Front Page Headlines
“We want to sell Hellim (Halloumi) to Europe”
Dairy producers complain about limited market space, demanding broader export opportunities and stability in raw milk prices.
Life becoming harder and harder
According to data from the State Planning Organization, in one year from April 2018 to 2019, prices of 39 products and services increased by 31.15%; electricity prices increased by 67.26% in one year and fuel oil by 29%.
- Increase in drug and larceny cases at courts – Annual reports of the Courts reveal there is an increase in drug and larceny cases. In 2018, 362 cases out of 646 were drug-related offences, which amounts to 7.41% increase compared to 2017. In larceny cases, the courts heard 111 cases in 2018 compared to 106 in 2017.
Majority of private tuition (providers) not registered
Parents’ income used for private tuition, however the majority of private tuition providers are not registered with the tax department. Therefore, the state does not benefit from most of these revenues from the providers. The number of providers is not known.
- Parliament to debate the law on establishing statistics department – The bill aims at establishing a statistics department that will be able to provide accurate and timely statistical data.
Secret refugee camp at Ercan (Tymbou)
Hundreds of Syrian refugees came to the north and arrived at Ercan (Tymbou) airport. A refugee camp had to be created for Syrians who were not sent back.
- A new generation of youth brings a new spirit to the Old Town – The historical site of Nicosia Old Town Samanbahçe getting ready for the YUKA festival.
Cauldron of politics boiling
Özersay requested an inventory of all the state-owned properties leased during the four-party coalition’s term in office, saying that (the dealings) were not satisfactory.
- ‘Fatih’ panic –Turkey’s declaration of a NAVTEX in the most important part of the Eastern Mediterranean has prompted the Greek Cypriots to take action.
- Demand for hefty compensation – While the search for bodies in the serial murders episode in South Cyprus continues, the families of the foreign women announce they are preparing to take legal action.
But boy, I love you… (From Can Yücel’s poem ‘Mare Nostrum’)
Today is May 6. The darkest day in the massacre of patriots by Turkey’s military fascism. Forty-seven years ago three young men were hanged in Ankara’s Ulucanlar prison by fascists. Deniz Gezmiş, Yusuf Aslan and Hüseyin İnan. The fascists buried in our hearts a pain which we will never forget till the day we die… We remember them with a poem by Can Yücel.
Main News
Akar says Turkey determined to protect TC rights in East Med
Kıbrıs, Kıbrıs Postası
Energy, Regional/International Relations
OVERVIEW
Ankara is determined to protect Turkish Cypriot rights in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Aegean Sea under international law, Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar said on Sunday.
“Along with the rights in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Aegean under international law, as a guarantor country, Turkey is determined to always protect the rights of the people of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) and not to allow a fait accompli,” Akar told Anadolu news agency.
The minister’s remarks came a day after the Greek Foreign Ministry called on Turkey to stop drilling activities in the Eastern Mediterranean.
Akar called on Greece to apply common sense and cooperation, adding that energy resources in the Aegean Sea and Eastern Mediterranean should serve as a bridge for peace, dialogue and mutual development.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry also issued a statement on Saturday rejecting the remarks made by EU’s foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini regarding Turkey’s hydrocarbon exploration activities in the Eastern Mediterranean.
“Turkey’s hydrocarbon-related activities in the Eastern Mediterranean region are based on its legitimate rights stemming from international law,” said the ministry.
KEY ACTOR
Akar
>> As a guarantor power, Ankara determined to protect TC rights in East Med & Aegean under international law & will not allow any fait accompli on hydrocarbons.
>> Call for common sense & cooperation from Greece. Energy resources in Aegean and East Med should serve as a bridge for peace, dialogue & mutual development.
Secret refugee camp at Ercan (Tymbou) Airport
Havadis
Migration & Citizenship
OVERVIEW
Hundreds of Syrian refugees who arrived in the north via Ercan (Tymbou) airport are being housed at a makeshift camp there.
Currently, 40 Syrian nationals are residing in the building formerly used by the Cyprus Turkish Airlines management. Havadis discovered that the Syrians are kept at the airport until the necessary bureaucratic procedures are completed.
The paper adds those whose refugee application is accepted will be sent to the refugee camp in the South. Those whose application is not accepted cannot be sent back to the destination from where they came because Lebanon imposes a four-day deadline on accepting migrants back into the country. As a result, those whose applications are turned down have become a problem for Turkish Cypriot authorities.
Havadis reports that the TRNC does not impose a visa to Syrian nationals upon entry. The Syrians depart from Beirut and transit through Turkey to arrive in the north. Upon arriving at the airport, the Syrians claim to be refugees and submit their applications.
The paper, according to information obtained from sources close to the government, reports that the Foreign Ministry has changed the rules on refugees and asylum seekers and prohibited the police from questioning refugees and asylum seekers upon arrival.
Instead, UNHCR officials are called in to conduct the questioning and to accept the application. Approximately 200 Syrians have already been sent to the refugee camp in the south.
Cultural heritage project abandoned in Famagusta district village
Kıbrıs Postası
Human Rights
OVERVIEW
The Peace Park, which was built in 2010 as part of the Türkmenköy (Kontea) Cultural Heritage Protection Project, has been abandoned to its fate, Kıbrıs Postası reports. The project was implemented by a bicommunal group, aimed at creating a meeting point for current residents of the village with former residents.
There is a conflict of authority over maintenance of the park. Mukhtar Ayşe Korol wants her office to be responsible for the maintenance of the park but she does not have the necessary funds to do so. Beyarmudu (Pergamos) Mayor İlker Edip, which has administrative jurisdiction over the park, has been ‘promising’ to take care of the park but does not deliver. As a result of negligence by the authorities, the park has been abandoned. People have stolen the aluminium frames used for the various facilities built in the park area.
The Türkmenköy (Kontea) Cultural Heritage Protection Project was managed by the Turkish Cypriot Chamber of Architects and Civil Engineers and by the Greek Cypriot Kontea Cultural Heritage Foundation. The Project was implemented by UNDP-ACT and financed by USAID.