TRNC News Today 11^th August 2015

Akıncı: “We will work to reach a settlement that can be approved by the people willingly”

Stating that a possible settlement of the Cyprus problem needs to be based on liberty, equality and security, President Mustafa Akıncı said: “We will work to reach a settlement that can be approved by the people willingly.”

Stating that the tragic events in Cyprus did not start in 1974 and they date back to before 1974, President Mustafa Akıncı said at the reception of Cyprus Turkish Businessmen Association: “Such events happened in 1963 and the 1950s as well. All these make up our recent history. The important thing is to take lessons from these events while shaping the future. Both sides have suffered.”

Akıncı said: “I am underlining three issues. The first is our liberty, the second is our equality, and the third is our security. A possible settlement must be based on these three elements. I do not want these only for my community. I want these for the other community as well.” Stating that these would be possible only with the UN parameters, Akıncı said that this structure is very clear.

Pointing out that they will talk about the guarantor powers in the end, and that agreements of guarantee are international, Akıncı said that they will discuss this issue as well when the time is right.

Stating that not only the leaders, but also the people should be happy with the settlement, Akıncı said that the settlement will be put to a referendum and the people will decide. Akıncı said: “We will work to reach a settlement that can be approved by the people willingly.”

Stating that there will be no discrimination against anyone, Akıncı said: “The people can feel at ease in this and in the issue of security as well.”

Foreign Minister Emine Çolak: “No one will be sent back”

Foreign Minister Emine Çolak evaluated claims about the Turkey-origin Turkish Cypriot citizens that they will be sent back after an agreement to be reached in Cyprus. Minister Çolak said no one will be sent back. Çolak: “There is not such a situation that we will send back the people who came here and set a life and became citizens according to our domestic law.”

In her statement to Diyalog Newspaper Foreign Minister Çolak made an assessment about the ongoing negotiations between the leaders and said: “You should carry on this process by informing the public opinion and giving trust to the people.”

Minister Çolak responded to reactions against the presence of the EU representative at the negotiating table as follows: “EU is not a side on the table. Greek Cypriots are a side. If there is a truth, it is that South Cyprus is part of the EU. Their presence at the table is misleading. The EU’s representative is there to give technical support. The EU is not in a position to make any decision. The EU is present there for the purpose of consultation in case of question marks concerning the EU law and the mechanisms. It is wrong to say that the EU is a side there. There are no disadvantages of having a representative, on the contrary it has benefits”.

Eide: “You will be a small but active player”

UN Secretary General’s Special Adviser on Cyprus, Espen Barth Eide said: “You will be perfectly positioned for being a small but active player in a very important region, after the Cyprus problem is solved and the relations between Turkey and Cyprus are normalized.” In his interview with the multilingual internet radio MyCy, Eide also evaluated the visits he made on the island in addition to the negotiators. Stating that some sceptical people, who have been very critical of a solution, tell him after their conversation that there might be some hopes in today’s procedure, Eide said that he finds this as a very positive step.

Eide remarked that the Turkish Cypriots and the Greek Cypriots he has met seem to have the perception of being completely isolated from the surrounding world, with the exception of their relations with Turkey and Greece.

Stating that Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots feel as victims of foreign powers, Eide said: “I also come from a small country, so I have sympathy for this sense that some people might have that “what can I do in the big world where the big powers play?”

Mentioning South Cyprus’s foreign policy for Europe, and their bonds with the Arab world and Israel, Eide said: “You don’t need to feel small, even if you’re small. You will be perfectly positioned for being a small but active player in a very important region, after the Cyprus problem is solved and the relations between Turkey and Cyprus are normalized.”

Serdar Denktaş: “Not enough thought on property issue”

Serdar Denktaş, President of Democratic Party National Forces (DP-UG), conveyed his party’s views on the negotiation process on a program on BRT TV. Stating that many things about the property issue were not detailed, Denktaş demanded that the property criteria of the Turkish Cypriot side be determined through participation of people with different views.

Denktaş asked “What about the properties burdened with a mortgage? A lot of people sold their properties. Are they going to buy the same property again? Who is going to finance all these?”

Pointing out that the right of user was the only new element of the property issue in the negotiations, Denktaş said that there is an effort to define “the right of user” as an individual property right.

Demopoulos decision disturbs Greek Cypriots

It is reported that Demopoulos decision, adopted by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) on March 2010, is causing trouble for the Greek Cypriots at the negotiation table.

Greek Cypriot daily Phileleftheros newspaper reported in an article under the headline “5 strict guidelines on property issue”, that the 43-page-long Demopoulos decision, which has been referred to by the Turkish side at the negotiations, accords rights to the current user, as well as making restitution and return impossible.

The newspaper emphasized that Article 111 and Article 112 of the Demopoulos decision cast doubt on how realistic it would be to have property owners hold their property now, and that it clearly states that the ECHR cannot impose on Turkey the obligation of returning the property to its owners.

Sucuoğlu: “There is 25% increase in the number of tourists from Turkey in the first 6 months of 2015”

Minister of Tourism Faiz Sucuoğlu expressed that there is a 25% increase in the number of tourists from Turkey in the first 6 months of 2015.

Stating that the most serious difficulty in the market of Turkey is “image”, the Minister said that the image of entertainment and night life should be renewed as “the concept of an island” and this can be achieved by tradition, custom and culture.

Adding that an image change of the TRNC can be possible with advertisement, the Minister stated that budget work has been done for this.

Minister Sucuoğlu went to Turkey in order to hold a series of contacts in İstanbul and Antalya for the contribution to the tourism of the country. Sucuoğlu was the guest of Bloomberg TV’ and made some statements.

Faiz Sucuoğlu pointed out that the number of tourists in 2014 was nearly 1,200,000 and 804,000 people stayed in the hotels and there was an income of 650 million Dollars.

Diving for “No to narcotics” at 30 meters depth

İskele Shore Lions and Leo Clubs organized a diving for “No to narcotics” with the support of the Fight for Narcotics Commission of the TRNC Prime Ministry.

The youngsters between the age of 15 and 18 were given diving courses in the organization aiming to create awareness for the problem of narcotics. Then the youngsters, who participated in the organization, dived to 30 meters depth and unfurled a banner of “No to narcotics”.

Mainstream opposition should beware of following ELAM

Followers of Greece’s Golden Dawn and members of far right party ELAM terrorized in South Cyprus in the previous days. Abusive and intimidating behaviour exposed by the ultra-nationalist fascists groups at the memorial service of two Greek Cypriots in Paralimni on Sunday. The Greek Cypriot Energy Minister Giorgos Lakkotripis and Greek Cypriot Agriculture Minister Nikos Kuyalis attending the memorial service were also the target of the fascist groups. Greek Cypriot daily Cyprus Mail published a column about this event today.

According to the column: “People should not have been surprised by the abusive and intimidating behaviour exhibited by the members of the ultra-nationalist fascist groups that attended the memorial service of two Greek Cypriots. Black-clad members of Greece’s Golden Dawn and the local ELAM hurled water bottles at the two government ministers as they entered the cemetery in Paralimni and shouted abuse at them when they were laying wreaths in honour of the two men.

There was no physical violence, but the aggressive chanting by the youths interrupted the service and led to the officiating priest to ask for decorum; men from the police’s mobile action unit also arrived. The ultra-nationalists chanted slogans such as ‘tramps, traitors, politicians’ and ‘traitor supporters of federation,’ exploiting the media presence to secure some much-needed publicity. They seized this opportunity to remind people of their existence – particularly ELAM which will have candidates in next year’s parliamentary elections – and publicize their fierce opposition to any settlement.

The positions of the fascist groups are the same as those of EDEK, DIKO, the Greens and the Alliance of Citizens, all of which are dogmatically opposed to a federal settlement. The only difference is that these parties do not openly accuse the backers of a federal settlement as traitors, but implicitly, by arguing that only their uncompromising position is patriotic and safeguards the national interests. Those who were negotiating a federal settlement and power-sharing with the Turkish Cypriots were by definition unpatriotic and, implicitly traitors.

The anti-settlement parties have not resorted to this hideous rhetoric yet, because it is too early. As talks progress and an agreement becomes a real possibility the rhetoric will be stepped up and the opposition parties will sound just like ELAM. They had no qualms about labelling supporters of the Annan plan as traitors and foreign agents in 2004 so why would they behave differently this time?

In a way, ELAM and Golden Dawn may have done society a service by chanting ‘traitors’ at the members of the government because they have highlighted the fact that such abusive terms are the ownership of extremist, neo-fascist groups that have no respect for democracy and rational argument. They do not engage in debate but terrorize those they disagree with by labelling them ‘traitors’. Hopefully this will teach the anti-settlement parties not to resort to such abusive terms in the future, because then they will be likened to the neo-fascists of ELAM and Golden Dawn.”

Cases of child pornography and sexual exploitation record increase in South Cyprus

Justice and Public Order Ministry of South Cyprus has expressed its concerns over the increase of the number of cases of child pornography, sexual exploitation and sexual abuse victims in South Cyprus, stressing that it makes efforts to combat these phenomena through the prosecution of perpetrators.

An official press release issued on Friday said that while in 2011 and 2012 a total of 38 and 58 cases of child pornography were investigated, respectively, and 23 cases in 2013, there has been an increase in the cases handled by the South Cyprus Police since 2014. During 2014 the Cyber Crime Office looked into 106 cases, while it has looked into 102 cases since the beginning of 2015. As regards the cases of sexual offenses against minors, 32 were recorded in 2011 and in 2012 and 2013, 41 and 36, respectively, while during 2014, 48 cases were recorded. Since the beginning of 2015 until today 28 cases have been filed. As it is underlined, it is a priority for the South Cyprus police to monitor, investigate and prosecute these offenses, as well as to monitor individuals under supervision. Furthermore it is noted, that the Authority responsible for supervising individuals convicted for sexual crimes against minors in South Cyprus has set out criteria and guidelines to this end.

The Justice and Public Order Ministry of South Cyprus said it is indispensable to establish a national strategy for the protection of children from sexual exploitation, sexual abuse and child pornography, since it will comprehensively address this social issue.