TCC Press Review 16 Apr 2021

Front Page Headlines

Yenidüzen

Ruling from the supreme court on Quran lessons

Head of the Bar Associations Hasan Esen Dağlı announced yesterday that the supreme court, in a ruling on a case filed in 2018, declared the law authorizing the Department of Religious Affairs to organise Quran lessons null. The law which also regulates the appointment of the Deputy head of the Department of Religious Affairs and the duties of the Religious Affairs Commission was declared null because it violated the constitution. The head of the Department of Religious Affairs Talip Atalay said that teaching the Quran is among the authorities and duties of imams.

  • National Unity Party (UBP)-Democratic Party (DP)-Rebirth Party (YDP): April 3, 2022. Republican Turkish Party (CTP), Peoples’ Party (HP)-Social Democratic Party (TDP): August 29, 2021 – The proposals of the coalition government and opposition will be discussed at Parliament’s Legal Affairs Commission. There are three UBP members, two CTP members and one member from the HP sitting on the commission.
  • Debate on Turkish-TRNC Youth and Sports Coordination Office reignites – The debate on the creation of the office which had sparked a protest movement called “reddiyoruz” (we reject it) has resurfaced after a draft protocol was prepared. It is claimed that the office which will coordinate all youth and sports activities in the north of the island will hand over all control to Turkey.

Kıbrıs

The horrifying face of the pandemic

The tourism sector lost a lot due to the pandemic. Tourist arrivals have dropped by 92 per cent. 285,073 people arrived in the country in the period from January 2020 to March 2020 but for the same period in 2021, only 22,275 tourists visited the country.

  • The businesses will shut at 6 pm on Saturday – The Council of Ministers amended some of the measures adopted to contain coronavirus…The new decisions will be valid between April 19 and 26.
  • Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu is in the TRNC – Çavuşoğlu will meet with President Ersin Tatar and Foreign Minister Tahsin Ertuğruloğlu and will attend a meeting with the heads of the political parties. Tatar and Çavuşoğlu will hold a joint press conference.

Havadis

The courts protected secularism

The Constitutional Court gave its verdict on the case filed by Hizmet-Sen, which has members both in the private and the public sector. In this regard, the court found the Quran courses organized by the Evkaf Administration and Religious Affairs Office to violate the constitutional provision on secularism.

  • Parliament divided over election date – The coalition partners abandoned their agreement on holding an election in October 2021 when forming the coalition and is now focused on April 3, 2022. The opposition parties suggested August 29, 2021.
  • Not appropriate for autonomy – The Education working group of the Republican Turkish Party (CTP), DAÜ-SEN (Eastern Mediterranean University academic staff union) and KTOEÖS (Turkish Cypriot Secondary School Teachers’ Union) reacted to the support given by 21 university rectors to the two-state solution.

Diyalog

Fear of corona continues

The night-time curfew will be implemented between 9 pm and 5 am, supermarkets will close at 8 pm, mass iftar (fast-breaking) dinners will not be held, full-day curfew on Sundays will continue. No mass events or rallies will be held indoors. Restaurants, cafes, patisseries, taverns, barbers and retail shops will close at 6 pm on Saturdays.

  • The second meeting will be held in Geneva – It emerged that serious differences in opinion have emerged between (Turkish Foreign Minister) Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu and (Greek Foreign Minister) Nikos Dendias.
  • Europe becomes a fantasy –The dreams of two Guinean nationals who tried to fly to Luxembourg from the TRNC with fake documents were dashed. 

Avrupa

Quran Courses will be closed

A historical verdict was given by the Constitutional Court. The Court has decided to close the Quran Courses. In its verdict, the court said the Quran Courses violate the constitution’s provision on secularism.

  • 74 positive coronavirus cases in the north, 690 cases and six deaths in the south…

Main News

Çavuşoğlu: ‘Futile to discuss federation anymore’

Yenidüzen, Kıbrıs, Havadis, Diyalog, Avrupa
Negotiations Process

OVERVIEW

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu on Thursday said Ankara believed it is futile to discuss a bizonal, bicommunal federation (BBF) as a template for a solution Cyprus and that the Turkish side will not sit discuss it at the negotiating table.

 “There is no sense to negotiate the impossible again,” Çavuşoğlu to Turkish broadcaster NTV. He recalled that the Greek Cypriot side has retracted its position on political equality and has no intention of sharing power or wealth with the Turkish Cypriot side.

Reminding that the idea to hold a five-plus-one meeting had come from Ankara, the chief Turkish diplomat said that they will make their position clear at the meeting. He added that for the Turkish side, the only conversation that can be held from this point onwards is a two-state solution.

“The two sovereign states can cooperate in any way. We need to speak about cooperation between two sovereign states, rather than press on for something that would never happen,” Çavuşoğlu said. He also pointed out that past attempts to reach a federation had failed because the Greek Cypriot side rejected all proposals.

“This waste of time works to the benefit of the Greek Cypriot side, which enjoys recognition [as a state] and membership of the European Union while Turkish Cypriots continue to suffer under isolation and embargoes,” Çavuşoğlu said.

Later in the day Çavuşoğlu and Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias clashed openly at a joint news conference in Ankara that began with hopes of improved relations but quickly turned into bitter accusations from both sides.

Even though much was vested in Dendias’ visit to help decrease the escalated tension between the two neighbours over the Aegean islands and the Eastern Mediterranean, the joint press conference held by the two turned sour as Dendias said violations of Greek sovereignty would be met with sanctions, something with Çavuşoğlu said was unacceptable.

“You come out here, and try to accuse Turkey, to give a message to your country. I can’t accept this,” Çavuşoğlu said. Quickly calming down, the Turkish Minister added Ankara believes that disputes with Greece can be resolved through constructive dialogue.

“Faits accomplis and provocative rhetoric should be avoided in relations between the two countries,” Çavuşoğlu warned, adding that trying to find a solution through third parties was not the right approach.

“We wanted this first meeting to continue in a more positive atmosphere, but in his remarks, Nikos Dendias, unfortunately, made extremely unacceptable accusations against my country,” he said, reiterating that his words were not acceptable. “Turkey is capable of protecting its rights, especially in Eastern Mediterranean, and the rights of Turkish Cypriots,” Çavuşoğlu stressed.

“We have agreed to meet in Geneva at the end of this month. We will continue to work together to improve Turkey-Greece relations,” the Turkish foreign minister concluded.

After concluding his affairs in Ankara, the Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu arrived in the north on Thursday night to put the final touches to the Turkish Cypriot side’s strategy for the upcoming informal summit in Geneva. Çavuşoğlu will be meeting with Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar, Foreign Minister Tahsin Ertuğruloğlu and the leaders of the parties in parliament on Friday.

Çavuşoğlu and Tatar are expected to hold a joint news conference before the Turkish Foreign Minister departs from the island.

KEY ACTORS
Çavuşoğlu (Turkey)
>> Talks for a BBF futile as there is no sense in negotiating the impossible.
>> Turkish side will not discuss BBF at the negotiating table.
>> Only thing that can be discussed at the table is a two-state solution.
>> Greece’s accusations against Turkey are unacceptable.
>> Ankara believes that problems can be solved through constructive dialogue, not through fait accomplis or third parties.
>> Turkey capable of protecting its & TCs’ rights & interests in East Med.


University rectors’ support for two-state solution sparks fierce reactions

Yenidüzen, Kıbrıs, Havadis, Diyalog, Avrupa
Negotiations Process

OVERVIEW

Academics, university staff, trade unions and opposition parties on Thursday slammed a statement issued by Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar announcing the support declared by rectors and their representatives of 21 universities in the north to a two-state solution.

The statement, published by Tatar’s spokeswoman Berna Çelik Doğruyol Thursday, generated harsh criticism. According to Doğruyol, Tatar who held an online meeting with the rectors had secured their support for a two-state solution to be tabled at the upcoming informal 5+1 meeting in Geneva.

The rectors then signed a document expressing their support which was made public by Tatar’s office. It is the first time, academic institutions in the north have directly expressed views or support to the talks.

The statement said that the university rectors all agreed that the basis for the negotiations processes which had failed to yield any outcomes since 1968, must change.

DAÜ-SEN, whose members are made up of academic staff at the Eastern Mediterranean University (EMU) slammed both Tatar and the university rector Prof Dr Aykut Hocanın. “The support given by the rectors is only binding for the 21 individuals,” DAÜ-SEN said, describing the rectors’ support for Tatar’s political views as irresponsible.

The trade union said that both Cyprus and the region needed a solution that will bring peace and stability. It added that the rectors, as heads of academic institutions, should have created a conducive environment for objective discussions on solution models rather than expressing support based on political and economic considerations.

DAÜ BİR-SEN, one of the two administrative staff unions at EMU, also issued a statement harshly criticising the university’s rector.

“We strongly condemn our rector for using the university’s name in politics and for harming our efforts to become an autonomous and democratic institution,” the trade union said. The statement added that the support expressed only served to polarize personnel on the campus, creating unwanted discussions.

Another statement came from the Middle East Technical University’s (METU) North Cyprus campus. KAMPÜS-SEN (METU’s academic and administrative staff trade union) said the signing of the document in support of Tatar was an unobjective move that violated the core principles on which all academic institutions should be based on. “We strongly state that such support will in no way represent the METU,” the statement read.

Turkish Cypriot Secondary School Teachers’ Union (KTOEÖS) also issued a statement criticizing the move. Condemning the rectors, KTOEÖS said actions far from scientific approaches will only harm the universities and their credibility.

Main opposition Republican Turkish Party (CTP) leader Tufan Erhürman, who is also a law professor, also condemned the support, stating that the rectors’ action had hurt the freedom enjoyed by academics to share their work or studies with the public freely.

People’s Party (HP) leader Kudret Özersay, who is also an academic by profession, echoed a similar message to Erhürman, pointing out that the authority to make such political statements lay with the senates of universities which were elected through democratic elections.

“Even then a senate’s decision is not binding for all the academic staff at the university,” he added.

Özersay said that it was highly unlikely that a federal settlement will be reached in Cyprus but that this did not mean academic institutions should openly express support to such views. He added scientific autonomy, and pluralism must be at the core of efforts to produce creative ideas for the solution of the Cyprus problem.

“In this regard, the support statement given by the university rectors must be perceived as their personal opinions and nothing more,” Özersay stressed. He also urged the rectors not to allow themselves to be used by politicians.

Social Democratic Party (TDP) leader Cemal Özyiğit also condemned the support given by rectors, stressing that the universities must be known for their scientific successes and not for their political ploys.


Supreme Court ruling finds Quran courses unconstitutional

Yenidüzen, Kıbrıs, Havadis, Diyalog, Avrupa
Human Rights

OVERVIEW

The supreme court in the north on Friday ruled that Quran lessons organised by the Department of Religious Affairs at mosques were unconstitutional, scrapping previous legislation which gave authority to the Department to organise such courses.

According to the decision, all Quran courses in the north will now have to stop. The supreme court ruling came after a case filed by Hizmet-Sen, which has members both in the public and private sector, in 2018.

The government in the north had amended the law on the duties and working principles of the Department of Religious Affairs in 2017. The law created the post of Deputy Director of the Department of Religious Affairs and a commission that would have full authority to appoint all members in charge of religious affairs. It also gave authority to the department to organise Quran courses.

The head of the Turkish Cypriot Bar Associations Hasan Esendağlı who announced the news welcomed the court’s decision and described it as a turning point for the future of the island. He pointed out that it was the first time the supreme court examined whether a law was in line with the country’s secular constitution.

Esendağlı said that the law was problematic in the first place as it granted limitless powers and authorities to a board of religious figures.

Meanwhile, Turkey’s communications director reacted to the court’s decision on Thursday, saying the decision “is the product of an ideological and dogmatic mind.”  “To interpret secularism in such a shallow and wrong way is a step towards abolishing fundamental rights and freedoms,” Fahrettin Altun said on Twitter.

He went on to say that secularism guarantees freedom of religion and cannot be used as a means of banning religious education. The “wrong decision” is a threat to the existence of the Turkish Cypriots and unity, Altun noted.

Defining the decision as a “judicial coup against the freedom of religion and belief,” he stressed that it is the duty of everyone who respects democracy to react to this decision, which is “unacceptable.” Altun added that Turkey will continue to be with the Turkish Cypriots with all its might and power and spoiled the dangerous game being played on the Turkish Cypriots.

Reacting to Atun’s remarks, the leader of the Peoples’ Party (HP) Kudret Özersay said he did not see the court’s ruling as a ban on individual freedoms or rights. “To the contrary, the ruling only proves that religious education is under the authority of the state,” Özersay said in a post on Facebook.

He said that it was extremely important for everyone to respect the independence of the north’s supreme court, particularly at a time when the Turkish Cypriot side was preparing to table a two-state solution in Geneva. The HP leader said his party did not approve of the hasty and reactionary remarks made by some officials in Turkey criticizing the court’s ruling, adding that such statements were not good for relations between the two countries.


Opposition parties against coalition’s plan to postpone early elections


Yenidüzen, Kıbrıs, Havadis, Diyalog, Avrupa
Governance and Power Sharing

OVERVIEW

The opposition parties in the Turkish Cypriot parliament on Thursday rejected plans by the National Unity Party (UBP) – Democratic Party (DP) – Rebirth Party (YDP) coalition government to postpone early elections which were originally slated to take place in October 2021.

The opposition reminded that the coalition was a minority government that had only received a vote-of-confidence on the condition of holding early elections this year. The UBP-DP-YDP government programme openly states that early elections will be held by October 2021 at the latest.

A general understanding was also reached between the parties not to hold a mid-term election that was required by law to fill the seat vacated by Ersin Tatar after he was elected as the new Turkish Cypriot leader as this would be an unnecessary cost for the cash-strapped state.

The head of the Supreme Court Narin Ferdi Şefik and head of the Higher Electorate Board by default has repeatedly reminded the government of its constitutional obligation on holding the mid-term election. Turkish Cypriot Prime Minister Ersan Saner was forced to let the cat out of the bag on Monday after the deadline to set a date for mid-term ended.

He revealed the government’s plans to hold the early elections in the April of next year, justifying his decision by claiming that the government needed more time to implement the economic protocol signed with Turkey. The other two coalition partners, the DP and YDP, both eager to use this time to bolster their position and gain more votes, expressed support for Saner’s decision.

The proposed date by the UBP was approved by the cabinet and transferred to parliament to be discussed at the legal affairs committee. Nonetheless, the opposition parties – the Republican Turkish Party (CTP), the People’s Party (HP) and the Social Democratic Party (TDP) said they would not accept the UBP’s date.

Instead, the three proposed to hold the elections on August 29, 2021. The early election date will eventually be put to a vote in parliament but despite lacking the number of votes, the coalition government will get what it wants with the support of the three MPs who had earlier resigned from the HP.

In the meantime, the Higher Electorate Board, independently from the parliament, could announce a date for an interim election to be held to fill the seat vacated by Tatar. The idea of holding an election for only one MP had generated strong public criticisms due to its hefty cost of ₺10m (€1.1m).


Tatar highlights responsibility to protect Evkaf’s properties in the south


Yenidüzen, Kıbrıs, Havadis, Diyalog, Avrupa
Property, Territory

OVERVIEW

Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar on Thursday said it was his responsibility to protect the properties that belonged to the Evkaf Administration of Cyprus left in the south and the Sovereign Base Areas (SBA).

Tatar was speaking during a meeting with the members of the Board Directors of the Evkaf Administration to mark the 65th anniversary of the administration’s transfer from the island’s British colonial regime to Turkish Cypriots.

Noting that the Evkaf was a symbol of the Turkish Cypriot people’s struggle for existence on the island, Tatar said it is also one of the first establishments set up in Cyprus following the island’s conquest by the Ottomans, which had played an important social role.

Pointing to the Evkaf properties in the SBA, Tatar said he had raised the issue with the British Foreign Secretary and British Minister for Europe, conveying the Turkish Cypriot side’s sensitivities on the issue.

He said that the Turkish Cypriot authorities must be regarded as the interlocutor when it comes to any issue concerning properties located within the SBA.

Also, receiving Evkaf Administration representatives on Thursday, Prime Minister Ersan Saner, echoed Tatar’s remarks highlighting the significant role of the administration in the Turkish Cypriot peoples’ struggle for existence.

Remembering the late Turkish Cypriot leader Dr Fazıl Küçük who successfully achieved the administration’s transfer from British to Turkish Cypriot control, Saner said the Evkaf Administration owns a significant amount of property in the fenced-off town of Maraş (Varosha).

“The administration needs to follow up on these properties, even if their ownership was unlawfully transferred to various individuals,” Saner stressed.


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