Front Page Headlines
This is all we needed, ‘Adapass fraud’
They issued fake Adapass (safe passes) to individuals in exchange for money to show them as if they were vaccinated. Two people, one of them a police officer was arrested in connection to the incident. The police are searching for eight other individuals believed to be involved.
They forged “AdaPass” safe passes
There is an increase in the number of forgery cases in our country. Making use of the pandemic, some people have turned the situation into ‘opportunity.’ Following the arrests of those who were issuing ‘fake PCR tests,’ this time round the ‘AdaPass’ (safe pass) forgery issue emerged.
- 50,000 flu vaccines and 35,000 pneumonia vaccines needed – Umut Öksüz, head of the Turkish Cypriot Pharmacists Association said.
The goal is to annihilate
While reactions to the granting of TRNC citizenship to the Turkish architect responsible for drawing the plans for the new presidential complex, continue to come in, the head of the Chamber of Civil Engineers Gürkan Yağcıoğlu spoke on Havadis web TV. He pointed out that any construction project must be drawn by a TRNC citizen who is a registered member of KTMMOB (Union of the Chambers of Cyprus Turkish Engineers and Architects). He said this is what the law requires. Yağcıoğlu pointed out that they were repeating the crime which they had committed with the construction of the pandemic hospital, bypassing the law.
- Proposal to return to 1960 becomes official – Greek Cypriot leader Nicos Anastasiades held a 20-minute long meeting with the UN Secretary-General.
- Joint support for the local producers – Five municipalities who are members of Cittaslow will organise a “Cittaslow Sunday” event on September 26 in Yeniboğaziçi (Agios Sergios).
This is a new record
14 political parties are expected to take part in the next TRNC general elections. In addition to the National Unity Party (UBP), the Republican Turkish Party (CTP), the Peoples’ Party (HP), the Democratic Party (DP) and the Rebirth Party (YDP) which currently have seats in parliament, eight more parties, two of them newly formed are expected to take part in the elections. Even though the ruling UBP is currently focused on its party congress, it’s observed that the other parties have already started working for their campaigns. The visit paid to self-exiled UBP MP Hüseyin Özgürgün by DP leader Fikri Ataoğlu during his recent visit to Istanbul has led to new speculations.
The Republic of Cyprus (RoC) agrees to cover Asya’s treatment
The meetings held by Şener Elcil in the south yield positive outcome. Foreign Minister Nicos Christodoulides notified Şener Elcil they are ready to take over Asya’s treatment in the south.
Main News
Tatar thanks Erdoğan for speaking on behalf of TCs at the UNGA address
Yenidüzen, Kıbrıs, Havadis, Diyalog, Avrupa
Negotiations Process
OVERVIEW
Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar on Wednesday thanked Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for voicing the just cause of the Turkish Cypriot community. Asked by reporters in New York to comment on Erdoğan’s address to the UN General Assembly, Tatar said, “Mr Erdoğan became our voice by calling out to the international community.”
He said that the Turkish Cypriot side welcomed the Turkish president’s support to the Turkish Cypriot side’s new vision for a settlement. “As it is known by all, the Turkish Cypriots have not been treated fairly or equally since 1963. The Turkish Cypriot community has been deprived of a voice, subject to inhuman embargoes,” he said.
Tatar added that the Turkish Cypriot community expects the international community and particularly the UN to respect its equal right to express itself freely and equally.
The Turkish Cypriot leader said that he will continue to voice the Turkish Cypriot side’s position during his meetings in New York. “All we want is for the international community to approach our views with an open mind and without prejudice,” said Tatar, adding that all the Turkish Cypriot side expected was for the UN to reinstate the balance between the two communities that was upset in 1964.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, in his speech at the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, spoke of “a realistic approach” to the Cyprus problem and said sovereign equality and the equal international status of the Turkish Cypriots was an essential element for a solution.
He said Turkey supported the Turkish Cypriots’ new vision for the solution of the Cyprus problem and called on the international community to assess these ideas “with an open mind and without prejudice”.
Erdoğan added that it was unfair that only one of the two leaders of “the two peoples” on the island was accepted as equal by the UN and was allowed to address the assembly while the other one could not make his voice heard on the same platform. Anastasiades is due to address the assembly on Friday.
The Turkish president also called for dialogue and cooperation and said Ankara’s proposal for an eastern Mediterranean summit was still on the table. Turkey has been calling for a regional conference with the participation also of the Turkish Cypriot side for all sides to discuss the disputes between them.
Tatar is set to meet with the UN Secretary-General for a face-to-face meeting on Saturday.
In the meantime, Turkish Cypriot Foreign Minister Tahsin Ertuğruloğlu met with the United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs in New York. According to a statement issued by the Turkish Cypriot Foreign Ministry, Ertuğruloğlu shared the Turkish Cypriot side’s views on the Cyprus Issue with DiCarlo.
KEY ACTORS
Tatar
>> The Turkish Cypriot community expects the international community & the UN to respect its equal right to express itself freely and equally.
>> TC side will continue to share its new vision during contacts in NY.
>> TC side expects the international community to keep an open mind & to refrain from prejudice.
Tatar says Greek-GC leadership’s fanaticism continues
Yenidüzen, Kıbrıs, Havadis, Diyalog
Negotiations Process, Human Rights
OVERVIEW
Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar on Wednesday expressed his disappointment over a decision by the Greek Cypriot leader Nicos Anastasiades to call off his meeting with the Greek Orthodox Archbishop of America Elpidoforos because the cleric attended the opening of the Turkish House in New York.
Anastasiades, who is in New York for the 76th UN General Assembly, had been scheduled to meet with Elpidoforos as part of his contacts while in the US.
According to CyBC, the official reason given for the cancellation of the meeting was Anastasiades’ heavy schedule, but reports said it was actually because the archbishop attended the opening on Monday of the Turkish House (Turkevi Center), by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in the presence of Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar.
Elpidoforos is seen in a photo as among the people cutting a ribbon for the opening of the building that will house the Turkish permanent mission to the UN and the Turkish Consulate. Tatar was also among them.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, the Turkish Cypriot leader said that the opening was attended by representatives of the world’s dominant religions, a move that should be applauded in terms of world peace.
He said that the decision to call off the meeting was shocking and a demonstration of Greece’s and the Greek Cypriot side’s intolerance and fanaticism. Tatar said that such actions only served to deepen the lack of trust between the two communities, particularly at a time when efforts were underway to reach a settlement in Cyprus.
“We condemn such unacceptable actions and call on the international community to derive the necessary conclusions,” he said.
In a separate statement issued by his office on Wednesday, Tatar slammed Anastasiades for attempting to portray that informal trilateral meeting on Monday as a formal meeting. He reminded that there can be no official talks before the Turkish Cypriot side’s sovereign equality and international equal status is recognized.
KEY ACTOR
Tatar
>> Decision to call off meeting shocking & a demonstration of Greece’s & GC leadership’s intolerance.
>> Such moves only help deepen mistrust between the communities.
>> No official talks can begin before the TC side’s sovereign equality & equal international status is recognised.
Turkish frigate warns Greek vessel violating continental shelf
Yenidüzen, Kıbrıs, Havadis, Diyalog
External Security, Energy
OVERVIEW
The Oruç Reis frigate warned a Greek vessel attempting to violate Turkey’s continental shelf in the Eastern Mediterranean to stay away. The frigate told the crew on the Greek Nautical Geo vessel that it would interfere in case of a violation.
Turkey issued a navigational telex (Navtex) rejecting one issued by Greece for violating its continental shelf in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea, Turkish Defense Ministry sources said Monday.
Ministry sources also rejected reports by Greek media outlets claiming that Turkish warships were blocking the work of research vessels to map the proposed “EastMed” pipeline.
They noted that some of the vessels entered the Turkish continental shelf without informing authorities. Turkey, which has the longest continental coastline in the Eastern Mediterranean, has rejected the maritime boundary claims of Greece and the Greek Cypriot side, stressing that these excessive claims violate the sovereign rights of both Turkey and the Turkish Cypriots.
Turkish leaders have repeatedly stressed that Ankara is in favour of resolving all outstanding problems in the region through international law, good neighbourly relations, dialogue and negotiation. Turkey has also criticized the European Union’s stance on the Eastern Mediterranean conflict, calling on the bloc to adopt a fair attitude regarding the dispute and give up favouring Greece under the pretext of EU solidarity.
Two arrested for trying to smuggle four people across the divide
Yenidüzen
Migration & Citizenship
OVERVIEW
Two individuals trying to smuggle a group of four from the north to the south were caught by a border patrol in the Akıncılar (Louroujina) area in the early hours of Wednesday, media reports said on Thursday.
According to police, the two individuals had agreed to take the four men to the south across the green line a van in exchange for €60 from each.
The two men were ordered by a court to remain in police custody for another six days until the police concludes their investigation.
An initial investigation revealed that two others were involved. The police are searching for the two.