Front Page Headlines
Boutique hotels on the brink of bankruptcy
Managers of boutique hotels and casinos spoke to Yenidüzen expressing their outrage. “We can’t pay our debts, we are stuck. We are standing back because of the risk of the spread of the virus. We want to breathe!”
The funds are expected to arrive on Tuesday
The “Financial and Economic Collaboration Agreement” signed between Turkey and the TRNC has entered into force. Finance Minister Dursun Oğuz said: “We expect that the funds will be transferred in time for the salary payments (of public servants).”
- ₺22,000 (€2,200) fine issued for violating home quarantine.
- PCR ordeal under hot weather – A PCR test requirement was imposed for students, teachers and officials who will take part in 12th-grade exams and international assessments.
- Outdoor weddings are permitted from May 27 onwards – New decisions adopted by the Higher Committee for Infectious Diseases covering April 26 to May 3 were announced.
Signs of reaching an agreement
The parliament convened yesterday even though with four hours delay. Both the parties in power and the opposition have agreed that their respective proposals for a date for an early election should be discussed by the committee. The election date will be discussed at the legal and political affairs committee in parliament and the issue will be given priority. Both the ruling parties and the opposition parties are represented with three members each on the committee board.
- Step-by-step normalisation – The Higher Committee for Infectious Diseases announced new decisions for the period from April 26 to May 3. Despite the surge in cases, relaxations on measures continue.
Great news
The government which extended the 9 am – 5 am curfew during weekdays, and the full-day curfew on Sundays announced that outdoor weddings will be allowed as of May 27. Restaurants, taverns, cafes and eateries will be allowed to operate delivery services on Sundays. News of the easing of restrictions on weddings has made wedding organisers, venue owners and soon-to-be-wed couples very happy.
- Loss of life in the south. 44 cases in the north, 927 in the south
From being an infant state to becoming a colonized state
Turkish media made new evaluations following Tayyip Erdoğan’s attack on our Constitutional Court. (Turkish writer and journalist) Baskın Oran: We have a habit of exporting all the problematic issues including inflation to the TRNC. As a result, and if the process that was launched last week were to continue as it is, we might end up calling the TRNC by a new name, the TIRNC (Turkish Islamic Republic of Northern Cyprus).
- Resignation earthquake –Chairman of KTOEÖS (Turkish Cypriot Secondary School Teachers’ Union) Tahir Gökçebel, General Secretary Selma Eylem along with five executive board members have resigned. Reasons for their resignations were not announced.
- Demonstrations limited to 50 people only – New decisions announced on Covid-19.
- The rally heading to inönü Square – “Together for federation” rally, which will be held tomorrow, will start from the area known as the old train station in north Nicosia. The participants will march to İnönü Square. Officials from the armed forces did not allow for a meeting at Yiğitler (Rocca) Bastion. Greek Cypriots at the same time will gather at the Eleftheria (Freedom) square to march towards the Paphos Gate. Participants will be united via video-link, projecting the other square to participants on big screens.
- 39 locally transmitted, 44 positive cases of coronavirus in the north, 927 cases and one death in the south…
Main News
Time to respond to calls for peace, AHDR says
Yenidüzen
Negotiations Process
OVERVIEW
The Association for Historical Dialogue and Research (AHDR) on Thursday said that it is time to show a strong political will for the future of the Cypriot people and to respond to the call for peace. In a statement issued ahead of the Cyprus conference in Geneva, AHDR pointed out that April 23, 2003, was a milestone in the Cyprus negotiations and intercommunal relations.
“It became possible to touch the lives of people across the divide, touch on the childhood memories of today’s elderly and allowed the opportunity for younger generations to learn to live together as well as to build new memories of co-existence following the opening of Ledra Palace crossing point,” the AHDR statement read.
The AHDR drew attention to the fact that the crossing points have been closed for over a year for ordinary citizens due to the pandemic. “We understand the importance of the intercommunal interaction more than ever now,” the association said, adding that the idea of the Home for Cooperation (H4C) is also the result of such interaction.
“Due to our location in the buffer zone, we have witnessed how the crossing points have strengthened intercommunal relations and peacebuilding activities and had positive impacts the daily lives of the Cypriot people,” AHDR noted, adding that the closure of the crossings has proven that there are unbreakable ties among the people across the divide.
AHDR argued that the mandatory distance set between the people through the closure of the crossings was also reflected in the positions adopted by the Cypriot authorities vis-à-vis the Cyprus problem.
In view of the upcoming five-plus-one, the AHDR welcomed the efforts to convene the relevant parties. “We hope that the Geneva conference will open the way forward for the launch of a new negotiations process based on the 2014 joint declaration signed by the two community leaders at the time and that is a bicommunal, bizonal federal (BBF) solution in line with the relevant UN Security Council (UNSC) resolutions.
AHDR pointed out that a new politically aware generation had emerged since the first attempt at a comprehensive peace agreement in 2004 which rejected the status quo and demanded change.
It argued that since then a conducive environment has been created by the collective efforts of civil society and the confidence-building measures (CBMs) that helped established new partnerships among the two communities.
“The new generation wants to see Cyprus united under the roof of the EU. We believe it is time to respond to the calls of the new generation,” AHDR added. “As a civil society organization working on peacebuilding efforts for more than a decade now, we will continue to do our best to overcome various obstacles in our minds and our daily lives. We will continue to support social and/or political activities in this regard,” the statement concluded.
TC officials continue to advocate for a two-state solution
Yenidüzen, Kıbrıs, Havadis, Diyalog, Avrupa
Negotiations Process
OVERVIEW
The Turkish Cypriot leadership on Thursday continued to advocate for a two-state solution just days before the five-plus-one Cyprus conference in Geneva.
In a written statement issued to mark Turkey’s National Sovereignty and Children’s Day, Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar repeated that it was out of the question for the Turkish Cypriot side to make any concessions on its sovereignty, freedom or from Turkey’s guarantees during the upcoming five-plus-one Cyprus conference in Geneva.
The 23rd of April, celebrated in the north, marks the anniversary of the foundation of the Turkish parliament in 1920.
Turkish Cypriot Prime Minister Ersan Saner in his statement issued on the occasion said sovereignty meant protecting a nation’s independence, freedom and democracy.
He added the Turkish Cypriots have enjoyed independence under the roof of their state since 1974 and that efforts were being made to strip them of their sovereignty. “We see the fact that the federation talks have turned into a ploy to rid the Turkish Cypriots of their sovereignty and their security while trying to cut off the people’s ties with Turkey,” Saner claimed, stressing that the Turkish Cypriot side has declared to the entire world that it will not allow the launch of a new negotiations process unless the Turkish Cypriots’ sovereignty is recognized.
Turkish Cypriot Foreign Minister Tahsin Ertuğruloğlu on Thursday reiterated his negative stance towards the upcoming five-plus-one meeting in Geneva, saying that he did not expect any major outcome.
Speaking on Kıbrıs TV, Ertuğruloğlu added: “I doubt anything substantial will emerge from the conference but if anything does, it should be the launch of talks based on a two-state solution.” He said the two-state option is the only realistic model, arguing that a new page must be opened in the course of the negotiations process.
“It is obvious the old basis does not produce the result desired because we are talking about a Greek Cypriot administration that does not even accept a federal model in their favour,” Ertuğruloğlu concluded.
KEY ACTORS
Tatar
>> Out of the question for the TC side to make concessions from its sovereignty or Turkey’s guarantees.
Saner (UBP)
>> TC side has made it clear it will not launch new talks unless its sovereignty is recognized.
Ertuğruloğlu (UBP)
>> Nothing substantial will emerge from Geneva but if it does it must be talks based on two states.
>> Two-state solution is the only realistic option for the solution of Cyprob.
Turkey-EU relations at a critical point
Yenidüzen, Kıbrıs, Havadis, Diyalog, Avrupa
EU Matters
OVERVIEW
Relations between the EU and Turkey are at a critical point as the sides delicately attempt to set a positive agenda ahead of the June EU Council summit and the upcoming Cyprus talks, Nikolaus Meyer-Landrut, head of the EU Delegation to Turkey said.
Speaking to Turkish daily Sabah in Adana province of Turkey on Thursday, Meyer-Landrut said the bloc wants to intensify dialogue with Turkey on foreign policy issues and regional crises.
“We are trying to turn the tide, to increase cooperation and to establish step by step – if the environment is conducive – a positive agenda. If the right steps are taken, if confidence is rebuilt perhaps further steps can be taken,” the head of the EU delegation said.
On the tensions between Ankara and Athens in the Eastern Mediterranean, Meyer-Landrut said that “We have seen renewed engagement between the two countries,” referring to exploratory and deconfliction talks the two NATO allies have been conducting, adding that the bloc supports the dialogue between two neighbours as it is not possible to solve the problems without any communication.
He said that the issues regarding Cyprus need to be addressed under the supervision of the U.N., while military deconfliction needs to be dealt with within NATO. Touching upon the Cyprus conference that will be held on April 27 to 29, Meyer Landrut said that the main responsibility lies with the United Nations, but the EU is in full support of it.
“The outcome of the talks and the assessment we make about the outcomes will, of course, affect the general assessment about how conducive the environment is to progress,” Meyer-Landrut said, adding that it will be an important milestone between now and the next EU summit.