Front Page Headlines
“I told my nephew…don’t drive that car”
The grief-stricken family of 15-year-old Hasan Kusetoğulları speaks to Yenidüzen following his death. His father Kaşif Kusetoğulları said: “Do you give a 17-year-old a car to drive? My sister did the worst thing she could to both my son and hers. I warned my nephew dozens of times not to drive that car, that he would make an accident some day. My sister stopped talking to me because of my warnings. Now I have lost my son.”
- The photograph of Özersay was taken opposite a burial site for missing persons – A claim according to Politis Journalist Michalis Theodorou based on an eyewitness account.
“Rotating prime ministry” proposal confirmed
Anastasiades’ letter sent to the UNSG Guterres leaked to the Greek Cypriot media. The six-page long letter, which was published by Kathimerini, confirms the Greek Cypriot side’s “rotating prime ministry” proposal.
- Gulf market for hellim (halloumi) closing – Gulf countries have decided to stop purchasing dairy products from other countries.
- “Negotiations turned into a vicious cycle” – Foreign Minister Kudret Özersay speaks on Cyprus issue.
- “Cyprus issue is our national cause” – Turkish Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu spoke on the Cyprus issue.
Wrong to start introducing austerity measures on workers
Economists, who spoke to Kıbrıs, criticised the government’s decision to reduce the cost of living allowance from the public sector as an austerity measure while the government fails to collect taxes properly.
- Attempts to get rich damaging cultural heritage – Increasingly becoming popular in Kyrenia for those wishing to make a quick buck, “treasure hunting” is punishable with imprisonment. Experts warn illegal excavations for “treasure” can also cause harm to cultural heritage sites.
Lift the import ban on potatoes
While potato farmers are experiencing the worst harvest in years, retail prices continue to soar. Businessman Ünsal Özbilenler argues there are only two ways to save potato farmers. Either break the monopoly of the Agricultural Products Marketing Board (TÜK) on the potato sector or lift restrictions on importing potato seeds from abroad.
- TRNC should be annexed by Turkey – Turkish Kadir Has University research reveals yet another reality: 41.7 per cent of the Turkish people want TRNC to be annexed to Turkey. The slogan that a “federation is no longer a viable solution model” seems to have worked!
General morale is not so good
Shops and businesses are going through a stagnant period due to the fall in the number of tourists visiting North Cyprus and the effects of the economic crisis on the local population.
- He gave a message from Geneva – “I’ve had 15 years of experience as a negotiator. The negotiations have now turned into a vicious circle. Other alternatives need to be tried to solve the problem,” Özersay said.
- [Mehmet Ali] Talat celebrates his 67th birthday
Forget about the missile…look at the two per cent cut
The impact of the two per cent cut from the cost of living allowance felt more powerful than anything else. Public sector employees and pensioners are outraged. The Trade Union Platform laid a wreath in front of the Prime Minister’s office on Friday in protest of the government’s decision.
- South claims that 2000 illegal workers have crossed over to the North – It has been claimed that two thousand women who worked as housemaids last year crossed over to the north illegally.
Main News
Hasipoğlu: “Maraş (Varosha) should be opened under TC administration without further delay”
Kıbrıs Postası, Kıbrıs
Negotiations Process, Property, Territory
OVERVIEW
The National Unity Party (UBP) Famagusta MP Oğuzhan Hasipoğlu said that the fenced-off city of Maraş (Varosha) should be opened without further delay in a written statement issued on Friday.
He said the Maraş (Varosha) had been sealed off by fences for the past 40 years with the expectation of reaching an agreement one day. “We need to be able to open Maraş (Varosha) under the Turkish Cypriot administration by protecting the rights of its legal owners,” he said.
Hasioğlu argued that the Maraş (Varosha) initiative and the Guterres Framework contradicted each other and stressed that the Turkish Cypriot side, should it decide to take concrete steps forward on Maraş (Varosha), needed to change its position that is ready to resume talks on the basis of the Guterres Framework.
Taking a swipe at Akıncı, Hasipoğlu recalled that the president had openly accepted the Guterres Framework document without consulting either the government or parliament. “According to the Guterres Framework, Turkey’s right to intervention is not a sustainable clause. The framework also demands more territorial concessions be given to the Greek Cypriot side,” he added.
Referring to Greek Cypriot side’s government spokesman Prodromos Prodromou’s statement, Hasipoğlu said the Greek Cypriot side claimed that the Turkish Cypriot government’s move was inconsistent with the Turkish Cypriot side’s earlier proposal to return the fenced-off city to Greek Cypriot control as part of a comprehensive settlement.
He noted that the Greek Cypriot leader Nicos Anastasiades had sent letters to the UN Secretary-General concerning developments on Maraş (Varosha).
Hasipoğlu also reminded that President Mustafa Akıncı had presented a map at the summit in Geneva two years ago without informing the government on its contents. “It was unfortunate that we had to learn of the details of the map through the Greek Cypriot press two years later,” he said. Hasipoğlu said that Prodromou’s statements not only proved that the map presented in Geneva was still on the table but that the Turkish Cypriot side will also need to make more territorial concessions in the event of a settlement.
He argued that the Greek Cypriot side needs to change its understanding that Maraş (Varosha) will become part of the Greek Cypriot constituent state in the event of a solution and added “it is our hope that the president from now on will work in full cooperation with the judiciary and the executive on delicate and sensitive matters of foreign policy and the negotiations process.”
Havadis reported on Saturday that a recent survey on the Turkish public’s perception on foreign policy revealed that 41.7 per cent of Turks want the TRNC to be annexed to Turkey. According to the survey, support for annexation, stood at 24.4 per cent the previous year. The annual survey conducted by the Centre for Turkish Studies at Kadir Has University also revealed that the support for a bicommunal, a bizonal federal solution had dropped from 36.8 per cent in 2018 to 30.1 per cent in 2019. The survey notes 87 per cent of the respondents were informed on Turkish foreign policy through TV programmes.
Turkish Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu on Friday said Cyprus was Turkey’s national cause during a meeting with a Turkish Cypriot delegation comprised of district officers. He added Ankara will continue doing whatever is possible for the development of North Cyprus.
KEY ACTORS
Hasipoğlu
>> Maraş (Varosha) should be opened without further delay.
>> Maraş (Varosha) has remained fenced-off for 40 years with the expectation that a settlement will be reached one day.
>> Maraş (Varosha) to be opened under the Turkish Cypriot administration by protecting the rights of its legal owners.
>> Akıncı did not consult government & parliament when accepting Guterres Framework as basis for resumption of talks.
>> The Maraş (Varosha) initiative and Guterres Framework contradict one another.
>> TC side needs to change its position on resuming talks on the basis of the Guterres Framework.
>> Unfortunate to learn about the contents of the map, which Akıncı presented at the summit in Geneva two years ago
>> Prodromou’s statements prove TC side’s map presented in Geneva still on the table.
>> Maraş (Varosha) will not become part of the Greek Cypriot constituent state in the event of a solution.
Soylu
>> Cyprus is Turkey’s national cause.
>> Turkey will do whatever is necessary for the development of N. Cyprus.
Cultural heritage under threat from treasure hunters
Kıbrıs
Internal Security, Human Rights
OVERVIEW
The paper pointed out that treasure hunting which is increasingly becoming popular in the Kyrenia area is an offense punishable by imprisonment.
Kıbrıs newspaper reported on Saturday that treasure hunters attempting to make a quick buck are threatening cultural heritage sites in the north.
Experts speaking to Kıbrıs highlight the consequences of excavations at cultural heritage sites.
Fuat Azimli, Director of the Department of Antiquities, said such excavations were carried out frequently but with few successful outcomes. He added the perpetrators if caught, could be sentenced to prison or charged a hefty fine. Azimli underlined that his department only authorizes scientific excavations to be carried out.
Assoc. Prof. Dr Müge Şevketoğlu, head of the Archaeology, Cultural Heritage and Conservation Centre, said such excavations were nothing more as an attempt to become rich quickly. “Many do not know the fact that when a historical artefact is taken out of its historical context, it loses its value thus leaving the person or persons excavating disappointed,” Şevketoğlu added. She stressed excavations at cultural heritage sites can only be carried out by expert archaeologists.
Gülden Plümer Küçük, Turkish Cypriot member of the Committee on Missing Persons (CMP) said such excavations could damage possible burial sites making the potential burial site undiscoverable. She stressed the need for expert approval prior to any excavations.