Front Page Headlines
The decision for relaxations a step into a minefield
The stabilisation of cases at high levels (415 yesterday) likely leads us backwards.
- Barbed wire: The Commission was not officially informed
- Former Co-op: Odysseas exposes 25 PEP for NPLs but doesn’t name them
- Officials and public service: Fines for corruption doubling
- Liquid fuel: They began decommissioning Hellenic Petroleum and Petrolina
- Athalassa park: Military exercises amid strolls
They’re throwing dice at the Presidential Palace
Open-close and postponement of decisions while restauranteurs, students and parents are sitting on hot coal. New analyses of the pandemic situation at the Cabinet again tomorrow.
- Tatar wants Britain, but says no to EU
- Contraband reigning at the Astromeritis Buffer Zone – Illegal smuggling of drugs and people
- “No fence can stop Attila” – Smuggling of all kinds being witnessed by Strovilia residents
- 500 reports of family violence within six months in Limassol – Cases have doubled, 52 by men against women
- Sexual harassment cases reach 20 – File involving politician in the hands of Attorney General
- We’ll ‘learn’ which politicians had favourable loans without names
- Isolation sending our students to psychologists
- Commission agreed on more vaccine doses
Come down from the hill to see the problems of the people
They’re unable to understand the problems faced by small and medium-sized businesses.
- “The positions for two states and guarantees are patriotism of empty content”
- Where fences and barbed wire were raised there were losses in human lives
- Rapid tests: Smells like a scandal
- New thoughts for relaxations: Two dead, 415 new cases
Spike postpones relaxation call
Reports hint that if cafes do open negative test for customers might be necessary for entry.
- Likely impact on Cyprus after Britons told to hold off on holiday bookings
Turn to NEW economy forms
Anastasiades’ personal bet: The plan for a sustainable economic development of our country. We will also invest in alternative economy forms, with emphasis on the transfer of companies’ headquarters to Cyprus, on research and innovation, on education, on renewable energy sources, health and tourism. 1.6 billion so far to support businesses and workers.
- New recital of stubbornness – Criticism from Akinci – Tatar: The EU will not be at the five-party
- Nikos Nouris: What did TC parties do block migrant flows?
- Ad hoc committee: Work for red loans of PEPs will continue with the new parliament
- Deputy Tourism Minister: Ready to receive tourists from April
- Relaxations in the air
Main News
Tatar rejects EU participation in Cyprob processes
Alithia, Phileleftheros
Negotiations Process
OVERVIEW
The dailies report on statements issued by the TC leader Ersin Tatar, who rejected EU involvement in Cyprus problem processes noting that the consent of both sides is needed for a party to take a seat at the negotiating table.
Tatar said that the EU is a party involved in Cyprus due to the EU membership of the GC side and Greece. He said he stands against the participation of the EU at the negotiating table, stressing that only those who are approved by both sides can participate in talks. The UK, on the other hand, will take part in negotiations not because it knows the Cyprus problem well but because it is a guarantor power, Tatar said. He added that Britain is actively attempting to assist the two sides in securing a solution and referred to comments by the UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab who said both sides must be reasonable and flexible if a solution is to be found.
Phileleftheros reports that Tatar’s siding with Britain comes as no surprise, since Britain’s moves were more in tune with the TC side rather than the GC side, while the GC side has clearly been moving in tune with the EU.
Alithia reports that Tatar also said that the TC is determined to continue with its own ‘state’ in Cyprus, but is nevertheless ready for cooperation and negotiations.
Alithia reports that Tatar’s positions in favour of maintaining Turkish guarantees were criticised by the former TC leader Mustafa Akinci, who said that this only facilitates the GC side and drives the TCs into further isolation. In a post on social media, Akinci said Tatar’s pursuit for two sovereign, recognised, separate states and the continuation of the guarantees system will not receive support from the international community. Alithia reports that Akinci said that Turkish guarantees involve the Republic of Cyprus that was created in 1960, to protect the indivisibility of the entirety of Cyprus’ territory, and also included Greece and the UK as guarantor powers. Akinci said that to demand that only one the three guarantor powers remains as guarantor for the new situation of two recognised states with a separate sovereignty is nothing other than empty patriotic talk.
Phileleftheros also reports on comments made by the TC chief negotiator Ergun Olgun after meeting with the UN Secretary General (UNSG)’s special envoy Jane Holl Lute. Olgun said the informal five-party meeting in Geneva will serve to assess whether common ground exists to move on to negotiations. He said he told Lute that if the current impasse is to be broken new, creative and out of the box ideas are needed, since the long-standing basis for negotiations has led to failures and collapses. Olgun said he told Lute that the reason behind the failure to secure a solution for over half a century is the hegemonic stance held by the GC side. He added that this failure has shown that the old basis for negotiations is not appropriate for Cyprus given the actual circumstances and that the TC side does not consent to continuing negotiations on this basis.
Meanwhile, the dailiesreport that Lute met with the Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias in Athens on Wednesday, to discuss the upcoming informal Cyprus problem conference. Phileleftheros reports that Lute will be returning to New York pending her meeting in Ankara, which has yet to be organised.
The dailies also report on a response issued by the UK’s Lord Ahmad, Minister for South Asia and the Commonwealth at the Foreign Office, to a question posed by a member of the House of Lords. Lord Ahmad said the “the resolution of the Cyprus problem remains a key for the solution of broader tensions in the region,” noting that the UK supports efforts being exerted by the UNSG. He added that the UK is actively deliberating with other parties ahead of the informal meeting in view of “encouraging them to approach the meeting with a spirit of flexibility and compromise.” Finally, Lord Ahmad said the Brexit has not affected the UK’s role as a guarantor power.
KEY ACTORS
Tatar
>> EU only involved in Cyprob due to membership of Republic and Greece
>> Consent of both sides needed for party to join negotiations, and north rejects participation of EU
>> UK actively attempting to assist both sides in finding a solution
>> North determined to continue with its own state, but also ready to cooperate and negotiate
Akinci
>> Tatar’s positions in favour maintaining Turkish guarantees and creating two independent recognised states are empty patriotic talk that facilitate the GC side and the isolation of TCs and will not receive international support
Olgun (north)
>> To break current impasse new creative ideas are needed
>> Repeated collapse of peace processes due to GC hegemonic stance
>> Old basis for negotiations not appropriate for Cyprus given the actual circumstances and the TC side does not consent to continuing negotiations on this basis
Lord Ahmad (UK)
>> Resolution of the Cyprus problem remains a key for the solution of broader tensions in the region
>> UK actively deliberating with other parties ahead of the informal meeting to encourage a flexible approach and a readiness to compromise
>> Brexit has not affected the UK’s role as a guarantor power
DIKO leader holds contacts on Cyprob in Athens
Phileleftheros
Negotiations Process
OVERVIEW
The leader of DIKO Nicholas Papadopoulos met with the Greece’s President Katerina Sakellaropoulou and Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias in Athens, with talks focusing on the upcoming informal five-party summit to be held in Geneva, Phileleftheros reports.
During his meeting with Sakellaropoulou, Papadopoulos gave a briefing of recent Cyprus problem developments and his party’s positions. Sakellaropoulou highlighted the need for a comprehensive solution based on UN Security Council (UNSC) resolutions and the EU acquis, and stressed constant contact and cooperation between Athens and Nicosia at all levels is and will be a given.
In statements after the meeting, Papadopoulos recognised that the current moment is crucial as regards the Cyprus problem. He said that Turkey views Greece and Cyprus as a single enemy and for this reason cooperation among the two countries is necessary if risks are to be dealt with and our national interests safeguarded.
Papadopoulos also highlighted the need for cooperation between Greece and Cyprus in his meeting with Dendias, so that Turkish pursuits, including its demand to change the basis of negotiations, are prevented at the new round of Cyprob talks. Papadopoulos stressed that neither Greece nor Cyprus must allow negotiations to take place on any other basis than that laid out by relevant UNSC resolutions, as we will most definitely end up with a new impasse.
KEY ACTORS
Papadopoulos (DIKO)
>> Current moment is crucial as regards the Cyprus problem
>> Turkey views Greece and Cyprus as a single enemy and so cooperation is necessary if risks are to be dealt with and national interests safeguarded
>> Cooperation between Greece and Cyprus necessary to deter Turkish pursuits such as change of negotiations basis and two-state solution
>> Negotiations must take place on basis defined by UNSC resolutions, otherwise a new impasse is definite
Sakellaropoulou (Greece)
>> Need for a comprehensive solution based on UNSC resolutions and EU acquis
>> Constant contact and cooperation between Athens and Nicosia at all levels is and will be a given
Interior Minister defends Buffer Zone fence
Alithia, Cyprus Mail, Haravgi, Phileleftheros, Politis
Internal Security
OVERVIEW
Interior Minister Nicos Nouris on Wednesday defended a decision to install razor wire along the Buffer Zone to stop migrants from crossing, and challenged Turkish Cypriot detractors to stop the flow from Turkey, the dailies report.
Nouris reiterated that the Republic faced a huge migration problem, ranking top in the EU in the number of migrant arrivals as a proportion to the population. He said the number of asylum seekers in the Republic is approaching 4 per cent, when other countries like Greece, Spain and Italy were under 1 per cent.
“The dividing line remains the big problem,” Nouris said, noting that 75% of migrant flows are crossing through the north and we must therefore adhere to what the Green Line Regulation states, that is, effective management and prevention of any illegal entry.
Responding to criticism filed mainly by AKEL over the fence signalling the creation of borders and which constituting the ‘bread and butter’ of Turkey and circles seeking partition, the minister said the government had no intention of raising tensions and rejected suggestions that the razor wire implied borders.
Politis reports that EU sources are characterising the move as rushed and politically incomprehensible. Politis reports that though Nouris claimed that both the UN and the EU, as well as Ambassadors of several countries, were informed ahead of the move, European Commission sources said that Brussels was not officially informed of Nicosia’s intention to install the fence on the ceasefire line, which would require a detailed overview of the reasoning, the precise location, the goals, as well as a risk assessment. The same sources told the paper that while the Green Line Regulation allows the Republic to effectively monitor the Buffer Zone to prevent uncontrolled passage and violations, but Article 10 requires that any changes to policies involving crossing through the Buffer Zone requires that the Commission is officially informed and that the Republic awaits a relevant response within one month. The sources said the Commission will be examining the issues with authorities in the Republic in the coming period.
Phileleftheros reports that the fence fiasco has brought to the fore discussions involving smuggling and trafficking through unmonitored areas of the Buffer Zone. The paper also prodded the question of how the fence will affect firefighting operations in the event of a fire, reporting that the fire service was not informed of the installation of a fence and has therefore not drawn up an action plan on how to handle blazes in the area.
To Turkish Cypriots who criticised the decision, Nouris said it would be interesting to hear, especially from certain Turkish Cypriot parties, what they are doing to stop Turkey which systematically channels migrants to the north and from there to the Republic through the dividing line. He said the Republic would have no intention of installing this obstacle if there was control on behalf of Turkish Cypriots. Apparently, there isn’t any, he said. Haravgi viewed these comments as an attempt to shift blame onto TC parties, and rejected Nouris’ claim that these actions are not affecting the Cyprus problem.
The wire has also upset famers in the area who have fields in the buffer zone because it has made it difficult to access them. Politis reports that Astromeritis farmers claim that their agreement was not sought before the fence was installed.