Front Page Headlines
Vaccine chaos continues
10,000 of the 20,000 Sinovac (CoronaVac) vaccines sent by Turkey have been administered. It was first announced that remaining vials have been reserved for the second boost jabs. A second announcement said that the remaining 10,000 doses will be used to vaccinate new people after Turkey informed the authorities it will be sending a new shipment on Monday. The 1,080 Pfizer BioNTech vaccines that arrived from the South have also been used. A new batch is expected.
We were drowned in sorrow
The country has been shaken with news of consecutive deaths. While the 12th death from coronavirus was recorded, another person lost his life to a traffic accident. The brain death of a seriously injured young man receiving treatment in hospital occurred. The death of Nicosia Turkish Municipality (LTB) worker Mert Fıstıkçı, who had been in intensive care fighting for his life, also caused great sorrow among his family and friends.
- Turkey sending the second batch of vaccines – Health Minister Ali Pilli said he confirmed that Turkey will send 20,000 doses of Sinovac vaccines to the TRNC next week. He added the inoculation drive will continue with the 10,000 vaccines that had been put aside for second doses.
- Awaiting an announcement from the government on the new measures – It has been learned that the Higher Committee of Infectious Diseases has relayed its decision in favour of the resumption of in-class education in schools on Monday except for those in the Kyrenia area. The committee has also recommended that entry and exit from the Kyrenia area be temporarily stopped.
We lost three young people in just a day
While 23-year-old Kenan Kurtdemir and 23-year-old Emrullah Baran lost their lives in traffic accidents, 36-year-old Mert Fıstıkçı died of a heart attack.
- • It was appropriated – The application filed to the Greek Cypriot court by the Turkish Cypriot who owns the land on which the Paphos Airport was built was rejected.
Silencing operation
Turkey intensifies pressure on opposing voices. Another investigation was launched by Ankara against one of our citizens. The Office of the Chief Public Prosecutor in Ankara launched an investigation on journalist and writer Ayşemden Akın regarding her posts on social media… It is said the investigation was launched upon a complaint from the Turkish Foreign Ministry. The prosecutor’s office is demanding Ayşemden Akın to be charged and punished according to article 5237 of the Turkish Penal Code on grounds her social media post was intended to insult the Republic of Turkey and its representative in Cyprus as well as to incite a public uprising.
- “We will remember RTE with a damnation” – The hosts of the programme ‘Üçlü Bakış’ condemned the January 22 mob attack on our newspaper on the incident’s third anniversary. The programme hosts Ahmet Ertaç and Ali Rıza Altay in a joint statement said, “We shall remember January 22 and RTE (Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan) who instructed the fascist mob with condemnation.
- Tacan Reynar on the threats he received – Judge Tacan Reynar, who received threats through official channels before presiding over the hearing for the (Afrika newspaper) attackers was told he would receive a punishment ten-fold to the sentences he would give to those on trial.
Main News
Budget talks turn into a debate on Cyprob
Yenidüzen, Kıbrıs, Diyalog
Negotiations Process
OVERVIEW
The marathon talks for the 2021 state budget which commenced at the Turkish Cypriot parliament on Friday quickly turned into a heated exchange between MPs on the Cyprus Problem.
The session which started with the debate on the annual budget of the Office of the President soon shifted agenda as opposition MPs blasted the government and Turkish Cypriot President Ersin Tatar.
National Unity Party (UBP) Famagusta MP and member of the Turkish Cypriot negotiations team Oğuzhan Hasipoğlu addressed the plenary, defending Tatar’s position on the talks whlie arguing that the negotiations could not resume from where they left off because of the Greek Cypriot side’s reluctance to share power and wealth with the Turkish Cypriot side.
He insisted that the two-state model and the Turkish Cypriot side’s “new vision” will be tabled at the upcoming informal 5+1 meeting. As for the Eastern Mediterranean issue, Hasipoğlu said the Turkish Cypriot side would not be making any concessions on its maritime jurisdiction areas in the seas.
On the Maraş (Varosha) initiative, Hasipoğlu said the goal is to return the properties in the fenced-off town to lawful owners through the Immovable Property Commission (IPC).
The first to criticize Hasipoğlu and the government was Social Democratic Party (TDP) Kyrenia MP Zeki Çeler who argued that Tatar’s policies would hand the Greek Cypriot side the opportunity to brand the Turkish Cypriot side as intransigent.
Expressing scepticism over the possibility of achieving a two-state solution, Çeler urged the Turkish Cypriot side to instead focus on concluding the federal talks.
Republican Turkish Party (CTP) Nicosia MP Özdil Nami urged the Turkish Cypriot leadership to stop “trying to deceive the people” and to implement realistic policies.
He stressed the two-state solution model is not only unlikely but will also harm the Turkish Cypriot community in the coming period. By drawing examples from past processes, he noted that despite hardline positions, the Turkish Cypriot side has always agreed to negotiate a federal solution. Nami concluded by urging the Turkish Cypriot leadership to come up with realistic policies.
Democratic Party (DP) Nicosia MP Serdar Denktaş on other hand called on all the political parties to create a united front at the 5+1 meeting.
“State and sovereignty are for us and not to be used against each other,” Denktaş said, urging Tatar to play a lead role in uniting the Turkish Cypriots under a common goal. He added that the Turkish Cypriot people must show the entire world that there is a sovereign nation in the north that can govern itself.
People’s Party (HP) Kyrenia MP Erek Çağatay stressed the two sides can only rebuild trust between the two communities through collaboration. He said the natural resources should no longer be a point of tension between the two sides but an area of collaboration. Çağatay also accused Tatar of not having any strategies on the matters pertaining to the Cyprus problem and urged him to brief the parliament as soon as possible.
Ankara seeks to prosecute & sentence Turkish journalist
Yenidüzen, Kıbrıs, Avrupa
Human Rights
OVERVIEW
The chief prosecutor’s office in Ankara has filed a case against Turkish journalist and writer Ayşemden Akın who currently resides in the north.
Akın, who announced the news via social media, said that she was being charged by the prosecutor’s office in Ankara following a complaint filed by the Turkish foreign ministry. She said she had been summoned by the court in Ankara to testify. Avrupa reported that the move was part of Ankara’s efforts to silence the opposition in the north.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s Ruling and Justice Party (AKP) has been mounting pressure in recent months on its nationals living in the north, some with dual citizenship, as well as Turkish Cypriots, in an attempt to silence its critics.
Also, on Friday, Turkish Cypriot Journalists’ Association (KTGB) condemned Ersin Tatar for his response to journalist Esra Aygın on Twitter.
“Press freedom is vital for the development of democracy and fundamental rights in a society,” the association stressed, noting that they will stand together with Aygın and on the side of freedom of expression.
18 irregular migrants found & deported
Yenidüzen, Kıbrıs, Diyalog
Migration & Citizenship
OVERVIEW
18 Syrian migrants were found hiding in the back of a lorry on Friday at the Famagusta Port.
Nonetheless, in a swift and unprecedented manner as the dailies report, the Syrian migrants, aged between 18 and 35, were deported back to Turkey with the ship they arrived in the north.