TCC Press Review 6 Dec 2019

Front Page Headlines

Yenidüzen

It is a mix inside the prison

As a result of increasing crime and criminals, there are now 582 inmates in the central prison. Majority of the inmates are in prison for drug and murder offences. More than half of the inmates are not TRNC citizens.

  • We will nominate our own candidate – And finally the Republican Turkish Party (CTP) announced.
  • Erdoğan to Macron: Do you have any rights in Cyprus?

Kıbrıs Postası

What are the candidates waiting to announce their candidacy?

As the countdown for the April 2020 presidential election continues, none of the possible candidates has officially announced his/her candidacy.

  • The Libya agreement is Turkey’s reaction to being alienated in the region – Experts evaluate the Libya-Turkey agreement for Kıbrıs Postası.

Kıbrıs

Abuse of children is a major concern

The increasing number of abuse of children and rape cases cause fright among the community in the north. Experts note neither the state nor the people are adequately aware of the situation.

  • Erdoğan: ‘I asked Macron if he has any rights in Cyprus’ – Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Turkey’s activities in the Eastern Mediterranean was raised during his meeting in London.

Havadis

Mediterranean’s waves take Karakız

23-year-old Halil Karakız, who had come from Kahramanmaraş, Turkey as a tourist to the TRNC, fell into the sea in Kyrenia’s Old Harbour. The hours-long search yielded no results. Coast guard searched for Karakız for four hours.

Diyalog

Big difference

1,295.029 passengers arrived through air or seaports in the first nine months of the year. 3,409.197 Greek Cypriots and foreigners crossed to the north through the crossing points. The difference is very big.

  • Sibel Siber: The parliament is by-passed – Siber continued to criticize Akıncı and said the opinions of the members of the parliament are disregarded in the Cyprus issue.

Afrika

Dangerous escalation

Interior Minister Ayşegül Baybars, who is holding meetings in Turkey where there is a one-man rule, announced the ‘Judicial Collaboration between TRNC and Turkey’ agreement was renewed. Baybars met with Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay and Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu.

Main News

Erdoğan: Libya agreement in line with international maritime law

Kıbrıs Postası, Kıbrıs, Havadis, Diyalog
Energy, Regional/International Relations

OVERVIEW

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Thursday that Turkey would make no compromises on an agreement it struck with Libya last week expanding Turkey’s maritime borders in the eastern Mediterranean. 

The memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed with Libya will start taking its shape once the legitimate government can stand on its own feet, Erdoğan said during a meeting with a group of journalists in London on Thursday. The said MoU was signed with Libya’s UN-recognised Libyan Government of National Accord (GNA) on 27 November.

Erdoğan accused Greece, Egypt, Greek Cypriot side and Israel of provoking the European Union (EU) to act against Turkey over the issue. He also noted both France and Germany also touched on the issue. “We gave them the necessary response and told them Turkey is acting as a guarantor state in Cyprus. The agreement with Libya is in line with the international maritime law therefore making concessions is out of the question for Turkey,” Erdoğan concluded.

The Turkish Parliament has approved the agreement signed with Libya’s Tripoli-based government, led by Fayez Sarraj, in a swift session on Thursday. The internal procedure on the agreement for delineation of maritime boundaries between Turkey and Libya will be completed after the Turkish president approves the agreement and it is published in the official gazette.

High Representative Josep Borrell and Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu held a bilateral meeting on the margins of the 26th Ministerial Council of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). The two discussed Turkey’s Libya agreement and the Eastern Mediterranean in addition to discussing other pertinent issues.

“The Libya agreement is Turkey’s reaction to being alienated in the region,” say, experts, who evaluated the Libya-Turkey agreement for Kıbrıs Postası.

Prof Dr Ahmet Sözen said “the agreement should have been made long before” and added all the countries with a coast in the eastern Mediterranean other than Libya have problems with Turkey at the moment.

Sözen also noted that Turkey has the longest coastline in the eastern Mediterranean but it is the only country that did not declare any exclusive economic zones (EEZ) so far while the other countries have started doing so from the early 2000s. He said both Greece and the Greek Cypriot side used the situation to their advantage and signed bilateral or trilateral security agreements with other countries with a coast on the eastern Mediterranean. “Turkey has been alienated in the region and the Libya agreement is a reaction it is giving now,” Sözen said.

Prof Dr Gürkan Kumbaroğlu, head of the Turkish Energy Economy Association, said both Greece and the Greek Cypriot side panicked as a result of Turkey’s agreement with Libya because their occupation line is now broken with it. Kumbaroğlu also noted the Greek Cypriot side’s and Greece’s lobbying success must be acknowledged and said Turkey has remained defensive all the while. “It is time to work on gaining allies in the region with proactive diplomacy now,” Kumbaroğlu said and concluded his evaluation.

Assoc Prof Dr Şevki Kıralp, in his evaluation of the agreement to Kıbrıs Postası, said “as a result, the East Med project cannot be carried out.” Kıralp added the Greek Cypriot side wanted to transfer the natural gas to Europe via Greece through a pipeline. He recalled the feasibility studies on a pipeline project to transfer the natural gas to Europe and said the most feasible option is to take the gas via Turkey.

Kıralp said Turkey is now claiming that the sea corridor from the eastern Mediterranean to Europe will be closed unless it approves the passage. “In other words, Turkey is stating that it is not possible to form any energy equation in the Eastern Mediterranean without its approval,” Kıralp concluded.

KEY ACTORS
Erdoğan (Turkey)
>> Turkey would make no compromises on an agreement it struck with Libya last week expanding Turkey’s maritime borders in the East Med.
>> MoU signed with Libya will start taking its shape once the legitimate government can stand on its own feet.
>> Greece, Egypt, GC side and Israel are provoking the EU to act against Turkey over the agreement.
>> We gave them the necessary response and told them Turkey is acting as a guarantor state in Cyprus.
>> The agreement with Libya is in line with the international maritime law therefore making concessions is out of the question for Turkey.

Sözen
>> The Libya agreement is Turkey’s reaction to being alienated in the region.
>> The agreement should have been made long before.
>> All the countries with a coast in the East Med. other than Libya have problems with Turkey at the moment.
>> Turkey has the longest coast line in the East Med. but it is the only country that did not declare any EEZ so far while the other countries have started doing so from the early 2000’s.
>> Greece & the GC side used the situation to their advantage and signed bilateral or trilateral security agreements with other countries with a coast on the East Med.

Kumbaroğlu
>> Greece & the GC side panicked as a result of Turkey’s agreement with Libya because their occupation line is now broken.
>> It is time for Turkey to work on gaining allies in the region with proactive diplomacy now.

Kıralp
>> As a result of the agreement, the East Med pipeline project cannot be carried out.
>> Turkey is now claiming that the sea corridor from the East Med. to Europe will be closed unless it approves the passage.
>> Turkey is stating that it is not possible to form any energy equation in the East Med. without its approval.


CTP assembly reaffirms decision to nominate a candidate

Yenidüzen
Governance and Power sharing, Negotiations Process

OVERVIEW

“We have lost valuable two years because of the Greek Cypriot leader Nicos Anastasiades when he opened political equality for debate,” Republican Turkish Party (CTP) leader Tufan Erhürman said on Wednesday.

Speaking on Bayrak, Erhürman added political equality is a basic parameter that cannot be opened for debate. “Cyprus needs a comprehensive settlement urgently,” Erhürman stressed and added UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres could have warned Anastasiades then not to open any discussions on political equality but he did not. Erhürman also argued that the Secretary-General could have further emphasized that the future processes will not be open-ended but he did not do that either in Berlin.

Responding to a question on his insistence on a federal solution, Erhürman said the trilateral meeting in Berlin reaffirmed the bicommunal, bizonal federation based on political equality. “United Nations reaffirmed federation once again, which is a Turkish proposal. The federation model was tabled by the Turkish and the Turkish Cypriot side,” Erhürman stressed. He said this is the only realistic option on the island.

Erhürman also touched on the escalating tension in the eastern Mediterranean region especially with Turkey’s recent agreement with Libya. He said it is everyone’s desire to replace tension with lasting peace on the island.

On the other hand, the CTP party assembly reaffirmed the decision to nominate a candidate from the party for the upcoming presidential elections, Yenidüzen reported on Friday. The CTP party assembly convened on Wednesday evening to reaffirm its decision but pointed out that the procedure needed to be completed in accordance with the party bylaws. There will be another meeting with broader participation in the near future to nominate a candidate and to announce it publicly.

KEY ACTORS
Erhürman (CTP)
>> We have lost valuable two years because of the GC leader when he opened political equality for debate.
>> Political equality is a basic parameter that cannot be opened for a debate.
>> Cyprus needs a comprehensive settlement urgently.
>> UNSG could have warned Anastasiades then not to open any discussions on political equality but he did not.
>> UNSG could have further emphasized that the future processes will not be open-ended but he did not do that either in Berlin.
>> The trilateral meeting in Berlin reaffirmed the bicommunal, bizonal federation based on political equality.
>> Federation model was tabled by the Turkish and the TC side.
>> Federation is the only realistic option on the island.
>> Everyone’s desire to replace tension with lasting peace on the island.


Big difference in number of arrivals from crossing points

Diyalog
CBMs

OVERVIEW

The difference in the number of arrivals from the airports or seaports compared to the number of crossings is great, Diyalog reports on Friday.  According to data obtained from the Central Bank, 1,295.029 passengers arrived through air or sea ports in the first nine months of the year. 3,409.197 Greek Cypriots and foreigners crossed to the north through the crossing points.

The data also shows there is a decrease in the number of arrivals through air or sea ports. The number recorded was 1,339.697 for the first nine months of 2018. On the other hand, there is a significant rise in the number of Greek Cypriots and foreigners crossing to the north. In the same period last year, 1,116.491 Greek Cypriot crossings were recorded whereas in 2019, the number increased to 1,814,473. The number of foreigners coming to the north through crossing points also increased from 1,278.861 in 2018 to 1,594.724 in the first nine months of 2019.


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