Turkey

"In the event that the Cyprus problem cannot be resolved, the removal of the blockages imposed on chapters by the Greek Cyprus (editor's note: as he refers to the Republic of Cyprus) without an EU Council decision or in the absence of a legal basis belongs to the EU", Bozkir told a group of reporters traveling to Eskisehir with him on Jan 7.

"A letter signed by Donald Tusk [President of the EU Council] and Jean-Claude Juncker [President of the EU Commission] and sent to our Prime Minister stands as a commitment to the opening of these five chapters. They don't say that these chapters can [only] be opened if the Cyprus problem is resolved", he said.

The letter Bozkir referred to was sent to the Turkish government as an annex to a Nov. 29, 2015, joint statement between Turkey and the EU and cited five chapters the EU Commission promised to prepare for opening in the first quarter of 2016.

The five chapters are under a Greek Cypriot veto, and there are concerns that the failure of Cypriot reunification talks would also have a negative impact on the Ankara-Brussels relationship.

"Our position in keeping the Cyprus issue unrelated to our EU accession process remains. We will not allow any kind of involvement of the Cyprus problem in our accession process. There is this commitment of the EU. But in the event the Cyprus problem is resolved, then all these chapters will absolutely be opened automatically," he said.

The joint statement reached by Turkey and the EU also opens new avenues for the intensification of political and economic dialogue, the Minister said, announcing that Turkish and EU leaders would first come together on Jan. 25 in Turkey. EU Foreign Minister Federica Mogherini, EU Commissioner Responsible for Enlargement Johannes Hahn, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and Bozkir will come together in a four-way meeting. "We'll meet more frequently afterwards," Bozkir said, adding that Turkey's Foreign Minister would also increase the number of visits to EU-related meetings.

Another top meeting will be held in the field of energy as the Turkey-EU high-level Energy Cooperation Council will meet in Istanbul on Jan. 28-29. "This meeting will not only focus on the TANAP [Trans-Anatolian Pipeline Project] and the Turkish Stream but also on potential projects for the transportation of reserves from Turkmenistan, Qatar, Iran, northern Iraq and off Cyprus," he said.

In the meantime, Turkey and eight EU countries with similar policies on migration issues will come together at a mini summit on Feb. 18 in Brussels.

[03] MHP accuses the Turkish Cypriot negotiation team of being insufficient in knowledge about EU law issues

Commenting on the Cyprus talks, Ozdag said also that Akinci should exchange views with different sectors of the community and added that Akinci should also carry more extensive briefings regarding the negotiations.

Ozdag accused the Turkish Cypriot negotiating team of being insufficient in knowledge on the international law and the EU law. He added that as MHP, they have their concerns on the guarantee issue. He stressed that the guarantorship is one of the essential issues for them.

On the same issue, Turkish daily Hurriyet Daily News (online, 08.01.16) reports that Ozdag also criticized the ongoing talks in Cyprus, claiming that the process aimed at abolishing the "Turkish Cypriot State" by simply continuing the Greek Cypriot State under the title of Cyprus.

Citing his recent contacts in the occupied area of the Republic of Cyprus, Ozdag suggested that Akinci is not informing the relevant parties about the reunification talks and for even not taking appropriate notes of his meetings with the Greek Cypriots.

(DPs)

[04] "Turkish embassy" to the breakaway regime strongly criticized CTP for its reaction on the water management issue

CTP's party committee has rejected a few days ago an agreement reached between "officials" of the breakaway regime and Turkey's technical committee on the issue of the administration of the water. The agreement is supported by the other "coalition partner", the National Unity Party (UBP). The reason for the rejection of the agreement by the CTP is said to be the fact that "it gives opportunity for privatization", writes the paper.

"It is not a party's committee but the council of ministers that decides over the issue", the statement stressed adding that the "state" must behave in a more responsible way. The statement also argued that "false, incomplete and distorted information and comments were recently made regarding the water from Turkey which has created confusion and raised questions within the public"

According to the statement the water transfer project had been carried out as a result of a framework agreement signed between the government of Turkey and the breakaway regime and an initial understanding had been reached in the economic and financial cooperation protocol signed on the 4th of December 2012 that the water pumped from Turkey would be run on the basis of a build-operate-transfer model.

The statement also drew attention to the fact that the project had cost around 1.6 billion Turkish Liras to complete and that an additional 600 million Turkish Liras was required to complete infrastructure to make distribution possible.

"Within this framework, the model proposed by Turkey was that the water's administration and inspection should be carried out by the TRNC while its management should be carried out by the private sector which will build and complete necessary investments and facilities. The draft of the intergovernmental agreement prepared on the basis of this understanding was sent to the TRNC authorities on the 7th of April 2015" the statement read.

The statement also explained that a consensus had been reached on the draft on the 24-25th of December 2015 following several amendments.

"However on the 26th of December, the draft agreement in question was discussed and rejected at the Republican Turkish Party's Assembly. This was followed by false reports in the press that an agreement had not been reached with Turkey on the water issue. This has only caused confusion within the public" it said.

The statement also added that the right address to solve this issue was not the CTP's party assembly but the "council of ministers".

It ended by stating that Turkey was expecting the "TRNC government" to take a decision on the issue so that the project can move onto the implementation phase.

[05] Talat and Akansoy responded to the statement by the illegal Turkish embassy in the occupied part of Lefkosia

Commenting on the issue, the CTP leader said that it was only natural that the CTP party assembly brought the issue to its agenda after it emerged that there were important differences between the draft agreement agreed upon by the technical delegations from the two "countries" and the CTP party assembly's policy on the water issue. "The result is that the CTP party assembly rejected the document prepared. While the CTP party assembly is extremely grateful to Turkey for bringing much needed water to the country, it has made it clear that the decision as how the water will be managed must be based on our will. How the CTP will take decisions only concerns the CTP," he added.

The CTP leader also pointed out that the CTP is a political party that acts on the basis of collective decision making mechanisms and that the fact that the CTP is in "government" did not constitute an obstacle for the party to wield power over its decision making bodies' authorities.

On the same issue, self-styled minister of interior and labour and CTP "deputy" Asim Akansoy has also responded to the statement through his social media account.

Akansoy described the statement as unfortunate and unnecessary. Stating that he supported the idea from the very beginning that relations with Turkey should be constructive and based on mutual respect, he added that his party had neither the intention to deceive the public or to run away from its political responsibilities.

Akansoy also drew attention to the importance looking at the bigger picture when taking decisions on matters such as the water issue. He said that decisions cannot be taken solely by taking into consideration economic factors, adding that the "administration of the country" should be in the hands of the Turkish Cypriots in all dimensions.

Akansoy also pointed out that restructuring the "TRNC economy" is important but that undertaking economic reforms on its own will not be enough to achieve the desired political, economic and administrative transformation which the Turkish Cypriot "people" sought.

Stating that there will always be members of the party with differing views and opinions, Akansoy said that the attacks which he describes as a political lynching campaign on party members are totally unacceptable. He added that the CTP is well aware of its political responsibilities and that it attaches great importance to the water issue.

He further said that his party believes that the water should be managed through an administrative model in which the Turkish Cypriots will play a decisive and determining role. Defending the decision taken by the CTP party assembly, Akansoy said that his party will not abandon its principles for the sake of the water issue nor any other issue. "I believe that the written statement issued by the 'Turkish Embassy' is unfortunate. Yes the cabinet is important but as a member of cabinet what really matters for me is the decision taken by the party assembly".

[06] More about the scandal with the illegal Tymbou airport; Accusation statements between Ertugruloglu and the "ombudsman"

Turkish Cypriot daily Havadis newspaper (08.01.16) under the front-page title: "Quarrel for the 11 million dollars", reports that the so-called minister of transportation Tahsin Ertugruloglu and Dizdarli came face to face yesterday and issued separate accusation statements towards this issue.

Ertugruloglu argued in his statement that Dizdarli has made a mistake since it made statements without investigating the issue, while Dizdarli responded that she had acted in accordance with the "laws" and its "provisions".

Ertugruloglu clarified also that the "state" will pay nothing for the amount of 11 million and 250 thousand dollars to the foreign company which will provide control-inspection services to the T&T airport company and added that all the cost will be paid by T&T.

Meanwhile, Havadis writes that according to allegations published by Turkish daily Hurriyet, after the decision of the so-called ministry of transportation and the approval of the decision by the "council of ministers" to provide to the foreign company the control services of the T&T airport company, the amount of the 11 million dollars was paid by Turkey to two private companies called Diamond Green Administration and Consultant Services Ltd and the Taahhut Incorporate Company which are known for the close ties with the AKP and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Commenting on the issue in a written statement, Izzet Izcan, chairman of the United Cyprus Party (BKP) spoke about a huge economic scandal and corruption and said that this issue is a "product" of the wrong policies followed by the "coalition government" of the UBP-CTP.

He added that it is very well known that the two private companies have close ties with AKP officials and said that the two companies were also involved in the past in corruption cases.

(AK)

[07] Self-styled minister of tourism will hold contacts with Turkish officials in Ankara

According to the paper, Sucuoglu will first meet with Turkes. Later he and Unal will discuss how the tourism relations between the breakaway regime and Turkey can be further strengthened. They will also discuss how the "Russian crisis", will affect tourism and what measures can be taken.

(CS)

[08] New casino to be constructed in occupied Galatia village

According to the paper, the project for the construction of the casino is financed by Turkey Aid Committee and the "municipality".

The cost of the project is estimated to be 470 thousand TL and it is expected to be completed by April.

(AK)

[09] YKP to be represented at the EL meeting in Berlin

YKP will attend the meeting under the observer status.

(AK)

[10] The annual inflation rate of the breakaway regime in the occupied area of Cyprus at 7.78%

According to figures released by the so-called state planning organisation (DPO), the salaries of "public sector employees" will receive a 4.6% raise to reflect the rise in inflation over the last 6 months.

The "DPO" noted that according to December 2015 and the month before that; there has been a 1.31% increase.

The first three products to show a major price increase are the "state lottery ticket", aubergines and Turkey's State Lottery tickets. The first three products to experience a drop in prices are cabbage, broccoli and grapefruit.

There has been a rise in clothing and shoe prices as well.

[11] Russia cancels nuclear training deals with Turkish universities

Ankara University had a direct deal for raising the manpower for Turkey's first planned nuclear plant, Akkuyu, in the southern province of Mersin, while Hacettepe University and Istanbul Technical University (ITU) had separate deals in the educational, scientific and social fields.

Niyazi Meric, the head of the Ankara University Nuclear Sciences Institute, told Anadolu Agency that his school and MEPhI had signed a deal on April 13 to offer exchange and double masters degrees to their students.

As part of the deal, the students would have studied for six months in Ankara before spending one year at Moscow's MEPhI. Some 1,000 engineers who were to work at Akkuyu would have been educated in both countries, Meric said, adding that the university would now be looking for new partners in nuclear education.

Tension between Moscow and Ankara has been high since Turkish F-16s shot down a Russian warplane on Nov. 24 for violating Turkey's border with Syria. Since then, Russia has announced a raft of economic sanctions on Turkey and cancelled many joint projects, but Akkuyu has not been officially halted.

[12] Twitter files lawsuit against Turkish fine over "terrorist propaganda"

The legal challenge argued that the 150,000 Turkish Lira ($50,000) fine was against the law, the source said. Turkey temporarily banned the site several times in the past after it failed to comply with requests to remove content. Twitter was not immediately available for comment.

This was the first time the Turkish government has ever fined the popular site, though it had temporarily banned Twitter several times after it failed to comply with requests to remove content.

"The due date for the payment of this fine expired Jan. 5. But we stand behind our decision and we'll now take whatever measures are necessary," Turkish Transport, Maritime and Communication Minister Binali Yildirim said in a press conference in Ankara on Jan. 6.

Contrary to some prior moves by Ankara, he added that it was "out of the question" to close down social media platforms, stressing that the government "just wants them to act in line with the law." TURKISH AFFAIRS SECTION

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(DPs / AM)

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