Front Page Headlines
‘None of the promises made to us were kept’
Maronites living in Kormacit (Kormakiti) demand attention to be shown to their village. Despite a political decision taken for the return of Maronites to their villages in the north, not enough action has taken place on the issue. The Maronites say that while some couples have returned and are repairing their homes, the village continues to lose its population.
- [Political] Climate not good in Cyprus – UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres submits his report on Cyprus. Guterres said the political climate deteriorated further as a result of increased tensions in and around Cyprus and the sides’ disagreement over the terms of reference. He said that developments concerning the fenced-off city of Maraş (Varosha) also raised tensions.
“No individuals or their plans can come between Turkey and the TRNC”
Turkey’s Vice President Fuat Oktay who was in the country to attend the 36th anniversary of the establishment of the TRNC said that the close relations between Turkey and TRNC were deep-rooted and could not be damaged by any individual or group.
Members of Altınbaş family released on bail
Businessman Vakkas Altınbaş and four other suspects arrested on allegations of forgery, submitting forged documents and attempting to acquire property under false pretences were released on bail on Friday.
- Jane Holl Lute is meeting with the leaders today – The UN Secretary-General’s Temporary Special Advisor to Cyprus Jane Holl Lute is meeting separately with Akıncı and Anastasiades today (Saturday) ahead of the trilateral meeting in Berlin on November 25. Lute will meet with Akıncı at 10 am and Anastastasiades at 6:30 pm.
To live freely
The 36th anniversary of the establishment of the TRNC was celebrated with ceremonies held across the country. Speeches delivered at the parade held in the capital Nicosia drew attention to the Cyprus Problem and tensions over hydrocarbon drilling activities.
- Lute preparing for November 25 – UN Secretary-General’s Temporary Special Advisor to Cyprus Jane Holl Lute is meeting separately with Akıncı and Anastasiades today (Saturday).
It topped the agenda
The white Cadillac rented by Akıncı made its mark on the 15 November parade. Akıncı wanted a black Cadillac but found a white one instead. The car was rented from a private individual for a symbolic ₺25 (approx.€4) a day.
- Preparations for Berlin – Lute to meet separately with two leaders today (Saturday)
Here is a Cadillac
A first was experienced in a 15 November ceremony. President Mustafa Akıncı saluted the public, not in a military vehicle but a Cadillac. This gave a message to the Greek Cypriots about demilitarization.
- Guterres: Climate for peace not good – UN Secretary-General said that the political climate in Cyprus was not good as a result of tensions in Cyprus and the surrounding areas.
Main News
EU Council’s anti-Turkey measures null & void, Turkish VP says
Yenidüzen, Kıbrıs Postası, Kıbrıs, Havadis, Diyalog
Negotiations Process, EU Matters, Energy, Regional/International Relations
OVERVIEW
The framework for restrictive measures adopted by the European Union Foreign Affairs Council in response to Turkey’s drilling activities in Eastern Mediterranean is null and void, Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay said at a ceremony marking the 36th anniversary of the self-proclaimed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.
“Turkey has been defending the idea that the energy resources in the Mediterranean should be used as an opportunity to bring peace and stability on the island,” Oktay said, adding that the Greek Cypriots have been exploiting their membership in the European Union (EU) by claiming they are the only owners of the island.
Oktay continued by saying that Turkey will not give up its legitimate interests in the Mediterranean despite efforts.
He also said that TRNC has covered a lot of ground in the past three decades and that Turkey welcomes the efforts of the TRNC government to boost prosperity on the island.
“We have always sided with the settlement of the Cyprus issue — our national cause — based on mutual understanding and shared wisdom,” Oktay said.
He added that Turkish Cypriots’ “saga of resistance and awakening” peaked when the country was founded in 1983 following Turkey’s peace operation in 1974.
Asserting that the close relations between Turkey and TRNC were deep-rooted and could not be damaged by any individual or group, he said: “The future of these deep relations is entrusted to our youth, therefore, our youth should protect their values, culture and kinship while being aware of the distant and recent past.”
Oktay went on to say that Turkey has shown goodwill over five decades in negotiations with Greek Cypriots, whose “intransigent” attitude prevented parties from reaching concrete results.
“Turkish Cypriots have always acted in line with an understanding based on resolution and consensus and supported the partnership on the island that was distorted by Greek Cypriots,” he added.
“Turkey, for its part, has always stood by Turkish Cypriots within the frame of international law,” he said, adding that Ankara would continue to support the TRNC.
He went on to criticize the international community for confining the TRNC to embargo and isolation amid smear campaigns conducted by the media outlets of Greek Cypriots, adding that such acts had no legal or legitimate basis.
KEY ACTORS
Oktay (Turkey)
>> Sanctions adopted by the EU Foreign Affairs Council against Turkey’s drilling activities in East Med is null & void.
>> Turkey defends the idea that energy resources in the Med should be used as an opportunity to bring peace & stability on the island.
>> Turkey will not give up its legitimate interests in the Med despite efforts.
>> Turkey has always sided with the settlement of the Cyprus issue -our national cause -based on mutual understanding & shared wisdom.
>> Deep-rooted relationship between Turkey & cannot be damaged by any individual or group.
>> Turkey has shown goodwill over five decades in negotiations with GCs, whose “intransigent” attitude prevented parties from reaching concrete results.
>> TCs have always acted in line with an understanding based on resolution &consensus, supporting a partnership on the island.
>> Turkey has always stood by Turkish Cypriots within the frame of international law.
>> Ankara will continue to support the TRNC.
Trust remains low for Cyprus resolution: UN chief
Yenidüzen, Kıbrıs Postası, Kıbrıs, Havadis, Diyalog
Negotiations Process
OVERVIEW
The UN secretary-general said that desire for a settlement on Cyprus continued to prevail among both nations on the divided island, but that trust remains low.
“People are sceptical about the prospects for successful talks,” said Antonio Guterres in a report on Thursday, a day before submitting it to General Assembly.
Guterres who will meet both leaders in Berlin on November 25, urges all parties to take advantage of the consultations currently underway to lay the foundations for new and clear commitments, he said in the latest report on his Good Offices Mission.
The report includes two ten-page briefings by President Mustafa Akıncı and the Greek Cypriot leader Nicos Anastasiades, which the Security Council had recently requested.
Guterres welcomed the constructive engagement of the parties, guarantors and other stakeholders with his special envoy, Jane Holl Lute, who will be in Cyprus this weekend and credits this engagement with helping to maintain the prospects for peace, which is ultimately in the hands of both sides.
In this context, he added, he would like to reiterate his call on the parties to consider constructively the six-point framework he proposed on June 30, 2017.
Guterres added that public perception surveys had again demonstrated that the desire for a solution amongst the two communities continued to prevail, but that trust remained low.
“The people of Cyprus deserve to know that this time is different. Again, I urge leaders, guarantors and other stakeholders to make productive use of the coming period to lay the groundwork for fresh and unambiguous commitments to achieve a peaceful settlement, which has eluded Cypriots for so long,” he said.
Guterres, however, said that despite “repeated calls” on both leaders to better inform the two communities about the “contours of a settlement” and to improve the overall conditions and atmosphere for the process, the climate “deteriorated further”.
He blamed “increased tensions in and around Cyprus” and the sides’ “disagreement over the terms of reference” which he said is “prolonging the stalemate”.
“Neither side has made sufficient effort to avoid unhelpful rhetoric which has further reinforced scepticism amongst the public,” said the UN chief.
Guterres also noted that the situation on the ground had become increasingly complex, possibly linked to a prolonged hiatus in the political process and uncertainty surrounding its future.
“While efforts continued during this reporting period towards reaching an agreement on the terms of reference, the backdrop to these efforts has been an increasingly complex situation, with rising tensions in and along the buffer zone, in particular along the northern ceasefire line, as well as over the possible opening of Maraş (Varosha) and over hydrocarbons exploration around Cyprus,” the UNSG said.
He said that with the agreement on the terms of reference still pending, he engaged in separate discussions with the two leaders and other interested parties during their visit to New York at the end of September 2019.
“In those discussions, I reconfirmed that my Good Offices remained available to support the parties in their efforts. The leaders agreed to hold a joint informal meeting with me as a potentially constructive step in trying to find a mutually acceptable way forward,” Guterres said.
With respect to Maraş (Varosha), he said that the UN continues to be guided by relevant Security Council resolutions.
“I will continue to monitor
developments closely,” Guterres noted.
He said that tensions had also increased over developments related to the
fenced-off city of Maraş (Varosha).
“The issue has recently attracted attention since the announcement on 18 June 2019 that the Turkish Cypriot authorities would conduct an inventory study as the first step towards its potential re-opening, followed by visits to the closed-off area by journalists and by four ministers from Turkey, which were facilitated by the Turkish Cypriot authorities,” he added.
Guterres said the members of the UN Security Council (UNSC) also encouraged the leaders to agree on and implement new confidence-building measures (CBMs).
Finally, they urged the sides and all involved participants to refrain from any actions and rhetoric that might affect the chances of success for a settlement,” he said.
As regards the natural resources in and around Cyprus, Guterres said they constituted a strong incentive for a mutually acceptable and durable solution to the Cyprus problem and could serve to engender deeper regional cooperation.
“I am monitoring recent developments related to hydrocarbons in and around Cyprus closely and with growing concern. I again urge all relevant parties to exercise restraint and reiterate my call for serious efforts to be made to avoid any further escalation and to defuse tensions,” Guterres stressed.
He said that at a time when the prospects for a resumption of negotiations remain uncertain, the technical committees could be an important vehicle for bringing the two communities closer together, implementing practical and impactful bi-communal initiatives and mobilizing support for increased dialogue. He underscored the importance of the work of the technical committees and the positive impact of confidence-building measures for trust-building between the two communities, expressing the belief that only genuine progress made towards a return to the negotiation table, including through an agreement on the Terms of Reference ToR, will mark a path to a comprehensive settlement and reassure Cypriots as well as the international community “that prospects for the process truly remain alive”.
KEY ACTORS
Guterres (UN)
>> Desire for a solution in Cyprus continued to prevail on both sides, but that trust remains low.
>> People are sceptical about the prospects for successful talks.
>> All parties are urged to take advantage of the consultations currently underway to lay the foundations for new & clear commitments.
>> All parties should consider constructively the six-point framework proposed on June 30, 2017.
>> UN continues to be guided by relevant UNSC resolutions on the issue of Maraş (Varosha).
>> UNSC encourages leaders to agree on & implement new CBMs.
>> All involved participants should refrain from any actions & rhetoric that might affect the chances of success for a settlement.
>> Hydrocarbons constitute a strong incentive for a mutually acceptable & durable solution to the Cyprob.
>> Hydrocarbons could serve to engender deeper regional cooperation.
>> Technical committees could be an important vehicle for bringing the two communities closer together.
>> Only genuine progress made towards a return to the negotiation table, including through an agreement on the ToR, will mark a path to a comprehensive settlement.
Maronite community complain TC authorities have not kept promises
Yenidüzen
Human Rights
OVERVIEW
Members of the Maronite community living in the north complain that Turkish Cypriot authorities have failed to keep their promises.
Yenidüzen, in an exclusive story, spoke to the current residents of the village of Kormacit (Kormakiti).
The current residents of the village say that despite a political decision taken in 2017 to enable to return of Maronites to their ancestral villages, little has been done in actually making it happen.
The initiative initially launched by President Mustafa Akıncı’s office was later handed over to the Turkish Cypriot Foreign Ministry.
They state that although a few couples have made a symbolic return to the village, repairing their homes, the village continues to lose permanent residents.
One resident, Anitta Mavrohanna, said that the absence of a school in the village or area for Maronite children was a leading problem.
“Many families are forced to live in the south, only visiting the village on the weekends,” she said.
Mavrohanna, now 73-years-old, said she never married, mainly because most of the villagers had abandoned Kormacit (Kormakiti) after 1974.
She said that many former residents of Gürpınar (Agia Marina) wanted to return to their village now that the Turkish military had vacated the area.
“However, none of the promises the authorities made has been kept,” Mavrohanna said.
Another Maronite resident of Kormacit (Kormakiti) 65-year-old Ninos Sarro recalled that there were between 1500-2000 people living in the village before 1974.
“Kormacit (Kormakiti) was a lively and bustling village, with families and children. My family and I remained in the village after 1974. I move to Istanbul in 1976 where I lived for two years before moving to London. Back then we weren’t allowed to cross to the south. There was no work in the north. In 1985, I moved to south Cyprus from London. We were forced to move there for the children’s schooling and for work,” he said.
Sarro said that he had retired and returned to his village to live out the rest of his days.
“All I ask from the TC authorities is for them to create the conditions for Maronites to live in their villages. All we want is to be able to spend our lives here as we did in the past,” Sarro said.
The representative of the Maronite Community in the Cyprus Republic’s House of Representatives, Yiannakis Mousas told Yenidüzen about the financial incentives provided to younger Maronites to return to Kormacit (Kormakiti).
“We are donating €15,000 to couples which are younger than 45 with children under the age of 18. €10,000 if they don’t have children. We continue to provide financial assistance if they prove to us that they have been living in the village for longer than six months,” he said.
Mousas also said that annual transport costs of children who travel to the south every day for schooling are also covered.
“We pay an annual contribution of €850,” he added.
Mousas complained that despite good relations with Turkish Cypriot authorities, little was being done to assist the Maronite community residing in the north.
He said that Turkish Cypriot Foreign Minister Kudret Özersay had made a number of statements and promises about the Maronite initiative but that nothing had materialized as of yet.
“Mr Özersay had made announcements regarding Gürpınar (Agia Marina). He had told us that 18 houses occupied by the Turkish army would be vacated and returned to their Maronite owners. However, nothing had been done to this date,” Mousas complained.
He pointed out that there were 250 people currently living in the village, all of whom were Maronites.
“Around 400 houses were repaired following the opening of the crossing points in 2003. Many Maronites visit their homes on the weekends and during the holidays. The biggest problem is the lack of facilities in the village. We are pressuring the RoC government to help us address these issues” he added.