Front Page Headlines
Self-dissolution show was rock bottom
Mea culpa, apologies, mutual recriminations and a lot of populism. Adamos Adamou: Credibility of Parliament is lower than rock bottom after everything that happened. Standards must rise and corruption be stamped out. Averof Neofytou theoretically took responsibility but said nothing about government manoeuvres that keep the citizenship programme active. Apology from Andros for Giovanni’s involvement, but no explanations on system that supported and made him prominent in AKEL.
- On Cypriot Jho Low: Goldman Sachs admitted guilt
- In cages: Golden Dawn members in prison
- Ersin Tatar: Goes to informal conference with two-state solution
Situation with mask wearers a shambles
Decrees on masks in outside areas cause confusion for citizens and police officers. Health Ministry rushed to clarify yesterday.
- Epidemiological indicators show we moved past safety limits
- Instead of elections, they go for rivalry: Next stop, a crisis on budget
- Parties boycotted Tatar: In occupied areas leader changed, but not demands
- Shocking photographs brought to light by “Ph”: This is how 181 MPP (artillery unit) was destroyed in 1974
- Hands of tenants and police tied: They stacked up 16 migrants in a sublet apartment
- Rapid worsening of relations: Clash between government – Nicholas over passports and law firms
- Turmoil in the municipality over Sun City: Municipal councillors in Sotira ask for mayor’s resignation
Scandals point down road of resignation
Presidential Palace in difficult position due to vested interests – corruption. Citizen Platform: Asks for Anastasiades’s immediate resignation. AKEL secretary general: “We apologise to society, we are very disturbed”.
- We remain at three-digit number of new cases
- Akinci: I leave with a clean conscience
Some leeway on mask edict
If no significant drop in 10 days, islandwide curfew on the cards.
- MPs say no to dissolving parliament early as new House speaker sworn in
They are afraid of elections!
Opposition exposed itself yesterday in parliament. AKEL and DIKO ask for recourse to ballots in theory, but in practice they vote against proposals for early elections. There will not be early elections because of four votes.
- Numbers high yesterday as well – Briefing process changes: Coronavirus in 5 private hospitals – Another 160 cases announced yesterday, with most having been detected through private initiative
- NATO secretary general: Greece – Turkey agreed to cancel their military exercises
- Conflict intensifies – Petrides: Nicholas also did naturalisations
Main News
Tatar reiterates position on two states during swearing in
Alithia, Cyprus Mail, Haravgi, Phileleftheros, Politis
Negotiations Process, Governance & Power Sharing, External Security, Regional/ International Relations
OVERVIEW
All newspapers report on the swearing in ceremony of the newly elected T/C leader Ersin Tatar as T/C “president” on Friday. In his speech during the ceremony, Tatar said that no one can punish T/Cs for having their own state and that his first goal will be to lift embargoes and restrictions.
Tatar also said that everyone wants a result in the Cyprus Problem and that he believes it is necessary for there to be cooperation on the basis of two states and the equality of two sovereign peoples.
He added that he is open to the idea that Turkey has brought up of putting a two-state solution on the table of a five-party meeting (two communities and the three guarantors) on the Cyprus Problem. Tatar said he will be informing UNSG Antonio Guterres of his positions with a letter, and that if President Anastasiades goes to this meeting showing political will, there is no reason why there can’t be a positive result.
Tatar also said that the “TRNC” will continue to cooperate in harmony with Turkey, which he addressed as brothers.
The dailies also report that certain T/C politicians did not participate in the ceremony to show their disagreement with Turkey’s interventions in the election.
Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay as well as the commanders of Turkey’s occupation forces on the island were present during the swearing in of the new “president”, Politis notes. The Turkish Presidency has announced that Tatar will visit Ankara on Monday.
Departing T/C leader Mustafa Akinci said in his speech during the ceremony that he leaves with a clean conscience and that everything that happened during his term, including the last election, has been recorded by history.
Akinci also said that during his term there was progress in the Cyprus Problem and the two sides almost reached a solution. He said that the T/C side should avoid making moves that will make things easier for the G/C side and called for moves by the T/C side within the parameters of the UN.
He added that his aim during his five years in power was to serve the interests of the community, strengthen the north’s secular structures and develop democracy based on Ataturk’s principles.
Meanwhile, Alithia reports that the Foreign Ministers of Cyprus, Greece and Israel will meet in Athens on Tuesday. Nicos Christodoulides, Nikos Dendias and Gabi Ashkenazi will discuss regional developments and review the progress of the trilateral cooperation of the three countries so far. Ashkenazi will also meet Greek prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Monday afternoon.
Phileleftheros reports that the Israeli Foreign Ministry said in a statement that it considers Turkey’s actions in the region to be dangerous since they could overturn stability in the region.
The dailies also report that a protest by women’s organisations that was due to take place at the Deryneia checkpoint on Sunday was postponed due to the coronavirus.
Haravgi reports that bicommunal citizen movement Unite Cyprus Now (UCN) has said in a statement that it will intensify its efforts to bring G/Cs and T/Cs together, having seen the determination of the T/Cs to achieve a solution. The group points out that Tatar’s election brings a new difficult period for Cyprus.
UCN points out that the result of the elections in the north shows that reduced expectations for a solution, the lack of willingness of the two sides to cooperate, the negative climate created by nationalists, the closure of crossings, the economic concerns caused by the pandemic and the north’s increased financial dependency on Turkey brought this result.
The group notes that Turkey intervened in Tatar’s favour and that still one in two voters chose the candidate that refused to receive instructions from Turkey.
House selects new speaker after passports scandal, rejects early elections
Alithia, Cyprus Mail, Haravgi, Phileleftheros, Politis
Migration & Citizenship, Internal Security, Governance & Power Sharing
OVERVIEW
The dailies report that the House of Representatives rejected a proposal for early elections, with 30 MPs voting against and 26 voting for a proposal brought forward by the Greens and independent MP Anna Theologou. The proposal was calling for the dissolution of the parliament and new elections in November, following the passport sale scandal brought to light by Al Jazeera and the resignation of former House Speaker Demetris Syllouris and AKEL MP Christakis Giovanni.
The proposal was supported by the MPs of DISY, EDEK, the Greens, ELAM and Theologou. It was opposed by AKEL, DIKO, Citizens’ Alliance and Solidarity.
The MPs also selected AKEL MP Adamos Adamou as the replacement of Demetris Syllouris with a near unanimous vote. ELAM’s MPs were the only ones that abstained from the vote.
In a short speech after his election, Adamou said that the House of Representatives has sunk low in the eyes of the public and that it had a lot of work to do to regain its respectability.
Politis notes that the leaders of DISY and AKEL asked for forgiveness from the podium but avoided taking a specific position on the mistakes of their parties. DISY leader Averof Neofytou admitted there were mistakes but did not criticise the government’s decision to keep its investment programme open for a month, while AKEL leader Andros Kyprianou apologised for the way members like Giovanni acted but did not address the issue of systems within the party that facilitate these sorts of behaviours, Politis points out.