Front Page Headlines
New wave killing us softly
We’re already at red, panic and rage because protocols in slaughterhouses were not followed. Situation with spread of the virus starts to get out of control all over Cyprus. Urgent new meeting of President, Health Minister and epidemiologists tonight at the Presidential Palace. A second total lockdown and a return to tough March more likely than ever. Also open possibility of local lockdowns on the basis of local epidemiological data. Fears that the 92 cases of the CYPRA slaughterhouse will create a chain of hundreds of cases. Accusations of infection focal points created by inadequate living conditions of foreign workers.
- Jane Holl Lute: She took over “telework”, prepares her suitcases
- Mustafa Akinci: He remains in the battle, created a political movement
Quarantine before the holidays
Scenarios on stricter measures with or without variations studied tonight at Presidential Palace. Hospitals fill dangerously. Record number of hospitalised recorded yesterday.
- American elections: No rush to draw conclusions by Nicosia
- Telephone conversation: They look for end of stalemate and start of new contacts
Measures against the pandemic made stricter
77 patients hospitalised, 7 intubated. They run to add beds in Limassol. First the veterinarians, then the slaughterhouse staff
- Committee for Cultural Heritage hands over 19 monuments
- We have a double responsibility for Turkey to fail
- Lute coming for consultations
- NGOs have lost their trust in the President and do not take part in meeting against corruption
Will they decide on stricter measures?
Coronavirus: Emergency meeting of President Anastasiades with team of epidemiologists. 116 new cases detected yesterday out of a total of only 2,803 lab tests. Negative record of hospitalisations with 77 patients.
- UNSG gave the mandate to his advisor to visit Cyprus: Lute coming for the five-party meeting – Guterres has repeatedly stated that he will not convene the conference if he is not convinced of everyone’s cooperation
- Anastasiades to Biden: “Congratulations to my good friend and friend of Cyprus”
- Leonidas Pantelides (interview): Dramatic call – Give information on missing
- Nicos Dendias: “We are threatened by German weapons in Turkey’s hands”
- Turkish lira in free fall – Confusion over stepping down of Finance Minister and Erdogan’s son-in-law
Main News
Lute to visit Cyprus, have teleconferences with guarantors
Alithia, Haravgi, Phileleftheros, Politis
Negotiations Process, Regional/ International Relations, Energy, External Security, EU Matters
OVERVIEW
The dailies report that UNSG advisor Jane Holl Lute has received the mandate from Antonio Guterres to begin her contacts with the sides in Cyprus and with the guarantor powers to explore the prospects of an informal five-party conference.
Politis reports, citing information, that Lute is going to initially record the positions of all involved on the differentiated Turkish positions. When this is completed, she could visit the region in late November or early December.
Phileleftheros also reports that it has been announced that Turkish President Tayip Erdogan will be visiting Cyprus and Varosha on November 15th, together with the leader of the far-right MHP party, Devlet Bahceli.
During a speech, Erdogan said that Turkey has a brother in the leadership of north Cyprus and that a new process will begin soon. He added that he and Bahceli will take part in commemoration events and then visit Varosha for a picnic.
In a statement, opposition AKEL secretary general Andros Kyprianou said that Turkey and all those who have decided on partition are trying to convince everyone that there can’t be a reunification of the country. This, Kyprianou said, gives the G/C side a larger responsibility to take initiatives that will prove it is the side desiring a solution, and that this is the only way to avoid the trap of the Turkish side which wants to cast blame on the G/Cs and upgrade the status of the north.
Phileleftheros also reports that Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has contacted his Greek counterpart Nicos Dendias, seeking to break the ice. According to the report, which cites an announcement by the Greek Foreign Ministry, the two discussed the conditions that would allow for a meeting to take place.
According to diplomatic sources of Greek media, the call was made on Cavusoglu’s initiative. According to the same information, Dendias repeated that while Turkey’s actions in the region continue there can be no space for dialogue.
Phileleftheros also reports that Dendias underlined in an interview in German newspaper Welt that Greece is under threat by German weapons which are in Turkish hands, and called on Germany to halt the hand-over of six submarines to Turkey.
Cultural Heritage committee delivers 19 completed projects
Haravgi
CBMs, Human Rights
OVERVIEW
Haravgi reports that the bicommunal Technical Committee on Cultural Heritage is about to hand over another 19 completed renovations of monuments and religious sites, including the portion of the Nicosia Venetian walls that had recently collapsed due to heavy rains.
The event commemorating the end of the works on the walls will take place at the Cetinkaya bastion. Ahead of the event, the T/C head of the committee, Ali Tuncay, called on people to write what the Venetian Walls mean to them.
The T/C members of the Committee have decided to stay on despite Ersin Tatar’s election, while T/C members of other committees have since quit.
One of the projects completed is that of the restoration of the Archangelos Michael Church in Yialousa, which started exactly one year ago and was funded exclusively through contributions of Yialousans from Cyprus and abroad.
Another project that began a year ago and is now completed is the renovation of the Agioi Sergios and Vakhos church in Agios Sergios in the Famagusta district. The church was built in the 13th or 14th century, and has been expanded since. Its reconstruction has been funded by the EU.
Also in a social media post, G/C head of the committee Takis Hadjidemetriou, wrote about the progress in the repairs conducted in the Afentrika archaeological site, east of Rizokarpaso. The area includes the church of Panagia of Afentrika and another two small churches dating to the 6th century.
G/C member of CMP comments on possible burial sites in Varosha
Alithia
CBMs, Human Rights
OVERVIEW
In an interview with Alithia, the G/C representative in the Committee on Missing Persons (CMP), Leonidas Pantelides, called on everyone to come forward with information as time limits the possibility of finding remains.
Pantelides said that those in possession of information should not hesitate and reiterated that no one who will testify will have to face any legal consequences.
Pantelides also commented on press reports on the existence of a burial site in fenced-off Varosha. He said that the CMP has had this information for years but was not able to act as the area is held by the military. Pantelides said that this information concerns events that took place before the city’s takeover by Turkish troops on August 14th, 1974.
The information comes mainly from UNFICYP Swedish soldiers who gathered up bodies and buried them. The main area of interest for the CMP is the Stavros Cemetery. Pantelides said that the CMP intends to include this area in its work as soon as possible.
The G/C member of the CMP said that results were disappointing for the past few years since few burial spots are located. He said that the CMP has worked on changing its methodology over the past one-and-half years and on upgrading the technology used. However, he said, due to the pandemic and the following heatwave, the CMP lost about three months of valuable time and was not able to assess the result of these changes.
Pantelides said that about half of all cases have been solved since 2007 when digging started. Currently, the CMP’s lab contains the remains of about 200 people which are due to be identified.
Asked to comment why there is so much unwillingness by people to provide information, despite calls by Anastasiades and Akinci, Pantelides said that information does arrive to the CMP but that some people still have second thoughts on whether to testify. He underlined that there’s no reason for hesitation and that there are no consequences and that information can be submitted anonymously or through other people.
He said that in the occupied areas it is more likely to find witnesses who have seen something that could help the investigations by chance, without having been involved. These witnesses often have seen a burial, or have noticed a suspicious feature in the land, and do not know other details on the cases involved.
On the process of informing relatives of the discovery of remains, Pantelides said that professional psychologists are involved in all cases, and that the CMP also makes an effort to help relatives to find social and financial assistance.