Front Page Headlines
‘Four-party coalition failed to give confidence’
Tufan Erhürman’s efforts to form a four-party government for early elections failed. He handed back the mandate. The Republican Turkish Party (CTP) leader said, “We were unable to achieve the stability and confidence required for a four-party coalition model. We aimed to end the crisis of government in the country. It would not have been right to create a new government crisis for the sake of solving the current one,” he said.
They could not agree
CTP leader Tufan Erhürman, realizing he could not reach a successful outcome in the talks for a four-party election government, returned the mandate. Erhürman, after being tasked to form a government on November 21, emphasised that the four-party coalition government was not seen as a model that would be able to carry the country forward in the current problematic environment that was clad with uncertainties.
- Bank manager arrested for obstructing Central Bank inspection – Director of the Mondial Private Bank IBU Ltd., appeared before a judge after failing to notify the Central Bank over two suspicious transactions, one for €18m and the other for €1m. He was charged with obstructing an investigation.
Crawling back to UBP
HP did not form a government with UBP (National Unity Party), nor did it approve the four-party coalition. CTP leader Tufan Erhürman returned the mandate (to form a government). The only option left is to form an UBP-HP coalition under the leadership of Ersan Saner.
- Two Covid-19 patients in the ICU – The condition of an 83-year-old woman and a 70-year-old male with underlying medical problems are serious.
‘It is a constitutional right. It will be paid’
Speaking to Diyalog, Finance Minister Olgun Amcaoğlu said that there was a need for ₺850m (€89.5m) to pay 13th month (bonus) salaries as well as December salaries. He added that the state’s debt stood at ₺165.5m (€17.4m). Amcaoğlu reminded that the 13th month salary was a constitutional right and this money would be paid whether or not he was in office.
- Who is next in line? – Following Saner, Erhürman was also unsuccessful in setting up a new government. He handed back the mandate.
So, who was it leased to?
The Finance Ministry, which refuted the newspaper’s publication and accused us of damaging the reputation of the ministry and its relevant department, issued an inadequate statement… We ask once again and expect an answer. Is this plot of land leased or not? And if it is, to whom has it been leased to?
- Erhürman also returned the mandate – Tufan Erhürman, who returned the mandate to form the government to President Ersin Tatar, said: “The efforts to form a four-party coalition fell apart due to a problem of confidence.”
- Five nurses and two doctors in quarantine – Rise in coronavirus cases…Two patients in the ICU… In-class education at the Girne American College (Secondary School) suspended after a positive case in one of the students’ families was detected.
- “Whoever can get the money should form the government” – (HP MP) Gülşah Manavoğlu said.
Main News
Tatar continues to defend two-state solution despite warnings
Yenidüzen, Kıbrıs, Havadis, Diyalog
Negotiations Process, Governance & Power Sharing, EU Matters, Property, Territory, Energy, Regional/International Relations
OVERVIEW
Turkish Cypriot President Ersin Tatar on Thursday said that current conjuncture dictated a two-state solution in Cyprus based on sovereign equality.
Speaking at the opening of a library and congress centre in Kyrenia, Tatar said he had conveyed this view to the UN Secretary-General’s (UNSG) special envoy Jane Holl Lute during his recent meeting.
He said that the TRNC will continue to exist with the support of Turkey.
Tatar also drew attention to the economic and political embargoes imposed on Turkish Cypriots, stating that these violated human rights.
“We shall continue our struggle to strengthen the TRNC, giving the Greek Cypriots, the international community and the world the message that we are determined to protect our rights,” he said.
Also touching upon developments in the Eastern Mediterranean, Tatar added the Turkish Cypriots’ position in the region had grown stronger due to Turkey’s moves.
Meanwhile, the Turkish Cypriot Secondary School Teachers’ Union (KTOEÖS) on Thursday said that the anti-federation policies being pursued by Ankara and its collaborators in the north were a dangerous process which would push the Turkish Cypriots to the brink of extinction, remove all legal arguments in favour of the Turkish Cypriot community and strip them of their equal rights through annexation by Turkey.
KTOEÖS Chairman Tahir Gökçebel said that it was Ankara’s policies which were responsible for the destruction of the Turkish Cypriot community’s existence.
He argued that it was the very same policies that had allowed the strategy pursued by the Greek Cypriot political elites, who did not want to share the Republic of Cyprus (RoC) with Turkish Cypriots, to succeed.
“These short-sighted policies allowed the Greek Cypriots to join the EU on their own, subjecting Turkish Cypriots to the racist policies of the Greek-Greek Cypriot duo,” he said.
Gökçebel also argued that the recent move on Maraş (Varosha) also aimed to serve the same purpose.
“These moves which aim to remove the UN parameters or a federal settlement are not carried out against Greek Cypriots. These steps only serve to strengthen Greek Cypriot theses. They must be perceived as the last moves aimed to destroy the Turkish Cypriot community by pushing it into full isolation and outside the boundaries of international law,” he warned.
Gökçebel also warned that the Turkish Cypriot community will sever all ties with the international community by removing a federal settlement from the table.
“Thus, Turkey or the Greek Cypriot administration will be speaking on behalf of Turkish Cypriots,” he said.
East Med resources should benefit all, Çavuşoğlu says
Yenidüzen, Kıbrıs, Havadis, Diyalog
Energy, Regional/International Relations
OVERVIEW
Turkey wants the resources in the Eastern Mediterranean to be developed for the benefit of all, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said Thursday.
“When hydrocarbon reserves were found in the region, many thought this was an opportunity for cooperation and prosperity for everyone,” Turkey’s top diplomat said, speaking at the sixth edition of the Mediterranean Dialogues Forum organized by the Italian Foreign Ministry in cooperation with the Institute for International Political Studies (ISPI) via videoconference.
“However, some states acted on the contrary,” he said.
“Currently everyone loses in the Mediterranean.”
Çavuşoğlu noted that in 2003, the Republic of Cyprus (RoC) had signed a delimitation agreement with Egypt that violates both Turkey’s continental shelf and the rights of the Turkish Cypriots, and another one with Lebanon in 2007, disregarding the rights of the Turkish Cypriot side.
In 2010, the Greek Cypriots also signed a delimitation deal with Israel, once again ignoring Turkey’s rights, he said.
“Greece and the Greek Cypriots tried to form alliances seeking to isolate us and the Turkish Cypriots,” Çavuşoğlu said.
Saying that Turkey’s door remains wide open for dialogue, Çavuşoğlu said, “There is a way out.”
He reiterated Ankara’s proposal to hold an Eastern Mediterranean conference to resolve the ongoing conflict. Çavuşoğlu said that Turkey’s ambassador was meeting Thursday with the European Commission in Brussels to discuss the details of the conference.
Çavuşoğlu also called on the European Union to change its stance on the issue and abandon threats of sanctions against Turkey while ignoring the rights of Ankara and the Turkish Cypriots.
Meanwhile, Turkish Deputy Foreign Minister Faruk Kaymakçı said that Turkey’s accession to the EU would benefit both sides and would also help resolve existing problems.
Turkey is a part of Europe but has not seen enough support from the EU, Kaymakçı said, speaking late Wednesday at the TRT World Forum panel titled “New Realities and Interstate Relations After COVID-19” organized by Turkey’s English-language public broadcaster.
Kaymakçı stated that the EU Council resolutions in October that intended for Turkey to meet the demands of Greece and the Greek Cypriot administration were unacceptable.
“We are waiting for a signal from Greece and the Greek Cypriots to solve the problems. You witnessed them rejecting the UN-sponsored Annan Plan in Cyprus. You all know that tiny islands or cliffs in the Aegean and Mediterranean cannot have the same rights as the main continent,” Kaymakçı pointed out.
“We are open to dialogue and negotiation, but Greece is avoiding dialogue. If the EU ignores all of this and continues to move in the same direction, we will all face the consequences,” he added.
In the meantime, Ankara on Thursday accused Greece of hindering a NATO-led mechanism to resolve tensions and conflict in the Eastern Mediterranean by refusing to attend talks.
The technical talks on determining the details of the deconfliction mechanism between Turkey and Greece that were to take place on November 30 at NATO headquarters in Brussels could not be held due to the absence of the Greek delegation.
“The Turkish side has always attended the meetings on determining the military measures on the deconfliction mechanism in the Eastern Mediterranean which were launched with the initiatives of the NATO secretary-general, and will continue to do so,” security sources were quoted as saying.
The sources stated that the plans for further discussions at an October 9 meeting could not be realized due to the Greek side’s stance.
Additionally, follow-up meetings planned after a meeting on October 16 for the dates of October 23 and October 30 could not take place due to Greece’s negative response.
Attempt for new government fails again, Erhürman returns mandate
Yenidüzen, Kıbrıs, Havadis, Diyalog
Governance and Power Sharing
OVERVIEW
The latest efforts to form a new coalition government in the north failed on Thursday, forcing the leader of the Republican Turkish Party (CTP) Tufan Erhürman to return the mandate to Turkish Cypriot President Ersin Tatar.
“We have realised that the four-party coalition was not a model that would ensure stability,” Erhürman said as he told reporters that all attempts had failed.
The CTP leader had been handed the task to form the government by Tatar after the National Unity Party’s (UBP) acting leader Ersan Saner had failed earlier in his efforts to set up a new coalition.
Erhürman, after meeting with Tatar, said that he had first attempted to form a technocratic government with the participation of all six political parties in the Turkish Cypriot parliament.
“This was followed by an attempt to form a coalition among four parties,” he said, adding that efforts had focused on creating a cabinet made up entirely of technocrats.
“What we were looking for was an agreement based on principles,” the CTP leader said.
He warned that the country would be facing serious political and economic challenges in the coming days and weeks.
“That is why any government to be established must have the full confidence of all the parties and must create stability,” Erhürman said.
“We did not want a government that would lead to another crisis,” he stressed.
Also on Thursday, Yenal Senin, leader of the People’s Party (HP), said the four-party coalition would not have made it possible to establish a model of government that would serve the needs of the public.
In a post on social media, Senin thanked the political party leaders who contributed to the process with their efforts.
Tatar evaluated the efforts to form a coalition government after receiving the mandate back from Erhürman, arguing that the current crisis of government was the result of the current distribution of seats in the Turkish Cypriot parliament.
“There is obviously an arithmetic problem in the Turkish Cypriot parliament,” Tatar said, expressing his displeasure over the fact that it had not been possible to form a coalition yet.
Emphasizing that the country will suffer further if there is not a government in place soon, Tatar pointed out that the 2021 budget, among others things, had yet to be discussed and approved by the parliament.
Tatar added that the legal window for establishing a government is 60 days, with 30 days already spent first by UBP and then CTP in their efforts to form a government.
“There are still 30 days more. I only hope that the process will not be prolonged further,” Tatar concluded.
Tatar is now expected to hand the task to another member of parliament he believes could form a government.
Political practices to date have shown Tatar will turn to the third party with the highest number of seats in the Turkish Cypriot parliament, which would be HP.