Front Page Headlines
The system gives the alarm!
The quota on solar energy exceeded. Demand for solar energy and panels in the north of Cyprus is high. However, the grid’s capacity has been exceeded. Experts have warned of the serious risks of exceeding the grid’s capacity, particularly because the Turkish Cypriot Electricity Authority (KIBTEK) is not carrying out the analysis it should.
- Three thousand! – Ersin Tatar (President): “I know that there are more than three thousand applications filed with the Immovable Property Commission (IPC) regarding properties in Maraş (Varosha). We are at the point of returning those properties. As a result, this is a positive development in terms of human rights.
- 344! – Ersan Saner (Prime Minister): “There have been around 344 applications filed with the IPC. What the president was trying to say was that we are preparing to receive three thousand applications.
It will not be easy for it (the forest) to become green again
70,000 saplings were planted in an area of 7,288 dönüms (dunams) from Tepebaşı (Diorios) – Kalkanlı (Kalochorio) which was destroyed in the forest fire that broke out last year in May. 230,000 more saplings are needed to be planted. As a result of the fire, 206,627 trees and 84,367 saplings were burnt to ashes. The cost of the fire for the country is calculated at ₺21.6m (€2.1m) and the cost of putting out the fire was ₺365,417 (€34,968).
And now a fairy tale for January
The minority government with the support of the independent MPs, approved the Ad-Hoc committee, in which the opposition refuses to take part, to determine a date for early elections. Social Democratic Party (TDP) leader Cemal Özyiğit said the laws and regulations have been disregarded, rendering the parliament ineffective. He added: “The right thing to do is to hold an election.” People’s Party (HP) leader Kudret Özersay said January 2022 was discussed as a possibility for early elections during informal talks but it was not possible to achieve any progress. “We failed to get a proper response,” he said, adding January 2022 is a good date for his party. He added the HP’s views on the ad-hoc committee that it is a violation of the laws, has not changed. Republican Turkish Party (CTP) leader Tufan Erhürman said the most appropriate thing to do would have been to stick with the date identified in the coalition protocol agreement. “The situation is going from bad to worse and the National Unity Party (UBP) will be held responsible for it,” he said.
- Lute is back in the field – UN Special Envoy Jane Holl Lute arrived on the island yesterday to help determine the UN’s road map on the Cyprus issue. Lute will meet with the two leaders separately today.
We are ashamed
A real environmental disaster is being experienced in the area located next to the state hospital and two schools where hundreds of people reside. We see uncut grasses as high as trees, abandoned rusty cars and rubble dumped from construction sites. The waste not only creates visual pollution but is also a breeding ground for parasites and rodents. People living in the area are also suffocating from the stench of sewage flow, particularly during the hot summer nights.
Police lie in ambush at a hotel
Kudret Özersay questions the government on Alaattin Çakıcı. While the allegations on Alaattin Çakıcı settling in north Cyprus are becoming more serious, Özersay questioned the government on what they intend to do. Özersay said the police lie in ambush at a hotel, waiting for Çakıcı to arrive.
- I can go anywhere I please – In response to claims that he has settled in Cyprus, mafia boss Alaattin Çakıcı issued a written statement.
- (Ersin)Tatar said 3,000 but only 28 people – Only 28 applications have been made (to the Immovable Property Commission) since the declaration that Maraş (Varosha) will be opened under the Turkish Cypriot administration. There are only 344 applications (for properties) since 2006.
Main News
Tatar’s office sets record straight on IPC applications on Maraş (Varosha)
Yenidüzen, Kıbrıs, Havadis, Diyalog, Avrupa
Property, Territory
OVERVIEW
There was confusion in the north on Monday following conflicting figures given by Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar on property applications filed with the Immovable Property Commission (IPC) for properties in the fenced-off town of Maraş (Varosha).
Tatar was forced to issue a corrigendum on Monday to one of his earlier statements to Turkish state-owned Anadolu News Agency regarding the number of applications filed for properties in Maraş (Varosha).
The Turkish Cypriot leader was forced to issue the correction after Peoples’ Party (HP) leader Kudret Özersay during Monday’s session in parliament pointed out that the figures given by Tatar in the interview were not accurate. Tatar in his initial statement had said they had received three thousand applications since the IPC was formed but he later corrected the figure to 344.
He said that what he had meant to say was that they were expecting three thousand applications in total in the coming period. Tatar also noted that the fenced-off town is 3,525 square metres (2634 dönüm (dunams)) with nearly 3,000 privately owned immovable properties.
Touching on the Maraş (Varosha) initiative, Tatar in his statement added that the goal of the initiative was to solve the property disputes through the IPC and to re-open the town behind fences in line with international law. “The Turkish Cypriot side’s goal is to reopen the fenced-off town that is undisputedly under the sovereignty and the administration of the TRNC in the best interest of the entire island,” the statement concluded.
Özersay who had raised the issue in parliament on Monday had called on Tatar and the government to approach such matters more seriously. He said that the new IPC board members were yet to be appointed and that the committee had not convened for months. Özersay also criticised Tatar for solely focusing on the infrastructure in the fenced-off town, neglecting the much-needed development in the residential parts of the area.
“Maraş (Varosha) must be taken up as a whole,” the HP leader said, adding that there were thousands of people currently residing in the town’s suburbs. He also recalled that the sewage project done in the past had also excluded the residential parts of Maraş (Varosha).
Özersay also recalled a housing project had been launched when HP was in power however the current government has neglected the project as well.
Turkish Cypriot Prime Minister Ersan Saner responded to the HP leader, arguing that the sewage project, which had been done through EU financing, does not function properly in Famagusta in the first place.
On the housing project, Saner said he has taken up the matter with the TOKİ – Housing Development Administration of Turkey (TOKİ) and once the necessary resources are allocated, the project will continue as planned. Saner defended Tatar for his earlier remarks, stating that the Turkish Cypriot leader had meant they were expecting 3000 applications. He also noted that the board members of the IPC will soon be announced.
On the other hand, the Director-General of the Evkaf Administration of Cyprus İbrahim Benter held a meeting with the Turkish Cypriot Mayor of Famagusta İsmail Arter on Monday. In a statement issued after the meeting, it was noted that Benter and Arter discussed the “situation of the Evkaf properties in the fenced-off town of Maraş (Varosha).”
Finally, it is reported that 150,000 people have visited Maraş (Varosha) since the reopening of the beachfront on October 8, 2020. The visitors, who can access the fenced-off town from 8 am to 8 pm, will also utilize two 800-metre-long beaches as well as benefit from the kiosks and other food stalls within the accessible areas.
KEY ACTORS
Tatar
>> TC side’s goal is to reopen Maraş (Varosha) which is undisputedly under the sovereignty & administration of the north.
The two-state solution model does not represent the TCs’ political will
Yenidüzen, Kıbrıs, Havadis, Diyalog, Avrupa
Negotiations Process
OVERVIEW
“This country is Ours” Platform on Monday called on the UN Special Envoy Jane Holl Lute to intensify her efforts to reach a federal settlement in Cyprus, adding that a United Federal Cyprus is the most realistic and lasting solution model for Cyprus.
In a letter delivered to the UN office in Cyprus to be relayed to Lute, the platform said the two-state solution model, which was produced by the regime in Ankara to prolong the non-solution situation on the island and tabled by an appointed by the Turkish Cypriot leader. The platform said that the Turkish Cypriot leadership’s position did not represent the political will of the Turkish Cypriot community.
It also argued that the “artificial political will that came about as a result of Ankara’s interference in the Turkish Cypriot elections” was part of Turkey’s plans to keep the Cyprus Problem unsolved and ultimately annex the north.
“We urge the UN to intensity its diplomatic efforts for the sides to sit back at the negotiations table to reach a federal settlement, which was mutually accepted solution plan on the island,” the platform stressed, adding that it appreciates the efforts exerted to date by the UN Secretary-General (UNSG) and Lute to help solve the Cyprus Problem.
Meanwhile, Social Democratic Party (TDP) leader Cemal Özyiğit on Monday, slammed the Turkish Cypriot leadership and the government “for implementing annexation policies in the north.”
Speaking during Monday’s plenary; the TDP leader warned that many young Turkish Cypriots were trying to migrate elsewhere as a result of these policies. “The leadership and the government must take steps towards a federal settlement. This is the right path to walk on,” Özyiğit stressed, noting that Lute’s return to the island is an opportunity to give her the correct messages.
Additionally, United Cyprus Party (BKP) leader İzzet İzcan in a social media post also slammed the Turkish Cypriot leadership arguing that the annexation policies are being fully implemented. “The future is in a United Federal Cyprus,” İzcan stressed, urging the Turkish Cypriot community to disregard the Turkish Cypriot side’s secessionist policies.
KEY ACTORS
This Country is Ours Platform
>> United Federal Cyprus is the most realistic & lasting solution model for Cyprus.
>> Ankara aims to prolong non-solution in Cyprus & implement its plans to annex the north.
>> UN should intensify its diplomatic efforts to reach a federal settlement.
Özyiğit (TDP)
>> The TC leadership must take steps towards a federal settlement.
Tatar: Everyone sees how the TCs have been treated unfairly
Yenidüzen, Kıbrıs, Havadis, Diyalog, Avrupa
Negotiations Process
OVERVIEW
Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar on Monday said the Turkish Cypriot side has been fighting for years for justice and to protect national rights and interests in Cyprus. He added there are now very few people left in the world that has not heard how the Turkish Cypriots have been treated unfairly on the Cyprus Issue.
Speaking to Russian state-owned news agency Sputnik, Tatar recalled that the Greek Cypriot side has rejected all the solution plans to date despite all the goodwill displayed by the Turkish Cypriot side.
He also recalled that the Greek Cypriot side was admitted into the EU as a full member even though they rejected the Annan Plan in 2004 leaving the Turkish Cypriots out. Tatar argued the EU’s decision has shifted the regional balance against Turkey and the Turkish Cypriots.
“Our policy is based on putting an end to this unfair situation,” Tatar stressed, adding that the Turkish Cypriots’ existence on the island depends on Turkey’s continued support.
Touching on the five-plus-one informal Cyprus meeting in Geneva, Tatar said the Turkish Cypriot side’s new vision and positions were tabled in the six-point proposal put forth. “The settlement in Cyprus can only be done based on two independent and equal states,” Tatar stressed, arguing the efforts for a federal settlement has ended.
Tatar also noted Ankara fully backs the Turkish Cypriot side’s new position. “An agreement in Cyprus will be in the best interest of all relevant sides and will also reinstate the balance in the Eastern Mediterranean, bringing stability to the region,” Tatar underlined.
He expressed his belief that recognition of the Turkish Cypriot side’s sovereignty with equal international status will eventually bring the political recognition of the north. “The Turkish Cypriots will never agree to live in a state-controlled by the Greek Cypriots. It is not acceptable. We have founded a state and we will ensure that it will continue to exist. If there is going to be an agreement, it will be between independent states,” Tatar concluded.
KEY ACTORS
Tatar
>> TC side’s two-state solution policy aimed at ending unfair situation on the island & reinstating balance in East Med.
>> Recognition of TC side’s sovereignty & equal international status will bring political recognition of north.
Borrell: “We will insist on the continuation of the talks commenced in Geneva”
Yenidüzen, Kıbrıs, Havadis, Diyalog, Avrupa
Regional/ International Relations
OVERVIEW
EU High Representative Josep Borrell on Monday said the EU will try to push for the continuation of the talks which began in Geneva.
Speaking during a briefing at the close of the Foreign Affairs Council meeting in Luxembourg, Borrell expressed his belief that “it would be a good occasion to try to look for a solution to the Cyprus settlement.”
He added the EU-Turkey relations are “very much influenced by the Cyprus issue.” EU’s top foreign policy chief also noted the bloc would not be getting deep into EU-Turkey relations during the Council summit in Brussels, scheduled for June 24 – 25.
“About Turkey and Cyprus, I don`t expect the European Council to go deeper on the issue of Turkey relations, because it will be very much engaged on the Russia communication,” Borrell said.
Caught while selling the drugs brought from the south side
Yenidüzen, Kıbrıs, Havadis, Diyalog, Avrupa
Internal Security
OVERVIEW
A Turkish Cypriot drug pusher was arrested in north Nicosia when Turkish Cypriot narcotics teams carried out an operation on Monday with 53gr of cannabis type drugs.
The police officer in charge of the investigation informed the court the suspect had brought 84 gr of cannabis from south Cyprus but sold 28 gr of it and earned $1,000. The court sent the suspect to jail to await trial for a period not longer than two months.