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Cyprus PIO: Turkish Press and Other Media, 06-06-06

Cyprus Press and Information Office: Turkish Cypriot Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next Article

From: The Republic of Cyprus Press and Information Office Server at <http://www.pio.gov.cy/>

TURKISH PRESS AND OTHER MEDIA No.107/06 06.06.06

[A] NEWS ITEMS

  • [01] The Turkish Foreign Ministry among the investors at occupied Vokolida.
  • [02] Experts in the occupied areas of Cyprus see introducing the Euro as the solution for the excessive rise of the exchange rate.
  • [03] European Parliamentary Groups to visit occupied Cyprus.
  • [04] AFRIKA challenges the Turkish generals in Cyprus to deny involvement in the bomb attacks against it.
  • [05] Cost of living up by two percent last month in the occupied areas.
  • [06] Two citizens of Uzbekistan tried to pass to the free areas using passports that belong to other people.
  • [07] OIC Secretary General to Russia for a four-day official visit.
  • [08] The Deputy to the US National Security Advisor, Mr J.D. Crouch, visited Turkey on an one-day trip.
  • [B] COMMENTARIES, EDITORIALS AND ANALYSIS

  • [09] Columnist in Turkish Daily News challenges Mr Talat on Varosha.

  • [A] NEWS ITEMS

    [01] The Turkish Foreign Ministry among the investors at occupied Vokolida

    Under the title Buildings are springing up at occupied Vokolida, Turkish Cypriot daily YENI DUZEN newspaper (06.06.06) reports that the occupied area of Vokolida will be transformed into a paradise tourist centre, with the Turkish Foreign Ministry, among the investors.

    The Chairman of the Union of Vokolida Tourism Investors, Mr Gurel Inan, said that the infrastructure work has been undertaken by Turkish Republic Aid Mission. Among the infrastructural projects will be construction of a desalination project and an electricity power station.

    The newspaper reports that the construction of the hotel complex, which has started two years ago and still is in progress, is expected to be completed in 2008. According to Mr Gurel Inan, the total hotel capacity will be 12,500 beds.

    The first hotel is expected to open in September 2006 under the name Kaya Artemis Resort.

    The complex will include 11 units for the total of 450 million dollars. Each hotel approximately is to cost 40 million dollars, while the capacity of each will be between 1000-1500 beds.

    The paper publishes the table of the names of the hotel investors, and the total amount to be spent per investor. The list of the investors and their amount to contribute is as follows:

    Parcel No. Investors Name Investment Worth ($)

    EKSEN Projects Tourism Construction and Trade 40.000.000

    (EKSEN Proje 0naat Turizm ve Tic.A.^)

    3 KARPAZ Tourism and Trade Ltd, Çank1r1 Building and Trade 40.000.000

    (KARPAZ Tur.Tic.Ltd. Çank1r1 int tic.)

    4 GÖÇTUR Investment Cyprus 38.000.000

    (GÖÇTUR K1br1s Yat. Ltd)

    5 KAYA Tourism Installations 50.000.000

    (KAYA Tur. Tesisleri Titreyengöl Otelcilik A.^)

    6 ^0M^EKLER Building and Tourism Ltd 40.000.000

    (^0M^EKLER 0n. Ve Tur. Taah. T1c.^ti. (limak a..)

    7 ETKEN Tourism Industries 29.000.000

    (ETKEN Tur. 0n. San.ve T1c.Ltd.)

    8 Turkish Foreign Ministry (700 bed capacity) .................

    (T.C Diileri Bakanl11 700 yatak)

    9 ADA Cyprus Ltd 40.000.000

    (ADA K1br1s Ltd.)

    (S. Valley Ltd (al1 Çakmakta) 8.000.000

    12 Turinta Turism Ltd. (koçol1 a..) 40.000.000

    (Turinta Tur. Ltd. (koçol1 a..)

    10-13-14 Eren Talu 80.000.000

    (Eren Talu)

    (M/L)

    [02] Experts in the occupied areas of Cyprus see introducing the Euro as the solution for the excessive rise of the exchange rate

    Under the banner front-page title The agenda is Euro, Turkish Cypriot daily KIBRIS newspaper (06.06.06) refers to the excessive rise of the exchange rates of the foreign currencies and writes that according to experts in the occupied areas of Cyprus, introducing Euro is the solution to this problem.

    The chairman of the Cyprus-EU Association, Ali Erel has said that the time to end using the Turkish lira, which caused many deep economic and democratic wounds in the occupied areas of Cyprus, came since a long time ago. Mr Erel expressed the opinion that the Turkish Cypriots must introduce the Euro as their currency without further delay. He pointed out that the fluctuation of the exchange rates will reach more serious dimensions and the crisis will grow.

    Furthermore, economist Necdet Ergun said that introducing the Euro is a political decision and has nothing to do with nationalism. Noting that they must look at the issue from the economic point of view, Mr Ergun described the use of the Turkish lira in the occupied areas of Cyprus as economic foolishness.

    Expressing the opinion that the politicians in the occupied areas continued using the Turkish lira because they did not want to dishonor motherland Turkey, Mr Ergun added: I did not understand what kind of mother this is. She gives to her child who was born ill in her body, her blood which poisons even herself. I wonder, does our mother not love us?

    The paper writes that the fluctuation of the exchange rates increases. The US dollar was bought for 1.570 Turkish liras yesterday and its selling price increased to 1.605. The prices of other currencies were the following: Euro 2.035 (buying) 2.075 (selling), Sterling 2.960 (buying) 3.00 (selling) and Cyprus pound 3.530 (buying) 3.570 (selling).

    Meanwhile, commenting on the issue, the self-styled Prime Minister of the TRNC (breakaway regime in the occupied areas of the Republic of Cyprus), Ferdi Sabit Soyer said that his self-styled governments long term plan is to introduce the Euro as their currency.

    Responding to reporters questions yesterday morning, Mr Soyer noted that this makes it necessary for government spending to be met by domestic revenues, in other words, as he put it, for the budgetary deficit to be met by domestic revenues.

    Furthermore, Turkish Cypriot daily ORTAM newspaper (06.06.06) reports that while Mr Soyer states that they must introduce the Euro, the self-styled minister of finance, Ahmet Uzun told the Turkish service of BBC that it is not possible for the Turkish Cypriots to stop using the Turkish lira. He said that they receive important financial aid from Turkey and therefore they cannot abandon the Turkish lira and introduce the Euro.

    (I/Ts.)

    [03] European Parliamentary Groups to visit occupied Cyprus

    Illegal Bayrak television (05.06.06) broadcast that the self-styled Prime Minister Ferdi Sabit Soyer has stressed that the Turkish Cypriots will uphold its pro-solution policy aimed at finding a comprehensive settlement to the Cyprus problem.

    Responding to a question concerning the Greek Cypriot press reports about the weekend visit to the TRNC (breakaway regime in the occupied areas of the Republic of Cyprus) by representatives from the European Parliaments socialist group, Mr Soyer said there is nothing strange about the visit, and that other political groups from the European Parliament would soon be in the TRNC for similar contacts.

    Speaking during a visit paid to him today Mr Soyer stated that in the coming days, parliamentary groups from the Liberals, Conservatives, Greens and others will be in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.

    He added that contacts like these at international level would continue.

    Stating that the forces of the status quo in the occupied areas were finally defeated, Prime Minister Soyer expressed the hope that the supporters of the status quo in the free areas of Cyprus will also be defeated.

    Reminding that the Republican Turkish Party will be represented at the Socialist International and attend the socialist group meeting under observer status, Mr Soyer said the efforts to achieve full member status will continue.

    [04] AFRIKA challenges the Turkish generals in Cyprus to deny involvement in the bomb attacks against it

    Turkish Cypriot daily AFR0KA newspaper (06.06.06) writes that the Turkish generals in Cyprus did not deny that they carried out bomb attacks against its offices and journalists. AFRIKA addresses a question to the General Staff asking them if these allegations are true.

    The paper writes that the claims which were published in a magazine in Turkey that there was A MIT (National Intelligence Organization) finger regarding the attack at the Council of State were denied. However, the claims regarding the generals relations with the bombs at AFRIKA remained unanswered by the officials of the army, therefore the suspicions against the generals are increased.

    The paper also writes that the silence on the part of the Generals who are under suspicion makes the public having various questions as regards the issue.

    (C/S)

    [05] Cost of living up by two percent last month in the occupied areas

    Illegal Bayrak television (05.06.06) broadcast that the cost of living has gone up by two percent over the last month.

    The figures released by the State Planning Organization today mean that the annual rate of inflation has reached 9.5 percent.

    [06] Two citizens of Uzbekistan tried to pass to the free areas using passports that belong to other people

    Turkish Cypriot daily AFRIKA newspaper (06.06.06) reports that two persons who are citizens of Uzbekistan (Yusubek Akramov, male, 50 years old and Mirorif Ortikov, male, 47 years old) and live in the TRNC (breakaway regime in the occupied areas of the Republic of Cyprus) were arrested by the self-styled police at the Ayios Dhometios check point while trying to pass to south Cyprus using passports which did not belong to them. Two more persons of Georgian citizenship, (Ruben Karagulyan, male ,52 years old who owns a car with the registration numbers ENM 196 and Mikhail Baliev, male 49 years old) who live in north Cyprus and who are the ones who have given to the two Uzbeks the passports, were also arrested by the police.

    [07] OIC Secretary General to Russia for a four-day official visit

    Turkish ZAMAN on line version newspaper (05.06.06) reported that the Secretary General of the Organization of the Islamic Conference Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu has begun a four-day official visit to the Russian Federation upon an invitation from the Russian Government.

    The OIC Secretary-General will meet with senior Russian officials to discuss hot international issues such as developments in the Palestinian question, the situation in Iraq and new developments in the Iranian nuclear dossier.

    The meetings will also deal with issues of common concern given that Russia joined the OIC as an Observer Member State at the last OIC Ministerial Conference held last year in Sana'a.

    The visit takes importance from the weight of the Russian Federation in the international arena as a permanent member of the UN Security Council and as a member of the Quartet. Russia also presides over the Council of Europe for the first time and is preparing to host the G8 Summit. Its OIC Observer Status and the fact that important Muslim communities live inside the Russian Federation, give the OIC- Moscow consultations an added importance.

    [08] The Deputy to the US National Security Advisor, Mr J.D. Crouch, visited Turkey on an one-day trip

    Turkish daily HURRIYET newspaper (05.06.06) reported that Mr J.D. Crouch, deputy to US National Security Advisor, Stephen Hadley, yesterday paid an one-day working visit to Ankara. Crouch met with Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Ali Tuygan and National Security Council (NSC) Secretary-General Yigit Alpogan and discussed Iraqs security, Turkish-US relations and the Iranian nuclear dispute.

    After meeting with Tuygan, Crouch told a press conference that US President George W. Bush made a very important decision last week and put a very sincere proposal on the table to the Iranian leadership. Stressing that the incentive package offered would benefit Iranians, Crouch expressed hope for a positive response from Tehran. He said once the proposal is accepted, then all the relevant sides could sit at the negotiating table and bring diplomatic solutions to the problem.


    [B] COMMENTARIES, EDITORIALS AND ANALYSIS

    [09] Columnist in Turkish Daily News challenges Mr Talat on Varosha

    Under the title: Varosha scenarios Turkish Daily News newspaper (06.06.06) publishes the following editorial by Yusuf Kanli:

    Despite roasting temperatures -- nothing atypical in June on Cyprus -- it appears there is no letup in Cyprus diplomacy. Turkish Cypriot President Mehmet Ali Talat is expected to meet with his Greek Cypriot counterpart, Tassos Papadopoulos, in July. Pressures are mounting on Ankara to comply with the customs union additional protocol and open its ports and airports to the Greek Cypriots. Talat is warning that such a development would lead to a crisis. Europe is warning that failure to comply with that would lead to a crisis in Turkish accession talks. Many Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots have started seeing partition and a two-state resolution on Cyprus as inevitable.

    There is a live debate on Cyprus. One major subject of debate is the Varosha issue. Back on Feb. 25 of this year, we wrote that time perhaps has come to make some moves on the Varosha issue so that we can leave behind the stalemate on Cyprus, which we are afraid, is doomed to land Turkey's European Union membership process in a major crisis in October -- if by then we manage to at least get a new exercise under way for resolution of the more than four-decade-old intractable problem of power sharing between two peoples of the eastern Mediterranean island.

    We should underline, as we did in our Feb. 25 article, that what we wrote was a "suggestion" by a "Turkish Cypriot intellectual" who is very much committed to a resolution of the Cyprus problem through negotiations and on the basis of political equality of the two peoples of the island and in no way reflected any official consideration in Ankara or northern Cyprus.

    That article, however, triggered an intensive debate on the Varosha issue, particularly amongst the Greek Cypriot side, and drew much attention in the international Cyprus peacemaking diplomatic army. Among the Turks and Turkish Cypriots involved in the Cyprus peacemaking efforts, however, we were accused indeed of "leaking water into ears" and "bringing to the forefront an issue we would not like to discuss now." I did not take such remarks so seriously, knowing that some efforts were indeed under way, but that was the official position of Ankara and northern Cyprus on the issue.

    Subtitle: What was our suggestion?

    Thus, in the Feb. 25 article we suggested a three-phase approach to the Varosha issue.

    1. Renewal of the infrastructure of the district through a fund created by the Turkish government with the contributions of a prominent organization bringing together all the top brass of Turkish industry and the business community.

    2. Following the renewal of the region's infrastructure, the former Greek Cypriot residents could be invited to resettle and they could be offered cheap loans to renovate their residences and workplaces, while hotels could be handed back to their pre-1974 owners irrespective of whether they are the property of Greek Cypriots or international hotel chains.

    3. Transferring the region's local security to the United Nations, while the area remains under Turkish Cypriot sovereignty, pending an overall settlement to the Cyprus problem.

    Now for the past two days we have again been back in Cyprus for talks with Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot politicians and to feel the pulse of the two communities.

    As we observed two months ago during a short trip to both sides of the island, we have observed that the Varosha discussion is still continuing and indeed has accelerated. While two months ago, the discussion in southern Cyprus was more or less confined to the Turkish Daily News editorial under the incorrect assumption that it reflected a new approach of the Turkish Foreign Ministry, we have now seen that they at least have three other alternate Varosha scenarios.

    According to the first two scenarios, while the Turkish Cypriot side keeps on stressing that Varosha could be discussed as part and parcel of an overall settlement on the island, by September north Cyprus may declare a phased opening of the district to Greek Cypriot settlement under its sovereignty pending the outcome of the peace talks. Electricity, water and other of the region's municipal infrastructure would be renewed by the Turkish Cypriot government. Greek Cypriots willing to return to Varosha will have to apply to a Turkish Cypriot land commission and give up their claim to be compensated for the period they were denied to make use of their former properties in the north. In a three-year period all Varosha districts -- except a few streets, directly adjacent to Turkish Cypriot inhabited areas -- will be opened to Greek Cypriot resettlement. A third scenario, on the other hand, underlines that besides the opening of Varosha, the Turkish Cypriot side may open five more Greek Cypriot former habitations -- empty villages on or adjacent to the buffer zone in the Famagusta area -- to Greek Cypriot resettlement along the lines explained above.

    How realistic are these scenarios? Knowing the speculative nature of Greek Cypriot journalism, we doubt the accuracy of these reports. However, as we have information that some work is being done regarding the Varosha issue behind closed doors and in transatlantic Cyprus dialogue between the U.N. Secretariat, Washington, London, Ankara and Athens, we cannot totally discard them, either.

    Perhaps we may have an answer on these issues from Turkish Cypriot President Mehmet Ali Talat

    /SK


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