Front Page Headlines
Rejection and challenge
Parliament failed to elect a new Speaker of Parliament again. Canaltay was rejected twice. Prime Minister Ersan Saner asked for early elections. Resmiye Canaltay whose election was rejected in last week’s first round of voting by 26 votes this time received 27 votes against her election. Prime Minister Ersan Saner: “The opposition should determine an early election date. We propose early elections.” Republican Turkish Party (CTP) leader Tufan Erhürman: “We accept this statement as the government’s resignation.” People’s Party (HP) MP Kudret Özersay: “How is a government which can’t solve its internal issues to solve the country’s problems?” Social Democratic Party (TDP) leader Cemal Özyiğit: “It has been seen that you can’t achieve anything through outside intervention.”
- Not a pandemic, a fight for bread – Those working in the south stage protests again.
- Higher Committee for Infectious Diseases extends measures until January 15.
The Prime Minister proposes an early election
An election for the post of Speaker of the Parliament was held in parliament yesterday (Monday). The MPs voted against the sole candidate National Unity Party (UBP) MP Resmiye Canaltay for a second time. Prime Minister Ersan Saner who addressed parliament following the outcome of the vote, asked the opposition to come up with a date to hold an early election.
- 5+UN meeting will be held either by the end of February or beginning of March – UN Special Envoy Jane Holl Lute held separate meetings with the leaders to identify a date for the “5+UN informal meeting” for the solution of the Cyprus problem.
- Federation is over, sovereign equality must be negotiated – Turkish Cypriot Foreign Minister Tahsin Ertuğruloğlu met with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu in Ankara. The two ministers discussed the 5+1 conference, negotiations process and latest developments in the Eastern Mediterranean. Both emphasized that sovereign equality must be negotiated.
- Coronavirus measures extended until January 15 – Higher Committee of Infectious Diseases extended its measures.
- Workers seeking their “rights” – Turkish Cypriots working in the south staged a protest outside parliament arguing that they are made to suffer due to the measures. They wanted the same procedures to be applied to those living in Pile (Pyla) and to those working in the Sovereign Base Areas (SBA).
Saner calls for an early election
The UBP candidate Resmiye Canaltay received neither the party MPs’ vote nor the coalition partners’ vote in the second election held for the post of the Speaker of Parliament. Prime Minister Ersan Saner, outraged with the outcome, called for an early election.
- New York in February or March – UN Special Envoy Jane Holl Lute held separate meetings with the Cypriot leaders to identify a date for the five-party conference.
- “Federal solution is our will” – UN Special Envoy Jane Holl Lute was greeted with banners raised by the Peace Association on her way to her meeting with President Ersin Tatar.
- Canaltay spits his venom – Derviş Canaltay, who reacted to his mother’s defeat in the elections for the post of the parliamentary speaker the second time, said: “This country will not be left to those who abandon their supporters; who support FETÖ (Fethullah Gülen Terrorist Organisation); who carry out pilgrimages to Mecca or who smuggle cigars. We will see you in the next elections.”
- “Federation is dead” – Turkish Cypriot Foreign Minister Tahsin Ertuğruloğlu and his counterpart Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu obstruct possible negotiations.
I dare you
After UBP’s candidate, Resmiye Canaltay, failed to be elected as Speaker of Parliament despite two rounds of voting in parliament, Prime Minister Ersan Saner, after only 22 days in office, called on the opposition for early elections. Canaltay received 23 votes in favour, 25 against in the first round of voting. In the second round, the number of votes she received in favour dropped to 19 and those against rose to 27. After current Speaker of Parliament Teberrüken Uluçay announced that the election was over once Canaltay failed to secure more than half of the votes cast, Saner called for early elections.
- ‘Don’t prevent us’ – Tensions ran high in a protest staged by workers employed in the south.
Here are those who govern us – cowards, members of FETÖ, smugglers
The twice rejected Resmiye Canaltay’s son Derviş Canaltay expressed his outrage. Resmiye Canaltay failed to get the adequate number of votes for the second time during the voting for the post of speaker of the parliament held yesterday (Monday). Canaltay received 19 votes in favour, 27 against. Two MPs abstained. 48 ballots were cast… Reacting to the election outcome, Derviş Canaltay targeted Faiz Sucuoğlu, Sunat Atun and Zorlu Töre. Canaltay posted in anger on social media: “This country will not be left in the hands of those who after receiving 2,800 votes abandon their supporters; who support FETÖ (Fethullah Gülen Terrorist Organisation) or who go to Mecca to become a hadji and who smuggle cigars. We will see you at the elections.”
- Ersan Saner asked for an early election
- Zorlu Töre: “Call for an early election is not a surprise”
- Covid-19 measures extended until January 15
- 288 positive cases of coronavirus and five deaths in the south, 21 cases in the north…
Main News
Tatar: TC side will not negotiate a federal solution
Yenidüzen, Kıbrıs, Havadis, Diyalog, Avrupa
Negotiations Process
OVERVIEW
Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar on Monday, in no surprising fashion, said the time had come to talk about a two-state solution in Cyprus.
Speaking to reporters after meeting with the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Cyprus Jane Holl Lute, Tatar said that the Turkish Cypriot side had no intention of negotiating a federal settlement in Cyprus.
“This is what we are seeking to achieve and will only hold talks on that condition,” he stressed.
However, he said he expressed his readiness to take part in an informal five-party conference in February or early March aimed at exploring whether or not there would be anything to build on for a new process.
Lute met with both leaders separately on Monday to discuss preparations for an informal five-party meeting on the Cyprus issue.
Tatar also said that the Turkish Cypriot side’s arguments regarding a change in the solution model had started to receive recognition.
“The time has come for a two-state solution in Cyprus based on sovereign equality. This is what the realities in Cyprus dictate. All else would be a waste of time. This is what the basis of the talks is from now on and the UN Secretary-General (UNSG) understands this very well,” he said.
The Turkish Cypriot leader argued that “Cyprus was not the old Cyprus” and that the Turkish Cypriot side was handling the process together with Ankara.
Tatar also said he would be inviting representatives of political parties to his office on Friday to inform them of the current developments, following criticism directed against him by the leader of the opposition Republican Turkish Party (CTP) Tufan Erhürman.
Regarding the issue of confidence-building measures (CBMs), he said that the Turkish Cypriot side did not want the issue of CBMs to be included in discussions at a five-party meeting.
“This would be a diversion from the main purpose of the meeting. We conveyed our objection on this issue to Ms Lute,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Turkish Cypriot Peace Association once again greeted Lute on her way to meeting Tatar with banners reading, “Federal solution is our will, United Federal Cyprus” and “Neither partition nor secession but a federal solution.”
KEY ACTORS
Tatar
>> Time has come to negotiate a two-state solution, this is what realities on island dictate.
>> TC side ready to attend 5+1 meeting in February or early March.
>> TC side will not negotiate a federal solution & will start a new process on that condition.
>> TC side’s arguments start receiving recognition by UNSG.
>> TC side doesn’t want CBMs discussed at 5+1 meeting as it would divert from main purpose of the conference.
Negotiations on federation are out of the question
Yenidüzen, Kıbrıs, Havadis, Diyalog, Avrupa
Negotiations Process
OVERVIEW
Sovereign equality must be negotiated and there must be a two-state solution on the island of Cyprus, Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said on Monday in a joint news conference in Ankara with his Turkish Cypriot counterpart Tahsin Ertuğruloğlu.
Çavuşoğlu said the stance of Turkey and the Turkish Cypriot side was very clear on the issue.
“We are making efforts to holistically explain our stance to all segments,” he said, adding that the issue had come to the fore in all his recent visits, especially in Portugal, Madrid and EU countries.
The Turkish Foreign Minister also said that talks for a federation for the past 52 years had failed due to the Greek Cypriot side’s refusal to recognize Turkish Cypriots as their political equals or share power with them.
Çavuşoğlu pointed out the importance of a five-party conference to determine what will be negotiated as all efforts for a federal settlement had been exhausted.
He also noted that the Turkish side will not agree to resume the talks from the point the process had been left off in Crans Montana, adding that neither Ankara nor the Turkish Cypriot side wanted to negotiate anything other than a two-state solution.
Touching on the issue of hydrocarbons, Çavuşoğlu said Ankara has been advocating for the equitable sharing of the natural resources.
He said Turkey had proposed a multilateral conference on the issue with the participation of the Turkish Cypriots as one of the sides. Çavuşoğlu added that it was out of the question to exclude the Turkish Cypriots from such a conference.
He said that work on reopening the fenced-off city of Maraş (Varosha) will continue and announced that he will be visiting the north in the coming days for further talks on the Cyprus Issue.
For his part, Tahsin Ertuğruloğlu said that the process of intercommunal negotiations in Cyprus is over, and discussion on establishing a federation was out of the question.
He said the Cyprus problem is a national cause for both Turkey and the Turkish Cypriots, therefore, they will act and decide together on the steps forward.
“A solution other than a two-state one with sovereign equality is not possible,” Ertuğruloğlu said, arguing that there were two separate peoples and states on the island.
Warning that the 5+1 conference should not be perceived as the beginning of a new negotiations process, Ertuğruloğlu said the conference could be an important opportunity to assess whether there is an understanding between the two sides to negotiate a new solution model.
Ertuğruloğlu was later received by Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar and by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
KEY ACTORS
Çavuşoğlu (Turkey)
>> Sovereign equality must be negotiated.
>> Talks for a federal settlement have been exhausted. Turkey & TCs will only negotiate for a 2-state solution.
>> TCs will not resume talks from where they left off in Crans Montana.
>> Ankara wants equitable sharing of natural resources.
Ertuğruloğlu (UBP)
>> The process of intercommunal negotiations in Cyprus is over & federation is out of the question.
>> A solution other than a two-state one with sovereign equality is not possible.
>> 5+1 conference is an opportunity to assess whether there is an understanding between the two sides to negotiate a new solution model.
TC workers protest ban on crossings, coronavirus measures extended
Yenidüzen, Havadis, Kıbrıs Postası, Diyalog
Economy, Internal Security
OVERVIEW
Tensions were running high in north Nicosia on Monday as Turkish Cypriots working in the South protested to the government over restrictions imposed on crossings, preventing them from getting to their workplaces.
The workers who live in the north and work in the south gathered on Monday outside the parliament building but were prevented from moving any further by the police. This led to a scuffle between the protestors and police. One of the protesters who fainted was taken to hospital in an ambulance.
After an hour or so, Turkish Cypriot Prime Minister Ersan Saner received a delegation made up of the workers’ representatives. Saner reportedly asked the workers to present written proof that their workplaces were open and suggested to evaluate the situation.
However, this proposal was rejected by the protesters, who demanded the same treatment as Turkish Cypriots residing or working in (Pile) Pyla or those working in the Sovereign British bases, who can enter the north without quarantine provided they submit negative PCR test results not older than 72 hours.
The workers said they would continue their protest action in the coming days.
Meanwhile, the Higher Committee for Infectious Diseases announced on Monday that all rules, regulations and measures adopted earlier have been extended until January 15.
According to the measures in place cafes, restaurants, patisseries, coffee shops, bet offices, hairdressers, beauticians, gyms, barbershops and similar venues will be allowed to operate until 10pm while restaurants will only be allowed to remain open for delivery services after that time.
Taverns, massage parlours, bars, clubs and similar entertainment venues will remain closed until January 15. The mandatory quarantine for those using the crossings has also been extended until January 15.
Those working for the UN, EU, in the British Sovereign Bases, Missing Persons Committee (CMP) and UNFICYP will have to present a negative PCR test carried out within the last 72 hours to be exempt from quarantine.
The same measures are valid for those who live in the mixed village of Pile (Pyla).
Those who are receiving treatment in the south of the island will still be able to cross without having to quarantine on their return on the condition that they provide a negative PCR test carried out in the last 72 hours. Pupils and students living in the north but studying in the south and their parents will also continue to be subject to quarantine until January 15 as regards crossings between the two sides.
Ambulances from the South that use the Yeşilırmak (Limnitis) crossing point from Kato Pyrgos for emergency transports will continue to be exempt from quarantine measures but everyone else will be subject to quarantine.
Those who reside in the village of Beyarmudu (Pergamos) but carry out agricultural and farming activities in the base areas will continue to be allowed to carry out day visits without being subjected to quarantine measures.
The ban on all mass gatherings in open and closed areas as well as, restrictions on funeral services also remain in place with only immediate family members allowed to attend funeral services.
Early elections on the horizon after Canaltay rejected twice
Yenidüzen, Kıbrıs, Havadis, Diyalog, Avrupa
Governance & Power Sharing
OVERVIEW
The fragile coalition government plunged into an even deeper crisis on Monday after National Unity Party (UBP) MP Resmiye Canaltay’s election as the new Speaker of Parliament was rejected for the second time in just a week.
Canaltay’s election, daughter of former Turkish Cypriot leader and long-time party leader Derviş Eroğlu, was rejected in the final vote by 27 against 19.
She had received 26 votes against in a first round held on January 4.
Nominated by the ruling UBP’s parliamentary group to be the next parliamentary speaker to replace current speaker, Republican Turkish Party (CTP) MP Teberrüken Uluçay, Canaltay was only able to receive 23 of the votes in the first attempt the previous Monday.
The votes in favour dropped even further to 19 in a second attempt.
After failing to win a simple majority both times, Uluçay declared the election over, thus ending Canaltay’s chances of being elected to the post. A new candidate will now have to be nominated for the post.
Outraged with the outcome, UBP leader and Prime Minister Ersan Saner addressed MPs, asking the opposition to identify a date for early elections.
Saner’s call sparked an angry reaction from the opposition which accused the government of wasting the public’s valuable time and failing to address the country’s urgent problem.
Addressing MPs, CTP leader Tufan Erhürman said the rejection was not to Canaltay but the UBP. He added that Saner’s outburst will be accepted as the government’s resignation.
The CTP leader also asked the government to only focus on its routine tasks, to stop hiring people to the public sector and granting new citizenships.
Erhürman urged all party leaders to get together to start working on a new election law before calling for an early election.
Kudret Özersay, who is expected to be elected leader of the People’s Party again soon, warned that an early election would only deepen the crisis and the climate of chaos in the north. He expressed his disappointment with UBP’s lack of sense of responsibility.
“The minority government threw in the towel,” Özersay concluded.
Social Democratic Party (TDP) leader Cemal Özyiğit, in a social media post, harshly criticised the UBP. The government nullified its vote of confidence in an instant, Özyiğit said and added that it was obvious the government could not go on by force any longer.