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Politics over vaccines
President Ersin Tatar said they will not accept the vaccines if they are delivered via the Greek Cypriot administration. Tatar requested the UN’s assistance in obtaining the vaccines. “In the end, our interlocutor is the EU, not the Greek Cypriot administration,” he said. Tatar explained that the relevant technical committee had informed him yesterday (Wednesday) that the vaccines could be delivered via the Greek Cypriot side but that they will not accept this. He added that the vaccines needed to be delivered directly via the EU. The vaccines approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) were politically exploited before arriving in the north. It was learned through the bicommunal Technical Committee on Health that 2,000 doses of the vaccine could be sent to the north in the coming days but no date was given.
- From work to quarantine and quarantine to work – Some Turkish Cypriots working in the south who couldn’t travel to their jobs since December 14 were able to cross yesterday (Wednesday) after accepting the condition to enter quarantine on their return.
The cost of disposing (expired) medicines is €3 per kilo
It was decided to outsource the task of disposing the expired medicines. Disposal of expired medicine stored in the pharmacies will be a big burden as a result of the amendment made in the relevant law. It is reported that there are thousands of boxes of expired medicine waiting to be disposed of in 324 pharmacies in our country.
- We will not accept the vaccine unless delivered directly from the EU – President Ersin Tatar spoke to UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative in Cyprus (SRSG) Elizabeth Spehar regarding the vaccines to be delivered from the EU.
- “Political stability is needed for economic stability” – Uğur Ergün, head of Young Businessmen’s Association (GIAD), emphasized the negative economic effects of being ruled by governments that do not last more than a year in office.
Stillborn
Republican Turkish Party (CTP) leader Tufan Erhürman made very important statements during a programme on Havadis Web TV, describing the current government. Evaluating the minority government and crisis on electing the speaker of parliament, Erhürman said the government was “stillborn” from the start and added the people are concerned about economy and health.
- It will be catastrophic – KTTO (Turkish Cypriot Chamber of Commerce) President Turgay Deniz warned that a 21-day long lockdown, which the Health Ministry is considering, will push the country into chaos and bankruptcy.
- We will not take (the vaccines) if delivered from the south” – In a press statement after meeting with SRSG Elizabeth Spehar, President Ersin Tatar said he touched on the 5+1 meeting, negotiations based on two equal states and on obtaining vaccines from the EU.
The economy is the priority
While the National Unity Party (UBP) is preparing to nominate Önder Sennaroğlu for the post of Speaker of Parliament, some parties outside of parliament object to early elections. Speaking to Diyalog, the leader of the BKP (United Cyprus Party) İzzet İzcan and leader of the MDP (Nationalist Democracy Party) Buray Büsküvütçü said the country’s priority was not elections but health and the economy. The leader of the TKP-YG (Communal Liberation Party-New Forces) Mehmet Çakıcı for his part said, “The country is being dragged into chaos which is why it has become necessary to hold early elections.”
Tatar rejects vaccines from the Greek Cypriot side
Ersin Tatar’s statement on the vaccines shocked everyone. In his statement issued following a meeting with SRSG Elizabeth Spehar, Tatar said they had discussed the vaccines to be delivered from the EU. Tatar added that they asked for assistance from the UN on the matter and pointed out the Turkish Cypriot side’s interlocutor was the EU and not the Greek Cypriot administration.
- Further backing for Şener Levent – BASIN-SEN (Turkish Cypriot Press Workers’ Union) and the Journalists’ Union in the south sent letters to the Association of European Journalists and the International Federation of Journalists. Ali Kişmir and George Frangos issued a joint statement, saying: “Şener Levent has been subjected to oppression and persecution due to his critical journalism on Turkey’s policies on Cyprus.”
- Only 2,000 doses of vaccines from the south? – Greek Cypriot chair of the bicommunal technical committee on health recommended 2,000 doses of Pfizer vaccines for the Turkish Cypriots… This is only enough for 1,000 people… The Cyprus government in the south ordered 1.4m doses of vaccines from the EU.
Main News
Tatar: Official talks can only discuss a two-state solution
Yenidüzen, Kıbrıs, Havadis, Diyalog, Avrupa
Negotiations Process
OVERVIEW
Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar on Wednesday said that any new talks following the 5+1 conference will have to be for a two-state solution.
Evaluating his meeting with the UN’s Special Representative Elizabeth Spehar, Tatar said that preparations for the informal meeting most likely to take place in late February or early March were underway. He added that the Turkish Cypriot side had officially confirmed it would be participating in the informal meeting.
Tatar also noted that he conveyed his expectations from the 5+1 meeting to the UN official. He said that the two sides could discuss in good faith prospects for a solution based on two states co-existing side-by-side with sovereign equality and equal international status.
Tatar, however, added that the grounds to negotiate such a settlement needed to be strengthened to be able to achieve a fair, lasting and sustainable agreement in Cyprus.
“The core of the Cyprus issue for us is to safeguard Turkish Cypriot existence on the island, to ensure our sovereignty and independence,” Tatar stressed, adding that a new page had been turned with his election.
He said the reason why the Turkish Cypriot side wanted a two-state solution was because of repeated disappointments and failures at the end of each negotiation process.
Meanwhile, CTP leader Tufan Erhürman on Wednesday welcomed an invitation extended by Tatar to brief political parties in parliament on the latest developments. The meeting is set to take place on Friday, January 15.
He said that such a meeting was long overdue as Tatar had practically toured the entire country, visiting coffee shops and sports clubs, attending openings and other social events rather than keeping his election promise of regularly keeping parties well informed.
Erhürman also drew attention to the conflicting statements made by Tatar and his supporters on the Cyprus Problem.
“Who can really know what they mean. We see Tatar saying one thing, his foreign minister another. Mr (Tahsin) Ertuğruloğlu uttered the word confederation earlier this week during a visit to Ankara. Mr Tatar has never voiced the term confederation,” he said.
The CTP leader said that Tatar spoke of a two-state solution but questioned that if recognition was not possible or realistic as Tatar stated, how was it going to be possible to achieve a two-state solution.
KEY ACTORS
Tatar
>> New negotiations can only be for a two-state solution.
>> TC side will attend an informal meeting. Preparations underway.
>> The core of the Cyprus issue for TC side is to safeguard TC presence, sovereignty & independence on the island.
>> TC side wants a two-state solution model as a result of the disappointments in the past processes.
Erhürman (CTP)
>> Tatar & circles supporting him are issuing conflicting remarks on two states & confederation.
Tatar: TC side will reject vaccines unless EU delivers them directly
Yenidüzen, Kıbrıs, Havadis, Diyalog, Avrupa
Internal Security, EU matters
OVERVIEW
The Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar on Wednesday said that unless the coronavirus vaccines reserved for the Turkish Cypriot community are delivered directly via the EU and not through the Republic of Cyprus (RoC), the Turkish Cypriot side will not accept them.
Speaking to the Turkish Cypriot news agency TAK after meeting with the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative in Cyprus (SRSG), Tatar said that he had requested assistance from the UN over the vaccines that have been allocated for the north.
He added that the Turkish Cypriot side’s interlocutor on the issue was the EU and not the Greek Cypriot side.
Tatar said the Turkish Cypriot members of the bicommunal Technical Committee presented him with a report on the vaccines and had stated that the WHO-approved vaccines could only be delivered through the Greek Cypriot side.
In the meantime, Tatar’s remarks provoked strong reactions on social media and the opposition.
Republican Turkish Party (CTP) leader Tufan Erhürman and CTP MPs Doğuş Derya and Fikri Toros lambasted Tatar for his statements, accusing him of endangering and ignoring the public’s health for political purposes.
They argued that Tatar had lost touch with reality, accusing him of acting irresponsibly by politicizing an issue such as health.
“No one has the right to sacrifice the Turkish Cypriot people’s health and economy for populism,” Erhürman said.
The CTP leader said that Tatar was attempting to exploit the delivery of the vaccines for political purposes without consulting parliament or anyone else.
“The vaccines are not being sent by the EU as a courtesy to us… they are our rights,” he stressed.
Toros, on the other hand, said that Tatar’s secessionist policies were endangering the Turkish Cypriot community’s health.
“I strongly condemn Tatar for his statement and urge him to stop sacrificing the public’s health for his political gain,” he said.
Social Democratic Party (TDP) General Secretary Dr Halil Hızal reminded Tatar that the vaccines were global public property and that the public’s health came before politics.
“The vaccines have been presented to the use of all humanity,” he said in a post on social media.
KEY ACTORS
Tatar
>> TC side will not accept vaccines delivered through the GC side.
>> EU must directly deliver the vaccines to the north.
>> TC side’s interlocutor is the EU, not the GC side.
TC workers’ ordeal continues as some accept quarantine condition
Yenidüzen, Kıbrıs, Havadis, Diyalog, Avrupa
Internal Security
OVERVIEW
Some Turkish Cypriots working in the south crossed over for work on Wednesday on the condition they will spend their nights in mandatory quarantine upon their return.
A group of the workers who had agreed to the remedy offered by the authorities used the Metehan (Ayios Domethios) crossing point in the morning. They were transported to nearby state-monitored quarantine facilities via buses when they returned later in the afternoon. The workers agreed to go into quarantine in order not to lose their jobs in the south.
The workers had staged a protest on January 11 demanding to be treated in the same category as other Turkish Cypriots employed by the UN, Sovereign Base Areas (SBA) and the EU whereby negative PCR tests every 72 hours would suffice for them to cross to the south.
Turkish Cypriot Health Minister Ali Pilli had earlier claimed that “the source of the majority of the locally transmitted cases in the north was from the south.” However, the workers disputed Pilli’s claims, urging him to announce the names of the positive workers.