TCC Press Review 9 Dec 2021

Front Page Headlines

Yenidüzen

They ran it into the ground without doing anything!

Economy Minister Sunat Atun: KIB-TEK’s (TC Electricity Authority) has ₺800m (€51.4m) in debts. It is owed ₺880m (€56.4). The total amount of losses incurred in the last three years is ₺501m (€32.2). We are forced to pay AKSA (private Turkish electricity company) ₺41m (€2.6m) in interest. The new economy minister was pointing the finger of blame, without openly naming anyone, to his predecessors Hasan Taçoy and Erhan Arıklı.

Kıbrıs

Price hikes follow one after the other

The price hikes are implemented almost automatically. The increase in prices in fuel oil, bottled gas and animal feed also increased prices of eggs and chicken. Despite the outrage of the public, who can barely bring food home due to price hikes, they were also shocked by the price increase in bread, which is a staple in every household.

  • Covid-19 brought the courts to a deadlockNearly 400 cases cannot be heard at the Serious Crimes Courts.

Havadis

Reactions to violence

The Union for Nurses and Midwives stage a demonstration at the Kyrenia Akçiçek Hospital protesting violence targeting health professionals. The union members gave messages to those resorting to violence and to the administration that fails to adopt measures.

  • Union in the left, if not boycott The left-wing political parties, outside the parliament, continue with their discussions on what they will be doing at the elections. Two parties will boycott the elections and three of them are preparing for elections.

Diyalog

Major crisis on our doorstep

Minister Atun announced that KIB-TEK’s (TC Electricity Authority) debts amounted to ₺800m (€51.4m) and the losses over the past three years had reached ₺376m (€24.1). He said that the trade union had started to cut off the power supply of customers who have overdue bills.

  • Lembo who was pregnant could not run away – Only one of seven persons trying to cross over to the south from Akıncılar (Louroujina) was caught.
  • He was 51 year-old-man – Greek Cypriot teacher who refused to get vaccinated dies from Covid-19.

Avrupa

Take out your savings from under the mattress

Tayyip Erdoğan has laid his eyes on the public’s money. Erdoğan, whose policies have brought Turkey to the brink of bankruptcy, urged the people to take under-the-mattress savings out.

Main News

Tatar says cooperation with the EU essential

Yenidüzen, Kıbrıs, Havadis, Diyalog, Avrupa
EU Matters

OVERVIEW

Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar on Wednesday said that the north was not part of the Republic of Cyprus (RoC) but a separate sovereign state.

Tatar, who held an online meeting with the Director-General of the EU Commission Mario Nava, said that the only realistic option for a settlement on the island was through the recognition of the political equality of the two sides on the island.

Highlighting the importance of cooperation for stability on the island and the region, Tatar said that the Cyprus Problem should not be allowed to prevent the development of relations between the two communities.

The Turkish Cypriot leader also highlighted the importance of the inclusion of Turkish Cypriots in the EU as well as developing areas of cooperation with the bloc. He added that the EU had an obligation to respect the balance between the two motherlands as well as the political sensitivities on the island.

In terms of relations with the Turkish Cypriot community, Tatar said the EU needed to refrain from any discriminatory actions.

“The Turkish Cypriot side is ready to cooperate with the EU in a wide range of issues from the environment to health and crime,” said Tatar, adding that it was important for Turkish Cypriots to trust the bloc. He expressed the view that increased trust in the EU would contribute to achieving a settlement on the island.

Nava for his part said that he was planning to visit the island at the end of January next year.

KEY ACTORS
Tatar
>> North is not part of the RoC but a separate sovereign state.
>> Only realistic option for a solution in Cyprus is through recognition of political equality of the two sides.
>> Developing cooperation with the EU & increasing inclusion of TCs in the bloc is important.
>> Cyprob should not be an obstacle in developing relations between the two communities.
>> EU must respect balance & sensitivities on the island.
>> TC side ready to cooperate with EU on a wide range of issues.


Turkish FM says UNFICYP’s success requires the consent of all sides

Yenidüzen, Kıbrıs, Havadis, Diyalog, Avrupa
Negotiations Process

OVERVIEW

The success of UN peacekeeping forces requires the consent of all sides, including on the divided island of Cyprus, said Turkey’s Foreign Minister on Wednesday.

“Let me underline the need for the UN to seek the consent of the Turkish Cypriot authorities for the UN peacekeeping force on the island,” known as UNFICYP, said Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoglu, in an address to UN Peacekeeping Ministerial meeting held in the South Korean capital Seoul, via video link.

“Furthermore, it should be recalled that the only occupation on the island took place in 1963, which led to the deployment of UN peace force in 1964,” he added, referring to ethnic violence by ethnic Greek Cypriots on the island that forced Turkish Cypriots to withdraw into enclaves for their safety.

“It is against the UN’s own rules and principles that the Turkish Cypriot authorities’ consent was not obtained for the extension of the mandate,” said a Foreign Ministry statement, adding that Turkey expects “the UN to rectify this situation … as soon as possible.”

KEY ACTORS
Çavuşoğlu (Turkey)
>> Success of UNFICYP requires the consent of all sides.
>> Against the rules & principles of the UN that TC authorities’ consent was not obtained for the extension of the mandate.


Özersay: Not realistic to expect much from the new SRSG at this moment

Yenidüzen, Kıbrıs, Havadis, Diyalog, Avrupa
Negotiations Process, CBMs

OVERVIEW

People’s Party (HP) leader Kudret Özersay on Wednesday said neither the international community nor the two communities on the island are concerned about the Cyprus problem at the moment.

Speaking during the morning programme at SİM TV, Özersay argued it is therefore not realistic to expect Mr Colin Stewart, who is recently appointed as the new Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General (SRSG) and Head of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP), to put pressure on the two sides to create a momentum in the peace process.

He admitted that it would have been much better if a solution had been reached on the island but added that it was also wrong to “sit back and wait idly for the desired solution to happen one day.”

Özersay pointed out that the two sides could very well get together to discuss joint problems such as environmental pollution, economic crisis or health issues. “It is possible to focus on the matters that affect the daily lives of the two communities,” Özersay stressed, adding that it could also provide a basis for future talks and to build confidence between the two sides.

Pointing out that the world is now going through a serious economic crisis, especially with the imbalance between supply and demand caused by the pandemic, the HP leader argued the international community’s attention, therefore, was not focused on solving the island’s long-standing conflict.

Özersay also noted that the north was not spared from the global economic crisis and was feeling the impact more than other parts of the world due to the devaluation of the Turkish Lira. “It is possible to create economic opportunities as the north has become an extremely cheap and affordable destination for tourists,” Özersay said.

He however added that steps were needed to be taken at Ercan (Tymbou) airport and at the crossing points on the island to ease conditions for arriving tourists.

“We do not need direct flights but direct crossing procedures,” Özersay stressed, adding that the authorities must reinforce staff at the crossings. Özersay also harshly criticized the Turkish Cypriot Prime Minister Faiz Sucuoğlu regarding his remarks against Greek Cypriots during the petrol crisis.

“It is outrageous to impose restrictions on ethnic identity,” the HP leader said, adding that it could have been possible to impose limitations on the quantity for all.

He also underlined that the EU has allocated €2.5m for the Greek Cypriot side on green energy. “The ecosystem on the island is not divided,” Özersay said, adding that the government and the relevant civil society organisations must put pressure on Brussels for the use of green energy funds for the north to switch from fossil fuels to more environmentally friendly and renewable energy.

KEY ACTORS
Özersay (HP)
>>Neither the two communities nor the international community is interested in the Cyprob at the moment.
>> Two sides should work on solving joint problems instead of waiting for a solution to take place.
>> Wrong to impose restrictions on GCs wishing to shop in the north.
>> Important to harmonize green energy policies on both sides.


BKP says it will boycott the upcoming elections


Yenidüzen, Kıbrıs, Havadis, Diyalog, Avrupa
Governance & Power Sharing

OVERVIEW

The United Cyprus Party (BKP) on Wednesday announced its members will be boycotting the upcoming elections on January 23, 2022. BKP leader İzzet İzcan, during a press conference held announcing the party assembly decision, said the “BKP will not be part of the election game in the north.”

“What is needed is to fight against the regime collectively but those in favour of federation and peace did not accept that,” İzcan said, adding that the BKP carried out extensive talks with other political parties and civil society organisations for the boycott campaign.

“The pro-federation parties as always wanted to gain an advantage over the others in the parliament through the elections,” İzcan stressed, reiterating that a stance against the regime should have been the primary objective.

He also argued that the people are fully aware of the fact the political parties running in the elections are all the same therefore nothing will be changed with the elections. İzcan expressed the belief that more than 50% of the people will boycott the elections, adding that the BKP will carry out an active campaign to convince people not to vote.

Moreover, Avrupa on Wednesday, highlighted the ‘boycott front’ towards the upcoming general elections in the north is growing.

The daily wrote that the opinion leaders and patriots in the north are calling on the people to boycott the upcoming elections. The daily adds that the boycott group also asked the opposition parties to withdraw from the parliament to prove that they are real oppositions. Arguing that the Turkish Cypriots’ political will has been taken from them by Ankara, the daily asks the Turkish Cypriots to display their stance against Ankara’s tutelage in the north.


A woman from the DRC was caught while trying to cross to the south


Yenidüzen, Kıbrıs, Havadis, Diyalog, Avrupa
Governance & Power Sharing

OVERVIEW

A six-month pregnant 23-year-old woman from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), was caught while trying to cross to the southern part of the island near the Akıncılar (Louroujina) area.

The police officer in charge of the investigation told the Famagusta court that police had identified two vehicles near the village in the evening on December 4. He said when the human traffickers realized that the police were unto them; seven people got out of the car and started to run in the Athineou (Kiracıköy) direction whilst the vehicles escaped in the direction of the Ercan (Tymbou) airport.

The police were only able to catch the 23-year-old woman, who is a legal resident of the north under a student permit. The judge ordered the suspect remanded for not more than 45 days awaiting the verdict.


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