Cyprus PIO: Turkish Cypriot and Turkish Media Review, 10-09-09

Cyprus Press and Information Office: Turkish Cypriot Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next Article

From: The Republic of Cyprus Press and Information Office Server at <http://www.pio.gov.cy/>

[A] TURKISH CYPRIOT PRESS

[01] Statements by Dervis Eroglu after the meeting with Demetris Christofias

[02] Dervis Eroglu said that illegal GAU contributes to the recognition of the occupation regime

[03] Efforts between UBP-TDP to form a coalition government continue

[04] Energy minister called on EU to adopt a more sincere stance towards the Turkish Cypriots

[05] More allegations by Afrika and Yeni Volkan against businessman Mehmet Cangar

[B] TURKISH PRESS

[06] Turkey becomes partner in EU scientific projects

[07] Poll shows remarkable decline in militarys popularity among Turks

[08] Turkish Energy Minister holds contacts in Brussels

[09] Highlights

[A] TURKISH CYPRIOT PRESS

[01] Statements by Dervis Eroglu after the meeting with Demetris Christofias

Speaking after the meeting, Dervis Eroglu said that they had a good meeting with the Greek Cypriot leader, as he called President Demetris Christofias and added that both sides submitted their proposals with sincerity.

Asked whether there has been any progress so far, Dervis Eroglu replied that it is impossible to achieve progress in just one day.

(AK)

[02] Dervis Eroglu said that illegal GAU contributes to the recognition of the occupation regime

Eroglu also referred to the problems the universities have been confronting over the past two years. Eroglu underlined the important contribution of the illegal Girne American University as regards recognition of the occupation regime, especially with its campuses in the USA, Britain and Singapore. He said that it is important that students who come from foreign countries return to their countries as honorary envoys. He assured that both the presidency of the occupation regime as well as the government are following closely the problems of the universities which, he said he will discuss with the rectors after the Ramazan Feast.

(AK)

[03] Efforts between UBP-TDP to form a coalition government continue

Mustafa Emiroglulari, deputy of TDP, confirmed that TDP too asked for the ministry of sports. The paper adds if this ministry is given to TDP, Emiroglulari will be the minister.

On the same issue, columnist Sami Ozuslu writing in Turkish Cypriot daily Yeni Duzen (09.09.10) under the title Problems in the coalition UBP-TDP says that the meeting between Kucuk and Cakici on Tuesday night was not productive as there was disagreement on the designation of ministries. UBP did not give a clear answer to TDP on how many ministries will be given to the party. The meetings will continue on Monday after Bayram.

(DPs)

[04] Energy minister called on EU to adopt a more sincere stance towards the Turkish Cypriots

As for the Direct Trade Regulation, which will allow direct trade between the European Union (EU) and the occupation regime, Atun called on EU to adopt a more sincere stance towards the Cyprus Turkish people.

[05] More allegations by Afrika and Yeni Volkan against businessman Mehmet Cangar

Under the title What is the pay-off for the 7-8 BMWs, Afrika wonders what has Mehmet Cangar received as pay-off for the 7-8 luxury cars which he sold to Ismet Felek and what kind of processing the Tax Department of the breakaway regime has carried out regarding this transaction. Citing information acquired from circles close to Ismet Felek, Afrika reports that Cangar payment for these luxury cars was immovable property, not money. Noting that these properties are located near occupied Kazafani and Akanthou villages, the paper wonders who the owners of these properties are how Ismet Felek got hold of them and how they were transferred to Cangar. According to the paper, the luxury cars bought by Felek from Cangar were given to some well-known businessmen in occupied Famagusta. Cetin Altan, Koral Bozkurt, Fikri Ataoglu, Taner Yolcu and Ali Ucanok are some of the above-mentioned businessmen, writes Afrika, which also accuses Kibrisli newspaper and its owner, Dogan Harman of being paid by Mehmet Cangar in order to support him.

Meanwhile, Yeni Volkan newspaper wonders whether Cangar has bought a land of 27 donums [Tr. Note: A land measure of about 1000 square meters] at the coast of occupied Agios Amvrosios village which belonged to lawyer Seyhan Yildirim and his family. Yildrims name and telephone conversations were included in the indictment prepared by Istanbuls Attorney General regarding the drug trafficking case in which Ismet Felek is involved. The paper wonders also whether Felek mediated in the purchase of this property by Cangar and how much did the latter pay to get hold of the land. The paper asks Cangar to say when he bought his luxury house in Britain and how much he paid for it. Yeni Volkan also calls on Cangar to say how much money he has offered to the administrators of the paper to stop publishing news against him.

[B] TURKISH PRESS

[06] Turkey becomes partner in EU scientific projects

In an interview with AA, EU Framework Programmes Coordinator Okan Kara of the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK) said that Turkish researchers participated in a total of 400 science projects during the last three years and they received a share of 70 million Euros from these projects. Noting that Turkey's participation in the projects is an opportunity to have access to major data generated in other countries, Kara said such data would be turned into new technologies in the next 3-4 years. Kara said Turkey participated in scientific researches focusing on numerous topics such as reverse brain drain, private sector funds and establishment of centres of excellence.

[07] Poll shows remarkable decline in militarys popularity among Turks

The paper reports the following: The centre, disclosing the results of the poll on Tuesday, recalled that throughout the country's history, the military has a played a major role in Turkish politics. According to the poll, the military continues to be a popular institution, with 72% saying that it is having a very, or somewhat, good influence on Turkey. However, this is down from 85% in 2007, while the number of Turks, who believe the military is having a very good impact, has declined from 57% to 30%. Confidence in the military has dropped most steeply among the nations Kurdish population --just 37% of Kurds gave the military a positive rating, compared with 64% in the 2007 poll.

The poll also revealed that Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogans ratings have slipped over the past three years. Currently, 52% of people believe he is having a good impact and 43% say he is having a negative impact --while in 2007, 63% of respondents described his impact as positive and 33% as negative. Unsurprisingly, Erdogan gets his highest marks from supporters of his own AKP (Justice and Development Party), 90% of whom think he is having a positive effect. The prime minister receives especially strong ratings in the Central Anatolia region of the country (71% good), which is a stronghold of the AKP, the centre said.

Although Erdogans ratings have declined since 2007, he still received considerably better marks than what late Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit received in 2002 --at the time only 7% of Turks felt he was having a positive influence on the country. The media, meanwhile, received the lowest ratings among the institutions tested, with only 30% of Turks believing the media is having a positive effect on society.

Turkey was the country in which the US received its lowest favourability rating in every Pew Global Attitudes survey conducted between 2006 and 2009. This year, just 17% of Turks had a positive opinion of the US --meaning the US received its least positive ratings from Turkey, Pakistan and Egypt. Still, the number of Turks who hold a positive view of the US is larger today than it was at its nadir in 2007, when only 9% rated the US favourably.

Meanwhile, as negotiations regarding Turkeys bid for membership in the European Union (EU) have stalled, attitudes toward the EU have deteriorated. In 2004, 58% of Turks held a favourable opinion of the EU; however, by 2009 this number had plummeted to 22%. Views of the EU have improved slightly over the past year --currently, 28% rate the organization favourably. Support for joining the EU has also declined. In 2005, 68% of Turks wanted their country to become an EU member; today, a slim 54% majority holds this view.

Ratings for both Iran and China improved marginally between 2009 and 2010, while attitudes toward Russia have remained consistently low over the past three years: 17% of Turks said they had a positive view of Russia in 2007, while 16% expressed this view in the 2010 survey. While Turks express largely negative opinions about other countries, they also tend to believe the feeling is mutual. When asked how they think people in other nations around the world feel about Turkey, 68% of Turks say they think their country is generally disliked --the highest percentage among the 22 countries surveyed. The only other nation in which a majority believes their country is unpopular abroad is the US --60% of Americans think the US is generally disliked by other countries around the globe.

[09] Turkish Energy Minister holds contacts in Brussels

Yildiz had meetings in Brussels with European Commissioner for Energy Gunther Oettinger, Belgian Minister for Climate and Energy Paul Magnette, managing director of the Nabucco Gas Pipeline International GmbH Reinhard Mitschek, Austrian energy group OMV Gas and Power GmbH Chairman Werner Auli and Hungarian Development Bank MFB President Tamas Fellegi.

Yildiz returned to Turkey late on Tuesday with a key agreement secured between Nabucco Gas Pipeline International GmbH and its partners --including the Turkish Pipeline Corporation (BOTAS) and three financial institutions: the European Investment Bank (EIB), the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC). According to the agreement, the three leading financial institutions would provide loans of up to 4 billion Euros to the Nabucco pipeline project.

Inter alia, the paper reports: Speaking to the Anatolia news agency following his meetings in Brussels, Yildiz criticized the EU for dragging its feet regarding opening the energy chapter as part of accession negotiations with Turkey. He said the EU had stalled over beginning talks regarding energy for political reasons and was using the argument that there were technical obstacles to impede negotiations within the accession framework. Technically, we are already with Europe in terms of electricity and natural gas systems. In the field of energy, we have better facilities than most EU member states. I am saying this openly and did so during the meetings, too. For that reason, it is not right to link the failure of not opening the energy chapter in Turkeys EU accession negotiations to technical reasons. The reasons are political only. Let me put it this way: They have to come to a point where they could heed the reserve of a small member state but also find a solution. This is not our problem but the EUs. We discussed this matter with them, too. I think there is no option other than that we open this part of the chapter, because Turkey is now part of the solutions to the energy-related problems facing the EU members. So, this issue is not sustainable and it should certainly be resolved politically, too, he was quoted as saying by Anatolia.

Yildiz reiterated his earlier remarks stressing the significance of the agreement signed with the EIB, the EBRD and IFC regarding financing the Nabucco pipeline project. He said with those signatures a phase of utmost importance had been completed. Yildiz also told Anatolia that talks with possible supplier countries would be completed by the end of this year and that the pipelines construction would start in 2011. The 3,000-kilometer pipeline will pass through six countries and is expected to be operational by 2015. Yildiz earlier said the pipeline would start by carrying some 18 billion cubic meters of Azerbaijani and Iraqi natural gas to Europe by late 2014 or early 2015. The total cost of the massive project is estimated to be around 7.9 billion Euros. Once enforced, Mondays agreement would have garnered more than half of the necessary funds for it construction. The capacity of the pipeline will be 31 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year.

When asked whether Iranian gas would also flow to Europe through Nabucco, Yildiz said no potential supplier country should be excluded from providing gas. First, we need to establish whether other countries can meet the pipelines capacity; if countries cannot match the capacity, then such a question may be raised again, he explained.

[09] Highlights

a) Referendum on Constitutional amendments

An editorial in Hurriyet Daily News entitled "A vote that will yield no winners", criticizes strategies pursued by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and the opposition parties ahead of the upcoming referendum. It notes, interalia: It has been a campaign that in the end has diminished rather than enhanced Turkish democracy. Come next Monday, there will be no winners."

In a article in Hurriyet, columnist Tufan Turenc accuses the Turkish Prime Minister and his party of resorting to blackmail and threats as part of an unprecedented campaign aimed at forcing people to vote in favour of the constitutional amendments. He comments: "If the constitutional amendments are rejected in the referendum, it will be beneficial to the country, democracy, and the AKP because it will normalize Turkey. Our country will no longer be squeezed between the Prime Minister's lips."

Vatan columnist Gungor Mengi criticizes the ruling party of deceiving the public in a bid to end the judiciary's independence and to undermine the principle of separation of powers, and cautions that Islam is gradually becoming the only pillar of Turkish society.

Star highlights an opinion poll conducted by ANDY-AR which showed that 57.4% of the voters will support the constitutional amendments while 42.26% will vote against, indicating that the number of voters inclined to vote in favour of the amendments went up 4% in the past one month. The report says that the highest number of yes votes is expected in the central and northeastern parts of the country.

Yeni Safak publishes the results of a GENAR poll suggesting that some 53,8% of the electorate will vote in favour of the constitutional amendments and that the "crushing majority" of Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) supporters will vote to accept the reform package despite the BDP's boycott of the referendum.

Yeni Safak columnist Fehmi Koru asserts that the BDP will have misused its power if its boycott of the referendum succeeds in preventing voters in Diyarbakir from going to polls on 12 September, or causes the reform package to be rejected by tipping the scales in favour of no votes. He goes on to warn the BDP leadership that its decision to boycott the referendum is "a mistake that is set to alienate the BDP's friends at home and abroad."

Vakit columnist Serdar Demirel argues that one of the most beneficial results of the forthcoming referendum has been to expose an anti-democratic coalition consisting of "neo-nationalist Kurds, neo-nationalist Turks, deep elements within the judiciary, the bureaucracy, and the news media, and supporters of single-party rule." He also claims that a majority 'yes' vote in the referendum will damage prospects for continued bureaucratic tutelage over the elected authority.

Today's Zaman columnist Yavuz Baydar claims that a majority no vote in the referendum will "definitely be a victory" for anti-AKP groups that are preparing to represent the possible rejection of the reform package as a vote of no confidence for the Erdogan government. He also asserts that a preponderant no vote will be "perceived as a fresh momentum for the ideologically polluted upper echelons of the judiciary and the democracy-skeptic top elements of the army."

b) Kurdish Issue

Milliyet columnist Fikret Bila, analyses factors which might have prompted the PKK to stop its armed attacks until 20 September and says that the PKK and the BDP expect the ruling party to promise a new constitution after the upcoming referendum and take steps indicating that their demands will be accepted. He comments: "It is highly unlikely that the government will take such steps and convince the public as the general election draws closer. It was not a coincidence that Prime Minister Erdogan hinted that the new constitution could be written after the election in 2011. Terrorism and autonomy demanded by the PKK and the BDP will be high on Turkey's agenda after the referendum."

c) Turkish-Israeli relations

Radikal columnist Oral Calislar criticizes the ATV for planning to broadcast new episodes of a television series called "The Valley of Wolves" which, he notes, exalt violence and racism while implying that Israel, the United States, and the EU plan to dismember Turkey. He comments: "Israel is a country with which we have relations since its foundation (irrespective of our current problems). What kind of a strategy could have motivated them to shoot a television series which is based on the assumption that Israel will capture a significant part of Turkey in the next 13 years and to convince the public that this is actually Israel's scenario? Of course much can be said about how Israelis and American will perceive this. What is even more important is what could take place on the minds of generations which will watch such kinds of series and films while growing up."

d) Recession in Turkish economy

Milliyet columnist Gungor Uras says that capacity utilization rate in the Turkish manufacturing industry is still behind its level before the economic crisis and slightly declined in the past four months. Pointing out that many workers were laid off while some businesses were closed down as a result of the crisis, Uras notes that overvalued Turkish Lira leads to an increase in imports while dwindling exports.

e) "Preposterous" irregularities in the SSK

A front-page report in Vakit entitled "Dishonesty Documented," asserts that a number of "preposterous" irregularities took place in the employment of handicapped personnel at the Social Security Administration (SSK) during main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu's term as SSK chairman in 1996. TURKISH AFFAIRS SECTION http://www.moi.gov.cy/pio

/EI

Cyprus Press and Information Office: Turkish Cypriot Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next Article