TURKISH PRESS
AND OTHER MEDIA
No.150/05
09.08.05
A.NEWS ITEMS
1. The occupation regime grants financial aid to newspapers and GENC TV.
2. Reaction to IMF demand to curtail Turkey’s aid to the occupation regime.
3. The so-called Minister of Economy and Tourism is having contacts in
London.
4. A USA delegation arrived last night in the occupied areas of Cyprus.
5. Ankara is shaken at signs of losing role in oil industry.
A.NEWS ITEMS
1. The occupation regime grants financial aid to newspapers and GENC TV
Turkish Cypriot daily AFRIKA newspaper (09.08.05) reports that according to recent
decisions of the “government” of the occupation regime which were published in the
“official gazette” on 3 August 2005, the daily and weekly media published in the
occupied part of Cyprus in Turkish or in English language will get from the
pseudostate the sum of ten thousand new Turkish liras each in the form of financial
aid.
Meanwhile, KIBRIS GENC TV, which belongs to Birinci Media Group of Ertan Birinci,
will get 40 thousand new Turkish liras. GENC TV has begun its satellite transmission
through Turksat and can be watched in almost 100 countries in the world. The
reason for the financial aid is its contribution to advertising the pseudostate.
Turkish Cypriot VOLKAN newspaper (09.08.05) criticizes the decision of the
“government” to give to Dogan Harman and Asil Nadir, owners of KIBRISLI and
KIBRIS newspapers respectively, the sum of 20 thousand liras each and argues that
the reason for the decision is because they supported the Annan Plan.
The paper writes that while GENC TV is receiving aid, AKDENIZ TV and KANAL T,
which “have a great contribution” in advertising the pseudostate, its “universities” and
its tourism, will get nothing.
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VOLKAN argues that the ten thousand liras were given to the media in order to
ensure that they will remain silent and not react against RTP – DP “government”.
2. Reaction to IMF demand to curtail Turkey’s aid to the occupation regime
According to Turkish Cypriot daily KIBRIS newspaper (09.08.05) the deputy
chairman of the True Path Party, (TPP), of Turkey, former Ambassador Nuzhet
Kandemir, referring to foreign press reports that the International Monetary Fund,
(IMF) has asked Turkey to curtail the aid sent to the occupied area, said that if the
government consented to curtailing the aid, this means that the “TRNC” had been
abandoned as in the political platform, in the economic platform as well to its fate.
In a written statement, Kandemir said: “If the government, during the negotiations
with the IMF, has accepted such curtailing, then the Turkish Cypriots living on the
island are taken in a pincer movement by Turkey. There is a contradiction between
the reported pledge to the IMF to curtail aid to the `TRNC´ prior to the declaration
and to the claim included in the declaration. The `TRNC´ has been abandoned as in
the case of the political platform, in the economic platform as well”.
Kandemir further said that the Greek Cypriots want to take a major share in energy
transportation, “so as result of this they will get the backing of the EU, they will insist
on opening of the Turkish ports and airports to the Cyprus registered ships and
planes”, Kandemir warned.
Kandemir went on and urged that such chance should not be provided to the Greek
Cypriots, because it will deprive Turkey from an important income and political
effectiveness and it will break the resistance of the Turkish Cypriots.
3. The so-called Minister of Economy and Tourism is having contacts in
London
Turkish Cypriot daily KIBRIS newspaper (09/08/05) reports that the so-called Minister
of Economy and Tourism, Dervis Deniz, who is holding contacts in London, met with
officials of the British Foreign Ministry where they discussed the “Law on preventing
the laundering of money”. The British officials said that they are ready to give any aid
on this subject.
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Mr Deniz also thanked the lawyers who won the case regarding the advertisements
of the “North Cyprus” on buses in London, adding that the winning of this case is an
important point for the tourism. He also briefed tourist agencies in London on the
tourism in the occupied area of Cyprus, noting that with the increase of investments
“North Cyprus” will be an important tourist centre in the Mediterranean.
4. A USA delegation arrived last night in the occupied areas of Cyprus
Under the title “An American delegation has come again”, Turkish Cypriot daily YENI
DUZEN newspaper (09.08.05) reports that a delegation composed of 7 Americans,
who are members of the USA Congress, arrived last night at the illegal Tympou
airport via Istanbul airport. The Americans are guests of the Cyprus Turkish Chamber
of Commerce (CTCC).
As the paper writes, the USA delegation is composed by five members of the
American Congress and two members of the US Senate. The names of the visitors
are the following: James Isaac Brown, the economist of the Joint Committee of
Economy of the Senate and the Congress, who is heading the delegations, Le Anne
Holdman, Meggn Medley, Sean Hughey, Stephen Schatz, Sarah Greer, Elizabeth Mc
Donnel and Ike Brannon.
The American delegation, which is expected to leave the island on the 14th of
August, will hold contacts with so-called state and government officials, chairmen of
political parties and representatives of civil society organizations. They will also
participate in briefings and will visit the illegal universities. Within the framework of its
contacts, the delegation will visit the Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat, the socalled speaker of the “parliament” Fatma Ekenoglu, the “prime minister” Ferdi Sabit
Soyer and the “foreign minister” Serdar Denktas.
In addition, as Turkish Cypriot daily KIBRIS newspaper (09.08.05) reports CTCC
Chairman Salih Tunar, who welcomed the delegation at the occupied airport, said
that they invited the US delegation to give them better information about Cyprus and
make them know Cyprus better. Noting that the US delegation would meet “TRNC
state” and “government officials”, leaders of political parties and NGOs, Tunar said
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that "the aim of the visit was not economic, but to help the delegation to get to know
Cyprus." He also indicated that such visits would become frequent from now on and
the main target was to explain the Cyprus question to those who had important
positions.
5. Ankara is shaken at signs of losing role in oil industry
Under the above title, Turkish daily The New Anatolian newspaper (08.08.05)
publishes the following report:
“While following the EU's talks with Iran about its nuclear program, Ankara is shocked
to learn the EU pledged its support for Iran becoming the main transit route for
Central Asian oil and gas, disappointing Turkey's hopes of being the main energy
corridor in the region
Although Iranian government says it rejected the proposal, Ankara seeks more
information from both parties. 'The news leaked by Iranian officials raises questions
about the EU's plans for Turkey, one of its candidate states. We believed in a
principle of solidarity between the EU and its candidate countries,' says one Turkish
diplomat
While following negotiations between the European Union and Tehran over Iran's
nuclear program, Turkey was shocked by leaked information about the bargaining
process: The EU pledged its support for Iran to become "the main transit route for
Central Asian oil and gas," disappointing Turkish aspirations of being the main
energy corridor in the region.
A senior Iranian official, speaking on condition of anonymity, leaked the story to
international news agencies that the EU had offered to support Iran becoming the
main transit route for Central Asian oil and gas in exchange for a freeze to Tehran's
nuclear program.
"In its proposal, the EU supports the idea of Iran being the main energy transit route
to Europe from Central Asia," the official is quoted as saying. The transportation of
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Central Asian oil and gas to the European markets is an issue creating very deep
rivalries among the countries in the region.
One of the nations vying for a piece of the region's crucial oil and gas industry is
Russia, and its pipeline from the Kazakh oil fields to its terminal near the Black Sea
port of Novorossiysk. Ankara uses its Bosporus Straits card to weaken the Russian
chances, arguing that intense oil tanker traffic along the slender Bosporus and
Dardanelles will involve major security threats for Istanbul and Canakkale.
The principle rival to the Russian pipeline is the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan route passing
via Turkey, which is scheduled to start carrying Azeri crude this autumn with a
capacity set to rise to one million barrels a day by the end of the decade. There are
also plans to link this pipeline to the oil fields in Kazakhstan with a new pipeline.
Iran, home to the world's second largest oil and gas reserves, has long promoted
itself as an alternative route for delivering landlocked Caspian oil to world markets, a
proposal which has met with opposition from the U.S., its political rival.
Subtitle: Iran rejects proposal
Iran rejected Saturday the Europeans' proposal, saying the offer failed to recognize
Iran's right to enrich uranium.
"The European proposals are unacceptable," Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid
Reza Asefi told Iranian state radio. He said the primary reason was the failure to
allow Iran to enrich uranium. Uranium enriched to low levels is used in nuclear power
reactors, but further enrichment makes it suitable for nuclear bombs. "We had
already announced that any plan has to recognize Iran's right to enrich uranium,"
Asefi said.
On Friday, Britain, France and Germany had sought to entice Iran into a commitment
not to build atomic arms by offering to provide fuel and long-term support to help it
generate electricity from nuclear reactors. The Europeans also offered economic,
political and security cooperation if Iran accepted the plan. The U.S., which has led
opposition to Iran's nuclear program, endorsed the European proposal.
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Although the Iranian government declared that it had rejected the proposal, Ankara,
alarmed by the reports, moved to get more information about the proposed bargain.
The first reaction by the Europeans was to deny the reports. EU officials claimed that
a summary of the package delivered to Iran by Britain, France and Germany made
no mention of supporting an Iranian oil pipeline. "The summary contains the full
substance of our proposals," an EU diplomat said in Brussels.
But this declaration does not seem to satisfy Ankara. "The information leaked by
Iranian officials raises questions in Ankara about the EU's perceptions of Turkey, its
candidate country," said a Turkish diplomat Sunday to The New Anatolian. "We've till
now understood a principle of solidarity between the EU and its candidate countries,"
the diplomat said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
A senior official from the Turkish Energy Ministry, on the other hand, insisted that
Turkey was the most suitable route for transporting Central Asian oil and gas to
Europe. "There's no chance of the project which the EU is said to support would
come to fruition," the official said. He added that there was no way the U.S. or Russia
would look favourably on such a project.”
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