Front Page Headlines
‘I won’t sign it’
The deadline for the Famagusta, İskele (Trikomo) and Yeniboğaziçi (Agios Sergios) Development Plan ends tomorrow (Wednesday). The National Unity Party (UBP)-Peoples’ Party (HP) government failed to reach an agreement again. Prime Minister Ersin Tatar gave a clear message to parliament that he will not sign the new development plan. “No one should expect me to sign that plan. We are in a coalition partnership. We shall sit down and discuss the matter. If we fail to reach an agreement the process will be extended,” he said.
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More evidence of corruption at KIBTEK
The parliamentary sub-committee tasked to investigate the allegations of corruption at KIBTEK (TC Electricity Authority) has started to investigate the Court of Auditors’ report, which revealed evidence of forged documents in tenders carried out by the KIBTEK.
- Investigation launched into the shooting incident involving refugees and alleged police brutality on two women – President Mustafa Akıncı asked the Police Commissioner Ahmet Soyalan to launch investigations into the shots fired at refugees and the alleged police brutality against two Somalian sisters.
- Parliament issues joint declaration protesting the Greek Cypriot administration’s attitude– Six political parties with seats in the parliament published a joint declaration demanding the Greek Cypriot side to stop trying to amend the Green Line Trade regulation unilaterally and to allow foreigners to cross to the north.
This is an ideological imposition
KTOEÖS (TC Secondary School Teachers’ Union) president Tahir Gökçebel reacted to the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) which grants special exemptions to KISAV (Cyprus Science, Moral, and Social Solidarity Foundation) to create its curriculum parallel to İlahiyat Anadolu Lisesi (Religious Anatolian High School). Gökçebel said as KTOEÖS, we had warned about the ideological impositions that will annihilate the Turkish Cypriot education system. “We have fought against these impositions and will continue to do so. This cannot be accepted,” Gökçebel stressed.
- Open the crossing now – Akıncılar (Louroujina) Crossing Initiative will organize a march towards the point where the residents of the village want the crossing point to be. The peaceful march, which the protestors will be accompanied by music groups, will be held on July 26 2020.
- Intervene in arbitrary decisions – The six political parties with seats in the parliament issued a joint statement urging the European Union (EU) to intervene in Greek Cypriot administration’s decision to prohibit foreigners from crossing to the north.
- The first test for Soyalan – President Mustafa Akıncı asked the Police Commissioner Ahmet Soyalan to launch investigations into shooting incident involving refugees and the alleged police brutality against two Somalian sisters.
- The latest situation: North 116 cases, four deaths; South 1022 cases, 26 deaths; Turkey 214,001 cases, 5,382 deaths.
The people must know about this
(Social Democratic Party (TDP) MP Hüseyin) Angolemli speaking in parliament yesterday (Monday) asked, “Who was it who contacted the Turkish officials when Diyalog TV’s broadcasts were cut off? Was it the Prime Minister?” Tatar abandoned the plenary.
- EU warned – All political parties in parliament reacted to the Greek Cypriot administration which prevents foreigners from crossing north
- A first in the south – One man roamed the streets of Paphos naked. A drunken woman bit a police officer.
Attorney General’s office to investigate
President Mustafa Akıncı asked the Police Commissioner Ahmet Soyalan to launch investigations into the shots fired at the refugees and the alleged police brutality against two Somalian sisters. Police finally issued a statement on the two Somalian women. It said the Somalian women were detained on charges of causing disturbance and drunkenness. The police statement, however, did not identify whether or not any complaint had been filed on “public disturbance” while being under the influence of alcohol.
- No to entries without quarantine – A protest was organized in north Nicosia last night (Monday). The participants in their vehicles demanded the pandemic hospital be ready before opening the ports of entry without quarantine requirement.
- Eighth case in the north – The PCR result of a Turkish national, who arrived by plane came back positive.
Main News
The GC side will continue unless all the TCs react
Yenidüzen, Kıbrıs Postası, Kıbrıs, Havadis, Diyalog, Avrupa
Internal Security, CBMs
OVERVIEW
Turkish Cypriot authorities on Monday united in criticizing the Greek Cypriot side for not allowing tourists to cross between the two sides. “The Greek Cypriot side will continue with its intimidation policies unless all the political actors in the north unite and give a coordinated reaction to the restrictions at the crossing points which have nothing to do with the coronavirus pandemic,” Turkish Cypriot Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Kudret Özersay said on Monday.
In a social media post, Özersay said the Turkish Cypriot side has raised with the United Nations (UN) and the European Union (EU) the Greek Cypriot side’s attempts to harm the north’s economy and to cease Turkish Cypriots’ rights emanating from the Green Line Trade (GLT) regulation since July 1.
He recalled that the Greek Cypriot side’s intentions to amend the GLT regulation including restricting the crossing of foreign nationals into the north had been reported in the Greek Cypriot media even before the coronavirus pandemic.
“Unless all the political actors in the north unite against the Greek Cypriot side’s impositions, they will continue with their policies,” Özersay warned.
He argued that the Greek Cypriot authorities, under the pretext of the coronavirus pandemic, had put into force new practices which had been thwarted earlier by initiatives undertaken by the Turkish Cypriot side.
He added that the Greek Cypriot authorities had been preventing tourists from crossing into the north for the past ten days.
“Furthermore the Greek Cypriot side has now launched an initiative to extend the limitation to the crossing points controlled by the Sovereign Base Area (SBA) authorities,” he said.
Özersay said as a result of the Greek Cypriot side’s implementations, the tourism activities in the north via the south side would come to an end.
“The Greek Cypriot side’s new practice is a direct attack on the Turkish Cypriot economy. The new implementation is also a blatant violation of the GLT regulation under the EU legislation, which limits the freedom of travel on the island of Cyprus,” Özersay stressed, adding that the ill-motivated move by the Greek Cypriot side must be revised.
He noted the Turkish Cypriot side has raised the matter with the UN, UK and EU officials and will continue to raise the matter at the international level.
“The Greek Cypriot side must end its new implementation that harms the Turkish Cypriot economy and restricts freedom of travel on the island, otherwise we will be compelled to take reciprocal steps as well,” Özersay concluded.
Meanwhile, parliamentary parties in the north issued a joint statement on Monday calling on the Greek Cypriot authorities to stop these practices.
The statement said that since July 1, when the north started allowing in tourists, the Greek Cypriot side had banned the free movement of people between the two sides and by extension, harming both the tourism activities and the economy of the north.
The parties referred to practices that lead to restrictions on the rights of people to cross and called on EU officials to take the initiative so that conditions return to the pre-pandemic period.
The political parties also called on the Greek Cypriot side to end its restrictions without further delay.
The Turkish Cypriot Chamber of Commerce has sent a letter of protest to the head of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) Elizabeth Spehar, on the same issue.
The chamber also stressed the importance of reopening the Lokmacı (Ledra st) crossing, which, he said, is the only one remaining closed and from which a large number of persons used to cross between the two sides.
Later Monday, Turkish Cypriot Prime Minister Ersin Tatar called on the Greek Cypriot authorities to pay heed to the joint statement issued by the political parties in the north.
He said that efforts by the Greek Cypriot authorities to restrict travel across the divide were wrong, particularly because the south had started allowing arrivals from countries which had far more COVID-19 cases than the north.
“It is a known fact that the Greek Cypriot administration is disturbed by the development of the economy of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. This feeling of discontent has been made public on numerous occasions by the Greek Cypriot press. It is now evident that the Greek Cypriot side is resorting to games to hurt our economy,” Tatar said.
He added that the Greek Cypriot side couldn’t change the Green Line Regulations on its own.
“The EU should immediately take the initiative to ensure the correct implementation of the Green Line Regulation and to put an end to the Greek Cypriot side’s practices,” he concluded.
TC side calls off health committee meeting after translation crisis
Yenidüzen, Kıbrıs Postası, Kıbrıs, Havadis, Diyalog, Avrupa
Internal Security, CBMs
OVERVIEW
The Turkish Cypriot side on Monday called off a meeting of the bicommunal technical committee on health for Tuesday after President Mustafa Akıncı’s office said their coronavirus epidemiological report was still not ready.
Despite assurances earlier in the day from the Turkish Cypriot Health Minister Ali Pilli that the report was ready to be handed over to the Greek Cypriot side at Tuesday’s meeting, the Office of the President said the report has not been translated.
The Turkish Cypriot coordinator of the bicommunal committees, Meltem Samani said they decided to convene the committee at a later date that both sides will decide.
Earlier in the day, Pilli told MPs in parliament that the 45-page epidemiological report from the north was ready and met all international standards.
The committee was set to convene to discuss the epidemiological situation on each side of the divide for the third time since the pandemic began.
So far, health experts from the north have failed to offer a proper report since meetings began, much to Akıncı’s annoyance.
“There is no excuse for this extremely serious and irresponsible stance,” he said in a statement on Sunday during which he blasted the government’s irresponsibility on the matter.
He said the failure to prepare the report not only reflected badly on Turkish Cypriot members of the technical committee on health but the entire Turkish Cypriot community, not only towards the Greek Cypriots but also in the eyes of the United Nations (UN).
However, in his response, Pilli claimed if Akıncı had asked for the report, he would have learnt it was ready before he made his statement.
Pilli added he was ‘disappointed’ by Akıncı’s claims that the failure to present the report reflected badly on the Turkish Cypriot community.
Later on Monday evening, Pilli, speaking on Bayrak, said that Akıncı’s earlier statement that the report had not been translated into English was not true.
He said the report was ready and that despite the delay it had been a well-prepared report.
Pilli also pointed out that the epidemiological data in the report showed that the north was in a much better place than the south.
“Our call for dialogue received an unfriendly response,” Çavuşoğlu says
Yenidüzen, Kıbrıs Postası, Kıbrıs, Havadis, Diyalog, Avrupa
Energy, External Security, Regional/Internationa Relations
OVERVIEW
“Maximalist and unilateral claims by Greece and Greek Cypriots violate the sovereign rights of both Turkey and Turkish Cypriots,” Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said in his column on Politico.
Published on June 13 2020, Çavuşoğlu reiterated Ankara’s readiness for dialogue.
“Nonetheless, Ankara’s repeated calls for dialogue were responded by increasing animosity against the north and Turkey,” Çavuşoğlu argued.
In his article, Çavuşoğlu referred to the joint press conference in Ankara on July 6 with Josep Borrell, the EU’s foreign policy chief, during which noted that the “Eastern Mediterranean was a key region for Europe” and was equally significant for Turkey which had the longest coastline in the region.
“Maximalist and unilateral claims by Greece and Greek Cypriots violate the sovereign rights of both Turkey and Turkish Cypriots. These are unacceptable. Time and again, we have expressed our readiness for a dialogue to find a just, equitable and peaceful solution. So have the Turkish Cypriots. Unfortunately, the response has been hostility to Turkey and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus,” Çavuşoğlu stressed.
He added that as a result Ankara and the north were left with no choice but to continue their drilling and exploration activities in the Eastern Mediterranean to protect Turkish national interests and the equal rights of Turkish Cypriots.
Meanwhile, Turkish Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hami Aksoy on Monday also emphasized that all parties are aware of Turkey’s stance on the issue of the Eastern Mediterranean and the first step toward resolving the issue is to establish a cooperation mechanism for the fair sharing of hydrocarbon resources between the two sides in Cyprus.
After a meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council on Monday in Brussels, Aksoy said that there should be a resumption of dialogue channels with Turkey and that the tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean can only end through the adoption of such approaches by all parties.
Aksoy stressed that Turkey had always been emphasizing on how there would not be a military solution to the crisis in Libya and said Turkey has consistently supported and contributed to all international efforts to revive the political process led and embraced by Libyans.
The Evkaf launches legal action for its properties in the SBA
Yenidüzen, Kıbrıs Postası, Kıbrıs, Havadis, Diyalog, Avrupa
Property, Territory
OVERVIEW
The Evkaf Administration of Cyprus has launched all the necessary legal action to protect its immovable properties within the Sovereign Base Areas (SBA) given the decision to implement the bilateral arrangement reached in 2014 between the Republic of Cyprus (RoC) and the United Kingdom (UK) to allow non-military areas to be developed, a statement issued by the Evkaf said on Monday.
It said the Evkaf in a letter sent to the British officials, had pointed out that the agreement will result in unlawful intervention on the properties of the Evkaf.
Calling on the British officials, who have a strong tradition of charity to be more sensitive, it is noted that the Evkaf owns immovable properties in the areas covered by the agreement.
“The Evkaf Administration is the proprietor of thousands of dunams (dönüm) of land in Akrotiri (Ağrotur) and Dhekelia (Dikelya) therefore anyone who wishes to carry out any development on the said property must first sign a lease agreement with the Evkaf and regularly deposit the lease amount,” the statement read and warned that “the contrary would result in legal action against the British authorities.”
The RoC and the British High Commissioner had signed the implementation agreement on June 9, 2020, to allow the development of certain areas inside the British SBA.
The agreement concerns 18 square kilometres of around 254 square kilometres – or three per cent of the island’s territory — retained by former colonial ruler Britain in Akrotiri in Limassol, and Dhekelia, Larnaca, as sovereign territory used as military bases.
The agreement affects three municipalities, Ypsonas, Kato Polemidia, and Dherynia and 16 communities, Asomatos, Trachoni, Kolossi, Erimi, Sotira, Paramali, Avdimou, Akrotiri, Frenaros, Avgorou, Afheritos, Pyla, Ormidhia, Xylotympou, Xylofagou and Achna, in the districts of Limassol, Larnaca and Famagusta.
Syrian migrant, who entered the North illegally, detained
Yenidüzen, Kıbrıs Postası, Kıbrıs, Havadis, Diyalog, Avrupa
Migration & Citizenship, Internal Security
OVERVIEW
A Syrian migrant, named Bilal Ali Man, was detained by Turkish Cypriot police on Monday for illegally entering the north from an unspecified location after having arrived by boat.
The police officer in charge of the investigation informed the court, which was held at the suspect’s absence until his PCR test results came back, that the suspect in his testimony said there were five others with him on board the boat.
No information was provided about the whereabouts of the other alleged five persons.
The court remanded the suspect for three more days until the police conclude its investigation.