TRNC News Review – 1st March 2017

Akıncı addresses General Assembly of the 13th Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) Heads of State Summit

Yesterday, President Mustafa Akıncı addressed the General Assembly of the the 13th Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) Heads of State Summit in Islamabad.

In his speech, Akıncı emphasized the importance of developing closer relations with the ECO, and gave information on the Cyprus negotiations process.

President Akıncı also attended the dinner given in honour of the heads of state gathered in Islamabad, in order to attend the 13th Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) Heads of State Summit. Akıncı was welcomed by the President of Pakistan, Hüseyin Memnun.

Additionally, President Akıncı held a telephone conversation with the US Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson

Prime Minister Özgürgün: “I do not see any benefit in continuing negotiations, due to the mentality of the Greek Cypriots”

Prime Minister Hüseyin Özgürgün has said that he does not see any benefit in continuing the Cyprus negotiations, due to the mentality of the Greek Cypriots.

Responding to questions on Diyalog TV, Prime Minister Özgürgün stated that President Akıncı’s reaction towards the Greek Cypriot Parliament’s Enosis decision was right, but that his overall stance is just as important as the reaction given.

Özgürgün said “the Turkish Cypriot people are equal inhabitants of this island. We are as well-informed, experienced and wise as the Greek Cypriots on matters of state. Why should I tolerate the Greek Cypriot side’s selfish stance?”

Pointing out that the Greek Cypriots have perceived Turkish Cypriots as a minority over the course of the island’s history, Özgürgün said that they were faced with a mentality which desires unification of the island with Greece.

Emphasising that the Turkish Cypriots have always objected to Enosis, and struggle not to be treated as a minority society, Prime Minister Özgürgün said “At this point, the continuation of negotiations on logical grounds is not possible.”

Referring to the Greek Cypriot Parliament’s Enosis decision, Özgürgün said, “The decision was taken with the intention of reuniting the island with Greece; why should we continue to sit at the negotiation table with those with such an outlook”..

Ertuğruloğlu: “No one has the right to build up the hopes of Turkish Cypriots, only to cause disappointment”

Speaking about the Cyprus negotiation process, Foreign Minister Tahsin Ertuğruloğlu has said that that no one has right to create expectation among Turkish Cypriot people, only to then cause disappointment.

Ertuğruloğlu was responding to questions about the Cyprus negotiations and domestic politics while participating in a programme for Genç TV.

In response to the question; “Have the negotiations collapsed?” Foreign Minister Ertuğruloğlu said, “I tried to point out that I did not have any expectations from the beginning of the negotiation process”.

Ertuğruloğlu responded to the questions as follows:

“50 years of the Turkish Cypriot people have been stolen with deceptive negotiation processes on the basis of inequality, not equality in Cyprus.

“The rights that the Turkish Cypriot people can obtain in the current negotiation process are minority rights.

“The Greek Cypriot side is making fun of us. Aside from the negotiation table, embargoes against the Turkish Cypriot people continue. The Turkish Cypriots are seen as a minority by the Greek Cypriots, who continue to accuse Turkey of being an ‘occupying state’, and the works on natural resources are still on-going.

“Even today, at the current point in time, I do not believe ‘the negotiations should be abandoned’. We do not have a policy of leaving the negotiations, but if the talks continue, there must be a chance of success – we must not waste our time.

“The Cyprus case is a national case. The Cyprus negotiation process will be conducted, defended and enacted together with Turkey.

We said we should not give a ‘final’ map in Geneva, yet it was given. The government’s sine qua non was not taken into consideration. We have not seen the map yet.

“No one is at fault for the collapsing process in Switzerland. I do not blame the Greek Cypriot side, because the all too familiar Greek dogma has raised its head again. Unsurprisingly, they see us as a ‘minority’, and Turkey as an ‘occupying state’.

“A negotiation process or a partnership is not the only option. 50 years have passed under the negotiation process.

“As long as the Turkish Cypriot side is regarded as a community and the Greek Cypriot side as a state at the negotiation table, the expectation for a solution is wrong.

We must return to the table in the most appropriate way, because the Greek Cypriot side will never be blamed, and accusations towards us are much easier. “Therefore, we must proceed in the process in a suitable way so that the finger of blame cannot be pointed at us.

“Yet what will we talk about with the mentality which is being demonstrated by the Greek Cypriot side? Our basic wish is equality.

“We must not leave the negotiation table, but we must act rationally. If negotiations continue after that, they should be held on a state to state basis.

“We should be treated as the TRNC in partnership. These objectives can be put forward with Motherland Turkey.”

Atun: “We actively encourage foreign investors to come to the TRNC”

Addressing the 22nd Council of Ministers meeting of the Economic Cooperation Organisation in Islamabad, Pakistan’s capital, the TRNC Economy and Energy Minister Sunat Atun stated that the TRNC wants to develop opportunities for cooperation in the field of tourism with member countries of the ECO.

According to the Economy Ministry, Atun said that the TRNC was ready to actively encourage foreign investors to come to the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus and that they will provide information to interested investors on investment opportunities and incentives offered by the TRNC government.

Additionally, Atun stated that the embargoes imposed on North Cyprus should be lifted regardless of the negotiation process which has, for now, failed to achieve any results due to the Greek Cypriot side’s inflexibility.

Egyptian sailor arrested in South Cyprus

It was reported that the captain of the ship “Star Sea”, which anchored in the port of Vasiliko to unload, was arrested for sailing from the Famagusta Port last year.

The Greek Cypriot daily newspaper Politis reported that it was determined that the ship departed from Famagusta Port on 23 March 2016. According to the article, the Larnaca District Court ordered a 2-day arrest of 60-year-old ship captain, Raşit Aptala on the grounds that “he went sailing illegally from the occupied port”.