Front Page Headlines
The Finance Ministry wants to borrow from the public
The Finance Minister for the first time authorized the sale of “treasury bonds” through the Central Bank in an attempt to cover the ₺400m-430m (€47.4m-50.9m) deficit expected in the budget due to the drop and losses in state revenue. The state will be borrowing from interested individuals with bank savings in exchange for government bonds. Economic experts who evaluated the government’s decision said that it was a move aimed at saving the day and paying salaries of civil servants.
- Here are the new decisions – Curfew from Monday to Friday between 8pm and 5am will continue. Restaurants will continue with takeaway or delivery services from 7am to 9pm. Supermarkets and the majority of retail shops will be open between 8am and 6pm. Casinos, barbershops, hairdressers, bars and tavernas will remain closed. Those working in the south will be allowed to cross with valid PCR tests. A full day curfew will be in place on Saturday except for acquiring basic needs. All businesses, except for bakeries and pharmacies will remain closed on Sundays. Those wishing to travel out of Nicosia or Kyrenia will only be able to do so with permits.
Launching gradual reopening
The Council of Ministers after observing a steady decline in the number of locally transmitted cases has decided to allow some sectors to reopen as of Monday, February 22. According to the decisions, the night-time curfew from 8pm to 5am will continue until February 26. A full day curfew other than to meet basic needs will be in place from 8pm on February 26 to 5am on March 1. On Saturdays, all businesses except for supermarkets, bakeries, butcheries, greengrocers, petrol stations, pharmacies, farmers and their suppliers will be shut. On Sundays, all businesses other than pharmacies and bakeries will be shut. During the weekdays, businesses can open from 8am to 6pm whereas the suppliers will work from 10am to 6pm.
The entertainment sector remains closed
The recommendations made by the Higher Committee for Infectious Diseases to partially lift or ease restrictions was accepted by the cabinet. Accordingly, as of Monday, the retail and construction sectors will be able to resume operations. However, these sectors will only be allowed to remain open between 10am and 6pm. All businesses, except for supermarkets, greengrocers, petrol stations and pharmacies will be closed on Saturdays. On Sundays, only pharmacies and bakeries will be open. Wedding halls, casinos, bars, tavernas, coffee shops, cafes, cafeterias, internet cafes and all sorts of game saloons continue to remain closed.
- Their dreams of Europe couldn’t be realised – Two of the three foreign students who tried to cross over to the south illegally were sent to prison, the third was released on bail.
We are reopening slowly
The restrictions will be eased by 30 per cent as of Monday. The night-time curfew from 8pm to 5am will remain in force from Monday to Friday, except for meeting basic needs. Supermarkets will be open from 8am to 6pm including on Saturdays.
- Weekly tests for the workers employed in the south – Turkish Cypriot workers will be allowed to cross to the south for work and return without quarantine provided they present a valid PCR test carried out in the last seven days.
- Amendments to the parole (regulation) for inmates – Any convict who served one third of his/her sentence will be allowed to apply for parole even though the previous requirement was doe half of the sentence term.
- 111 positive coronavirus cases and one death in the south, 14 cases and one death in the north…
Main News
TCs working in the south finally exempt from quarantine
Yenidüzen, Kıbrıs, Diyalog, Avrupa
Internal Security
OVERVIEW
It was all good news on Friday for Turkish Cypriots working in the south as the cabinet eased Covid-19 restrictions which have been in force since early December following a surge in cases in the south.
Turkish Cypriot workers had been unable to get to their jobs following the requirement for all those crossing to the south to enter a mandatory 14-day quarantine upon their return to the north.
Following earlier protests, authorities had offered workers the option of continuing to cross daily for work on the condition they were placed in isolation at designated facilities in the north when they returned at night. While some workers, out of fear of losing their jobs took up the government’s offer, most turned it down.
According to the latest decisions, the cabinet has allowed Turkish Cypriots to cross daily for work purposes on the condition they carry out PCR tests every seven days. However, restrictions for other individuals wishing to cross still apply.
Friday also saw a gradual easing of the lockdown that has been in place in the north since the end of January. Turkish Cypriot Prime Minister Ersan Saner announced that retail shops could open as of Monday, February 22.
However, establishments such as bars, casinos, barbershops, hairdressers, beauty salons, gyms, cafes and coffee shops will continue to remain closed until further notice. Weddings, parties and other mass gatherings are still banned.
The stores will only be allowed to open for limited hours (10am-6pm) under strict measures and regulations such as a limited number of customers to be allowed to shop at any given time. The 8pm-5am night-time curfew will continue to remain in place. Shops and businesses will remain closed on Saturday. The total lockdown on Sundays will also continue.
Turkish Cypriots employed by the UN, EU, other diplomatic missions or work at the Sovereign Base Areas (SBA) are still allowed to cross with a PCR test obtained within the last 72 hours.
While contactless trade through the Green Line trade regulation is still permitted, Turkish Cypriots studying in the south are also allowed to cross to the south provided they present proof that their classes are no longer available online.
Students will be required to repeat PCR tests every seven days and will only be allowed to travel to their schools via buses which will pick them up at the Ledra Palace crossing point. The transit crossing of ambulances from Kato Pyrgos through the Yeşilırmak (Limnitis) is permitted as before.
Turkish Cypriots residing in Pile (Pyla) are also allowed to cross to the north without being subjected to the quarantine requirement provided they have a negative PCR test obtained within the last seven days.
Meanwhile, the bicommunal civil society movement UniteCyprusNow (UCN) urged authorities on both sides of the divide to start planning the normalisation process on the crossings since vaccination drives are underway on both sides.
Publishing a 10-point list of recommendations, the UCN pointed out that as a result of the closure of the crossings since March 2020, workers, families, students, shop owners, freelance artists, and couples have been adversely affected, footing the socio-economic bill of the pandemic.
UCN quoted the latest UN Security Council (UNSC) resolution that the coronavirus pandemic should not be used as an excuse to keep the communities apart. It further laid out recommendations based on the collaboration of the authorities on both sides, also something that was stipulated in the UNSC resolution.
The UCN also asked the bicommunal technical committees on health and crossings to start planning the reopening of the crossings, sharing information on the continuing vaccination drive and implementing rapid test requirements at the crossing points before gradually opening the island to international flights.
The movement also called on the two mayors of Nicosia Constantinos Yiorgadjis and Mehmet Harmancı to lead an initiative on opening the Famagusta and Paphos Gates as new crossing points in Nicosia. It urged the European Commission to take immediate measures ensuring full implementation of the Green Line Regulation (GLR) both on crossings and on trade. The Commission must encourage intra-island trade to create economic interdependence across the divide, the UCN stressed.
Asking the two leaders to come forth on the solution of the Cyprus problem instead of succumbing to nationalist rhetoric, the UCN urged them to display their sincerity on the crossings as a confidence-building measure (CBM) to bring the two communities closer.
TCs express support and empathy for GC protestors
Yenidüzen
Human Rights
OVERVIEW
A group of Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots on Friday expressed their solidarity and union in a video against police brutality during an anti-corruption protest held on February 13 in the southern part of Nicosia.
Several protestors were injured in the protests during which the police was accused of using excessive force against the peaceful crowd. The video, which gives a message of peace and joint struggle was shared on social media on Friday.
The UN determined to hold the five-party conference
Yenidüzen, Kıbrıs, Diyalog, Avrupa
Negotiations Process
OVERVIEW
The Spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General (UNSG) Stephane Dujarric on Friday said the UNSG intends to convene an informal five-plus-one meeting on the Cyprus issue very soon.
He added the Secretary-General will make a formal announcement on the meeting, which will be called to determine whether common ground exists for the parties to negotiate a sustainable, lasting solution to the Cyprus problem within a foreseeable horizon.
In the meantime, the Turkish Cypriot dailies, citing Greek Cypriot media, note that Greek Cypriot negotiator Andreas Mavroyiannis said the venue and date of the informal 5+1 meeting has been agreed by the parties. He also noted that a formal announcement will be made by the UNSG.
Mavroyiannis confirmed that the informal meeting will be held after the European Council summit, scheduled for March 25 and 26.
Three students arrested trying to cross south illegally
Yenidüzen, Kıbrıs, Diyalog, Avrupa
Internal Security
OVERVIEW
Three African university students were arrested on Friday as they attempted to cross over to the south through a military area.
Two Nigerians and one Zimbabwean, caught by soldiers guarding the dividing line, said they were trying to cross to the south for economic reasons, even though they were enrolled at a university in the north. The Nicosia district court ordered one suspect to be released on bail but ordered the other two to be remanded in police custody until the police investigation is completed.