TCC Press Review 28 Aug 2021

Front Page Headlines

Yenidüzen

There is no greater pain

Five-year-old Karel laid to rest in tears and cries. Not only his mother and father but the whole country wept for Karel who died in a horrific traffic accident. The accident which took place along the new northern ring road in Nicosia raised the issue of road and traffic safety once again. We question once again how safe our round-a-bouts are.

Kıbrıs

Both infection rate and the risk will increase

The announcement to charge people for the PCR and antigen tests drew harsh criticisms. Representatives from all the sectors as well as the public expressed their concerns with the decision, stating it was unacceptable.

  • Vote to decide whether UBP congress should be held in two districts, not six– The decision to hold the National Unity Party (UBP) congress in six districts due to the pandemic, has been revised following objections. UBP leader and Prime Minister Ersan Saner said the party assembly will convene on Monday to decide on another option.
  • Spending ₺1m (€100,000) for the tests daily – Prime Minister Ersan Saner evaluated the reactions given to the decision to charge people for PCR/antigen tests from September 1 onwards. He said the tests are a serious burden on the Finance Ministry.
  • 30,000 tons of fuel oil to be purchased from TPIC until the tender is concluded – The Central Tendering Commission (MIK) in line with the Council of Minister’s decision published in the official gazette, will launch a tender to procure 150,000 tons of fuel oil for the Teknecik power plant.

Diyalog

‘It could be paid’

The Health Minister Ünal Üstel who said, “you can’t force people to pay for their tests under these economic conditions” called on the finance ministry to cover the monthly cost of ₺15m (€1.5m) to carry out PCR and rapid tests. Üstel who pointed out it was wrong to cut spending on health said that only 49 per cent of the population was fully vaccinated. “What we need to do is to continue holding more tests and speed up the vaccination drive to assist our health workers in the fight against Covid-19,” he said, Asked whether the finance ministry could cover the cost of tests, Üstel said, “It can and it should.”

Avrupa

Pillagers do not want a solution  

Nicos Anastasiades’ call to the Turkish Cypriots to “return to” the 1960 constitution landed like a bomb both in the north and in the south. While politicians in the north chose to remain silent, those in the south slammed Anastasiades for his proposal…Political circles in the south likened Anastasiades’ proposal to Ersin Tatar’s two-state model and deemed it impossible because they do not want to see the Turkish Cypriots as partners in the Republic of Cyprus…Some have already started to make 70-30 ratio calculations and are concerned that public servants will be laid off due to the arrival of Turkish Cypriots.

  • Ten deaths on both sidesThe highest number of deaths from Covid-19 recorded on both sides of the island. Six people in the south and four in the north passed away yesterday due to Covid-19.

Main News

“We have put forth a new foreign policy, demanding self-governance,” Hasipoğlu said

Yenidüzen, Kıbrıs, Diyalog, Avrupa
Negotiations Process, Property, Territory

OVERVIEW

National Unity Party (UBP) General Secretary and member of the Turkish Cypriot negotiation team Oğuzhan Hasipoğlu said on Friday that the Turkish Cypriot side has displayed a constructive role in negotiations aimed at reaching the solution to the Cyprus problem.

Speaking during a conference on the Cyprus problem at the Rumeli University in Istanbul, Hasipoğlu added that the Turkish Cypriot side had worked hard towards reaching a federal settlement for years.

“Nonetheless, we will no longer allow the Greek Cypriot side to waste our time at the negotiating table,” he stressed, adding that this was why the Turkish Cypriot side was advocating for a two-state solution model.

Hasipoğlu said the Turkish Cypriot side has put forth a new foreign policy, demanding international equal status and self-governance. Also touching on the Maraş (Varosha) Initiative, Hasipoğlu said the Turkish Cypriot side has launched the reopening process of the fenced-off town with determination after waiting for years.

“The town was one of the most important holiday destinations in the Mediterranean in the past,” he said, adding that “We want to create new investment opportunities from Turkey and the international arena for our economy,” Hasipoğlu concluded.


“Restore the constitutional order in Cyprus now,” Union of Cypriots says

Yenidüzen, Avrupa
Negotiations Process

OVERVIEW

The Union of Cypriots said on Friday the only way to solve the “Cyprus deadlock” and to end the occupation is to restore the constitutional order on the island.

In a statement issued, the bicommunal group stressed they are “ready to accept the proposal made by the Greek Cypriot leader Nicos Anastasiades.” “The legal democratic structure of the island is the only way for Cypriots to determine their future without the presence of foreign powers,” the union said, stressing that the restoration of the constitutional order of a state cannot be a bargaining chip for any political group.

Noting that the Union of Cypriots is the only movement that campaigns in an organised manner for the restoration of the constitutional order, it also reiterated that protecting the constitutional order of a state is the first responsibility of any state.

“We would like to repeat that restoring the constitutional order is the only way for delegitimizing Turkey’s existence in Cyprus and its puppet regime in the occupied northern areas of the island, in the eyes of the world community,” the movement concluded.

Anastasiades on Wednesday, August 25 had said that “…the Greek Cypriot community insists and is therefore fully prepared to accept the restoration of constitutional order with the return of the Turkish Cypriots, both to the executive, the legislature, the judiciary and the and the rest of the Services, under the provisions of the 1960 Constitution…”

KEY ACTORS
Union of Cypriots
>> Legal democratic structure of the island is the only way for Cypriots to determine their future without interference from foreign powers.
>> Restoration of the constitutional order of a state cannot be a bargaining chip for any political power.
>> Restoring the constitutional order of the RoC is the only way to delegitimize Turkey’s existence in Cyprus & the regime in the north.


2460 new citizens in five months

Yenidüzen
Migration and Citizenship

OVERVIEW

The National Unity Party (UBP) – Democratic Party (DP) – Rebirth Party (YDP) coalition granted 2,460 citizenship in the past five months, it emerged on Friday. 673 of these citizenships were given by the “approval of the Interior Ministry,” and the remaining 1787 people obtained the right of citizenship through marriage. Turkish Cypriot daily Yenidüzen on Saturday published the response given by the office of the prime minister to Republican Turkish Party (CTP) MP Asım Akansoy’s written question submitted in the parliament.

The response also included details on the number of applicants. According to the figures released, 13,516 people submitted applications for citizenship from 2006 to 2021 while 3,923 people applied for citizenship through marriage from 2016 to 2021.

12,790 applicants of the are Turkish nationals and 726 of them are third-country nationals.

Speaking to the daily on the citizenship data, Akansoy highlighted the importance of authorities sharing information regularly to avoid misinformation in the public sphere.

He also pointed out the figures represent individuals but do not include their families in the overall numbers. Akansoy, speaking as a former Interior Minister, highlighted that the 673 individuals granted citizenship through the ministry’s approval should be multiplied by three (wife and two children) to reach the exact figure.

Drawing attention to the high number of newly granted citizenships, Akansoy called for steps to be taken to strip the interior ministry of the extensive powers it has been given to grant citizenship. “No matter how we look at the numbers, it is unacceptable to see such high figures in five months,” Akansoy said. Given the upcoming National Unity Party (UBP) congress and a possible early election, He said that the process of granting citizenship must be ceased immediately.

“While we object to any direct or indirect intervention in Turkish Cypriots’ political will, we must also provide humane living conditions for the workers earning a living in our country,” Akansoy concluded.


Human traffickers caught red-handed


Yenidüzen, Kıbrıs, Diyalog, Avrupa
Human Rights

OVERVIEW

A court in the north has ordered two Turkish Cypriot men and one Turkish man who were arrested by police in the early hours of August 26 whilst picking up 17 undocumented Syrian migrants to smuggle them across the divide to remain in custody for eight days.

The police officer leading the investigation told the court that the suspects were arrested while transporting the migrants from a beach in Tatlısu (Akanthou). Acting upon a tip, the police caught the one human trafficker on the beach and two within the vicinity of the area.

The court remanded the suspects for seven days while the migrants had been taken to a quarantine facility when the PCR test for one came back positive.


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