Front Page Headlines
“We will go bankrupt if students don’t come”
The Student Dormitories Union issued a stark warning. “Only five per cent of the dorms are full!” The union which criticized the measures and restrictions in place due to the coronavirus pandemic pointed out that the sector had hit rock bottom. It said many of the dorm operators were on the brink of bankruptcy and that there was a need to attract thousands of students back to the island in the next three months.
- Protests, tension, and quarantine – Partial solution found to the problem of workers who work in the south. They have been provided with the option of free quarantine until December 24.
- Vaccination in the south to begin in mid-January – Health workers and care homes to be given vaccine first. The first batch of vaccines to arrive will be from Pfizer-BioNTech. An online vaccine portal has been prepared for the vaccination programme.
- Health Minister Pilli: “We detected ten cases among workers (working in the south).” Workers: “Pilli is lying. The names should be announced one by one.”
The burden of overtime payments
According to the Finance Ministry’s reports on revenues and expenses, the ministry has paid nearly ₺110m (€11.6m) in overtime for public servants in the past 11 months.
- Those working in the south will be allowed to go to their workplaces on the condition that they will stay at a dormitory upon their return to the north – The government found a solution for the Turkish Cypriot workers who are banned from going to their workplaces in the south due to coronavirus measures.
The dormitory condition on crossings to the south
The Turkish Cypriot workers who could not go to their work in South Cyprus due to the decisions by the Higher Committee of Infectious Diseases continued with their protests throughout yesterday (Wednesday). The workers, who had met with Prime Minister Ersan Saner, decided to end their protests following the agreement reached.
- Preaching Lute on a two-state solution – Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu met with UN special envoy Jane Holl Lute.
- Businesses that risk public health closed – Kyrenia Municipality inspected 96 businesses from December 1 to December 15. Six businesses, which failed to comply with the health and hygiene rules, were closed.
“We’re ruined”
Leading economic organisations in the country have warned that the economy is sinking due to the problems being experienced with tourism. They gave important messages. The sector representatives once again outlined the problems being experienced due to the frequently changing Covid-19 measures and their sudden implementation. The head of the Turkish Cypriot Hoteliers’ Association Dimağ Çağıner said, “We’re all in the same boat. If the boat starts taking on water we shall all drown.”
- ‘Quarantined crossings’ – A temporary solution was found for workers who work in the south on the second day of their protest action.
- The first implementation in January – The Greek Cypriot Administration announced that the first doses of the Covid-19 vaccines will be given to health workers and those in care homes.
We will make life unbearable for you
The war of words between EL-SEN (TC Electricity Authority Workers Union) and (Economy and Energy Minister) Erhan Arıklı intensifies… (EL-SEN president) Kubilay Özkıraç gave a harsh response to Arıklı, who wants to privatise KIB-TEK… Özkıraç said he is warning Arıklı for the last time and added: “Know your place Arıklı! We will make life unbearable for you with 670 workers at KIB-TEK and with the community.”
- The condition to stay at a dormitory for the workers – The government reached an agreement with some of the workers who work in the south but not all.
- 401 positive coronavirus cases and one death in the south and eight local, a total of 14 cases in the north.
Main News
Çavuşoğlu: “We are advocating for a two-state solution”
Yenidüzen, Kıbrıs, Havadis, Diyalog, Avrupa
Negotiations Process
OVERVIEW
A federal solution to the Cyprus problem is no longer sustainable, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavusoğlu said on Wednesday after a meeting in Ankara with UN envoy Jane Holl Lute.
Announcing his meeting on Twitter, Çavuşoğlu added that the “Turkish side advocates for a two-state solution based on sovereign equality, in line with the realities of the island.”
“There needs to be a common basis for the resumption of a new negotiations process,” Çavuşoğlu tweeted.
Tufan Erhürman, the leader of the Republican Turkish Party (CTP) immediately responded to Çavuşoğlu’s tweet.
In a social media post on Wednesday, Erhürman pointed to the repeated statements made by Turkish and the Turkish Cypriot officials on the two-state solution.
“Since the two-state model has also been discussed with the UN, the expectation and assumption is that both the UN Security Council (UNSC) and the Greek Cypriot side will accept it,” Erhürman wrote.
He, however, pointed out that no one was explaining as to how the Greek Cypriot side will be convinced to accept such a model.
“Continuing like this will not only postpone the ‘solution’ indefinitely but will also serve to strengthen the hand of the Greek Cypriot leader Nicos Anastasiades, who rejects the Turkish Cypriot side’s legitimate demands for a solution and succeeded in evading a settlement at the negotiating table at Crans Montana,” Erhürman stressed.
“The Turkish Cypriot people want to be able to be included in the world and see their future, ridding themselves of the uncertainty,” the CTP leader concluded.
KEY ACTORS
Çavuşoğlu
>> A federal solution is no longer sustainable.
>> The Turkish side advocates for a two-state solution based on sovereign equality, in line with the realities of the island.
>> There needs to be a common basis for the resumption of a new negotiations process.
Erhürman (CTP)
>> Turkish & TC authorities must explain how they will convince the UNSC & GC side to accept a two-state solution.
>> Turkish & TC side’s positions will not only postpone a solution but will also assist GCs in evading a settlement.
>> TCs want to be able to see their future & integrate with the world.
Conditional permission granted to TCs working in the south
Yenidüzen, Kıbrıs, Havadis, Diyalog, Avrupa
Internal Security, Economy
OVERVIEW
Turkish Cypriots working in the south, who had been banned by the Turkish Cypriot authorities from crossing between the two sides until December 26, were told on Wednesday they could cross daily to the south to work but upon their return to the north would be required to quarantine themselves.
They were told they could not go home but would have to stay in state-monitored quarantine centres in Nicosia and Famagusta.
The announcement followed a protest for the second consecutive day by a group of workers, against new Covid-19 measures imposed by the authorities.
A statement providing the details of the deal reached with the workers was announced later on Wednesday evening.
The workers will only be allowed to use the Akyar (Strovilia) crossing point in Famagusta and the Metehan (Agios Dhometios) crossing point in Nicosia.
They will gather at the checkpoints at 4 pm every day before being transported to the state-monitored facilities where they will stay until the next day.
The workers will then be transported back to the crossing points the next day.
The practice will be carried out until December 24.
Workers who test negative on December 24 will be allowed to return to their homes.
In response to the protests, Turkish Cypriot Health Minister Ali Pilli on Wednesday said that the decision to temporarily ban the workers’ crossings between December 16 and 25 was because ten of the new coronavirus cases in the north were from those who work in the south.
Pilli, speaking on Bayrak, said that some people who work in the south are contacts of positive cases and had not informed Turkish Cypriot authorities.
He reminded that all contacts of positive cases were legally obligated to inform the health ministry.
“We were left with no choice but to take this decision as failure to do so would result in a complete lockdown as the situation could spiral out of control,” Pilli added.
He also said that Higher Committee of Infectious Diseases had been prompted to implement stricter measures after 20 cases in the Maronite village of Koruçam (Kormakitis) and the Karpaz (Karpasia) villages, all originating from the south, had been detected.
Pilli also said no cases were detected among Turkish Cypriot pupils who go to school in the south.
Earlier in the day, dozens of Turkish Cypriots who work in the south gathered at the Beyarmudu (Pergamos) and Metehan (Agios Dhometios) crossing points.
As the day before, the protestors demonstrated in front of the office of the Prime Minister demanding that the decisions be scrapped.
They also claimed that the health minister was lying and should prove his claims by making public the names of the workers who have tested positive.
The conditions under which the workers would be allowed to cross were announced following a meeting with representatives of the protestors and Turkish Cypriot Prime Minister Ersan Saner.
Announcing the agreement, Undersecretary to the Prime Minister Ömer Köseoğlu said that the state would be covering the quarantine expenses of the workers.
He added that the Higher Committee of Infectious Diseases would decide on how crossings would be regulated following the Christmas holiday in the south which starts on December 24.
Later on Wednesday, a group calling themselves the “Labourers of the South” issued a statement rejecting the offer and agreement reached between the protestors and Turkish Cypriot authorities earlier in the day.
The group argued that those who met with Saner were members of an offshoot group deliberately created to divide the solidarity of Turkish Cypriot labourers who crossed over to the south for work.
“The Labourers of the South movement has in no way reached an agreement with the government. The decisions taken which are against human rights and the principle of equality do not represent us and we shall continue to carry out our struggle until we are allowed to go to our jobs and homes freely,” the group said.
TCs will lose out by returning to pre-2003 policies on Cyprob
Yenidüzen
Negotiations Process, EU Matters
OVERVIEW
“We are now faced with the risk of losing every advantage gained to date on registering Hellim (Halloumi) as a designated product of origin (PDO) within the EU by returning to the pre-2003 policies on the Cyprus problem,” Republican Turkish Party (CTP) MP and former chief negotiator Özdil Nami warned.
Nami, in a social media post on Wednesday, noted that mistakes made on the Cyprus issue had great consequences on the Turkish Cypriot economy.
He recalled that similar mistakes were made in the past resulting in the European Court of Justice (ECJ) decisions that bankrupted many leading companies in various sectors.
“It is not a mere coincidence that the same individuals whose actions resulted in the ECJ decisions are the ones advocating a solution outside of UN parameters and are taking steps on Maraş (Varosha) by ignoring standing UN Security Council resolutions. They are the same people who objected to establishing the Immovable Property Commission (IPC) and were against the opening of the Lokmacı (Ledra St.) crossing at the time,” Nami argued.
He added that the same mindset was about to eliminate all that has been achieved to date on the Hellim (Halloumi) issue.
“What is logical at this time is to focus on actions that will save the Turkish Cypriots from the status quo instead of acting as if there will be no consequences for policies adopted today,” Nami concluded.
Erdogan: Turkey wants to turn a new page with EU
Yenidüzen, Kıbrıs, Havadis, Diyalog, Avrupa
Energy, EU Matters
OVERVIEW
“Turkey’s Eastern Mediterranean policy is based on fairness and justice, while Ankara is making every effort for a fair, permanent and sustainable solution in the region,” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Wednesday.
During a telephone conversation to evaluate the outcome of the EU Summit, with Charles Michel, President of the European Council, Erdoğan noted that Turkey wants to turn a new page with the EU despite some countries’ relentless attempts to cause a crisis.
“While Turkey hopes to turn a new page with the EU, some ceaselessly try to provoke crises,” Erdoğan told Michel, adding that Turkey-EU relations should come out of the vicious cycle they have entered as soon as possible.
Erdoğan reiterated Ankara’s readiness for exploratory talks with Greece, noting however that the Greek side has constantly avoided negotiations by making excuses and by resorting to provocative steps.
“The EU should adopt a sensible and constructive attitude towards Turkey,” Erdoğan said.
The Turkish President also recalled an earlier proposal to hold a regional conference on the natural resources to overcome differences.
“The proposal of holding an international conference in which all relevant sides, including the Turkish Cypriot side, will participate, is still on the table,” Erdoğan said, emphasizing that the Turkish side is in favour of finding solutions through dialogue.
“It has always been the Turkish and the Turkish Cypriot sides that have put forward the necessary efforts for a just, permanent and sustainable solution on the island of Cyprus as well as in the region,” Erdoğan concluded.
KEY ACTORS
Erdoğan (Turkey)
>> Ankara making every effort for a fair, permanent & sustainable solution in the region.
>> Turkey wants to turn new page with EU despite attempts by others to create a crisis.
>> Turkey-EU relations need to normalise as soon as possible.
>> Ankara ready for exploratory talks with Greece despite provocations & excuses.
>> Proposal for international conference on natural resources with all relevant parties, including TCs, still on the table.
Meaningful donation from bicommunal group
Yenidüzen
CBMs
OVERVIEW
The members of Neokleous Lyce Alumni Association and the members of Enorasis socio-cultural club in the context of their annual Volunteer Day have made donations to people and organisations including the SOS Children’s village in the northern part of Cyprus, Yenidüzen reported on Thursday.
Enorasis social club in a written statement noted that the alumni and the members of the club had donated 350 kilos of clothes to Anakyklos Perivallontiki, for its community work; four boxes of dry food distributed to four needy families and €900 in cash distributed equally to the needy students of Gymnasio Engomis Kyriakos Neokleous, the needy families of 1st Nicosia Technical High School and the SOS Children’s Village orphans in the northern part of Nicosia.
A committee consisting of Akis Pegasiou, Androulla Shati, Chryso Koronidou, Costis Kyranides, David Shakalis, Gaston Neokleous, Lia Panagi, Tuncer Bağışkan and Vasilia Taliadorou led the initiative, in terms of volunteering.
“Hermes Neokleous and Renos Martidis gave a piano recital and the rest of the members headed by the Presidents of the two clubs, Pegasiou and Kyranides, joined in with their songs giving optimism and joy in these difficult times,” the statement read.
A delegation of the two clubs handed over the financial contributions to the principals of the two schools Eleni Antoniou and Polys Giannakas, and through Tuncer Bağışkan to SOS Children’s Village on December 15.