Front Page Headlines
“There is a risk of a new lockdown”
Republican Turkish Party (CTP) MP Dr Sıla Usar İncirli warned that the country is heading towards a third wave of Covid-19 cases and that the measures in place are insufficient to prevent the surge. “A lockdown will become inevitable when the health system fails to cope with the flood of cases. If we fail to take enough measures or carry out the necessary inspections then we will be faced with the risk of a new lockdown,” she said.
Debts from shopping on credit growing
Shopkeepers in Dikmen (Dikomo) village, who evaluated the effects of the pandemic, say that people, whose purchasing power have dropped, are finding it difficult to even pay half of what they owe for the goods they buy on credit. Kıbrıs visited the Dikmen (Dikomo) village.
- Monetary fine of 20 times the minimum wage was issued for “illegal” work – Hasan Curcioğlu, head of the Department of Ports, visited the site of “illegal work” carried out in the area known as Old Port in Yenierenöy (Yialousa), issuing a fine to the investment company Özkom Ltd.
“The first step”
Closed-circuit tourism is to start with the launch of the electronic bracelet system. Prime Minister Ersan Saner who chaired the Council of Ministers meeting yesterday announced that closed-circuit tourism will begin this week together with the launch of the monitoring system. Saner also said that the night-time curfew from Monday to Saturday and the full day curfew on Sunday will continue.
- It will be taken to court – Greek Cypriot police has sent the files on corruption in the passport scheme to the office of the public prosecutor.
- He couldn’t make it to a hundred – Prince Philip passed away at the age of 99.
$480,000 in damages
There is no end to allegations of corruption at the Turkish Cypriot Electricity Authority (KIBTEK). Kubilay Özkıraç, head of EL-SEN (Trade union for KIBTEK employees) said Economy and Energy Minister Erhan Arıklı’s decisions resulted in KIBTEK losing $480,000. He said, “There was a company that gave $14 in the tender for fuel oil procurement…The Council of Ministers however approved the procurement of 24,000 tons of fuel oil at $34.”
- 50 days of imprisonment for the police – The police officer who beat up a passenger at Ercan (Tymbou) airport, is sentenced to imprisonment.
- Here are the new decisions – The Cabinet did not make significant changes to the existing Covid-19 measures.
- Journalist assassinated – Journalist George Karaivaz was killed in an armed attack near his home in Athens, Greece.
Main News
Former TC FMs tell Tatar a two-state model is unattainable
Yenidüzen
Negotiations Process
OVERVIEW
Former Turkish Cypriot foreign ministers from the Republican Turkish Party (CTP) and Peoples’ Party (HP) on Thursday all voiced their opposition to Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar’s position in favour of a two-state solution in Cyprus.
Tatar, as part of his ongoing consultations to prepare for the upcoming five-plus-one meeting in Geneva, received the former foreign ministers, the second group this week. The meeting was attended by Kudret Özersay, Özdil Nami, Kutlay Erk and Emine Çolak.
Evaluating the meeting with Tatar to Yenidüzen, the three former foreign ministers from the CTP said that Tatar needed to be more specific about what he meant from a two-state solution.
Nami said that the Turkish Cypriot leader needed to expand on the issue of sovereign equality, warning that the talks will end even before they begin if this concept entails seeking political recognition of the north.
“But if the idea is based on the sovereign equality of the two constituent states under a federal roof, then this is already what is already on the table,” Nami said. He also underlined the importance of ending the status quo on the island for the Turkish Cypriot community and of not entering a new open-ended negotiations process.
Nami warned that pursuing policies that no one will support will only prolong the difficulties faced by the Turkish Cypriot community.
Kutlay Erk, for his part, argued that a two-state solution model was an unattainable goal that will only serve the continuation of the status quo. He also said that any new process must clearly outline what will happen to the communities regardless of the outcome. “It is vital for the south to understand and acknowledge that it will not be possible to exert control over the whole island,” Erk said.
The former foreign minister said he has told Tatar that a federal solution is the only feasible and sustainable goal on the island. “Even if there were a two-state structure, it will not be sustainable – neither politically nor economically,” Erk said, arguing that the details of the two-state solution were kept hidden during the meeting.
He also touched on the hydrocarbons issue and said the issue of natural resources could also help facilitate the solution of the Cyprus problem.
Emine Çolak echoed Erk’s views, stating that Tatar or his team could not present a convincing argument in favour of a two-state solution or how they planned to persuade the Greek Cypriot side.
She said that the issue required extensive debate, adding that the Turkish Cypriot community needed to be persuaded first before efforts are made to persuade the Greek Cypriot side. Çolak also stressed that women must be included in the talks process.
KEY ACTORS
Nami (CTP)
>> Concept of sovereign equality needs to be clarified regarding what it entails.
>> Ending the status quo & not launch a new open-ended process important for TCs.
>> Pursuing policies that no one supports will only prolong difficulties faced by TCs.
Erk (CTP)
>> A two-state solution is unattainable & will only serve the continuation of the status quo.
>> Any new process must outline what will happen to the communities regardless of the outcome.
>> It is important that the GC side understands & acknowledges it cannot control the whole island.
>> Hydrocarbons could help facilitate a solution on the island.
Çolak (CTP)
>> Tatar is unable to present a convincing argument in favour of a two-state solution.
>> The concept of a two-state solution requires an extensive debate & the TC community must be persuaded first.
>> Women must be included in the talks.
The 5+1 should lead to the resumption of BBF talks
Yenidüzen, Kıbrıs, Diyalog, Avrupa
Negotiations Process
OVERVIEW
The leader of the main opposition Republican Turkish Party (CTP) Tufan Erhürman and CTP Kyrenia MP and Foreign Affairs Secretary Fikri Toros relayed the party’s position on the upcoming five-plus-one meeting to the German Ambassador to Cyprus, Franz-Josef Kremp at a meeting on Friday.
In a statement issued, CTP during the meeting reiterated its position advocating for a bicommunal, bizonal federal (BBF) solution based on the political equality of the two communities in line with UN resolutions and parameters.
The CTP also expressed their hope that the outcome of the five-plus-one meeting in Geneva should lead to a resumption of the talks for a BBF.
Digital library a ‘treasure trove’
Yenidüzen
Negotiations Process
OVERVIEW
Cyprus Dialogue Forum (CDF) is an EU project that leaves its mark, adds value and shines a light on the future, Yenidüzen’s Editor-in-Chief Cenk Mutluyakalı wrote in his column on Saturday as he referred to the launch of the CDF’s trilingual digital library on the history of the Cyprus negotiations process.
Mutluyakalı described the library as a treasure trove, saying it provided an incredible source for users wishing to access information on the talks.
“An impartial and inclusive language was used, sharing undisputed information as well as the separate positions of the two sides,” Mutluyakalı wrote, applauding CDF’s objective approach to the decades-long negotiations processes.
In an attempt to demonstrate the library’s ingenuity, Mutluyakalı focused on the territorial adjustment chapter providing historical excerpts taken from the library to illustrate to his readers how comprehensive the CDF’s digital library is as well as to show how much ground Turkish Cypriots have achieved over decades of negotiations.
“The digital library is a real ‘bedside’ reference, and available everywhere,” Mutluyakalı noted, adding that such sources were vital in rendering inaccurate and distorted claims baseless.
The Digital library of the Cyprus negotiations process published by the CDF is now online. CDF published a multitude of documents and information on the Cyprus negotiations processes to date in English, Turkish and Greek languages. The library forms part of the “Shared Knowledge Resources of the CDF” to provide a comprehensive source of knowledge on issues that pertain to the official negotiations in Cyprus and support relevant parties in their dialogue at all levels.
The six main chapters of the formal negotiations – Governance & Power Sharing, Territory, Property, Economic Matters, EU Matters, and Security & Guarantees – are the overall arching structure of the library, with an overview of the main issues under each chapter covering the issues tabled in the past processes to the latest and the significant developments from 1930 to 2021.
The library is also supported with the official documents, reports, plans and resolutions published within the scope of the talks.
11 arrested while trying to cross to the south
Yenidüzen, Kıbrıs, Diyalog, Avrupa
Human Rights
OVERVIEW
11 irregular migrants of African origin were detained by police in a raid carried out on Thursday night near a military zone in Alayköy (Gerolakkos).
The police are also searching for a Bangladeshi national, who had arranged to meet with the migrants and sneak them across the dividing line. The court has ordered the suspects to be remanded in custody for three more days until the police conclude their investigation.
Vaccination in north resumes with EU vaccines
Yenidüzen, Kıbrıs, Diyalog, Avrupa
Internal Security
OVERVIEW
The vaccination drive, which came to a grinding halt three weeks ago after vaccine supplies ran out resumed on Friday with the vaccines earmarked by the EU for the Turkish Cypriot community. The uncertainty as to when a new batch of 40,000 doses of vaccines from Turkey will arrive continues.
Turkish Cypriot health officials started vaccinating the people aged 65 and above at Nicosia’s “Train Station Polyclinic” on Friday. Turkish Cypriot Health Ministry Undersecretary Deren Düriye Oygar said nearly 2,000 people over 65 and more have accepted receiving the AstraZeneca vaccine, which was delivered to the north on March 31.
Oygar also noted that the second jabs for the people being administered the vaccine are being kept aside in case of any delays in the delivery. She said the vaccination drive will continue as planned the moment they receive the expected 40,000 Sinovac vaccines from Turkey.
4,680 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech and 4.800 doses of AstraZeneca vaccines were delivered to the Turkish Cypriot health officials at the Metehan (Agios Domethios) crossing point on March 31, 2021. The delivery of the vaccines, which were allocated by the EU for the Turkish Cypriot community, was facilitated through the bicommunal Technical Committee on Health.