Cyprus PIO: Turkish Cypriot and Turkish Media Review, 14-08-29

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

[A] TURKISH CYPRIOT / TURKISH PRESS

[01] Davutoglu announced his Cabinet; Cavusoglu the new Foreign Minister

[02] Erdogan sworn in as first directly elected President of Turkey

[03] Davutoglu: The government decided in 2004 what Turkey's Cyprus policy is going to be

[04] Main opposition leader slams Erdogan, boycotts presidential inauguration

[05] Ozersay: Eroglu will meet with the UNSG Ban Ki-moon

[06] Turkish Cypriot politicians express hopes over Davutoglu's contribution on the Cyprus problem as PM

[07] Talat on the Cyprus negotiation talks: "The leaders should overcome the difficulties"

[08] Several trade unions, NGO's and organizations in the occupied area of Cyprus to organize a protest against Erdogan's illegal visit to the occupation regime

[09] Elcil: "There are 202 mosques and 162 schools in north Cyprus"

[10] Occupied Kantara area lacks of care

[11] Interpol's Report on human organs trafficking allegations: "Nothing illegal in YDU's hospital works on human transplants abroad"

[A] TURKISH CYPRIOT / TURKISH PRESS

[01] Davutoglu announced his Cabinet; Cavusoglu the new Foreign Minister

Accordingly, Davutoglu introduced the list of his Cabinet to President Erdogan before noon on August 29 and it is expected that the list will be approved later today.

The Cabinet of Turkey's 62nd Government is as follows:

Four Deputy Prime Ministers - Yalcin Akdogan, Ali Babacan, Numan Kurtulmus, Bulent Arinc

Foreign Minister - Mevlut Cavusoglu

Interior Minister - Efkan Ala

Justice Minister - Bekir Bozdag

Finance Minister - Mehmet Simsek

Economy Minister - Nihat Zeybekci

Energy and Natural Resources Minister - Taner Yildiz

Defense Minister - Ismet Yilmaz

Family and Social Policies Minister - Aysenur Islam

EU Minister - Volkan Bozkir

Science, Industry and Technology Minister - Fikri Isik

Labor and Social Security Minister - Faruk Selik

Environment and Urban Planning Minister - Idris Gulluce

Youth and Sports Minister - Akif Cagatay Kilic

Food, Agriculture and Livestock Minister - Mehdi Eker

Customs and Trade Minister - Nurettin Canikli

Development Minister - Cevdet Yilmaz

Culture and Tourism Minister - Omer Celik

Education Minister - Nabi Avc?

Forestry and Water Affairs Minister - Veysel Eroglu

Health Minister - Mehmet Muezzinoglu

Transportation, Maritime Affairs and Communication Minister - Lutfi Elvan

[02] Erdogan sworn in as first directly elected President of Turkey

Turkish politics on Thursday witnessed a historic day with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, former Prime Minister and one of the founders of ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party), stepping up for his oath-taking ceremony as Turkey's 12th President at the Parliament.

Speaking at the handover ceremony, former President Abdullah Gul stated that he and Erdogan have a 40-year-long friendship and brotherhood. "I am confident that President Erdogan will push Turkey even further to succeed," added Gul. Bidding farewell to the 11th President of Turkey, Abdullah Gul, Erdogan granted a state medal of honour to Gul.

Erdogan started his speech after Gul. Addressing Gul as the 11th President and his valuable brother, Erdogan stressed the importance of the first-directly elected President and said: "As I continue to breathe, I promise to protect this valuable trust given by our nation via election."

"Today marks the closing of an old era and the opening of a new era in the new Turkey," added the President.

Erdogan cemented his political career with the presidential tenure that will keep him in the nation's driving seat for at least another five years. President Erdogan has continuously indicated that he would like to transform the presidency from a largely ceremonial post into a more powerful position.

[03] Davutoglu: The government decided in 2004 what Turkey's Cyprus policy is going to be

Davutoglu said: "The government of the Republic of Turkey decided in 2004 what Turkey's Cyprus policy was going to be. The leader and the government with the will of the people decided upon Turkey's Middle East policy, Turkey's macro-economic relationships, and Turkey's relationship with the IMF."

Referring to the foreign policy of Turkey, Davutoglu said that there had been not a foreign policy deriving from a shared strategic perspective but rather foreign relations conducted with different countries and international organizations. He added: "The entire foreign policy agenda consisted only of a few defensive topics, ranging from Cyprus to the Armenian issue. The more Turkey strengthened its democracy, and the more it put its economy onto sound foundations, the more it achieved major advances in foreign policy. We will never abandon basic principles. No matter what anyone might say, our fundamental principle is that our policy be centred on Ankara. Those who will seek the secret of Turkey's foreign policy will turn and look to Ankara. For that reason, I state with pride that the number of foreign embassies in Ankara, which was 84 in 2001, has currently risen to 117. Why? Because other countries now realize that when you sit in Ankara, you have the pulse of all the neighbouring regions."

Davutoglu stated that Turkey's foreign policy has many dimensions, and that this derives from a geographical necessity. Declaring that those who want to trap Turkey in a pincer between Europe and Asia are unaware of Turkey's geography, Davutoglu said: "Turkey's EU goal is a strategic goal, and will be continued with resolve. But Turkey's strategic strength will grow with the surrounding regions and basins. For that reason, we have pursued a policy of eliminating visas in order to draw great resources to our economy. We have eliminated visas with 74 countries, and we have established intergovernmental mechanisms with 19 countries, and have held joint cabinet meetings."

Noting that they have opened the way for the representation of entrepreneurs in Africa, and that they have increased the number of Ambassadors there from 12 to 35, Davutoglu said that Turkey is the country with the seventh-greatest number of foreign representations in the world, with 222 foreign representations.

[04] Main opposition leader slams Erdogan, boycotts presidential inauguration

The Republican People's Party (CHP) had already decided not to attend the ceremony at Parliament, but three of its lawmakers were present at the General Assembly to make their objections about the legal process. The party emphasized that Erdogan's status as Prime Minister and chairman of the ruling party dropped when the Supreme Election Board (YSK) announced the official results of the presidential elections Aug. 15. It criticized Cicek for not acting upon the YSK's announcement and for allowing what they call unlawful.

As the quarrel between the two men continued, Altay hurled a parliamentary rulings booklet at Cicek, which hit the floor behind him. Altay's move drew a quick reaction from Justice and Development Party (AKP) lawmakers, who walked over to the CHP Deputy.

Altay and other CHP Deputies held a press conference following the incident, stressing that they simply wanted to draw the attention to the unlawfulness that had taken place since Aug. 15. "Whoever is elected, the President should abide by the Constitution. We wanted to express this. Otherwise our problem is not to confront the people's will," he said.

The AKP lawmakers strongly criticized Altay's move and described it as disrespectful to the people's will. "The disrespect committed against a person elected with 52% of the votes is, in fact, disrespect to the masses who voted for him," Development Minister Cevdet Yilmaz told reporters.

Just hours before this incident at Parliament, Kilicdaroglu reiterated he would boycott the ceremony because he did not want to "legitimize a false oath".

[05] Ozersay: Eroglu will meet with the UNSG Ban Ki-moon

Speaking to the press before starting the briefing, Ozersay said that the Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu and an accompanying delegation will be travelling to New York in the coming days to meet with the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on the side-lines of the UN General Assembly.

Reminding that he had held almost two months ago a similar briefing, Ozersay said that the aim of holding such meetings is to inform civil society organisations and to a certain extent the public on the latest developments taking place on the Cyprus problem and the negotiations process. He also said that he is always ready to exchange views on the issue.

[06] Turkish Cypriot politicians express hopes over Davutoglu's contribution on the Cyprus problem as PM

Commenting on Davutoglu's appointment, the chairman of the Social Democracy Party (TDP) Cemal Ozyigit expressed hopes over Davutoglu's contribution to the Cyprus negotiation process and underlined that Davutoglu was one of the most important architects of the "February 2014 Joint Declaration" which is very important for the negotiation talks, as he said.

Also speaking, the chairman of the National Unity Party (UBP) Huseyin Ozgurgun congratulated the AKP party and Davutoglu and said that it is an advantage that Davutoglu who knows very well the Cyprus problem was appointed as a Prime Minister. "We have done numerous meetings with Davutoglu on the Cyprus problem", Ozgurgun added.

On the same issue, the "secretary-general" of the Republican Turkish Party-United Forces (CTP-BG), Kutlay Erk stated that they are expecting from Davutoglu to encourage the sides on the negotiating table.

Arguing that Turkey is an important actor for the solution of the Cyprus problem, Erk added that Davutoglu's Prime Ministry office should show interest especially on the Cyprus problem and the "economic ties" with the Turkish Cypriots.

Sending his congratulations to Davutoglu, Erk expressed also hopes that Davutoglu will support their programs and actions, their openings in the markets and will make openings towards the occupation regime's economy.

Also, the "foreign-relations secretary" of the Democratic Party (DP) Serhat Kotak in his statement said: "It is a pleasure for us that Mr Ahmet Davutoglu who always supports us and who knows very well the Cyprus problem, he became Turkey's Prime Minister?".

(AK)

[07] Talat on the Cyprus negotiation talks: "The leaders should overcome the difficulties"

According to the information given by Talat's office, Talat evaluated several issues and the latest developments on the Cyprus problem on a TV program he attended at SIM TV.

Talat stated inter alia, that the Cyprus problem has "gone off the rail" and has turned into a "tangled situation". He added that the Cyprus problem is difficult to solve, and called the leaders to try to understand and overcome the difficulties through direct, and face to face meetings.

Stating that no progress has been achieved in the talks so far, Talat criticized the way the talks are conducted and said that the negotiations are carrying out as if an academic discussion is taking place. "This is a new way of the non-solution", added Talat.

Accusing Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu of following the policy of "the non-solution is the solution", Talat said that in fact any steps that were taken since 2010 led to a deadlock.

Concerning the change of power in Turkey, Talat said that he does not expect any change on Turkey's stance on the Cyprus problem.

Referring to the forthcoming "presidential elections" which are to take place next year, Talat emphasized the importance of a correct decision regarding the "elections"." The Turkish Cypriots should be careful and make the right decision while electing their president", Talat said.

(AK)

[08] Several trade unions, NGO's and organizations in the occupied area of Cyprus to organize a protest against Erdogan's illegal visit to the occupation regime

According to the paper, the Secondary School Teachers' trade union (KTOEOS), the Cyprus Turkish Teacher's Union (KTOS), the United Cyprus Party (BKP), the New Cyprus Party (YKP), the Baraka Cultural Center, the Reformist Communist Union and the trade unions Tip-Is, Guc-Sen, Basin-Sen, Cag-Sen and the Pir Sultan Abdal Association will participate in the protest.

The protesters will gather on the night of August 31st at the Kugulu Park in the occupied area of Cyprus and set up tents there. The protest will continue the next day as well when Erdogan's visit will take place.

The paper underlines that "civil servants'" trade union (KTAMS), Dev-Is, Turk-Sen, Kamu-Sen and Hur-Is will not participate in the protest, since they are in preparations to organize a hunger strike.

According to the paper, the so-called police is expected to take large scale measures during the protest, as it did in the past when Erdogan visited again the occupation regime.

(AK)

[09] Elcil: "There are 202 mosques and 162 schools in north Cyprus"

Despite the "ministry of education's" acknowledgement of the need for 47 teachers for primary education, 102 teachers for secondary education, due to the savings by the "department of finance", only positions for 10 teachers' in primary education and 40 for secondary education have been opened. The education unions leaders also stated that the number of schools which need modification and alterations are quite a lot, and that a lot of the schools have leaking roofs; however they expressed their concern that these half completed constructions will not be completed by the beginning of the school year. The self-styled minister of education minister Mustafa Arabacioglu has noted that all the insufficiencies will be completed by the start of the school year, stating that modifications have started on more than 40 schools and that while some works are completed others are still continuing. "Our aim is to finish these modifications before the school year starts, we are doing all we can," he said.

Meanwhile, the General Secretary of the Turkish Cypriot Teachers' Union (KTOS) Sener Elcil, speaking to the paper, stated that there is a nursery in the occupied village of Yerolakkos that has not been completed for years.

Elcil added: "Mehmetcik (occupied village of Galatia) mosque has been finished, while Alaykoy (occupied village of Yerolakkos) nursery is still not completed. Obscurantism is spreading. Education has been obscured so that the people could easily be manipulated. This obscuring of education has started in Turkey and is being continued to us. Despite there are 202 mosques, more mosques are being built, however the number of the schools are limited to 162. With Turkey's occupation we cannot accept much from education."

[10] Occupied Kantara area lacks of care

As the paper writes, the tourists who visit the Kantara square come across with terrible pictures and the bad condition of the village.

The paper calls the "responsible officials" to take action and measures.

(AK)

[11] Interpol's Report on human organs trafficking allegations: "Nothing illegal in YDU's hospital works on human transplants abroad"

According to the paper the report writes: "No evidences were found concerning any illegal activities or works of the YDU university hospital concerning organ and tissue transplants".

According to the same reliable sources, Interpol's report will be convened today to the occupation regimes' attorney general by the "police chief". The paper recalls statements made by the so-called minister of health Ahmet Gulle that he would submit his resignation if no evidence were found and calls the "minister" to submit his resignation today.

(AK) TURKISH AFFAIRS SECTION

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