TRNC NEWS HEADLINES

NEGOTIATION PROCESS DISCUSSED IN ANKARA

Cyprus negotiation process has been evaluated in detail at series of meetings at the Turkish Foreign Ministry.


The Cyprus issue was on the table in meetings which continued for two days.


The progress of the talks and ways to speed up the process in a way that will make it possible to reach an agreement in the coming months were discussed at a meeting chaired by Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu.



The Foreign Ministry made a statement and said that Turkey believed that bringing an urgent, lasting and just solution to the problem was a necessity to turn the Eastern Mediterranean into a region of peace, stability and cooperation.

The statement added that Turkey fully supported the ongoing negotiation process and the positive manner of the Cyprus Turkish Side.

Istanbul correspondent of the Politis newspaper indicated that Turkish Foreign Ministry Spokesman Burak Ozugergin said that Turkey ’s peace message was obvious at the meeting.

TALAT WILL MEET GUL, ERDOGAN AND DAVUTOGLU IN ANKARA



It’s been announced that President Mehmet Ali Talat will be flying to Ankara this coming Thursday for a series of high level contacts with the Turkish officials.

The ongoing negotiations aimed at reaching a comprehensive solution to the Cyprus Problem will be on the agenda of the President’s visit to the Turkish capital.

As part of his contacts in Ankara , President Talat will be meeting with his Turkish counterpart Abdullah Gul as well as Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu.

President Mehmet Ali Talat and the Greek Cypriot leader Demetris Christofias had started discussing the issue of property, seen as one of the thorniest issues in the Cyprus Problem, when they met last Thursday.

While the two sides reserved their positions regarding the property issue during last week’s meeting, the two leaders have instructed their special aides, Ozdil Nami and Yorgo Yakovu to continue discussions on the issue.

The two special representatives will be discussing criteria concerning the property issue in an attempt to overcome existing disagreements.

Speaking to the BRT earlier in the week, Mr. Nami described the property issue to be one of the most difficult chapters of the negotiations and said the greatest problems arose in the area of privately owned properties.

He said that in the event of a settlement former property owners will be compensated for properties that are put into public use.

Meanwhile President Mehmet Ali Talat and the Greek Cypriot Leader Demetris Christofias will be discussing the competencies of the federal government when they meet again this coming Tuesday.

STATEMENT BY TALAT



President Mehmet Ali Talat said that United Nations should express to the Greek Cypriot side that they can not have all of their old properties back.



Expressing that otherwise, Greek Cypriots who integrated with the world can continue their way instead of a solution; Talat said that International Community and the UN should encourage both sides.



In his speech made during his visit to Dilekkaya, Kırıkkale, Erdemli and Yigitler, President Talat stressed that sides have reached to a common point on the issues approached within the framework of the United Nations’ parameters, but there are some problems on the issues that the Greek Cypriot side goes beyond the parameters.



Moreover, reminding that related to the property issue, sides have reached to an agreement that special representatives should meet on determining the criteria’s, Talat said ‘ there was not any development on the property issue, but now, it seems that we have proceeded one little step towards the side.’



Stating that bi-zonality was present in the UN decisions which were accepted in 1992, Talat said that property issue should be solved by taking into consideration this matter because solution would be realized on this base.



INFORMATION ISLAND WORKSHOP

The TRNC hosted a major international event on communication last week.

In the event, named ‘Information Island Workshop’, organized by the Ministry of Public Works and Communications, the latest technologies in the TRNC and the world were discussed and the TRNC found the opportunity to evaluate the studies which will be made in order to realize this objective.

The Minister of Public Works and Communications Hasan Taçoy said that the result of the workshop showed that some of the existing laws have to be changed in order to reach the goal in the short term.

Tacoy stressed that the TRNC has to be in such a position that it establishes its own model in order to create a free trade zone and free trade.

Tacoy also informed that offers began to come from Israeli and US companies, which heard the studies on “Informatics” in the North Cyprus .

Tacoy continued that: “My impression about the workshop is that everybody will determinedly study in order to turn Cyprus into an informatics island as stated in the slogan that ‘the future will come with informatics.’” He added that very important agreements with Turkey were signed on the informatics issue within the framework of this workshop.

The Minister underlined that in this context, he sent a law proposal on electronic communication and the issue will start to be discussed.

He added: “As for the possible investments in the country, the companies of ‘Turk Telekom’, ‘Visad’ and ‘Audio’ want to invest in the country and additionally Erickson Company, which won the tender of ‘Next Generation Network’, will start some studies.”