GCC Press Review 9 Oct 2020

Front Page Headlines

Politis

He entered Famagusta like a thief

Tatar opened the road yesterday to the town after 46 years. Ersin Tatar, who arrived with his campaign bus, walked on the Famagusta beach surrounded by his followers. Shocking images from the fenced town with the abandoned buildings showing the true dimensions of pain and Varosha’s abandonment. Today discussion at the UN Security Council on the Republic of Cyprus’ complaint on Famagusta while moves are being made at EU level.

  • Give Varosha back – (Protest) outside their town
  • Budget 2021: Tight budget for the state payroll

Phileleftheros

Third Attila in Varosha

They entered Famagusta with Turkish flags and fanfare. The real estate agents went there too. Pompous tour by Tatar with his followers.

  • Ankara says it is not violating any resolutions – Race at the Security Council for a Presidential Declaration. More will follow, Mevlut Cavusoglu announced. Different approaches by the Germans Merkel and Weber. A resolution condemning the move before parliament.
  • USA: Jihadi of Cypriot extraction in court
  • Today the sentences of the Golden Dawn members will be announced

Haravgi

Mobilisation so that Varosha is not lost

  • Probe in Cyprus too on Golden Dawn, ELAM (Calls by AKEL, Greens)
  • ‘Golden’ passports to the entire harem – Express passports for 18 people linked with the casino company. Penalty by the EU for the VAT trick. New revelations for Anastasiades’ Saudi friend with the jet. They are comparing us to Ghana… Full block for probe by the Auditor-general.

Cyprus Mail

Fury and angst as Varosha is opened

Video footage showed people walking along a street within the fenced area.

Alithia

Shock over Famagusta

Varosha: Sorrow over the abandonment, Dherynia: Fury over the injustice. Images from the silent, destroyed town brought back bitter memories. They spoiled Tatar’s ‘party’, they did not let him make statements and a fiesta. Anastasiades: The latest provocation will not stop us from going to talks.

  • AKEL-Greens: They are calling on the Attorney-general to launch a probe into ELAM and Golden Dawn
  • Golden Dawn: Today is the decision on the sentences to those found guilty
  • Revelations: Turkish F-16s in an Azerbaijan airport  

Main News

Disappointment and anger over opening of Varosha coastal area

Alithia, Cyprus Mail, Haravgi, Phileleftheros, Politis
Territory, Property, Human Rights, Negotiations Process, Regional/ International Relations, EU Matters

OVERVIEW

The opening on Thursday of part of the coastal area of the fenced town of Varosha is main item in all dailies on Friday.

The government condemned the move and said it has launched diplomatic moves within UN and EU against Turkey’s and the breakaway regime’s illegal move.

The dailies report that President Nicos Anastasiades said this move by Turkey and the occupation regime was an illegal act and a flagrant violation of international law and the UN Security Council resolutions 550 (1984) and 789 (1992).

“The Republic of Cyprus has not and will not be inactive,” he said, adding he has already protested against these violations to the Security Council and its five permanent members, to the UN Secretary-General, to the heads of the EU institutions, to the leaders of the EU member states, as well as to all international fora in which the Republic of Cyprus participates.

He also called on Turkey and the occupation regime to comply with the decisions of the Security Council and the UN resolutions, as well as with everything included in the recent European Council Conclusions, and terminate “the unilateral illegal acts, in order to allow a new initiative by the UNSG to take place with the aim to find a permanent solution to the Cyprus problem, within the framework of everything that has been agreed and are set out by a number of resolutions of the UN and decisions by the UN SC, as well as within the framework of the European principles and values.”

Spokesperson of the UN peacekeeping force in Cyprus (UNFICYP), Aleem Siddique, said on Thursday they are closely monitoring developments.

The dailies also report that the UN Security Council is to discuss the matter on Friday afternoon after the appeal by the Republic of Cyprus.
Anastasiades is to also hold on Tuesday a telephone contact with UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

Politis reports that it is expected that the UNSC will reaffirm resolutions 550 and 789 and issue a call on avoidance of actions that may torpedo the climate ahead of the UN Secretary-general’s efforts for the restart of the talks on the Cyprus problem.

Phileleftheros reports that Nicosia focuses on getting a statement from the SC’s presidency on the issue which will send strong messages to Turkey. The daily explained that a presidential statement means that all the Security Council members back its content, which makes the position of the agency even more powerful.

The dailies report that European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis also discussed the issue during a scheduled videoconference on Thursday morning.

In a joint statement, Mitsotakis and von der Leyen referred to “disturbing developments” related to Varosha and reiterated that full respect of UN Security Council Resolutions remains essential. They expressed their resolve to act on the basis of the European Council conclusions of October 2, reiterating that Turkey has to undertake the necessary steps to reduce the tensions in the region, and to engage in a constructive dialogue with Greece, Cyprus and the EU.

European Commission and the EU’s diplomatic service (EEAS) spokesman Peter Stano said on Thursday that the member states are “watching, evaluating and will be taking appropriate decisions” on Turkey, following recent developments in the eastern Mediterranean, including a new naval exercise with live fire, south of the Greek island of Skyros.

Stano told the Cyprus News Agency that an EU statement on Tuesday evening on Varosha stands. What the EU expects when it comes to de-escalations in the eastern Mediterranean, he said, “is creating conditions and engage in a constructive positive dialogue.”

Anastasiades also briefed Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou who expressed her solidarity to the city’s legitimate inhabitants and the Cypriot people as a whole, as well as her support to Anastasiades’ and the government’s efforts to end the new violation of the international law.
 
Sakellaropoulou told Anastasiades she would raise the issue during her contacts in Italy on Friday.

The European Peoples Party (EPP) group in the European Parliament and its leader Manfred Weber called on Turkey to comply with UN Security Council resolutions and return Varosha to its lawful inhabitants under UN administration. He also said this will undermine the prospects of a solution for the Cyprus problem.

The European United Left too condemned the move which said was a gross violation of the relevant UN Security Council resolutions, and a divisive one. The group urged Ankara to respect the Berlin agreement of November 2019 and to engage in the peace process concretely, to accept that negotiations shall resume from where things were left off at Crans-Montana and enter the process in a spirit of good faith to reach a comprehensive solution.

The dailies also commented on TC ‘prime minister’ Ersin Tatar’s arrival in the area.

Politis reports that Tatar set an election circus in Varosha and that he metred Famagusta like a thief.

The daily reports that thousands of Famagusta refugees but also all sane Cypriots watched yesterday a small part of the fence area of Famagusta used for Tatar’s election aspirations with Ankara’s blessings.

The daily also reported that the images seen of the abandoned Varosha were disheartening since they revealed the extent of the impact of the war and of the time that has passed on the buildings.

Phileleftheros, under the headline, Third Attila in Varosha, reports that the fenced area heard again the conqueror’s stomping. Famagusta become the spoils of Turkey’s show of power of Tatar who, accompanied by followers holding Turkish flags and his wife, wandered yesterday afternoon in the area which remained closed for 46 years. The daily also reports that Turkish settlers and TCs wrapped in Turkish flags were waiting for the opening of the gate to the fenced area.

Alithia reports that Tatar had prepared an election fiesta but his plans were flanked by the supreme elections council that banned all ceremonies in and around the Varosha area.

Phileleftheros, in another article, reports on the opposing views of two Germans; Chancellor Angela Merkel who did not want sanctions on Turkey during the EU leaders’ summit last week and even kept a low profile on the Famagusta issue and EPP’s Weber who calls for condemnation of Turkey on the Varosha issue. The daily also cites German paper Süddeutsche Zeitung that reported that Merkel, who recently had a teleconference with Erdogan, should feel offended by the opening of Varosha.

KEY ACTORS
Anastasiades
>>
Condemns the extension of the use of the Varosha beach as an illegal act & a flagrant violation of international law and UNSC resolutions & warns that he RoC will not stand idly by.
>> Calls on Turkey & the occupation regime to comply with the UN decisions & resolutions & the latest EUCO conclusions, and terminate its unilateral illegal acts to allow a new initiative by the UNSG to take place for a permanent solution to the Cyprob.

Siddique (UNFICYP spokesperson)
>> UNFICYP are closely monitoring developments in Varosha.

Mitsotakis (Greece), von der Leyen (European Commission)
>>
Find the latest move on Varosha as disturbing developments & call for full respect of UNSC resolutions.
>> Ready to act based on last week’s EUCO conclusions & recall that Turkey has to undertake the necessary steps to reduce the tensions in the region, and to engage in a constructive dialogue with Greece, Cyprus and the EU.

Stano (EEAS spokesperson)
>>
EU is watching, evaluating and will be taking appropriate decisions on Turkey, following recent developments in the East Med.
>> The EU wants de-escalations in the East Med & expects conducive conditions for and engagement in a constructive, positive dialogue.

Weber (EPP)
>>
 Call on Turkey to comply with UNSC resolutions & return Varosha to its lawful inhabitants under UN administration.
>> Opening Varosha undermines the prospects of a Cyprob solution.

GUE/NGL
>>
Opening Varosha is a gross violation of the relevant UNSC resolutions & a divisive one.
>> Call on Ankara to respect the Berlin agreement, engage in the peace process concretely, accept that negotiations shall resume from where things were left off at Crans-Montana & enter the process in a spirit of good faith to reach a comprehensive solution.


Famagusta refugees protest the opening of Varosha beach area

Alithia, Cyprus Mail, Haravgi, Phileleftheros, Politis
Territory, Property, Human Rights, Negotiations Process, External Security, EU Matters, Regional/International Relations

OVERVIEW

The dailies report on the demonstration held on Thursday afternoon by Famagusta municipality at the Dherynia crossing in protest of the opening of part of the Varosha fenced area.

Famagusta mayor Simos Ioannou called for unity. Ioannou linked the opening of part of Varosha’s beach with the elections in the north and Turkey’s wish to help Tatar win them so that the foundations of the talks are gone.

Without the Cyprob talks, Famagusta will be lost, he said, adding that by losing the fenced area all other Famagusta areas, that would be returned under GC administration, will be lost as well as Morphou and everything else.

He also said that they should not rely on foreign powers because everyone has their own interests.

Government spokesman Kyriacos Kousios was also present as well as party leaders, MPs, and mayors of the free Famagusta areas.

Alithia reports that ruling DISY leader Averof Neophytou spoke of mistakes made by everyone over the years. He also said everyone should make a ‘mea culpa’. “Let us unite so that we do not allow the loss of half of our homeland, our Famagusta,” he said.

He said the only way to send out the right message to the international community is to always declare readiness to return to the negotiations table for a solution based on the agreed framework.

AKEL leader Andros Kyprianou reiterated the decisions of the National Council, which referred to reporting Turkey to the UN, EU and other international fora and taking initiative for the restart of substantive talks.

According to Phileleftheros, protesters expressed their disappointment by the political leadership and parties over the way they handled things. Some shouted in favour of the talks, others suggested marching to the occupied Famagusta area and others accused Anastasiades of leaving from the talks at Crans-Montana and of avoiding to engage in the procedure for the continuation of the talks.

Many protesters also expressed disappointment over the small number of participants at the demonstration as only around 800 people gathered whose majority was over 50, the daily reported.

Politis reports that protesters called for the immediate start of the talks, shouted slogans in favour of solution, and held banners calling on Erdogan to keep his hands, off Famagusta.

Haravgi on the other hand reports that a sea of people including children and young people protested the latest developments.

Phileleftheros, in another article, records the concerns of Strovilia residents over the constant advancement of the Turkish army positions in the buffer zone without any reaction by the government, the UN or the British bases.

Famers told the daily that there has been an expansion of the occupied villages of Engomi and Stylli. Farms, factories and housing areas in Engomi especially have stretched the boundaries of the occupied village so much that it is now les than a kilometre from the bases’ boundary.  

In the Strovilia area, locals said that TCs have gradually advanced in the buffer zone, under the supervision of the Turkish military, and now cultivate GC land that was left unattended by its owners because that area was deemed to be part of the buffer zone. They said greenhouses were erected but again, there was no reaction by the government or the UN.

They also said that the presence of many animal farms and a dumpster in the north part in their area creates a suffocating atmosphere.

Things have led to a point where the Turkish soldiers patrol the Strovilia buffer zone side by side the UN personnel as if they jointly assumed the supervision of the buffer zone, the daily reported.


Former judge wants state compensate refugees for loss of property

Cyprus Mail, Haravgi
Property, Human Rights

OVERVIEW

The dailies report that former supreme court judge Demetrios Hadjihambis filed a petition with the administrative court seeking a ruling that the state is responsible for compensating refugees for financial losses sustained since the 1974 invasion and subsequent division of the island.

The petition is founded on the position that in the event of a national disaster, like the 1974 invasion, the burden must be shared by the entire population, not only by those specifically suffering loss.

Hadjihambis, 73, estimates that damages for loss of use of the property he owns in Ayios Memnonas, Famagusta, run in the several hundreds of thousands. He said his motive is not compensation per se, but a recognition of the state’s obligation and its response to its longstanding omission to ensure an equal distribution of the burdens created by the occupation. He argued that the state’s obligation to ensure the protection of fundamental human rights – the right of property in this case, likewise stems from the European Convention on Human Rights and the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union.

Arguing that properties in the government-controlled areas had seen a rise in value following the invasion, Hadjihambis said there was clear discrimination against the owners of occupied properties, which favoured owners in the south.

The occupation of part of the territory of the Republic since 1974 constitutes public burden, which has since been shouldered by the owners of the occupied properties when it should have been equally distributed among all citizens of the Republic, he said.


GC living in north arrested at Pergamos for drugs case in RoC

Αlithia, Haravgi, Phileleftheros
External Security, Internal Security, CBMs

OVERVIEW

According to the dailies the bases police said yesterday they arrested on Sunday a GC man who was wanted by the Cyprus police on multiple charges, as soon as he crossed from the north to the south at Pergamos.

The man was wanted since April last year on charges of conspiracy to commit a felony, the illegal import, supply and possession drugs and money laundering. SBA Police officers, working alongside the CyPol Drugs Squad and Bases Customs officials, had secured intelligence that the man was in hiding in the north and would only cross back into the south briefly to renew his visa when it expired, the British Bases  said.

Dhekelia’s Deputy Divisional Commander, Superintendent Andreas Pitsillides said they had gathered intelligence that the man was due to cross back into the south as his visa in the north was due to expire. “As a result, we stationed officers at the Pergamos crossing point for a few days until he was discovered.”

“The man would literally cross over, get his visa renewed and then return to the north, so we needed to be quick to make the arrest and thankfully it all went according to plan,” he said.

He was taken to the SBA court and was officially handed over to Cyprus police.

Pitsillides said this was a great example of the bases authorities working successfully alongside the Cyprus police.


Parties want AG probe Golden Dawn, ELAM activity in Cyprus

Alithia, Cyprus Mail, Haravgi, Politis
Internal Security, Human Rights

OVERVIEW

The papers report that main opposition AKEL and the Greens on Thursday asked Attorney-general Giorgos Savvides to investigate whether Greece’s far-right Golden Dawn had committed any crimes in Cyprus after a Greek court declared them a criminal group.

Both parties sent Savvides letters calling for a probe citing Cyprus’ ELAM’s closes ties with Golden Dawn.

AKEL leader Andros Kyprianou said in his letter there had been dozens of public admissions regarding the Golden Dawn’s links and cooperation with ELAM “and we wonder whether there are reasons for the legal service to investigate anew, the possibility of them committing criminal offences in Cyprus too.”

Kyprianou said this was also provided for in a resolution passed by parliament, which called on the authorities to follow the trial and carry out an investigation when appropriate.

The Greens’ leader Charalambos Theopemptou, in his letter, asked Savvides to investigate whether ELAM is Golden Dawn’s branch in Cyprus.

Politis reported that the AKEL leader had said in the past that he had reported ELAM but that former Attorney-general Costas Clerides, despite he had found that offences had been carried out, had decided not to prosecute.

Cyprus Mail reports that ELAM’s statement on Wednesday that it has no ties with the Greek party anymore drew ridicule on social media, with users posting photos of ELAM chairman Christos Christou during his stint as Golden Dawn leader Nikos Mihaloliakos’ bodyguard, as well as interviews in which he was adamant regarding the links to the now criminal organisation.

“We are Cyprus’ Golden Dawn,” Christou had said. The difference in name is attributed to the Cypriot interior ministry’s refusal to register them under the name Golden Dawn, the paper reported.


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