Front Page Headlines
No steps taken on the signed protocol
Numerous provisions of the protocol scheduled to be implemented before the end of the year have yet to be completed. While some provisions are overdue, some are scheduled to be implemented in November and December. Numerous provisions concerning education, agriculture, public works and transportation or domestic issues are pending.
- Erhürman calls upon UN: We want a results-oriented process
- CTP (Republican Turkish Party) abandons plenary after government MPs walked out during discussions on Cyprus Issue.
- Bicommunal gathering for Peace and reunification – The Bicommunal Peace Initiative and the Cypriot trade unions which are members of the World Trade Unions’ Federation are organising a ‘peace and reunification’ rally on Friday, November 23 at the 3:30 pm.
- Bicommunal action against mining after 71 years – Several political parties, trade unions and NGOs will be staging a protest on Friday, November 23 calling on halting all mining activities. The protest will take place in the UN buffer zone near the Lokmacı (Ledra) crossing.
“The Cyprus Problem cannot be solved if there is no harmony with Turkey”
Former President Mehmet Ali Talat said, “Akıncı’s relations with Turkey is making it impossible to reach a solution.” Speaking to Kıbrıos Postası, he added that a solution in Cyprus was not possible without the approval of the guarantor states.
- “We will not sit at the negotiations table for the sake of negotiations” – Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu reiterated.
60 dönüms (dunams) leased secretly
A development, justifying Kudret Özersay’s decision to withdraw from the four-party coalition has emerged. Finance Minister Olgun Amcaoğlu confirmed that rumours that former finance minister Serdar Denktaş had leased 60 dönüms (dunams) of land to his son’s company during his term in office. He added the ministry is now investigating the lease agreement, which was hidden from the council of ministers.
- Reactions against ELAM torching the TRNC flag – Both Turkish and Turkish Cypriot officials condemn ELAM’s act.
Wartsila crisis at KIB-TEK
The scandal concerning the low-quality fuel oil supplied to KIB-TEK (TC Electricity authority) is growing. The power generators manufacturer company Wartsila has warned KIB-TEK it will not provide warranty for the power generators if KIB-TEK continues to use the low-quality fuel.
- Bicommunal support to the Berlin meeting – Bicommunal peace initiative will hold a mass march to encourage the two leaders on 22 November.
Things are not going well
Important figures in TRNC politics are saying that the country is not being run properly. Former Prime Minister Hakkı Atun who spoke to Diyalog said that the public sector particularly was not working effectively. Former Labour Minister Özel Tahsin complained that the state had failed to establish a proper system despite the years that have gone by. Former Agriculture Minister Kenan Akın said that production in the country had come to a grinding halt. He said that the most important problem in the country was health and the economy. Former MP Ergün Vehbi for his part complained that education in the country was getting worse every passing day.
- It’s unacceptable – Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay and Turkish National Defense Ministry reacted to burning of TRNC flag.
- New regulation on the way – The Greek Cypriot Administration will prevent nationals from third countries crossing over from the North to the South.
- They were listening to conversations – It emerged that a former Israeli agent was spying in South Cyprus.
- 224 arrested in two years – There is a serious hike in underage drug use and incidents of sexual abuse in South Cyprus.
- 14,000 waiters –The number of foreign workers in South Cyprus has reached 134,000.
A fascist is a fascist
While various circles jumped at the opportunity created by ELAM burning the TRNC flag, the most realistic and proper reaction to the incident came from the Cyprus Turkish Teachers’ Union (KTOS) and the Cyprus Turkish Secondary School Teachers’ Union (KTOEÖS). Şener Elcil: For us, there is no difference between the fascists who bombed the Bayraktar Mosque, those who attacked Afrika newspaper and those who burned the TRNC flag. A fascist is a fascist!
- Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu: We shall not sit at the negotiating table for the sake of negotiating – Turkish Foreign Minister Çavuşoğlu: “We shall not sit at the negotiating table on the Cyprus Issue, which is a national cause for us, just for the sake of negotiating.”
- Greek Cypriot press: They’re exploiting the issue –Greek Cypriot press shares the view that this “unimportant incident is being exaggerated by Turkey and the pseudo-state.”
Main News
ELAM’s act dominates debate in TC parliament
Yenidüzen, Kıbrıs Postası, Kıbrıs, Havadis, Diyalog, Afrika
Governance & Power Sharing, Internal Security
OVERVIEW
The incident in which a TRNC flag was torched by members of the far-right ELAM group dominated discussions in the Turkish Cypriot parliament on Monday, all six dailies report.
Deputy Speaker of the parliament Zorlu Töre condemned the “ugly attack carried out on the TRNC flag, which he said was the symbol and honour of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.”
He argued that such acts, which reflected the dominant Greek Cypriot mentality, proved that efforts to reach a partnership solution were futile.
Töre also urged those who favoured a partnership state to stop dreaming.
“It is possible to live side-by-side in two states but a united Cyprus based on single sovereignty and a single state is not possible,” Töre concluded.
Also addressing the plenary Prime Minister Ersin Tatar noted that the Greek Cypriot officials remained silent over the incident.
Tatar, touching upon the upcoming trilateral meeting in Berlin, said that expectations regarding the meeting were low.
“I presume the president will not forget that he represents the whole of this country,” Tatar added.
He recalled that the government supported the notion of sovereign equality.
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Kudret Özersay said that ELAM’s act had drawn a reaction from all political circles.
The foreign minister recalled that the Greek Cypriot leader Nicos Anastasiades had relieved the police director from his duty following an attack on former Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat during an event he attended in Limassol in March 2014.
“Similar steps should be taken now,” Özersay stressed. He added that flags were a sensitive issue for nations and urged the Greek Cypriot officials to take action.
On the negotiations process, Özersay reminded that the process had collapsed in Crans Montana. “Had the talks not collapsed we wouldn’t be discussing the terms of reference of a settlement right now”, he added.
Özersay said that developments in the period that followed gave little room for hope about progress.
CTP leader Tufan Erhürman who also spoke about the incident said he did not find it right for the issue to occupy so much of parliament’s agenda.
“CTP, however, could not have remained callous to such events that hamper the trust between the two communities,” Erhürman added.
Social Democratic Party (TDP) leader Cemal Özyiğit also condemned the attack on the TRNC flag during an address in parliament on Monday.
He, however, said that the entire Greek Cypriot community could not be held accountable for actions of ELAM, as this would also be wrong.
Özyiğit called upon the Greek Cypriot leadership to take action and to bring the perpetrators to justice.
Touching upon the trilateral meeting in Berlin set to take place next week; the TDP leader said even the smallest step to be taken in Berlin will be significant because the current situation is no longer sustainable.
Erhan Arıklı, the leader of the Rebirth Party (YDP) criticized those in the north striving to justify ELAM’s actions by claiming that similar acts were carried out in the north.
Arıklı argued that the incident in the South was neither the first nor will it be the last attack against Turkish Cypriots.
Ömer Çelik, the spokesman for the Justice and Development Party (AKP) in Turkey also strongly condemned the incident.
“We strongly condemn the impertinent attack against the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) flag,” the spokesman said during a press briefing at the party’s headquarters in Ankara on Monday.
Linking the issue with the hydrocarbon issue, “We will never compromise on the national interest of Turkey and TRNC in the Eastern Mediterranean sea,” Çelik added.
The Turkish National Defence Ministry on Monday also slammed ELAM’s act.
“The flag is a country’s honour. Such racist attacks encouraged by the Greek Cypriot side will never prevent the TRNC flag from forever flying high on the island,” the Ministry tweeted.
Discussions on Cyprob continue ahead of Berlin trilateral
Yenidüzen, Kıbrıs Postası, Kıbrıs, Havadis, Diyalog, Afrika
Negotiations Process
OVERVIEW
The CTP continued its consultations on Monday with influential political actors ahead of next week’s trilateral meeting in Berlin between the two leaders and the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
CTP leader Tufan Erhürman exchange views with the US Ambassador to Cyprus Judith Gail Garber on Monday.
The meeting was attended by the CTP’s Foreign Relations Secretary Fikri Toros and the US Embassy’s Deputy Political and Economic Affairs Section Chief Timothy Piergalski.
Speaking earlier in the day in parliament, Erhürman said the debate on political equality, which was a UN parameter, was unnecessary.
He urged the United Nations (UN) to preserve the framework during the trilateral meeting on November 25 November.
“We want a process unlike the ones in the past, that will reach a conclusion. We want the process to be results-oriented,” Erhürman.
He expressed his objection by putting divergences in the same basket with the basic parameters when starting a new process.
In the meantime, Akıncı’s office announced on Monday that a meeting will take place on Thursday, November 21 with representatives and leaders of political parties with seats in the Turkish Cypriot parliament.
Akıncı will be exchanging views with the political party heads ahead of his meeting in Berlin.
In a separate development on Monday, CTP MP Armağan Candan highlighted the importance of solving the Cyprus Problem during a speech delivered at a meeting of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) held in the German Bundestag.
Candan recalled that an important opportunity had been missed in 2004 and that a divided Cyprus continued to be a problem for Europe.
He added that Turkish Cypriots could no longer accept the status quo on the island or their isolation from the international community.
The CTP MP expressed the view that great interest by the international community towards the Cyprus Problem will be a determining factor whether or not the process will move forward.
“I would, therefore, like to call on all sides to work towards the restart of a results-oriented process as well as paving the way for a five-party meeting,” he said.
Candan also expressed the view that a settlement will pave the way for cooperation in numerous areas including hydrocarbons discovered in the Eastern Mediterranean.
“A settlement will no doubt contribute to bringing stability, peace and prosperity to the region,” he added.
Former Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat in an interview with Kıbrıs Postası on Tuesday argued that Akıncı’s poor relations with Turkey were making it impossible to solve the Cyprus Problem.
Talat emphasized the importance of good relations with Turkey stating that it was not possible to reach a solution without the approval of the guarantor states.
“Therefore if there is not harmony with Turkey, the Cyprus problem cannot be solved,” Talat said, adding that Akıncı’s was failing to maintain the required coordination in the Cyprus problem process with Turkey and the Turkish Cypriot parliament.
He added Akıncı should also be in dialogue with other actors that influence the Cyprus problem.
Talat argued that Ankara is unwilling to resume the talks because there is no consensus in the Turkish Cypriot side.
“Any five-party meeting without the necessary preparations would be nothing but an adventure,” Talat stressed as he recalled the failure of the Conference on Cyprus held in Crans Montana.
Responding to a question on the possibility of a two-state solution, Talat said it is possible to table alternatives but the only realistic option is a federal solution.
“Therefore, a two-state solution under EU umbrella advocated by the government is nothing but a fantasy,” Talat said.
On the issue of the hydrocarbons, Talat recalled his conversations with former Greek Cypriot counterpart, the late Demetris Christofias, stating that the hydrocarbon exploration had become a political tool.
“However, the reality is that Turkey’s naval capabilities and its determination are deterrents,” Talat said.
He noted even if the Greek Cypriot side were to find natural gas, it would be very difficult for them to transfer it to Europe without the TRNC or Turkey.
Talat also responded to a question on his conversation with Greek Cypriot leader Nicos Anastasiades during a recent social gathering which had been reported in the Greek Cypriot media.
He said Anastasiades had told him that he had low expectations from the trilateral meeting, citing Turkey stance as the main reason for his pessimism.
“This is the Greek Cypriot side’s known stance. If there is anything they do not like, they blame Turkey for it and claim that Turkish Cypriots are nothing but pawns in the talks,” Talat added.
Meanwhile, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu on Monday said Turkey will not sit at the negotiations table for the sake of negotiations.
Speaking during a planning and budget committee meeting at the Turkish parliament on Monday, Çacuşoğlu said Turkey will continue to protect the rights of the Turkish Cypriots.
“We will continue to protect both our rights and the rights of the TRNC, which Turkey is a guarantor of,” Çavuşoğlu stressed.
He added Turkey, which had the longest coastline in the Eastern Mediterranean also had rights to the east and the west of the island of Cyprus.
KEY ACTORS
Erhürman (CTP)
>> Debate on political equality, which was a UN parameter, was unnecessary.
>> UNSG should preserve framework during the trilateral meeting.
>> New process should be unlike previous ones. It should be results-oriented and aimed to reach a conclusion.
>> It would be wrong to start negotiations by putting divergences in the same basket with the basic parameters.
Candan (CTP)
>> Divided Cyprus remains a problem for Europe.
>> TCs can no longer accept the status quo or their isolation from int. community.
>> Sides should work towards restarting a results-oriented process & paving the way for a five-party meeting.
>> Settlement will pave the way for regional cooperation, particularly on hydrocarbons, bringing peace & prosperity.
Talat (CTP)
>> Akıncı’s poor relations with Turkey is making a solution impossible.
>> A solution without the approval of guarantor states is not possible.
>> Both Turkey and Greece must approve the solution agreement on the island.
>> Akıncı fails to maintain required coordination in the Cyprob process both with Turkey & TC parliament.
>> Akıncı should be in dialogue with other actors that affect the Cyprob.
>> Ankara is unwilling to resume talks because there is no consensus on the TC side.
>> Any five-party meeting without the necessary preparations will be nothing but an adventure.
>> Possible to table alternatives but the only realistic option is a federal solution.
>> The government’s two-state solution under the EU umbrella is nothing but a dream.
>> The seismic research activity has become a political tool.
>> The reality is that Turkey’s naval capabilities and its determination are deterrents.
>> Even if the GC side were to find natural gas, it would be very difficult for them to transfer it to Europe without the TRNC or Turkey.
Çavuşoğlu (Turkey)
>> Turkey will not sit at the negotiations table for the sake of negotiations.
>> Turkey will continue to protect the rights of the TCs.
>> Turkey has rights to the east & west of Cyprus due to possessing the longest coastline in the East Med.
Annual Toros military exercise cancelled
Yenidüzen, Kıbrıs Postası, Kıbrıs, Havadis, Diyalog, Afrika
External Security, Regional/International Relations
OVERVIEW
The annual Toros military exercise carried out jointly by the Turkish Armed Forces and Turkish Cypriot Security Forces has been cancelled, President Akıncı’s Spokesman Barış Burcu announced on Monday.
Burcu said that the exercise, as in previous years, had been cancelled following the decision by the Greek Cypriot side not to hold its own annual Nikiforos exercise.
Burcu said that the decision had been taken in consultation with Turkish officials.
Time for peace and reunification
Yenidüzen, Kıbrıs Postası, Kıbrıs, Havadis, Diyalog, Afrika
Negotiations Process, CBMs
OVERVIEW
“The two leaders must stand up to the occasion and decide to continue the process from the point it had been left off in Crans Montana with political will and determination,” the Bicommunal Peace Initiative said in a statement issued on Monday. The Initiative announced that they will hold a mass march in support of the two leaders in Berlin on 25 November.
“After the cessation of talks in Crans Montana, the Cyprus problem is in barren stagnation that poses huge risks for the finalization of the partition of our island,” the Initiative argued, adding that Cypriots should leave behind and permanently bury the violence of the past, nationalist outbursts and intolerance to build together a common future.
The Initiative also noted that the leaders need to convince the UN Secretary-Generall Antonio Guterres they remain committed to a bizonal, bicommunal federal solution in line with UN resolutions, in compliance with the Guterres framework and respecting past convergences.
Bicommunal Peace Initiative is comprised of trade unions and civil society organizations from both sides of the island.
The support march will be held on 22 November. The participants will first present Mustafa Akıncı with a joint declaration at 4 pm and then Nicos Anastasiades at 6 pm.
In the meantime, 27 organizations from both sides of the island will be holding a bicommunal protest demanding a halt to all mining activities on the island. This will be the first bicommunal mining-related protest in 71 years. The protest is scheduled to be held on November 23.