Front Page Headlines
Speeding, drinking and darkness: One dead, four injured
Nicosia was shaken by a horrific traffic accident in the darkness of night. 42-year-old Ali Gökhan Demirbilek died in a collision involving two cars. Müzeyyen Demirbilek and two children who were injured in the accident were taken to intensive care. Nagehan Şentürk was kept under observation at the emergency unit.
- Stuck in the middle for 107 days – Three Cameroon nationals who crossed from the north to the south with a request for asylum remain stranded in the UN buffer zone. The three whose request was turned down by the Republic of Cyprus authorities do not want to return. They have been waiting for 107 days for their application to be approved, living in a tent in the buffer zone.
Horrifying!
The country was once again shaken by the news of a traffic accident in Nicosia last night. The police quickly found the driver who was under the influence of alcohol and who had his licence confiscated last week for the same offence. He was arrested on the spot. One died, four were injured in the accident. Two of the four injured are children.
Electricity shock to the courts
While unrest continues at KIBTEK (Turkish Cypriot electricity authority) over “unlawful” appointments, the electricity authority, out of thousands of indebted citizens, picked the courthouse in Nicosia to cut off its power supply due to unpaid bills. Hasan Esendağlı, head of the Turkish Cypriot Bars Association, said the courts on Wednesday had ruled against KIBTEK on the case concerning the purchase of fuel below required standards. And today (on Thursday) KIBTEK cut off the electricity for the courts. “This is the situation we are in at the moment,” Esendağlı said.
- It was even too much for Nicos – Greek Cypriot leader Nicos Anastasiades demands an explanation from the Greek Cypriot education minister for the instructions to tear out the pages on Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.
Never-ending ordeal
While there are only eight days of fuel left in KIBTEK’s storage tanks, the court has ordered the halt of purchases from TPIC (Turkish Petroleum International). The debate concerning the quality of fuel used at the Teknecik power plant has gained a new dimension. The head of KIBTEK’s Board of Directors Turan Büyükyılmaz said that there were only eight days of fuel left but pointed the finger of blame for the failure to purchase new fuel at the Central Tender Commission. Büyükyılmaz who spoke to Diyalog said that the fuel will be purchased again from TPIC. Republican Turkish Party (CTP) MP and lawyer Salahi Şahiner on the other hand said that the court has banned the purchase of fuel from TPIC. He said the quality of fuel was bad and that a court injunction had been obtained to halt the purchase of more fuel.
- Baby in good condition – CTP leader Tufan Erhürman’s wife tests positive for Covid-19
- Three people in intensive care – 42-year old Ali Gökhan Demirbilek lost his life in a traffic accident that took place in Küçük Kaymaklı (Khutchuk Kaimakli) in Nicosia.
Oh Asya
Turkish citizens can receive free medical treatment in Cyprus but Turkish Cypriots must pay in Turkey. Asya, who is an SMA patient, was sent to Ankara by the embassy but she has been unable to receive the necessary treatment because she is not a Turkish citizen.
- KIBTEK’s revenge on the judiciary – KIBTEK cut off the power supply to the courts when the Supreme Administrative Court in its verdict stopped fuel oil procurement.
- The book is being withdrawn – Nicos Anastasiades demands an explanation from the Education Ministry on the issue.
Main News
Reactions continue in north over withdrawal of textbooks due to Atatürk
Yenidüzen, Kıbrıs, Havadis, Diyalog, Avrupa
Human Rights
OVERVIEW
Reactions in the north to a decision adopted by the Greek Cypriot education ministry to withdraw an English textbook from schools because it contained a section on Mustafa Kemal Atatürk continued on Thursday.
Social Democratic Party (TDP) leader and a former education minister Cemal Özyiğit described the Greek Cypriot education ministry’s attitude as unacceptable. In a post on social media post, the TDP leader expressed his shock over what he said was an anachronistic mentality.
Nonetheless, Özyiğit also recalled that the Turkish Ambassador in north Nicosia had also talked about “rewriting the history books.” “They think that they can change history by tearing out pages or by adding new ones. Chauvinism and nationalism across the divide feed each other,” Özyiğit argued, adding that it will neither be possible to change the Turkish Cypriots’ identity by changing the history books nor will anyone succeed in hiding the fact that Mustafa Kemal Atatürk was a world leader.
National Unity Party (UBP) General Secretary Oğuzhan Hasipoğlu on Thursday said the Greek Cypriot education ministry’s decision is the latest example of the Greek Cypriot side’s hostility towards the Turkish Cypriots.
In a statement issued from the UBP, Hasipoğlu, quoting Mustafa Kemal Atatürk’s words “peace at home – peace in the world,” said, “a mentality that displays hostility and enmity towards Atatürk cannot be healthy.”
“The world must comprehend the fact that it is not possible to find a fair and equitable agreement with such a mentality,” he argued, urging the Greek Cypriot side to focus on teaching Atatürk to future generations.
Turkish Cypriot Teachers’ Union (KTÖS) also condemned the Greek Cypriot education ministry over its decision on Thursday. In a statement issued, KTÖS reminded the Greek Cypriot administration that human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, rule of law and respect for human rights are shared principles by EU member states.
It added it is every member state’s responsibility to include these principles in their education policies. “Thus, it is outright unacceptable for the education ministry of an EU-member state to make such a scandalous decision,” the statement read, adding that tearing out pages from a book is the result of a fascist and totalitarian mentality that is doomed to be buried in history.
Meanwhile, the Turkish Cypriot foreign ministry refuted claims made by a Greek Cypriot MP claiming that the pages in the books sent to the Greek Cypriot school in Dipkarpaz (Risokarpaso) are being subject to similar forms of censorship.
In a statement issued on Thursday, the ministry argued that the Greek Cypriot officials are trying to deceive the public by directing their racist acts unto the Turkish Cypriot side. Rejecting the claims of displaying a similar attitude towards the books sent for the Greek Cypriot school in the north, the ministry said: “We are faced with an administration trying to inject racism in their future generations.”
Tatar: “The only model is a two-state solution”
Yenidüzen, Kıbrıs, Havadis, Diyalog, Avrupa
Negotiations Process
OVERVIEW
Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar on Thursday reiterated his known position in favour of a two-state solution on the island.
In his address of the symposium entitled “The Aegean and Problems of Neighbourly Relations with Greece” in İzmir, Turkey, Tatar said the two-state solution based on the equality of the two sides is the most realistic and the feasible model for a settlement on the island.
Touching on the importance of Cyprus for Turkey in the Eastern Mediterranean region, Tatar stressed Turkey is always a party to the Cyprus problem as a guarantor nation. “Turkey’s presence on the island must continue to prevent a repetition of the situation in the Aegean in the Eastern Mediterranean,” Tatar said, arguing against a federal solution.
He said a federal settlement that aimed at establishing a unitary state with single sovereignty would allow the majority rule of Greek Cypriots over Turkish Cypriots. Tatar also said that the Cyprus problem had become more complicated when the Greek Cypriot side was allowed to join the EU even though the majority of the Greek Cypriots had rejected the Annan Plan.
“The fact that the Greek Cypriot administration is regarded as the sole authority on the island, the EU decisions and the UN resolutions have resulted in making the Cyprus problem impossible to solve,” Tatar argued, reiterating that the federal solution aimed at cutting off Turkish Cypriots’ ties with Turkey.
Tatar noted following his election to office, he has put forth a new solution vision in close cooperation and with support from Ankara. “We tell the entire world that the only solution on the island could be a two-state solution based on sovereign equality and their co-existence side-by-side,” Tatar said, adding that the imposition of a bizonal, bicommunal federal (BBF) settlement is in no way acceptable.
He also argued that the Greek Cypriot side has not given up on its goals of transforming Cyprus into a Greek island.
Tatar said that the Greek Cypriot leader Nicos Anastasiades often referred to Cyprus as a ‘Helen island’ in his speeches given during national days. “Turkey as the regional power and as a guarantor nation on Cyprus has done everything to protect the rights of the Turkish Cypriots,” Tatar said, adding that the Turkish Cypriots will continue with their struggle knowing that Ankara is supporting them.
“Cyprus problem is an international issue and not a conflict between the Turkish and Greek Cypriots,” Tatar said, reiterating the need for continuation of Turkey’s effective guarantees on the island.
KEY ACTORS
Tatar
>> Two-state solution most realistic option on the island.
>> Turkey’s continued presence is vital to prevent a repetition of the situation in the Aegean.
>> Cyprob has become more complicated with the GC side’s EU membership. EU & UN resolutions make the solution of Cyprob impossible.
>> Imposition of a BBF settlement not acceptable.
>> Cyprob is not only a conflict between TCs & GCs but an international issue as well.
Three people seeking asylum stuck in Cyprus’s buffer zone
Yenidüzen
Migration and Citizenship
OVERVIEW
It’s been 107 days since three asylum seekers from Cameroon’s English-speaking minority who tried to cross over to the south from the north were stranded in the UN-controlled buffer zone. The three’s request for asylum has been turned down by Republic of Cyprus (RoC) authorities and the three Cameroonians remain trapped in the buffer zone, protected by the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, but living in tents and at the mercy of others’ goodwill.
They have been living in tents awaiting news under the shade of a strip of trees planted along a thin gravel strip barely a metre wide.
Deniz Altıok from the Refugee Rights’ Association told Yenidüzen that the asylum seekers did not want to return to the north out of fear they will be deported. Altıok said that they were doing all they could in meeting the needs of the three individuals.
She complained that authorities on both sides of the divide were not doing anything and were ignoring the situation. “They do not want to return to their country because of the conflict. They are literally stranded in no man’s land and their situation is difficult particularly now that winter is approaching,” Altıok said.
She added that the RoC was obligated under international law and treaties it has signed to accept asylum applications. “In the north, the situation is worse because there is no legal framework. Such people are faced with the risk of being deported back to their countries where their freedoms and lives are in danger,” Altıok said.
Hilmi Tekoğlu from the Strengthening Asylum in Cyprus project said that the south needed to grant the three Cameroonians asylum. “Failure to do so will result in their deportation back to their country,” he said, pointing to the absence of a legal framework in the north to deal with such refugees and migrants.
The head of the Turkish Cypriot Human Rights Foundation Emine Çolak told the daily that the asylum application of the three must be accepted if they meet the necessary criteria.