Front Page Headlines
“It is not enough to say that Hellim (Halloumi) is ours”
Leader of the Republican Turkish Party (CTP) Tufan Erhürman says there are problems that need to be addressed regarding the registration of Hellim (Halloumi) as a Product Designation of Origin (PDO). He said that these problems could only be solved by active initiatives based on legal foundations.
- A late farewell – (The remains of) 36-year-old Emine Rüstem Akansoy and her four children aged between eight and 15 were laid to rest at the Muratağa (Maratha)-Sandallar (Santalaris) cemetery.
Bidding farewell 47 years later
Emine Rüstem Akansoy and her four children, who were killed in 1974 in the village of Muratağa (Maratha) were laid to eternal rest at the Muratağa (Maratha) – Sandallar (Santalaris) and Atlılar (Aloda) martyrs cemetery with a ceremony held on Saturday. The remains of the Akansoy family had been identified by the Committee of Missing Persons (CMP). Hüseyin Rüstem Akansoy, who was a 17-year-old POW in Limassol at the time the killings took place gave a heartbreaking speech. In his address during the funeral, he said: “It is vital to wipe out the crazy, extremist nationalist mindset from schools, from all places of religious importance and from all state apparatuses to ensure that pain and suffering are never experienced again.”
- 23 positive coronavirus cases, 21 discharged – 7178 tests were carried out in the last 24 hours. 17 locally transmitted, 23 positive coronavirus cases were identified.
N/A due to lockdown
N/A due to lockdown
Main News
Erhürman: Must deliver what it takes on Hellim (Halloumi)
Yenidüzen
Economy
OVERVIEW
Republican Turkish Party (CTP) leader Tufan Erhürman on Saturday said the Turkish Cypriot side must do whatever is necessary on the registration of Hellim (Halloumi) as a Product of Designation Origin (PDO), warning that the amendments made in the Green Line Trade (GLT) regulation did not mean Turkish Cypriot producers will automatically start exporting their cheese to European markets.
In a social media post on Saturday, Erhürman added there are still many technical issues that needed to be overcome. He urged the Turkish Cypriot authorities and the relevant stakeholders to adopt a proactive stance to overcome them.
“It is not enough to claim Hellim (Halloumi) is ours. Being pro-EU or anti-EU will not solve any of these problems either,” Erhürman stressed, calling on all relevant parties to take on the responsibility to do what it takes to bring the production of the traditional Cypriot cheese to European standards.
The CTP leader also urged the authorities to clarify the state policies on agriculture, animal husbandry and related industries, noting that the economic development of the Turkish Cypriot community lies with coherent approaches to local production and industries.
CTP slams Kanlı for his comments in favour of annexation with Turkey
Yenidüzen, Kıbrıs
Negotiations Process
OVERVIEW
CTP leader Tufan Erhürman and the party’s MP Asım Akansoy slammed National Unity Party (UBP) Executive Committee member Özer Kanlı for his latest comments on a bizonal, bicommunal federal solution (BBF) in Cyprus.
Kanlı, who is also the President of the Board of Directors at the Turkish Cypriot public broadcaster Bayrak said it would be better to be annexed by Turkey rather than accepting a BBF that will be a subsidiary of a Greek Cypriot controlled state.
The CTP leader Erhürman, in a social media post on Saturday, said, “If only those who oppose a federal settlement had spent 50 minutes in the last 50 years to understand what a federation is also about,” pointing to Kanlı’s remarks but also including those who frequently claim that the federation talks have failed to yield the desired outcome.
“If they had done so, they would not insist that sharing sovereignty based on political equality would mean being absorbed by the Greek Cypriot dominated state,” Erhürman said.
Echoing a similar message on social media, Akansoy also said while the anti-federation camp’s positions based on extreme nationalist rhetoric or a two-state solution are failing to win support at the international front, people like Kanlı feel no remorse in raising views in favour of annexation.
“This is nothing but dishonourable,” Akansoy concluded.
Doğruyol: Tatar briefed the political parties on TC side’s new vision
Yenidüzen, Kıbrıs
Negotiations Process
OVERVIEW
Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar’s spokeswoman Berna Çelik Doğruyol said on Saturday that Tatar was ready to hold a special session at the Turkish Cypriot parliament ahead of the five-plus-one meeting in Geneva.
In a written statement issued on Saturday, Doğruyol recalled that Tatar had already met with leaders and representatives of the National Unity Party (UBP), Republican Turkish Party (CTP), People’s Party (HP) and the Social Democratic Party (TDP) to date and will be hosting Democratic Party (DP) and the Rebirth Party (YDP) next week.
Doğruyol said during the meetings, Tatar noted the upcoming five-plus-one meeting is aimed at assessing whether or not there is common ground between the two sides to launch a new round of negotiations process. Tatar also briefed the political parties on the Turkish Cypriot side’s new vision for a fair, lasting and sustainable solution on the island.
“The Turkish Cypriot side believes the agreement on the island must be based on the realities in Cyprus and equality between the two sides must lie at its core,” Doğruyol said, adding that the solution on the island, therefore, can only be based on a two-state model which the states have equal international status and collaborate.