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Tensions over chance games
The draft law for Online Betting and Change Games has been on the cabinet’s agenda for months. The draft law which has been amended several times has been the subject of debate. The law which will also allow five-star hotels or resorts with a 500-bed capacity to obtain licences for online gambling has yet to be approved.
The fuel oil tender from scratch again!
It has been decided to launch a new tender to purchase 150,000 metric tons of fuel oil for KIBTEK (Turkish Cypriot Electricity Authority) after the cancellation of the previous tender for 220,000 tons. Over the past year, the country has been faced the risk of being left in the dark and without electricity due to the tenders which could not be concluded.
The first conflict within the UBP
Heated debates are underway within the National Unity Party (UBP), which is preparing for a congress with several candidates running for the top seat. UBP leader and candidate Ersan Saner wanted the voting at the congress to be held in all six districts and said the decision was approved by the Central Executive Board (MYK) and General Secretary of the party. Candidate Hasan Taçoy objected to the idea, arguing that the leadership elections should be held in one centre with attendance being taken.
- The system is about to collapse – Damla Dabiş highlighted the Covid-19 reality during her programme on Havadis web TV. The number of cases is on the rise. The Pandemic Hospital is full. There are 80 patients with seven caretakers.
Crisis deepens
The Electricity Authority which loses ₺38m (€3.8m) every month owes AKSA (private Turkish energy company) ₺292m (€29.2m). The authority is losing money because the Council of Ministers is not approving an increase in electricity prices. The head of the Authority’s Board of Directors Turan Büyükyılmaz in a statement to Diyalog said the losses were being covered through loans. Büyükyılmaz said that the state institutions owed the authority large sums. Asked what he was doing to collect this money, he said, “I call the finance minister every day and ask for his help.”
- 97,000 passports – The Greek Cypriot leader Nicos Anastasiades said that over 110,000 Turkish Cypriots had Republic of Cyprus (RoC) IDs.
- ‘I condemn him’ – President Ersin Tatar reacts harshly to Anastasiades.
Historic call from Anastasiades to Turkish Cypriots
In his response to Ersin Tatar, (Greek Cypriot leader) Nicos Anastasiades called on the Turkish Cypriots “to return to 1960 Republic to claim their rights and for Turkish Cypriots to take the positions granted to them by the constitution.” This is the first such proposal made by the Greek Cypriots to the Turkish Cypriots since 1963 and 58 years later.
Main News
Passport debate continues in the north, leaders exchange harsh accusations
Yenidüzen, Kıbrıs, Havadis, Diyalog, Avrupa
Negotiations Process
OVERVIEW
The two leaders continued to exchange harsh accusations against each other on Wednesday following a decision adopted by the Greek Cypriot side on Monday to rescind and revoke the passports of Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar, the Turkish Cypriot cabinet as well as experts and bureaucrats involved in the Maraş (Varosha) initiative.
Tatar continued to criticize the decision calling on Greek Cypriot leader Nicos Anastasiades to also rescind the passports belonging to EOKA members who attempted a coup against the Republic in 1974.
Speaking on a TV programme, Tatar argued that the Turkish Cypriots had to apply and take RoC passports out of necessity and that the RoC was also obliged to give these passports to Turkish Cypriots. He also argued that the Greek Cypriot leadership was using the RoC passports as a weapon against the Turkish Cypriots.
Tatar also took a swipe at his predecessor Mustafa Akıncı who earlier in the week had claimed that Turkey’s ultimate goal was to annex the north. He said that neither Ankara nor the Turkish Cypriot side was pursuing such a policy.
“We advocate for two states that co-exist side by side but Akıncı and his supporters claim otherwise, accusing Turkey of being a liar,” Tatar said, adding that Akıncı was fully aware that a federal settlement would not be based on equality in a manner he envisaged.
“If there were a federal settlement on the island, the Turkish Cypriots will be assimilated and their ties with Turkey will be cut off permanently,” Tatar argued, claiming that “Turkey’s rights in Cyprus started in 1571 and continued to date.”
He also argued that the goal is to absorb the north into the EU leaving Turkey out. Tatar said that Akıncı was more than happy to live under the control of a Greek Cypriot state.
The Greek Cypriot leader Nicos Anastasiades said on Wednesday the Greek Cypriot community was ready to return to the 1960 regime with Turkish Cypriots taking the positions granted to them by the constitution, suggesting Tatar was contradicting himself in his criticism of a decision to revoke the Republic of Cyprus passports
Later on Wednesday night, Tatar responded to Anastasiades with another statement this time accusing the Greek Cypriot leader of being racist himself.
He claimed that the Greek Cypriot leaders’ remarks were baseless and untrue. Tatar reiterated his arguments on the necessity for the Turkish Cypriot to obtain the RoC passports, adding that the Greek Cypriot side was subjecting the Turkish Cypriot community to inhumane isolations.
He also repeated his claim that the RoC was under the occupation of the Greek Cypriots, who had ended the partnership state by force of arms. Tatar repeated his vision for the solution of the Cyprus problem based on two states in his statement, arguing that it will not be possible for the two sides to reach an agreement unless there is sovereign equality and equal international status between the sides.
Also on Wednesday, Şener Elcil, General Secretary of the Turkish Cypriot Teachers’ Union (KTÖS) argued that an international arrest warrant must be issued for Tatar.
The KTÖS General Secretary in a written statement said that Tatar was blatantly violating article one of the Treaty of Guarantee that prohibits partition and/or annexation. He said that democratic states do not protect criminals.
“Nonetheless, it is necessary when judging and convicting those who want partition, those who want enosis must also be subjected to the same judgement,” Elcil stressed, adding that the UNSC resolution 186, which Turkey has approved, dictates that the Greek Cypriots who are now occupying the seats in the RoC are tasked to protect the territorial integrity and the constitutional order of the Republic.
“We believe that the decision taken on passports cannot be considered a deterring measure,” Elcil stressed, arguing that it will only give the Turkish Cypriot secessionists the necessary tools to blow up the possible negotiations to be held in New York.
Elcil also argued that the Greek Cypriot government only carried out a PR stunt to please the nationalist constituency.
Meanwhile, the bicommunal activist group UniteCyprusNow (UCN) said on Wednesday that the two sides must stop acts that support partitionist actions. In a statement issued, the UCN warned that the deteriorating status quo in Cyprus since the collapse of the talks in Crans Montana is not only deepening the divide but also dragging the Cypriots into the uncharted waters of uncertainty and instability.
“The forces supporting the status quo on both sides are helping each other get to their ultimate destination, namely the complete and irreversible division of Cyprus,” the UCN stressed, adding that on one hand, the Turkish Cypriot leader and the coalition supported by Turkey were violating the UN Security Council (UNSC) resolutions by attempting to open the fenced city of Maraş (Varosha) under the Turkish Cypriot administration, and on the other, the Greek Cypriot leadership revoked the Republic of Cyprus (RoC) passports of certain Turkish Cypriots, including the Turkish Cypriot leader and his administration in response.
“The Turkish Cypriot leadership’s position on a two-state model and the attempts to reopen Maraş (Varosha) do not only violate the previous agreements and UNSC resolutions but are also against the best interest of the Cypriot communities,” the UCN underscored, adding that the current Turkish Cypriot leader who got elected as a result of Turkey’s intervention in elections, is acting against the interests of his community.
Nonetheless, the UCN also drew attention to the fact that the Greek Cypriot cabinet’s decision to revoke RoC passports only provided the necessary ammunition to those advocating partition on the island.
The UCN argued that the Greek Cypriot leader, whose reputation is already tarnished with citizenship schemes, carried out a populist move to please the nationalist constituencies.
“There is no guarantee that this act will not be used as an example for any other similar politically motivated actions in the future,” the UCN warned, adding that policies based on reciprocity will only hurt all the Cypriots.
“What is needed to get there is a genuine commitment to the solution of the Cyprus problem in line with the UNSC Resolutions and previous convergences,” the UCN stressed, adding that Cypriots deserve a united future based on cooperation and empathy.
KEY ACTORS
Tatar
>> RoC is also obliged to give passports to TCs.
>> Using the RoC passports as a weapon against the TCs unacceptable.
>> It will not be possible for the two sides to reach an agreement unless there is sovereign equality & equal international status between the sides.
Elcil (KTÖS)
>> Decision on passports cannot be considered a deterring measure.
>> The decision will only give TC secessionists the necessary tools to sabotage any new talks.
UCN
>> Two sides should stop partitionist actions.
>> Deteriorating status quo in Cyprus since the collapse of the talks in Crans Montana is not only deepening the divide but also dragging the Cypriots into uncertainty & instability.
>> TC leadership’s position on a two-state model & attempts to reopen Maraş (Varosha) not only violates previous agreements & UNSC resolutions but is also against the interests of the communities.
>> GC cabinet’s decision to revoke RoC passports only provide necessary ammunition to those advocating partition on the island.
Tatar calls on the public to get vaccinated
Yenidüzen, Kıbrıs, Havadis, Diyalog, Avrupa
Internal Security
OVERVIEW
Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar on Wednesday called on the public to get vaccinated as soon as possible, stating that this was the best way to fight against the coronavirus pandemic.
Speaking to the Turkish Cypriot news agency TAK after meeting with the education minister, Tatar provided certain statistics related to the pandemic. Noting that the threshold of 70 per cent vaccination within the community has not yet been reached, Tatar said nearly 55 per cent of the Turkish Cypriots have been vaccinated so far.
He also noted that the initial problem of accessing the vaccines is over now, adding that Turkey has sent 532,000 doses of vaccines and the EU 173,000 to date. “The problem is that not enough people have been forthcoming for vaccination,” Tatar said, adding that vaccination is the best resource available to fight against the new variants of coronavirus.
In the meantime, the Turkish Cypriot dailies citing Greek Cypriot sources report that 12 per cent of the vaccines received by the Greek Cypriot side had been handed over to the north through the bicommunal technical committee on health.
It is reported that out of a total of 1,447,235 doses, 170,842 were given by August 13, 2021, to the Turkish Cypriot community while 1,276,393, which amounts to 88 per cent, were kept for vaccination of those residing in South Cyprus.
Man with fake German ID arrested
Yenidüzen, Kıbrıs, Havadis, Diyalog, Avrupa
Internal Security
OVERVIEW
A man with a fake German ID card was arrested as he tried to depart from Ercan (Tymbou) airport on Tuesday. It emerged that the suspect had obtained the fake identification from South Cyprus and entered the north through the Metehan (Agios Domethios) crossing point.
The Nicosia district court remanded the suspect for one more day until the police concluded their investigation.
In another case, three Turkish Cypriot men were caught red-handed by the police on August 21 as they were trying to smuggle in 83gr of cannabis type drugs through a military zone in Beyarmudu (Pergamos) area.
The Court released the suspects on bail after being informed by the police that the investigation had been concluded.
In another development, the head of the Turkish Cypriot livestock breeders’ association Mustafa Naimoğulları during a web TV programme on Wednesday argued that the smuggling of red meat across the divide was hurting livestock breeders.
Urging the authorities to step up their efforts to curb smuggling, Naimoğulları said the livestock breeders’ economic woes worsen by the day due to illegal activities.