Front Page Headlines
We can’t even open new businesses
The impact of the foreign exchange crisis on the economy has started to reveal itself. Figures released by the Chamber of Shopkeepers and Artisans show that the number of businesses that have closed down in the past year is on the rise. The figures also show that the number of new businesses has dropped by almost half compared to the previous year. The head of the Chamber of Shopkeepers and Artisans (KTEZO) Mahmut Kanber said that people were too scared to open new shops or invest.
Let’s invite investors and reopen under Turkish Cypriot administration
Tourism doyen Aziz Kent a.k.a John Aziz, suggests that Maraş (Varosha) should be reopened together with Greek Cypriots under Turkish Cypriot administration and permission from the United Nations (UN). Kent says that former investors should be invited back to reinvest in the fenced-off city.
- Yet another attack on Turkish Cypriot commercial vehicles – The Turkish Cypriot Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the attack on a Turkish Cypriot bus at Larnaca Airport.
River beds all cleared but what about the wildlife?
Nicosia Turkish Municipality’s efforts to fight with city’s growing mosquito infestation has outraged environmentalists. Doğan Sahir from Green Peace Movement and Hasan Sarpten from the Biologists’ Association criticized the Nicosia Turkish Municipality for destroying biological diversity in river beds.
- 53 per cent increase in crossings from the south – In the first five months of 2019, 1,636,402 people have crossed from the south to the north compared to 1,071,116 in the same period of 2018. The number of Greek Cypriots crossing to the north nearly doubled compared to the same period in the previous year.
The situation is bleak
Violence against women in the TRNC is steadily on the rise. Even if the official figures are to be taken into consideration, it shows how the authorities are unable to cope with the growing trend of male violence. In the past ten years, 21 women were murdered in the TRNC. The gender equality office hotline received 19 complaints from January to May 2019. A police unit tasked to deal with violence against women received 15 calls from November 26 2018 to March 5, 2019.
- “We are called Greek Cypriot here, and Turkish Cypriot in the south” – Nezire Gürkan conducted an interview with one of the youngest residents of Dipkarpaz (Rizokarpaso). 34-year-old Lefteri Kotsiekkas lives in a monastery.
Serious incidents will happen if measures are not taken
Greek Cypriots who attacked a TRNC number plated bus at Larnaca Airport terrified tourists crossing over to the north. They threw water bottles at the bus and threatened the driver not to come back. The attack continued on the road back to the north. A number of Greek Cypriot vehicles tried to cut off the bus and to force the driver off the road. The passengers on board were extremely terrified by the ordeal. The driver Hasan Kırmızı called the foreign ministry and asked them to take measures. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in response issued a statement condemning the incident which took place before the very eyes of the Greek Cypriot police.
Akıncı a persona non grata for Ankara
The fact that Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay only met with (Ersin) Tatar during his latest visit to the island and did not include (Mustafa) Akıncı in his schedule clearly revealed that Ankara has sidelined Akıncı completely. The elected leader of the Turkish Cypriot community Mustafa Akıncı has been declared persona non grata by Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s regime. The Turkish Cypriot community is curious as to why this is the case. Akıncı needs to make an explanation to the public.
- Close to 4,000 asylum seekers crossed from north to south – Of the 6,580 asylum seekers who arrived in the south in 2019, 3,960 crossed over from the north.
Main News
TC MFA condemns attack on TC bus at Larnaca airport
Yenidüzen, Kıbrıs Postası, Kıbrıs, Havadis, Diyalog
Internal Security
OVERVIEW
The Turkish Cypriot Foreign Ministry issued a written statement on Sunday condemning an attack on a Turkish Cypriot registered bus carrying passengers from Larnaca airport.
The foreign ministry expressed concern over the incident and called on
Greek Cypriot authorities to punish those responsible for the attack.
It added that the Greek Cypriot authorities should not cover up the incident as they have done in other cases in the past.
According to the statement, the racially motivated attack occurred on Friday around 6:15 p.m. as passengers picked up at Larnaca airport were boarding the bus destined for a hotel in the north. According to the driver’s account of the incident, a number of Greek Cypriots blocked the bus’s exit with a car before directing verbal attacks at the driver and passengers on board. Plastic water bottles were then thrown at the bus and its side mirrors smashed.
The driver said that security guards standing nearby did nothing and watched as the attackers continued to harass him and his passengers.
The harassment continued on the trip back as Greek Cypriot plated vehicles tried to cut off the bus and push it off the road.
“More and more Turkish Cypriot commercial vehicles are being subjected to similar attacks in South Cyprus. We condemn the attacks in the strongest sense and call on the Greek Cypriot authorities once again to take urgent and necessary measures against such racist attacks, which do not hesitate to put people’s lives at danger,” the statement read.
“Here we are GCs and TCs in the south”
Havadis
Human Rights
OVERVIEW
34-year-old Lefteri Kotsiekkas is one of the youngest of a group of 300 Greek Cypriots living in the village of Dipkarpaz (Rizokarpaso). Born in 1985, Kotsiekkas currently works at the Apostolos Andreas Monastery as a caretaker.
In an interview to Havadis, Kotsiekkas complained: “we are called Greek Cypriots in the north and branded as Turkish Cypriots in the south.”
He added he has always belonged to Dipkarpaz (Rizokarpaso) and the area.
Kotsiekkas pointed out that Dipkarpaz (Rizokarpaso) was an extremely difficult place to live for both Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots due to its relative isolation from city centers.
“For example we don’t have electricity here at the monastery and we are forced to meet our energy needs with a generator,” he said.
He also expressed his displeasure over the lack of attention shown by the Greek Cypriot authorities to the problems they experienced.
“The Greek Cypriot authorities, for example, send food to people here but what we actually need is for our problems to be solved, not food,” Kotsiekkas said.