TCC Press Review 29 Jan 2021

Front Page Headlines

Yenidüzen

Until February 3 for the time being

The Council of Ministers did not change the partial curfew in place in Kyrenia until February 10 and in Nicosia until February 3. A partial street curfew has been imposed in all other districts until February 3. Movement between all districts has also been banned.

  • What has changed? – Businesses providing essential needs such as supermarkets and butchers will remain open between 6am and 7pm. The construction sector and suppliers will remain closed.
  • Local administrations given authority – Municipalities will be able to fine or shut down businesses which flout Covid-19 measures or rules.

Kıbrıs

Entry and exit from all districts also banned

Contacts of positive cases who have been hiding, who have not been isolating or who refuse to seek treatment at hospitals despite displaying Covid-19 symptoms have made it almost impossible to bring locally transmitted infections under control. The Council of Ministers in light of recommendations made by the Higher Committee for Infectious Diseases has revised the measures adopted to relieve the health system from the burden it is under and to contain the pandemic.

  • 20,000 doses of Sinovac vaccines delivered from Turkey – Health Minister Ali Pilli said the vaccines will continue to be sent from Turkey and the vaccination drive will continue.
  • 33 local, 47 positive cases – The number of coronavirus cases grow by the day. According to the latest tests done in the last 24 hours, one case arrived by air, 12 cases were identified in Nicosia, 30 in Kyrenia, one in Famagusta, one in Güzelyurt (Morphou) and two in İskele (Trikomo).

Havadis

The right decision

The lockdown in force in Kyrenia and Nicosia has not slowed down locally transmitted cases. The health system is giving out an SOS. The government gave in to pressure from various circles or groups within the community to implement a full lockdown. The government imposed a nation-wide curfew and lockdown until February 3. The measures will continue for Kyrenia until February 10. The opposition in the meantime proposed to speed up budget talks due to the pandemic. Two days of work was completed in one and the 2021 budget was approved. The government will meet with the political parties in parliament at a joint platform on Tuesday to discuss “crisis management.”

  • Vaccination drive will continue – 20,000 doses of Sinovac vaccines delivered to the TRNC via an ambulance plane belonging to the Turkish Health Ministry.
  • Attempting to make way for the two-state solution – President Ersin Tatar told TAK his preparations, expectations and goals about the 5+1 conference.
  • Bought from the south to bring to the north – D.E., who was arrested in a military zone in Haspolat (Mia Milia) with 2.5kg of drugs, is remanded for six more days.

Diyalog

We are home only for five days

The whole country is in lockdown until Wednesday, February 3. It has been decided to continue the night-time curfew which starts at 8pm. Prime Minister Ersan Saner said that the lockdown in the Kyrenia district will continue until February 10. He said that new decisions might be taken according to the case numbers. Clarification has been brought to which businesses will be allowed to remain open. Apart from law enforcement, pharmacies, butchers, supermarkets and banks, all businesses and offices will shut down. Speaking to Diyalog newspaper after the announcement of the decisions, members of the public said they couldn’t understand why banks would continue to remain open during the lockdown.

  • We are grateful – Turkey sends another 20,000 doses of Sinovac vaccines.
  • Four more deaths on Greek Cypriot side – 47 new cases in the north, 158 in the south.

Avrupa

Full lockdown for six days

The rest of the country was shut down after it was understood that locking down Kyrenia and Nicosia would not be enough. A nationwide curfew was declared… The measures previously adopted in Kyrenia will remain in force until February 10… The lockdown in Nicosia will be in force until February 3… A full lockdown will be implemented in all other districts from January 29 to February 3…

  • It must be for 15 days – Bülent Dizdarlı, former chief physician at the Dr Burhan Nalbantoğlu Hospital said now the pandemic was being felt and there was no other choice left at the moment but to implement a lockdown for 15 days.
  • The constitution does not include thought crime – Ombudsperson Emine Dizdarlı says.
  • 20,000 doses of Sinovac vaccines delivered from Turkey – Turkey dispatched the second party of vaccines.
  • 113 Turkish Cypriots died in the UK.
  • The measures in the south extended for one more week.

Main News

MEPs raise alarm against Ankara’s growing pressure on TC journalists

Yenidüzen
Human Rights

OVERVIEW

Six Cypriot Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) submitted a joint motion to the European Commission (EC), regarding the latest lawsuits filed against Turkish Cypriot journalists for allegedly insulting the Republic of Turkey and/or its representatives.

In a joint statement made on Thursday, the MEPs Demetris Papadakis, Lefteris Christoforou, Loucas Fourlas, George Georgiou, Niyazi Kızılyürek and Costas Mavrides, drew attention to the growing pressure on Turkish Cypriot journalists as well as lawsuits due to their articles published and social media posts.

“This is an attempt by Ankara to silence and intimidate journalists and progressive Turkish Cypriots,” the MEPs stressed, noting that Ankara is violating the basic rights of freedom of expression, freedom of thought and press freedom.

In the written motion submitted, the MEPs questioned whether the Commission is aware of the increasing pressure on Turkish Cypriots and what kind of measures it was considering to implement to protect EU-citizen journalists.

In the meantime, Ombudsperson Emine Dizdarlı on Thursday said freedom of expression was protected by the Turkish Cypriot constitution and that thought crime was not in the country’s penal code.

She also noted “TRNC citizens” could not be extradited to Turkey for such alleged offences, referring to the lawsuits filed in Ankara against Turkish Cypriot journalists.


Çavuşoğlu says exploratory talks held in positive atmosphere

Yenidüzen, Kıbrıs, Havadis, Diyalog, Avrupa
Regional/International Relations

OVERVIEW

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu on Wednesday said the first meeting of the recently launched exploratory talks between Turkey and Greece was held in a positive atmosphere.

Speaking during a joint conference with his Irish counterpart, Simon Coveney, the Turkish minister noted that the consultative talks were important for the resolution of disputes and beneficial for the two neighbours.

“The dialogue might even lead to the permanent solutions to the problems between Turkey and Greece,” he said.

The Irish Minister Coveney, for his part, also welcomed the launch of the exploratory talks, adding that the difficult year for the EU-Turkey relationship as a “result of a series of factors” is over. He said the goal now should be to ensure the relationship improves significantly in 2021.

“This relationship is simply too important to be allowed to drift into a negative space,” Coveney said, urging for a constructive and cooperative partnership between the parties.

Coveney, among other issues, also touched on the efforts to resume the Cyprus talks, emphasizing that the UN Secretary-General’s efforts to bring together the sides around the same table with the 5+1 meeting for the solution of the Cyprus problem was a positive development.

Meanwhile, UK’s Foreign Office Minister for Europe and the Americas, Wendy Morton also welcomed the recently launched exploratory talks between Turkey and Greece.

“This is a positive step for stability and prosperity in the Eastern Mediterranean,” Morton wrote on Twitter.

Also on Thursday, the Turkish National Security Council (MGK) reiterated its determination to protect its rights in the Eastern Mediterranean, the Aegean and Cyprus emanating from international law.

The MGK, which convened under the chairmanship of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, stressed Ankara prefers dialogue and diplomacy first in resolving divergences in every platform.


Lockdown & curfew extended to all districts

Yenidüzen, Kıbrıs, Havadis, Diyalog, Avrupa
Internal Security

OVERVIEW

The lockdown and partial curfew introduced for Kyrenia and Nicosia earlier this week were expanded on Thursday to include all districts as locally transmitted Covid-19 cases continued to rise in the north.

In a late-night press conference on Thursday, Turkish Cypriot Prime Minister Ersan Saner said that the cabinet had decided to impose a nationwide curfew and lockdown in all districts until Wednesday, February 3.

While most of the decisions remained unchanged, clarification was brought as to which sectors could continue to operate. Several sectors, such as construction and businesses selling building supplies which had been allowed to resume operations during the day, will remain closed until February 3.

Restaurants will still be allowed to remain open but only for delivery services. Only petrol stations, supermarkets, pharmacies and banks will continue to operate until February 3.

Supermarkets and petrol stations will be allowed to operate between 6am and 7pm and the night-time curfew between 8pm and 5am will continue to remain in force. A travel ban has also been introduced between all districts. 

47 new cases were reported in the north on Thursday, the second-highest in daily numbers since the outbreak in March 2020.

Meanwhile, the north’s annual budget of ₺10.2bn (€1.15bn) was approved by the Turkish Cypriot parliament on Thursday with a majority vote after the process was expedited due to the latest lockdown decisions.  

The debate in parliament was originally planned to last until February 3 but was cut short following an initiative taken by opposition MPs to conclude the process earlier due to the rising number of cases.


Tatar says agreement in Cyprus possible if TC side’s vision adopted


Yenidüzen, Kıbrıs, Havadis, Diyalog, Avrupa
Negotiations Process

OVERVIEW

Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar has said that it would be possible to reach an agreement on the island if the Turkish Cypriot side’s new vision of a two-state solution based on sovereign equality is accepted.

In an interview with TAK on Thursday, Tatar repeated that the Turkish Cypriot side will table its position in favour of a two-state solution at the upcoming 5+1 informal summit and will defend its position against starting a new process for a federal settlement.

He said that political equality has been a core principle for Turkish Cypriots since the foundation of the 1960 Republic of Cyprus (RoC) but that since the outbreak of intercommunal violence in 1963, there has been no shared governance with Greek Cypriots.

Tatar argued that the existence of a separate Turkish Cypriot administration was reaffirmed in several agreements throughout the years, and most recently in 2004 with the ‘Annan Plan’ referendum. He also drew attention to what he said were unjust embargoes imposed on Turkish Cypriots despite the goodwill they had repeatedly demonstrated over the years.

Dismissing the existing UN parameters for a bizonal, bicommunal federal (BFF) solution, Tatar argued that the UN’s role in the negotiations is solely to organize the talks and to host the sides.

“No one can impose any solution models to any one of the communities,” Tatar said, adding that there can be no solution without the recognition of the sovereignty equality of Turkish Cypriots.

Asked to comment whether the issue of natural gas will be discussed during the 5+1 conference, Tatar argued that “the issue of sovereignty constitutes the core of the Cyprus problem,” and that the hydrocarbons will be tackled as a confidence-building measure (CBM) at a later time.

In the meantime, British Ambassador in Ankara Dominick Chilcott said the UK, as one of the guarantor countries in Cyprus, has the responsibility to support the UN Secretary-General’s (UNSG) efforts for the solution of the issue.

Speaking with members of the Diplomacy Reporters’ Association in Ankara, Chilcott added the UK will continue to assist the two sides to reach a mutually acceptable settlement. However, he said the UK will not attempt to dictate any type of solution model. “We hope to be able to find a common basis during the 5+1 conference to resume the negotiations to reach a solution on the island,” Chilcott concluded.

KEY ACTORS
Tatar
>> Possible to reach an agreement if the TC side’s two-state vision is adopted.
>> There can be no solution without recognition of TCs’ equal sovereignty. Sovereignty constitutes the core issue of the Cyprus problem.
>> No solution model can be imposed on any of the sides.
>> Hydrocarbons issue to be tackled as a CBM.

Chilcott (UK)
>> UK as a guarantor country has a responsibility to support UNSG’s efforts for a solution.
>> UK will continue to assist the sides but will not attempt to dictate any type of solution.


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