Front Page Headlines
Prodromos ‘tore out’ Kemal Ataturk
They began by removing one page from the English book and ended up… withdrawing the whole book.
- M. Sizopoulos: Accuses Christou for his participation in the criminal Golden Dawn
- A. Themistokleous: ELAM bullying in Parliament
- Auditor General: Broke up Kalogerou’s party which would have cost us €10,000
Parliament for cowboy behaviours
Themistokleous, who returned as a Golden Dawn copycat, before the Ethics committee. They promised to recover their lost prestige, but they began with a downwards spiral.
- Window for a possible meeting has not closed
- Change of plans in the traffic police due to fatal crashes
- They’ll even check the diamonds and rings of MPs: Funds-and-assets declaration still in draft form
- After 12 meetings, they’re still seeking solutions for corruption
- Odysseas tore down Kalogerou’s farewell party
The modernisation and upgrade of hospitals… in the cards
AKEL insists on a road map with specific measures and actions.
- The Education Ministry cancels critical thought in the field of Education
- Kalin asked the EU to support a two-state solution. The ‘trilateral’ in New York pending
- Golden Dawn-style ‘cowboy behaviours’ in Parliament by ELAM MP A. Themistokleous
- Scandal: A large party costing €10,000 for the farewell of Kalogerou was… cancelled
Book withdrawn over Ataturk nod
Ministry move over English book follows earlier instruction to rip out offending page
- Row breaks out in parliament over claims of verbal abuse
- Cheese producers take legal action against the EC over halloumi PDO
Upside-down because of Kemal Ataturk!
An English book we bought from Britain praises the founder of Turkey (“ethical leader”) and the man responsible for the Asia Minor catastrophe. Strong reactions from AKEL, Turkey, Tatar and Ozersay – First it was decided that the page should be ripped out and then that the book should be withdrawn.
- Nicos Anastasiades: Important announcements before investors
- Farewell party with public sector money was cancelled after the intervention of the Auditor General
Main News
Tatar says he’ll decide on trilateral after meeting with UNSG
Haravgi, Cyprus Mail, Phileleftheros
Negotiations Process
OVERVIEW
TC leader Ersin Tatar said Wednesday he would decide on any unofficial meetings with the GC side on the Cyprus problem after meeting with UN Secretary General (UNSG) Antonio Guterres in New York , the papers report.
Phileleftheros views this comment as indicating that there is a chance that the two leaders might meet in New York, and also shows that Tatar is trying to avoid accusations that he is hindering dialogue. Cyprus Mail reports that Tatar’s comments came after his return from Turkey where he held several contacts.
Tatar said his chief negotiator and special envoy Ergun Olgun has had some contacts during this time, with everything being evaluated ahead of their trip to New York on September 18. He said an analogous evaluation is being carried out by the Turkish Foreign Ministry, with both sides to consult before any next moves are decided on.
The next moves also involve contacts to be held in New York, Phileleftheros reports. Tatar said that after a possible meeting there with Guterres, he would see whether there will be various bilateral contacts and an informal meeting with the GC side, though Phileleftheros notes that Tatar did not clarify whether this is being considered at the level of the two leaders or the two negotiators. Indicatively, Tatar said he had correspondence with the British Foreign Minister and asked him for a meeting in New York.
Tatar reiterated that with Turkey’s full support, his position was clear that there could be an agreement on cooperation between two separate, equal and sovereign states existing side by side. He said there was no question of changing his stand.
Commenting of President Nicos Anastasiades’ proposal to the return to the 1960 Constitution as a way out of the deadlock in the Cyprus problem process, Tatar reiterated he was against such a move. Haravgi reports that Tatar said that the TC side will not come to any agreement that will lead to the TCs ending up under the authority of GCs.
Phileleftheros reports citing government circles that Anastasiades is planning to inform Guterres on his proposal, which they say shows that the GC side is ready to share power, without this meaning that Anastasiades has abandoned his view that the Republic of Cyprus must transform into a federal state.
Meanwhile, Phileleftheros reports that in statements from the Turkish city of Konya, wanting to highlight the connections of the area with the north, Tatar conceded that there has been a mass transfer of Turkish nationals to settle the north, and specifically some 12,000 families from the Turkish cities of Konya, Karaman, and Aksehir. He said both Turkish nationals and TCs are grandsons and granddaughters of the Ottomans, people who come from the same nation and same race.
Regarding Varosha, Phileleftheros and Haravgi report that he said that given that there are no longer any chances for a solution despite the TC side’s good will, there was no point in keeping the area closed for another 47 years. He reiterated that Varosha was an area that belonged to Turkish institutions, and essentially belongs to the ancestors of the TC community.
KEY ACTORS
Tatar
>> With Turkey’s full support, position is clear that there could be an agreement on cooperation between two separate, equal and sovereign states existing side by side; there is no question of changing this stand
>> Opposed to Anastasiades’ proposal for return to 1960; TC side will not come to any agreement that will lead to the TCs ending up under the authority of GCs
>> Both Turkish nationals and TCs are grandsons and granddaughters of the Ottomans, people who come from the same nation and same race
>> Given that there are no longer any chances for a solution despite the TC side’s good will, there was no point in keeping Varosha closed for another 47 years
>> Varosha was an area that belonged to Turkish institutions, and essentially belongs to the ancestors of the TC community
English textbook withdrawn due to Ataturk reference
Alithia, Cyprus Mail, Haravgi, Phileleftheros, Politis
Human Rights
OVERVIEW
The Education Ministry on Wednesday announced it will withdraw an English textbook following strong reactions to instructions issued earlier in the day to tear out a page on Kemal Ataturk, which it said was unacceptable, the dailies report.
Secondary school teachers were seeking answers from the Education Ministry over an instruction to tear out the page of the book for second grade lyceum students, which referred to both Turkey’s founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk and Mexican communist artist Frida Kahlo and her husband Diego Rivera. Ataturk was included on the page in an exercise called ‘Turkey’s greatest hero’.
The issue came to the fore after an English teacher posted the instruction in a group on Facebook, which sparked outrage on social media and beyond, Cyprus Mail reports. Teachers said they had received an urgent email message from the Education Ministry, asking them to tear out page 36 from the Oxford Discover Futures 3 Workbook before handing them to high school students.
The Ministry said it only saw the Ataturk reference on Tuesday and announced it will temporarily withdraw the book over the “unacceptable” reference, citing crimes against minorities. The Ministry justified its decision saying the reference in question praises Ataturk as an example of leadership.
“Ataturk is directly connected with crimes against humanity such as the Armenian Genocide, which is unequivocally condemned by our country as well as by the United States, France and many others. Crimes equal to the genocide of the Pontians and Assyrians, but also the criminal ‘ethnic cleansing’ of Hellenism in Smyrna and elsewhere,” the announcement said. Modern education, the Ministry said, is based on respect for human rights and does not compromise with attempts to embellish such historical crimes.
The Ministry also came under fire over choosing to have this reference torn from the book rather than use it as an opportunity to promote critical thinking. In its statement the Ministry said, “the English language course is not offered to nor is it expected to cover such topics or to promote critical thought”.
Commenting on the incident, TC leader Ersin Tatar said that “Ataturk was known internationally as a great leader. It does not make sense to remove the page. Once again, I condemn such actions”.
On his part, Kudret Ozersay said that it is clear that some circles in the GC side do not want students to learn something good about Turkey so as to not change their perception.
Alithia reports that the Turkish Foreign Ministry said the decision, which it described as outdated, one of enmity, and unacceptable, reveals the radical level of the distortive mentality that the GC side has reached against Turkey and the ‘TRNC’. It added that this move by the GC side, which has condemned Cyprob to destitution for years now, shows that GCs do not have the patience to share not only power but also well-being, or even live, with the TCs on the island.
Secondary education teachers union OELMEK received complaints over the incident, while its members took to social media to confirm what had happened.
The incident was condemned by AKEL MP Christos Christofides, who described the move as unacceptable, autocratic and anti-pedagogic. He said such behaviours are commonly seen from the north in Rizokarpaso, and during other dark periods in history.
On his part, AKEL MEP Niyazi Kizilyurek said such moves are only seen in totalitarian regimes. “The teaching of history in our country is problematic and significant changes are required in the framework of the Council of Europe’s directives,” he said, pointing to a recent similar incident in which the Turkish government intervened in the history education of TC schools in order to boost students’ nationalist sentiments.
Dherynia to inaugurate Buffer Zone cinema on Friday
Cyprus Mail, Haravgi, Phileleftheros, Politis
CBMs
OVERVIEW
Dherynia will inaugurate an open-air cinema in the Buffer Zone on Friday with a film screening by the person who envisaged the project, internationally known artist and filmmaker, Rosa Barba.
Mayor of Dherynia Andros Karayiannis, told the Cyprus News Agency the open-air cinema will be inaugurated on Friday evening followed by a screening of Barba’s film, ‘Inside the Outset: Evoking a Space of Passage’.
Giving the background of the cooperation, he said the Dherynia municipality in collaboration with the Italian Embassy in Cyprus, the Point Centre for Contemporary Art, the UN and the Italian-German artist Rosa Barba, promoted the creation of an open-air cinema within the Buffer Zone.
Karayiannis said the project was awarded first place in an international competition and secured funding from the Council of Italy’s Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Tourism. It consists of sculpted amphitheatre stands and a projection screen.
The open-air cinema will be left to the Dherynia municipality to be used for various cultural and bicommunal events. According to Karayiannis, the idea for this open-air cinema was Barba’s so that people from both communities on the island could watch film screenings together.
The artist feels this will be an image juxtaposing the ones on conflict and send out a strong message of solidarity.