Front Page Headlines
Syllouris’ resignation is a one-way street
A corruption striptease from Al Jazeera starring the House President and an AKEL MP. Unbelievable dialogues on bypassing procedures and casting shadows on heads of parliaments of foreign countries who are presented as associates in securing passports for crooks. Unconvincing excuses by those involved. They threaten to take legal action against Al Jazeera without refuting a single word from the Arab network’s report. The government and parties, bar the Greens that called for resignation, are mumbling. Complaint by Syllouris and (AKEL MP) Giovani on possible espionage by ΑΙ Jazeera to serve Turkey’s interests!
- Turkey-EU: Berlin shuns Ankara
- Occupied areas: Fermentations on the winner of the ‘elections’
- Arrests of hooded men: ‘Machismo’ at a closed crossing
New bomb on the passports issue
Hidden cameras of Al Jazeera trapped the House president, an MP and a lawyer. Complaints to the police and the Attorney-general by the ‘trapped’.
- The EU foreign ministers were briefed on Ankara – It is being accused of raising tensions but it continues unhindered.
- The Barbaros is somewhere else, the (drilling) target elsewhere – Turkey is escalating tensions and is looking for gas reserves. The attempts to discover something at greater depth did not pay off.
- Strong possibility they will back Akinci – The Republican Turkish Party (CTP) is deciding today with federation as their criterion.
- Instead of setting a dialogue date (with Athens), it sent them the Oruc Reis
- Arrests have started on the Dherynia incident
- Instead of her son, she buried and cried over someone else in 1974
Corruption needs to be stamped out
AKEL is calling for full investigation and for responsibilities to be attributed as regards the new report by Al Jazeera on what appears to be House President Demetris Syllouris and MP Christakis Giovanis talking with persons who presented themselves as mediators of foreign investors who want to get ‘golden passports’.
- The fascist elements gave Tatar an opportunity
- Tough and tight battle between Tatar and Akinci
- Turkey is escalating tensions again
- No mitigating factors for the leadership team of Golden Dawn who were found guilty
New measures in Nicosia, Limassol
Forty-one new cases significant number linked to Limassol general hospital.
- Two arrests after Dherynia demo, second planned
- House president denies wrongdoing in latest AI Jazeera passport claims
Erhurman backs Akinci but the battle is tight
Occupied areas: Next Sunday’s ‘elections’. Today CTP is announcing its decision but Erhurman revealed: ‘We will back the candidate who is in favour of the federation’.
- Greece: New alert from the Oruc Reis’ return
- Tragic mistake: They buried in Assia the wrong missing person
- Two arrests on the incident at the Dherynia crossing
Main News
EU FMs call on Ankara to reverse Varosha decision
Alithia, Cyprus Mail, Haravgi, Phileleftheros, Politis
EU Matters, Energy, Territory, Regional/International Relations, Negotiations Process
OVERVIEW
The dailies report that the EU foreign ministers called for the reversal of the decision to open Varosha while stressed that the relaunch of the Cyprus settlement talks should start as soon as possible.
The bloc also condemned Turkey’s latest Navtex concerning seismic surveys off Greece, which is deeded as counterproductive given the two countries were expected to enter a dialogue on their disputed maritime zones.
EU High Representative on Foreign Policy Josep Borrell said on Monday following the EU Foreign Affairs Council (FAC) meeting, that they had a discussion and were briefed by the ministers of Greece and Cyprus about the last events on Varosha and the most recent Navtex issued by Turkey.
He said the council considers that the reopening of Varosha undermines mutual trust and stressed that such actions increase tensions and should be reversed. It is of vital importance that the UN led efforts for the Cyprus settlement will be relaunched as soon as possible, he said.
Borell said that as soon as the elections procedure in the north is completed, the EU will support the UN to retake the Cyprus settlement. Turkey, he said, needs to engage actively in finding solutions and not to engage in negative behaviour.
As regards the latest Navtex announcement by Turkey he said this was also regrettable. “This will lead to new tensions instead of contributing to de-escalation efforts, that we were calling for at the last EUCO.” We want to pursue calling for de-escalation, he said.
Politis also reports that Germany has shunned Turkey with German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas visiting Athens and Nicosia but not Ankara. Maas is expected to Cyprus on Tuesday. He will meet Foreign Minister Nikos Christodoulides and President Nicos Anastasiades.
The dailies also report that just after the meeting of the Greek and Turkish foreign ministers and in anticipation of the start of dialogue between the two countries, Ankara sent the Oruc Reis again off Kastellorizo which prompted Athens’ reaction.
Greece urged Turkey to immediately recall the new Navtex issued on Sunday for the Oruc Reis valid through to October 22, and issued its own counter Navtex.
Ankara had withdrawn the same vessel last month to “allow for diplomacy” before an EU summit at which Cyprus pushed for sanctions against Turkey.
The Greek foreign ministry described the development as a “major escalation” and a “direct threat to peace in the region”.
“The new Turkish Navtex on surveys south of Kastellorizo within the Greek continental shelf, at a distance of just 6.5 nautical miles from Greek shores, is a major escalation,” the foreign ministry said. The move, after Ankara committed to proposing a date for exploratory talks, showed Turkey is “unreliable” and “does not truly want a dialogue,” it said.
Cyprus Mail reports that President Nicos Anastasiades condemned on Monday Turkey’s latest illegal actions towards Cyprus and Greece arguing that this should make the island’s European partners reassess their belief that appeasing Turkey will make it end its provocations. There is no doubt that they Turkey’s actions should prompt a radical rethink on the part of Europeans who still believe that the Turkish provocations will gradually subside through appeasement, he said, the daily reports.
Phileleftheros, in another article, reports that the seismographic research survey ship Barbaros’ location is nowhere near the areas that Turkey has illegally reserved from October 10 until November 9 in Cyprus’ offshore blocks 6 and 7.
More than two days after its arrival in an area west of Cyprus, the vessel has been sailing in a north-south direction and vice versa without entering at all in the reserved area. It is expected that the Barbaros will first move within the block 7 area and from there it will start seismic surveys. It all points out that the area selected for additional seismic surveys is not unrelated to the drilling between last April and September by the Yavuz in block 6 and geological findings there, the daily reports. Turkey had several indications during the drilling that it would discover there a deposit, which was confirmed also by statements of Turkish officials. Information, however, indicates that traces of hydrocarbons were found and drilling efforts to a greater depth in hopes of discovering something more did not bear fruit, the paper reported.
KEY ACTORS
Borell (FAC)
>> Calls on Turkey to reverse its decision on Varosha which undermines mutual trust & increases tensions.
>> The EU is ready to assist UN efforts for the relaunch of the Cyprob talks as soon as possible & calls on Turkey to actively engage actively in finding solutions & avoid negative behaviour.
>> Turkey’s latest Navtex is regrettable & leads to new tensions instead of contributing to de-escalation efforts.
Greece (MFA)
>> Turkey’s latest Navtex within the Greek continental shelf & very close to Greek shores is a major escalation, a direct threat to peace in the region & proof that Ankara is unreliable and does not truly want a dialogue.
Anastasiades
>> Turkey’s latest moves that affect both Cyprus & Greece, should make the rest of the EU members radically rethink their position that appeasing Ankara will gradually make it stop.
Two arrests, more pending on Dherynia crossing vandalism
Alithia, Cyprus Mail, Haravgi, Phileleftheros, Politis
Internal Security
OVERVIEW
Two people were arrested on Monday in connection with the protest at the Dherynia crossing on Sunday evening that led to property damage and a fire, the dailies report.
President Nicos Anastasiades, while acknowledging the anger caused by the partial opening of Varosha last week, condemned the violent nature of the protest and urged calm and restraint.
He said that such actions not only will they not contribute to the end of the occupation and the prevention of Ankara’s plans, but on the contrary, they will expedite and justify the hitherto unfounded allegations made by Turkey. The incident was also condemned by parties and the municipality of Dherynia which spoke of ‘vandalism’ and requested the reinforcement of the local police station and the crossing.
Around 250 people, dressed in black and donning black masks, some armed with bats and sticks breached the Dherynia checkpoint on Sunday evening. Holding Greek flags, the protesters were shouting slogans such as ‘Cyprus is Greek’ and ‘The Turks are murderers’. A fire that broke out in the Dherynia buffer zone is believed to have been caused by the flares the group had hurled. The group dispersed after 15 to 20 minutes when police arrived.
Two men aged 27 and 25 were arrested on Monday while two more are sought. All four of them are from the Famagusta district. Police did not rule out more arrests.
The dailies also report that that a counter-protest took place in the north side of the same crossing with around 100 people singing nationalist slogans.
Haravgi reports that the protest was carried out by ELAM members and supporters from Xylofagou and Sotira while among them were many members of ‘Mahites’ (Fighters), a group of Anorthosis FC followers. The daily also reports that the incident gave an opportunity to Ersin Tatar to use it for his election campaign referring to a group of GC fanatics.
Politis reports of ‘machismo’ at a closed crossing.
Cyprus Mail reports that another protest has been announced, this time by the Initiative for the Memories of Isaak and Solomou. The event is to take place on Saturday late afternoon at the Dherynia crossing point to protest the Varosha opening and for the return of refugees to their homes in Kyrenia, Famagusta, Morphou and Karpasia.
KEY ACTORS
Anastasiades
>> Though he understands people’s anger caused by the partial opening of Varosha he calls for calm & restraint and condemns the violent nature of the protest.
>> Such actions not only will they not help bring about the end occupation & prevent Ankara’s plans, but will expedite and justify the unfounded allegations made by Turkey.
House President under fire over willingness to bend rules in golden passports saga
Alithia, Cyprus Mail, Haravgi, Phileleftheros, Politis
Migration & Citizenship, Regional/International Relations
OVERVIEW
The latest revelations by Al Jazeera on the alleged willingness of House President Demetris Syllouris, AKEL MP Christakis Gionani and lawyer Andreas Pittadjis to assist a Chinese businessman with a criminal record acquire a Cypriot passport is among the main items in all papers on Tuesday.
Al Jazeera released a video on Monday captured by undercover reporters pretending to be representing a Chinese businessman who had run into trouble with the law and who wanted to acquire a Cypriot passport.
The two undercover journalists approached an estate agency, which worked with Giovanis’ company to discuss how they could secure a passport for their client. In a meeting in Cyprus last year, the estate agent told the reporters they had a 100 per cent success rate in securing passports for people because of Giovanis. He also told them they had problematic clients before but they had managed through Giovani’s connections to break all the rules and got the passport issued.
The reporters ended up having lunch at Giovanis’ house on October 26, 2019, along with Syllouris and the developer’s associates. During the meeting, Syllouris suggested that if there was a problem in Cyprus maybe they could go to another European country offering his contacts with the heads of other, foreign parliaments specifying Malta, Latvia, and Slovenia.
Syllouris reportedly sent the businessman the message that he has full support from Cyprus at any level: “political, economy, society, anything.”
AKEL said in a statement that it wanted full investigation by the Cypriot authorities and for responsibilities to be attributed to those found at fault.
Politis reports that both Syllouris and Giovani, a week prior to the publication of the report, had filed separate complaints with the Attorney-general’s office for entrapment and for espionage.
Syllouris had said Al Jazeera serves other interests and that it was advertising investments in the occupied areas.
The Giovani Group also spoke of a staged propaganda and that a day after the meeting with the alleged investors last year, the case was reported through the company’s lawyer to the Pancyprian Bar Association and MOKAS (Unit for Combating Money Laundering). The daily reports that government spokesman Kyriakos Kousios, before seeing the Al Jazeera report, also spoke of attempts to entrap government officials in a social gathering, arguing that this is not the right way to practice journalism.
Politis reports that the House President was basically explaining to some crooks how to deceive the Republic of Cyprus, its regulations, and laws. The government spokesman on Monday focused on the way the news network got the footage and not on the issue of corruption. Will the president say something, or was he covered by the spokesman’s statements? the daily asked, adding that parliament needs to address the issue. It also asked whether procedures will be set in motion for lifting their immunity and for their dismissal.
Politis said that Syllouris would make things easier by stepping down.
Phileleftheros reports that, despite the explanations Syllouris gave, the video raises many questions.
GC side monitors elections in north
Alithia, Cyprus Mail, Haravgi, Phileleftheros, Politis
Governance & Power Sharing, Negotiations Process
OVERVIEW
The dailies report on elections in the north and on whether the Republican Turkish Party (CTP) will back Mustafa Akinci in the second round after its own candidate, its leader Tufan Erhurman, was not able to garner enough votes last Sunday to make it to the second round. He did however come third with more than 20 per cent of votes.
CTP is expected to announce its decision on Tuesday, but according to Alithia, Erhurman has already, indirectly, revealed they would be backing Akinci since he said they would support the candidate in favour of a federal solution to the Cyprus problem.
The dailies also report that it is a tight battle between Akinci and Ersin Tatar with Ankara expected to continue boosting the latter this week.
Phileleftheros reports that GC parties condemn Turkey’s involvement in the elections in the north.
AKEL leader Andros Kyprianou said his party’s wish is that the elections are won by someone who will be willing to cooperate with the GC side in promoting a solution based on the relevant UN resolutions, High-Level agreements and on international law and EU principles.
EDEK and the Solidarity Movement said that it doesn’t matter who will win the elections since Turkey has the final say as regards the solution of the Cyprus problem.
Family mistakenly buried someone else in 1974, CMP findings reveal
Alithia, Phileleftheros
CBMs, Human Rights
OVERVIEW
According to the dailies, the recent identification of the remains of a man who died on July 20, 1974, revealed that his family, buried another person at the time believing it was him.
The family of Savvas Alexandrou from Assia, until recently believed they had buried their loved one in August 1974 after his mother dug up with her own hands a mass grave in Kontemenos village where National Guard soldiers killed on July 20, 1974 were buried.
The family believed they had found Savvas’ body and gave him a funeral and buried him at their village, Assia, but 46 years later the Committee on Missing Persons identified one of the remains they had exhumed as that of Savvas.
Alithia reports that the CMP has an idea about who the person Alexandrou’s family buried is, but it is not easy to locate the grave in Assia since after 1974 the cross tombstones at the cemetery were destroyed.
Phileleftheros cites the then community leader of Kontemenos, Costas Pavlou, narrating in 2013 to the paper what had happened. Pavlou said that Alexandrou’s mother came 16 days after the soldiers were buried and after they dug the grave up, she recognised him probably by the clothes he was wearing. The next day the mother of another of the soldiers came, Menelaos Menelaou, and she too took her son with her to bury in their village. Menelaou was recognised by his uniform since he was a higher rank military officer.
A few days later, the father of another soldier, Andreas Michail, arrived to take the body of his own son to bury, the community leader told the daily.
Alexandrou’s funeral will take place on Saturday in Makedonitissa and will be buried at the military cemetery in the same area.
Alithia also reports that there have been other cases of people killed during 1974 whose mothers dug up graves to find their bodies. One such case took place at the Constantinou and Elenis cemetery in Nicosia where a woman received the remains of her son who was killed during the coup and had been buried in a mass grave. Another case concerns the Lakatamia cemetery where a soldier killed during the invasion, was buried, Alithia reports.