Front Page Headlines
Judiciary comes to a grinding halt: Justice locked
Apart from urgent cases, court hearings have not been taking place due to the pandemic measures in place for the past year. Many hearings are postponed. 266 people are waiting in prison for their trials.
- “I will not open schools before vaccinations are completed” – Education Minister Olgun Amcaoğlu spoke clearly on face-to-face education. He said however it was not clear when teachers will be vaccinated.
We are opening up phase by phase
All businesses except for bars, coffee shops, restaurants and taverns, will reopen from today onwards. Hairdressers and barbers will start accepting customers from March 4 only on an appointment basis.
- Parliament not able to make laws – The members of parliamentary sub-committees could not be identified yet even though two months have passed since the establishment of the National Unity Party (UBP), Democratic Party (DP) and Rebirth Party (YDP) coalition government. As a result, it has not been possible for parliament to make any laws. Speaker of the Parliament Önder Senneroğlu said the members will be identified today (during the parliamentary assembly).
“All for me and mostly for me”
It is claimed that the head of Turkish Cypriot Hoteliers’ Association (KITOB) Dimağ Çağıner met with Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay in Ankara last week, raising his agenda and interests. RES-BIR (Restauranteurs Association) and KITSAB (Turkish Cypriot Travel Agencies Association) are outraged. RES-BIR claimed during the meeting that personal interests were put before the country’s tourism interests. It added: “We have reached today with selfish associations and platforms who profess ‘all for me and mostly for me’ without taking the viewpoint of the other stakeholders into consideration.” Head of KITSAB Orhan Tolun condemned Çağıner, arguing that he acted in a way that harmed the north’s tourism. Tolun said: “Çağıner bypassed the government and the state to put forward his personal interests, causing chaos in the country.”
- Journalists to take their cause to the street – Turkish Cypriot Journalists’ Association (KTGB) and BASIN-SEN (TC Press Workers’ Union) will march in protest of the attacks on journalists. The Republican Turkish Party (CTP), Social Democratic Party (TDP), the Cyprus Socialist Party (KSP) and many have declared their support for the journalists. The Journalists’ Association announced the march will be organized in compliance with pandemic rules.
- New relaxations announced – The coronavirus restrictions are being gradually lifted. Many of the businesses will reopen today after being shut for a long time.
- “The Emperor has no clothes” – President Nicos Anastasiades, who is in trouble for allegedly distributing EU passports for money, wanted to silence journalists but was given a harsh response.
- A presidential system is the remedy – Foreign Minister Tahsin Ertuğruloğlu, in his interview with TAK, reiterated his opposition to a parliamentary system and spoke about the Cyprus Problem.
Oh, be careful!
In the first incident, they stormed a house in Nicosia with axes, guns and knives, assaulting three people and stealing their money and possessions. The attackers were Russian and Turkish and the victims African. In a second incident, a man T.K broke into a pharmacy in broad daylight stealing two packages of medicine and ₺260 (€29). Pharmacists say that their lives are in constant danger.
Yet another act of police terror
There is no end to the police’s arbitrary acts! They searched a home without a warrant or court order! We are becoming worse than Turkey! The narcotics police carried out a raid at a home in Nicosia where Syrian students were living. They turned the place upside down, however did not find anything. The students realised after the police had gone, that their money was missing. The 23-year-old student Enes Arnaus went to the police station to file a complaint but instead was locked up in a room and beaten. His nose is broken due to the blows he received to his face. The Head of the relevant police unit, Rüstem Tunçtaşlı, whom we reached out to, rejected the accusations of theft by police and battery and said the complaints must be made to the prosecutor’s office.
- BASIN-SEN and KTGB going out onto the street – The journalists will stage a protest today at 6pm on Dereboyu (Shakespeare Avenue).
- Rejection by 54 organisations – 54 civil society organisations announced they will not accept the amendments made by the Education Ministry on the regulation providing financial assistance to associations.
Main News
Ertuğruloğlu: Partnership with GCs not the only option
Yenidüzen, Kıbrıs, Havadis, Diyalog, Avrupa
Negotiations Process
OVERVIEW
Turkish Cypriot Foreign Minister Tahsin Ertuğruloğlu on Sunday said a partnership with Greek Cypriots was not the Turkish Cypriots’ only option in Cyprus. Ertuğruloğlu, a fierce critic and opponent of a federal settlement in Cyprus, argued that the Turkish Cypriot community’s interests and future lay in a two-state solution.
He also expressed happiness that the two-state solution which he has been advocating for years has finally been adopted as an official position.
In an interview with TAK news agency, Ertuğruloğlu criticized those who opposed a two-state solution or Turkey’s presence on the island. “Turkey is the reason for our existence here in Cyprus. We will be no more if Turkey leaves Cyprus,” he warned, stating that this view was not expressed out of desperation but was a mere fact.
The Turkish Cypriot foreign minister described the opposition’s criticism that the ‘TRNC’s’ sovereignty was not valid when it came to relations with Turkey’, as cheap political rhetoric and insincere.
“Turkey is not a foreign country. It is our motherland. I would like to remind these friends of the oath they swore in parliament and ask them why the issue of sovereignty does not come up when they assess their relations with South Cyprus or the EU. I find it wrong to use our sovereignty in our relations with Turkey,” he said.
Ertuğruloğlu also claimed that the main reason behind the Turkish Cypriot community’s search for alternative solutions was its dissatisfaction with the way the north was being governed. He argued that although an effective system of governance, a parliamentary system was no longer a good system for the north and that the time had come to switch to a presidential system.
“We ruined the parliamentary system in this country because populism has taken over everything. We have become accustomed to doing things the wrong way. We have a habit of running the country through favours, connections and for personal or party interests,” Ertuğruloğlu claimed.
Asked whether a confederation did not contradict the Turkish Cypriot leadership’s position in favour of sovereign equality, he said that to the contrary, a confederation was a partnership based on two sovereign and equal states.
In response to a question on his expectations from the upcoming five-plus-one meeting, Ertuğruloğlu said his expectations were quite low. He said he hopes common ground will be found to move forward but failure to do so will not be the end of the world.
Ertuğruloğlu also said that the north was not without options and will decide on its future together with Turkey.
Regarding Maraş (Varosha), he expressed the view that the process to reopen the fenced-off town for civilian settlement under Turkish Cypriot control was very important. He repeated the view that Maraş (Varosha) was no longer a concession to be given away at the negotiating table.
“Those who want to return to their properties will be allowed to do so but under the Turkish Cypriot administration at best,” he said, adding that the resettlement process will be managed through the Immovable Property Commission (IPC). He admitted, however, that this will not be an easy task as properties within the fenced-off town were not only owned by Greek Cypriots but other foreign companies as well as the Evfak administration.
KEY ACTORS
Ertuğruoğlu (UBP)
>> Partnership with GCs, not TCs’ only option.
>> TC community’s interests & future lies with a two-state solution.
>> Wrong to use sovereignty card in relations with Turkey.
>> Main reason behind TC side’s search for alternative solutions is the north’s bad governance.
>> Parliamentary system is no longer good for the north. Must be replaced with a presidential system.
>> Confederation is only possible through sovereign & equal states.
>> Expectations from 5+1 meeting low but TC side not without options.
>> Reopening Maraş (Varosha) will be managed via IPC but will be no easy task.
Tatar receives UNSG’s invitation for 5+1 meeting
Yenidüzen, Kıbrıs, Havadis, Diyalog, Avrupa
Negotiations Process
OVERVIEW
The Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar on Sunday announced he has received the UN Secretary-General’s (UNSG) invitation for the informal five-plus-one meeting on the Cyprus Problem set to take place in Geneva between April 27-29.
According to a statement issued by Tatar’s spokeswoman Berna Çelik Doğruyol, the Turkish Cypriot leader will be taking part in the meeting which is aimed at determining whether or not there exists any common ground for the launch of a process of talks.
Doğruyol said that Tatar’s positive response to the invitation will be delivered to the UN Secretary-General on Monday, March 1 through the north’s special representative in New York.