TRNC News Today 21^st September 2015

Türkeş to visit TRNC today

Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey Yıldırım Tuğrul Türkeş will visit the TRNC today.

Türkeş will be received by President Mustafa Akıncı and Prime Minister Ömer Kalyoncu.

Türkeş will attend a lunch given by Prime Minister Kalyoncu and then he will meet with the Speaker of the Assembly Sibel Siber.

Later on, Deputy Prime Minister Türkeş will meet with the 2nd President Mehmet Ali Talat and the 3rd President Dr. Derviş Eroğlu separately.

Türkeş will leave the island after attending the dinner in his honour which will be given by the Ambassador of Turkey to Lefkoşa, Derya Kanbay at the Turkish Embassy residence in Lefkosa.

Burcu: “Guarantees will be discussed at the end of the negotiations”

In his statement to BRT regarding the guarantee issue, Presidential Spokesman Barış Burcu said that as they explained many times before, the Guarantee Agreement will be on the table at the end of the negotiation process. Burcu’s statement is as follows.

“The signatory parties of the international agreements should be around the table. This issue is a matter to be negotiated and agreed between Turkey, Greece, UK and the Turkish and Greek Cypriot communities at the final stage of the negotiations. We do not find it appropriate to make any statement about the future of the guarantees until that stage is reached.”

The Assigned Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Şefik sworn in today

Narin Ferdi Şefik who was assigned as the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, was sworn in at the Presidency today.

The Supreme Judicial Council assigned Şefik to this position after the retirement of Şafak Öneri due to the age limit.

Şefik officially started her new duty after the swearing-in ceremony in the presence of President Mustafa Akıncı.

Akıncı is informing non-governmental organizations tomorrow

President Mustafa Akıncı will inform non-governmental organizations in a meeting entitled “Dialogue and Cooperation Meeting with the Civil Society” regarding the on-going negotiations at Lefkoşa Atatürk Cultural Centre tomorrow at 10:00.

Akıncı also informed the members of parliament in a special session in the TRNC Assembly on 17 September 2015.

“Republic of Cyprus” is characterized as “Banana Republic”

Greek Cypriot daily Politis reported that the Greek Cypriots are not happy with the so called “Republic of Cyprus” and almost half of them characterized the Republic as a banana republic, according to the survey conducted throughout South Cyprus by Nicosia University between 9-11 September.

According to the survey; while 41% of the participants characterized the “Republic of Cyprus” as a “Banana Republic”, 50% assessed the Republic as being “semi democratic” and having an “authoritarian political system.”

According to the news; the participants marked the democracy 5.3 out of 10 and South Cyprus was placed as 73rd among 167 countries in the world in terms of democracy. 92% of the participants stated that they prefer the democratic system rather than the other regimes. While 53% of the participants stated that the Republic of Cyprus has lots of problems and deficiencies, the other 33% mentioned the Republic’s success.

The participants expressed that the most democratic period was the presidency of Tasos Papadopulos and the worst period in terms of democracy was the presidency of Dimitris Hristofyas.

Pilidis: “Future in Cyprus will be better after a solution”

President of Greek Cypriot Chamber of Trade and Industry Fidias Pilidis said that the future in Cyprus will be better after a solution.

Greek Cypriot daily Alithia noted that in his speech, Pilidis stated that the status quo in Cyprus cannot be accepted for both communities in the island that is why the reunification is needed as soon as possible in Cyprus.

Pointing out that in the case of a solution in Cyprus, Turkey and Greece will also gain economic advantages, Pilidis predicted that Gross Domestic Product will be double in 20 years after a solution.

Furthermore, mentioning the documentary entitled “Ghost Airport of Divided Capital” shown during an activity at the European Parliament, Pilidis said that this documentary is a symbolic documentary which shows that the status quo in Cyprus cannot be accepted.

A great number of human remains found during NORATLAS excavations

A great number of human remains have been found at the Greek Military Cemetery during the excavations carried out in order to find the NORATLAS type transport plane which was shot down by the Greek National Army by mistake during the Peace Operation.

Greek Cypriot daily Politis and the other newspapers reported that the human remains found are in good condition.

Concert by Livaneli and Farantouri

Zülfü Livaneli from Turkey and Maria Farantouri from Greece took the stage at the “Peace and Reunification” concert held within the framework of 1 September World Peace Day activities.

Thousands of Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots watched the concert held the previous night in the buffer zone at Çetinkaya Arena with the organization of PEO from South Cyprus and DEV-İŞ, KTAMS, KTÖS, KTOEÖS, BES, KOOP-SEN from North Cyprus.

Furthermore, Umut Albayrak and Kouils Theodorou from Cyprus accompanied Livaneli and Farantouri during the concert. President Mustafa Akıncı and his wife Meral Akıncı were also present at the concert.