Cyprus PIO: Turkish Press and Other Media, 03-06-20

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

[A] NEWS ITEMS

[01] Turkey accepts to abide by the decision of the ECHR on Titina Loizidou.

[02] How the Turkish and Turkish Cypriot press cover the announcement by Turkey that it would pay the compensation to Mrs Titina Loizidou.

[03] The Cyprus problem is included in Turkey's National Program for harmonization with the EU criteria.

[04] Contacts of the US State Department's Coordinator for Cyprus in Ankara.

[05] 500 trillion Turkish Lira are available for the pseudostate in Turkey's budget.

[A] NEWS ITEMS

[01] Turkey accepts to abide by the decision of the ECHR on Titina Loizidou

At the delegations committee meeting, which convened at the level of ambassadors on behalf of the Council of Europe ministers committee, Turkey`s Permanent Representative Numan Hazar said Turkey would complete the necessary procedure regarding the ECHR's decision for financial compensation till October.

Turkey is expected to pay around 900 thousand U.S. dollars financial compensation to Titina Loizidou..

ECHR had taken a decision in 1998 about the application of Titina Loizidou, who lives in the Greek Cypriot side, and sentenced Turkey to pay 500 thousand U.S. dollars financial compensation to Loizidou.

Loizidou, in her application to ECHR, had claimed that her property in the northern part of Cyprus were taken from her and that her right to settlement was prevented. The court had decided for Turkey to pay compensation to Loizidou because of ``deprivation of right``.

Turkey had rejected to pay the compensation saying it could not undertake responsibility for an incident which occurred outside its territories.

Turkey also said other international institutions taking a binding decision which directly interested the Cyprus issue would negatively affect the solution efforts on Cyprus as the Cyprus question was already on the agenda of the U.N. Security Council.

Turkey stated that it could accept the ECHR decision about Loizidou on condition that it would not constitute an example to similar cases, and that it demanded similar cases to be sent to a law office which would be set up in the "TRNC", concluded A.A.

[02] How the Turkish and Turkish Cypriot press cover the announcement by Turkey that it would pay the compensation to Mrs Titina Loizidou

KIBRIS, under the front-page banner title "Turkey is paying compensation to Loizidou", reminds that the decision of the court had been taken in 1998 and adds that "Turkey accepted to pay one million dollars to Greek Cypriot Titina Loizidou, who won the case at the ECHR". The paper writes also that ambassador Numan Hazar, Turkey's Permanent Representative at the Council of Europe announced yesterday at a meeting of the Permanent Representatives Committee of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg that his country would unconditionally pay the compensation to Mrs Loizidou until 8 October 2003.

Under the subtitle "There are still 3.000 Greek Cypriot cases to go", the paper writes that the question now is what will happen with the rest 3.000 cases of the Greek Cypriots who had filed charges against Turkey at the ECHR. According to KIBRIS, an unofficial agreement has been reached between Ankara and the Council of Europe on this issue. This agreement provides for transferring the cases of Greek Cypriots against Turkey to a "special legal organ", which will be established in the occupied areas.

VOLKAN, under the title "Shocking development! The ECHR stopped the Greek Cypriot cases", writes that Turkey accepted to pay the compensation to Mrs Loizidou in exchange for the postponement of the 3.000 Greek Cypriot cases against it and the transfer of the rest of the Greek Cypriot cases, to be opened against Turkey, to a "special court for the properties", which will be established in the pseudostate. "Thus", continues VOLKAN, "it will be ensured that the Greek Cypriots exhaust the internal legal procedures in the TRNC and have as their interlocutor the TRNC and not Turkey". According to the paper, "it was known that the Greek Cypriot and the Greek representatives have strongly protested" about this unofficial agreement noting that this would mean a kind of recognition of the pseudostate, "but the European diplomats told them that there is no other way to get rid of the 3.000 cases".

KIBRISLI, under the front-page banner title "Who will pay!" writes that "the 'let us plunder and Turkey will pay' understanding has totally collapsed" and "the looting period has been closed". "Turkey's decision to pay the fine dealt a heavy blow to the illegality of the status quo", notes KIBRISLI adding that "the Annan plan will be understood better now".

AFRIKA, under the front-page banner title (Turkey) "Pays the money to Loizidou", argues that this was "Turkey's second important step after the opening of the gates" in Cyprus. AFRIKA's editor-in-chief Sener Levent writes in his regular column that this decision means "the collapse of a policy" and that "Turkey accepts now that it is responsible for everything which happens in northern Cyprus". "The allegation that 'the TRNC is the interlocutor, not me' collapsed", notes Mr Levent pointing out that the pseudostate in occupied Cyprus is illegal, that Turkey controls everything there and that the Turkish position that the issue of the properties should be solved only with compensations collapsed.

YENI DUZEN, under the front-page banner title "The compensation is being paid", writes that "while the NUP - DP government, after instructions by president Denktas, is preparing to make a law in order to give the Greek Cypriots the opportunity to file charges at the 'TRNC courts', Turkey announced that it would pay the compensation to the Greek Cypriot citizen Titina Loizidou who had filed charges against it at the ECHR and won the case".

ORTAM, under the front-page banner title "The compensation to Loizidou is being paid", writes that after five years "Turkey's obstinacy was broken".

HALKIN SESI, under the front page banner title "Turkey is paying the compensation to Loizidou", writes that this is the first time Turkey will apply the decision of a case won by a Greek Cypriot citizen who had filed charges against it. Invoking "diplomatic sources", the paper argues that the ECHR will refer the Greek Cypriots, who will file charges against Turkey, to a "legal organ" to be established in the occupied areas.

BIRLIK, YENI CIZGI and VATAN refer to the issue along the same lines in their inside pages.

Under the title "Giant step in Cyprus", mainland Turkey MILLYET newspaper (20.06.03) refers to the same issue and writes that in taking this decision Turkey was influenced by its agreement with the Council of Europe. According to the correspondent of MILLIYET in Brussels, Mr Guven Ozalp, "the deadlock was overcome as soon as the Council of Europe, based on the Cyprus case of 2001, gave the green light to referring similar cases to a special legal organ to be established in the TRNC".

[03] The Cyprus problem is included in Turkey's National Program for harmonization with the EU criteria

"The details of the National Program, which will be discussed at the Council of Ministers on 23 June have reached NTV. The Program says that the nature of the National Security Council [NSC] as a consultative body will be adapted to NSC's functions and character. According to the National Program, the good offices mission of the United Nations in Cyprus will continue to be supported.

The National Program comes to approximately 900 pages together with the additions. The Program envisages to adopt 87 new laws and decides to implement 382 new administrative arrangements. The program talks about the arrangements to the NSC in general: "The NSC's quality as a consultative body has been redefined along the lines of the constitutional and legislative amendments. The NSC General Secretariat and the NSC's functions will be adjusted accordingly."

Cyprus is in the introductory section of the National Program. Accordingly, support will continue to be extended to the UN Secretary-General's good offices mission, which will based on the sovereignty of the two sides and the realities in Cyprus as part of the political dialogue bolstered by the EU. The National Program also emphasizes that Turkey's efforts and initiatives to resolve the bilateral issues with Greece through dialogue will continue.

The introduction emphasizes that the EU constitutes a social change project for Turkey, adding: "The government is determined to complete the legal arrangements concerning the EU within the first legislative year. At the same time as the reforms are being implemented, the government is determined to have all the adaptations take effect by June 2004."

[04] Contacts of the US State Department's Coordinator for Cyprus in Ankara

Weston firstly met with Ertugrul Apakan, the Director General of the Ministry's Department for Cyprus. He was later received by Gul.

Following the meeting, Weston told reporters that his contacts in the Ministry were "long, detailed and satisfactory".

Weston said that they took up all the dimensions of the Cyprus issue and there were also confidence-building measures among those issues.

Defining his meeting with Gul as "constructive", Weston said that his views were mainly similar with Gul's and that they reached a consensus to cooperate and work together.

Weston hoped that his visit would not only show the determination of the United States to contribute to a solution of the Cyprus issue but also be an indicator of their wish to work in cooperation with their friend and ally Turkey in every filed.

[05] 500 trillion Turkish Lira are available for the pseudostate in Turkey's budget

Replying to questions by the London correspondent of KIBRIS newspaper to the effect that last month Turkey promised to provide 173 billion TL for 13 projects and 4 thousand employment opportunities for the occupied areas of Cyprus, Mr Babacan said:

"In our budget of this year we have made provisions for a total of 500 trillion TL as financial aid for Cyprus. The expenses policy applied this year is a tight one. Despite, this, we have included 500 trillion for the `TRNC' in the budget. This source will be provided this year for use in Cyprus, but I do not know the full details".

/SK

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