Cyprus PIO: Turkish Cypriot and Turkish Media Review, 17-03-29

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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 described April and May as "decisive months" for Cyprus

[02] Ertugruloglu visits London

[03] INTERPA's conference is taking place in the occupied area of Cyprus

[04] "Three convictions and three acquittals in the abortion case"

[05] The 2nd CONIFA championship will be held in the occupied area of Cyprus

[06] Galatasaray chairman to visit the occupied area of Cyprus

[07] Gunsel became an honorary professor in Oxford

[08] Erdogan: "Ataturk would have said 'yes' in referendum"

[09] Tillerson to attend World Petroleum Congress in Istanbul

[10] Kosovo eyes Turkish support over creation of army

[11] Germany launches probe into Turkey spy claims

[12] Turkish court sentences HDP's regional affiliate DBP's co-chair to 9 years imprisonment on terror charges

[A] TURKISH CYPRIOT / TURKISH PRESS

[01] Akinci described April and May as "decisive months" for Cyprus

Noting that for almost two years they have been exerting efforts to solve the Cyprus problem, Akinci reiterated the allegation that the negotiations were interrupted after the decision of the Cyprus House of Representatives regarding the commemoration of the 1950 enosis plebiscite in schools, but after the approval of a new draft-law at the Education Committee of the Parliament, they will hold a social meeting with President Anastasiades on 2 April.

(I/Ts.)

[02] Ertugruloglu visits London

"General director" and "research and foreign policy planning director" of his self-styled ministry, Kemal Koprulu and Servet Basaran respectively are accompanying Ertugruloglu during his visit.

(I/Ts.)

[03] INTERPA's conference is taking place in the occupied area of Cyprus

Turkish Cypriot daily Halkin Sesi newspaper (29.03.17) reports that 70 persons from 24 different countries are attending the conference.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, so-called prime minister Huseyin Ozgurgun, praised the occupation regime's "police force", supporting that working for the "force" required hard work and dedication.He further added that the "police academy" of the occupation regime is a member of INTERPA's executive committee.

Meanwhile, according to the paper, a delegation of the "INTERPA" visited yesterday the Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci and the "speaker" of the so-called assembly, Sibel Siber.

On the same issue, Turkish daily Milliyet (29.03.17) under the title: "The Greek Cypriot's embargoes did not work", reports that in spite of the diplomatic efforts exerted by the Greek Cypriot side to prevent the organization of the conference in the "TRNC", the conference was launched yesterday in occupied Keryneia with the participation of several countries such as Brazil, Cambodia, Maldives, Qatar, India, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Palestine and Kameron.

The paper adds that the Greek Cypriot side did not give permission to the police chief of Guatemala to cross over to the "TRNC" in order to attend the conference. The Guatemala police chief travelled to Cyprus via Larnaca airport and was prevented by the Greek Cypriot police to visit the "TRNC" providing as an excuse that the "TRNC" is not recognized.

In statements to the paper's correspondent in the occupied area of Cyprus, Sefa Karahasan, the chairman of INTERPA Yilmaz Colak, stated, inter alia, that the efforts of the Greek Cypriot side to prevent the conference did not yield a positive result. Underlining that they are not politicians, Colak claimed that "police has won".

Colak further described the organization of the conference in the "TRNC" as a historical event and added that "this is a supporting effort for the promotion of north Cyprus".

(AK)

[04] "Three convictions and three acquittals in the abortion case"

After the decision was announced, "prosecutor" Erdinc Akyener stated that they will file an "appeal" to the "high court".

The issue is covered by almost all the Turkish Cypriot newspapers on their front page. Under the title "Imbalance in justice", daily Afrika reports that Dr Fahri Karagozlu was sentenced to 5 years in prison, Dr Rasiha Serdaroglu to 4 years and nurse-midwife Aysegul Isbilen to 2. Dr Mehmet Ali Tuncbilek, Dr Verda Tuncbilek and nurse Taner Okburan were acquitted.

The paper's publisher, Sener Levent writes in his column that the "legal period of time" for abortions in the occupied area of the island is 12 weeks and that abortion is forbidden for pregnancies over 12 weeks. Noting that according to the World Health Organization the legal period of time for abortions is 24 weeks, he says that some women who had abortion in the above mentioned hospital were 17 weeks pregnant and some other 28 weeks.

Levent points out that the couple which owns the hospital and one nurse were found innocent, while the three other defendants were found guilty. He argues that the decision caused "shock and uprising" in the community and recalls that the same "court" had convicted to nine months in prison a woman named Meliz who had an abortion while 17 weeks pregnant. He described the situation as "a distorted picture", because the owners of the hospital to which Meliz paid money to have an abortion were found innocent and set free, while Meliz herself is currently in prison.

Some other front-page titles are the following:

Havadis: "No one is satisfied"

Star Kibris: "Debatable ruling"

Kibris Postasi: "The public conscience did not feel the 'justice'"

Yeni Duzen: "The sword of justice has no scabbard"

(I/Ts.)

[05] The 2nd CONIFA championship will be held in the occupied area of Cyprus

The paper notes that "countries" which are not member of FIFA participate in CONIFA. The teams of "Abkhazia" (Georgia), "County of Nice" (France), "Man Island" (United Kingdom), "Padania" (Italy), "Szekely Land" or "Szeklerland" (Rumania), "Karpatalja" (Ukraine) and "Samiland" (Finland) were invited to participate in the tournament.

(I/Ts.)

[06] Galatasaray chairman to visit the occupied area of Cyprus

Ozbek and his delegation will meet with self-styled prime minister Huseyin Ozgurgun and self-styled interior minister Kutlu Evren and brief them on the projects which Galatasaray plans on carrying out in the occupied area of the Republic of Cyprus.

Ozbek will also meet with Hasan Sertoglu, chairman of the Turkish Cypriot so-called football federation.

(I/Ts.)

[07] Gunsel became an honorary professor in Oxford

At the ceremony, Gursel was praised for his "huge investments" in the field of education and health.

The paper claims that this title offered to Gursel was one more reply to the so-called embargoes implemented on "northern Cyprus".

(I/Ts.)

[08] Erdogan: "Ataturk would have said 'yes' in referendum"

"On what ground have they said such a thing? Do they have the ability to read the memories of Ataturk? What does it have to do with Ataturk?" Erdogan said in a joint televised interview on private TV channels ShowTV, HaberTurk TV and Bloomberg HT late on March 27.

"Now, I would say, on the contrary, that if Ataturk were to rise again, he would say 'yes' to the regulation we have prepared because he, himself, lived with such [a system]," he added.

"Ataturk did what we want to do. Why? He could not even get along with Ismet Inonu who was his fellow worker," he said.

His comments came after Bild published an article saying that Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of the Republic of Turkey, would have voted against the constitutional amendment charter if he were alive. The article was published with the headline: "Referendum in Turkey: Ataturk would say 'no,'" in both German and Turkish.

Arguing against the opposition which has criticized the constitutional amendment for bringing in a "one-man regime," Erdogan gave the example of the one-party regime of Republican People's Party (CHP) rule of the 1930s.

(?)

Erdogan also answered CHP leader Kemal K?l?cdaroglu's criticism that the charter would pave the way for the President to be elected for a third term thanks to his authority to annul Parliament.

"The President does not have the authority to annul Parliament. Be frank, do not lie," Erdogan said, addressing K?lcdaroglu.

"Those who listen would have believed that the President will have the authority to annul Parliament. There is no such thing. The President will annul Parliament, and after the annulment, the Parliament will vote for an election for the third time. With this election, it will pave the way for the President to be elected for the third time. The process to be elected for a third term is not a process for him [certainly] to become President," he said.

"Does Parliament have the authority to go to early elections? Can it make such a decision? It does. But the Parliament can make that decision without the demand of the President. There are certain percentages for that," he said.

[09] Tillerson to attend World Petroleum Congress in Istanbul

The 22nd World Petroleum Congress will be held in Istanbul between July 9 and 13, 2017.

(?)

[10] Kosovo eyes Turkish support over creation of army

"We believe that Turkey will give support for the creation of armed forces," Rasim Demiri told Anadolu Agency during his visit to Ankara.

A draft law was filed in the southeastern European state in January to convert the country's armed security forces into a national army -- a move that increased tensions with neighboring Serbia.

President Hashim Thaci sees the transformation of the Kosovo Security Force (KSF) as a normal step for an independent state. But Serbia reportedly believes the move will destabilize the region.

Kosovo is sure it will "get support from both NATO and other foundations," Demiri said.

[11] Germany launches probe into Turkey spy claims

The probe came as a German State Minister accused Turkey of the "unacceptable" espionage against supporters of Gulen, blamed by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for a failed coup attempt last year.

The claims open a new front in the diplomatic row between NATO allies Germany and Turkey, whose relationship has been strained by a series of disputes focused on human rights issues.

"It is clear that the Turkish secret service MIT is investigating people living in Germany," said Boris Pistorius, Interior Minister of the northern German state of Lower Saxony, deploring the "intensity and ruthlessness" of Turkey's pursuit of people living abroad.

"It's intolerable and unacceptable," he said at a press conference.

Erdogan's government had asked Berlin to help spy on about 300 alleged Gulen supporters, Pistorius said, adding that the list was handed to Germany's BND spy service, which turned it over to state governments.

Turkish authorities were acting with "something close to paranoia," he said, adding that "all Gulen supporters are assumed to be terrorists and enemies of the state even though there is not the tiniest scrap of evidence."

"As of today, we have no evidence whatsoever that Gulen supporters have violated any rules in any way", Pistorius added.

According to German media, Turkish officials handed the target list including names, addresses, telephone numbers and photographs to their German counterparts during the Munich Security Conference in February.

Federal prosecutors will now examine how Turkey compiled such detailed information on their targets.

(?)Erdogan has in turn accused Germany of harbouring Kurdish and other "terrorists", claiming that Berlin is refusing to hand over alleged suspects.

(?)

[12] Turkish court sentences HDP's regional affiliate DBP's co-chair to 9 years imprisonment on terror charges

The 5th High Criminal Court in southeastern Diyarbak?r province convicted Kamuran Yuksek of being a member of a terrorist organization.

Yuksek, who had been released pending trial last October following his detention back in May 2016, was not present at Tuesday's hearing.

He was arrested on May 10 in Diyarbak?r as part of a terror probe, and remanded in custody three days later.

Turkey's government accuses the HDP of being linked to the PKK, which is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S., and the EU.

More than 1,200 people, including security force personnel and civilians, have lost their lives since the group resumed its decades-old armed campaign against Turkey in July 2015.

?????????.

(AK/ AM)

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