GCC Press Review 14 July 2021

Front Page Headlines

Politis

From yesterday we’re running… with 1,000 cases

Surge of positive cases and a battle with the carelessness of anti-vaxxers.

  • Missing persons: They’re refusing to return the wrong remains

Phileleftheros

At war over the SafePass

Catering business owners launching mobilisations – The decree is driving people to unemployment, they’re shouting. Guidelines by OEV to employers for employees who refuse to comply.

  • Legal and political measures for Famagusta: Today at the National Council
  • They’re hiding seven mass graves with 400 missing persons: A Portuguese man is coming especially for Dikomo

Haravgi

Surgeries and Intensive Care Unit without an anaesthesiologist

One and a half years with only promises for the staffing of the Larnaca Hospital.

  • ‘Famagusta will be lost if the President doesn’t do something…’
  • Expert for the missing persons from Assia

Cyprus Mail

UK alters travel advice on Cyprus

Restriction to essential travel lifted, although not much impact expected on island.

  • Landfill search to locate 70 missing from Assia
  • Daily Covid cases surge past 1,000

Alithia

Turkey vs Turkish Cypriots

Shocking developments. Erdogan’s schemes to clear out any oppositional voice in the occupied territories. a) Ankara is preparing the new ‘constitution’ of the pseudo-state, so that it can fully control Turkish Cypriots. b) Entry into Turkey is forbidden for supporters of Akinci. c) TCs disagreeing with Turkey’s policy are being fired. TCs are under the political embargo of Turkey.

  • Coronavirus: Two dead and 1,081 new cases. Positivity rate of 1.72%
  • House-Demographics: The first meeting without (due to ELAM?) AKEL, DIKO and the Greens

Main News

AG: Government equipped with legal advice on Varosha

Alithia, Cyprus Mail, Haravgi, Phileleftheros
Territory

OVERVIEW

The government has received a series of legal opinions over the past six months from foreign experts about Varosha, Attorney-General Giorgos Savvides said on Tuesday according to the dailies

Savvides, speaking to the press after attending the House Legal Affairs Committee, said the Legal Service is in an open line of contact with a group of internationally renowned experts from whom it receives advice, which it duly transmits to President Nicos Anastasiades and Foreign Minister Nikos Christodoulides.

He said the issue is predominantly political with some legal implications. Savvides said these are delicate matters, adding he did not consider it appropriate to provide more information on what, in his opinion should be discussed by those responsible for making political decisions.

He added that a very important task of his office was to provide legal support to the competent state services, and in particular to the President and the Foreign Ministry on matters related to the political issue.

Savvides said he will on Wednesday attend the National Council which will discuss the issue of Varosha ahead of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s visit to the north next week and possible negative announcements on Varosha’s status. He said he will provide more explanations there if asked to do so.

Phileleftheros reports that during Wednesday’s National Council, Anastasiades is expected to brief political leaders on developments regarding Varosha, as well as steps taken by himself and Christodoulides on the matter. The paper writes that on Tuesday Christodoulides held a phone conversation with the US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, Victoria Nuland, with Varosha the main issue of discussion. Phileleftheros reports that Nicosia is hoping for the intervention of US President Joe Biden towards Erdogan and other state leaders, particularly of the permanent members of the UN Security Council (UNSC).


UK expresses strong support for UN Varosha resolutions

Phileleftheros
Negotiations Process

OVERVIEW

UK Minister for European Neighbourhood Wendy Morton said the UK strongly supports the numerous UN Security Council (UNSC) resolutions dealing with the issue of Varosha, and particularly resolutions 550 and 789, Phileleftheros reports.

The paper writes that Morton was responding to a relevant question posed by MP Theresa Villiers, who highlighted the importance of respecting the provisions of resolution 550. In her response, Morton also said the UK stands in support of the UNSC announcement issued on October 9, which called for the termination and reversal of Turkish actions in Varosha.

Morton also said that the UK is closely monitoring the situation and calls on all sides to refrain from actions that could undermine prospects for a Cyprus solution. She said she raised this issue with the Turkish Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs Faruk Kaymakci during her recent visit to Turkey.

Phileleftheros reports that Villiers also asked whether discussions have been held with Turkish Foreign Minister Melvut Cavusoglu on the need to secure a solution in line with UN resolution, to which Morton replied that the UK remains committed in its support of the process being undertaken by the UN, and said that at the informal Geneva summit UK Foreign Minister Dominic Raab had called on all parties to show flexibility and compromise in order to secure a solution within UN parameters that provide for a bi-zonal, bicommunal federation (BBF). She said the UK believes that these parameters are broad enough to accommodate the wishes of all sides.

In response to a question by Villiers regarding the presence of Turkish drill ships in the Cyprus EEZ, Morton replied that the UK has consistently said it supports the sovereign right of the Republic of Cyprus to utilise its natural resources in its internationally recognised EEZ and that the exploitation of these resources should be for the benefit of all Cypriots.

Phileleftheros reports that Morton also called on all involved parties to boost efforts for the resolution of the Cyprus problem, which is the most durable way of resolving difficult matters. Morton further welcomed the withdrawal of Turkish exploratory vessels from the waters surrounding Cyprus and the Aegean, which she referred to as an important contribution towards the de-escalation of tension in the Eastern Mediterranean. She also called on all sides to resolve their differences through dialogue, with London continuing to work with all parties in this direction.

KEY ACTORS
Morton (UK)
>>
UK strongly supports the numerous UNSC resolutions on Varosha and particularly resolutions 550 and 789
>> UK supports UNSC announcement issued on October 9, which called for the termination and reversal of Turkish actions in Varosha
>> UK closely monitoring the situation and calls on all sides to refrain from actions that could undermine prospects for a Cyprus solution
>> UK remains committed in its support of the process being undertaken by the UN & UN parameters calling for BBF, which are broad enough to accommodate all sides
>> UK has consistently said it supports the sovereign right of the RoC to utilise the natural resources in its internationally recognised EEZ & exploitation of these resources should be for the benefit of all Cypriots
>> All involved parties should boost efforts for the resolution of the Cyprus problem, which is the most durable way of resolving difficult matters
>> Welcomes the withdrawal of Turkish exploratory vessels from the waters surrounding Cyprus and the Aegean, which are an important step towards de-escalating tension in the EastMed


Efforts to locate 70 missing from Assia to begin in August

Cyprus Mail, Haravgi, Phileleftheros, Politis
Human Rights

OVERVIEW

The expert who oversaw the restoration of a landfill in Dikomo in the north which is believed to be where the remains of 70 missing GCs were buried is expected to visit the island in August to oversee efforts to locate them, MPs heard on Tuesday.

Leonidas Pantelides, the GC member of the Committee on Missing Persons (CMP) told the House Refugees Committee that the Portuguese expert and his team were expected in early August to see if an exhumation could be carried out safely without the risk of fire and explosions due to methane gases produced by the landfill.

The remains belong to 70 men from the village of Assia, in the Mesaoria plain. Evidence found in Ornithi, west of Assia, between 2009 and 2010 indicated that they had been killed and buried in mass graves there before they were moved to the landfill in Dikomo, near Kyrenia, in the 90s.

Cyprus Mail reports that the information regarding the burial was based on the testimony of six TCs, who were involved in transferring the remains sometime in 1995 or 1996. The landfill was reportedly open until 2002. After it was closed, it was covered with soil and trees were planted, utilising EU funds. Phileleftheros reports that representatives of relatives of the missing persons from Assia said that they consulted experts, who said that the methane gas was removed during the process of constructing the current park, and there is therefore no risk of explosion.

Pentelides said there were also problems regarding the information of where the remains were buried in the area. Some testimonies suggested they were on the fringes, while others say they were buried in the middle, Cyprus Mail and Haravgi report.

Experts plan to perhaps carry out vertical exploratory digs and later, if they get a green light, need to find the money for the project, which was four times the CMP’s budget. The study alone would cost around €80,000, a sum which has been approved by the EU, Pantelides said. Phileleftheros reports that the entire exhumation process could cost €10 million.

Pantelides said the CMP has so far found and identified around half the 2,000 persons from both communities missing since the intercommunal strife in the 60s and the Turkish invasion in 1974.

Haravgi and Phileleftheros report that Presidential Commissioner Photis Photiou said that currently, along with those from Assia, another 800 missing persons are being sought with many cases involving transferred remains. Phileleftheros reports that Photiou said that there are seven mass graves where some 400 missing persons are believed to be buried that have yet to be explored due to the stance held by the Turkish army.

Politis reports that Photiou said that the past five years have seen a dramatic reduction in the number of remains being located through exhumations, mainly due to Turkey’s withholding of information, its arbitrary demarcation of areas as military zones making exhumations there difficult, as well as purposeful transfers of remains, which increases the time and cost of exhuming remains and also means that relatives often only receive a small number of remains. Politis reports that Photiou said that in these cases, the government does not consider the cases closed.

Haravgi reports that the House Refugees Committee will take the initiative to prepare an informative note that will be sent to all MPs participating in international organisations, in an attempt to give an international dimension to the matter and increase pressure on Turkey.


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