Front Page Headlines
“You can’t manage a pandemic isolated from the public”
Head of the Turkish Cypriot Doctors’ Association Dr Özlem Gürkut said the government should be able to reopen schools if it is capable of arranging and organising quarantine free entry into the country or tourism activities.
- “He said it was a lie, and then submitted it” – (Turkish Cypriot President Ersin) Tatar in parliament today. The Republican Turkish Party (CTP) will not be attending the meeting.
Motherhood overcomes all obstacles
It was Mother’s Day yesterday and today starts the awareness week for the physically disabled. Women, who are both mothers and physically disabled, a mid-wife who witnessed hundreds of women becoming mothers and a former athlete now in a wheelchair – spoke about their lives and experiences to Kıbrıs.
- The summer working hours started at the public sector.
The Bairam (Eid al-Fitr) loses its meaning
The people are forced to spend Eid al-Fitr at home due to the pandemic. However, the worsening economic conditions are making celebrations feel bitter. Havadis calculated and compared the price of a modest and extravagant dinner for a four-person family.
- CTP boycotts the assembly – The parliament will convene in an extraordinary session for President Ersin Tatar to debrief the parties on the Geneva talks.
- Accused Turkey and threatened via the EU – Greek Cypriot leader Nicos Anastasiades touched on the Geneva talks during the European Council meeting in Porto.
- “Authority lies with the Council of Ministers” – President Ersin Tatar, when he became the target for criticisms regarding changing Ercan (Tymbou) airport’s name to Dr Fazıl Küçük, threw the ball out of bounds.
Unfair
The tourism ministry’s plans for local tourism during the Eid holiday and to allow tourists with proof of vaccination and double PCR tests to enter the country dashed by the Higher Committee for Infectious Diseases’ harsh stance. Tourism Minister Fikri Ataoğlu reacted. Speaking to Diyalog, Ataoğlu said that their plans to allow citizens who were forced to stay at home for months to spend their holidays at hotels for cheaper prices during Eid was postponed by the health committee. He said that a great injustice had been committed, reminding that only three positive cases were detected in the three thousand tourists who have arrived through the closed-circuit system. He added that all three had been sent back to their country.
- Open them immediately – Peoples’ Party (HP) leader Kudret Özersay said that shopkeepers were ruined because of the pandemic. He called on the government to open the crossing points.
Went to Geneva to break fast
They broke fast in Geneva but could not break the deadlock to achieve a settlement. Turkish Consul General in Geneva organised ‘fast-breaking dinners’ for the delegations every night… Ersin Tatar and the other political party representatives as well as the heads of the Republican Turkish Party (CTP) and Social Democratic Party (TDP) attended the dinners for three consecutive nights.
- Fist to fist – (Ersin) Tatar is awaiting recognition from the EU. Tatar, who said “the EU must take our demand sovereignty into consideration,” also asked the bloc to keep its promises made to the Turkish Cypriot side in the Annan Plan process.
- 22 locally transmitted, 34 positive coronavirus cases in the north, 269 cases and two deaths in the south…
Main News
Tatar slams EU as bloc marks Europe Day
Yenidüzen, Kıbrıs, Havadis, Diyalog, Avrupa
EU Matters, Negotiations Process
OVERVIEW
Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar on Sunday said the EU must take into attention the Turkish Cypriot side’s demand for sovereignty and keep its promises made to the Turkish Cypriot community. In a statement issued from his office to mark May 9 Europe Day, Tatar said that the EU was adopting a biased stance on the Cyprus Issue in favour of the Greek Cypriot side.
“We observe the EU is distancing itself from its main principles when it comes to the Cyprus problem,” Tatar said, arguing that the EU’s biased stance harmed the solution efforts. He added that the Greek Cypriot side, which became a member of the bloc unilaterally and unfairly, continued to adopt an uncompromising attitude with the support it received from the EU.
“We expect that the EU respects the Turkish Cypriot side’s demand for sovereignty and act accordingly,” Tatar said, arguing that Turkish Cypriots continued to be punished with embargoes and isolation despite voting in favour of the Annan plan.
Tatar added the EU’s failure to keep its promises, while diminishing the bloc’s credibility in the eyes of the Turkish Cypriot community, is also a way to force the Turkish Cypriots to accept being a minority status under a Greek Cypriot controlled state. Tatar urged the EU to stop supporting the Greek Cypriot side which he said was only serving a non-solution on the island.
“I, on behalf of the Turkish Cypriot people, call on the EU to abandon its biased stance on the Cyprus problem, and accept our demand for sovereignty,” Tatar concluded.
KEY ACTORS
Tatar
>> EU must take into attention TC side’s demand for sovereignty & keep its promises to the TC community.
>> EU’s failure to keep its promises diminishes its credibility in the eyes of the TC community.
Neither the EU’s nor the TC leadership’s attitude is acceptable
Yenidüzen, Kıbrıs, Havadis, Diyalog, Avrupa
CBMs, Internal Security
OVERVIEW
Republican Turkish Party (CTP) leader Tufan Erhürman on Sunday slammed both the EU officials and the Turkish Cypriot leadership, saying only 6.3 per cent of the vaccines earmarked by the EU for the Turkish Cypriot community were delivered so far even though the agreed amount was 20 per cent.
In a social media post, Erhürman said the Greek Cypriot side has so far received 482,965 doses of vaccines to date whereas the Turkish Cypriot side with the deliveries to be received on Monday, would have only gotten 30,050 doses.
“Neither the EU’s attitude nor the Turkish Cypriot leadership’s attitude, which fails to obtain more doses for the community is acceptable,” Erhürman stressed, adding that the Turkish Cypriot side instead of making repeated nationalist statements, should have been on the vaccines issue.
Akansoy asks: Will the crossings remain closed forever?
Yenidüzen, Kıbrıs, Havadis, Diyalog, Avrupa
CBMs, Internal Security
OVERVIEW
Republican Turkish Party (CTP) MP Asım Akansoy on Sunday slammed Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar for not doing anything for the reopening and normalisation of the crossing points.
“Is Tatar aware of the economic momentum the reopening of the crossings would generate?” Akansoy asked, expressing the view that the Turkish Cypriot leadership has no road map on the crossings despite the economic and social benefits.
He said the shopkeepers in Arasta, north Nicosia’s old town and Famagusta have been demanding the opening of the crossings for economic reasons
“Even though the bicommunal technical committee on health has a joint decision in favour of the opening of the crossings, it requires political will and sincere dialogue,” Akansoy said, accusing Tatar of hiding behind the Higher Committee for Infectious Diseases.
Also, on Sunday, People’s Party (HP) leader Kudret Özersay reiterated his known stance on the crossing points, urging the Turkish Cypriot leadership to reopen the checkpoints for daily crossings.
In a statement issued from the HP, Özersay said, “The public’s main focus is the economy and the economic difficulties they are facing,” and added that reopening the crossing points will help alleviate the economic problems for shopkeepers, petrol stations and other businesses.