On the 18th July the Girne Amphitheatre hosted the play entitled “Pigeons without Wings” performed by the Theatre AŞHK. This year Kyrenia Municipality’s 7th Kyrenia Culture and Arts Festival carried the slogan “a bright future for the arts”. Girne Mayor Nidai Güngördü, Serdarli Mayor Salih Bayraktar and citizens watched the play which was directed by […]
Girne Municipality has donated 40,000TL to the Turkish Ocağı Limassol Sports Club (TOL), which won the Kibris Football Cup. Girne Mayor Nidai Güngördü met with the Managers of the Turkish Ocağı Limassol Sports Club (TOL) who won the Kibris Football Cup. Nidai Güngördü stated that to honour the
Turkish Republic Minister of Foreign Affairs Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu has said that the TRNC’s current international embargoes cannot continue forever, and there will be different processes after today. Cavuşoğlu spoke during a joint press conference, following a meeting with Foreign Minister of Estonia Sven Mikser.
We give below details of the films which are being shown at the Starlux Cinema, Karaoğlanoğlu for week commencing Friday 21st July 2017 until Thursday 27th July 2017.
By Margaret Sheard …… There has been some speculation and comment on Facebook about the recent incident of a Qantas flight from Sydney, Australia, heading for London Heathrow Airport via Dubai, being diverted to Larnaca Airport due to a medical emergency on the flight when a pregnant passenger became unwell.
In this past week during which the Geneva Peace Talks and 5 Party Conference was held, it has been very difficult perhaps due to the language issues to get a clear picture of who said what due to the lack of clear explanation in the media.
Thankfully the Turkish Cypriots had a Freelance Journalist, Esra Aygin, in Geneva reporting about the progress of the talks and conference and she also is a professional conference interpreter and translator and has shared the following explanation of President Erdogan’s statement about Guarantees which has been placed in the social media.
“Translation of Erdogan statements for my English-speaking friends because there is so much misinformation out there:”
“North Cyprus is working intensely and demonstrating sincerity. South Cyprus and guarantor power Greece have different expectations. For example, security and guarantees. We clearly told them. Don’t expect a guarantee scheme that does not include Turkey.
We are there forever. Secondly, in security, there was a previously agreed number, Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots should have equal number of troops; Greece 950 and us 650. This should continue. It is out of question for the Turkish troops to withdraw completely… If that is the thought, then both sides should completely withdraw troops.
For example, you know there is open Varosha, closed-off Varosha, and Kokkina (Erenkoy), the area between Kokkina and Morphou. Both Mr. Akinci and I told them clearly; if you want to open the whole of Famagusta for Greek Cypriots (he means Famagusta including Varosha being returned) we have a proposal: Let’s join the area between Kokkina and Morphou and keep this area under Turkish Cypriot control and return open Varosha and closed-off Varosha. You cannot ask for all, for Rizokarpaso, this place, that place…
The one to four ratio is unacceptable: the Greek Cypriot side to hold presidency for four terms while the Turkish Cypriot side holds it for only one term.
We talked about this. It should be one to two. Turkish Cypriot side can hold the presidency for one term and the Greek Cypriot side can hold it for two terms. This is the fair solution.”
Having lived in Northern Cyprus for a number of years it’s not surprising that I should develop an understanding and sympathy for the Turkish Cypriot plight and more so when you realise that their blood line goes back to the Ottomans who arrived here in 1571 from Turkey and ruled the island that remained part of the Ottoman Empire until it was ceded to Britain in 1878. During this period the Ottomans sent a sizeable Anatolian Turkish population to the island and some other nationalities who had also settled here on the island also adopted the muslim faith and became what would be considered to be “Turkish Cypriots”.
So what has all the problems in Cyprus been about and when did it start and by who?
During the Ottoman rule the first unrest started with many Greek Cypriots supporting the Greek independence effort that began in 1821 and this led to severe reprisals by the Ottoman Empire. When Greece became independent in 1829, many Greek Cypriots sought the incorporation of Cyprus into Greece, but it remained part of the Ottoman Empire.
Following the First World War, Britain declared the complete annexation of Cyprus into the British Empire in 1914 as the Ottomans had aligned themselves with central powers in WW1. The colony of British Cyprus was proclaimed a decade later, in 1925.
The United Kingdom granted the independence of Cyprus in 1959 following the Cyprus Emergency period of 1955 to 1959 which saw a terrorist campaign by the Greek Cypriot military group EOKA to remove the British from Cyprus so it could be unified with Greece.
The process of independance started in 1959 when the United Kingdom granted independence of Cyprus with an agreement conference by both Cypriot community leaders with Britain, Turkey and Greece that declared the Republic of Cyprus on 16 August 1960 with Greek Cypriot Archbishop Makarios III being elected the first president of independent Cyprus with Turkish Cypriot Fazıl Küçük, the Vice President with extensive veto rights and in 1961 the Republic of Cyprus became the 99th member of the United Nations.
With a revival of EOKA activities and renewed intercommunal fighting in 1963 click here the Turkish Cypriot officials of the Republic of Cyprus in protest at the changes being made to the constitution, withdrew from their state positions including the position of the Vice President.
The United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) was established in Cyprus under United Nations Security Council Resolution 186 in 1964 to prevent a recurrence of fighting following intercommunal violence between the Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots and to contribute to the maintenance and restoration of law and order.
The Akritas plan click here was created in 1963 by the Greek Cypriot part of the Republic of Cyprus government with the ultimate aim of weakening the Turkish Cypriot (ethnic Turks living in the Eastern Mediterranean island of Cyprus) and then uniting Cyprus with Greece. The desired union of Greek Cypriots with Greece was referred to as Enosis.
Following the 1974 Greek Cypriot coup d’état supported and encouraged by Greece and the Turkish intervention in Cyprus as one of the 3 guarantor powers of Cyprus to prevent any further bloodshed, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) extended and expanded the mission to prevent the dispute turning into war, and UNFICYP was redeployed to patrol the United Nations Buffer Zone in Cyprus and assist in the maintenance of the military status quo. Since its establishment, the force has also worked in concert with the Special Representative of the Secretary-General and representatives of the two communities to seek an amicable diplomatic solution to the Cyprus dispute.
In 1975, the Turkish Federated State of Cyprus (Kıbrıs Türk Federe Devleti) was declared as a first step towards a future federated Cypriot state, but was rejected by the Republic of Cyprus and the United Nations.
After eight years of failed negotiations with the leadership of the Greek Cypriot community, the Turkish Cypriots unilaterally declared its independence on 15 November 1983 under the name of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus and this act was rejected by the UN and the Republic of Cyprus.
So where are we now with yet another UN sponsored round of peace talks and their desire to make the Turkish and Greek Cypriots live together under one flag despite the enmity and lack of trust that has existed between them since 1821 when many Greek Cypriots supported the Greek independence effort. This time it seems, it’s a make or break meeting in Geneva to not just make peace but reunite the two communities as one nation which perhaps neither community want.
The world news media pays very little attention to Cyprus and its problems and that of the Turkish Cypriots, so it was refreshing to find two video debates conducted by Francois Picard and hosted by France 24 as under.
Peace at last? Cyprus closer than ever to deal (part 1)
Please be patient and fast forward the video to the start of the France 24 debate on the Cyprus issue.
This first video has given a number of commentators an opportunity to give their explanation of how the Cyprus problem had developed.
Peace at last? Cyprus closer than ever to deal (part 2)
The second video shows a number of commentators expressing their views of how the peace talks have progressed and what they consider the chances of a peaceful settlement of the Cyprus problem may be.
So what’s it all been about and where is it going? Well like so many previous attempts by the UN to get the two communities to agree to bury the hatchet and agree to live together, the talks have almost stalled. The UN understandably cannot admit failure and has announced that technical talks are to continue and a working group will be established in order to identify specific questions and the instruments needed to address them. The group will commence its work on 18 January.
What I find puzzling that there is a lot of talk about exchange of land with land in the North being handed by the TRNC to the RoC and maps being exchanged by both sides showing what they will agree to which has caused an impasse and I would question what will happen to the land in the south which belongs to Turkish Cypriots like Larnaca airport for instance?
For a more overall view of the current progress of the Cyprus Peace talks please read the summaries by TRNC President Akinci, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu and the TRNC Presidential Spokesperson Barış Burcu in the article below.
*******
Geneva Cyprus conference UN joint statement
Following the completion of the first session of the 5-party Conference in Geneva with the participation of both sides and the guarantor countries, today the 13th January the UN made a statement on behalf of both parties. The UN emphasized that this historic opportunity to reach a solution in Cyprus should not be missed.
The Conference on Cyprus was convened on 12 January 2017, in Geneva, under the auspices of the Secretary-General of the United Nations, with the participation of H.E. Mr. Mustafa Akıncı and H.E. Mr. Nikos Anastasiades, the Foreign Ministers of Greece, Turkey and the United Kingdom as guarantor powers and in the presence of the European Union as an observer.
In the statement Mr. Anastasiades and Mr. Akıncı were praised for the remarkable progress made over the past 20 months in the Cyprus talks. It was noted that it was only possible to convene the conference yesterday due to leaders’ dedicated work.
The statement continues as follows:
“The discussions today (12th January) underscored the participants’ intention to find mutually acceptable solutions on security and guarantees that address the concerns of both communities. They recognized that the security of one community cannot come at the expense of the security of the other. They also acknowledged the need to address the traditional security concerns of the two communities while at the same time developing a security vision for a future united federal Cyprus. The participants recognized that this is the time to bring the negotiations to a successful conclusion. This is an historic opportunity that should not be missed. The participants therefore committed to supporting the process towards a comprehensive settlement in Cyprus.”
The statement added that all interested parties’ efforts will be necessary for the forthcoming period. Therefore, to this end, a working group will be established in order to identify specific questions and the instruments needed to address them. The group will commence its work on 18 January. The conference will continue at political level immediately thereafter to review the outcome of the working group’s discussion.
To read more of this UN Statement please click here
Living in Northern Cyprus for many years, I believe I have learned a lot about the truth of the Cyprus problem that the world does not know or even wants to know.
Mehmet Nesip Ogun
Looking across the sea from North Cyprus we can see Turkey but what do I or others really know or care about the problems they are facing today with ongoing terrorist attacks and how different are they to similar attacks that other countries have suffered.
A few days ago I came across an excellent TRT World video as below on Youtube in which Mehmet Nesip Ogun who is Turkish and a Professor of Security Studies in Columbia University in the City of New York, talks about the different problems that Turkey faces when compared to other countries that are also suffering from terrorist attacks.
We have spoken to Professor Ogun and this is what he had to say:
“It is very sad and unfortunate that we have witnessed another inhumane violent terror attack on New Year’s Eve in Istanbul. Daesh claimed the terror attack. Nevertheless, before they claim the attack, pro-Daesh social media and Internet accounts glorified the Istanbul attack.
Turkey is currently under heavy terror attacks and terror campaigns by several terrorist organizations. Namely, PKK, FETO, Daesh and DHKP-C. Turkey has a long history with PKK terrorist organization which aims to establish a Marxist Leninist independent Kurdish state in the territories of Turkey, Iran, Iraq and Syria. They have sub organizations under the establishment of KCK (Koma Civaken Kurdistan, so called Democratic Communities of Kurdistan) such as PYD (Partîya Yekîtî ya Demokratîk) (The Democratic Union Party) in Syria.
FETO is another terrorist organization that is trying to seize the government. After the failed coup attempt by FETO on July 15, 2016, FETO is aggressively looking out for an opportunity to perform another terror act. It was again very unfortunate that a FETO terrorist organization member assassinated the Russian Ambassador at the art gallery in Ankara.
Daesh is another terrorist organization that Turkey is fighting very effectively. When we ask ourselves why Daesh is attacking Turkey so fiercely, we can tell mainly two reasons. Recruitment is very important for terrorist organizations. After Daesh’s leader terrorist Bagdadi’s invitation to join Daesh in Syria and Iraq, so many radicals around the World fled to Syria and Iraq. Those people are called Foreign Terrorist Fighters which was defined in UNSC 2178. Turkey cut this cord. Besides, Turkey started European Shield operation in August 2016. Turkey liberated many cities in Syria and is currently fighting with Daesh in El-Bap.
In conclusion, Turkey is a very important country in the region with her hard and soft power, with her unique culture. Turkey is a very strong member of NATO, has a very strong economy, and strong enough to overcome those difficulties.”
State and government officials have issued messages in reaction to Sunday’s terrorist attack [in a famous nightclub] in Istanbul which claimed the lives of 39 people.
President Mustafa Akıncı, the Speaker of Parliament Sibel Siber, Prime Minister Hüseyin Özgürgün and Deputy Prime Minister Serdar Denktaş all issued messages condemning the incident.
The first reaction to the attack came from President Akıncı who condemned the attack via tweeter.
“Istanbul unfortunately entered 2017 yet with another terror attack. We strongly condemn this brutal attack against innocent civilians at the club. We share the pain of the Turkish nation and express our deepest condolences” Akıncı tweeted.
Parliamentary Speaker Sibel Siber who issued a message of condemnation stated that the incident once again deeply saddened the Turkish Cypriot people.
She said that it was everyone’s desire to see an end to such attempts which were aimed at destroying peoples’ hopes for a year of peace and brighter future.
Prime Minister Hüseyin Özgürgün in his message described the incident as a treacherous attack against innocent civilians.
Condemning the attack, Özgürgün said that the attacker had targeted the Turkish nation but added that the Turkish people were aware of the games being played.
He said that the Turkish nation will grow even stronger in the face of such attacks, stepping up its unity and solidarity.
“Terrorism, no matter under which justification it is carried out, is a crime against humanity. These attacks aimed at disrupting the peace of the Turkish people will never succeed in achieving its goal. The attack that took place in Istanbul in the first hours of the New Year has deeply saddened the Turkish Cypriot people. We would like to wish our deepest condolences to all those who lost their lives and a speedy recovery to the injured” Özgürgün’s message read.
Deputy Prime Minister Serdar Denktaş who also issued a message condemning the attack stated that “those attempting to create chaos and to disrupt the people will never succeed in achieving their goals. The people of Anatolia will repel these treacherous attacks in unity”.
Denktaş also expressed his deepest condolences to those who lost their lives and a speedy recovery to the injured.
The Minister of Interior Kutlu Evren and the Minister of Public Works and Communication Kemal Dürüst also issued messages condemning the attack.
The joy of Christmas is almost with us and so many people are looking forward to a peaceful New Year but for the Turkish Cypriots in Cyprus in 1963 this wish was denied them by radical Greek Cypriots who wanted Enosis and were implementing the Akritas Plan (click here) which was devised by EOKA and was intended to drive all Turkish Cypriots out of Cyprus be they dead or alive.
The start of the horrific violence against the Turkish Cypriots started on the 21st December 1963 and on Christmas Eve an attack was made on the home of a Turkish Army doctor who was away on duty elsewhere and members of his family and neighbours were killed and wounded and an account of this barbaric incident can be read by clicking hereandclicking here.
Muruvvet Nihat Ilhan and her 3 children slaughtered by Greek Cypriots in the Kumsal district of Nicosia, 24th December 1963.
Living in North Cyprus you soon become aware of memorials and remembrance events to keep alive the memories of those that were martyred but the Turkish Cypriots have learned to be positive and make new lives for themselves despite the fact that the intercommunal attacks continued and this was only stopped when Turkey intervened as one of the 3 guarantor powers in July 1974. Since then they have lived with unyielding pressure from the Greek Cypriots on the world not to recognise the Turkish Cypriots and to place embargoes on them which they live with to this very day.
The United Nations have been trying to broker a peace settlement since 1974 and we can look forward to further talks in Switzerland in January 2017 which may be a make or break meeting.
The Greek Cypriots are demanding back land and property and the expulsion of Turkey as a guarantor power and wanting to take control of the whole island again which is raising fears of the Turkish Cypriots and the many expatriates living in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.
If the Greek Cypriots were to negotiate and think laterally what else could they offer the Turkish Cypriots as a sign of peace and friendship and a desire live together?
They need to set aside their misplaced pride and accept the truth of their past activities and say “Sorry we treated you in the way that we did and we accept through the activities of past politicians and extremist groups that we divided our nation and now want to heal the wounds and move forward together with you to a peaceful and prosperous future”.
Is this a pipe dream? Seemingly not when you read what Loucas Charalambous wrote 3 years ago in Cyprus Mail which you can read in full by clicking here and we show extracts of what he was saying.
“Cyprus Mail.- December 22nd 2013. By Loucas Charalambous
YESTERDAY was the 50th anniversary of the blackest day in the modern history of Cyprus.
If we Greek Cypriots realised the role the events of December 21, 1963, played in our history, every year on this day we should go to the moat that surrounds the Venetian wall in Nicosia (which we should have re-named ‘wall of tears’) and hit our head on it, just like the members of the Jewish faith do at the ruins of the temple of Solomon.”
Loucas Charalambous goes on to say about the Akritas Plan:
“These are the facts which have been conclusively supported by documents and testimonies by members of the organisation. One of the members, former officer Takis Chrysafis, had the guts to tell the truth about the Akritas organisation, revealing that he had personally heard then government minister Polycarpos Yiorkadjis giving instructions for the bomb to be placed at the Marcos Drakos monument on December 3, 1963.
Only the CyBC bosses and the self-styled chieftains of 1963, who have not grown up yet, are still repeating the myth about the Turkish rebellion, when they should be at Nicosia’s Venetian wall, every year on this day, banging their heads against it seeking to absolve their sins.”
So will we see commonsense and honesty prevail in the forthcoming and perhaps final peace talks to be held in January 2017?
Only time will tell and in the meanwhile we are showing below a collage of pictures which were taken from a “Virtual Exhibition” that has been prepared by the TRNC Public Information Office on their website on the occasion of “21st December National Struggle and Martyrs Week” and this shows what those terrible days were like and how the Turkish Cypriots struggled to survive.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is ready to “play ball” on reaching a deal to reunify divided Cyprus because it would help resolve overarching regional issues including mending Turkey’s relations with the European Union, a United Nations envoy said Dec. 8.
But U.N. secretary-general’s special envoy on Cyprus Espen Barth Eide indicated that it was unclear where Erdoğan wants to steer a summit in Geneva next month that aims to hammer out a comprehensive peace accord.
Greece, Turkey and Cyprus’ former colonial ruler the United Kingdom will participate at a five-party summit from Jan. 9, 2017 to Jan. 12, 2017 to overcome the major hurdle of providing security in a federation made up of the Greek- and Turkish-speaking zones.
Turkish President Erdoğan
“I think Erdoğan is ready to play ball and that’s what they communicate,” Eide told the Associated Press in an interview. But it is less clear what Turkey’s negotiating position will be, he said.
The island was divided between a Greek south and a Turkish north when the Turkish military intervened in 1974 under the terms of the 1960 Treaty of Guarantee in response to an Athens-backed coup aiming to unite the island with Greece……
Greece insists military intervention rights that Cyprus’ 1960 constitution accorded to the guarantor nations must be scrapped under any peace deal. Turkey wants to keep a troop presence in a post-settlement Cyprus; Turkish Cypriots see that as essential to their security but Greek Cypriots view it as a threat. Britain says it will abide by what the two sides on the island decide.
Eide met with Greek and Turkish officials earlier this week to help prepare a security formula that will be acceptable to all sides. The U.N. envoy said neither Greece nor Turkey wants one of Europe’s most intractable problems to remain frozen, because a Cyprus deal would help resolve problems that are part of a “big picture.”
Cyprus undersea gas deposits
The U.N. envoy said a Cyprus peace deal would go a long way in boosting cooperation on exploiting the East Mediterranean’s substantial undersea gas deposits. It would also help restore frayed EU-Turkey relations, particularly regarding an agreement preventing refugees reaching Europe.
A reunified Cyprus would also have a “symbolic effect” on a strife-torn region while an expected economic boom on the island would “inspire” neighboring countries, said Eide.
But the U.N. envoy warned that failure this time may result in a change of the “status quo” on the island. He did not elaborate on what the change could entail.
He added Greek Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades and Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akıncı feel they could work out a deal they can both “live with” on how much territory will make up the two federal zones – something that caused talks to briefly deadlock last month.
Eide said next month’s Geneva summit will “almost certainly” run longer than the scheduled four days.
The U.N. envoy said if all goes well, the two leaders aim to put a finalized deal to a simultaneous vote on both sides somewhere around the middle of next year, after a few months of sorting out the details of how a deal will be implemented and explained to the public.
Namely, PKK, FETO, Daesh and DHKP-C. Turkey has a long history with PKK terrorist organization which aims to establish a Marxist Leninist independent Kurdish state in the territories of Turkey, Iran, Iraq and Syria. They have sub organizations under the establishment of KCK (Koma Civaken Kurdistan, so called Democratic Communities of Kurdistan) such as PYD (Partîya Yekîtî ya Demokratîk) (The Democratic Union Party) in Syria. 
effectively. When we ask ourselves why Daesh is attacking Turkey so fiercely, we can tell mainly two reasons. Recruitment is very important for terrorist organizations. After Daesh’s leader terrorist Bagdadi’s invitation to join Daesh in Syria and Iraq, so many radicals around the World fled to Syria and Iraq. Those people are called Foreign Terrorist Fighters which was defined in UNSC 2178. Turkey cut this cord. Besides, Turkey started European Shield operation in August 2016. Turkey liberated many cities in Syria and is currently fighting with Daesh in El-Bap.
