TRNC News Today 28^th April 2015

Akıncı: “My vision is the vision of my people so it must be respected”

Mustafa Akıncı who has been elected as the President of the TRNC stated that he has taken 60% of votes and his vision is the vision of his people and it must be respected.

Akıncı has taken his certificate of election with a ceremony organized at the High Court of Justice Council yesterday. Akıncı wished the result of the election to be beneficial for the Turkish Cypriot people and said that they made a serious contribution to the democratic process together with 7 candidates. “The people elected me. I will work with all of my power” Akıncı added.

Answering the questions of journalists after the ceremony, Akıncı said regarding the criticism of President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdoğan towards himself: “Motherland – Baby land love must be in the hearts”.

Akıncı continued his speech saying: “There is an entity as the TRNC. The Turkish Republic recognizes this. This entity has its institutions and President. Two states are being discussed. We should be in a relationship as brothers/sisters, not a relationship of a motherland and her child. The Turkish Cypriot community should stand on its own feet so that it can be more powerful within the federal structure and the EU. Such a brotherhood relation will also be good for Turkey.”

Furthermore, stating that he has reiterated his views during the campaign process, Akıncı indicated that he envisages a solution oriented policy.

As an answer to a question regarding meeting with the Greek Cypriot leader Nikos Anastasiades, Akıncı said “The date and place of the meeting has not been decided yet. UN Secretary General’s Special Advisor on Cyprus – Espen Barth Eide is coming to the island on 4^th May. He has announced that he wants to meet with me. When he arrives in Cyprus, we will talk of how we can continue the negotiation process. It is possible to meet during a social dinner but the date is not definite yet”.

Congratulations from Turkey and other countries

Congratulation messages from Turkey and other countries were sent to Mustafa Akıncı who won the Presidential election.

President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Prime Minister of Turkey Ahmet Davutoğlu, and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu sent their congratulation messages to Akıncı via the Turkish Embassy in Lefkoşa.

It was stated that President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdoğan made a phone call to Akıncı yesterday morning and congratulated him.

Furthermore, 11th President of Turkey – Abdullah Gül, President of Turkish Grand National Assembly – Cemil Çiçek, CHP leader – Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, HDP co-presidents Figen Yüksekdağ and Selahattin Demirtaş, former president of Turkish Grand National Assembly – Hikmet Çetin, Turkish Ambassador to Lefkoşa Halil İbrahim Akça, US Ambassador to South Cyprus – John Koenig, British High Commissioner – Damian Roderick (Ric) Todd, EU Chief for Turkish Cypriot community aid desk – Alessandra Viezzer, DISI Leader – Averof Neophytou and Independent Presidential candidate – Kudret Özersay made a phone call to Akıncı and congratulated him.

The US congratulated Mustafa Akıncı

The United States congratulated Mustafa Akıncı on his election as Turkish Cypriot President and look forward to working with him. The congratulatory message came on Monday in a press release issued by the US Embassy in Nicosia. “We welcome Mr. Akıncı’s April 26 statement that he is ready to move forward with UN-facilitated talks to reunite Cyprus. 2015 can be a year of ‘significant and lasting’ progress towards a Cyprus settlement, as Secretary Kerry recently stated.” “We encourage all parties to work closely with the UN Special Advisor on Cyprus – Espen Barth Eide to resume talks in an intensified and results-oriented manner, based on the February 11, 2014 joint declaration.”

Iran Ambassador to South Cyprus Reza Zabib congratulated Mustafa Akıncı

In a phone call, Iran Ambassador to South Cyprus Reza Zabib congratulated newly-elected President of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, Mustafa Akinci.

According to the statement of Akıncı’s Office, Zabib called Akıncı personally and congratulated him as the new TRNC President.

Swearing-in ceremony will be held at the TRNC Assembly on Thursday

The new President – Mustafa Akıncı will attend a swearing-in ceremony at the TRNC Assembly on Thursday. Election results will be published on Wednesday in the official journal and according to the rule; the TRNC Assembly will gather for the swearing of the new President – Mustafa Akıncı the following day on Thursday at 16:00.

Akinci who is elected with 60.4% of the votes at the second round of the election will start his duty officially after the handover ceremony which will be held at 17:30 at the Presidency.

There will be some politicians invited from Turkey at the handing over ceremony. Turkey’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu is also expected to participate in the handing over ceremony as a representative of Turkey.

EU welcomes the result of the election and demands the resumption of the Cyprus negotiations

The European Commission welcomes the result of the Presidential election which was held in the TRNC. Giving an interview to Anadolu Agency, the Speaker of the EU Commission – Natasha Bertaud said “The commission welcomes the election result”.

Bertaud added “Hopefully, newly elected TRNC President Mustafa Akinci and Greek Cypriot leader will restart the negotiations as soon as possible in order to find a just and viable comprehensive solution to the long-lasting Cyprus problem”.

At the Presidential election held on 26 April, Mustafa Akinci received 60.4% of the votes and became the new President, on the other hand the former President Dr. Derviş Eroğlu received 39.6% of the votes.

The comprehensive solution negotiations which have been continuing since 2008 discontinuously were halted in October when the Greek Cypriot side left the negotiating table on the pretext that Turkey sent a vessel to the region where the Greek Cypriot side were making unilateral drilling studies.

ECO Tourism workshop has started in Girne

Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) Tourism workshop has started in Girne. The workshop will continue between the dates of April 28-30.

This workshop has a great importance for our country within the context of its efficiency at ECO. Concrete cooperation possibilities in the tourism sector in the region of ECO will be discussed in the workshop. Representatives of the ECO Secretariat, official representatives from the member states, investors and representatives of the tourism sector are participating in the workshop.

The Workshop, which has started with a speech by Foreign Minister Özdil Nami, will be composed of 7 different sessions regarding tourism. Authorities of the Ministry of Tourism, related associations and trade bodies, academicians from various universities of the country and OEC Secretariat members will make presentations to participants within the framework of sessions.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Özdil Nami made a statement at the opening session of the ECO Workshop on Tourism in Girne

Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) Workshop on Tourism has started in Girne. The workshop will continue between the dates April 28-30. Minister of Foreign Affairs Özdil Nami made a statement at the opening session of the Workshop on Tourism. His statement is as follows:

“Mr Deputy Secretary-General,

Honourable Speakers,

Distinguished Guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is my great pleasure to welcome you all at this important event, “Workshop on Tourism” organized by the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) and jointly hosted by the Republic of Turkey and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.

It is indeed an honour for us to host this important ECO activity in our country. I would like to extend our sincere thanks and deep appreciation to H.E. Mr. Shamil Aleskerov, the Secretary-general of the Economic Cooperation Organization and his able staff for the kind contributions and sincere assistance provided to our team during the preparation period of this workshop. I also would like to extend our thanks to our distinguished participants from the brotherly member states of Republic of Turkey, Republic of Azerbaijan, Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Kyrgyz Republic, Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, as well as the distinguished participants from our relevant institutions whose knowledge and experience will no doubt make this workshop a great success.

Distinguished guests,

Northern Cyprus has been participating in the Organization’s activities and events since 1992. In 2012, the Turkish Cypriot state was granted observer status and was given the chance to contribute and benefit from improving relations with the member countries. We believe that there is a great potential for cooperation amongst ECO member states, particularly in the fields of trade, tourism and education, and in this respect we expect that the solidarity extended by ECO to the Turkish Cypriot people will be further consolidated in the years to come. North Cyprus has hosted three ECO events in the past. These events include the workshops on “Air and Water Pollution Control” in August 1998, “the Management of the Wastewater and Cleansing Technology” in May 2004, and the “1st ECO University Sport Games” in April 2013.

I am confident that this workshop will significantly contribute to the development of stronger ties between the member countries and will further strengthen the solidarity and cooperation between the Turkish Cypriot people and the peoples of the brotherly member states of the Economic Cooperation Organization.

Distinguished guests,

The tourism sector in our country offers a lot with our island’s natural beauty, cultural and historical heritage. There are 133 holiday establishments with an overall bed capacity of nearly twenty thousand. In addition to a wide range of accommodation from five star luxury hotels and holiday villages, North Cyprus offers many special interest tourism opportunities, including golfing, diving, historical site visits, trekking and cycling and eco-tourism.

According to statistics in 2014, nearly 1.5 million tourists came to our country via air and sea ports of Northern Cyprus. Also in 2014, 800,000 tourists were accommodated in the hotels of our country.

In line with the ECO objectives which put forward tourism as an important area of cooperation to be explored and developed for the benefit of member states, we strongly believe that our country is an ideal holiday destination for our brothers and sisters from ECO member states. We hope to form or further strengthen our already existing ties in fields of tourism in a mutually beneficial manner and to promote tourism between our countries in both ways.

Our country is also emerging as a centre of higher education and a prominent holiday destination in the Eastern Mediterranean market.

I am pleased to announce that about 6,000 of our students are from ECO member countries, mostly from Pakistan, Iran, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan. It is our primary objective to increase the collaboration and interaction between ECO countries and our universities even further in the coming years.

Mr. Deputy Secretary-general,

Honourable Speakers,

Distinguished Guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

As you may all know, still today, the all-embracing isolation continues to be a harsh reality in the daily lives of all Turkish Cypriots, impeding their development in all fields of life. No doubt, the continued isolation imposed upon the Turkish Cypriot people is not only unjustified and unlawful, but also a blatant violation of the United Nations charter. As a matter of fact, the Turkish Cypriots are kept hostage to the Cyprus problem, particularly in view of the fact that they have repeatedly proved their sincerity and commitment for a compromise settlement in Cyprus.

Therefore, in the absence of a comprehensive settlement in the island, we are expecting all member states of ECO to take concrete steps towards ending the isolation of the Turkish Cypriot people. Such a move will also be in line with the statements of the then UN Secretary General, H.E. Mr. Kofi Annan, who, in his report to the Security Council dated 28 May 2004 (s/2004/437), called upon the international community to “cooperate both bilaterally and in international bodies to eliminate the unnecessary restrictions and barriers that have the effect of isolating the Turkish Cypriots and impeding their development, deeming such a move as consistent with Security Council resolutions 541 (1983) and 550 (1984) (para. 93)”. Furthermore, the current Secretary-general of the United Nations, H.E. Mr. Ban ki-moon stated in his latest report (s/2015/17) on Cyprus that “the removal of restrictions and barriers that impede the economic development of the Turkish Cypriot community will promote trust,” and that “such a development will help to address the isolation concerns of the Turkish Cypriots.” The UN Secretary-general also stated in his report that “encouraging trade can only have a positive effect on the objective of reunification.”

Hosting ECO events in the Turkish Cypriot side will no doubt help our people to overcome difficulties endured in all aspects of their lives. I sincerely believe that this workshop, among all, will prove to be an invaluable event in respect of strengthening the solidarity and cooperation between the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus and the brotherly member states.

Mr. Chairman,

Mr. Deputy – Secretary General,

Honourable Speakers,

Distinguished Delegates,

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Finally, I would like to stress the importance of the negotiation process on the island which will soon resume between the Turkish Cypriot and the Greek Cypriot sides. As the Turkish Cypriot side, we remain fully committed to the comprehensive settlement of the Cyprus issue in the shortest possible time under the UN Secretary General’s mission of good offices and on the basis of the joint statement dated 11 February 2014 which constitutes the framework for a future settlement. Solution of the Cyprus problem, will no doubt, foster our cooperation in tourism with the ECO member countries.

I welcome you once again and hope that you will all enjoy your stay in our country.

Thank you.”

Extraordinary Meeting at CTP-BG

CTP-BG Party Assembly has taken a decision to hold an extraordinary meeting on 14 June 2015. According to the decision of the party assembly, general president of the party will be elected. Serious discussions were made between those who want early ordinary meeting and the ones who want extraordinary meeting. Following the meeting which continued for 4 hours, the leader of CTP-BG – Özkan Yorgancıoğlu left the party centre without making any statement and the decision was announced by General Secretary of CTP-BG – Kutlay Erk. (Havadis newspaper)

US State Department committed to peace process for Cyprus solution

US State Department Spokesman Jeff Rathke has reiterated his government`s long standing commitment to the peace process in Cyprus under UN auspices and its willingness “to assist in any way that the parties would find useful.”

Rathke was asked for his reaction to new Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci`s electoral victory on Sunday in North Cyprus. “We congratulate Mustafa Akinci on his election as the leader of the Turkish Cypriot community”, he said.

He added that “we continue to support the negotiation process conducted under the auspices of the United Nations and Special Negotiator Eide, and to reunify the island as a bi-zonal and bi-communal federation.”

Rathke further reiterated “our willingness to assist in any way that the parties would find useful.”

Replying to a question as to whether US Secretary of State John Kerry has spoken to Akinci he said he has “no calls to read out from that.”

“Our commitment to the peace process is long standing, and the Secretary of course had a couple of opportunities to talk about that when he met with the foreign ministers of Greece and of Turkey”, he noted replying to another question.

“We look forward to working with Mustafa Akinci in his capacity as the leader of the Turkish Cypriot community”, he concluded.

UN on developments in Turkish Cypriot side

The UN take note of the election and are always hopeful once the election season is done that we will have in place governments that are willing to talk to each other and willing to finally resolve the situation in Cyprus.

This was stated by Deputy UN SG`s Spokesman Farhan Haq when asked to comment on the election that took place in North Cyprus with Turkish Cypriot politician Mustafa Akinci winning a runoff election on Sunday with over 60.5% of the votes, against outgoing Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu who got 39.5%.

Haq recalled that UNSG`s Special Advisor for Cyprus – Espen Barth Eide had been meeting with the parties repeatedly and he is talking about his hopes that the parties are willing to deal with each other seriously and resolve their decades old disputes.

`We will have to see where we go with that and of course we welcome the efforts by the new governments to meet with each other and to reach agreement on key issues` he went on to say.

Asked if there will be any statement from the Secretary-General, Haq said that at present `we take note of the election, I don’t have a statement as such but we are always welcome of anything, of any development that indicates greater willingness to move forward`.