TRNC News Today 5^th October 2015

President Akıncı met with the UN Secretary-General Ban

President Mustafa Akıncı met with the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon in New York. At the meeting Foreign Minister Emine Çolak was also present. After the meeting President Akıncı made a statement to the press and said that a solution can be reached in months with the current commitment, political will and the momentum which had been gained so far.

Akıncı stated that both Foreign Minister Emine Çolak and himself and Turkish Cypriot Negotiator Özdil Nami held intensive and useful contacts and they were also pleased with the results of the meetings.

On the other hand; President Mustafa Akıncı stated that important developments have occurred on the issues of the Administration and Power Sharing, EU and the Economy and he also said that they reached consensus that issues such as Security and Guarantees, adjusting the Territorial Integrity and the Property issue are complex and more difficult.

Moreover, Akıncı pointed out that he agreed with the leader of the Greek Cypriot Administration Nikos Anastasiades about establishing a property commission which will have an equal membership of Greek and Turkish Cypriots.

President Akıncı met with the US Secretary of State John Kerry

President Mustafa Akıncı met with the US Secretary of State John Kerry in New York within the framework of the 70th Session of the UN General Assembly. At the meeting Foreign Minister Emine Çolak and the committee of TRNC accompanied Akıncı. After the meeting President Akıncı made a statement to the press and said that he has had a chance to listen to the opinions of Kerry and sharing the visions.

Stating that they transformed information regarding the developments of Cyprus negotiations and the current situation, Akıncı said that he explained to Kerry the issues in which there were improvements and the problem with the property issue on the agenda.

President Akıncı also said that they exchanged their views with the US Secretary of State John Kerry regarding the bi-zonality and bi-communality.

UN: “Akıncı and Ban discussed involvement of Guarantor Powers”

The UN spokesperson stated that the UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon and President Mustafa Akıncı discussed the involvement of the Guarantor Powers in the process when they were in New York.

The UN Spokesperson made a written statement after the meeting between Ban Ki Moon and Akıncı and said:

“UN Secretary General Ban Ki moon has welcomed “the positive and constructive spirit demonstrated by the leaders” of the two communities in Cyprus, “as well as their commitment to intensify the pace of the leaders’ meetings in the months to come, in order to reach a settlement as soon as possible”

According to the spokesperson, Ban and Akıncı discussed “the significant progress made by the Turkish Cypriot and the Greek Cypriot leaders since the resumption of the negotiations aimed at achieving a comprehensive settlement in Cyprus”.

The spokesperson also said that the Secretary General and Akıncı discussed the involvement of the Guarantor Powers in the process

“The Secretary General assured Akıncı of his personal and the United Nations’ steadfast commitment of continuing to facilitate the efforts of the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot leaders in the talks,” the spokesperson added.

Özersay criticized activities in the field of hydrocarbon

Former Turkish Cypriot negotiator Kudret Özersay criticized the activities in the field of hydrocarbon.

Özersay replied to the questions of the Greek Cypriot daily Kathimerini regarding hydrocarbon works and the other issues.

According to the news, upon being asked about the activities within the Economic Exclusive Zone of South Cyprus, Özersay replied “Anastasiades says that they have started negotiations because Turkey has withdrawn the vessels. However, Turkey has not withdrawn the vessels. the Turkish Cypriot side stopped their own works”.

Pointing out that after a short while, the Greek Cypriot side started to hold meetings with Israel, Egypt and Greece, Özersay said that works have been continuing and new seismic researches will be made. Özersay also added that only one side’s steps are not enough to create a good atmosphere for negotiations.

TCCC proposed “public-private partnership’ for water management

Turkish Cypriot Chamber of Commerce (TCCC) stated that discussions regarding management and running of water are continuing in a way that a political crisis can arise. TCCC stated that the final form of water management should be composed with the communal involvement and statistical and scientific data.

Stressing that management of the transfer of water by the public monopoly will be very expensive for the Turkish Cypriot community, TCCC indicated public-private partnership model.

TCCC made a written statement and stated that discussions on the issue can give negative effect to the project and its gains. TCCC also stated their concerns about this issue.

TCCC made a call to the related sides to take responsibility to actualize political, economic and ecological gains of water. TCCC stressed “We wish the discussions to end in a short time. We are ready to make all kinds of contribution for the conclusion of this issue to the advantage of our community.”

GAU officially accepted to Magna Carta Observation Council

Girne American University has been officially accepted to Magna Carta Observation Council membership of Magna Carta Universitatum which is accepted as the ‘Constitution of Universities’. The Founding Rector of Girne American University and the Head of the Board of Directors Serhat Akpınar represented GAU at the 2015 ceremonies held at Bologna University of Magna Carta Observation Council which was established in 1988 and signed by 388 rectors within the context of Bologna University and the European Universities Union.

GAU has been included in Bologna and Declaration process within the scope of the European Union in 2015 together with 23 universities where there are more than 800 universities.

Social Media Seminar for Public Information Officers

A seminar was given to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Public Information Officers under the title “Secure Social Media, the management of brand and ethics in the social media” by Eastern Mediterranean University Social Media Unit, Faculty Member Raziye Nevzat.

Stating that the use of social media should be effective and important for informing the public, Nevzat emphasized that the effective brand management also will supply data flow.

The official web-site of the Foreign Ministry (www.mfa.gov.ct.tr) and its social media accounts have been created and administrated by the Public Information Office. The official web-site of the Foreign Ministry is followed by 7000 people monthly and 67% of the followers are from foreign countries.

One of the world’s most famous war photos

CNN used the British most famous war correspondent Don McCullen’s photo which was shot by him in Cyprus in 1964, on the news about the photographer.

The photo which was taken in Gaziveren during the inter-communal conflict in Cyprus in 1964 is considered as one of the most famous war photographs of the world.

The photo which was taken by world-famous British war correspondent and photographer Don McCullen shows the Turkish woman Nevcihan Oluşum whose husband was murdered by Greek Cypriot powers in 1964 and her son and the crying others, also used in the CNN International news channel on the internet yesterday.

In the published news about McCullin, CNN mentioned that the photo was taken during the conflicts in Cyprus.

CNN also mentioned that McCullen took war photos in Congo, Vietnam, Cambodia, Bangladesh, El Salvador, Lebanon and Israel as well as Cyprus.

McCullen came to Cyprus on behalf of the Times Newspaper during the conflicts and took the photos of Turkish martyrs in the villages of Gaziveren and Ayios Sozomenos (Arpalık).

South Cyprus is at rank 5 on list of countries which have most weapons

South Cyprus has been indicated as 5th on the list of the countries which have most weapons.

The Greek Cypriot daily Kathimerini wrote that the Swiss survey group called “Small Arms Survey” had examined the profiles of 178 countries. According to the survey, the ratio of guns per 100 people is 36.1 in South Cyprus.

“77% will not accept a solution that would abolish so-called Republic of Cyprus”

According to the survey of the LS Prime Market Research and Consulting Ltd, which was made with people aged 18 and above who have the right of voting throughout South Cyprus, it was reported that the most important thing is the continuation of the so-called “Republic of Cyprus” and the focus of the concerns is security.

The Greek daily Simerini headlined the news under the title: “Dote upon the State”, claimed that 77 percent of the participants would not accept the settlement plan which terminates the “Republic of Cyprus” and asserted that the maintenance of the “Republic of Cyprus” is seen as the third most important issue of the Cyprus problem after the issue of security and ownership.

40 percent of the participants reported that they disagree with the thesis of the Greek politicians on the Cyprus issue, and 68 percent reported that they have not got any information or have very little information about the developments on the negotiation process.