Thursday, February 23, 2006
Stratfor Faux Pas
Stratfor has an article on Turkey's Accession to the European Union. Both, its Summary and Analysis are inaccurate. The Summary part of the article begins by stating that “Turkey should recognize Cyprus by the end of 2006, Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel said Feb. 21.” What Mr. Schuessel really said was that Turkey was obligated to open its ports to Cypriot vessels by the end of the year. Nothing new here, the European Union, for quite some time now, has asked Turkey to open its ports to Cypriot vessels. The fact is that Cyprus and the European Union as a whole, met their obligations to Turkey in 2005. It is now time for Turkey to reciprocate. The Analysis part of the article states that “The Austrians effectively sided with the Greek Cypriots against Turkey -- an agreement made stronger by Vienna and Athens' memories of fighting Ankara. The Greeks remember battling Turkey over Cyprus in 1974,” what kind of revisionism is this? Athens memories of fighting Ankara, battling Turkey over Cyprus in ’74 ... are these statements made to justify the unjustifiable? Furthermore, if Turkey wishes to be anchored in Europe, then, like every other candidate country before it, large or small, must meet the criteria for membership.
Investment Arbitration Claim
From the PR Newswire:
Cypriot Investment Firm Files $10 Billion Investment Arbitration Claim Against Turkey at World Bank for Seizure of Electric Utilities
WASHINGTON, Feb. 23 /PRNewswire/ -- Cypriot investment firm Libananco Holdings Company Ltd. announced today that it has filed a US$10 billion investment arbitration claim against the Republic of Turkey for its unlawful 2003 expropriation of the assets of Cukurova Elektrik Anonim Sirketi (CEAS) and Kepez Elektrik Turk Anonim Sirketi (Kepez), two of Turkey's largest hydroelectric companies.
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Wednesday, February 22, 2006
News Roundup
Development Boom to Legal Mess
The authorities in the occupied North are preparing to pour in large amounts of money into the development of parts of the Morphou region. Morphou (Guzelyurt in Turkish) is currently under Turkish Cypriot administration. It is believed that, under a future agreement, Morphou would return to the Greek Cypriots as part of an overall settlement to the Cyprus problem. The Turkish Cypriot daily Kibris today (21.02.06) quoted Mr. Talat as saying "Strengthening our economy is more important than the Cyprus problem." Mr. Talat's remark was made while addressing the "Association for the Development of the Area of Morphou." A small bit of info on Morphou: The town of Morphou fell to the advancing Turkish troops on August 16, 1974. An estimated 8,000 Greek Cypriots from Morphou were forced to abandon their properties.
EU Backs UN Sponsored Talks
The European Union on Tuesday said it supports UN backed talks between Turkey and Cyprus, but acknowledged that resolving the conflict between the two countries would not be easy. "The Austrian presidency is doing everything in its power to support the current UN sponsored process," Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel, whose country currently holds the bloc's rotating six month presidency, said in a statement. "We know the situation is very complex and difficult and that it will not be easy to solve the conflict." Schuessel's comments came after a meeting in Vienna with Cypriot president Tassos Papadopoulos.
International Film Festival
Cyprus will hold its first film festival in March. The festival is a three-day event being held on March 24-27, and will include the screening of 130 films from 40 countries competing in feature film, short film and animation categories. "We have a VIP jury for the entries, it will be a very glamorous event," said organiser Petra Terzi. "Cyprus offers several comparative advantages to filmmakers because of its landscape and climate," said Vakis Loizides of the Cyprus tourism board. Authorities were preparing a package of incentives to encourage studios to the island, he said.
Cyprus International Film Festival: http://www.ciff2006.com/
The authorities in the occupied North are preparing to pour in large amounts of money into the development of parts of the Morphou region. Morphou (Guzelyurt in Turkish) is currently under Turkish Cypriot administration. It is believed that, under a future agreement, Morphou would return to the Greek Cypriots as part of an overall settlement to the Cyprus problem. The Turkish Cypriot daily Kibris today (21.02.06) quoted Mr. Talat as saying "Strengthening our economy is more important than the Cyprus problem." Mr. Talat's remark was made while addressing the "Association for the Development of the Area of Morphou." A small bit of info on Morphou: The town of Morphou fell to the advancing Turkish troops on August 16, 1974. An estimated 8,000 Greek Cypriots from Morphou were forced to abandon their properties.
EU Backs UN Sponsored Talks
The European Union on Tuesday said it supports UN backed talks between Turkey and Cyprus, but acknowledged that resolving the conflict between the two countries would not be easy. "The Austrian presidency is doing everything in its power to support the current UN sponsored process," Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel, whose country currently holds the bloc's rotating six month presidency, said in a statement. "We know the situation is very complex and difficult and that it will not be easy to solve the conflict." Schuessel's comments came after a meeting in Vienna with Cypriot president Tassos Papadopoulos.
International Film Festival
Cyprus will hold its first film festival in March. The festival is a three-day event being held on March 24-27, and will include the screening of 130 films from 40 countries competing in feature film, short film and animation categories. "We have a VIP jury for the entries, it will be a very glamorous event," said organiser Petra Terzi. "Cyprus offers several comparative advantages to filmmakers because of its landscape and climate," said Vakis Loizides of the Cyprus tourism board. Authorities were preparing a package of incentives to encourage studios to the island, he said.
Cyprus International Film Festival: http://www.ciff2006.com/
Saturday, February 18, 2006
Divided Capital
A photo of a couple standing in front of the barrels that divide the Greek and Turkish Cypriot controlled areas at the UN buffer zone in the divided capital of Nicosia, Cyprus, on Friday, Feb. 17, 2006.
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