TCC Press Review 19 May 2021

Front Page Headlines

Yenidüzen

901 juveniles committed crimes in the last ten years

While court records show an alarming rise in crimes committed by children under the age of 16 over the last ten years, the type of crimes they have committed is also striking. A total of 857 cases in which children were involved were heard between 2010-2020. Among these crimes include robbery, attempted manslaughter, murder, assault, rape and possession of weapons. Despite a large number of juvenile delinquents, there are no correction facilities for these children. On almost all occasions the underaged convicted serve their sentences with older inmates at the overcrowded central prison in Nicosia.

  • “Enough, open them”Official contacts to reopen crossing points that have been effectively closed for the past one-and-a-half years is continuing. The bicommunal Committee on Health will be meeting on Friday to discuss normalisation at the crossing points.

Kıbrıs

Abandoned to its fate

Even though there are laws in place to solve the problems experienced in the industrial zones, regarded as an important component of the country’s economy, there is no authority enforcing or anyone who is raising the issues in the public fore.

  • “Lefke (Lefka) became a district but even lost its past gains”Platform of Civil society organisations (CSOs) from Lefke (Lefka) area urged the authorities to swiftly solve their problems.

Havadis

Don’t trust anyone with your children

The details of the case in which a 17-year-old raped a 13-year-old child continues to emerge. It is revealed that the suspect N.N., who was asked to take care of the child, had pressured the victim to keep quiet.

  • Chaos in higher education – Turkish Cypriot Association of Student Dormitories, whose demands were not met by the government will stage a protest.
  • Saner: “If the number cases of remain low, the curfew on Sundays will be lifted.”
  • “Don’t risk public’s health” – KTTB (Turkish Cypriot Doctors’ Association) said it is against allowing entry into the country without a mandatory quarantine unless the percentage of vaccination for the risk groups are known in advance.

Diyalog

Shame on us

The Republic Park where the mausoleum of the founding President Rauf Denktaş is located has become a place where people drink, litter and have sex. Residents who use the park for walks or visitors are shocked by what they see. They complain that the park is not cleaned regularly nor are the plants and trees looked after. The museum section of the mausoleum seems to have become a popular place for sex.

Avrupa

Amnesty for those deported

Those who got deported are being allowed to come back. The government has approved the amendments to the immigration law, sending it back to parliament. The amendments will allow all those who were deported after their work, residency or student permits expired to benefit from the amnesty. If and when the bill is passed, those who are in the country with an expired permit will be allowed to benefit from the amnesty by paying a fine equivalent to one month’s minimum wage.

  • Makarios: Do you recognize property rights? – The second instalment of the (Rauf) Denktaş – (Archbishop) Makarios meeting dated January 27, 1977, published.
  • Sunday curfew to be lifted – Ersan Saner announced the curfew on Sundays will be lifted if the number of positive Covid-19 cases remain low.

Main News

KTTB says fully vaccinated individuals could be exempt from quarantine

Yenidüzen, Kıbrıs, Havadis, Diyalog
Internal Security

OVERVIEW

The Turkish Cypriot Doctors’ Association (KTTB) said on Tuesday that it fully vaccinated individuals (two doses) posed no risk to the public and could enter the north without the need to enter mandatory quarantine.

The announcement came following a recent debate by tourism professionals who are eagerly awaiting a government decision to relax restrictions on entry in the north as the summer tourism season approaches.

In a written statement, KTTB reminded that BioNTech-Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca, Oxford and Janssen, Johnson & Johnson vaccines were all approved by Europe’s top medical body, adding that there would be no need for anyone who has received both doses to spend 10-15 days in quarantine after entering the country.

The association said it would be safe for these individuals to arrive with negative PCR tests. The KTTB also drew attention to the importance of following international guidelines on safe travel before opening the tourism season.

“In this regard, the authorities must be careful about the vaccination campaign in the countries the people come from; the vaccines used and the sensitivity of the tests performed at the entry points,” the doctors association stressed.

However, the association warned that the current mandatory quarantine requirement for all those arriving from abroad should not be lifted before a significant percentage of the population is lifted. It reminded that the Chinese firm Sinovac’s CoronaVac vaccine was currently not included in the list of internationally approved vaccines.

The majority of the vaccines administered in the north so far are Sinovac vaccines which have been donated by Turkey. Meanwhile, announcing the cabinet decisions adopted on Tuesday, Turkish Cypriot Prime Minister Ersan Saner said the Council of Ministers is considering lifting the curfew on Sundays if the number of coronavirus cases continues to drop.


Opposition determined to defend democracy against the UBP

Yenidüzen, Kıbrıs, Havadis, Diyalog
Governance & Power Sharing

OVERVIEW

Both the opposition Republican Turkish Party (CTP) and the People’s Party (HP) said on Tuesday they were determined to defend the country’s democracy against the National Unity Party’s (UBP), claiming that an ad-hoc committee formed by the government to set a date for early elections violated both parliament’s bylaws and the constitution.

“We will continue to protect the public will, rule of law and democracy,” the CTP said in a statement issued on Tuesday.

The main opposition also argued that the UBP is acting like a ‘dictator’ with no respect for alternative viewpoints. “The ad-hoc committee formed with votes by the three political parties that form the minority government will leave a dark stain on the country’s political history,” the statement stressed.

Echoing a similar viewpoint, the HP leader Kudret Özersay said, “the HP will not refrain from standing up against the anti-democratic mindset of the minority government.”

In a social media post on Tuesday, Özersay said “despite the constitution” the minority government is trying to impose whatever suits their interests. He also pointed out that the parliamentary by-laws dictate the matters on elections are decided through the Legal and Political Affairs Committee and not through an ad-hoc one.

“The HP, which strongly believes in rule of law, democracy and the public will, is not going to refrain from standing up against the anti-democratic mindset of the UBP,” Özersay reiterated, adding that the opposition parties are now left with no other option but to apply to the courts to rectify the matter.


EU anti-trafficking directive must be adopted in the north

Yenidüzen
Human Rights

OVERVIEW

The Refugee Rights’ Association on Tuesday continued its efforts and meetings with Turkish Cypriot political parties to raise awareness on human trafficking and migration. Members of the association met with the Republican Turkish Party (CTP) MPs Sıla Usar İncirli, Armağan Candan, Doğuş Derya and Asım Akonsoy on Tuesday.

During the meeting, Fezile Osum, coordinator of the programme in the fight against human trafficking informed the CTP MPs about the problems and challenges they face when doing their work as well as talked about the programme’s goals and targets.

Osum also urged the MPs to take on the responsibility to end the problems and the suffering of the victims. Informing the MPs on the Strategy and Action Plan on the fight against human trafficking, Osum highlighted the need for a dedicated unit to be established within the Interior Ministry to tackle human trafficking issues and to help the victims.

“Our goal is to establish a steering mechanism at a national level,” Osum said, adding that the European Council’s anti-trafficking directive provides a strong legislative basis.

“The anti-trafficking directive has yet to be adopted in the north,” Osum concluded. The CTP MPs have agreed to do their best to contribute to the legislative process to put an end to human trafficking as well as to alleviate the suffering of the victims of trafficking.

Doğukan Gümüşatam from Cyprus Queer Association; Dilek Öncül from Turkish Cypriot Journalists’ Association, Lawyers Sevilay Yıldırımer Candanal and Deniz Düzgün from the Turkish Cypriot Bar Association and Mustafa Fadıloğluları from the Ombudsperson’s office attended the meeting alongside with Refugee Rights’ Association.


Shopkeepers in the north eagerly await the reopening of crossings


Yenidüzen
CBMs

OVERVIEW

Retailers and shopkeepers in the north continue to anxiously await for a decision to be produced on the reopening of the checkpoints and normalisation of crossings. A member of the bicommunal technical committee on health, Jale Refik Rogers told Yenidüzen, that the issue will be on the agenda of a meeting to be held this Friday.

“Given the decisions taken by the Higher Committee for Infectious Diseases, the bicommunal technical committee will negotiate the conditions for crossings and reopen them,” Rogers said, adding that the normalisation at checkpoints will bring life back to shopkeepers and retailers who depend highly on tourists and visitors from the south.

The closing of the crossing points has hit retailers, shops and service providers in Nicosia, Famagusta and Güzelyurt (Morphou) the worst.

She added that the daily case numbers continued to drop to the lowest levels since a second wave hit the north earlier this year. Jale also noted that there will be very little risk of infections if daily crossings with rapid antigen or PCR tests are to be allowed. 

“Another factor that reduces the risk of infections is the high numbers of tests carried out in the south,” Rogers added. Rogers also noted that the Greek Cypriot members of the technical committee have already shared their proposals on the reopening of the crossings and it was the Turkish Cypriots’ turn to present their viewpoint in line with the Higher Committee’s decisions.

Rogers said the technical committee’s goal is to conclude discussions on the issue during the meeting on Friday.

Yenidüzen also spoke with several shopkeepers in Arasta – the shopping area in old town Nicosia in the north to focus on the economic consequences of keeping the crossings closed. The shopkeepers all express a strong desire for the reopening of the shops and a return to normal life.


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