Cyprus PIO: Turkish Cypriot and Turkish Media Review, 16-05-19

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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] Burcu: Akinci was not invited to the UN Humanitarian Summit to be held in Istanbul

[02] Akinci asked for investigation regarding YODAK accusations

[03] Ozgurgun announced that the "economic protocol" will be signed in a few days in Turkey

[04] Cavusoglu called on the OIC's member states to undertake concrete steps towards the lifting of the so-called isolation against the Turkish Cypriots

[05] Ataoglu: "Our goal is to bring 200,000 tourists to the TRNC this year"

[06] Milliyet: The cost of the solution in Cyprus is 23 billion euro

[07] CTP's constitutional conference to be held on Sunday

[08] The Pakistan Engineering Council accredited the "civil engineering department" of "LAU"

[09] Israel's top diplomat to attend UN humanitarian summit in Turkey

[10] Commentary: "Commission suggests marrying a child to her rapist"

[A] TURKISH CYPRIOT / TURKISH PRESS

[01] Burcu: Akinci was not invited to the UN Humanitarian Summit to be held in Istanbul

Burcu said that Akinci has not received such an invitation yet and added that in case Akinci is indeed invited, the issue will be evaluated.

The paper notes that President Anastasiades and the Greek Prime Minister Tsipras will participate in the meeting adding that the latter will also meet with the Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on the sidelines of the Summit.

(CS)

[02] Akinci asked for investigation regarding YODAK accusations

YODAK is facing various accusations for corruption and money laundering.

(CS)

[03] Ozgurgun announced that the "economic protocol" will be signed in a few days in Turkey

Speaking at a dinner organized by the National Unity Party's (UBP), Ozgurgun said that a number of financial obstacles will be removed once the protocol is signed. Pointing out that the UBP had wished it had come to power through "elections", Ozgurgun said that this had not been possible because of the two "coalition governments" the Republican Turkish Party (CTP) had set up. "We were unable to overcome our differences despite the support we gave during our term in the CTP-UBP coalition. We only managed to come to office three years later with a coalition with the Democratic Party", he added.

Stating that the UBP's goal is to win a majority in "parliament" in the upcoming "elections", Ozgurgun said: "There can be no obstacles ahead of us, no project we cannot produce if we are strong. The water transfer project which has the UBP's signature under it is a good example of this". He also announced that water will be running from household taps as of the 1st of August.

[04] Cavusoglu called on the OIC's member states to undertake concrete steps towards the lifting of the so-called isolation against the Turkish Cypriots

Presenting to the OIC member states the water transferred project, Cavusoglu claimed that the "project of the century" as it is called, "is an important example of inter-state cooperation".

Explaining that half of the water transferred from Turkey will be used for potable purposes and the other half for agriculture purposes, Cavusoglu said that the water will increase on the one hand the quality of life in the "country" and on the other hand the competitiveness of their products and their potentials on agriculture production.

"This situation will increase the trade potentials of the Turkish Cypriots with the OIC countries", Cavusoglu argued.

Referring to the Cyprus problem, Cavusoglu evaluated as the last chance the ongoing Cyprus negotiation process which is carried out by the two leaders in Cyprus on the basis of the Joint Declaration Agreement of the 11th February 2014 signed by the two leaders. He explained that the aim of the current negotiation talks is to reach to a bi-zonal, bi-communal federal solution composed by two founding states and based on the political equality of the two sides in Cyprus.

Cavusoglu expressed also the view that a concrete support by the "OIC countries" to the "Turkish Cypriot state" will motivate the Greek Cypriot side towards the solution.

(AK)

[05] Ataoglu: "Our goal is to bring 200,000 tourists to the TRNC this year"

Ataoglu, stated, inter alia, that among their priorities is the "branding of north Cyprus" via providing high quality vacation packages to tourists. He added that they give high importance to the establishment of a "tourist organization".

Regarding the number of tourists visiting the occupation regime, Ataoglu alleged that this number will be increased compared to the previous year and said that their goal is to bring 200 thousand tourists to the "country" with charter flights. He underlined also that they have made preparations in order to open new destinations.

Supporting that due to the negative developments in the Middle East and Turkey, tourists will not prefer to go to Turkey, or "south Cyprus" due to the risk that exist, Ataoglu claimed that this would have a positive effect for them. "We are expecting an increase on the number of tourists due to the fact that our country is a secure place and due to the re-launching of Corendon's flights and the flights to and from Diyarbakir", Ataoglu claimed.

Ataoglu also said that they feel that the "state" will contribute and provide support for the tourism sector's development. He said that the implementation of new strategies on tourism and the efforts exerted so for the development of the "health tourism" as another alternative, will also contribute a lot.

Referring to the charter flights, Ataoglu said that they aim to increase the number of their destinations. Stating that until so far charter flights are taking place from Italy, Norway, Slovakia, Denmark, Poland, Slovenia, Belgium, Czech Republic, Hungary, Iran, the Netherlands, Finland, the UK, Germany, Estonia, Latvia and France, Ataoglu said that the "ministry" carries out contacts with several tourist operators after their demand to carry out flights to new destinations.

Ataoglu stated also that among their priorities is to provide financial and technical support to the three and four star hotels in the "country" which are half-booked every year in order to gain more tourists.

(AK)

[06] Milliyet: The cost of the solution in Cyprus is 23 billion euro

The report was discussed during the US Assistant of State Victoria Nuland's recent visit to the island. Nuland has reportedly given assurances that "whatever the number is, a big part of it will be paid by the EU". The Cypriot leaders, on the other hand, gave the message that the solution will be difficult in case the money for the compensations cannot be secured.

The paper adds the following:

"The USA, which thinks that the negotiations in Cyprus should not be interrupted, did not give permission for the Greek Cypriots conducting a new drilling in the Mediterranean. Washington warned the Greek Cypriot administration saying 'do not conduct a new drilling by the end of 2016'. To the Greek Cypriot view saying 'what if the companies want to carry out a drilling', the USA threatened saying 'we will interfere and we will stop these companies'. Moreover, the USA suggested to Akinci and Anastasiades the creation of a 'National Sovereign Fund'. The money accumulated in the fund will be an assurance for the financing which will be taken for the compensations and the debts.

It was revealed that the USA is behind the recent statements in the Greek Cypriot side that 'if Turkey does not erase the debts of the Turkish Cypriots, there will be no solution'. It was made known that the US diplomat Victoria Nuland told the Greek Cypriot administration leader Anastasiades that she 'expects Turkey to erase the dents of the Turkish Cypriots'. During her meeting with the Greek Cypriot leader Nuland said 'I expect Turkey to erase the past debts of the Turkish Cypriots after the solution and provide financial aid to the solution'. Akinci, who during his meeting with Nuland conveyed the message that 'I cannot speak on Turkey's behalf', also explained that their expectation is for Turkey to erase the debts".

(I/Ts.)

[07] CTP's constitutional conference to be held on Sunday

The conference which is taking place under the slogan "Even more democracy" will make fundamental changes in its constitution, including the adoption of 40% quota for women representatives.

(CS)

[08] The Pakistan Engineering Council accredited the "civil engineering department" of "LAU"

The paper reports that during the visit PEC extended also the accreditation of the "department of computer engineering" and "electrical and electronics engineering department", which was given earlier.

(DPs)

[09] Israel's top diplomat to attend UN humanitarian summit in Turkey

Gold will arrive in Istanbul on May 23, the first day of the two-day long summit, the United Nations' first-ever world humanitarian summit, a senior Israeli diplomat told the Hurriyet Daily News on May 18.

Gold is not expected to proceed to Ankara, said the Israeli diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity. "There are no plans to hold a meeting on the issue of normalization of relations on the occasion of the World Humanitarian summit," Turkish diplomatic sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the paper.

Meanwhile, the Israeli Embassy in Ankara marked the 68th Independence Day of the State of Israel with a reception hosted on the evening of May 17.

Delivering a speech at the reception, the Embassy's Charge d' Affaires, Amira Oron, underlined that Turkey and Israel made "a very positive progress in upgrading their relations" last year. "Over the last 68 years, the State of Israel invested considerable efforts to develop peaceful relations with countries across the globe, one of which is Turkey, to which we attach great importance. Turkey was the first Muslim country to establish diplomatic relations with Israel in November 1949," Oron said.

[10] Commentary: "Commission suggests marrying a child to her rapist"

"(?) It is the official version of seizing the rights of women and children. It is a new form of misogyny and hatred for women.

Do you know what kind of absurdities it contains? It encourages children to marry their rapists or those who have abused them. They are encouraging child marriages. I am writing the sentence again. They are encouraging child marriages, a feudal institution that people and women who have a functioning mind have been trying to prevent for years.

Supposedly, as if to be supportive of women, they are trying to introduce the practice of castration for rapists. There may be some who agree with this but there should not be. In my opinion, it is nothing but responding to violence with violence.

Is that finished here? No, it is not.

Let's continue: When battered women file for divorce, they suggest mediation and conciliation. In other words, the married woman will be beaten, but the mediator will say, "Let it go; he is your husband. So what if he beats you? Do not wreck your family. Your family is more important than you." The woman is expected to lower her head and continue to be battered.

There is an attempt to prevent women who are victims of violence from calling the police during work hours. The reason is that women will be discouraged from filing a complaint. They will continue being battered before succumbing and saying, "This is my destiny," and accept this torment.

This is officially a suggestion to discourage women from asking for justice for the violence they are subjected to.

It is not yet over.

When it is family law in question, they want all the hearings to be secret. When it is a secret hearing, nobody is allowed; naturally, the press is not allowed in either. Nobody should hear about violence against women, know about it or write about it.

They want to make divorce more difficult. They want the alimony rights of women to be restricted by time.

Let me draw your attention to the fact that all of these are articles against women. They want to restrict the term of litigation. They are trying to avoid giving the 50% share of the women's marital property in the case of the death of her husband. And they also want to base the psychological guidance and counselling services on religious foundations.

They are trying to remove the rights of women that have been earned.

The head of the Turkish Federation of Women's Associations (TKDF), Canan Gullu, evaluated the report, saying, 'Child abuse and incest are abundant in this country, but they are trying to prevent divorces, which had a rate of 1.69% last year because this is their mentality'.

Gullu said: 'Even though it is banned by the Istanbul Convention, the practice of mediation, seizure of shared property rights, granting counselling licenses to graduates of the theology faculty? There are clauses that are impossible to be accepted in a secular country'.

She went on, 'Marrying a person to her rapist and observing them for five years? This last article alone is nauseating. They are considering putting you in the same bed together with the person who raped you and then observing you for five years. This mentality is not the thought of contemporary Turkey'." TURKISH AFFAIRS SECTION

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(DPs / AM)

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