This week in North Cyprus > 20th-27th June 2006
Mete can fly his TRNC flag despite protests
ARSENAL fan Mete Ahmet is proudly flying the TRNC flag at his club’s football matches, despite complaints suspected to have come from Greek Cypriot supporters.
Season ticket-holder Mr Ahmet,41, who lives in Southgate, London, is a life-long Gunners fan and has often displayed the North Cyprus flag at matches.
But when he started hanging it over the upper tier at Arsenal’s new Emirates Stadium, the club received complaints from other footie fans. “I’ve been taking the flag to matches for years,” he told Cyprus Today. “The complaints began after we moved to the new stadium, probably place in the front row of the upper tier and drape the flag in front of me.”
“When I heard there had been complaints I got more stubborn and decided to take the flag to every game.”
“I just wanted to fly the flag because I’m proud of my roots and have never complained about other people’s flags”
Three weeks ago club officials ased Mr Ahmet to leave his flag at home for a week while they investigated the complaints and took advice from Britain’s Home Office and the TRNC representative in London.
A week later, they announced he could continue bringing his flag to matches as banning the emblem would be an act of discrimination against Turkish Cypriots.
Mr Ahmet was delighted by the decision and has since seen two other TRNC flags being flown at the Arsenal ground.
He added: “I’ve achieved what I wanted and it looks like I’ve started something, as there have been a couple of other North Cyprus flags at the last two matches.”
An Arsenal spokesman said the club understood “the delicate position between the two factions of Cyprus” but believed in “the free expression of all supporters.”
He added: “Arsenal Football Club is very proud of the diversity of its fan base.”
“To ban the flying of this flag could be construed as discriminatory against our Turkish Cypriot group of fans.”
“This is something which we do not wish to be. I can appreciate that the state of Northern Cyprus is not recognized by any other country apart from Turkey, but they consider this as their national flag.”
Two-month Girne Mountain moratorium to curb concrete sprawl
A TWO-month moratorium on mass building along the entire Girne Mountain range has been introduced to curb the concrete sprawl overtaking the region’s countryside.
All applications for developments involving more than one house are suspended until the end of January, when officials aim to have permanent planning legislation in place.
Planners hope new measures to be devised will help to preserve the environment, in particular river beds, water sources and the coastline.
But a construction industry leader, while acknowledging the need to stop “haphazard” development, hit out at the government for bringing in the moratorium out of the blue last week, delivering a further knock to the already “unstable” sector.
Construction firms are to meet this morning to discuss the implications of the move.
The Temporary Girne Decree, lasting from November 16 until January 31,2007 was drawn up by the City Planning Department, which will use the period- during which only construction which only construction which already has permission can go ahead – to hold consultations on planning with bodies including the region’s municipalities and civil organizations.
A permanent Girne Decree, covering the area from Karşıyaka to Bahçeli, is expected to come into effect on Febuary 1 next year, and applications for development permission will be evaluated in line with its provisions.
Ahmet Bahçeci, director of the City Planning Department, said: “Up to now, there has been no planning in the Girne area – we have to stop this and start planning better where to build and how.”
“At the moment people are building in river beds, and this has to stop. We need to protect the environment, which is our future and our legacy to our children. Another of the areas which will be protected in the permanent decree will be the sea front.”
Interior Minister Özkan Murat said: “We have to plan clearly the way forward, as there has been haphazard building all over the Girne area. To continue to expand and develop we need to plan carefully, otherwise today we may be rich, but in the future we will be poor.”
Mr Bahçeci said the temporary decree was also aimed at protecting water sources in the mountains, by halting building,in particular, in any areas above the villages of Karaman and Ilgaz.
“We have to take precautions and stop any further building so as not to contaminate the water. The soil in this area is extremely porous and can easily pollute the water supply. We cannot take any chances until we find a solution to the problem, then any building willl be prohibited in these areas.”
Cafer Gürcafer, the head of the Construction Contractors’ Union who has called the industry meeting today, told Cyprus Today: “The government is correct to bring in legislation to protect the environment and stop haphazard building all over the place, but the mistake they have made is that they didn’t consult with the relevant organisations and did not explain to the public what was to happen and why.”
“They simply enacted the law, which has led to much speculative news and panic within the construction sector.”
“This sector is already very unstable and any speculation is not good for it. [The government] should also bear in mind that this is affecting the economy as well.”
Mr Gürcafer added: “We are not against them bringing in legislation to protect the environment, but it needs to be much better organized and for the public to be aware of what is to take place so that people are not afraid of new legislation.”
Border arrests begging
A 55-YEAR-OLD man may have become the first Briton to fall victim to a new law in the South, revealed this week, which means anyone buying, selling, renting or mortgaging former Greek Cypriot property in North Cyprus could face a seven- year prison sentence.
Kenneth Hawkins was arrested while crossing to the South at Metehan checkpoint yesterday when Greek Cypriot police found literature relating to North Cyprus property in his possession.
The amended legislation has existed since October 20 but only became widely known due to a bombshell announcement by Greek Justice Minister Sophocles Sophocleus on Tuesday.
He said the new law would apply to anyone, including Turkish Cypriots, who were living in or using property formerly owned by Greek Cypriots in North Cyprus.
“Anyone involved in the purchaser sale of such property will be subject to prosecution, regardless of nationality,” said Mr Sophocleus.
He added that the move showed just how seriously the Greek Cypriot administration viewed the property issue.
Mr Sophocleus said a Russian couple arrested last Saturday at the Ledra Palace checkpoint on charges of having purchased a house in the North, would be tried under the new law.
Mr Hawkins,who was traveling alone, was said to have copies of architectural plans of a house in the Girne area in his case, along with astate agency brochures.
He had been staying at a hotel in the TRNC and was on his way to Paphos, where he had booked further hotel accommodation prior to returning to the UK.
British High Commission spokesman Nigel Boud said yesterday that there would be liason with the Greek Cypriot police to confirm the circumstances of Mr Hawkins’s detention and to offer him any consular services that might be required.
Tuesday’s announcement by Mr Sophocleus brought a swift reaction in the TRNC. President Mehmet Ali Talat warned that the development might cause the borders to be closed. Speaking on BRT television, he accused Greek Cypriot leader Tassos Papadopoulos of trying to heighten tensions between Turkish and Greek Cypriots in order to make a solution to the Cyprus problem impossible. The Greek Cypriot side was “playing a very risky game” which was “very dangerous”, he said.
Prime Minister Ferdi Sabit Soyer, flying home from London, described the new law as “a sing of ill-intention which will help worsen relations between the two people of the island.” He called on Turkish Cypriots “not to panic”, and said that if adoption of the new legislation were confirmed, the North would have no option but to retaliate.
While Mr Sophocleus insisted the new law made allowances for none, Greek Cypriot House Speaker Dimitris Christofias attempted to defuse the uproar, saying it was aimed only at those selling or buying Greek Cypriot property in the North, not those simply living in it.
He branded reports on the issue as sensational and wrong, and said no charges would be pressed against Turkish Cypriots living in former Greek Cypriot-owned houses, or who had built houses on a Greek Cypriot owned plot. “Only those buying and selling Greek Cypriot house or plots will be arrested and prosecuted, if reported,” he said.
Mr Christofias said there was a trend of selling such property to foreigners, to which Turkish Cypriot authorities were turning a blind eye. Meanwhile, he said, the Greek Cypriot side was not even issuing title deeds to Greek Cypriots occupying Turkish Cypriot-owned properties, let alone allowing the properties to be sold.
He added: “Every time a decision is announced in the South it is interpreted in a different way on the Turkish Cypriots side. We have nothing against Turkish Cypriots who occupy Greek Cypriot-owned properties or who build a house for themselves on a Greek Cypriot-owned plot. Our problem is with those involved in the sale of these properties.”
“The sale to foreigners of Greek Cypriot properties in the North has intensified. A lot of Turkish Cypriots left homeless in 1974 had to be placed in Greek Cypriot-owned house and were issued title deeds. The Turkish Cypriot leadership gave title deeds to many who came from Turkey. Now these properties are being illegally sold at very thing prices and the Turkish Cypriot authorities are simply watching this.”
Asked about the possibility of a Turkish Cypriot being arrested while crossing to the South, Mr Christofias said: “Turkish Cypriots living in Greek Cypriot-owned house will not be arrested, only those involved in the sale of them in the event of a tip-off. If it is reported and there are supporting documents to verify the sale, then arrests will be made.”
However, TRNC presidential spokesman Hasan Erçakıca insisted that the letter of the law in South Cyprus also applied to those living in former Greek Cypriot properties. He said the new law would effectively prevent many Turkish Cypriots from crossing into South Cyprus.
UN chief wants TRNC isolation to end Annan: Strart talking
Un Secretary- General Kofi Annan this week urged Greek and Turkish Cypriots to make progress on ending the decades-old division of their island.
“We want to seee actions from both sides that close the gap between words deeds,” Mr Annan told reporters after a 45-minute meeting with TRNC President Mehmet Ali Talat in Geneva.
The UN chief is understood to have indicated a possible resumption, this spring, of peace negotiations, and has requested $639,500 to be earmarked in the UN bedget to cover the cost of a special adviser for Cyprus during 2007.
Mr Annan also renewad his call for the isolation of North Cyprus to be lifted in the wake of 2004’s Annan Plan failure, commenting: “By lifting the isolation of the North and promoting [its] development, future unification become easier [because] the gap between the two sides will not be as wide as it otherwise would.”
Mr Talat said the pair’s meeting had been “fruitful”, and he hoped Greek and Turkish Cypriots would resume “full fledged negotiations in the near future.”
“We will act with all our goodwill,” he told repoters. “We are very genuine and we really want the unification of the island and we will do our best.”
The meeting focused, among developments on the Cyprus issue, on the letter sent to the two sides by Mr Annan’s Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs,Ibrahim Gambari.
Afterwards, Mr Talat said he believed the letter contained “ambiguities” and did not “preclude possible delaying tactics by the Greek Cypriot side.”
His aide, Raşit Pertev, said: “We are happy with the fact that the letter sets fixed dates, but we have concers and anxieties.”
“The July 8 agreement also had fixed dates but they were not met.”
Turkey-EU “train crash”: Sings of possible breakthrough
SINGS emetged yesterday of a possible breakthrough in the standoff over a Finnish-led proposal on Cyprus aimed at avoiding a crisis in Turkey’s European Union membership bid.
It was announced that Greek Cypriot Foreign Minister George Lillikas would attend a meeting of European and Mediterranean foreign minisyers this week to discuss the proposal, despite saying just two days ago he would not go.
Reasons for the about-turn were not immediately clear. Mr Lillikas had previously said he would only attend the meeting, in Tampere, Finland, if he were convinced Turkey had dropped its objections to the proposal.
“It is not important what he said then but what he is saying today. The foreign minister has decided to go to Tampere for consultations with the Finnish [EU] presidency,” said South Cyprus goverment spokesman Christodoulos Pashiardis. “There is a paticular reason [for going]. Now is not the time to elaborate what that is,” he said.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan yesterday affirmed Turkey’s support for a deal that would benefit all parties, including the Greek Cypriots. “The object here is to achieve a win-win situation for everyone,” Mr Erdoğan said, referring to the Finnish initiative. Earlier, Turkey’s chief negotiator, Ali Babacan, had said Ankara would not walk away from the talks.
The Eu want Turkey to open its ports to Greek Cypriot traffic, but Ankara says the bloc must first lift trade restrictions against Turkish Cypriots. Finland wantsa deal before a European Commission meeting on December 6. Mr Babacan reiterated Ankara’s position that the United Nations, not the EU, sould handle the Cyprus issue, and said the EU was not acting fairly on Cyprus. “The EU is both th prosecutor and trying to act as a judge. That’s why from the very beginning we wanted a third party to sort it out – the United Nations.”
SOYCAN “HIT-MAN” CHARGE FALSE, SAYS A-G
A STORY published in a North Cyprus daily newspaper on Wednesday, claiming that Tahir Soycan had been charged with attempting to procure the murder of his former business partner Gary Robb, along with newpaper publisher Doğan Harman and Mehmet Uçar, was false, it emerged yesterday.
TRNC Attorney- General Akın Sait told Cyprus Today that no charges had been brought against Mr Soycan and that an investigation was still proceeding. The police press office in Lefkoşa also confirmed that a statement on the issue was expected to be made in the next few days.
The newspaper published several articles last week claiming that Tahir Soycan had hired a hitman to “take care of ” Gary Robb, his employee Mehmet Uçar and Mr Harman. According to the paper, Recep Gönültaş said he had received orders from Mr Soycan to kill them or cuse them injury.
Mr Soycan’s solicitor, Güner Göktuğ told Cyprus Today that Mr Gönültaş had been an employee of Mr Soycan until being accused of theft. Mr Gönültaş had been a guard at a construction site of Mr Soycan’s in Gemikonağı.
“He stole lots of construction materials from Mr Soycan,” said Mr Göktuğ. “He was arrested and three-quarters of the things stolen were found. If was after being remanded for three days that he went to the police and told them that Mr Soycan had whispered in his ear during a dinner one-and-a-half months ago to take care of Robb and Harman.”
Mr Göktuğ said they would sue the newspaper for libel.
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