Front Page Headlines
The age of criminal behaviour has dropped to ten
225 juvenile delinquents in the last two years. 225 children under the age of 18 were involved in criminal activities between January 2018 and October 2019. The crimes they committed include breaking and entering, fighting and theft. The youngest of the convicted children are aged ten.
- “The will to reunify must come from the grassroots” – The German Ambassador to Cyprus Franz Josef Kremp spoke on the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.
“The president has failed in international initiatives and domestic issues”
People’s Party (HP) General Secretary Yenal Senin claimed that President Mustafa Akıncı has failed to taken initiatives at the international level and on domestic issues during his term in office. He said that there was a need for a more active leader, as the job of the president was not only to conduct negotiations. “Akıncı had vowed to conduct a four-pronged policy which included being more active on domestic issues concerning the community but he failed in this perspective whether it was on issues concerning the economy or the Council of Ministers. The president has the constitutional right to chair cabinet meetings. How many has he chaired in the past four years?” he asked.
- Özersay: “Our policy on the fenced-off city of Maraş (Varosha) is continuing”
Embezzlement worth £3m
Mehmet Altınbaş and Orkun Altınbaş purchased a shop located at the centre of Kyrenia from Hüseyin Cahit for £7,050,000 but only paid £4,000,000 upfront. They wrote a cheque for the remaining amount. However, it is being claimed the two attempted to acquire additional property for the money they paid by forging documents after Cahit’s sudden death.
Fuel oil alarm
It’s been claimed the fuel oil used at the power plants is of low quality. Two separate tests conducted by the Middle East Technical University’s (ODTÜ) Petroleum Research Centre revealed shocking results. KIB-TEK (TC Electricity Authority) says it will be conducting its own tests. The tests revealed that the calcium level in the fuel used which should be 30 was 68.57. The sodium level in the fuel which is supposed to be a maximum of 50 turned out to be 112.90 and the sulphur level which is also supposed to be 50 turned out to be 125.62.
- Aphrodite will be making huge figures – Despite all the tensions, the sides do not refrain from taking steps on the issue of hydrocarbons. Energy firms Noble, Delek and Shell signed an exploitation agreement to start producing natural gas by 2025. It’s been calculated that the Aphrodite well which had 4tn m3 of natural gas will generate $9.3bn in revenues.
Indispensable
Turkey is being asked to provide the North with ₺1.4bn in financial contribution in 2020 for defence spending, infrastructural investments, sectoral subsidies and interest support. Finance Minister Olgun Amcaoğlu said that an additional ₺97m to the ₺653m in financial assistance already received from Turkey this year, was expected to arrive soon.
Everything will be seized
Akıncı is being urged not to sign the new law which will make the lives of those with debts a living hell. While the Republican Turkish Party (CTP) and the (TDP), along with the other parties voted in favour of the new law, the leader of the Communal Democracy Party-New Forces (TKP-YG) Mehmet Çakıcı voted against the bill. “The CTP and TDP should be criticized for voting in favour of this law which protects the larger banks and which is far from protecting the public.
Main News
Maraş (Varosha) initiative progressing says Özersay
Yenidüzen, Kıbrıs Postası, Kıbrıs, Havadis, Diyalog
Property, Territory
OVERVIEW
Turkish Cypriot Foreign Minister Kudret Özersay on Friday said that the government was continuing with its initiative to open the fenced-off city of Maraş (Varosha) in a determined manner.
The committee in charge of conducting an inventory of movable and immovable properties in the fenced-off city convened on Friday.
Progress achieved was discussed during the meeting.
In a written statement issued on Friday, Özersay said that steps had been taken to counter a Greek Cypriot initiative launched with the UN to prevent the move from going forward.
“We have been informing all of our interlocutors about our justified policy through pro-active diplomacy,” he added.
Özersay said they had launched diplomatic moves to counter the Greek Cypriot initiative at the UN Security Council (UNSC) and had sent a letter to the UN in response to an earlier letter by the Greek Cypriot side.
“We sent a letter to the UN. Also during our recent meetings in New York in September we explained the steps we have taken and the ones we plan to take. More importantly our Supreme Court made a ruling on the matter,” he said.
Özersay went on to say that all these developments proved how justified the government’s policy and initiative on Maraş (Varosha) was.
“The most important elements which will allow the Maraş (Varosha) initiative to come to life is ensuring that no detriment comes to the rights of former residents and the Evkaf administration and adopting a balanced approach based on human rights,” he said.
Özersay said that report being prepared on historical buildings, churches, movable properties, power lines and the condition of the buildings have almost been completed.
He added that the issue will be taken up at a cabinet meeting next week.
KEY ACTORS
Özersay (HP)
>> Government continuing its Maraş (Varosha) initiative with determination.
>> Steps to counter GC side’s complaints taken.
>> Developments have shown how justified the government’s position is.
>> Most important elements of bringing to life Maraş (Varosha) initiative is ensuring no detriment comes to rights of former residents & Evkaf.
>> Balanced approach based on human rights needs to be adopted.
>> Reports on inventory near completion.
TDP & DISY express support to leaders ahead of Berlin trilateral
Yenidüzen, Kıbrıs Postası
Negotiations Process
OVERVIEW
The Social Democratic Party (TDP) and the Democratic Rally Party (DISY) met on Friday to discuss the upcoming trilateral meeting in Berlin.
TDP leader Cemal Özyiğit and DISY leader Averof Neofitu read out a joint statement after the meeting which expressed both parties support for a bizonal, bicommunal federal settlement based on political equality.
They stated that the foundation of a settlement must be based on UN parameters, the 11 February Joint Declaration, the convergences reached between the two leaders and the June 30 Guterres Framework.
“We would like to stress our strong support to the two leaders in their efforts to reach an agreement on the “Terms of Reference (ToR)” that will pave the way the resumption of the negotiations for the solution of the Cyprus Problem,” the statement read.
Meanwhile, the German Ambassador to Cyprus Franz Josef Kremp said that reunification requires the will of the people and essentially a grass-roots movement.
In a joint interview with Yenidüzen and Politis published on Saturday, Kremp provided insights from his personal experiences from the fall of the Berlin Wall.
Regarding Cyprus, he said that has met with people from both camps, those who want reunification and those who are opposed to it.
Kremp pointed out there were still differences between East and West Germany even though it has been 30 years since the country was reunified.
“The main difference is the salaries. This is mainly due to the transition in the economy of East Germany once reunification took place from essentially a communist-run system to a market economy. Many of the companies or institutions in the East were not equipped to compete with West German companies. There was a need for a transitional period. Currently, the infrastructure is the same. There are those in western Germany who complain that the infrastructure is better in the East,” he said.
Kremp also said that there was a strong desire at the time from both sides for the reunification of the country.
He added that many in East Germany had not thought about the economy before reunification. But soon afterwards the economic problems East Germans faced had ended the excitement that had prevailed during the whole process.
“Nevertheless, you need the will of the people. This is one of the main factors. The other is the sense of righteousness. It would not be right to see Germany as an isolated incident. The whole of Europe was going through a phase at the time as countries were demanding freedom and democracy,” he said.
Kremp said that one should never say never and that a solution in Cyprus was still on the cards.
KEY ACTORS
TDP-DISY (joint statement)
>> Settlement should be a bizonal, bicommunal federal settlement based on political equality.
>> Foundation of a settlement must be based on UN parameters, 11 Feb Joint Declaration, past convergences & June 30 Guterres Framework.
>> Both parties express strong support to leaders in their efforts to reach an agreement on ToR to pave the way for resumption of talks.