Front Page Headlines
No need for panic
It didn’t turn out to be coronavirus. The 74-year-old woman from Famagusta who was placed in quarantine at the state hospital in Nicosia following complaints of high fever tested negative for the coronavirus. Health Minister Ali Pilli said, “The test we sent to Turkey came back negative. There is no coronavirus in the TRNC.” The head of the Turkish Cypriot Doctors’ Association Dr Gürkut warned,” there is no coronavirus but we must be careful.”
- “Whoever Turkey has supported has lost in the elections” –The leader of the Rebirth Party (YDP) who spoke to Yenidüzen said that Turkey had not intervened in the 2018 general elections and that it will be the same this time.
Even if I am elected president, I will continue to wear my flip-flops
Social Democracy Party (TDP) MP Zeki Çeler said the people evaluated politicians according to the work they do and not what they wear. Kıbrıs Postası writer Levent Kutay talked to Çeler.
- Akıncı: “Turkish Cypriot people’s humanity and heart are exemplary.”
- Erhürman: “We will neither fight nor make concessions.”
- Özersay: “We will have a foreign policy that will bring us relief.”
- Tatar: “The world must accept that there are two states and peoples in Cyprus that live side-by-side.”
Turning a blind eye to an environmental catastrophe
When the sewage system for prefabricated homes for seasonal workers in Bostancı (Kato Zodhia) failed, the workers dug a makeshift cesspool. The workers’ attempt to solve their waste problem has caused a major environmental catastrophe.
- The quarantined woman tested negative for coronavirus – The test results for the 74-year-old woman quarantined at the Dr Burhan Nalbantoğlu Hospital came back negative.
Even the vegetable bazaar is unaffordable
Havadis looked into the retail prices of the fruits and vegetables at Nicosia’s vegetable market. The most expensive products are mushrooms and green pepper. Pears, bananas, kiwi, and pineapple sold for ₺10 (€1.5) per kilo.
- 85 per cent of the Greek Cypriots will not return – The Maraş (Varosha) poll conducted in the south reveals Greek Cypriots’ attitude: Not approving the opening of Maraş (Varosha) under the TRNC sovereignty.
- It is over for now – The test results for the woman who was sent to Nicosia and placed under quarantine from the Famagusta state hospital came back negative.
We are relieved
The 74-year-old woman quarantined for the coronavirus tested negative. Speaking to Diyalog, Health Minister Ali Pilli said that they will continue to take precautions against the virus which has become a global threat. He also said that tests can now be conducted in the TRNC as the equipment capable of carrying out the tests will be donated to the health ministry.
- Apaches flying overhead – US marines are carrying out regular exercises in the Paphos area.
- One person arrested – A 24-year-old Pakistani national living in South Nicosia was stabbed to death.
Another disgrace
An investigation has been launched in social media posts following an anonymous complaint. We are yet again witnessing another human rights violation in Turkey. A TRNC citizen is being accused of carrying out propaganda for a terrorist organization through social media posts in Turkey. A 22-year-old man was detained in Turkey while trying to leave the country. He was banned from leaving the country and charged. The hearing is on April 2.
- No coronavirus case – The patient tested negative.
- An opinion poll in the south on the fenced-off city of Maraş (Varosha) – Four out of ten Greek Cypriots believe that the Turkish Cypriot side will go ahead with plans to open the fenced-off city. Eight out of ten Greek Cypriots fear that chances of opening the fenced-off city under Greek Cypriot administration will come under threat if such a scenario plays out.
Main News
Woman tests negative for coronavirus
Yenidüzen, Kıbrıs Postası, Kıbrıs, Havadis, Diyalog, Afrika
Internal Security
OVERVIEW
A 74-year-old woman from Famagusta tested negative for the coronavirus, it was reported on Sunday.
The woman had been placed in quarantine at the state hospital in Nicosia on Saturday as a precautionary measure after displaying symptoms of the virus.
She had recently been on holiday in Dubai and was admitted to hospital in Famagusta with a high fever.
Although diagnosed with pneumonia, doctors transferred her to the main hospital in Nicosia where she was placed in quarantine pending test results.
The tests which came back from Turkey were clean but it is still not known if the woman will continue to remain in quarantine.
Campaign debates heat up election atmosphere
Yenidüzen, Kıbrıs Postası, Kıbrıs, Havadis, Diyalog
Governance & Power Sharing, Negotiations Process
OVERVIEW
President Mustafa Akıncı on Saturday reiterated that the most realistic option for a settlement in Cyprus is a bi-communal and bi-zonal federation (BBF), saying that anything else encourages division on the island.
“The alternatives outside the federation are only bolstering the status quo, that is, the division,” Akıncı said, adding that no one living in the north desired this.
He also noted that this was not only what the international community supported but Ankara’s official position on the solution of the Cyprus problem as well.
Akıncı’s remarks came at a solidarity dinner for his presidential campaign in Kyrenia.
He noted that he will continue his path with confidence and determination by serving the federal solution target with confidence-building measures.
He also stated that the U.N. secretary-general is determined to take the initiative after the elections to be held in April and to contribute to the process.
“This [solution] table will be re-established and the opportunity for a solution will knock on our door. We are at a very important junction,” he said.
“Either as a modern, civilized European country, we will walk this path together in order to ensure that the standards valid in European countries are also valid here, by seeking a secular life in freedom and peace, where democracy and legal norms will prevail, and there is no place for bigotry, or division will become even more permanent,” he added.
Referring to relations between Turkey and the north, Akıncı also said that “we have no desire other than the well-being of our brothers in Turkey.”
He pointed out that the option of the two separate sovereign and independent states with international recognition, under the umbrella of the European Union was not possible or realistic.
Akıncı also noted that the outcome of the Berlin trilateral meeting was positive for the Turkish Cypriot community.
He recalled that a statement which was issued after the meeting with the approval of the two leaders reaffirmed a BBF, removing all ambiguity concerning the basis of a solution.
Akıncı reminded that Berlin statement also underlined that any new process will be results-oriented and will aim to reach a strategic agreement.
Meanwhile, Turkish Cypriot Foreign Minister and independent candidate Kudret Özersay said on Sunday that it was not possible to achieve any results on the Cyprus Issue by repeating the same discussions.
Özersay, speaking to business owners at a campaign event in Kyrenia, said that Turkish Cypriots needed a leader who could take fresh steps in foreign policy without being stuck on the Cyprus Problem and protect their rights at the same time.
He also said that Brexit presented a new and unique opportunity for Turkish Cypriots to establish direct trade with the United Kingdom (UK).
Özersay, sharing his views on the Cyprus Issue, said that Greek Cypriots were not ready to share power or wealth with Turkish Cypriots.
“Both communities need to trust one another sufficiently. That is why it is not possible to achieve an inch of progress by repeating the same endless discussions. To resume with talks, in the same way, will only chain Turkish Cypriots to the negotiating table. This is something which I will do and no one has the right to do this to the Turkish Cypriot people,” he said.
Özersay argued that it was necessary to develop new and creative ideas regarding a settlement.
This, he added, is possible through cooperating in areas such as tourism, energy or commerce.
Özersay said that the president-elect needed to be someone who embraced all segments of Turkish Cypriot society, who show attention to maintaining social peace and which understood the different sensitivities of the population.
“We will neither get into a fight nor will we make any concessions,” leader of the Republican Turkish Party (CTP) and presidential candidate Tufan Erhürman said on Sunday.
During a campaign visit to Akçay (Argaki), Erhürman noted that the Turkish Cypriot side must be in contact with the international actors mainly with Turkey and the United Nations (UN).
“We cannot sit back and wait in Nicosia…We have seen very limited activities in this regard in the past term,” Erhürman said.
He argued that the Turkish Cypriot community needed a leader who will work more actively both domestically and on foreign policy issues with a broader team of experts. He argued that the previous presidents had focused only on the negotiations processes. “
“It is vital for the president to carry the Turkish Cypriot identity and its culture to the future without creating any fights and without making any concessions,” Erhürman stressed.
He added that the Turkish Cypriot community must have a self-sufficient economic structure in order to do so.
The leader of the Rebirth Party and presidential candidate Erhan Arıklı told Yenidüzen that all candidates or parties in the north supported by Ankara to date have lost.
In the second part of an interview published in the daily, Arıklı said that Ankara was aware of this which was why it had not intervened in the last general elections in the north.
He claimed that Ankara will be doing the same.
Arıklı also said that it was not right for Turkey to continue to see the north as its baby.
“We need to be economically self-sufficient if we want to balance our relationship with Turkey but the reality is we have failed to implement any of the economic measures placed before us as part of the economic protocols signed with Turkey,” he added.
The YDP leader said that Ankara was fed up with unfulfilled promises by Turkish Cypriot authorities and governments.
Arıklı, commenting on a warrant issued in his name by Interpol, said he was not sure if Interpol was still looking for him.
“I don’t know what the latest situation is but I can assure you I had nothing to do with the incident at Derinya (Deryneia),” he said.
KEY ACTORS
Akıncı
>> A BBF is the most realistic option for a solution. Anything else bolsters division.
>> Federal solution model is not only supported bythe int’l community but is also still Turkey’s official position on Cyprus.
>> Neither TCs nor anyone else living in the north wants a partition.
>> This [solution] table will be re-established & the opportunity for a solution will knock on our door.
>> The people will either vote fora secular life with European standards or face permanent partition.
>> TCs do no desire anything other than the well-being of their brothers in Turkey.
>> A two-state solution under EU umbrella not possible.
>> The outcome of the Berlin trilateral meeting is positive for the TC community.
>> Statement issued reaffirms BBF, removing all ambiguity surrounding a solution.
Özersay (HP)
>> Not possible to achieve results on Cyprob by repeating same discussions.
>> TCs need a leader who can take fresh steps in foreign policy without being stuck on the Cyprus Issue.
>> Brexit presents new & unique opportunity for TCs to establish direct trade with the UK.
>> Both communities need to trust each other. Resuming talks by repeating the same discussions will only chain TCs to the negotiating table.
>> New & creative ideas needed for a settlement. Possible through cooperation in various areas such as tourism & energy.
>> President-elect needs to be someone who can embrace all segments of society & maintain social peace.
Erhürman (CTP)
>> TC side must be in contact with the international actors mainly with Turkey & the UN.
>> We cannot sit back & wait in Nicosia as was the case in the past term.
>> The TC community needs a leader who will work more actively domestically & for foreign policy.
>> Vital for the president-elect to carry the TC identity & its culture to the future without creating any fights & without making any concessions.
>> TC community must have a self-sufficient economic structure in order to do so.
Arıklı (YDP)
>> All candidates or parties supported by Ankara have lost elections in the north.
>> This is why Ankara did not intervene in 2018 elections & will not intervene now.
>> Not right for Turkey to continue to see the north as its baby.
>> TRNC needs to be economically self-sufficient if it is to balance its relationship with Turkey.