Front Page Headlines
(Education) resumes eight months later with a strike
Eight months after the pandemic began, pupils and teachers returned to schools as education resumes phase by phase. The Turkish Cypriot Teachers’ Union (KTÖS) which did not agree with the decision taken by the Higher Committee for Infectious Diseases to allow non-rotational education for nursery, preschools and kindergartens staged a strike on the first day of school.
- Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu: “We need to decide what we are going to negotiate” – “We told them at Crans Montana that that was the last attempt to negotiate a federal settlement which was why we should not waste the opportunity. I told them once and this view was repeated by TRNC President Mustafa Akıncı,” said Çavuşoğlu.
Pneumonia vaccines arrived, all eyes on the flu vaccine
Flu has become a feared illness during the Covid-19 pandemic however seasonal flu vaccines are yet to arrive in the north. But there is good news on the pneumonia vaccine.
- “Using Turkey as an election material is not acceptable” – Turkish Embassy said, “it is not possible to comprehend reflecting Turkey’s immense efforts to overcome economic and health problems in the north due to the pandemic as interference in the upcoming elections.”
- “We have entered a period in which both Turkey and the TRNC will work closer” – Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said and added that Turkey will continue to support the Turkish Cypriots.
“They will find me before them”
The interference in the presidential elections continues to be the main agenda in the north. Republican Turkish Party (CTP) leader and presidential candidate Tufan Erhürman made harsh remarks on the issue. “Even the slightest talk of interference is interference in the elections,” Erhürman said, adding that “this is a matter of pride. We will not even allow any debates on the Turkish Cypriot political will.”
- Threats to Havadis, continuing with interference – Turkish Ambassador has taken the election interference to a new dimension. The embassy, in a statement, pointed the finger at one candidate although it was mentioned by all the candidates, and threaten to file a lawsuit against Havadis.
- “Even if we were to negotiate, it won’t be for federation” – Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu gave messages on the Cyprus issue and the federation while speaking to the Anatolian News Agency.
“This is unacceptable”
The Turkish Embassy said that the claims that Ankara was interfering in the elections were false. The Turkish Embassy in Nicosia reacted to claims that the National Unity Party (UBP) leader and Prime Minister Ersin Tatar’s visit to Ankara was interference with the elections in the country. He said that there could be no explanation about the attempts to reflect the extraordinary effort by the Republic of Turkey to address the economic recession in the TRNC due to the pandemic and to allow the smooth running of operations because of the election bans. Legal action will be taken against those who are making these claims.
- Important development – The Turkish Defence Ministry announced that Turkish and Greek military delegations have agreed on “general principles” in NATO talks.
NO!
No approval for the public referendum on the constitutional amendments, which will be held simultaneously with the presidential election on October 11. Former senior judge Tacan Reynar is revealing the internal aspects of the current situation. “You are responsible for the current situation in the courts and you cannot improve the situation by increasing the number of judges,” Reynar said.
- The (Turkish) Embassy is going to file a lawsuit against a newspaper.
Main News
Tatar speaks to SRSG Spehar
Yenidüzen, Kıbrıs, Havadis, Diyalog, Avrupa
Negotiations Process, Regional/International Relations
OVERVIEW
“The UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres should take the National Unity Party’s (UBP) and the government’s stance on the Cyprus problem before launching any new initiatives,” the Turkish Prime Minister Ersin Tatar said on Thursday.
During his online conversation with the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative to Cyprus, Elizabeth Spehar on Thursday, Tatar reiterated that alternative solution models should be considered when a new round of negotiations commences.
He said that the UBP’s and the government’s stance on the Cyprus Issue was clear and that this should be taken into consideration before any new initiative was undertaken.
The UN Special Representative for her part said that the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was waiting for the outcome of the October 11 elections to launch a new effort on the Cyprus Problem.
Çavuşoğlu: “Greece and GC side have made the EU their hostage”
Yenidüzen, Kıbrıs, Havadis, Diyalog, Avrupa
Negotiations Process, Regional/International Relations
OVERVIEW
“Turkey favoured resolving the on-going disputes over the Eastern Mediterranean’s political and economic potential on an equitable basis,” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said.
Speaking during the opening of the Turkish parliament’s new legislative session, Erdoğan argued that the EU had been rendered ineffective by some of the member states.
“The bloc was enslaved by Greece and the Greek Cypriot administration,” he argued and pointed out that not a single crisis in the region had so far been solved with the EU’s involvement.
“On the contrary, every crisis in which the Union intervened has escalated with new dimensions,” Erdoğan concluded.
“Greece and the Greek Cypriot Administration have made the EU their hostage,” Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said on Wednesday.
Speaking to the Anatolian News Agency’s Editor’s Desk, he added that South Cyprus was threatening to veto sanctions on Belarus if there are none imposed on Turkey.
Çavuşoğlu, speaking ahead of the EU Council meeting on Thursday and Friday, where sanctions on both Turkey and Belarus are on the table, said Ankara was just trying to defend its rights in the region.
He also questioned the reasoning behind the Greek Cypriot side’s actions and threats directed at the EU. He also argued that the Greek Cypriot side refuses to support the call for sanctions on Belarus without debating whether right or wrong unless there are sanctions imposed on Turkey.
“What does the decision on Belarus have to do with the Eastern Mediterranean?” Çavuşoğlu asked.
“In every EU policy, there is unity in anti-Turkism. Some members are trying to hold Turkey hostage in relations with the EU such as Greece and the Greek Cypriot Administration but we are also trying to defend our rights and those of the Turkish Cypriots,” Çavuşoğlu said.
Despite the difficulties, he underlined Turkey had never set aside the possibility of diplomacy even though Greece and the Greek Cypriot side had always missed the opportunity presented to them.
Turning to developments in the Eastern Mediterranean, Çavuşoğlu reiterated Turkey’s proposal for a regional conference to find a solution.
A list of points on which compromise could be easily reached was being prepared with a view to holding a wider conference on the region, but he said “all parties from Cyprus”, would have to be there either formally or informally. “But if the Turkish Cypriot side does not participate, it is not right for the Greek Cypriot side to participate either,” he said.
“We have no designs on the rights of others, but neither will we let our rights be usurped,” Çavuşoğlu stressed.
Çavuşoğlu said the issue of hydrocarbon sharing was simple and once resolved fifty-one per cent of the Eastern Mediterranean’s problem would be solved.
There have been some tensions as a result of Turkey’s “determined steps” in the Eastern Mediterranean, Çavuşoğlu said, adding that Turkey was trying to defend its rights and the rights of the Turkish Cypriot people.
Referring to US State of Secretary Mike Pompeo’s visit last week to the South Cyrus, and the decision to lift the arms embargo imposed on the Greek Cypriot side, Çavuşoğlu said: “The US should not violate its neutrality. It’s not right for them to lift the embargo, even if it is limited. This violates its neutrality.”
Çavuşoğlu said there was a “positive atmosphere” for discussions on the Eastern Mediterranean as Greece agreed to restart exploratory talks with Turkey.
Regarding efforts to settle the Cyprus Problem, Çavuşoğlu repeated his view it was unrealistic to expect to reach a federal settlement in Cyprus.
“We want to be realistic. It will not be possible to reach a federal settlement even if we negotiate for a hundred, a thousand years,” he said.
The Turkish Foreign Minister pointed out that all efforts to reach a federal settlement on the island had failed as a result of the Greek Cypriot side’s stance.
He explained that a federal settlement required sharing power, something he added, the Greek Cypriot side was reluctant to do.
“If they [Greek Cypriots] wanted to share with us they would have done so on the issue of hydrocarbons. Did they? No, they didn’t. That is what we need to be realistic,” he said.
Çavuşoğlu said that the time had come to discuss other alternatives for Cyprus, pointing out that Turkish Cypriots were being punished when efforts to reach a solution failed.
He added that it was important to decide what to negotiate before any new process could begin.
Asked what will be Turkey’s message to the Turkish Cypriots ahead of the elections, Çavuşoğlu underlined Turkey will continue to support the north.
“There will be elections on October 11 in which the political will of the Turkish Cypriots is going to be reflected in the ballot boxes…We are entering a period in which Turkey and the TRNC would have to work in harmony and closer than before due to the developments in the Eastern Mediterranean and to possibly find a solution on the island in the coming future,” Çavuşoğlu concluded.
KEY ACTORS
Erdoğan (Turkey)
>> Turkey favoured resolving the on-going disputes over the East Med.’s political & economic potential on an equitable basis.
>> The EU had been rendered ineffective by some of the member states.
>> The bloc was enslaved by Greece & the GC administration.
>> Not a single crisis in the region had so far been solved with the EU’s involvement.
>> Every crisis in which the Union intervened has escalated with new dimensions.
Çavuşoğlu (Turkey)
>> Greece & the GC Administration have made the EU their hostage.
>> South Cyprus was threatening to veto sanctions on Belarus if there are none imposed on Turkey.
>> Ankara was just trying to defend its rights in the region.
>> The GC side refuses to support the call for sanctions on Belarus without debating whether right or wrong unless there are sanctions imposed on Turkey.
>> What does the decision on Belarus have to do with the East Med?
>> In every EU policy, there is unity in anti-Turkism.
>> Turkey had never set aside the possibility of diplomacy even though Greece and the GC side had always missed the opportunity presented to them.
>> A list of points on which compromise could be easily reached was being prepared with a view to holding a wider conference on the region.
>> All parties from Cyprus would have to be there either formally or informally.
>> If the TC side does not participate, it is not right for the GC side to participate either.
>> Ankara has no designs on the rights of others, but neither will we let our rights be usurped.
>> The issue of hydrocarbon sharing was simple.
>> Once resolved fifty-one per cent of the East Med’s problem would be solved.
>> There have been some tensions as a result of Turkey’s “determined steps” in the East Med.
>> Turkey was trying to defend its rights and the rights of the TC people.
>> The US should not violate its neutrality.
>> It’s not right for the US to lift the arms embargo on the GC side, even if it is limited.
>> There was a “positive atmosphere” for discussions on the East Med. as Greece agreed to restart exploratory talks with Turkey.
>> Unrealistic to expect a federal settlement in Cyprus as GCs are reluctant to share power with TC.
>> Ankara has no time to waste. Alternatives need to be discussed at the negotiations.
>> Necessary to decide what to negotiate before a new process can begin.
>> Turkey will continue to support the north.
>> Entering a period in which Turkey & the north would have to work in harmony & closer than before due to the developments in the East Med. & to possibly find a solution on the island in the coming future.
Greece & Turkey making progress in NATO talks
Yenidüzen, Kıbrıs, Havadis, Diyalog, Avrupa
Energy, External Security, Regional/International Relations
OVERVIEW
“A bilateral military de-confliction mechanism between Greece and Turkey for the Eastern Mediterranean disputes has been established,” NATO said on Thursday.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said in a statement he welcomed the development and added that the de-confliction mechanism was achieved through the constructive engagement of Greece and Turkey.
“This safety mechanism can help to create the space for diplomatic efforts to address the underlying dispute, and we stand ready to develop it further. I will remain in close contact with both Allies,” Stoltenberg said.
The mechanism is designed to reduce the risk of incidents and accidents in the Eastern Mediterranean and includes the creation of a hotline between Greece and Turkey to facilitate de-confliction at sea or in the air,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Turkish Ministry of Defence also confirmed the development and said Turkish and Greek military delegations have agreed on “general principles” in NATO talks.
Ankara refutes claims it is interfering in elections in the north
Diyalog
Internal Security, Governance and Power Sharing, Regional/International Relations
OVERVIEW
The Turkish embassy in the north issued a statement on Thursday refuting claims made by President Mustafa Akıncı and some of the other presidential candidates that Ankara was interfering in the elections in the north.
Although the claims had been made by most of the presidential candidates attending Tuesday night’s televised debate on Genç TV, the embassy’s statement singled out Akıncı.
It was his remarks which had been picked up by some of the dailies, making front-page headlines in Havadis and Afrika on Thursday.
The incumbent president claimed that Ankara was working hard to make sure he was not elected, alleging that members of Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and the Nationalist Democracy Party (MDP) were touring villages, campaigning against him.
Akıncı and the other candidates had also described Turkish Cypriot Prime Minister Ersin Tatar’s sudden and unannounced visit to Ankara on Tuesday during which he met with Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay as Ankara’s attempt to influence the elections.
Tatar had come under harsh criticism for carrying out the surprise visit, ditching the first televised debate of the presidential candidates at the last minute.
He was accused by his rivals of acting like a coward and disrespecting the Turkish Cypriot community’s will.
A statement issued by the embassy, which refrained from openly naming Akıncı, said that the claim made by one of the candidates as part of an election strategy focused on creating antagonistic feelings towards Turkey.
It said that Turkey will never allow being exploited for election purposes.
“Attempts to reflect the extraordinary efforts made by the Republic of Turkey to address the economic recession in the TRNC and the problems experienced in the health sector due to the pandemic as well as to allow the smooth running of operations during a period where election bans are in place cannot be explained in any way. Legal action will be taken against those who are making these claims,” the statement read.
It added that it was difficult to understand how contributions made by Turkey, whether it is the construction of a pandemic hospital or the non-stop work to repair the pipeline supplying water to the north could be perceived as interference in the Turkish Cypriot elections.
“We leave it up to the Turkish Cypriot people to evaluate what is what. The Republic of Turkey will continue to respect the rights and will of the Turkish Cypriot people,” the statement concluded.