TCC Press Review 28 Sept 2021

Front Page Headlines

Yenidüzen

Hopes rise for Asya

From Turkey to Greece and then to Cyprus. Asya Polatlı who is suffering from SMA type-1 illness was granted Turkish citizenship so that she could be treated in Turkey. Her treatment had started in Turkey but she was brought to Cyprus via Greece yesterday for her gene treatment. The Republic of Cyprus (RoC) is covering Asya’s gene therapy treatment which costs $2.5m. Hopes have been revived once again for the toddler who will be treated at Makarios Hospital.

  • Former Turkish Foreign Minister Murat Karayalçın “Attention must be shown to the TRNC’s independent political identity at the highest level.”
  • Crossings without tests for vaccinated persons begin.

Kıbrıs

Common ground could not be reached at the (trilateral) meeting

UN Secretary-General (UNSG) Antonio Guterres, President Ersin Tatar and Greek Cypriot leader Nicos Anastasiades held an informal meeting yesterday in New York. Speaking to reporters separately after the meeting, the leaders said they shared their positions with Guterres.

  • Retailers rejoice on the first day – Allowing fully vaccinated persons to cross without any tests brought life back to the old shopping area of Arasta in north Nicosia after two years.
  • Asya to be treated in South Cyprus – Asya, who has been struggling with SMA type-1 illness for months, was flown to South Cyprus in an ambulance plane to be given the “Zolgensma” medicine that costs $2.4m.

Havadis

Critical warning from the Development Bank

Hasan Tosunoğlu, President of the Board of Directors of the Development Bank and Bank’s general manager İnanç Babaliki revealed the bank’s general situation with figures. Tosunoğlu said the administrative appointments which were politically changed with each new government thus being the biggest obstacle before the bank’s development.

  • Flogged a dead horse – The Cypriot leaders who have agreed that there is no basis for reconciliation in Cyprus with maximalist demands have had lunch hosted by UN Secretary-General.
  • Kato Pyrgos is out of the new implementation – The fully vaccinated persons are allowed to use the crossings without having to show any negative tests. Non-vaccinated persons will still have to show a negative PCR or rapid antigen test obtained within the last 72 hours.

Diyalog

Our prayers are with her

Asya was transported from Ankara to Larnaca via ambulance plane before being moved to Makarios Hospital in Nicosia. Her story made it into the Greek Cypriot press and international news agencies. Asya was moved to South Cyprus for her treatment upon the wishes of her family. While it has been reported that the RoC will be covering the €2m cost of Asya Polatlı’s treatment, the TRNC Health Ministry which was the target of criticisms defended itself stating that Asya’s treatment would have been by the ministry but that she had been transported to the south upon the wishes of her family. Asya’s father for his part said that the TRNC authorities had been delaying them for months and that now he had hope for his daughter.

  • Negotiations suspendedNo outcome emerged from the trilateral meeting held in New York.

Avrupa

Asya is the name for humanity, hope, trust and peace

The ambulance plane sent from Greece took Asya from Ankara and flew to Athens first and then to Nicosia. The infant who will undergo gene therapy has been admitted to the Makarios (Children’s) Hospital.

  • $160,000 from the Finance (Ministry)Ersin Tatar and his delegation took an additional $160,000 from the Finance Ministry for their New York trip in addition to the coveted expense account.

Main News

The two sides stick to their positions at the trilateral meeting

Yenidüzen, Kıbrıs, Havadis, Diyalog, Avrupa
Negotiations Process

OVERVIEW

UN Secretary-General (UNSG) Antonio Guterres is leaning towards appointing a new special envoy dealing with the Cyprus issue it emerged after the meeting held on Monday between the two leaders and that the Secretary-General.

Both Cypriot leaders told reporters after the meeting that they had found the opportunity to reiterate their positions. It emerged that both sides stuck to their positions, Tatar to his two-state solution and Anastasiades to a federal settlement.

Evaluating the two-hour lunch meeting on Bayrak, Tatar said he tabled his conditions again for the launch of an official round of negotiations. “It is out of the question for us to sit at the table before our sovereign equality and our equal international status is accepted,” Tatar said, adding that it will be a long-hauled effort to restart negotiations any time soon.

He said he would not be pressured into starting new talks as did his predecessors not would he make any promises to settle the decades-long Cyprus Problem within a few months. Tatar also noted that the Secretary-General has expressed his intention to appoint a new Special Envoy to replace Jane Holl Lute.

“During the meeting, the new envoy suggested that the process should continue from the point it had been left off in Berlin (trilateral) or in Crans Montana. We objected to this and the Secretary-General agreed with us,”

He said the opportunities and processes aimed at achieving a federal settlement were all in the past now and that it was necessary to find a common ground and create conducive conditions before the launch of any talks. Tatar also noted that the UNSG also stressed the two sides must give their approval before the launch of a new process.

“The Turkish Cypriot side can’t enter into any official talks unless the six-point proposal tabled during the five-plus-one meeting in Geneva is accepted,” Tatar stressed, adding that the new envoy’s role cannot exceed Lute’s authority.

Tatar said both the UNSG and the Greek Cypriot leader have agreed to support the work of the technical committees on the island. He added that the Turkish Cypriot side wants the work of the technical committees to be intensified with broader authority.

“However, Anastasiades expressed his objections in case of the TRNC’s status is upgraded,” Tatar said, adding that “In response, I told Anastasiades there are two states, two separate administrations, two separate peoples on the island and if he does not see the reality in Cyprus it will not be possible to find a lasting and fair agreement to the Cyprus problem.”

Tatar also said that any new agreement to be reach needed to address the concerns of the Turkish Cypriot community. “We will not agree to return to pre-1974 days. I expressed during the meeting we want our sovereign equality and our state,” Tatar concluded. On his way to the meeting, commenting on Anastasiades’ statement that he was not open to a two-state solution, Tatar said there were already two separate states in Cyprus.

“There have been two separate states in Cyprus for 60 years, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus in the north of Cyprus and the Republic of Cyprus in the south, which turned into a Greek state. After this point, no one can give up their 60-year-old state. We will not give up our state,” he said.

Meanwhile, Tatar as he entered the UN headquarters for the trilateral meeting was asked what he thinks of Anastasiades’ remarks against the two-state solution. Anastasiades, in his remarks to reporters following the trilateral meeting, said “It was a creative meeting with the differences recorded.”

He said he “focused on his position which is fully in line with the UN resolutions,” adding that he had come up with various ways of overcoming the current deadlock in the process. Anastasiades also told that the Secretary-General will appoint a new special envoy to replace Jane Holl Lute, to discuss confidence-building measures, but also the possibility of finding common ground to resume the dialogue between the two sides.

KEY ACTORS
Tatar
>> Out of the question for the TC side to sit take part in talks before its conditions on sovereign equality & equal international status is accepted.
>> Will not be pressured into starting new talks or make promises to settle Cyprob in a matter of months.
>> Talks cannot resume from where they left off in Crans Montana & Berlin.
>> TC side wants to intensify work carried out by technical committees.
>> There are two separate states, administrations & peoples in Cyprus.
>> Not possible to reach an agreement without recognizing these realities.
>> Any settlement to be reached needs to address the concerns of the TC community.


UN recognition is not yet a realistic goal, says Tatar

Yenidüzen, Kıbrıs, Havadis, Diyalog, Avrupa
Negotiations Process

OVERVIEW

Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar on Monday said the Turkish Cypriot side was not expecting to receive full UN recognition at the moment. “It’s not realistic and were are not there yet,” he said.

In an interview with the Russian news agency Sputnik in New York, Tatar reiterated his demand for sovereign equality. “What I want is sovereign equality. I want this to be acknowledged,” he said, adding that he wished the international community were to recognize the north as it is “a fully-fledged state.”

The Turkish Cypriot leader repeated his argument in favour of a two-state solution based on sovereign equality and equal international status as well as the continuation of Turkey’s guarantees. Asked about his views on a federal settlement, Tatar said it was no longer possible for the two communities to live together as they were separated by culture, language and faith

“The reality on the island is that we have two different states, we should reconcile, and the two states should cooperate,” Tatar said, arguing that the settlement of the Cyprus problem would also have regional consequences, serving to improve stability in the Eastern Mediterranean.

KEY ACTORS
Tatar
>> TC side not expecting UN recognition any time soon as this is not realistic under current circumstances.
>> North is a full-fledged state & should be recognized by the international community.
>> Not possible for two communities to live together under a federal roof.
>> A solution to Cyprob will have regional benefits such as serving to improve stability in East Med.


TC MFA: Archbishop’s remarks proves GC side’s views on TCs not changed

Yenidüzen, Kıbrıs, Havadis, Diyalog, Avrupa
Negotiations Process

OVERVIEW

Turkish Cypriot Foreign Ministry on Monday slammed the Greek Cypriot Archbishop Chrysostomos II for his latest remarks made during an interview with Kathimerini on Sunday.

Archbishop Chrysostomos II of Cyprus had claimed that Turkish Cypriots cannot be entitled to the same rights as the island’s Greek population. He also added that Turkish Cypriot leader’s demand that Turkish Cypriots be granted the same rights as Greek Cypriots so negotiations can recommence as unacceptable.

“This cannot happen,” he said, stressing that they cannot be granted rights equal to those of the Greeks, the Archbishop said. He also claimed that the former Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akıncı was more “Cypriot” than his successor Ersin Tatar because he did not seek a two-state solution.

Chrysostomos II added the church had favourable relations with people who genuinely feel “Cypriot.”

In a written statement, the ministry said that the Greek Cypriot Archbishop’s racist and arrogant statement did not come as a surprise and was proof that the Greek Cypriot side’s intolerance against Turkish presence on the island had not changed or will ever change.

The statement added that Chrysostomos’s remarks were also proof that the Greek Cypriot elites continue to see Turkish Cypriots as a minority.

“The Greek Cypriot Archbishop’s view that Turkish Cypriots cannot have equal rights as Greek Cypriot majority explains the reasons for the collapse of the 1960 partnership republic and why a solution cannot be reached in Cyprus.,” the statement read, arguing the Greek Cypriot Archbishop’s attempts to brainwash the Greek Cypriot community and to instil racism also reveals the level of prejudice and enmity towards the Turkish Cypriot community.

It also called on the Greek Cypriot Archbishop, a religious leader, to stop giving out slanted information about Turkish Cypriots and separating people as ‘good’ and ‘bad’. The statement added that the remarks revealed that Chrysostomos who sees Cyprus as a Greek island, was detached from the realities on the island.

“There are two states in Cyprus, a Turkish state and a Greek state. A new vision has been adopted in line with these realities. This new vision is fully supported by Turkey which is a guarantor state,” the statement read.

It concluded by stating that a settlement in Cyprus can only be possible by the acceptance of the realities on the ground, that is the two peoples of the island living separately in their respective states and collaborating based on good neighbourly relations.

KEY ACTORS
Ertuğruloğlu (UBP)
>> GC Archbishop’s statement is not surprising as it proves GC side’s intolerance towards Turkish presence continues.
>> Chrysostomos’s remarks show that GC elites perceive TCs as a minority.
>> Views expressed explain reasons for the collapse of the 1960 partnership & why a solution cannot be reached in Cyprus.


İzcan calls on the Cypriot leaders to assist the SG in his efforts


Yenidüzen, Kıbrıs, Havadis, Diyalog, Avrupa
Negotiations Process

OVERVIEW

United Cyprus Party (BKP) leader İzzet İzcan on Monday called on the two community leaders Mr Ersin Tatar and Mr Nicos Anastasiades to assist the UNSG Antonio Guterres with his efforts to relaunch the negotiations process in line with UN parameters on the island.

In a statement from the BKP, İzcan also urged the two leaders to “end their secessionist and partitionist attitude.”

He underlined that the solution to be found on the island will be based on the six-point proposal submitted by Guterres and will be a federal, united Cyprus.

“Other than that coming up with maximalist demands will only take us to uncharted waters,” İzcan warned, adding that Cyprus needs an urgent solution that will respect the basic human rights of all Cypriots and will reunify the island and the people.

KEY ACTORS
İzcan (BKP)
>> Leaders should assist UNSG with his efforts to relaunch talks.
>> Leaders should end their secessionist and partitionist attitudes.
>> Solution in Cyprus will be reached on basis of the Guterres Framework.
>> Maximalist demands will only carry Cypriots to uncharted waters.
>> Cyprus needs an urgent solution that will respect human rights.


The opening of Maraş (Varosha) is a symbol of the north’s sovereignty


Diyalog
Regional/ International Relations

OVERVIEW

Numan Kurtulmuş, deputy chairman of Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) said on Monday that the reopening of the fenced-off town of Maraş (Varosha) was a sign of Turkey’s support to the Turkish Cypriot side and a symbol of the north’s sovereignty despite threats against it.

During a meeting with civil society organisations in the İzmit district of Turkey, Kurtulmuş also touched on the natural reserves in the Eastern Mediterranean. “We are determined to discover more resources in the Eastern Mediterranean to continue on our path,” he said, adding that Turkey is in a difficult geographical situation.

Kurtulmuş stressed Turkey is stronger now and has become a self-sufficient country despite threats from the international community.

KEY ACTORS
Kurtulmuş (AKP)
>> Reopening Maraş (Varosha) is a sign of Turkey’s support & a symbol of the north’s sovereignty.
>> Turkey determined to continue hydrocarbon exploration in the East Med.


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