GCC Press Review 18 May 2019

Front Page Headlines

Politis

Five leads for DISY, AKEL very close (in poll results)

(Elections) expected to be a late night thriller due to TCs and abstentions. The ruling party recuperates and mobilises supporters around it, the left has a reserve of strength. Only CyBC (poll) forecasts EDEK ahead of ELAM, but everything will be judged at the finishing line.

  • They are waiting for the EU – On the Kurd (Cerkez Korkmaz)
  • Athos Georgiou: Embankment against the far right

Phileleftheros

Consequences also for Britain

Turkey’s provocations don’t concern only Cyprus, Nicosia tells London. Communication between (Foreign Minister Nicos) Christodoulides and (US National Security Advisor John) Bolton.

  • Three polls: Uncertain battle for the sixth seat

Haravgi

We vote for dignity and hope

AKEL appeals to everyone who is concerned about the future of the country, who sees what he or she has built, what we built as a society collapsing, (who) sees the institutions being destroyed by the ‘best of the best’, who feels uncertainty. “We ask them,” says the General Secretary of AKEL, “to unite their voice with us to defend our rights and dignity.”

  • Citizens’ discontent with the DISY government’s policies
  • Inconvenience at the crossings ought to be prevented on the day of the elections

Cyprus Mail

Low-cost homes plan is unveiled

An affordable 80 sqm house will be around €70,000 and a 100 sqm flat around €86,000.

  • Cypriots have negative view of UN and UK – poll

Alithia

DISY holds ground

The last three polls on Euro-elections show that… Despite the strong polemic by AKEL, (DISY) is headed to another great electoral victory.

  • Athenian Estia: Secret proposal by (Greek Prime Minister Alexis) Tsipras to Erdogan on Cyprus
  • Occupied areas: (UBP leader Ersin) Tatar- (HP leader Kudret) Ozersay are drinking coffee and lemonade and they share ‘ministries’
  • Larnaca court: Postponed the extradition procedure for Korkmaz

Main News

Greek proposal to include Turkey in energy game and resolve Cyprob

Alithia, Phileleftheros
Negotiations Process, Energy, Regional/International Relations

OVERVIEW

Greece has proposed Turkey a place in the energy equation in the region in exchange for making concessions to help solve the Cyprus problem, while President Nicos Anastasiades tells UK that destabilisation in the region will not be in its best interest either, the two dailies reported.

Alithia, citing Greek newspaper Estia, reported that Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has made a proposal to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan concerning exchanging energy interests with Turkey’s withdrawal from Cyprus.

Estia reported that Tsipras has proposed Turkey to agree to the concessions Cyprus will ask towards solving the Cyprus problem through a federal solution. The proposal concerns the withdrawal of Turkish troops and their replacement by a NATO unit in exchange for all western powers participating in the energy consortium of the region to include Turkey in the game. This will serve also the interests of the US and other countries.

This, however, will rely also on the stance of Cyprus on the matter. The paper reported that decisions are expected by September.

Phileleftheros reported that Anastasiades, following British statements on disputed marine areas off Cyprus, will explain in a letter to UK Prime Minister Theresa May that destabilisation in the Eastern Mediterranean concerning Cyprus would also affect Britain. The letter will not aim at protesting or complaining to the British government but clarifying some issues concerning the two countries’ relations, the paper reported.

Citing sources, the paper reported that Anastasiades’ letter will record Turkish violations at the expense of the Republic of Cyprus (RoC) and underline that questioning the country’s sovereign rights affect negatively also Britain since the UK has strategic interests in the region.

Anastasiades also mentions the good relations between the two countries and calls for avoidance of actions that could affect them. He also refers to special reasons for the UK to support the RoC and be careful so as not to encourage tension in the region. The president also refers to Cyprus’ support of Britain on Brexit, the paper reported.

The main disagreement on the issue between Cyprus and Britain was also be recorded on Friday by Foreign Minister Nicos Christodoulides, the daily said.

Speaking to state broadcaster CyBC, Christodoulides said the sovereign rights of every state on their continental shelves are ipso facto and that is unquestionable.

“The Turkish drillship is 30 nautical miles within the median line of the Cypriot exclusive economic zone and 80 nautical miles from Turkey’s shores. No one can question that the Turkish drilling target is within Cyprus’ EEZ. It is not even close to the median line,” the minister said.

He added the government had asked Turkey through the UN to delimitate their sea borders but Turkey replied Cyprus had no rights in that area.

“So by adopting this Turkish approach on the questioning (of RoC sovereign rights), does Britain adopt this as well? Therefore the announcement does not help in any way in solving this issue,” he said.

Each state takes decisions based on its own interests, he said, adding that this is what the RoC must finally also do.

Based on international law, the RoC’s sovereign rights cannot be questioned by anyone,” he said.

The minister also said that Cyprus has signed agreements with neighbouring countries based on which the country’s energy plans have been made.

“We have nothing to fear. If there was any question on our sovereign rights these energy giants would not have come here to invest. No one will invest in a disputed area,” he said.

Phileleftheros also reported that Christodoulides spoke on the phone on Friday with US National Security Advisor John Bolton on Turkish provocations in the Cypriot EEZ. Bolton, who is US President Donald Trump’s closest associate, reiterated the US position as stated by the US State Department,  the paper reported.

KEY ACTORS
Christodoulides
>>
No one can question the sovereign rights of every state on their continental shelves which are ipso facto. Based on international law the RoC’s sovereign rights cannot be questioned by anyone.
>> No one can question that the Turkish drilling target is within Cyprus’ EEZ since it is 30 nautical miles within the median line of the Cypriot EEZ and 80 nautical miles from Turkey’s shores.
>> Wants to know if the UK, that adopts the Turkish approach on questioning the RoC’s sovereign rights, also adopts position that Cyprus has no rights in that area, as Turkey replied when the RoC had asked her to delimitate their sea borders.
>> The UK announcement on disputed sea areas does help in any way in solving the issue of Turkish provocations in the Cypriot EEZ.
>> Each state takes decisions based on its own interests and that is what RoC must finally also do.
>> Energy giants operate in the Cypriot EEZ following agreements Cyprus signed with neighbouring countries based on which the country’s energy plans have been made. Cyprus has nothing to fear, since energy giants would not have made investments in its EEZ if it was a disputed area.


Polls show pessimism over Cyprob solution and fading trust in UN

Alithia, Cyprus Mail, Haravgi, Phileleftheros, Politis
EU Matters

OVERVIEW

Ruling DISY is expected to be the top party in the Euro-elections after the results of three more polls were announced on Friday by CyBC, Antenna TV and Sigma TV. However, it is still not certain which party will get the sixth seat with a battle expected between ELAM, EDEK and the Greens-Citizens’ Alliance, most papers report.

The poll results also showed that AKEL TC candidate Niyazi Kizilyurek is expected to either come first or third among the party’s candidates. Meanwhile, the CyBC poll showed that Greece is trusted more in helping toward a positive outcome on the Cyprus problem than the UN.

According to the results of the CyBC poll, more than seven in 10 said they would vote in the Euro-elections with the majority of respondents, 19 per cent, saying they would vote for DISY while 16.5 per cent said they would cast their vote for AKEL, 9 per cent for DIKO, 5 per cent for EDEK and 4.5 per cent for far-right ELAM. The Greens-Citizens Alliance combination is set to garner 3.5 per cent of votes and Marios Garoyian’s DIPA and the Animal Party 1.0 per cent each. Sener Levent’s Jasmine Movement is slated to get 0.5 per cent.

DISY, according to the Antenna poll, is to get 23 per cent, AKEL 19 per cent, DIKO 14 per cent, ELAM 5 per cent, EDEK 4 per cent, Greens-Citizens’ Alliance, DIPA and Animal Party 2 per cent each. The Jasmine Movement is set to get 1 per cent.

Sigma’s poll showed that DISY is to get 18.8 per cent of the vote, ΑKEL 16 per cent, DIKO 8.8 per cent, ELAM 5.8 per cent, EDEK 5.1 per cent, Greens-Citizens’ Alliance 3.5 per cent, DIPA 1.5 per cent, Jasmine and Animal Party 1 per cent each.

Politis and Alithia report that as regards AKEL, Sigma forecasts that TC candidate Niyazi Kizilyurek is to receive the most votes among the party’s candidates followed by Giorgos Georgiou and Neoclis Sylikiotis. Antenna’s poll said that Kizilyurek would come third among AKEL candidates, with Sylikiotis coming first followed by Georgiou.

Politis said that the unpredictable factors such as the participation of thousands of TCs whose preference has not been recorded in the polls and the final abstention rate will keep everyone on their toes until the results are announced.

The Cyprus Mail reported that according to the CyBC poll results, the majority of Cypriots feel Greece is the country with the most positive role in settlement talks while the UN comes second from last, according to the poll.

On the Cyprus problem, the majority of respondents, 35 per cent, were in favour of a bizonal bicommunal federal (BBF) solution compared with 21 per cent who were against, while 29 per cent said were neither for nor against. Another 15 per cent said they didn’t have an opinion. In December 2017, when a similar poll was carried out, 33 per cent of respondents said they were in favour of a BBF, 29 per cent against and 22 per cent neither for nor against.

As regards the talks, almost six in 10 said Greece’s role in the negotiations was positive, while the same percentage, 59 per cent, said they believed the UK’s role was a negative one. The EU is the second most trusted body as regards a positive role in the talks, with 42 per cent, followed by Russia, 34 per cent, and the US with 32 per cent. Only 23 per cent said the role of the UN was positive while 30 per cent said it was negative. Another 10 per cent said the UK’s role was positive.

Almost six in 10 said they held the same opinion of TCs as they’ve always had, and two in 10 said they have a better opinion now, which is at the same level as another poll carried out in April 2016. In that poll, almost seven in 10 respondents said their opinion of TCs was the same as in the past. There has been an increase however in those who said that their opinion of TCs was worse now than before. While in April 2016, some 8 per cent of respondents said it was worse, the percentage rose to 18 during the current survey. The majority, 64 per cent, said they had visited the north and 34 per cent said they had not which was around the same levels as January 2018.

In total 1,400 people 18 and over with the right to vote participated in the poll. The error margin was calculated at +/- 2.6 per cent, the Cyprus Mail reported.

Haravgi, citing another poll by GPO company, reported that the results show an increasingly negative climate towards the government, with constant pessimism about the economy and even greater pessimism about the Cyprus problem and the way the government is handling things.

According to the poll that screened 1,400 people, DISY is to receive 24.8 per cent of the vote with AKEL following with 21.9 per cent, DIKO with 14.2 per cent while in the battle for the sixth seat, EDEK appears to be ahead of ELAM by 1.1 per cent, the daily reported. The percentage of undecided, 17 per cent, remains quite high, but they have stated that they intend to exercise their voting right.

With regard to efforts to solve the Cyprus problem, 60 per cent said they were pessimistic with only 8 per cent saying they were feeling optimistic, while 51.4 per cent seem to blame also Anastasiades for the deadlock the talks are currently in, the paper reported.

In another article, Haravgi said that given that 80,000 TCs are registered in the electoral rolls, it is expected that there will be increased traffic at the crossings and called on the police and customs to make provisions for additional staff that day to prevent any inconvenience.


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