Front Page Headlines
Public reform stalled!
National Unity Party (UBP)-Peoples’ Party (HP) government remains silent over public reforms. All work on a public reform package that was prepared by previous governments and passed onto the Parliamentary Committee for Administrative, Public and Health Affairs has stopped. It is claimed that the UBP-HP government is delaying the draft bill at the committee. The head of the committee said it was difficult to say when the bill would be taken up.
- Bicommunal event today (Friday): Peace and a solution
“Barren” budget for the Agriculture Ministry
The budget for the Agriculture and Natural Resources Ministry will be discussed at the budget planning meeting on Friday. However, farmers are not satisfied with the budget, which is expected to be approved. Agriculture Minister Dursun Oğuz said the ₺180 million budget is not enough for the agriculture sector. Mustafa Naimoğulları, president of the cattle-farmers’ association, said the budget should have been ₺240 million.
- Expectations are low – The final meeting with the political parties held ahead of Berlin.
Catastrophe at the door-step
Dikmen (Dikomo) and the surrounding area, which had been swept away by floods last year, is also faced with the same threat this year. People are concerned about the threat. Dikmen Mayor Yüksel Çelebi said all measures have been implemented however the project to build a derivation channel on the riverbed is still waiting at the ministry. Çelebi said, “I really hope the state will provide financing otherwise, we will launch a campaign to find the necessary funds to carry out the project.”
- Three parties are optimistic, and three pessimistic – President Mustafa Akıncı met with the political party leaders and representatives ahead of the trilateral meeting to be held in Berlin. National Unity Party (UBP), People’s Party (HP) and Rebirth Party (YDP) do not have any hopes from the meeting.
ALPET on sale at K-PET stations
The strike at the Turkish Cypriot Petroleum company (KPET), which was the result of a disagreement in the collective agreement, is in its 10th day. K-PET has started distributing fuel purchased from ALPET to its petrol stations whereas Petrol-İş (KPET workers’ union) urges the company to abide by the laws.
- Big summit, thin hopes – President Mustafa Akıncı met with the political party leaders before the trilateral meeting to be held in Berlin. Both UBP and HP expressed they do not have any hopes from the trilateral meeting. Democratic Party (DP) representative Serdar Denktaş claimed: “It is a waste of time.” Both the Republican Turkish Party (CTP) and Social Democratic Party (TDP) expect the trilateral meeting to be successful. Erhürman said he expects the trilateral meeting to pave the way for the five-party meeting.
‘We are ready’
(Public Works and Communication) Minister Tolga Atakan said that work on a semi-privatisation scheme of the telecommunications department in line with the protocol signed between the TRNC and Turkey will be completed in 2020.
He wants punishment for those who call Turkey an invader
Another blow to freedom of expression. Words by the General Secretary of the Turkish Cypriot Teachers’ Union Şener Elcil who accused Turkey of invading the island and carrying out a bloodless genocide against Turkish Cypriots angered by those who pay homage to Ankara. (Prime Minister) Ersin Tatar said that he had instructed the Attorney General to prepare legislation making it illegal to call Turkey an invader.
- Greek Cypriot police take action on flag burning incident – Greek Cypriot Police Director Mihalides: The incident is serious, we shall be investigating it thoroughly.
Main News
Parties remain divided over the trilateral meeting
Yenidüzen, Kıbrıs Postası, Kıbrıs, Havadis, Diyalog, Afrika
Negotiations Process
OVERVIEW
The political parties in the Turkish Cypriot parliament remain divided over the upcoming trilateral meeting set to take place on Monday, November 25 in Berlin.
The leaders and representatives of political parties met with President Akıncı on Thursday to exchange views ahead of the meeting.
While the ruling National Unity Party (UBP), People’s Party (HP), Democratic Party (DP) and Rebirth Party (YDP) said expectations from the meeting were low, the Republican Turkish Party (CTP) and Social Democratic Party (TDP) were more optimistic and supportive.
The meeting attended by the leader of the UBP-Prime Minister Ersin Tatar, the leader of the HP-Foreign Minister Kudret Özersay, the leader of the main opposition CTP Tufan Erhürman, the leader of the TDP Cemal Özyiğit, the leader of the YDP Erhan Arıklı and former DP leader Serdar Denktaş lasted for nearly two hours.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, UBP leader Ersin Tatar said that Monday’s meeting was going to be an unofficial meeting and that it shouldn’t raise anyone’s expectations.
“This is a view shared by the president. We exchanged views on a number of technical issues,” he said.
Tatar said that the UBP still had reservations on how political equality will be defined if the Guterres Framework was adopted.
“What we understand is that a federal settlement is really not possible. Mr Akıncı is also worried that a different understanding than previous convergences could emerge. We are following the process closely,” he said.
Tatar said that the Cyprus Issue needed to be evaluated from different angles given the developments.
“We need to look through a different window. We are no longer at the point where we can say that a federation is the only way to move forward. We believe that alternative ideas such as a two-state solution under the EU umbrella need to be brought to the negotiating table. We are fed up of discussing the same issues for the past 50 years,” he said.
Tatar also highlighted the importance of the issue of guarantees for the UBP.
HP leader Kudret Özersay also said that expectations from the trilateral meeting were low.
He pointed to a joint vision needed for meaningful progress to be achieved did not exist between the two sides.
“There is no joint vision, consensus or even a consensus on the terms of reference,” he said.
Özersay said that consultations and dialogue should continue but warned that any new negotiations should not begin from where they left off in Crans Montana.
The HP also said that the Cyprus Problem was wrongfully being reduced to an issue of political equality and that a settlement will be reached if this issue is solved.
“This is particularly the case in the south. It is important that both sides accept and embrace the notion of bizonality,” he said.
Özersay said another problem in the process was the Greek Cypriot side’s reluctance to share power and wealth with Turkish Cypriots.
Unlike the two coalition partners, the leader of the main opposition CTP Tufan Erhürman expressed more optimism regarding the trilateral meeting.
He said that the meeting was important particularly as it was the first time since Crans Montana the two leaders were coming together with the UN Secretary-General.
Erhürman explained that the UN Secretary-General Guterres had made it clear after Crans Montana that any new negotiations would be nothing like previous processes, would be results-oriented, would not be open-ended and would respect past convergences.
The CTP leader said that the trilateral meeting will pave the way for a five-party meeting if the UN Secretary-General displays a determined and unwavering stance at the meeting.
“Political equality is a basic parameter. It is not an issue to be negotiated as Anastasiades has been trying to do for some time. This is why Guterres’s determination in Berlin will be very important.
Leader of the Social Democratic Party Cemal Özyiğit told reporters that two years had been wasted due to Anastasiades’ re-election bid.
“We are on the eve of an important meeting. Preparations for this meeting have been going on for a long time. I do not agree with the view that the process is over, it just slightly missed the target,” he said.
Özyiğit said that clarification was required on the Cyprus Issue.
“They will either agree in Berlin to continue or to abandon the whole effort. Even if the meeting may not determine whether the solution will be solved or not it could crack the door open,” he added.
The TDP leader said that both leaders needed to show determination to move forward.
He pointed out that there was clarification in the Guterres framework and that announcing it would be a positive move forward.
“No one wants an open-ended negotiations process. Everyone wants a speedy process. All aspects of the issue have been discussed,” he said.
All the little problems remaining from Crans Montana should be solved paving the way for a results-oriented process.
Former DP leader Serdar Denktaş reminded that the Cyprus Issue was an important political issue which the international community needed to take seriously.
He said that the international community should stop acknowledging the Greek Cypriot side as the only side.
“It is not possible to negotiate our political equality. All Turkish Cypriots share this view. We shall see whether the trilateral meeting will pave the way for a five-party meeting. Whether it will be possible to reach an agreement with the Greek Cypriot side,” he said.
Denktaş argued that any process which did not address the Turkish Cypriot side’s concerns was a waste of time.
YDP leader Erhan Arıklı said that little should be expected from the trilateral meeting.
“The Greek Cypriot side’s stance is clear. They will try to lay the blame of any failure on Turkey. It should be determined whether or not the process will move forward without further delay,” he said.
Arıklı added that it was important to see whether Anastasiades will accept past convergences and if not whether he wants to reopen different issues to discussion,” he added.
Meanwhile, the leaders’ meeting on Monday will be held at 7 pm at the Adlon Kempinski Hotel in Berlin, Kıbrıs Postası reported on Friday.
Citing diplomatic sources, the paper said it was expected that it would be a lengthy meeting.
The paper said the last dinner between the two leaders on July 6, 2017, in Switzerland, went on for eight hours, finishing at 3 am the next day.
KEY ACTORS
Tatar (UBP)
>> Public’s expectations regarding the trilateral meeting should not be high.
>> UBP has reservations on how political equality will be defined if the Guterres Framework is adopted.
>> The Cyprus Issue needs to be evaluated from different angles given the developments.
>> A federation is not the only way to move forward & alternative ideas such as a two-state solution under the EU umbrella need to be tabled.
Özersay(HP)
>> Expectations from the trilateral meeting are low.
>> A joint vision or consensus needed for meaningful progress to be achieved does not exist between the two sides.
>> Any new negotiations should not resume from where talks left off in Crans Montana.
>> The Cypob is wrongfully being reduced to an issue of political equality.
>> It is important that both sides accept & embrace the notion of bizonality.
Erhürman (CTP)
>> Trilateral meeting is important as it is the first time since Crans Montana the two leaders are coming together with the UNSG.
>> As UNSG Guterres has made it clear after Crans Montana, any new talks will be nothing like previous processes, should be results-oriented, should not be open-ended & should respect past convergences.
>> Trilateral meeting will pave the way for a five-party meeting if the UNSG displays a determined and unwavering stance at the meeting.
>> Political equality is a basic parameter. It is not an issue to be negotiated as Anastasiades has been trying to do for some time.
Özyiğit (TDP)
>> Clarification required on the Cyprus Issue & negotiations process.
>> Sides will either agree in Berlin to continue or abandon the whole effort.
>> Both leaders need to show determination to move forward.
>> No one wants an open-ended negotiations process. Everyone wants a speedy process. All aspects of the issue have been discussed.
>> Remaining issues from Crans Montana should be solved paving the way for a results-oriented process.
Denktaş (DP)
>> The Cyprus Issue is an important political issue which the international community needs to take seriously.
>> International community should stop acknowledging the GC side as the only side.
>> It is not possible to negotiate TCs’ political equality. All TCs share this view.
>> Any process which does not address the TC side’s concerns is a waste of time.
Arıklı (YDP)
>> Little should be expected from the trilateral meeting.
>> The GC’s stance is clear. They will try to lay the blame of any failure on Turkey.
>> It is important to see whether Anastasiades will accept past convergences & if not whether he wants to reopen different issues to discussion.
Akar: “TRNC flag will never cease to fly in the north”
Yenidüzen, Kıbrıs Postası, Kıbrıs, Havadis, Diyalog, Afrika
Internal Security, Energy, Regional/International Relations
OVERVIEW
Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar has condemned Elam’s burning of the TRNC flag last week, saying that it would fly forever in northern Cyprus.
“We will never allow efforts to create a situation which will deny Turkey entry into the Mediterranean and Aegean to protect our rights,” Akar told a committee meeting in the Turkish parliament on Wednesday.
Akar also said that Turkish drilling and research vessels were continuing their activities in the Eastern Mediterranean under the protection and watchful eye of the Turkish navy.
When asked about the flag burning, Akar said: “these racist attacks will never stop the flag of the TRNC flying forever.”
KEY ACTORS
Akar (Turkey)
>> TRNC flag will fly forever in northern Cyprus.
>> Turkey will never allow efforts to create a situation which will deny its entry into the Mediterranean & Aegean to protect its rights.
>> Turkish drilling and research vessels continue their activities in the East Med under the protection & watchful eye of the Turkish navy.
Tatar: We will never accept an end to guarantees
Kıbrıs Postası, Kıbrıs, Havadis, Diyalog
Negotiations Process, Property, Territory
OVERVIEW
“The current negotiations process envisages the end of Turkey’s guarantees in about five to ten years and as the UBP, we will never accept it,” Prime Minister Ersin Tatar said on Thursday.
Tatar speaking to a group of young Turkish diplomats, who are currently visiting the north as part of in-service training, argued the federal solution of the Cyprus Problem aimed to be reached through the negotiations process, was aimed at admitting the whole of the island into the European Union (EU).
“As a result of such an agreement, Turkey’s effectiveness and influence in Cyprus will be diminished to a point of no return,” Tatar argued.
“We will never accept an end of the guarantees nor do we accept such an agreement,” he added.
Tatar also claimed that Greek Cypriot aspirations to unite the island with Greece continued.
He recalled that when the Greek Cypriot side joined the EU in 2004, the then-Greek premier had announced that the goal of unifying the island with Greece had been achieved.
Tatar went on to say that the Cyprus problem was one of the most important issues for Turkey.
Tatar, following a briefing on the hydrocarbons issue, said despite the Greek Cypriot side’s rejection of all proposals, the island’s natural gas resources should be co-managed and distributed equally as there are two equal peoples on the island.
He also noted that the Greek Cypriot side has so far signed agreements with various countries and only offered to give the Turkish Cypriots a share from the revenues.
Tatar pointed out Turkey also had rights in the Eastern Mediterranean due to having the longest coastline in the area.
He expressing his hope that both Turkey and the Turkish Cypriots will be successful in their struggle on the hydrocarbons issue.
“I believe the universal norms and law of the sea will work in favour of the Turkish Cypriots.”
Touching on the embargoes imposed on the north, Tatar said the TRNC might not be politically recognized but was accepted internationally. “Political recognition will one day be realized,” Tatar said, arguing that this was an issue concerning the balance of power between Turkey and Greece.
Responding to a question on the upcoming trilateral meeting in Berlin, Tatar pointed out that the meeting was of an informal nature and that he did not have any expectations from the meeting.
Tatar said it is not possible to reach an agreement on the basis of partnership. “Turkish Cypriots will never accept to live under the Greek Cypriots,” Tatar said arguing that the only realistic options were either a two-state solution under the EU or velvet divorce.
Tatar, in response to a question on Maraş (Varosha), claimed that a large section of the fenced-off city belonged to a number of religious foundations now under the administration of the Evkaf.
He added however that most of these properties had been distributed to Greek Cypriots during the island’s British colonial rule with title deeds given in 1974.
“We will never give back the land inherited from our ancestors,” Tatar stressed.
He pointed out that the return of Maraş (Varosha) to Greek Cypriots as a territorial concession had always been on the agenda since 1974 but that his government had put an end to that notion.
Tatar said the plan was to open the area for settlement gradually.
“As we do not have enough money to pay everyone compensation, we tell them to apply to the Immovable Property Commission, which is recognized by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) and is in line with UN resolutions. This area cannot remain fenced off forever. We will gradually open the area and allow former residents to return whilst protecting their rights. Everyone including the Evkaf Administration of Cyprus will apply,” Tatar concluded.
KEY ACTORS
Tatar (UBP)
>> UBP will never accept an end to Turkey’s guarantees.
>> A federal settlement will diminish Turkey’s effectiveness & influence to a point of no return.
>> GC aspiration for uniting island with Greece continues.
>> Cyprob is one of the most important issues for Turkey.
>> Even though the GC side does not agree, the natural resources should be managed equally as there are two equal peoples on the island.
>> Turkey has rights in the East Med due to being the country with the longest coastline.
>> Both Turkey & the TCs will be successful in their struggle on the hydrocarbons issue, as the universal norms and law of the sea will work in favour of the TCs.
>> TRNC might not be politically recognized but it is accepted internationally.
>> Political recognition will one day be realized. This is an issue of balance betweenTurkey-& Greece.
>> TCs will never accept to live under the GCs. Realistic option is either a two-state solution under the EU or velvet divorce.
>> TC side will never give Maraş (Varosha), the land inherited from our ancestors, back to GC side.
>> UBP-HP government has put an end to notion of giving Maraş (Varosha) back as a territorial concession.
>> Area will be reopened for settlement gradually,allowing former residents to return whilst protecting their rights.
>> Everyone including the Evkaf Administration of Cyprus will apply to the IPC.