Front Page Headlines
A freeze in hiring and promotions in the public service
We reveal a report by the finance ministry with suggestions and measures. The finance ministry assesses the cost of the administrative court at €1.07 billion for 2019-2020. Constitutional amendment so that a new cut in salaries and pensions is not considered unconstitutional.
- Missing persons: Transitional… plan by the foreign ministry
- TCs: At the elections with buses
- Peak in passport demand: intense interest by British Cypriots due to Brexit – Between 2016 and March this year, 2,342 British Cypriots registered as Cypriots.
- Turkey: Risk of wider crisis after the elections
Almost arrests in Parliament
The protection of turtles and the ‘attack’ on the acacias in Argaka caused a wild confrontation. (AKEL MP Adamos) Adamou called the police and warned against attacks on the experts.
- He is asking Lute for a three-way meeting: The president’s proposal
- Action plan on the missing persons
- Thousands of refugees on waiting lists
- Arrest of smugglers of migrants in Tylliria – A Turk and two TCs behind the (smuggling) ring. They were bringing the boats and guiding them to the disembarkation point.
- Cypriot stamp of approval on the Leviathan pipes
Concerns over the work of the CMP (Committee on Missing Persons)
Clause prohibits relation with missing persons. Same carelessness as in the case of the negotiator. Concerns also by TC media over violation of the mandate.
- No optimism for the resumption of talks: Complete refusal of political equality
Union gloats over pay cut reversal
Civil servants’ union head says state has enough money to pay up
- Controversy over termination of CMP member’s contract
He said it like it is…
The president did not hide behind his finger. Speaking to the PASYDY (civil servants’ union) conference, Nicos Anastasiades let them know the government will appeal the (court) decision (on pay cuts) and will file a request for suspension of execution. He blamed the parties for populism in 2013 that led to the haircut on bank deposits. “Civil servants were vindicated,” says (PASYDY head) Glafcos Hadjipetrou.
- Response to Akinci on equality – Anastasiades: “No other country’s constitution provides that a community decides on the fate of the entire country.” The position of the Turks on a vote for every decision constitutes political inequality. Where we accept (TC) positive vote.
- Interim: Nicos Theodosiou was appointed as the replacement of Nestoras Nestoros at the CMP
Main News
AKEL: Both sides went back on political equality convergences
Alithia, Haravgi, Phileleftheros, Politis
Negotiations Process
OVERVIEW
President Nicos Anastasiades has reportedly asked for a joint meeting with Mustafa Akinci and Jane Holl Lute. Meanwhile, debate on TC political equality was the main Cyprob issue on Wednesday with the government reiterating its positions on the matter and main opposition AKEL arguing that both sides went back on relevant convergences. AKEL expressed pessimism as to the outcome of Lute’s efforts.
According to Phileleftheros, Anastasiades told Lute during the telephone conversation he had with her on Tuesday that he would like a joint meeting with Akinci and her and that he would repeat his request during their meeting on Sunday.
It is Anastasiades’ position that all three must meet to discuss if progress is to be achieved since Lute’s presence on the island offers an opportunity to seek ways for the procedure to advance.
Akinci, however, already turned down that prospect, the daily said, unless he is satisfied on the issue of political equality.
According to Alithia and Phileleftheros, in response to Akinci’s statements earlier in the week, Anastasiades said on Wednesday that he does not understand the demand to accept a TC positive vote for every decision of the federal state.
This, he said, creates political inequality. He wondered if the constitution of any other country, or of the US, or the EU, gives the right to one community of one of the constituent states to decide on the fate of the entire country for the sake of the “so-called political equality.”
Anastasiades said he pointed out to the UN Secretary-General and Akinci that he accepts positive vote but on issues where the majority’s decisions might affect negatively the TC constituent state.
We do not deny political equality, he said, but rather numerical equality.
The president also referred to a meeting in March 2017 with the then British Foreign Minister Boris Johnson, who had asked him why he opposes the equal treatment of Turkish and Greek nationals.
He said he had replied to Johnson, “for exactly the same reasons as you managed to persuade the British people to vote for the Brexit, having as the main argument that if Turkey became an EU member, England would be flooded with Turkish citizens. You are 60 million and are worried, we are only 800,000 and I wonder if you would accept a similar status for my own country.”
Johnson told him that this was not his own argument but that of his associates, Anastasiades said, adding that he replied that he fully adopts the positions of Johnson’s associates.
Following criticism by AKEL, Foreign Minister Nicos Christodoulides said on Wednesday that it was not the GC side that went back on the issue of political equality but the TCs, who now demand a positive vote on everything, Phileleftheros reported. The GC side’s position has always been that the TC positive vote must apply only where the vital interests of the TC community are affected, he said.
Speaking to CyBC radio, Christodoulides said that it was a shame Akinci is against a joint meeting with Lute, adding that it seems the TC side has adopted Ankara’s position that does not want any developments in the Cyprus problem before June.
The aim of the GC side, he said, is a resumption of talks while some are only interested in PR and not achieving an agreement on the Terms of Reference. On reaction over the duties of Andreas Mavroyiannis, he said some daily seek to exercise criticism to win impressions ahead of the Euro-elections, the paper reported.
AKEL said in response, according to Haravgi, that there has been a convergence on a TC positive vote on all issues at Cabinet level and that the GC side’s position on TC positive vote when the vital interests of the TCs are affected concerned only the low politics level, never in Cabinet.
A convergence was achieved in Mont Pelerin 1 on low politics level organs, AKEL said, on which the TC side went back on, but Anastasiades also went back on the convergence on the TC positive vote on all issues at Cabinet level.
In another article, Haravgi, reported that AKEL leader Andros Kyprianou expressed pessimism on whether Lute’s return would mark the beginning of a new effort on the Cyprus problem. After the latest statements by both sides, I believe no one can be optimistic on the prospect of the resumption of talks, Kyprianou said.
Politis reports that Lute’s upcoming arrival has turned everything upside down since there is a shift of focus from security and guarantees to TC political equality, with both sides expressing strong views on the matter.
The daily reported there has been great progress on the issue of TC positive at Mont Pelerin 1 at the negotiator level as an unofficial convergence was achieved concerning organs dealing with low political issues and it is the TC side that went back on this by requesting a vote in all organs, thus creating problems for the whole procedure. The TC side also backtracked in relation to the Guterres Framework that refers to a TC positive vote whenever the vital interests of the community in question are affected. In his Framework, the UN Secretary-General left the possibility open of a decision during the talks on which cases this will be applicable. The TC side went back on this, Politis reported, by asking for a positive vote in all organs.
The issue of the positive vote came about after the GC side sought to replace the TC side’s right since 1960 to veto, Politis said.
According to Alithia, there seems to be an abyss between the two sides on the issue of political equality while the dialogue between Turkey and Greece on security and guarantees is still at the very beginning. It would be naïve to believe that Lute’s return to the island will yield substantive results, it said, adding that perhaps the only reason of her visit is to reassess the situation before she submits her report to the UN Security Council. The report is not expected to satisfy the Security Council since progress on the Cyprus problem is at a snail’s pace, Alithia said.
KEY ACTORS
Anastasiades
>> Bewildered over the demand to accept a TC positive vote for every decision of the federal state. Asks whether other countries’ constitutions give the right to one community to decide on the fate of the entire country.
>> Accepts positive vote but on issues where the majority’s decisions might affect negatively the TC constituent state.
>> Not against political equality but rather numerical equality.
>> Against equal treatment of Greek & Turkish nationals because does not want country overrun by Turkish nationals.
Christodoulides
>> It is not the GC side that went back on the issue of political equality but the TCs who now demand a positive vote on everything. The GC side has always been in favour of TC positive vote only where the vital interests of the TC community are affected.
>> Believes the TC side sided with Ankara in wanting to deal with the Cyprob after June.
AKEL
>> A convergence had been reached on TC positive vote on all issues at Cabinet level. The GC side’s position on TC positive vote when the vital interests of the TCs are affected concerned only the low politics level organs, never the Cabinet.
>> Both sides went back on TC positive vote convergence; TCs went back on the convergence on low politics level organs while Anastasiades on the TC positive vote on all issues at Cabinet level.
Kyprianou (AKEL)
>> Statements from both sides leave no room for optimism on
Interim GC member at CMP
Alithia, Cyprus Mail, Haravgi, Phileleftheros, Politis
CBMs, Human Rights
OVERVIEW
President Nicos Anastasiades on Wednesday appointed Nicos Theodosiou as the interim GC member of the Committee on Missing Persons (CMP) to replace Nestoras Nestoros whose five-year service ended on Tuesday.
Theodosiou has been an associate at the office of the GC representative of the CMP since 2015, and was chairman of the Pancyprian Organisation of the Relatives of Undeclared Prisoners and Missing Persons between 1994 and 2012. He was the head of the same organisation between 2012 and 2015.
But Haravgi reported that, as it has been pointed out by TC media, the appointment of Theodosiou is not in line with the CMP’s mandate that stipulates that persons directly involved with issues of missing persons cannot be appointed to the Committee. It added that nowhere in the mandate is there a provision for an interim representative.
Politis reported that this is the first appointment to the CMP of a first-degree relative of a missing person citing the same regulations as Haravgi. It added that during this transitional period, the president will seek a new GC representative to be appointed at the CMP.
Nestoros told Haravgi that the interruption of his service comes at a critical stage since a large number of actions are underway such as a survey in cooperation with the University of Nicosia, a large scale awareness campaign and excavations in the occupied areas with great potential.
TC CMP member Gulden Plumer Kucuk said on Wednesday that Nestoros’ departure could affect negatively the awareness campaign the committee will launch next month on encouraging those possessing information that could locate missing persons to come forward, which is at the planning stage.
Cyprus Mail reported that Kucuk, speaking to media in the north, said that she was not aware of the reasons why Nestoros’ contract was not renewed. On whether this was due to the small number of remains located, Kucuk said that it was expected that after so many years the number of remains uncovered would decrease. She added that the CMP foresaw that and attempted to counter this by using new scientific approaches and strategies.
“As a result, we located within the first trimester of 2019, despite heavy rainfall, the remains of 13 persons in all our excavations,” she said, adding that this was proof the measures taken by the CMP were in the right direction.
Kucuk also said that the campaign will be carried out by the Arkin University of Creative Arts and Design in the north and an advertising company in the south.
Politis, citing sources, reported that the government is not in favour of yet another awareness campaign since key in locating remains is information only the Turkish military can provide. On the contrary, the CMP believes that the work done over the past few years will pay off in the near future, the daily said.
Cabinet on the other hand, approved on Wednesday an action plan submitted by the foreign ministry on the missing persons, at political and administrative level.
According to Phileleftheros, the plan, deemed necessary after disappointment over last year’s poor results, concerns putting pressure on Turkey at the diplomatic level, mainly through the EU, to get her to cooperate on the issue of missing persons, but also a series of actions at administrative level.
The goal is to tackle Turkey’s refusal to cooperate with the CMP in violation of the former’s international obligations and the difficulties presented due to the passing of time especially in research.
The action plan was prepared in consultation with state services and relatives of missing persons following a meeting with Foreign Minister Nicos Christodoulides, convened to discuss difficulties and better coordination.
It calls for putting pressure on Turkey through the Council of Europe, and the European Commission but also engaging Cypriot MEPs in highlighting the issue of missing persons and encouraging them to jointly promote a European Parliament resolution especially on missing persons.
According to Phileleftheros, the plan provides also utilising Cyprus’ membership at the International Commission on Missing Persons and intensifying coordination with the Greek government.
As regards coordination, it provides for setting up a research team with the participation of officials from all competent services, such as the central intelligence service (KYP), the CMP and the missing persons department, and establishing a team that will be tasked with going through archives in Cyprus and Greece, but also complete the digitisation of information already available.
Another team is to be set up which will be under the supervision of the Commissioner for Humanitarian Affairs that will deal with all issues concerning the people killed during the war. Their job will be to collect information, study archives, on site visits and cooperation with specialised centres abroad to resolve the issue of identification of remains of Greek soldiers currently at the anthropology lab and the issue of wrong identifications.
It also calls for the involvement of UNFICYP concerning excavations in the occupied areas and additional staff to reinforce the competent state services, Phileleftheros reported.
Smugglers sending Syrian refugees south were arrested in north
Phileleftheros
Migration & Citizenship
OVERVIEW
Authorities in the north arrested a few days ago three persons believed to be responsible for organising for the past two years the smuggling of migrants from the coast of Turkey to Cyprus and especially to the Tylliria and Chrysoschous areas.
Citing exclusive information, Phileleftheros reports that this concerns a man from Turkey who is the mastermind and two TC associates. According to information of the Republic’s authorities, the arrest took place a few days ago in the occupied Morphou area when the Turkish people smuggler went to the occupied areas where he met with his two TC associates, the daily reported.
Authorities in the north arrested them based on evidence they have been collecting for months regarding the boat transfers of migrants and their illegal push to the territory of the Republic.
The TCs were waiting for the boats at the Limnitis beach and were guiding with torch lights the boat captains to the spot where the Syrian refugees would disembark and then led them on foot to the free areas.
Their arrest is deemed by authorities as the reason why the Syrian migrants coming from Turkey to the Tylliria area has stopped during the last trimester, the paper said.
It added that although this was not the only group organising such activities, it is believed that they were the main source of transfer of migrants to the Tylliria and Chrysochous areas.
The arrival of migrants in those two areas were very frequent during the past two years, it said, adding that smugglers were making a fortune by taking advantage of this human tragedy since migrants say in their police testimonies that they usually pay between $1,500 and $3,000 each to be smuggled to Cyprus through Turkey.
Think tank calls for Cyprus NATO membership
Phileleftheros
Regional/International Relations, External Security
OVERVIEW
Executive vice president of the Atlantic Council think tank, Damon Wilson put forth the issue of Cyprus’ NATO candidacy, arguing that although the strategic value of the Eastern Mediterranean decreased significantly after the end of the Cold War, there have been major changes over the last decade mainly due to the alliance of Russians with the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad.
The Russians today, he said, maintain a naval and air base in Syria.
The divided island offers vulnerabilities that nefarious actors can exploit, as limited Cypriot security cooperation has led to unnecessary challenges, he said.
Wilson said that although the guarantor forces on the island are three NATO members, up until now NATO has not been put forth as a solution to the security problem, arguing that now may be the time to do so.
He argues that with NATO membership built into any settlement, GC and TC communities, along with Athens and Ankara, and in partnership with all of their European partners and NATO allies, might have more confidence in striking a deal.
As part of the agreement, he said, NATO could establish an operations centre on the island, drawing on existing infrastructure and housing personnel from NATO allies, including Turkey which would provide allies a common situational awareness within the Eastern Mediterranean.
This approach, he said, would reassure the two communities on security concerns and replace the former system of outside security guarantors by embedding a unified Cyprus within an alliance based on mutual defence.
TCs organise themselves for Euro-elections
Politis
EU Matters
OVERVIEW
Around 3,500 new TC voters are estimated to have registered in the electoral rolls ahead of May’s Euro-elections, meaning that over 80,000 TCs are now eligible to vote, the paper reported. More detailed information is expected to be announced soon by the interior ministry.
A large number of TCs consider these elections as very important as they feel it is an opportunity to pass on their own messages. Already, groups in the north are making arrangements to enable them to exercise their voting right without any problems, including buses to transfer voters from their villages to the crossings so as to get to the free areas to vote, Politis reported.
One of the most important messages TCs want to send is the lifting of their perceived isolation. Given that there are also TC candidates on the ballots, they feel that they may have a voice in Europe and this is their main motive, said the paper.