Front Page Headlines
Anxious wait for the vaccine
Chairman of the bicommunal Technical Committee for Health Cenk Soydan spoke to Yenidüzen: “There is no clear date for the vaccine. We shall be receiving a batch at the end of December.” Soydan said, adding that they had requested Covid-19 vaccines from both Turkey and South Cyprus. He also said that high risk and vulnerable groups will be vaccinated first. Soydan said that they had requested vaccines for 250,000 people from the EU. Greek Cypriot co-chair for the bicommunal health committee Leonidas Phylactou: “We have received the Turkish Cypriots’ request. We are waiting for the vaccines to arrive and the decisions to be taken at the political level.”
- (PM) Ersan Saner: The vaccines will arrive from Turkey
250,000 people will be vaccinated in the first phase
The Health Ministry has prepared a vaccination plan within the scope of fighting the coronavirus. In addition to the vaccines to be sent by the EU to South Cyprus, Turkey is also expected to send vaccines to our country.
- The vote of confidence will be held today (Saturday) – The parliament will convene at 11am.
- Don’t relax, wear your mask, maintain your social distance – Given the increase in the number of local coronavirus cases, experts urge the public to strictly adhere to measures. They also urge the authorities to increase inspections and screening tests.
- First in the history of South Cyprus: The 2021 budget was not approved – The January salaries will be paid in the Greek Cypriot side, however investment contracts cannot be signed.
‘No lockdown’
Health Minister Ali Pilli urged the public to wear masks and practice social distancing. Pilli said that inspections will be stepped up as of the weekend. He added that their aim was not to fine establishments or book people but they will be left with no choice if the public continues to ignore their warnings. The health minister said that a lockdown was not foreseen at the moment. Police and municipal wardens will take part in the inspections. “Health is no joke,” said Pilli, adding that the pandemic hospital will come into service on Wednesday.
The 13th salaries will be paid, if Turkey provides the funds
The government is waiting for funds from Turkey to pay the 13th salaries. Finance Minister Dursun Oğuz said: “There is no problem in paying December salaries. We need ₺400m (€42.3m) for the 13th salaries and ₺254m (€26.8m) for the labour force support scheme, ₺654m (€69.2m) in total.
- We want a federation, not a two-state solution – ‘This Country is Ours Platform’ condemned the Turkish Foreign Minister.
- We asked for 500,000 doses of the vaccine from the south – Cenk Soydan said.
- “6,000 people will come to the north during the New Year” – Nicosia Turkish Municipality Mayor Mehmet Harmancı said.
- 410 positive coronavirus cases and two deaths in the south, 13 cases in the north.
Main News
Parties express conflicting views on Cyprob solution
Yenidüzen, Kıbrıs, Diyalog, Avrupa
Negotiations Process
OVERVIEW
The ongoing row between the federalist and anti-federalist camp in the north shows no sign of dying down as the members of the ruling National Unity Party (UBP) continue to advocate for the two-state solution based on sovereign equality.
The opposition on the other hand insists that the only feasible solution model in Cyprus remains a bicommunal, bizonal federation (BBF) based on the political equality of the two communities.
Turkish Cypriot Prime Minister Ersan Saner, on Friday, argued that the most feasible option ahead of the Turkish Cypriots was to discuss a two-state solution.
“Any negotiations process to be held for anything other than a two-state solution would be a waste of time,” Saner said in an interview with the Anatolia News Agency.
Saner repeated the view that his government will continue to work in coordination with the Office of the President and Ankara to promote the two-state solution policy.
He also argued that nothing had been left undiscussed in the Cyprus negotiations processes to date.
“What is important in the talks is the intention but the Greek Cypriot side has repeatedly proven to us that it has no intention of reaching a solution with Turkish Cypriots. The time has come to end this 52-year-old process,” Saner stressed.
He added that Turkish Cypriots did not have another 50 years to waste on talks that would lead nowhere or to continue living under international embargoes.
Saner pointed out that the Turkish Cypriot side was ready and willing to take part in a five-plus-UN conference on the Cyprus issue on the condition that the talks would lead to a conclusion.
“We want the UN to say something about the future of the Turkish Cypriots after the conference,” Saner said.
Asked about Maraş (Varosha), Saner said the project to reopen the fenced-off town was “a ground-breaking initiative undertaken by the Turkish Cypriot side.”
“The reopening of Maraş (Varosha) has proven clearly that the TRNC will not refrain from taking the required steps forward,” Saner stressed, adding that all property claims in the fenced-off town will be addressed through the Immovable Property Commission (IPC) in line with international law.
Saner, on the hydrocarbons issue, reminded that the Turkish Cypriot side’s co-management proposal submitted to the Greek Cypriot side was still on the table.
He added that the Turkish Cypriot side decided to conduct its activities after the Greek Cypriots had rejected this proposal.
“The Turkish Cypriot side will maintain its strong ties and collaboration and its dialogue with Turkey at the highest level and will continue to implement projects for further development of the north,” Saner concluded.
The newly appointed Turkish Cypriot Foreign Minister Tahsin Ertuğruloğlu on Friday also harshly criticized those who supported a federal settlement in Cyprus and the idea of EU membership.
He accused those who supported such a solution model of receiving money from the EU and undermining the interests of the Turkish Cypriot community.
Ertuğruoğlu, speaking on Bayrak, said he did not believe a five-party conference could convene anytime soon.
He argued the conference was intended to do away with the concept of sovereign equality which the Turkish Cypriot side was so arduously supporting.
Ertuğruoğlu gave the example of the 1960 partnership Republic, stating that the partnership model, despite being structured on political equality and effective participation in decision-making processes, had collapsed.
He argued that political equality was not enough for a new partnership to be sustainable.
Ertuğruoğlu also took a swipe at the UN, stating that the international organisation’s biased stance in favour of the Greek Cypriot side was harming the Turkish Cypriot community.
“It will not be possible to solve the Cyprus Problem as long as the Greek Cypriot side is perceived as the legitimate government of the island and the Turkish Cypriots secessionists,” Ertuğruloğlu stressed.
He also argued that a federation will end both the Turkish Cypriot state and its sovereignty.
“It is time for everyone to understand the fact that there is a Turkish Cypriot state here and we will enter into a new partnership as a state and not as a community,” Ertuğruloğlu stressed.
“If it is possible, establishing a partnership based on equality of two separate sovereign states, is good; if not, each side will go their separate ways,” he argued.
Ertuğruloğlu added that a confederation was also an option.
“I do not believe Cyprus is one country. My country is the TRNC. Cyprus is an island and there are two states on it. Being a Cypriot is only a geographic identity, a cultural identity. We will agree to a solution if the Greek Cypriot side and the TRNC are going to be equal sovereign states. We also agree if they reject this option,” Ertuğruloğlu concluded.
Meanwhile, the opposition Social Democratic Party (TDP) hit back at UBP on Friday.
In a written statement, TDP said a federal solution model was not only the most viable option but was also what was in the best interest of the Cypriots, Turkey and the Eastern Mediterranean region.
“Chasing unrealistic and invalid scenarios and giving up on federation, which is originally a Turkish proposal will only allow the Greek Cypriot side to continue usurping the Turkish Cypriots’ rights,” TDP said.
TDP noted that while the Greek Cypriot side benefits from being perceived as the recognized entity by the world, the Turkish Cypriots are subjected to live under isolations and outside the boundaries of international law.
“No one should expect the Turkish Cypriots to give their consent to a life like that,” the statement read, adding that the current circumstances were not fair.
“The only way to put an end to the unfair treatment of the Turkish Cypriots is to focus on the agreement reached with the UN Secretary-General on November 25, 2019, in Berlin and to work towards establishing a federal structure based on two constituent states to ensure living in freedom and security,” TDP said, warning that advocating anything else would be pushing the Turkish Cypriot community into a dangerous adventure into the unknown.
The bicommunal activist group UniteCyprusNow (UCN) on Friday also reiterated that a federal solution is the most viable option on the island.
UCN was critical of Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu’s statements following his meeting with UN special envoy Jane Holl Lute, and reminded all parties involved in the Cyprus problem that ultimately, the Cypriot communities will be the ones who will have the final say on their future.
Urging the guarantor powers to play a constructive role in finding a sustainable settlement on the island, UCN said: “A two-state settlement is neither viable nor possible and goes against all recent opinion polls on the kind of solution that the Cypriot people would like, as well as all UN Security Council resolutions endorsing federation.”
UCN also argued that the two-state solution would only increase the north’s dependency on Turkey while keeping the Turkish Cypriots out of the EU and will result in the continuation of the status quo.
“The status quo does not benefit either side nor is it sustainable due to its potential to create continuous crises in the region. Those who think the status quo will only hurt the Turkish Cypriots north of the division line are grossly mistaken and bear the responsibility for the troubles future Cypriot generations will face,” UCN stressed, calling on all Cypriots to raise their voices against the partition of the island.
“We also call upon all actors and the international community to take a clear position for unity and reconciliation in Cyprus and stability in the region,” UCN concluded.
Echoing the same message, the “This Country is Ours Platform” also condemned Çavuşoğlu’s recent remarks after meeting with Lute.
The platform emphasized that the negotiations process to find a federal solution to the Cyprus problem must resume in line with the Guterres framework and based on the agreement reached by the two leaders during the Berlin trilateral on November 25, 2019.
KEY ACTORS
Saner (UBP)
>> A two-state solution is the most feasible option for a solution in Cyprus.
>> Talks held for anything else will be nothing more than a waste of time.
>> TC side is ready to take part in a five-party conference on the condition that the talks will lead to a conclusion.
>> Maraş (Varosha) initiative shows the international community TC side will not refrain from taking required steps.
>> All property claims in Maraş (Varosha) will be addressed through IPC.
Ertuğruloğlu (UBP)
>> Highly unlikely a 5+1 conference will convene any time soon.
>> Federal solution will spell the end of TCs & sovereignty of TCs.
>> Confederation also possible.
TDP
>> Federal solution only viable option for TCs & in the best interest of all parties.
>> TC side must focus its efforts on reaching a federal settlement.
UCN
>> A two-state solution is neither viable nor possible & goes against the will of two communities & UNSC resolutions.
>> Two-state solution would only increase north’s dependence on Turkey, keep TCs out of EU & will result in continuation of status quo.
>> Status quo does not benefit either side nor is it sustainable due to its potential to create continuous crises in the region.
>> The international community must take a clear position for unity & reconciliation in Cyprus & stability in the region.
TCs asked for EU vaccines via GC side
Yenidüzen, Kıbrıs, Diyalog, Avrupa
CBMs
OVERVIEW
The bicommunal technical committee on health will deal with the issue of the delivery of the vaccines to the Turkish Cypriot community, it emerged on Friday.
“Turkish Cypriot side has requested from the Greek Cypriot side enough vaccines to be delivered by the EU for 250,000 people,” Turkish Cypriot chair of the bicommunal technical committee on health Cenk Soydan said on Friday.
Soydan, speaking to the TAK news agency, said his Greek Cypriot counterpart Leonidas Phylactou, whom he speaks with regularly had asked him about the north’s vaccination needs.
He also noted that there is not a set timeline as to when the vaccines will be delivered to the north.
Soydan said the vaccines will be administered in two doses, meaning 500,000 doses will be required for 250,000 people.
Greek Cypriot co-chair of the Committee, Leonidas Phylactou, told the Cyprus News Agency (CNA) that he was in contact with the Republic of Cyprus (RoC) Health Ministry on the issue regarding the vaccination of Turkish Cypriots.
“They have asked me to get information about the number of people who will be vaccinated in the north. I asked for this information on Thursday during a telephone conversation I had with the Turkish Cypriot co-chair of the Committee and I am waiting for their reply,” he added.
Phylactou also said that he expects that the RoC health ministry will soon ask him to be informed by the Turkish Cypriot side about other issues, mostly of a practical nature, about the administration of the vaccines to the Turkish Cypriots.
Turkish Cypriot authorities have announced they have completed their plans for the vaccination programme and are waiting to receive the vaccines reserved for them from those secured for Cyprus by the EU.
Health Minister Ali Pilli on Friday said that during the first phase 52,000 people will be vaccinated.
He said that the vaccines would be given by the Greek Cypriot side and that the first shots would arrive at the end of December, early January.
Pilli reportedly said that the north is entitled to 30 per cent of the vaccines sent to Cyprus by the EU. He added that the north expects to receive between 300,000 and 400,000 vaccines.
First, health professionals will be vaccinated and then people belonging to vulnerable groups of the population, over 65-year-olds, those with chronic diseases and other groups.
Pilli said there are already two storage facilities in the north where the Pfizer vaccines can be stored at minus 70 degrees Celsius, while it is expected that within a week, two more freezers will be secured where 300,000 vaccines can be stored.
Turkish Cypriot Prime Minister Ersan Saner, on the other hand, said on Friday that vaccines would be arriving from Turkey at the end of December.
However, he did not elaborate on the quantity of the vaccines expected or from which firm they were to be acquired.
In the meantime, the ordeal of the Turkish Cypriot workers employed in the south continues. Turkish Cypriots, barred from crossing over to work in the south unless they go into quarantine, staged a protest for the third consecutive day.
136 Turkish Cypriot workers signed a petition on Friday addressed to the Turkish Cypriot health ministry, asking for “fair treatment on crossings.”
The workers argued that the Higher Committee of Infectious Diseases has violated the “principle of equality” by banning them from crossing to the south even though it allowed the crossing of Turkish Cypriot students, their parents and those trading with the south through the Green Line trade regulation.
The authorities on Thursday had reached an agreement with another group of workers, allowing them to cross daily for work on the condition they spent the night upon their return in state-monitored quarantine facilities.
Doors at historical monastery in the north stolen
Yenidüzen, Kıbrıs, Diyalog, Avrupa
Internal Security
OVERVIEW
The doors inside the historic Saint Panteleimon Monastery in Çamlıbel (Myrtou) have been stolen, several Turkish Cypriot dailies report on Saturday.
The papers reported, however, that it was not known when the monastery’s doors went missing.
Adıgüzel Akdeniz, the head of the Çamlıbel (Myrtou) Solidarity and Development Association, said he had noticed that the doors were missing during a recent visit to the monastery, which was built in 1735 and had informed the police about the incident.
The dailies report that the police have launched an investigation into the case.