Front Page Headlines
Alarm over infections with unknown source
The number of locally transmitted cases are on the rise. Experts are warning that people need to be more careful as the source of many of the new cases is unknown. Following the easing of restrictions, the number of daily cases is on the rise again. Experts say that urgent measures are needed.
- Common desire: They want to live in a democratic country.
Production in a bottleneck, producers suffering
Farmers, who make their living from agriculture are suffering due to the pandemic. The producers are forced to sell their produce below cost because of the drop in the public’s purchasing power and power and because of shrinkage in the market.
- Unemployment in double digits, public sector employment increased by 14.3 per cent – KTTO (Turkish Cypriot Chamber of Commerce) published its fourth-quarter report covering the months of October, November and December 2020.
- The process to return to face-to-face education will be evaluated tomorrow – National Education Minister Olgun Amcaoğlu informed the parliament on the efforts for online education however he also added that there has to be in-class education for some grades at schools
The situation is disastrous
A research carried out by the Turkish Cypriot Chamber of Commerce (KTTO) revealed the true extent of the economic recession with figures. Head of KTTO, Turgay Deniz shared the figures for the fourth quarter of 2020. He said the economy shrunk by 14.3 per cent. Unemployment is in double digits for the first time in nine years, reaching 10.1 per cent. The annual inflation is calculated at 15.03 per cent. And the number of persons employed in the public sector increased by 14.3 per cent in the past year.
This is a record
The TRNC people have seen 11 prime ministers in the last 20 years. It has emerged that the TRNC, whose economy is not self-sufficient as a result of the absence of political stability, has seen 11 governments in the last 20 years.
Rent, the heavy burden of the pandemic
The government, which has not touched upon the issue of rents, has left the tenants in great difficulty. Many businesses have closed down and many more have gone bankrupt due to the pandemic which has been going on for more than a year. Retailers are struggling to pay rent for their shops and the people for their homes…The property owners have started to take their tenants to court for overdue rent.
- Tatar: The (presidential) palace has fallen into decay. I am ashamed – President Ersin Tatar, who said funds have been allocated by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for the construction of a new presidential palace claimed that the current building had fallen into decay. He said: “We are embarrassed when hosting foreign dignitaries.”
- Calling on the ministry and the police to do their job – KTÖS (Turkish Cypriot Teachers’ Union) General Secretary Şener Elcil called on the education ministry and the police to do their job regarding degrees obtained from non-existing universities. Elcil also asked the ministry to revoke the permit granted to Net Kent University.
Main News
Tatar: No one should expect Turkey to pack up its bags & leave
Yenidüzen, Kıbrıs, Havadis, Diyalog, Avrupa
Negotiations Process
OVERVIEW
Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar on Thursday said no one should expect Turkey to pack up its bags and leave Cyprus. Tatar was speaking during a meeting with rectors and representatives of universities in the north as part of consultations before the upcoming five-plus-one meeting.
Arguing that the world was closely monitoring the developments on the Cyprus Problem as well as the Turkish Cypriot side’s moves, Tatar said that the decades-long Cyprus problem was not just about the island itself, but was a national cause for the Turkish nation and had global and regional dimensions.
“The Cyprus problem at its core is a matter of sovereignty,” Tatar stressed, adding that the Turkish Cypriot side’s efforts were directed at getting the international community to accept the north’s sovereignty. He also recalled that Turkey is currently on the island as a guarantor state based on rights emanating from international treaties.
Tatar said the Turkish Cypriots have been exercising their right to self-determination since 1974. He also pointed out that the discovery of hydrocarbon resources was a turning point in the Eastern Mediterranean, increasing the strategic importance of the region.
“No one should expect Turkey to pack up leave the island or the region while other countries are trying to gain ground in the region,” Tatar stressed. Reiterating his vision for a two-state solution model based on sovereign equality, Tatar said he believed such a settlement will be beneficial for all sides and will contribute to reinstating peace and stability in Cyprus as well as the region.
He said Ankara and the Turkish Cypriot side are on the same page regarding the Cyprus problem, which strengthens the Turkish Cypriot side’s hand in the talks.
Meanwhile, in a separate visit to the Cyprus Turkish Regiment in Nicosia on Tuesday, Tatar said that it was out of the question for Turkish troops to leave Cyprus. The visit was carried out as part of events marking the 106th anniversary of the victory at Çanakkale (Gallipoli).
Tatar recalled that the presence of Turkish troops in Cyprus was on rights emanating from international treaties that established the 1960 partnership republic. He said the Turkish Cypriots had rejoiced with the return of Turkish troops to the island in 1960, 82 years after leaving when the British annexed the island.
Also speaking during the meeting, Commander of the Turkish Peace Forces in Cyprus (TPFC), Major General Sezai Öztürk said the Turkish forces are the assurance of peace on the island. “We will never allow a fait accompli on the island and neither will we allow anyone to usurp our rights,” Öztürk said.
KEY ACTORS
Tatar
>> No one should expect Turkey to abandon or leave Cyprus.
>> Cyprob not only about Cypriots but has regional & global dimensions.
>> Cyprob is about sovereignty at its core.
>> Out of the question for Turkish troops to leave Cyprus.
Öztürk (TPFC)
>> Turkish forces assurance of peace in Cyprus.
>> Turkey will not allow a fait accompli on the island or allow anyone to usurp rights.
Ertuğruloğlu: EU has no place at the five-plus-one meeting
Yenidüzen, Kıbrıs, Havadis, Diyalog, Avrupa
Negotiations Process
OVERVIEW
Turkish Cypriot Foreign Minister Tahsin Ertuğruloğlu on Thursday repeated the Turkish Cypriot side’s position opposing the EU’s participation in the five-plus-one meeting.
In a social media post, Ertuğruloğlu said that EU officials could hold bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the informal meeting but had no place at the table. “It is crucial that this is understood by all parties,” Ertuğruloğlu stressed.
The Turkish Cypriot minister was responding to news reports in the Greek Cypriot press on Thursday quoting a senior EU official speaking at a press conference ahead of the Foreign Affairs Council (FAC), telling that the EU will be present at the informal Cyprus conference.
The senior EU official stated that “the EU will be in Geneva, it will be in the subsequent negotiations with the same status it had in Crans Montana.”
He also pointed out that the Cyprus issue was one of the most challenging diplomatic issues in the world, but whatever the solution will be, it will be implemented with the island inside the EU. “We have the acquis communautaire, it is a logical consequence that we will be there,” the EU official said.
KEY ACTORS
Ertuğruloğlu (UBP)
>> EU has no place at the 5+1 meeting but can hold bilateral meetings on the sidelines.
British High Commissioner visits former TC leader Akıncı
Yenidüzen, Kıbrıs, Havadis, Diyalog, Avrupa
Negotiations Process
OVERVIEW
The British High Commissioner to Cyprus Stephan Lillie continued his meetings with the Turkish Cypriot politicians ahead of the five-plus-one conference on the Cyprus problem on Thursday meeting with former Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akıncı.
In a social media post following the meeting, Akıncı said they had exchanged opinions on the upcoming five-plus-one meeting as well as on other issues regarding Cyprus and the region.
The debate over Hellim (Halloumi) heats up in the north
Yenidüzen, Kıbrıs, Havadis, Diyalog, Avrupa
EU Matters, Economy
OVERVIEW
Former and current Agriculture ministers clashed swords on Thursday regarding their political priorities on the registration of Hellim (Halloumi) as a product of designated origin (PDO).
Addressing the Turkish Cypriot parliament, the current Turkish Cypriot Agriculture and Natural Resources Minister Nazım Çavuşoğlu noted that the Hellim (Halloumi) was now at the final stage to be registered as an EU product of PDO. He added that economic gains must not lead to political losses, implying that the PDO registration should not contradict the north’s current position on sovereign equality and two separate states.
Responding to Çavuşoğlu, his predecessor Republican Turkish Party (CTP) MP Erkut Şahali warned the authorities not to act with political concerns. “The Turkish Cypriot officials must not object to inspections being carried out by independent international organisations,” the former minister said, pointing out that such a move would be nothing more than shooting oneself in the leg.
Şahali warned the government that objection to inspectors coming to the north via Larnaca might result in Turkish Cypriot producers losing the opportunity to enter the European market through amendments made in the Green Line Trade regulation.
Şahali called on the Turkish Cypriot Chambers of Commerce and Industry to exert pressure on the government to accept inspections to be carried out by independent organisations.
EU halts sanctions on TPAO officials as ties improve
Yenidüzen, Kıbrıs, Havadis, Diyalog, Avrupa
Regional/ International Relations
OVERVIEW
The EU has decided to halt plans to blacklist more senior executives at Turkey’s state-owned Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO) as Ankara made significant attempts to improve its relations with the bloc, the Turkish Cypriot dailies report on Friday.
Citing international news agencies, the dailies reported that the bloc is no longer considering economic sanctions on Turkey. “It is the clearest sign that a diplomatic offensive by Ankara is bearing its fruits,” an unnamed EU diplomat said.
In the meantime, heads of the European Commission and the European Council will discuss Ankara’s relations with the bloc with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan ahead of the EU leaders’ summit on March 25 and 26.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council head Charles Michel will be meeting via videoconference with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan “to discuss an update on the issue of relations between the European Union and Turkey,” spokesman Eric Mamer told journalists at the European Commission’s daily press conference.
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell is expected to present the leaders’ summit with a report on EU-Turkey relations.