TCC Press Review 17 Mar 2020

Front Page Headlines

Yenidüzen

Frightening figures in the south

13 new cases of coronavirus, ten of which are health personnel, have been confirmed in the south. The total number in the south has risen to 46. There were no new cases announced in the north yesterday (Monday). Two people were quarantined after displaying symptoms.

  • Figures in Turkey reach 47.
  • Doctors issue warning on Covid-19: “The virus is spread by those wandering on the streets”
  • Turkish Cypriot students studying abroad are waiting for authorities to find a solution for their return – While many Turkish Cypriot students studying in Europe have returned to the island following the coronavirus outbreak, there are still 120 are waiting to return as Turkey, Larnaca and Paphos bar entry. Students in the UK reacted to advice from Turkish Cypriot authorities to remain there. The government is considering special charter flights and quarantine measures for the students.
  • ‘Corona’ break to the elections – Prime Minister Ersin Tatar and Deputy Prime Minister Kudret Özersay came together with leaders of political parties in the parliament. A consensus was reached on postponing the elections. After speaking with President Mustafa Akıncı on the phone, Prime Minister Tatar said they will be meeting at the presidential palace at 2 pm today (Tuesday) to discuss how to proceed.

Kıbrıs Postası

Ceased print/Online only

Kıbrıs

What kind of a measure is this!

Even though experts warn the public about protecting themselves against coronavirus, neither a patient on the stretcher nor the police officers and suspects at court hearings or the dozens of passengers departing from Kyrenia port had any protective gear on them.

  • Postponement of the presidential elections is on the agenda – President Mustafa Akıncı will be meeting with political party leaders and representatives at the presidential palace upon their request. Tatar said on Monday the political parties have reached a consensus on the postponement of the upcoming elections after his meeting with the heads of political parties represented in the parliament.

Havadis

Scandalous transfer

Even though it is claimed all safety measures are in place in the TRNC, the transfer of a patient with suspicions of Covid-19 was scandalous! The patient did not have a mask and the health personnel assisting with the transfer of the patient wore garbage bags on their feet for protection.

  • “All is going fine” – The council of ministers convened to evaluate the developments and the latest in coronavirus pandemic. PM Ersin Tatar stood before the cameras after the meeting and said: “All is going fine.”
  • The numbers are multiplying – The total number of coronavirus positive cases reached 46 in the south.
  • Postponement of the elections – Both Prime Minister Tatar and his Deputy Özersay held meetings to discuss the postponement of the upcoming elections. The issue will be discussed at the presidency today (Tuesday).
  • “This is a lesson to us” – Ali Erdura, general manager of the Port View Hotel in Famagusta said the authorities are now attending to the hotel, which is on its seventh day of quarantine following Havadis’ publications.

Diyalog

The situation is serious

40,000 students studying in Cyprus are returning to Turkey; Most of the 30,000 foreign students are staying either because they have no money or because flights have been cancelled. Flights are arriving empty and leaving full. Turkish Airlines, Pegasus and AnadoluJet all arrive almost completely empty only to return to Turkey packed full. Most of the 30,000 foreign students, mainly Nigerian nationals, cannot leave because of financial difficulties and due to suspended flights. The Director of Higher Education Ziya Öztürkler said that the higher education sector will be badly affected by the developments. 

  • All of them in Troodos – Tensions rose between students who arrived at Larnaca and Paphos airports via Easyjet and Greek Cypriot police. Prime Minister Ersin Tatar confirmed there were Turkish Cypriot students among the group.
  • The meeting at the palace today (Tuesday) –Political parties reach a consensus on postponing presidential elections.
  • He heightened morale – Greek Cypriot Prof Karayiannis said that Cyprus should be rid of coronavirus by mid-July.

Afrika

Corona swallows the elections

Presidential elections to be cancelled as well. Ersin Tatar announced that there was a consensus among political party leaders to postpone the election.

  • Figure on the island reaches 54 – 13 more new cases in the south. The figures in the south rose to 46. 48 when adding the two cases on the British bases. There are still only six cases in the north. Minister Pilli said they had not seen any other cases yet.
  • The virus threat could go until July – Prof Petros Karayiannis from the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Nicosia in South Cyprus said Cyprus should be rid of coronavirus by mid-July provided people respect the preventive measures.
  • The virus spreads to Greek Cypriot National Guard – Coronavirus spreads to Greek Cypriot National Guard Army. An officer and soldiers have been placed in quarantine.

Main News

No new cases since Saturday, Tatar says situation under control

Yenidüzen, Kıbrıs Postası, Kıbrıs, Havadis, Diyalog, Afrika
Internal Security

OVERVIEW

Fears over the coronavirus pandemic flared on Monday on both sides after reports of 13 new confirmed cases in the south.

A tourist staying in Kyrenia was also placed under quarantine at the Dr Burhan Nalbantoğlu hospital after displaying coronavirus symptoms.

However, Turkish Cypriot Prime Minister Ersin Tatar, speaking at a late press conference after the cabinet’s daily meeting, said the situation was under control.

Unlike the past several days, no new measures were announced at the end of Monday’s cabinet meeting.

Summarizing the measures adopted by the government, Tatar said that the TRNC was being protected as a result of the measures in place, particularly the entry restrictions imposed at ports and crossing points.

“We shall successfully overcome this process as long as we continue to manage this crisis on the basis of this understanding,” he said.

Tatar, however, did not rule out the possibility of imposing a curfew if the public refused or failed to abide by the measures adopted.

“But this is nothing something we want. We believe that such oppressive methods would backfire here in the TRNC,” he said.

Tatar also repeated his call to the public to avoid crowded spaces.

He said that two individuals who should have remained in isolation but who were caught outside were arrested and charged.

Responding to questions, Tatar said the number of confirmed cases in the north was currently low but that it was important for everyone not to let their guard down and implement the measures carefully until the end of March.

“The whole world is talking about the coronavirus. There are the health dimension and the economic dimension of the crisis. I believe that we’re doing fine in terms of health. The reactions we are receiving are good,” he added.

Asked whether he was aware that there were Turkish Cypriot students stranded on a plane that had landed at Larnaca airport after the 6 pm health certificate deadline set by Greek Cypriot authorities, Tatar said that he was informed that the students were being allowed to enter the island but were to be kept under quarantine in Troodos.

He said they were looking into it.

Meanwhile, earlier in the day, the Turkish Cypriot Health Minister Ali Pilli tried to raise morale, announcing that all six individuals tested in the last 24 hours did not have the virus.

Pilli, speaking to the press, said they currently had 850 test kits with 1500 more on the way.

The health ministry in a separate statement on Monday announced the creation of an Infection Control Centre at the old train station outpatient clinic in north Nicosia to follow the coronavirus outbreak more effectively and to protect patients at hospitals from infection.

Legal action was also taken against one individual who broke self-isolation rules by trying to cross to the south.

Police said the 69-year-old individual who arrived on the island on March 14 tried to cross to the south through the Metehan (Agios Dhometios) crossing point.

He was detained and charged, the police added.

Supermarkets were also quieter on Monday, although the head of the Turkish Cypriot Supermarket Owner’s Association Fuat Nesip Nalcıoğlu urged the public to refrain from visiting stores in large groups.

He advised that there should only be one person per family assigned with the task of doing the shopping so as to reduce crowding at supermarkets.

The association head also announced that hygiene products at supermarkets would be sold at prime cost until the outbreak subsided.

Turkish Cypriot Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Kudret Özersay on Monday said the government was considering placing all UK arrivals in a single centralized quarantine facility.

Speaking to Bayrak, Özersay said that the cabinet had been adopting preventative measures for the past seven days in line with changing conditions.

“The coronavirus is not just our problem but a global one which is why everyone has the responsibility to ensure that the virus does not spread. We may have some shortcomings but we are following developments closely, sleeping less and acting. Society needs to act responsibly as well,” he said.

Özersay added that police were cracking down on those who violated the measures and would be punished.

He repeated that people should avoid public spaces unless they really need to be there, giving the example of supermarkets.

“If the supermarket is crowded, come back later,” he said, defending the government’s insistence on not imposing a curfew

Özersay recalled that hundreds of violations had been reported during the last population census when there was a curfew in place and that people had been fined.

“We don’t have a magic stick so it would be naïve to think that everything will be solved once we impose a curfew. It might solve the problem to a certain extent but life would stop,” he said.

Özersay said that many of the restrictive measures were being implemented with the need to declare a state of emergency.

“How logical would it be to exhaust our stocks? What needs to be done at the moment is to stop the flow of people from the outside because cases on both sides of the island are linked to people who recently arrived on the island from abroad,” he stressed.

Özersay also criticized the British government’s policy on the coronavirus, stating that London was not acting responsibly against the threat.

He repeated a call for all Turkish Cypriots living in the UK to refrain from travelling to the north and to remain where they are.

“We are considering a plan whereby to place all UK arrivals in a single centralized quarantine area but there is always the possibility that we might bar entry into the country altogether,” Özersay warned.

He added that they were looking into whether or not it would be possible to establish such a facility.

He said that panic which had gripped the north during the first few days had now relatively subsided, but that the public still had a responsibility of collaborating with the government in following and implementing the safety measures adopted.

He said that foreign students studying in Turkish Cypriot universities would only pose a risk if they were allowed to travel back and forth to their countries.

Özersay added that this was why the ban on entry was introduced.

“To assume that the foreign students living here are potential carriers is both unscientific and wrong,” he added.

Regarding the six patients receiving treatment, Özersay said that all were responding well to treatment.

He added that respirators had been ordered from Turkey and other countries despite the fact that manufacturers had stopped selling them to other countries due to their own growing needs.

Touching upon the issue of the April presidential elections, Özersay said the time for politics was over.

“There are those who claim they were not invited or consulted. This may be the case but none of it was done deliberately. We need to be able to look beyond politics under these circumstances. Politics is over for me. The elections have no importance for me,” he said.

Özersay added that he will be discussing the matter of the elections with all candidates and potential candidates to come up with a joint course of action.

In the meantime, Kıbrıs Postası reported that the Tatar’s office has requested assistance from the European Union.

“The government has asked the EU for prefabricated quarantine units instead of money and the EU has responded positively at first glance,” the paper reports.

The government is awaiting the EU’s final response.

Calls made earlier by Dr Özlem Gürkut, head of the Turkish Cypriot Doctors’ Association, for the creation of a committee of expert doctors from the private and public sector was heard by both President Mustafa Akıncı’s office and Tatar on Monday.

Board announced the establishment of advisory boards made up of experts to consult them them and contribute to efforts to prevent the spread of the virus.

Head of the Turkish Cypriot Doctors’ Association Dr Özlem Gürkut, former Turkish Cypriot health ministers Eşref Vaiz, Mustafa Arabacıoğlu, Gülsen Bozkurt, Filiz Besim as well as former chief physicians Bülent Dizdarlı and Ersan Berksel, representatives of doctors’ and nurses’ associations as well as public trade union representatives will be serving on both boards.

In a separate development, Tatar and the leaders of the political parties met on Monday afternoon to discuss the latest situation as well as the possibility of postponing the April presidential election.

Speaking to Bayrak, Tatar said that a consensus had been reached among political party leaders to postpone the elections.

He said the final decision would be made following a meeting with Akıncı on Tuesday.

He renewed his call to the public to refrain from going out unless it is unavoidable.

Akıncı’s office on Monday announced that a meeting will take place on Tuesday at 2 pm with leaders of political parties represented in the Turkish Cypriot parliament to discuss the postponement of the elections.

The Speaker of the Turkish Cypriot parliament Teberrüken Uluçay, the head of the Supreme Court and High Electoral Council Narin Ferdi Şefik and Attorney General Behiç Öztürk.

Independent candidate Kudret Özersay on Monday launched a series of meetings with the other candidates.

He met with Akıncı, Republican Turkish Party (CTP) leader Tufan Erhürman and Rebirth Party (YDP) leader Erhan Arıklı.

“It is vital to act in the best interest of the country,” he said.

Hasan Esendağlı, head of the Turkish Cypriot Bar Associations also urged the authorities to reach a consensus on the postponement of the upcoming elections in the north.

In a post on social media on Monday, Esendağlı argued it was not possible to hold elections under such conditions.

“I believe there is no discussion as to whether or not the elections should be postponed. There needs to be a political consensus and the parliament needs to adopt the necessary law immediately – if possible today because tomorrow could be too late,” Esendağlı wrote.

Tufan Erhürman, leader of the CTP also concurred with the idea of postponement of the elections. “This is not the day to see who will be in the lead,” he said and argued that there is not a conducive environment to hold elections.

Erhürman urged for collective actions in the fight against the pandemic. “I am in touch with all the political actors to reach a consensus on the issue. I am ready to share the political burden of the decision to postpone the elections,” he concluded.

Interior Minister Ayşegül Baybars on Monday also held a meeting with the District Security Boards and with the mayors of all municipalities.

Following the meeting, the minister said the boards from the six districts and 28 mayors have created an “action plan” on implementing the adopted cabinet decisions.

Baybars reassured the public that the measures are being implemented strictly and urged the people to adhere to the rules announced by the council.


Human trafficker at large

Kıbrıs
Internal Security, Human Rights

OVERVIEW

The (north) Nicosia District court on Monday ordered six Nigerian nationals caught red-handed while trying to cross to the south through a military zone in Nicosia to be remanded for three more days, Kıbrıs reports.

Speaking during the court hearing on Monday, the police officer tasked with the investigation, said the police is searching for one other suspect believed to have assisted the six in their attempt to cross to the south.

The suspects Bakary Jarju, Nfamara Jarju, Oluwatomilayo Joshu Adetunji, Valery Lekeaka Njualem, Fred Mukete Nkwelle and Valentine Madren Chigaramasimbe are charged with the crime of violating a first-degree military zone.


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