Front Page Headlines
Lawyers claim: “She’s severely mentally ill”
The diagnosis that Bilge Lord Kunduracı who killed her own son was severely mentally ill was presented by her lawyer to the court. Prof. Dr Çakıcı will be testifying on April 15.
- Erhürman: “Just as there are no problems between Turkey and the TRNC there are no problems between the four parties – PM Erhürman responds to claims regarding relations between Turkey and TRNC as well as within the coalition government during a session of parliament yesterday.
- Crumbling away before our eyes – Sea View Hotel, once a jewel resort in İskele (Trikomo), is now falling apart.
“Me Too” comes to Cyprus
“Me Too”, which is a social media trend for sexually abused women sharing their testimonies comes to Cyprus as five women came forward to complain about Bekir Yiğit over sexual harassment via the internet.
- We took the money last week – Prime Minister Tufan Erhürman responded to opposition MPs in the parliament and said the government took a loan from Emrullah Turanlı (CEO of Ercan [Tymbou] Airport management company) last week. Erhürman added the economic protocol will be signed in May.
Frightened over increasing crime rate
28 murder cases, 629 attempted murder cases, 571 armed attacks, 2,856 drug offences and 179 sexual assault cases were heard in the courts in the past 13 years.
- KIBTEK incurs 133,933 GBP loss – Turkish Cypriot Electricity Authority (KIBTEK) carried out 20 street lighting projects for free and the company wrote off the expense as a “public contribution” but Finance Ministry has launched an investigation on the issue.
- Child killer mentally ill – 36-year-old Bilge Lord Kunduracı diagnosed as severely mentally ill following ten psychiatric examinations conducted by Prof. Dr Mehmet Çakıcı.
Disaster awaits us at the end of the road
Murat Hakkı, a lawyer specializing in international law and property, said that the Immovable Property Commission (IPC) formed in accordance with international law had been rendered ineffective, warning that the consequences of this will be catastrophic.
- Bilge Lord is mad according to Çakıcı – Bilge Lord Kurduracı’s lawyer stated that Prof. Dr Mehmet Çakıcı diagnosed Lord as mentally unfit following psychiatric examinations.
Second bomb
The 15 million TL advance the Finance Ministry took from the establishment at Ercan (Tymbou) in order to pay salaries caused discomfort within the HP (Peoples’ Party) wing.
- Go to Akıncı – Altan Karakuş who had his car vandalized in South Cyprus last year was told by Greek Cypriot police that the case has been closed. He was told to go to Akıncı if he had any complaints.
- Lagging behind the North – The number of students receiving higher education in South Cyprus has been announced as 48,000.
They’ve all gone crazy after the money failed to arrive
The government and opposition are at each other’s throats after the halt in the flow of money from Turkey whose economy is tumbling downhill. The debate on the protocol has got out of hand!
- Parliamentary system – Greek Cypriot government spokesman Prodromou confirmed that they proposed a parliamentary system to the Turkish Cypriot side.
Main News
Opposition steps up anti-federation rhetoric
Yenidüzen, Kıbrıs Postası, Kıbrıs, Havadis, Diyalog
Negotiations Process
OVERVIEW
The opposition parties in the North stepped up their anti-federation rhetoric on Monday following President Akıncı’s meeting on Sunday with the UN Secretary-General’s envoy to Cyprus Jane Holl Lute.
National Unity Party (UBP) MP Oğuzhan Hasipoğlu called on Akıncı to declare to the UN that the talks to reach a federal solution model had been exhausted and to demand the tabling of alternative models at the negotiating table.
Hasipoğlu, referring to the statement issued following the Akıncı-Lute meeting, said it was clearly seen that Anastasiades has not changed his positions regarding the issues of political equality and effective participation in decision-making processes. Instead, Anastasiades wants to grant the Turkish Cypriots special rights under a Greek Cypriot unitary state, he claimed.
Hasipoğlu added the Greek Cypriot side’s manoeuvre in the talks was clearly outside the UN framework which left the Turkish Cypriot side with the only option of declaring to the UN that efforts to reach a federal settlement based on power sharing has been exhausted and that the two sides could only convene to discuss different governance models on the basis of two states.
Former Turkish Cypriot negotiator Osman Ertuğ said that the Turkish Cypriot side needed to urgently shake off its current image that it was the side which was not presenting new ideas or creative proposals.
He said that alternative solution models should be brought to the table through bold and courageous steps.
Ertuğ also criticized the Greek Cypriot leadership of backtracking on past convergences as well as rehashing old ideas as new ones.
Presidential Spokesperson Barış Burcu, speaking to reporters after Sunday’s meeting with UN envoy Lute, criticized the GC leader for not abandoning his position on political equality and effective participation in decision-making processes. Burcu said regretfully there was no chance of the terms of reference being completed by Lute.
KEY ACTORS
Hasipoğlu (UBP)
>> Akıncı must declare to UN that federation model exhausted. TC side must table alternative solution models on the basis of two states.
>> Anastasiades’ position on political equality and effective participation in decision making unchanged.
Burcu (Akıncı)
>> GC leader not abandoned negative positions on political equality and effective participation
>> No chance of Lute completing terms of reference.
Disaster awaiting IPC at end of the road
Havadis
Property
OVERVIEW
Murat Hakkı, a lawyer specializing in international law and property, said that the consequences of rendering the Immovable Property Commission (IPC) ineffective will be catastrophic.
In an exclusive interview to Havadis, Hakkı emphasized the delays in Turkish Cypriots applying to international courts for their properties left in the south and the fact that the Immovable Property Commission in the north was failing to meet the expectations of the Greek Cypriots could pose a new threat to the property regime in the North.
Providing a historical summary of the court cases on property starting in 1989, Hakkı said that he had filed a property case at the (south) Nicosia District Court on behalf of his client Barutçuzafe Ahmet Vasıf Efendi Foundation. The Appeals Court in the south will read its verdict on the case on 6 May. Hakkı added that should the verdict be against his client, he will be the first to file a property case on behalf of a Turkish Cypriot for property left in the south at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). An entity similar to the IPC in the north could be established in the south, Hakkı pointed out.
Responding to a question on the effectiveness of the IPC in the north, Hakkı said the IPC gave the opportunity to the Turkish Cypriot authorities to convert the Greek Cypriot owned properties to Turkish title deeds without having to pay compensation to former owners for the loss of use.
There are about 7,000 applications amounting to 300,000 dunams of land. Hakkı said, however, the Turkish Cypriot and Turkish authorities failed to comprehend the importance of processing and finalizing these applications and the effects it would have had on the status of the Turkish Cypriots in the north. The IPC has awarded nearly 300m GBP in compensation payments however there is still 100m GBP that needs to be paid. Out of the 7,000 applications, only 1,000 have been concluded. On top of that, the IPC does not accept any applications regarding properties in Varosha, Famagusta. There are also about 65 cases filed at the ECHR on grounds that there is not an effective domestic judicial process in the North. Hakkı concluded that the result of an ineffective IPC, the lack of domestic judicial processes and delays in compensation payments could very well result in a massive blow to the property regime in the North. If the IPC fails in being the remedy in property disputes, the ECHR will have to deal with such cases again and Turkey will be forced to pay compensation for both the loss of use and for the property itself
“Go to Akıncı”
Diyalog
Internal Security
OVERVIEW
Turkish Cypriot Altan Karakuş, who had his car set on fire in the parking lot of a supermarket in South Cyprus, has yet to be compensated. Greek Cypriot police were unable to find the persons responsible despite a year passing since the incident took place.
Karakuş was recently told by Greek Cypriot police that the investigation had ended and the case was closed due to the fact the culprit had not been found. According to Diyalog newspaper, Karakuş was told to take up the issue with Akıncı if he had any complaints regarding the matter.
Karakuş said the perpetrators could be seen on security camera footage taken from the supermarket but the Greek Cypriot police had deliberately covered up the incident for reasons he could not understand.
This is a real scandal, said Karakuş, complaining that not a single Turkish Cypriot authority had shown the necessary attention to the matter either.
Karakuş said he had met with Foreign Minister Kudret Özersay but had not received a satisfying answer from him either.
He warned Turkish Cypriots crossing over to the South that they were passing at their own risk as Greek Cypriot police were not sincere or friendly.
Spreading culture of reconciliation throughout the island
Yenidüzen, Kıbrıs, Diyalog
Human Rights
OVERVIEW
Cyprus Enterprise Link (CEL) and CyprusInno established a joint initiative named “LEAD Cyprus” with the goal of overcoming economic and social difficulties throughout the island. The British High Commission issued a statement announcing the establishment of the initiative and said CEL is an organization that supports youth entrepreneurship.
The statement said that CyprusInno, which is the first and biggest intercommunal digital entrepreneurship platform, have joined their forces to establish the initiative. The initiative, supported by the British High Commission, aims at spreading a culture of reconciliation throughout the island through economic dialogue and creating an environment in which Cypriots can find solutions to their common economic and social problems.