Front Page Headlines
Risk, fear and worry
The danger posed by an oil slick moving towards the Karpaz (Karpas) peninsula from Syria is not over. A massive oil slick from the Banyas power plant in Syria that turned into a big environmental disaster moved towards the island’s eastern shores bringing with it fear and worry. It has been reported that a section of the slick which is 19km out at sea has broken off from the main mass. Five vessels (one ship and four tugboats) have been dispatched to the area by Turkey to clean up the waste. The slick is also being monitored from the air via drones. While Prime Minister Ersan Saner said that the slick was moving towards Syria, Environment Minister Fikri Ataoğlu said the slick had bypassed the Karpaz (Karpas) peninsula. While this report was not confirmed, Public Works Minister Canaltay said that the closest part of the slick was 10 miles from the shoreline.
- Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay: “There is a section of the slick broken off from the main mass 19km off the coast of Karpaz (Karpas).
- Offer made by south for technical assistance and support.
- Erhürman: “No one should be overcome by languor.”
Mobilized against the oil disaster
Serious environmental pollution was caused in the western part of the Mediterranean when 15,000 tons of oil spilt into the sea from a power plant in the Baniyas district of Syria. All units were mobilized to stop the oil slick that threatened the Karpaz (Karpas) coasts.
- Asked for an explanation from Syria via the UN – President Ersin Tatar said.
- “We do not want our school to be demolished” – Maronites, who have been living in Kormacit (Kormakitis) for centuries, reacted to the decision to demolish the former primary school building to build an activity centre. The project to build an activity centre in the village is financed by the EU through the UNDP. The project architect Özge Özbekoğlu said it is not possible to renovate the building which was built in 1961.
Black nightmare
The big environmental disaster in the Mediterranean is threatening the eastern coast of Cyprus. 15,000 tons of oil that spilt into the sea from Syria is heading towards Cyprus. Even though the Prime Minister and the relevant ministers claimed the slick will bypass Cyprus, the danger of the island’s golden sands turning black has not passed.
- New York suspended – When the UN Special Envoy Jane Holl Lute did not come to Cyprus, the leaders, who believed they will be meeting in NY, did not know what to do.
- Children in the South in difficulty – Two infants born only eight days ago tested positive for coronavirus. A 14-year-old child is also in critical condition.
Who kept it a secret?
The Greek Cypriot Environment Minister Kostas Kadis said they had been monitoring the leak from Syria since last Thursday but refrained from stating when they contacted TRNC officials. The leader of the Peoples’ Party (HP) Kudret Özersay said they had no information as to whether the Greek Cypriot authorities had informed the Turkish Cypriot side on time. “If they knew about this and decided to keep it a secret until Monday then this is a serious case of negligence. He said they will be pursuing the matter.
- We’re different – 70 per cent of EU member countries have been vaccinated. Only 51 per cent have been vaccinated in the TRNC.
- He is in trouble as well – Anthony Aaron Carpenter who brought Gökhan Takımcılar over to the north through illegal means was brought before the court.
Rejected the South’s offer of assistance again?
The Greek Cypriot side offered its assistance to the Turkish Cypriot side, saying they were ready to assist efforts to contain the oil slick heading towards our coasts…However, the officials in the north who were waiting for the assistance to arrive from Turkey did not respond to the offer.
Main News
Tatar says oil slick is drifting away thanks to shift in the wind
Yenidüzen, Kıbrıs, Havadis, Diyalog, Avrupa
Energy, CBMs
OVERVIEW
The massive oil slick which had been expected to hit the Karpaz (Karpas) is now heading back to Syria, Turkish Cypriot authorities said on Tuesday. The oil slick, a consequence of a leakage in a power plant inside a refinery in the Syrian town of Baniya on the Mediterranean coast last Monday, was said to be around 15 nautical miles off the peninsula on Tuesday afternoon.
Turkish and Turkish Cypriot officials braced for the worst after it emerged that the slick which is believed to have formed earlier last week was heading towards the island’s eastern coastline. Environmental experts and teams worked round the clock to take all necessary measures to prevent the slick from reaching the coastline.
A four-hundred-meter barrier was set up out at sea, the Turkish Cypriot Prime Ministry Undersecretary Hüseyin Amcaoğlu, who is the head of the crisis management desk established, said on Tuesday.
Speaking to Bayrak, Amcaoğlu also noted Turkey had deployed two specialised boats to clean up the oil from the Mediterranean. Amcaoğlu also said that four observation points had been established along the coastline and teams from the Environmental Protection Department were monitoring the situation on the ground. He added that coast guard boats were patrolling the area to assess the course of the spill.
“It’s not certain at this moment but the information we have been receiving from our experts is that the slick will be bypassing the peninsula and will not reach our shoreline. However, the direction of the wind could change. We are expecting the wind to continue to blow in this direction until September 3,” Amcaoğlu added.
Turkish Cypriot President Ersin Tatar said that the danger had currently subsided after the direction of the wind had shifted in their favour. Speaking to Turkish Cypriot news agency TAK following holding a meeting with experts and heads of relevant departments, Tatar said the measures will remain in place for other potential risks.
Tatar also expressed pleasure in seeing all the state components collaborating against the oil spill. He added that he has also been in constant communication with Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay, Defence Minister Hulusi Akar as well as other senior officials.
Tatar also noted that the Turkish Cypriot side has gotten in touch with the UN, demanding an explanation from Syria via the UN on the oil spill.
Meanwhile, the Greek Cypriot side had offered to assist the Turkish Cypriot authorities but the offer was declined. Also on Tuesday, the leader of the Peoples’ Party (HP) Kudret Özersay said that his party will be investigating whether the Greek Cypriot authorities had deliberately kept the incident from Turkish Cypriot authorities until late Monday.
“The Greek Cypriot Environment Minister Kostas Kadis said they had been monitoring the situation for days. If this was the case why were our authorities not informed earlier? If so this is a serious case of negligence. We shall be pursuing the matter closely,” he said.
The leader of the Republican Turkish Party (CTP) Tufan Erhürman on Tuesday said that it was too early to relax and that the real danger had not subsided yet. The CTP leader who visited Karpaz (Karpas), meeting with mayors and experts said it was important to remain vigilant and to clean up the oil before it did permanent damage to the environment.
An act of sabotage at the Baniyas Thermal Station five days ago led to large quantities of fuel being poured into the sea, according to the Syrian state news agency SANA. The tank was filled with 15,000 tons of fuel.
TC officials condemn US Senator Menendez
Yenidüzen, Kıbrıs, Havadis, Diyalog, Avrupa
Negotiations Process
OVERVIEW
Turkish Cypriot Foreign Minister Tahsin Ertuğruloğlu on Tuesday strongly condemned the remarks made by the chairman of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Senator Robert Menendez.
Menendez on Monday had said a peace accord for Cyprus based on two separate states “flies in the face” of UN Security Council resolutions as well a decades-old arrangement between Greek and Turkish Cypriot negotiators to reunify Cyprus as a federation. He also said that the “retrograde vision” of Turkey’s president to cement Cyprus’ ethnic divide by striving for a two-state deal “is wrong” for all Cypriots.
“It is wrong, it is bad for all Cypriots and it is bad for the whole region…My goal is to see all Turkish soldiers withdraw from the island,” he added. Speaking after receiving Cyprus’ highest honour — the Grand Collar of the Order of Makarios III — at a ceremony, Menendez said Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots could strike a reunification deal if left to negotiate on their own.
Ertuğruloğlu claimed Menendez, who won the elections with the support of the US-based Greek Cypriot and Greek organisations, is known for his animosity against Turkey and the Turkish Cypriot state and is the person behind many of the bills and decisions against Turkey.
The US senator has also undermined efforts to restore trust and stability on the island and in the region, Ertuğruloğlu added. “We would like to remind Menendez that the Turkish military intervened on the island to prevent the decimation of the Turkish Cypriot people, who were subjected to all kinds of inhumane practices, including mass murder, by the Greek side, especially between 1963 and 1974,” he asserted.
It is an undeniable fact that Turkey intervened to fulfil its obligations under the 1960 Treaty of Guarantee and the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) are on the island at the request of the Turkish Cypriot people to prevent a repeat of their past suffering, Ertuğruloğlu said.
“Demanding that the TSK, who has ensured a peaceful and secure environment on the island since 1974, cease their presence means surrendering the island to war and Greek brutality again,” the foreign minister said.
Such calls can only come from people like Menendez, who have little knowledge of Cyprus and its history, and try to disguise their ignorance with hostility towards Turkey, he added. “Neither he [Menendez] nor his words have any meaning or validity for the TRNC,” Ertuğruloğlu said.
Echoing similar viewpoints to the Turkish Cypriot Foreign Minister, the People’s Party (HP) leader Kudret Özersay reiterated that the Turkish troops were the assurance of peace and stability on the island acting as a deterrent force.
In a social media post on Tuesday, Özersay said Menendez will be disappointed for being unable to achieve his “goal”. He argued that anyone who understands a bit about international politics would know that Turkey regardless of a solution or not, will not give up on providing security for the Turkish and the Turkish Cypriots on the island.
“Assessing the issue from a geostrategic point of view the presence of the Turkish troops on the island is of vital importance now and it will be so in the future,” Özersay argued.
“It would not have been possible to expect Menendez, who played a key role in the lifting of the US arms embargo on the Greek Cypriot side, to say anything different than what he said since he is playing to win points from the Greek and the Greek Cypriot lobbies in the States,” Özersay concluded.
KEY ACTORS
Ertuğruloğlu (UBP)
>> Menendez’s remarks harm Turkey-US relations as well as efforts to reinstate stability and confidence on the island & the region.
>> Neither Menendez nor his words have any meaning or validity for the ‘TRNC’.
Özersay (HP)
>> Turkish troops are the assurance of peace & stability on the island acting as a deterrent force.
>> The presence of Turkish troops on the island is of geostrategic importance.
>> Turkey will not stop providing security for TCs regardless of a solution or not.
Peace is everyone’s legitimate demand
Yenidüzen
Negotiations Process
OVERVIEW
The Republican Turkish Party (CTP) said it will intensify its efforts for intercommunal rapprochement and will take steps for confidence-building measures (CBMs) to reach the ultimate goal of a federal and comprehensive settlement in Cyprus.
In a statement issued to mark the International Day of Peace on September 1, the CTP said peace is the legitimate and righteous demand of both communities on the island.
“Peace in Cyprus and the world has become more meaningful than ever and became a vital demand,” the CTP stressed, adding that the initiatives to leave in peace throughout the world is being threatened.
“The lack of solution of the Cyprus problem is the source of all problems in regional relations,” the main opposition said, arguing that the positions based on a two-state solution model further fuel secessionism on the island.
The CTP noted that the Turkish Cypriot community suffers the most from the lack of solution on the island, adding that the initiatives launched for peace will bring the community closer to being part of the international scene whereas the contrary would only mean dragging the Turkish Cypriots to uncharted waters and the unknown.
KEY ACTORS
Erhürman (CTP)
>> Peace is the legitimate & righteous demand of both communities.
>> The absence of a solution to Cyprob is the source of all problems in relational relations.
>> Positions based on a two-state solution model will further fuel secessionism on the island.
>> TC community suffers the most from a non-solution.
Accomplice to Gökhan Takımcılar also arrested
Yenidüzen, Kıbrıs, Havadis, Diyalog, Avrupa
Internal Security
OVERVIEW
Anthony Aaron Carpenter, who assisted fugitive Gökhan Takımcılar was also arrested on Tuesday. Carpenter, who is a resident in South Cyprus, is charged with the crime of illegally entering the north through a military zone in the Beyarmudu (Pergamos) area.
The police officer in charge of the investigation told the court on Tuesday that Carpenter assisted Takımcılar to cross to the north using his vehicle.
Takımcılar was arrested on Monday while trying to cross back to the south through a military zone in Kırklar (Tymbou). It emerged that he had crossed into the north on Sunday night through the same area to attend the funeral for his two-month-old baby. Takımcılar had fled to South Cyprus after injuring a police officer on August 15 during when the police questioned him for a stolen car case in Gaziköy (Afania).
The police also found the stolen car within the vicinity and found 13gr of cannabis and methamphetamine in the car.