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Autopsy result: “She was assaulted”
Police are yet to investigate suspicious developments concerning 35-year-old Sedef Sevgi Derin, who died in a traffic accident on the Alayköy (Gerolakkos)-Türkeli (Agios Vasileios) road earlier this week. While police had ruled that it was just a traffic accident, autopsy results tell a different story. The autopsy showed evidence that she was beaten and it has gone down in police records as such.
- “The alternative being discussed is not realistic and will create a whole new set of problems” – Erhürman spoke in Famagusta.
Security checks being carried out manually
More than 100,000 passengers arrived through Famagusta Port but police and customs officials are forced to check luggage manually after the X-ray machine broke down.
- “Inspections will be based on criteria, not arbitrary” – Interior Minister Ayşegül Baybars spoke on the new residency and visa regulation.
- Akıncı: Tripartite meeting could be called before the new year – President Mustafa Akıncı held a press conference upon his return.
We build before we plan
While demand for new hospitals and schools is on the rise as a result of development, town planners complain about the shortage of funds and lack of state-owned building plots for such projects. Civil engineers point out that planning came after the construction of buildings and contractor companies believe there is a lack of discipline.
Gambling addiction is affecting the public
Police caught 590 citizens gambling at casinos from January 1 to September 30. Moreover, two coffee shops and one premise belonging to an association were fined for operating gambling machines without permission.
No money
There has been a 50 per cent decrease in the import of electrical appliances and a 35 per cent drop in car sales in the first four months of 2019 compared to the same period the previous year.
The last nails in the coffin
Here are the latest spikes hammered into our chests. They dug up the pavements, even destroying trails for the disabled. They destroyed the character of historic buildings. They are erecting CCTV cameras everywhere. Supposedly they’re going to put an end to the spike in the crime rate. As if 40,000 soldiers, 3,000 security forces and 3,000 policemen weren’t enough now they are filling the whole country with hundreds and thousands of these cameras, spending millions in the process.
- “There are those who want to kill it (ToR) before we begin – Mustafa Akıncı returned to the country. “Anastasiades is claiming that we reached agreement on the terms of reference on August 9 and that we later backed out. This is not true,” Akıncı said.
Main News
Akıncı: Guterres meeting achieved its purpose
Yenidüzen, Kıbrıs Postası, Kıbrıs, Havadis, Diyalog, Afrika
Negotiations Process
OVERVIEW
President Mustafa Akıncı said on Wednesday that, contrary to claims by some circles, his meeting with the UN Secretary-General (UNSG) Antonio Guterres in New York had achieved its purpose.
“We expected the secretary-general to take on a new initiative in a willing and determined manner. We saw that he was ready to do so,” he said.
Speaking to reporters at Ercan (Tymbou) airport on his return from New York, Akıncı said that the secretary-general told him that rising tensions in the region should be a source of concern for both communities on the island.
“The current tensions due to hydrocarbons could escalate into something bigger which is why working for a solution is vital for both Cyprus and the region. The secretary-general is thinking on the same lines,” he said.
On the tripartite meeting, Akıncı said that Guterres had informed the Turkish Cypriot side before New York that a tripartite meeting would not take place during the UN General Assembly.
“The secretary-general had not planned a tripartite meeting during his busy schedule. It wasn’t foreseen,” he said but added that such a meeting was on the cards for October or November.
“Such a meeting could either take place in New York again or somewhere in Europe to coincide with his planned visit to the region,” he said.
Akıncı also pointed out that he saw the secretary-general very eager and determined to launch a new initiative in Cyprus.
“The fact that a date has not been set might create some sense of uncertainty but this is far from the truth,” he said, adding that a tripartite or five-party meeting would most likely take place before the end of the year.
Akıncı also expressed his discomfort with the Greek Cypriot leader’s latest statements, noting that they were not helpful to solution efforts.
“He is engaging in a blame game despite saying he will not. He claims that we had reached an agreement on the terms of reference (ToR) on August 9 and that we later backed out.”
Akıncı said that this was not true and the only thing they agreed on August 9 was that the procedure ought to be results-oriented and not an open-ended one.
“There was no agreement to a document on August 9, so there was no backing down on a document that does not exist,” Akıncı added.
He also wondered why Lute stayed in Cyprus for a week in September if there was an agreement on August 9.
The day Anastasiades will accept the Guterres Framework of June 30, 2017, and commit to the convergences concerning effective participation of the Turkish Cypriots in decision making, will be the day there will be an agreement on the terms of reference, he said.
Akıncı pointed out that some had set out to kill the terms of reference but that Anastasiades should not be one of them.
“He needs to be realistic and he should be telling the truth. He shouldn’t be playing to the crowd to create misperceptions and he should be sincerely working together with us,” he added.
KEY ACTORS
Akıncı
>> UNSG seems ready and determined to take on a new initiative on Cyprob.
>> Shares UNSG’s concern that rising tensions due to hydrocarbons makes a solution vital for Cyprus & the region.
>> Anastasiades’ claim on ToR not true. Only thing agreed on August 9 was that procedure should be results-oriented & not open-ended.
>> There will be agreement on ToR the day Anastasiades accepts June 30 Guterres Framework & commits to convergences concerning TC effective participation in decision making.
Opposition highlights need for results-oriented talks
Yenidüzen, Kıbrıs Postası, Kıbrıs, Havadis, Diyalog, Afrika
Negotiations Process
OVERVIEW
The main opposition Republican Turkish Party (CTP) and the opposition Social Democratic Party (TDP) in the north continue to highlight the need for any new talks on the Cyprus Problem to be results-oriented and subject to a time frame.
CTP leader Tufan Erhürman said that UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres needed to uphold what he said earlier on the need for any future negotiations to be results-oriented and not open-ended.
Addressing party members at an event in Famagusta on Tuesday night to promote candidates for the upcoming party congress, Erhürman said that Guterres also needed to endorse the principles of political equality, effective participation and rotating presidency which were past convergences mentioned in UN Security Council (UNSC) resolutions.
He pointed out that there was no point in starting a new round of talks from scratch.
“We shall not allow the Greek Cypriot side to delay a settlement to conceal the strong will and commitment shown by the Turkish Cypriot side in Crans Montana in favour of a solution,” he said.
Erhürman also reiterated his party’s support for a bizonal, bicommunal federal (BBF) settlement, stating that this was the only realistic solution model on the table.
He criticized the government for advocating support for a two-state solution, which he added was impossible to achieve and would create a whole new set of problems.
In a written statement issued on Wednesday, TDP General Secretary Halil Hızal said that the stance adopted by Guterres will be a determining factor on whether or not a new negotiations process will begin.
He said the Secretary-General’s intention to take on a new initiative was a positive development.
Hızal added that it was important to end the debate on political equality and effective participation in decision-making processes which the Greek Cypriot side was trying to make.
“The UN Secretary-General’s stance on this issue must be very clear,” Hizal said, adding that the Greek Cypriot leader Nicos Anastasiades needed to accept these fundamental principles of a federal solution which had become UN parameters. He added that the negotiations could only begin in a time-framed and results-oriented fashion following the shaping of the Terms of Reference based on past convergences, the 11 February 2014 Joint Declaration and the Guterres framework.
KEY ACTORS
Erhürman (CTP)
>> UNSG needs to uphold earlier statements on need for future talks to be results-oriented & not open-ended.
>> UNSG needs to endorse past convergences on the principles of political equality, effective participation & rotating presidency which have become UN parameters.
>> No point in starting a new round of talks from scratch.
>> CTP will not allow GCs to delay the process to conceal the strong will demonstrated by the TC side at Crans Montana.
>> CTP supports a BBF. Government’s position in favour of a two-state solution is unrealistic.
Hızal (TDP)
>> UNSG’s stance on political equality & effective participation must be very clear.
>> Anastasiades needs to accept fundamental principles of a federal solution which have become UN parameters.
>> Talks need to be time-framed & results-oriented.
>> ToR must be based on past convergences, 11 February 2014 Joint Declaration & Guterres framework.
CTP distances itself from DP-YDP alliance
Yenidüzen, Kıbrıs, Kıbrıs Postası, Havadis, Diyalog
Governance & Power Sharing
OVERVIEW
The main opposition Republican Turkish Party (CTP) General Secretary Erdoğan Sorakin on Tuesday ruled out the possibility of CTP joining the new parliamentary alliance formed by the Democratic Party (DP) and the Rebirth Party (YDP).
Speaking on Bayrak, Sorakin said that they perceived the two parties’ decision to join forces to be natural but added the CTP had little in common with both parties.
“It’s possible the nature of this alliance could be broadened in the coming period. There are issues within parliament which we agree on and it could be possible to act together on these issues. However, these are very few. We have serious differences of opinion on the Cyprus Problem as well as how the economy should be run. It’s highly unlikely for the CTP to join forces with these two parties,” he said.