Cyprus PIO: Turkish Press and Other Media, 05-12-07

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

[A] NEWS ITEMS

[01] The Turkish Cypriot press on yesterday's visit to Ledra Street by Turkish Cypriot politicians and Turkish army officers

[02] Turkish Foreign Ministry lawyers in the occupied area demanded 'sensitivity' as regards the so-called property law

[03] The self ' styled Prime Ministry clarifies the aim of the 'draft ' law'

[04] The Leader of the nationalist people's movement calls for the withdrawal of the 'Draft Law' on property compensation

[05] The Turkish Prime Minister referred to Cyprus and Ethnic minorities during a speech in New Zealand. He left for Australia

[06] A Turkish Cypriot man was taken into custody for selling lottery tickets of the Republic of Cyprus in the occupied areas

[07] Turkish Press Council Chairman: New penal code should be amended immediately

[B] COMMENTARIES, EDITORIALS AND ANALYSIS

[08] Columnist in Afrika comments on the visit to the Ledra Street area yesterday by Mr Fendi Sabit Soyer, Mr Serdar Denktas and Mr Kutlay Erk flanked by a large group of the occupation army commandership

[A] NEWS ITEMS

[01] The Turkish Cypriot press on yesterday's visit to Ledra Street by Turkish Cypriot politicians and Turkish army officers

AFRIKA covers the visit under banner headlines 'Soyer's visit to the Ledra street: Lokmaci Show by the government' . YENIDUZEN: 'With carnations to the Lonmaci'. ORTAM : 'They were unable to Cover up. The Lokmaci barricade was a thick cover over the problems, but they were unable to cover up these problems.' KIBRISLI:'Peace and dialogue bridge against the Wall of shame'. OZGURDUSUNCE 'The name of the play on the stage: Open' Open.' HALKIN SESI 'Soyer; we will unite our capital by pulling down the wall on the other side'.

[02] Turkish Foreign Ministry lawyers in the occupied area demanded 'sensitivity' as regards the so-called property law

The paper further reports that the senior partner of the so-called coalition government party, the Republican Turkish Party (RTP), while favoring the law, on the other hand, the junior partner Democratic Party (DP) so-called deputies declared that they will not say yes to the law. 'This disagreement has created a small crisis within the government', KIBRIS reports and adds that among the four- member delegation is Turkey's legal expert in Brussels.

[03] The self ' styled Prime Ministry clarifies the aim of the 'draft ' law'

'The draft law on 'Property Compensation' is aimed at securing bi-zonality in Cyprus.

This announcement came from the (self ' styled) Prime Minister's Office today as the issue continues to be debated widely among the People of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (occupied territories of the Republic of Cyprus).

A statement signed by the Chief of Staff of the Prime Minister's Office ' Erkut Åahali, said it is an indisputable fact that individual private legal initiatives on the property issue, prior to a comprehensive solution to the Cyprus problem, could create problems.

The statement stressed that private legal steps in the long term, can weaken the principle of bi-zonality ' an issue agreed upon long ago and which has been seen by the international community as a basis for a settlement to the Cyprus problem.

It stressed that the draft law is not prepared only by the coalition government, but, also in cooperation with contributing foreign Men of Law as well as expert legal advisers from the President's Office.

Stating that the draft law also aims at creating an appropriate legal ground respecting international law, it said that the proposed arrangement will not only ensure bi-zonality in Cyprus but also protect the Turkish Cypriot People's basic rights.

As for the opening of the Lokmaci Barricade, the Prime Minister's Office reminded that the Ministry called on the political parties in both sides in Cyprus to cooperate on the issue towards achieving a solution to the problem.

Noting that the possible opening of the Lokmaci (Ledra Street) is aimed at improving the relations between Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots, the statement said these efforts were prevented due to the position adopted by the Greek Cypriot leader Tassos Papadapoulos.

Referring to the current deadlock on the negotiations process, the statement called for the speedy resumption of the process under the auspices of the United Nations, but questioned how such a new process could be kicked off in view of the Greek Cypriot leader's reluctance - even to have a social come together - with President Mehmet Ali Talat'.

[04] The Leader of the nationalist people's movement calls for the withdrawal of the 'Draft Law' on property compensation

'The leader of the Nationalist People's Movement (UHH) Taner Etkin has called for the withdrawal of the draft law on property compensation from the agenda of the (self ' styled) Republican Assembly.

Speaking at a press conference this morning, the UHH leader Taner Etkin warned of dire consequences in case the draft is passed into law.

Mr Etkin, responding to questions, said the draft represents a going-back from the provisions on the property issue as seen in the Annan Plan in an attempt to satisfy the Greek Cypriot side's demands.

Mr Etkin said the property rights of all Turkish Cypriots, Greek Cypriots and other communities must be protected and safeguarded in other ways available like overall property exchange and compensation.

'There's no way the Cyprus problem can be resolved through unilateral legal arrangements and court cases' he said.

[05] The Turkish Prime Minister reffered to Cyprus and Ethnic minorities during a speech in New Zealand. He left for Australia

On the same issue Ankara Anatolia (06/12/05) reported from Christchurch that Mr Erdogan said that around 30 ethnic groups were living in Turkey.

He said: "Turkey is a country comprised of these ethnic groups. There are Turks, Kurds, Lazs, Circassians, Georgians, Abkhazians, Albanians and Bosnians in Turkey, and they are all intermingled. There is an important thing that links these ethnic groups with each other, and it is religion. 99 percent of Turks are Muslim. Kurds are represented at the parliament, and appointed as senior officials in Turkey (without problem). And, they are also among the leading businessmen of Turkey.

Citizens of Kurdish origin are not solely living in a certain part of Turkey, but everywhere in Turkey. However, the Southeastern Anatolia Region is a region where the majority of citizens are of Kurdish origin."

From New Zealand the Turkish Prime Minister flew to Australia on Tuesday where he will hold several meetings and attend the Turkish-Australian Business Forum in Melbourne.

Erdogan will hold a conference on "Alliance of Civilizations" in Melbourne University. He will also meet Turkish businessmen living in this city.

After his talks in Melbourne, Erdogan will proceed to Canberra.

Erdogan will have meetings with Australian Prime Minister John Howard and ministers.

[06] A Turkish Cypriot man was taken into custody for selling lottery tickets of the Republic of Cyprus in the occupied areas

The man was taken into custody by the self-styled police which has also started an investigation against him. Speaking to KIBRIS Huseyin Lisani stated that he is unemployed and that he sells the lottery tickets only in the free areas of Cyprus in order to get some money.

[07] Turkish Press Council Chairman: New penal code should be amended immediately

'The chairman of Turkey' Press Council on Tuesday called for the country's new penal code to be changed immediately in order to protect journalist's freedom of speech.

Responding to the launching of court cases against five leading Turkish journalists who wrote articles criticising a court ruling banning a conference discussing the Ottoman Empire's Armenian citizens, the Press Council's Oktay Eksi warned that without further legal reforms freedom of expression in Turkey would suffer.

Without changes to the new penal code the corridors of courthouses and prisons in Turkey could be filled with journalists, Eksi said. 'Turkey will fall back to being among the world's third class countries,' he said in a written statement.

According to Eksi, the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) had come to power vowing to expand freedom of expression. However, instead of seeking to imprison journalists one by one, the AKP had invented a method to penalise the media as a whole. The system applied by the AKP resembled the totalitarian method of mass punishments, he said.

The decision to charge the five journalists from various papers under one prosecution indictment was only as fair and as judicial as opening court cases against separate traffic accidents that occurred around the same days under one indictment, Eksi said.

The five journalists; Hasan Cemal, Ismet Berkan, Murat Belge, Haluk Sahin and Erol Katırcıoglu, will be tried in February, with the prosecutor calling for gaol terms ranging from six months to ten years'.

[0B] COMMENTARIES, EDITORIALS AND ANALYSIS

[08] Columnist in Afrika comments on the visit to the Ledra Street area yesterday by Mr Ferdi Sabit Soyer, Mr Serdar Denktas and Mr Kutlay Erk flanked by a large group of the occupation army commandership

'You occupy half of a country after a fighting war''. Then you create a state there''..

You transfer thousands of persons from your country to the territories you conquer''.. You distribute, and issue title deeds, to these persons (illegal settlers) the properties of the people (Greek Cypriots) you force under armed violence to abandon.

And you settle for good there 40,000 of your armed forces. You plant a 'restricted military area' sign post everywhere'' You set up military camps and headquarters in the forests and mountains '.. You leave no place without barbed wires'' You force the local population to live behind an iron curtain for thirty years after closing tightly the borders of the country divided into two with the territories under your conquest ''. You allow no bird fly from the borders'.. You do not even give permission to the sick persons begging you to cross for treatment '''.

Suddenly after thirty years, after others died and others were left behind, you came to reason and open partly the walls you erected ''.

'Go ahead, pass, you say, with your passports' ''. Because you partly open the walls you erected you boast and consider this to be a great favour to the people whose land you occupy '.. Although their land is under your occupation you call them 'occupiers' and declare yourselves 'freedom lovers'..'

'I want peace while you do not', you say '''. 'Our offer for peace was in vain', you say complaining '..

With the support of 40,000 troops behind you accuse the other side that it does not accept your conditions for peace''.

At Ledra Street there was a festival yesterday '..Soyer '''.Serdar ''... And the commanders ''.

They gathered at the area where they created a work of art '. They delivered speeches '.

They provoked looking at the Greek Cypriot wall across the road.

'That wall, that wall of yours, is annoying us', they shouted in rage'.

They treated with disrespect a poem of Nazim (Hikmet)! As if Nazim wrote this famous poem for such a wall.

Since when do they consider the shouting of the proletarians against the wall of bourgeoisie to be the shouting of the Turks against the Greeks? Since when have those who divided the country into two pieces like a water melon, those who decorated the half of it with forty thousand soldiers, military camps and headquarters, those who forced us to live for thirty years behind bars, become 'wall breakers'? Since when do they have the desire to demolish walls?

Is this enthusiasm due to the fact that we were not able to make ourselves accepted to the other side with the territories we have been occupying for 31 years and the state we have established? Since when this monstrosity, this bridge you have built in a narrow street, has become a bridge of peace? Will the civilians go over the bridge because the army will be patrolling there? Why has it not been necessary to build bridges at other crossing points and it has been necessary there? Is it very pleasant for you if we live under the psychosis of a continuous war?

The festival at Lokmaci is a festival of helplessness. It is a sign of having submitted to the army, of the obedience of the civilians to the army. Come on, gather in the moldy dry dock of the fourty year old ruins. Light a fire. Dance. Distribute sweet pastry and meat balls. In any case, people are in trouble. It does not matter if they eat some sweets. Those who care about how to open a passage for the army to patrol instead of looking for ways to get rid of the army, what kind of peace could they sign? Many men have been shot at the sentry posts until now. Will they be shot on the bridge from now on'?

/ES

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