Front Page Headlines
No more excuses for the Georghadji list
The time has run out for excuses on the publication of loans of politically exposed persons. The House president, while waiting for the parties’ suggestions, is already going through the mandate terms. The ad hoc committee will have to be ready to publish the list after two or three meetings.
- Achilleas Demetriades on Famagusta: The state refuses to address the issue
- Second thoughts by Ozersay (on Varosha)
The president has to handle a hot potato
Clarifications over British tourists are urgently needed. Johnson also to decide on flights. Epidemiologists will be at the Presidential Palace tomorrow.
- The drillrig has anchored off Larnaca
- Response to Erdogan: Greece and the other Libya are delimiting their EEZs
- Paris has left the patrols: France-Turkey war within NATO
- German barometric on Turkey
They are covering up companies that buy loans
A new bill prepared by the finance and justice ministries and tabled to parliament to vote is covering up credit acquisition companies on the over-charges on loans. Instead of forcing credit companies to prove how much the borrower’s debt is, the opposite will be made…
- We too should take initiative for pressure on Turkey, AKEL leader said from Limassol
- Ozersay now is pointing out to Tatar the need for ‘feasible solutions’ on Varosha
- Europe launches dialogue with Turkey
Deal sought over huge UK fee hike
Priority to help male students forced to defer due to military.
Occupied areas: Coronavirus risk!
Concerns over yesterday’s arrivals from Turkey without quarantine. Strong reactions and protests over the Tatar-Ozersay ‘government’s’ decision. Tufan Erhurman: We must protect ourselves and the vulnerable population groups. Barbaros Sansal: They let us board the plane without checking first if we had the PCR test certificate.
- Greece-Cyprus: They carry on in coordination
- The decision on whether Ayia Sophia will be turned into a mosque will be made today – Intervention by Pompeo.
- France-Turkey relations are on a tightrope – France walks out of a NATO marine mission.
Main News
AKEL calls for initiative to pressure Turkey over its provocations
Alithia, Cyprus Mail, Haravgi, Phileleftheros, Politis
Negotiations Process, EU Matters, External Security, Regional/International Relations
OVERVIEW
Alithia and Haravgi report that leader of main opposition AKEL, Andros Kyprianou, said he agrees with President Nicos Anastasiades’ positions on the stance of Cyprus’ EU partners against Turkey but called for initiatives also from Nicosia on the matter.
Kyprianou was commenting on Anastasiades’ interview with Greek TV channel Open, aired this week. He said he agreed with the president’s position that Cyprus’ EU partners must also act as regards Turkey’s provocations and not stick to statements but that it is not enough to ask others to take actions. Nicosia must also take initiates and shape conditions to allow and encourage pressure by the international community on Turkey to stop its aggressive actions.
Kyprianou reiterated that Anastasiades must plan a series of initiatives to take after elections in the north but in the meantime, he must highlight the advantages that will arise from a proper solution of the Cyprus problem so that public opinion is prepared on the need to reach a solution.
Cyprus Mail reports that Anastasiades said during an interview with public broadcaster CyBC which aired on television late Wednesday evening that turning to militarism to deal with Turkish aggression would spell disaster for Cypriot Hellenism.
Anastasiades recapped on the ongoing tensions in the east Mediterranean region as well as the visit to Cyprus by Josep Borrell, the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. “If we consider that we can… provide a solution through militarisation, that will be the end of Cypriot Hellenism, something I do not wish for,” Anastasiades noted. “You need to be aware of the reality and choose the right weapons,” he added. For the Republic of Cyprus, the weapons at its disposal are international law and foreign relations – in short, diplomacy. Despite acknowledging that various EU members have largely paid only lip service to checking Turkey’s aggressive posture in the high seas, Anastasiades said that gradually the bloc has come around to imposing real sanctions on Ankara. Asked whether he might run again for office, though not explicitly denying it, he hinted strongly that he will not, the daily reports.
Haravgi also reports that Foreign Minister Nikos Christodoulides said that the EU’s Foreign Affairs Council will decide on July 13 whether to authorise Borrell to negotiate on EU-Turkey relations with Ankara. The talks will concern Turkey’s behaviour on all fronts of foreign policy that affect the EU and its members.
In other words, the daily said, violations of international law by Turkey in Libya, Syria and Iraq, and even the violations of the sovereign rights of Greece and Cyprus, are likely to be put into one package.
Such an authorisation presupposes unanimity and it seems that the idea comes from both Nicosia and Athens, which Borrell visited recently, the daily reports.
Phileleftheros reports on the forthcoming visit of Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu to Germany right after the country assumes the EU presidency for the next six months.
According to the paper the German presidency but also Berlin itself will be a kind of barometer on developments on EU-Turkey relations. At the same time, the closed session of the Foreign Affairs Council, where the Turkish issue will be discussed in depth, is of particular interest. Germany’s stance has always influenced the overall behaviour within the EU in relation to Turkey. As can be seen from the recent statements of President Nikos Anastasiades, most EU countries, and especially those in the European south, see Germany trying to bootlick Turkey. The general assessment is that Berlin is trying in some way to satisfy Turkish demands for two main reasons: not to give Erdogan the right to use the strong Turkish minority against the German government and to prevent the channelling of refugees/illegal immigrants to Germany, the daily reported.
As far as the ‘Cypriot agenda’ is concerned, diplomatic circles want to wait to see what will be discussed at the meeting between German FM Heiko Maas and Cavusoglu. Nicosia and Athens have already sent some messages, given that at the moment the only ones who speak with relative ease with Turkey are the Germans.
Phileleftheros, Haravgi and Alithia also report that Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias met in Libya with President of the Libyan House of Representatives Aguila Saleh.
Dendias said that they discussed delimiting the exclusive economic zone between Libya and Greece, based on international law and in continuation of the talks between the two countries launched in 2010. He said Turkey’s agreement with the National Accord Government was arbitrary.
He also spoke of the possibility of setting up a Greek consulate in Benghazi to facilitate trade transactions. According to Dendias, Libya wishes to replace Turkish products in its market with European ones and especially Greek ones, the papers report.
KEY ACTORS
Kyprianou (AKEL)
>> Agrees with Anastasiades’ position that EU needs to show solidarity with Cyprus with actions but believes that RoC also needs to take initiative for pressure on Turkey by international community instead of just waiting from others to do it.
>> Wants Anastasiades plan a series of initiatives for after elections in the north but for now, also prepare public opinion on the advantages of a proper solution of the Cyprob.
Anastasiades
>> Turning to militarism to deal with Turkish aggression would spell disaster for Cypriot Hellenism. The solution is diplomacy.
Lawyer calls on government to step up efforts on Varosha
Politis
Property, Territory, Negotiations Process
OVERVIEW
The daily cites prominent lawyer Achilleas Demetriades calling on the government to take the lead on the issue of Varosha and give some sort of direction to refugees as to what to do.
Demetriades told the paper that the Varosha issue is a very sensitive one as it concerns both the legal and the political aspect and that it should be handled in such as way so as not to affect either of the two aspects.
As regards the fenced-off part of the city Demetriades said that the UN resolutions do not define the regime but provide a solution.
He said that the TC plan is to declassify the Varosha fenced-off area from a military one and bring it under the control of the TC administration, which in turn will open it using the Immovable Properties Commission (IPC) as a criterion for who owns what. He added that EVKAF has been working on it since 2005, securing a decision from the Famagusta ‘district court’ with which it is essentially considered the owner of most of Varosha. “It is precisely this legally unfounded position that we want to prove before the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), with the aim of confirming at a European level that GCs are the property owners and not EVKAF,” he told the daily.
Demetriades said the government’s policy on the issue, which has been successfully followed since 1989, is suddenly changing. He referred to cases from the past such as the ‘Xenidis /Aresti’ where the issue of EVKAF had been raised but the GCs had won.
The lawyer wondered who took the political decision to change the legal stance of the Republic as regards the ECHR, which previously had been to support – successfully – Cypriot applicants going to Strasbourg. He also pointed out that the government has said it would not help GC refugees who filed a case to the ECHR for their property in Tympou but will help the applications concerning Varosha.
Demetriades also said he would like to know what legal measures the government proposes refugees should take and what compensation will be given to those citizens who are affected, since it urges them not to file applications with the IPC.
He also said there was no issue of recognising the TC regime since the ECHR acknowledged that the IPC belongs to Turkey and that someone who wants to reach the ECHR must first exhaust this Turkish legal remedy.
In the case of Varosha, he said that the Famagusta municipality and the government should cooperate, while the contribution of the Bar Association, Legal Service, organised property owners and entrepreneurs will be important, so that the right decisions are taken to ensure the property of the people of Famagusta. Demetriades said Famagusta is the beacon of the solution to the Cyprus problem. “If we lose Varosha, at the same time we lose the way to the solution,” he told Politis.
GC side monitors arrival of passengers to north from abroad
Alithia, Cyprus Mail, Haravgi, Phileleftheros, Politis
Internal Security, Human Rights, CBMs
OVERVIEW
All dailies report on the arrival of passengers from Turkey and other countries to the north on Wednesday which was the first day of arrivals without people being quarantined.
Alithia, in its main item, reports that the GC side is concerned about the situation in the north. The daily reports that during the first day of arrivals from Turkey confusion reigned in the north but there were also tragicomic incidents.
Citing media reports in the north, the paper reported that passengers were allowed to board the first flight of Turkish Airlines from Ankara to the north without coronavirus test certificates, also citing a tweet by Turkish fashion designer Barbaros Sansal that they let them board without checking if they had a test certificate. The daily also reports on the incident concerning a man who went to get a haircut straight after leaving the airport instead of self-isolating until his test results were ready.
The daily also reported that this uncontrollable situation, which no one knows if it will normalise in the coming days, causes concern to the GC side which can only monitor the situation. It recalls that the TC side has yet to submit data on the epidemiology outlook in the north. This, in connection with the resumption of the crossings, raises concerns among scientists. They are hoping that the situation will not get out of hand given that the TCs are also worried and seem determined to take all measures to avoid the worst. The GC side, however, in an effort for greater protection of the population, upped measures and checks at the crossing points, the paper reported.
Greek school renamed after teen EOKA fighter
Phileleftheros
Human Rights
OVERVIEW
The daily reports that a school in Ptolemaida, in Greece was renamed Evagoras Pallikarides, the young GC man who was killed by the British during the 1955-59 EOKA struggle for his involvement in the struggle.
The school’s renaming ceremony will take place on Saturday, the daily reports.
Phileleftheros quotes the school’s GC headteacher, Eleni Vasiliou, saying that she had suggested the name because, Pallikarides, who was also a poet, was a teenager and could be a role model for the school’s teenage pupils. She said he was only 15 when he removed the British flag that was hoisted at the Iacovidio high school at the time.
She said that the Greek school’s pupils will also stage a play on Pallikarides’ life and work.
She said that this year, pupils had visited Cyprus and the school Pallikarides used to attend in Paphos. They also went to the Imprisoned Graves where his grave is located, which shocked and moved the children, she said. Vasiliou said that 90 people traveled to Cyprus during that trip but returned back to Greece as ’90 ambassadors of the Cyprus problem’, the paper reported.