Front Page Headlines
Tractor horror
The consecutive tractor accidents have shaken the country. Three-year-old Ege Metin Ömerağa who was accidentally crushed by the tractor driven by his grandfather was laid to rest. In a separate tractor accident in Famagusta, 36-year-old Erdinç Özkahraman was seriously injured.
- “The Secretary-General and the leaders should show the necessary political will – In a diplomacy marathon, the leader of the Republican Turkish Party (CTP) Tufan Erhürman met with international actors ahead of the Berlin summit giving out important messages for the trilateral to take place this evening (Monday).
- All eyes on Berlin – The Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akıncı, the Greek Cypriot leader Nicos Anastasiades and the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres are meeting this evening (Monday).
“It is time to say something new”
Özdil Nami, who resigned from his post as negotiator following Crans Montana, emphasized the need to “discuss new things in the process.” Speaking to Kıbrıs Postası, Nami said: “negotiations are needed to change the status quo but it would be a mistake to launch a new process that will not change it.”
- “I do not want to raise expectations” – President Mustafa Akıncı spoke before departing for Berlin.
The state does not hear the cries of women
Today is November 25. It is the international day for the elimination of violence against women. It is the day when concerns are voiced on violence against women. However, when examining the statistics, we see that the Turkish Cypriot state does not hear the plight of women in the north who are victims of violence.
- “We are in Berlin to identify a road map” – President Mustafa Akıncı said he was going to Berlin with an open agenda to identify a road map. Akıncı said he hopes the Turkish Cypriot side’s constructive and determination for peace and solution would be reciprocated.
“You are not strong enough to discredit me”
Serdar Denktaş responds sternly to Kudret Özersay, who once again raised the issue of leasing a plot of land to his son, which is quoted as the reason for People’s Party (HP) withdrawing from the four-party coalition, six months later.
- “We have an open agenda” – President Mustafa Akıncı held a press conference at Ercan (Tymbou) airport before departing for Berlin to attend the trilateral meeting with Greek Cypriot leader Nicos Anastasiades and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
His arm and leg were severed
36-year-old Erdinç Özkahraman will remain crippled his whole life after being crushed by the tractor he was using.
No great expectations
The trilateral meeting in Berlin is taking place this evening (Monday). Speaking at Ercan (Tymbou) before departing for Berlin, Mustafa Akıncı said, “We want any new process to be results-oriented and to take us to a solution.” Akıncı also said he didn’t want to create great expectations. “We are going with an open agenda. I only hope that our stance which aims to serve peace by protecting our rights will be met with a similar stance,” he said.
Main News
Akıncı expresses cautious optimism ahead of Berlin
Yenidüzen, Kıbrıs Postası, Kıbrıs, Havadis, Diyalog, Afrika
Negotiations Process
OVERVIEW
“We are going to Berlin with an open agenda so we can set together a new road map, to discuss the steps to be taken from here forward,” President Mustafa Akıncı said on Sunday as he was leaving the island for Berlin.
Akıncı, speaking to reporters at Ercan (Tymbou) airport before his departure said that the UN Secretary-General’s (UNSG) Antonio Guterres’ involvement in the process was very important and that it was necessary to make use of this opportunity for the future of Cyprus.
Akıncı, however, warned the public not to raise its expectations too high.
“Nevertheless we are going to Berlin with a constructive stance,” he noted.
Akıncı said his stance from the beginning had been realistic which does not veer from the outlines of the UN parameters, in support of a bizonal bicommunal federation (BBF) based on two equal communities and effective participation in decision-making processes.
He said open-ended talks was a thing of the past and what is needed is a results-focused, well-prepared and well-separated process.
“There is material pointing the way to a solution. This is the February 11, 2014, Joint Declaration the framework of June 30, 2017, and the convergences that have been achieved to date,” he said.
“We shall discuss where we stand as well as future steps. We are going to Berlin to determine a road map,” Akıncı stressed.
The interest shown by Guterres in solving the Cyprus problem is very important, Akıncı said, adding that it is the UNSG who suggested Monday’s meeting.
It would not be wrong to say, he added, that it would be to the benefit of both sides, given the intensity and developments in the eastern Mediterranean, to fairly share the natural wealth that exists in the seas around the island.
“For this we need co-operation, we need dialogue. I believe the UNSG is worried about everything that is going on around Cyprus and in different parts of the world, but especially the Middle East. This is a reasonable worry and to get over it the correct path is to create the grounds for negotiations,” Akıncı said.
But, he said, we are not going to hold negotiations just for the sake of it.
“We want a solution. We want this solution to bring peace to both communities on the island. We want to bring Turkey-Greece relations to a better level. In short, we want peace and stability on our island to have peace and stability in the region”, he added.
Speaking to reporters shortly after arriving in Berlin, Akıncı said, “It is my hope and desire to be able to give you good news at the end of the meeting.
Akıncı recalled that he and Lellos Dimitriades had met in Berlin in 1985 as the two mayors of Nicosia.
“Back then we had the Berlin Wall. I remember taking a souvenir photo in front of the wall. It’s been 30 years since the wall came down. I remember telling reporters back then the most important thing was breaking the walls and barriers in peoples’ heads. That is what we have been trying to do for the past 30 years in Cyprus. We can do this; we can succeed because the world has changed. The Cold War is over,” Akıncı said.
Akıncı also said that the two communities could accomplish important things with a solution.
Former Turkish Cypriot negotiator Özdil Nami said that there was a need to say something new in the negotiations process to save Turkish Cypriots from the status quo.
Nami in an interview with Kıbrıs Postası published on Monday said Crans Montana was his biggest disappointment.
He argued that demanding a federal solution or claiming that a federal solution is dead was not enough on its own and that more was needed.
Nami said that it was also wrong to claim that there was no other alternative than a federal settlement just as it was wrong to say all efforts for a federal solution had been exhausted.
“If the Greek Cypriot side does not want to share power with the Turkish Cypriot side, we cannot impose such a solution on them. Therefore, we can only ask them to decide between a federal solution or a two-state solution,” Nami stressed.
He said the international community would not object to a decision which both sides approved.
“I do not believe anything other than what I just said, would take us to a conclusion,” Nami emphasized.
Nami also said he did not believe the process had matured enough to restart negotiations, adding that the current phase was to prepare the ground for future talks.
He also said it would be wrong to launch a new process which would not be able to change the status quo.
Nami also argued that Terms of Reference (ToR) caused confusion because its contents are not designed as a way to reflect the chapters in the negotiations process.
“The ToR should have contained a declaration of commitment to past convergences, adherence to the Guterres framework for remaining divergences, a time-line for the remaining issues, and a mechanism for the final issues of disagreement and how to resolve them otherwise the Greek Cypriot side will find any excuse to escape from the process,” Nami said.
“The ToR should also contain a provision on the referendum as well with a clause on the status of the Turkish Cypriot side should the Greek Cypriot side were to reject it.”
He warned that the ToR, however, should not go into the details of the negotiations.
“On the contrary, it must tell the two sides how to overcome the remaining issues because if the sides do not know when the process will be over, they will never say their final words,” he added.
Nami also argued that the United Nations (UN) does not give much importance to the trilateral meeting. “I believe the UN did not prepare for the meeting seriously. The Good Offices (GO) team in Cyprus found about the dinner on Twitter,” Nami said.
Responding to a question, Nami said it was unfortunate to see coordination problems between Akıncı, the government and Ankara.
“It is not possible to put pressure on the UN Secretary-General unless the Turkish side gives a unified message and that is a results-oriented process and to push the Greek Cypriot side to make a choice,” Nami underlined.
He added that the lack of dialogue between the parties harms the Cyprus cause.
Meanwhile, the CTP’s Youth Branch continued with its traditional “Peace bonfire event” in Nicosia on Saturday evening.
The CTP leader Tufan Erhürman noted he does not have many expectations from the trilateral meeting in Berlin but added: “If the meeting is concluded with an agreement on the five-party meeting, it would be a positive development.”
Erhürman urged the two leaders to display the required political will.
“We urge the UN Secretary-General to protect UN Security Council (UNSC) resolutions primarily the ones on political equality during the meeting in Berlin,” Erhürman added.
Doğukan Akdeniz, head of the CTP Youth Branch said the bonfire will not be put out until a federal solution is reached.
The meeting between the two leaders and the UN Secretary-General dinner at Hotel Adlon Kempinski, near Brandenburg Gate, is scheduled to take place at 7.30 pm local time. Guterres will host the dinner for the two leaders, it is possible, however, that the negotiators of the two sides will be asked to join them later.
It is expected that the UN Secretary-General’s special envoy, Jane Holl Lute, will be in Berlin as well.
KEY ACTORS
Akıncı
>> UNSG’s involvement in process important & it is necessary to make the best of the current opportunity.
>> TC stance does not veer from the outlines of the UN parameters, in support of a BBF based on political equality & effective participation in decision-making processes.
>> Expectations shouldn’t be raised too high but we are heading to Berlin in a constructive stance.
>> The time for open-ended processes is over. Any new process must be well-planned & results-oriented.
>> It will be to the benefit of both sides given the intensity & developments in the East Med, to fairly share the natural wealth that exists in the seas around the island.
>> For this we need co-operation, we need dialogue.
>> We will not hold negotiations just for the sake of it.
>> TC wants a solution. This will bring peace to both communities on the island & the region.
Nami (CTP)
>> It is time to discuss something new to change the status quo.
>> Demanding a federal solution or claiming it is dead is not enough.
>> It is not right to claim the federal solution is dead nor is it right to claim there are no other options than a federal solution.
>> If the GC side does not want to share power with the TC side, we can only ask them to decide between a federal solution & a two-state solution.
>> The int’l community would not object to a decision approved by both sides.
>> The process has not matured enough for talks. The current phase is a preliminary phase preparing the ground for talks.
>> It would be a mistake to launch a new process that will not change the status quo.
>> ToR caused confusion because its contents are not designed as a way to reflect the chapters in the negotiations process.
>> ToR should have contained a declaration of commitment to past convergences, adherence to the Guterres framework for remaining divergences, a time-line for the remaining issues & a mechanism for the final issues of disagreement. Otherwise, the GC side will find any excuse to escape from the process.
>> ToR should also contain a provision on the referendum as well with a clause on the status of the TC side should the GC side were to reject it.
>> The ToR must not go into the details of the negotiations.
>> The ToR must tell the sides how to overcome the remaining issues because if the sides do not know when the process will be over, they will never say their final words.
Famagusta tour organised for GC council members
Yenidüzen
CBMs
OVERVIEW
A group from the Famagusta municipality based in the south, headed by its mayor Simos Ioannou and made up of 16 city council members as well as their families were in Famagusta on Sunday for a tour, Yenidüzen reported.
The tour was organised by Turkish Cypriot friends and members of the Famagusta City Council in the north.
The group who crossed over to the north from Derinya (Deryneia) crossing point first observed the fenced-off city of Maraş (Varosha) from a distance before touring the rest of the city.
Speaking to Yenidüzen, members of the group expressed the hope that the trilateral meeting will pave the way for the restart of the Cyprus negotiations process.
The Greek Cypriot Mayor of Famagusta Simos Ioannou told the paper that the visit aimed to inform city council members, particularly those born after 1974 about Famagusta.
“Our only goal is to achieve a solution on this island and to leave behind a future for the Turkish and Greek-speaking Famagustians,” said Ioannou.
He expressed the view that the trilateral meeting in Berlin was a great opportunity.
“I believe that a bizonal, bicommunal federation is the only possible solution. Any alternative solution will be the end of both communities, he warned.
Ioannou also said that he was extremely pleased to be accompanied by Turkish Cypriot friends to whom he thanked for organising the visit.
Famagusta Council Member from the Social Democratic Party (TDP)-New Cyprus Party (YKP) Ulus İrkad said that aim of the visit was part of efforts to cooperate with the Greek Cypriot municipality of Famagusta based in the south.
“The visit also aims to give a positive message ahead of the Berlin meeting. Our Greek Cypriot friends want conditions for a solution to emerge as soon as possible,” he said.
The General Secretary of the Turkish Cypriot Teachers’ Union (KTÖS) Şener Elcil who also took part in the visit, said that the trip was the first of its kind.
“If we want peace in Cyprus we must cooperate, meet and mingle,” he said, adding that failing to do so will make any agreement to be reached by the two leaders harder to implement.