GCC Press Review 2 Apr 2021

Front Page Headlines

Politis

The final moves before they pack their luggage for Geneva

Lute returns and the president is coordinating with the EU. Teleconference between Anastasiades, von der Leyen and Michel today ahead of their visit in Ankara on April 6 with the informal 5+1 summit in Geneva as background. Lute launches on April 11 the last round of her contacts with the stakeholders to finalise all details and shape the discussion framework. Ankara and Tatar insist on the two-state position, while the gala for the premiere of the TV series ‘Once upon a time in Cyprus’ has caused an uproar.

  • Cleri Angelidou: The Lady of Famagusta has died

Phileleftheros

Crucial meetings before Geneva

Moves in a foggy atmosphere in Nicosia and Ankara ahead of the informal summit. The EU’s role and participation depend on Turkey.

  • Honour with a few flowers of purity and glory with a wreath of remembrance (for EOKA anniversary) – Cyprus kneeled with reverence before its heroes.
  • Halloumi (PDO decision) at the College of Commissioners
  • The (newly-discovered) room of the Filiki Eteria members at the Pangyprio Gymnasium will be restored
  • Sorrow for the death of the former Education Minister Cleri Angelidou – The EOKA activist, as if she chose to depart on April 1.

Haravgi

The price of the pandemic is paid once again by the workers

Eurostat: Cyprus is champion in reduction of salaries and benefits.

  • The government is honouring Cyprus’ destructor with wreaths
  • (Turkish VP) Oktay in the north for the premiere of the film ‘Once upon a time in Cyprus’
  • EU-Turkey: Ursula-Michel (go to Turkey) with the ‘positive agenda’ and Cyprus problem in their luggage
  • Parents are holding a protest today while the Nicosia Municipality is ratifying the agreement (for the relocation of the UCy architecture department to the Phaneromeni school)

Cyprus Mail

WHO: ‘EU rollout is way too slow’

World health body says the situation is unacceptable. Cyprus 5th in EU for vaccine cover.

  • Cyprus marks April 1 anniversary: (Photo caption) President Nicos Anastasiades after laying a wreath on Thursday at the imprisoned graves to mark the 66th anniversary of the EOKA struggle against British colonial rule
  • Crypt within a crypt dating back to 1821 discovered under Pancyprian Gymnasium

Alithia

These are our weapons against Turkey’s two-state policy

Nicos Anastasiades: “With the UN resolutions and international support as our weapons, I believe it is obvious by now that no one accepts Turkey’s demands for the creation of two states.” Teleconference today with Ursula and Michel.

  • Cyprus honoured yesterday the EOKA struggle
  • Underground room linked with the Filiki Eteria members at the Pangyprio Gymnasium
  • Cleri Angelidou: As if she chose the day to die…
  • Article: ‘Enough is enough’ (opinion on AKEL’s refusal to condemn Os Damai (Enough) group for ‘government in the south’ comment
  • Economy: Is Turkey’s collapse beneficial for Greece?
  • State Department report: Turkey is murdering human rights, positive & negative points for Greece

Main News

Final round of contacts, backstage consultations before Geneva summit  

Alithia, Cyprus Mail, Haravgi, Phileleftheros, Politis
Negotiations Process, EU Matters

OVERVIEW

UN secretary-general special envoy Jane Holl Lute is expected to return to the island on April 11 for the last round of contacts with the two sides ahead of the informal five-party summit in Geneva later this month, the dailies report.

In the meantime, President Nicos Anastasiades is set to have a teleconference today with the EU’s Commission and Council presidents and Greek PM for coordination ahead of the EU officials’ meeting in Ankara on Tuesday with the Turkish president.

The dailies report that Foreign Minister Nikos Christodoulides announced that Lute will be in Cyprus on April 11 for contacts ahead of the conference on Cyprus in Geneva on April 27-29.

UK Minister for European Neighbourhood and the Americas, Wendy Morton is set to arrive on Tuesday for meetings with Christodoulides and TC leader Ersin Tatar.

Christodoulides said Lute would meet Anastasiades as part of the preparations for the conference, the main goal of which is to create the conditions for the resumption of substantive talks from where they left off in Crans-Montana. He also said that Anastasiades will have a teleconference call on Friday with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and the President of the European Council Charles Michel, also related to the Geneva talks. The two EU top officials are set to visit Ankara on Tuesday for a meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Alithia reports that Anastasiades, asked on Thursday how the GC side would address Turkey’s plans for a two-state solution, said by using UN resolutions and international support as its weapons.

“The UN Resolutions and international support are our weapons and I believe that it is clear by now that no one accepts Turkey’ s claims for two states,” Anastasiades said. “We must be consistent in the principles and positions and in what is unanimously agreed in the National Council.”

The dailies report that Christodoulides said during an event in Aradippou to mark the 66th anniversary of the beginning of the EOKA struggle against British colonial rule on April 1, 1955, that the Turkish position on a two-state solution, “cannot even be discussed.”

“There is no question of changing the basis for a solution to the Cyprus problem,” he said, adding that it was important that this position reflects the approach of the UN Security Council, the EU and countries that have a special interest in the developments in the Cyprus issue. At the same time, he added, “in view of the informal conference, our effort is to create the right environment, so that the prospects are strengthened and a positive result emerges from the Geneva meeting.”

Asked whether there was a formal invitation from the UN to the EU to participate in the informal conference Christodoulides said:  “We do not know if there is a relevant invitation from the UN. What we know is that in recent days the European Union at the highest level has expressed its desire to be present in the negotiations.”

Alithia reports that the success of the five-party summit depends on two important meetings in Ankara and Nicosia. One is Charles Michel and Ursula von der Leyen’s meeting with Erdogan on the Cyprus issue as one of the main topics of discussion. For better organisation of the visit, the two officials will have a teleconference today with President Anastasiades and Greek Prime Minister Mitsotakis. The other visit will be to Nicosia by Lute with the aim of better preparing the five-party summit through the meetings she will have with President Anastasiades and Ersin Tatar, the paper reported.

Politis reports that diplomatic backstage consultations between all stakeholders will culminate in April ahead of the informal 5 + 1 meeting in Geneva on the 27th to 29th of the month. The last round of consultations before the summit starts today with Anastasiades’ teleconference with von der Leyen, Michel and Mitsotakis, the daily reports. It adds that in the background, consultations are taking place with ambassadors and important people from various platforms and forums that can have an impact on the developments in the Cyprus issue. Britain expects that in Geneva the opportunity will be given for Ersin Tatar to develop the logic behind sovereign equality while at the same time it has the expectation that the President of the Republic will analyse the content of his idea for decentralisation of powers. The UK is trying to play a role in developments in the Cyprus issue with continuous contacts and consultations with all parties with a series of ideas that do not particularly satisfy Nicosia. Given the mobility on the part of the US in the Cyprus issue and in the Eastern Mediterranean in general, a network of relations is being formed and it remains to be seen how it will unfold at the negotiations table, Politis reported.

Phileleftheros reports that less than four weeks until the Geneva summit, the picture remains foggy as to the chances for a successful outcome of this crucial meeting on the Cyprus problem. The moves of the next few days until the informal meeting in Geneva will take place in this foggy landscape and with the bar of expectations remaining low, the daily said.

According to Haravgi, the issue of the EU’s presence at the five-party summit is expected to be clearer after the April 6 meeting in Ankara. The daily also reports that messages are being sent to Turkey through the EU.

KEY ACTORS
Anastasiades
>>
The GC side will tackle the Turkish position on two states armed with the UN resolutions & international support. Everyone can see that no one accepts Turkey’s claims for two states.

Christodoulides
>>
 Turkish position on a two-state solution cannot even be discussed, there is no question of changing the basis for the Cyprob solution & the UNSC, EU and countries with special interest in Cyprob feel the same.
>> GC side’s effort is aimed at creating the right environment for a positive result at Geneva meeting.


Anastasiades: EOKA struggle was GCs’ fight for independence

Alithia, Cyprus Mail, Haravgi, Phileleftheros, Politis
Governance & Power Sharing, Negotiations Process

Cyprus marked on Thursday the 66th anniversary of the start of the EOKA struggle against British rule with the president and state ministers attending church services and memorials in all districts, under conditions of pandemic, the dailies report.

President Nicos Anastasiades attended a church service led by Archbishop Chrysostomos at Ayios Ioannis cathedral at the Archbishopric and a memorial prayer at the Imprisoned Graves.

He said that April 1 was one of the most glorious dates for Cypriot Hellenism after March 25 which is the Greek Independence anniversary. “It marks a landmark struggle against colonialism and claiming the right to self-determination as established with the founding of the UN and the defeat of Nazism,” he added.

Replying to a question about a statement made by TC leader, Ersin Tatar, that EOKA was a terrorist group targeting the British and then the TCs, he said: “I’m not aware if he was referring to TMT, but if he did then he would have been right.” He added that GCs fought for their independence and that “unfortunately, the TCs were used by the then colonial power” and this created differences between two communities that have otherwise coexisted peacefully for centuries.

In a written statement, Anastasiades said that apart from paying tribute to those who bravely fought against colonialism, this day should remind everyone of what can be achieved when fighting together, for a common goal.

Referring to the upcoming informal five-party summit, he said that history dictates that everyone must assume their responsibilities through diplomacy, dedication to international law and the values and principles of the EU. “Our goal should be the reunification of the country and the formation of a sustainable, fully independent state, free from dependencies from third parties and free from any troops, so that we can finally live peacefully with our compatriots,” he said.

Political parties also issued statements commemorating the anniversary, the dailies reported.

Haravgi also reports that in Limassol, after the church service to mark the EOKA anniversary, DISY members, led by one of the party’s vice president’s Efthymios Diplaros, honoured once more, Cyprus’ destructor, Georgios Grivas. DISY MPs and members, along with unrepentant members of the criminal EOKA B, marched after the church service to Grivas’ hideout waving flags and laid wreaths on his statue and grave. The daily said the group of fans of Grivas’ criminal actions, on their way to his hideout, passed in front of the monument honouring the heroes who were killed during the junta-and-EOKA B-led coup, defending the Republic of Cyprus.

The ruling party’s members offered their gratitude to the man, whose passage from Cyprus, was equal to his presence in Greece as the leader of the notorious far right and also criminal ‘X’ organisation that was murdering Greek patriots fighting against Hitler’s fascism, the daily reported.

Diplaros did not hesitate to express his complaint or pride that his party was the only one present there, Haravgi reports.

KEY ACTORS
Anastasiades
>>
EOKA anniversary is one of the most glorious dates for Cypriot Hellenism after that of Greek Independence as it marks a landmark struggle against colonialism & claim right to self-determination.
>> EOKA was not a terrorist group like the TMT, but a struggle by the GCs for their independence. The British, however, used TCs to sow strife between two communities that have coexisted peacefully for centuries.
>> EOKA anniversary should remind everyone of what can be achieved when fighting together, for a common goal.
>> Everyone must assume their responsibilities through diplomacy, dedication to international law & EU values and principles to achieve reunification of the country and the a sustainable, fully independent state for a peaceful coexistence with TCs.


‘Turkish TV series a propaganda tool ahead of Geneva talks’

Alithia, Cyprus Mail, Haravgi, Politis
Negotiations Process

OVERVIEW

The dailies report that Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay was in the north on Thursday for the premiere of the controversial Turkish TV series ‘Once upon a time in Cyprus‘, on the events of 1963-1974.

Cyprus Mail reports that the date of the show’s launch is symbolic, coinciding with EOKA’s campaign to end British colonial rule over the island, which began on April 1, 1955.

Politis reported that at a time when Ankara and Tatar are promoting a two-state solution and sovereign equality, this series comes to frame the arguments put forward with a cloak of TC ‘reality’.

The papers also report there have been reactions in the north about the event.

Haravgi, reports that reactions were voiced in recent days against the TV series in ‘parliament’ from all parties except the ruling party.

It also reports that the nationalist rhetoric the TV series is using has stirred reactions among part of the TC community that supports the reunification of the island. Many TCs have expressed their discontent after the first trailer of the series was aired, over the fact that Ankara was gathering nationalist support just a few weeks before the crucial summit on the Cyprus problem. The TV series is a propaganda tool of Turkey and highlights, in a one-sided and fragmented way, the events of the inter-communal unrest on the island in the period between 1963 and 1974, Haravgi reported.

Politis reports that reactions on Thursday were mainly due to the fact that the gala for the premiere took place despite the restrictions in place due to the pandemic while TCs are locked in their homes and schools remain closed.


Play on women’s 70s-80s marches for return to occupied homes

Haravgi
Human Rights

OVERVIEW

The daily reports that theatre group Sezon-Women, announced they are working on a new theater project based on the movement ‘Women’s Return’.

The project, a verbatim theatre, is based on the five women’s rallies between 1975 and 1998 to claim their right to return to their homes in the north. The movement, the group said, had organised “with remarkable efficiency” these rallies at a time when the green line was impenetrable.

‘Women’s Return’ was a politically independent women’s movement from all walks of life with the aim of making known worldwide the violation of the human right to free movement in Cyprus by the occupying army, the group said. It added that it was an important movement in the history of the Cyprus problem with huge dynamics of unity and solidarity that tried to cross the dividing line while cultivating international visibility and interest in the Cyprus problem.

Τhe group is now collecting material on this movement starting with studying archived material and interviews with women involved. They are calling on women who had participated in these rallies and who want to talk about their experience to contact the group.

The project is supported by the A.G. Leventis Foundation.


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