The House on Friday condemned the unilateral declaration of independence (UDI) declared by the breakaway state in the north on November 15, 1983.

In a statement, deputies called on Turkey to abandon its expansionist claims on the Republic of Cyprus.

In comments before Friday`s plenary session, House President Demetris Syllouris said that guaranteeing peace and security was a fundamental requirement in Cyprus. “Tuesday 15th of November marks the 33rd anniversary of the declaration of the illegal regime in the occupied areas of Cyprus, an illegal act that flagrantly violates international law principles,” he said.

“The House strongly condemns once again Turkey`s secessionist act and urges Ankara to abandon its expansionist claims on the Republic of Cyprus, contemplating the crucial turning point which the Cyprus talks are currently in,” the statement said.

“At the same time, we want to assure of our commitment to the struggle to find a just, viable and functional solution to the Cyprus issue that will end the occupation and restore the human rights of all its people, Greek Cypriots, Turkish Cypriots, Maronites, Armenians and Latins”.

Two sixteen-year-old girls and the driver of a school bus taking them to school died on Tuesday morning, after colliding with a truck on the Dikomo to Kyrenia road on Pentadaktylos mountain in the north.

Two people, a 15-year-old pupil and the wife of the driver, 53, were in critical condition, doctors said. One other girl, 17, sustained head injuries but she was able to communicate. All three were in the intensive care unit.

Four other pupils, two boys and two girls aged between 16 and 18, were receiving treatment in hospital but their condition was not life threatening.

The minibus was carrying 10 passengers, including the wife of the 57-year-old driver. They were on their way to Nicosia from Hardjia.

The accident occurred at 6.10am (7.10am Turkish time) with the injured starting to arrive at the hospital by 6.45am.

People immediately rushed to the hospital to donate blood after an appeal. The needs have been covered.

Health official Faiz Soutiouoglou said the driver and the two girls, who were travelling in the front seats lost their lives when their minibus collided head-on with a truck.

The truck driver, a 25-year-old man was arrested. The accident happened when the driver came out of a nearby quarry, veering off course and colliding head-on with the minibus.

The incident has sparked outrage in the north with people criticizing officials for emulating Turkey in not turning back clocks an hour.

The darkness, coupled with the bad condition of the rural road where the accident happened are considered as the main causes.

Three teacher unions, Ktoeos, Ktos, and Dau-Sen, held the administration in the breakaway state responsible, calling it a puppet.

In a joint statement, the unions censured the bad condition of the roads, the lack of inspections on vehicles carrying passengers, and the absence of measures to prevent road accidents.

Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci has cut short his visit to Istanbul and was returning to Cyprus at 7pm on Tuesday instead of Wednesday morning.

In the Republic, deputy government spokesman Victoras Papadopoulos said assistance had been offered to Turkish Cypriot health authorities.

President Nicos Anastasiades expressed his condolences to the families of the victims.

Greek Cypriot parties and other organisations also offered their regrets and condolences to the families.

THE confederation of unions in the breakaway regime in the north of Cyprus has called a general strike for Thursday and a gathering at 10am outside the office of ‘prime minister’ Huseyin Ozgurgun, in order to protest Tuesday’s death of two teenage girls when their schoolbus crashed into a lorry.

In a statement, the platform called the ‘ministers’ of labour, education, and transport, to resign, and pledged to continue mobilisations until the goal has been achieved.

On behalf of the platform, leader of the union of Turkish Cypriot high-school teachers Tahir Gokcebel invited union members, the general public, pupils, and their parents, to the mass mobilisations.

“The labour minister must resign because the bus driver was driving without a work permit,” Gokcebel said on Wednesday.

“The education minister must resign because the driver was driving the bus without insurance, and the transport minister because he is generally responsible for road safety.”

The platform also demanded the introduction of winter time, in line with the European Union.

Earlier on Wednesday, hundreds of students took to the streets of occupied Nicosia to protest actions and omissions that they felt led to the death of their two peers on Tuesday morning.

The protesters, led by the student council of the Ataturk technical school, marched first to the legislature building, calling on the administration of the breakaway regime to resign and shouting slogans like “build roads that are not graves”, “we can’t go to school in the dark”, and “our soul is burning”.

The administration’s decision not to switch back from daylight saving time last month meant that at 7am, when the students were traveling to school, the sun had not risen yet.

The decision, along with the poor state of the road network in the north are thought to have been the main causes of the accident, which claimed the lives of two teenage girls and the driver, 57.

A 15-year-old boy remained in critical condition following an operation, while the driver’s wife, 53, remains in the intensive care unit.

Five other teenagers, injured in the crash, are recuperating, according to a statement.

In response to the accident, the bell in all schools in the north rang at 9am, instead of the usual 8am, and pupils both in primary and secondary schools were briefed on road accidents by their teachers, while a one minute’s silence was observed in all schools in memory of the two girls.

As reported, attendance by high-school students was particularly large.

The protest then headed to the office of the ‘prime minister’, where they called for the resignation of the administration, which they said was “murderous” and should be held accountable.

The pupils threw eggs at the building and asked to meet with Ozgurgun, but were eventually seen by his assistant, Olgun Amcaoglu.

Speaking on behalf of the students, Ataturk technical school student council chairman Huseyin Kofali said that similar fatal car crashes have occurred before on the same road, but money to repair roads was used up elsewhere.

“Either the state will find a solution, or we will fix the roads ourselves,” Kofali said.

He added that they are now forced to go to school while it’s still dark, a decision they had no say in, and wondered who would be held accountable to the families of the victims.

“It could have been us on that bus,” he said. “That’s why we will not be silenced, but we will raise our voices and be heard.”

Meanwhile, the board of Turkish Cypriot teachers’ union Ktos assembled at a primary school in occupied Nicosia.

Union leader Sener Elcil pointed out that the bus was made in 1967, and censured the decision to keep the summer time.

“In order to sync with prayer time in Saudi Arabia, the Turkish government made the decision and the puppet government implemented, word for word, and we haven’t fought against it,” he said.

“This is Cyprus, not Turkey. It is not the imam’s time, we must have Europe’s time. This is a European country, it should have European time.”

The funeral of 16-year-old Sude Demirkiran and Denktas Mutluel, the bus driver, was to be held on Wednesday, while 17-year-old Olayda Ozturk’s funeral will be held on Thursday.

Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci said on Monday clocks in the north should be set an hour back to align with European winter time, as confusion reigned in schools over what time the bell should ring to start school.

“The Turkish Cypriot people should not live in such a mess. This problem must be overcome immediately,” Akinci said.

His statements followed the confusion on Monday morning after a new timetable was announced on Saturday after days of protest by students, teachers and other workers opposed to going to school and work in the dark.

Saturday’s announcement was a compromise measure after protests following the north’s decision to follow Turkey’s example and not set the clocks back to winter time at the end of October.

The protests were in response to the deaths of three people – including two pupils – killed when a school bus crashed into a lorry last week which was blamed in part on the darkness.

Rather than turn back the clocks, the Turkish Cypriot administration on Saturday said schools and public offices would open 30 minutes later, at 8.30am rather than 8.00am.

The new rules apply for December, January, and February.

But three unions, including the confederation of unions, had announced that they would not follow the new time and so some teachers and public servants followed the time set by the administration while others obeyed their unions and kept to the original time.

In schools, this led to confusion between those who were not following the decision and those who were, entering classes at various times, while some students were in class and others outside on a break.

“At the school near my house, the bell rang twice this morning, both at 8am and at 8.30am,” Akinci said.

Akinci said the most logical thing was to follow nature and set the clock according to sunrise, as has been the practice for years.

“I think the most correct attitude is to set clocks an hour backwards according to the European time zone,” Akinci said.

His demand came just before the confederation of unions announced a general strike and a big demonstration to take place for Tuesday as they followed up on their pledge last week  to hold daily afternoon protests in front of the ‘prime minister’s’ office and full-day strikes on days ‘cabinet’ meetings were held, to demand the resignation of ministers and the setting of clocks back to winter time.

Meanwhile, three teenage students were arrested on Monday during another protest against the ‘government’ after being caught attempting to spray paint the foreign ‘ministry’.

According to media reports in the north, students had gathered outside the court in Nicosia where the trial of Safa Gungor, the lorry driver involved in the fatal road accident had begun. Gungor has been jailed pending trial. It is believed he will be charged with reckless manslaughter.

Outside court around 50 students and relatives of the three victims tried to attack Gungor who was protected by the police.

From the courthouse students marched to ‘parliament’ and then to the ‘prime minister’s’ office where they called for the resignation of the ‘government’. During the demonstration, while a student was reading a poem, one of the policemen broke down in tears.

The three students were arrested after they were caught by officers spray painting “murderous state” on a wall of the foreign ‘ministry’. They were released with a warning and without being charged.

Nine Turkish army colonels were detained Sunday in the north as part of ongoing operations by Ankara against US-based Erdogan critic Fetullah Gulen,

Turkey’s Andadolou news agency said, according to military sources.

The colonels were then deported by two military helicopters to Ankara, Turkish military officials, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media, told Anadolu.

According to Turkey’s government Gulen orchestrated the failed coup against Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan in July 2016 which left almost 250 people dead over 2,000 injured.

Turkey accuses Gulen and his network of followers, which it terms the Gulenist Terror Organisation (FETO), of being behind the July 15 coup attempt. Gulen denies the allegations.

Some 120,000 people have been suspended or dismissed since the coup, although thousands of them have since been restored to their posts. More than 41,000 have been jailed pending trial out of 100,000 who have faced investigation.

Two more people were reportedly arrested on Monday in the north after nine Turkish army officers were detained on Sunday as part of ongoing operations by Ankara against US-based Erdogan critic Fetullah Gulen, bringing the total to 11.

According to Turkish Cypriot daily Kibris Postasi the arrested men were taken to Ankara by two military helicopters accompanied by 13 members of Turkish military police while their homes and offices were searched.

The publication reported three colonels, one lieutenant colonel and a major, two captains, two lieutenants and two sergeants were detained.

Reports say the arrested men cooperated with Fetullah Gulen this year.

According to Turkey’s government Gulen orchestrated the failed coup against Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan in July 2016 which left almost 250 people dead and over 2,000 injured.

Turkey accuses Gulen and his network of followers, which it terms the Gulenist Terror Organisation (FETO), of being behind the July 15 coup attempt. Gulen denies the allegations.

Some 120,000 people have been suspended or dismissed since the coup, although thousands of them have since been restored to their posts. More than 41,000 have been jailed pending trial out of 100,000 who have faced investigation.

Small shop owners in the occupied areas are struggling after the Turkish Lira lost value against the US dollar, British pound and the euro.

“We cannot keep up with foreign currencies gaining value against the Turkish lira and the cost of living increasing. I no longer have that many customers anyway. I survive on the shopping my neighbours make. But it is a fact that life is going to become more and more expensive,” Mustafa Göymen, a shopkeeper in Arasta, the historic shopping area at the centre of the walled city in Nicosia said.

With the increase in the value of foreign currency, the price of household electricity has also increased as diesel for the main power plant in the north is paid for in US dollars.

In the last six months, the value of the dollar against the Turkish lira has increased by 31 per cent, the euro by 26 per cent, and sterling by 21 per cent. The increased value of foreign currency sees a corresponding rise in the price of nearly all imported goods.

The rise in prices has forced consumers to cut spending except for food items, leaving shop owners from Nicosia, Kyrenia, Famagusta and Rizokarpaso unable to pay the rent, which is charged in British pounds due a lack of confidence in the Turkish lira.

The prices of property and vehicles in the north are in foreign currency for the same reason.

“As a sector we are bankrupt,” said Musfata Bostanci, a shop owner in Kyrenia who trades in cloth. “The fabric market purchases products in foreign currency. The purchasing power of the people has dropped because everything is in foreign currency. We get our salaries in Turkish lira, but everything else is in foreign currency. What kind of a country are we living in? I do not believe that the Cyprus problem will be solved. That is why they (the politicians) should pay attention to the people.”

Doğan Zorlu, a barber from Famagusta said that the price of the materials they use increased by 30 per cent in the last month.

“Small shop owners are finished. A lot of them are considering shutting down. The sudden rise in the value of foreign currencies has made the people poorer,” he said.

The shop owners also complain there has not been an increase in the minimum wage, the income of the majority of the shops’ clientele.

Sevgül Metni, a grocery shop owner in Rizokarpaso, appealed for an immediate rise in salaries.

She said the drop in peoples’ purchasing power meant poor sales and difficulty in meeting her own obligations.

“It is the 13th of the month and I could only pay my rent today and with difficulty,” she said.

After weeks of criticism, ‘deputy prime minister’ Serdar Denktash said they would look into revising the price hike in some goods and services.

However ‘prime minister’ Hüseyin Özgürgün said on Tuesday the administration could not do anything about the price increase for goods such as petrol, gas and electricity, and services provided by public offices, but they will consider increasing the basic salary.
In 2016 the north saw a 21 per cent rise in electricity prices while the price of petrol rose 20 per cent.

The National Unity Party (UBP) – Democrat Party (DP) ‘government’ in the north granted ‘exceptional citizenship’ to 127 foreigners in the last six months, daily Yenidüzen has reported.

While the number of foreigners granted ‘citizenship’ in the north is known, the number of those recently granted by the ‘ministry of interior is not. Yenidüzen says no official information was provided.

According to the figures, 725 foreigners were granted ‘citizenship’ on the decision of the ‘ministry’ in 2012 and 2013. At the time, UBP single party ‘government’ was in power.

From 2014 to 2016, this number dropped to 446, a period where the Republican Turkish Party (CTP) was leading coalitions formed with DP and then UBP.

Former “interior minister” Teberrüken Uluçay claimed that the Turkish Cypriot authorities were now granting 45 to 50 new citizenships to foreigners every week.

According to the rules of granting ‘exceptional citizenship’, no permanent residency or an “act which indicates that the person has decided to settle” in the north is required.

Those who can be granted ‘exceptional citizenship’ are: offspring of those who lost their ‘TRNC citizenships’, people who can provide exceptional service in the field of science, arts, culture and trade and those who can invest in industry, trade and tourism.

Some include those who served in the Turkish Resistance Organisation (TMT) after 1958, and the spouses and offspring of those who were granted citizenship.

According to the paper, the policy of the ‘government’ on ‘citizenships’ is causing problems within the Turkish Cypriot negotiating team.

Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akıncı and President Nicos Anastasiades had reached an agreement at the end of 2015 that distribution of population numbers following a solution would be 220,000 under Turkish Cypriots administration and 800,0000 under Greek Cypriot administration.

The ‘government’ when it was led by the CTP was under pressure from Ankara to grant citizenship to more than 20,000 Turkish nationals who were waiting in line.

With the UBP-DP coalition now in charge, more foreigners are expected to become new ‘citizens’ in the north. These parties are known to have granted citizenships to mainly Turkish nationals in the past in order to accumulate votes in the elections.

Hundreds of citizenships were granted during the Annan Plan period by the UBP-DP coalition. This included even those who did not reside on the island. The aim behind this some 12 years ago was to get more people who would reject a plan in the referendum.

It is believed that the UBP and DP are implementing the same policy with a similar aim. That is to register people who would reject a possible plan in the future.

Applications made to the immovable property commission by the Greek Cypriots fell 73 per cent in 2016 compared to the figures of 2015, Kibris reported on Monday.

According to the article, between 2006 and 2016, only 15 per cent of the 6,314 applications had been resolved and the Turkish Cypriot authorities paid compensation totalling 228,993,734 million sterling  to the lawful owners of the properties.

In 2016, the IPC closed 92 cases and ordered a total of 13,368, 446 million sterling in compensation. Only 49 new applications were made last year. In 2015 the number was 182.  Also last year, 24 application made previously were withdrawn.

In 10 years, the IPC ordered compensation be paid for a total of 18.5 million square metres of formerly owned Greek Cypriot property and reinstated a total of 451,000 square metres to their legal owners.

The IPC was set up in 2006 as a local remedy following the “Xenides-Arestis v. Turkey” verdict of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), which was flooded by Greek Cypriot applications against Turkey, requesting their properties back, or compensation.

Applications made to the IPC and the compensation paid between 2006-2017 (until January 27)

Year       Number of cases              concluded cases               compensation (sterling pounds)

2006                       100                                         13                                           2,221,000

2007                       197                                         26                                           3,146,000

2008                       76                                           30                                           1,646,600

2009                       70                                           68                                           31,047,000

2010                       397                                         64                                           12,724,900

2011                       1,926                                     87                                           12,980,440

2012                       1,601                                     132                                         33,952,775

2013                       1,337                                     189                                         46,277,406

2014                       375                                         159                                         49,280,612

2015                       182                                         119                                         22,347,555

2016                       49                                           92                                           13,368,446

2017                       4                                              0                                              0

Former Turkish Cypriot ‘minister of finance’ Birikim Özgür said Turkish Cypriot authorities cannot afford paying the due interest on public debt amounting 5.5bn Turkish lira (€1.4bn) borrowed locally.

The ‘government’ will need a total of 200bn Turkish lira to pay this year’s interest payment and only has 100m Turkish lira available, the Turkish Cypriot politician and member of the Republican Turkish Party (CTP) told ‘lawmakers’ on Tuesday. The ‘government’ will therefore need to draw up a payment plan and find the rest 100m Turkish lira it lacks.

Özgür added that the ‘state’ was “eating from the plate of future generations”.

‘Finance minister’ Sunat Atun pledged to provide a written response to Özgür’s questions.

LAST week’s ruling by the High Court of England and Wales, clearing the path for informal cooperation and information exchange between British law enforcement and Turkish Cypriot authorities to prosecute UK fugitives in the north, does not constitute either direct or indirect recognition of northern Cyprus, Attorney-general (AG) Costas Clerides has said.

“From an ongoing reading of the ruling, there does not appear to be anything worrying from a legal standpoint,” Clerides said when contacted by the Cyprus Mail.

He said it is a long-standing practice by British authorities to cooperate unofficially with Turkish Cypriot law enforcement.

“In short, precisely because there is no recognition of the north by the UK, and because consequently it is impossible to have extradition proceedings for fugitives, as that would require bilateral treaties between states, British authorities accept that there can be some cooperation with corresponding authorities in northern Cyprus.”

The north is recognised by no nation except Turkey.

According to the AG, the UK Foreign Office has conveyed to the government here explicit disclaimers that under no circumstances does the court decision undermine its non-recognition policy with regard to northern Cyprus.

“This is purely a practical matter, but legally it entails no risk of recognition, even indirectly, of the north,” Clerides added.

It’s understood, however, that the AG’s office has identified certain points in the court ruling which might be “troublesome” and may merit clarification – for instance why did UK authorities opt to deal directly with Turkish Cypriot authorities rather than go through other channels, such as the United Nations, as has been done in the past.

It’s also understood that the AG is in liaison with the foreign ministry on the matter, and should any problematic points be identified, a demarche could be made to the British government.

The case came to the fore after a landmark ruling last week, when the High Court of England and Wales deemed that cooperation between UK and Turkish Cypriot police authorities for the prosecution of fugitives is not forbidden by any clause of domestic law.

The ruling addressed the problem of suspects evading prosecution in the UK by fleeing to the north of Cyprus, occupied by Turkey since 1974. Runaways to the north could thus not be extradited.

The decision meant that fugitives who refuse to return to Britain to face trial can be prosecuted in northern Cyprus instead.

The High Court judges were hearing the case of Turkish Cypriot Hasan Akarcay, a 60-year-old businessman linked to the 2006 discovery of 12.5 kilos of heroin in Bradford.

Akarcay fled the UK to north Cyprus and has not returned since.

UK authorities passed evidence they found, including Akarcay’s fingerprints linking him to the heroin, to the Turkish Cypriots so that he could be tried there.

To avert the handing over of evidence to Turkish Cypriot authorities, Akarcay had taken recourse to the High Court, his lawyers arguing that this was illegal.

The lawyers went so far as to argue that such cooperation amounted to an “act of recognition” by the UK of northern Cyprus.

Recognising the ‘Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus’ would be illegal, they claimed, because it breached the terms of repeated UN Security Council resolutions.

But the judge said there was no duty in UK law upon the government to refrain from recognising the Turkish-held enclave.

Foreign policy decisions and obligations emanating from international law are distinct to domestic legislation, which is the only one of concern to the court in this case, the judge said.

By Aydin Calik

If you are shopping for a new house in northern Cyprus, you will have to get your pounds ready. A new car? Euros. How about a second-hand one? Again, the Great British Pound.

Or perhaps you are looking to buy a new smartphone, well, they are priced in dollars, along with most electronic goods. Even rents are calculated in pound sterling north of the checkpoints. It is a melting pot of currencies, even though the infamous Turkish lira is the official currency.

Why complicate matters? Wouldn’t it be much easier to just stick with one?

Stability is a major reason for using currencies like sterling. “It helps guard against steep fluctuations,” said Mete Hatay, senior research consultant at Prio Cyprus Centre.

Northern Cyprus needs all the stability it can get. The Turkish lira has lost 20.51 per cent of its value against the euro, 22.17 per cent against the dollar and 10.67 per cent against the pound in the last year alone. The lira has weakened for four years in a row.

“Using multiple-currencies isn’t a problem as such, in a way it kind of tempers the effect of fluctuations,” said director of Sapienta Economics Fiona Mullen.

Foreign exchange office in northern Nicosia

“If they were only using Turkish lira, and only importing stuff in euros, then it would be a massive problem.

“But there is a proper funny mix in the north. A lot of people have foreign currency bank accounts as well,” she added.

The bewildering array of currencies in common use is not explained by the desire for stability alone.

Hatay said that the use of sterling basically stems from the colonial legacy of the island.

“The people are used to it, we have strong ties to the UK and many Turkish Cypriots live there,” he told the Sunday Mail.

“Until recently, they were the biggest customers in the property market, and even still, British customers as a whole are the number one buyers,” he added.

Although the link to sterling remains strong, there has been a move away from the pound in recent years with the euro gradually gaining popularity. Most trade between Turkey and northern Cyprus is done in euros and dollars.

“After the checkpoints opened in 2004 and the south adopted the euro in 2008, people began to accepting euros – it makes things easier,” said Hatay.

In fact, most tourist restaurants and shops now price their items in both lira and euros.

While new cars used to be priced in pounds, the euro has taken over due to car imports from Turkey being conducted in euros. Second-hand cars though are still priced in pounds.

And the key property market relies heavily on using foreign currencies to reduce the risk of instability inherent in the Turkish lira’s volatility.

“The fall in the Turkish lira has slowed the market in Nicosia, but not in Kyrenia,” said Hasan Sungur, head of the Turkish Cypriot real estate agents’ association.

“In Nicosia it is generally the locals who buy property, but in Kyrenia for example, the majority of buyers are foreigners bringing in euros and pounds – it doesn’t affect them.”

In fact, Sungur expects 2017 to be a “golden year” for the property market.

But in many other sectors, the plummeting lira has taken a massive toll on people and businesses. And for them, stability as the rationale for using multiple currencies appears no more than a cruel joke.

Clothes shop owner, Selver Kaya, said that the drop in the value of the lira has had a huge impact on her business.

“We pay our rent in pounds and buy our goods in dollars, so at the end of the month we aren’t left with much at all. The cost of keeping the business running has gone up so much,” she told the Sunday Mail.

Lorenza Coffee owner Dogan Ertug said that although demand hadn’t changed much, he complained of a rise in fixed costs due to the depreciation of the lira.

“Though most of our customers are tourists that pay in euros, our costs have sky-rocketed,” he said. “We buy our coffee from Italy in euros, but we are spending much more for the same amount of coffee than we were last month.”

To illustrate the point Ertug took out his receipt for this month’s rent and compared it with last month’s one. “Look, I’m paying almost £130 more than the previous month,” he added.

When asked how it was affecting his prices, he said he was under pressure to keep them low.

“A salad that cost 15 lira one month ago was equal to around €5, now it comes to about €3.50. I’m having to adjust my prices every day,” he said.

Next door, owner of Hoi Polloi cafe/bar, Simon Bahceli, has taken a more pragmatic approach; he has indexed his prices to the euro.

“We try to match our prices to the euro for greater stability,” he told the Sunday Mail.

Although the price of alcohol and coffee have gone up, he said, the euro’s appreciation has made up for it, so he has not really experienced any drop in custom.

Bahceli may be an exception, as kebab shop owner Ali Kaya said he was unable to increase his prices because “customers wouldn’t be able to absorb this”.

“As things stand, we are making a loss,” he added.

Lorenza coffee prices marked in euros

In an attempt to deal with the steep drop in the lira’s value, the government has taken the rather simplistic approach of raising some taxes and the cost of government fees and increasing the price of fuel, electricity and bottled gas.

Linked to any change in the value of the dollar, energy price increases inevitably have a knock-on effect on basic consumer goods such as bread, milk and vegetables among other things.

The average price of bread has gone up by around 17 per cent. Although the price of the standard ‘somun ekmegi’ bread (1.75TL) remains unchanged, the head of the Turkish Cypriot bakeries association Omer Cirali told daily Kibris Postasi that if the government did not take preventative measures, an increase was unavoidable.

“Bakeries have been forced to up their prices because of increases in the price of flour, electricity and fuel,” he said.

A shopper in the streets of Nicosia painted a rather bleak picture, “Our money is not worth anything anymore. What we earn is set, it doesn’t change. Everything is getting more expensive from gas to milk to coffee to sugar – you name it. What are we going to do?”

Authorities in the north on February 2 set the new gross monthly minimum wage at 2020TL (€505). The net amount minimum wage workers will take home comes to 1757TL (€440) an increase of just €40 or 10 per cent.

According to a January report by the Turkish Cypriot civil servants’ union the minimum amount of money a four person family needs for a healthy diet (hunger limit) as of December 2016 is 1794TL – 37TL (€10) more than the current monthly minimum wage.

Leader of the newly established People’s Party (HP) Kudret Ozersay said there are a number of things that can be done to lower the burden on Turkish Cypriots.

Ozersay said the ‘TRNC’ had a ‘price stabilisation fund’ established for precisely such events and they would use the money to “steady the prices of fuel, electricity and canned gas along with basic consumer goods.”

“We would legislate to bring to zero the VAT rate or at least halve it on specific consumer goods, to prevent the weakening of people’s purchasing power,” the former chief negotiator for the Turkish Cypriot side said.

Ozersay went on to call for the government to resign saying, “this is the only good thing they have left to offer the people.”

Main opposition Republican Turkish Party (CTP) leader Tufan Erhurman said, “yes, it is true that we don’t have many tools to combat fluctuations in exchange rates, but this doesn’t mean we should sit around like accountants simply upping prices.”

Erhurman suggested reducing import taxes and fixing exchange rates for tax collection purposes.

“The government could, with the stroke of a pen, alleviate the burden on the people,” said Sungur.

“In real terms, rents are reaching astronomical figures. Every landlord has to pay a 10 per cent stoppage tax each month. The government could halt this temporarily until the lira recovers and instruct landlords to drop this amount from what tenants have to pay.”

For low-income locals looking to buy property Sungur suggests the government could reduce the cocktail of taxes taken when purchasing a property.

“There are so many taxes, you wouldn’t believe it,” he said.

So far, the government has taken a wait-and-see approach. The ‘deputy prime minister’, Serdar Denktash, has said they cannot do much until the fluctuations end.

“We need to be able to anticipate an end so that we can make calculations as to what measures we can take.”

In reality, there is little the north can do. It is at the mercy of global economic trends over which it has little control. Its use of the lira also leaves it unable to have a meaningful monetary policy.

In the event of a solution to the Cyprus problem, it has been agreed that the north will adopt the euro.

Like the Republic, almost all transactions would eventually be conducted in euros, providing stability and minimising the effects of foreign currency fluctuations.

For now, the economic downturn has not triggered a popular uprising like the 2001 Turkish economic crisis which planted the seeds for the mass pro-solution protests that germinated in 2002-2003.

But whether the Turkish Cypriots can hang on until the economic fluctuations come to an end remains to be seen. If the past is any guide, they could be waiting a long time.

Over 100,000 Turkish nationals living in the north of the island will be eligible to vote in Turkey’s constitutional referendum, daily Kibris newspaper reported on Thursday.

Ruling AKP MP Abdurrahman Öz, who is campaigning in the north, said an additional 50,000 Turkish students living there were also eligible to vote.

The constitutional amendment, which will bring about a presidential system and grant extraordinary powers to incumbent Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will be held on April 16.

Öz said the number of polling stations has increased to 15 from five, adding that they were working to get more people to vote in the referendum.

Customs on Wednesday seized a large amount of tobacco and veterinary pharmaceuticals coming from the north.

Officers seized 24 cartons each containing 200 cigarettes and 3,050 grammes of rolling tobacco that appear to have come from the north from a Nicosia kiosk on Wednesday afternoon.

The tax on the cigarettes and the tobacco amounted to € 1,490, the customs department said.

The owner of the kiosk and his wife were subsequently arrested and the man’s car was also confiscated.

They were released after the case was settled with an out-of-court settlement that saw them pay €9,500 for the goods and an additional €500 for the return of the car.

The tobacco products were destroyed by the customs department.

On the same day, officers found and seized 81 packages of banned veterinary pharmaceuticals in a vehicle coming from the north at the Astromeritis checkpoint.

The 64-year-old driver, a resident of Nicosia, was arrested and the drugs as well as the car were seized.

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim is due to visit the north on March 9, reports in the Turkish Cypriot press said on Friday.

According to the reports, the visit is being made as part of the constitutional referendum campaign to be held on April 16.

His visit to the north will be for one day, the reports said.

Thirteen people who are likely to have crossed into the Republic from the north illegally were picked up by police after a tip off at around 4am on Tuesday near the Nicosia industrial area east of the capital.

The area is not far from the buffer zone.

According to a police statement they were taken to the Omorfita police station for further investigations.

No information concerning their nationalities was immediately available.

The family of a 70-year-old Kondea (Turkmenkoy) man claimed he had been murdered by his neighbour, whom he shot and slightly wounded earlier, and had not committed suicide as the authorities believed, Turkish Cypriot media reported on Friday.

On Wednesday, following an argument, Bekir Sami Bahtikara, fired and lightly wounded his neighbour Ismail Ozgunel, 37, with a shotgun. He was later found dead in an auxiliary building behind his house in Kondea.

Police said Bahtikara had committed suicide but later took Ozgunel in custody following claims by residents that the 70-year-old had been murdered.

Bahtikara was laid to rest in his village on Thursday. His family told Yeniduzen newspaper that Ozgunel was continuously peeping into Bahtikara’s house.

His wife Surreyya Bahtikara said “We warned him (Ozgunel) not to stare. That it was shameful (to stare at someone’s house). But we he didn’t listen.”

Bahtikara’s son, Hasan, said they were considering two options and wanted police to conduct a thorough investigation.

He said Bahtikara fired towards Ozgunel because he had been provoked and that his death could be the result of a murder.

Hasan Bahtikara said, “Even if it is not a murder, there is aggravated provocation. Doesn’t this count as some sort of a murder? I even heard that he (Ozgunel) entered my house when I was not at home … İsmail Ozgunel was continuously provoking us with his behaviour and actions.”

On the other hand, it was learned that Ismail Ozgunel had been released by the police on Thursday due to the fact that no evidence was found indicating that Bahtikara was murdered.

Customs on Monday said they had seized 2,000 heads of lettuce from a truck at the Ayios Dhometios crossing point on Saturday.

An announcement said around noon that day officers were inspecting a truck driven by a Greek Cypriot which was carrying 2,000 heads of lettuce. The driver however did not have the necessary documents to allow the truck to pass.

The consignment and the truck were confiscated. Since then the driver has agreed to an out-of-court settlement, paying €900 of which €400 was a fine for the illegal lettuce and €500 to get his truck back.

“Upon payment of the above amounts, the vehicle was returned to its owner, while the seized cargo will be destroyed in accordance with procedures,” customs said.

The Turkish military began clearing out of the once mixed village of Ayia Marina (Gurpinar) which will allow its former Maronite and Turkish Cypriot residents to move in, though no specific deadline was given, Turkish Cypriot Yeniduzen newspaper reported on Friday.

Chairman of the Gurpinar (Ayia Marina) solidarity society Mehmet Hoca, said the decision was taken three and a half years ago by the Turkish Cypriot authorities in order to enable the villagers to live together.

Hoca said the soldiers in the village have started being transferred from there since the decision was adopted and added that the centre of the village and some other parts were free of the military but it was technically still a military zone until its status was ‘legally’ changed.

He said “we hear rumours that settlement will begin in two or three  months but that is pure speculation.”

He added that it would take a long time for de-militarisation and re-settlement to happen because of the renovation and construction work needed.

He said there were only 10 restorable houses in the village and rest were in ruins.

In addition to this, Hoca indicated that infrastructure such as roads, electricity, and water also needed to be completed.

Hoca said the funds for the work would be provided by the Turkish Aid Committee and as a last resort they might apply to the EU.

In 1963, 400 Maronites and 65 Turkish Cypriots lived together in the village.

Hoca said now there are around 1,000 Maronites and 300 Turkish Cypriots who are classed as coming from Ayia Marina.

Seventeen immigrants were picked up by police in the Kaimakli area of Nicosia and taken to Omorfita police station at 5.45am on Tuesday morning.

Police are working on trying to identify them. According to Cybc, they said they were Syrians.

Three unaccompanied minors were picked up in the same area ten days ago.  Large swathes of Kaimakli are interspersed with parts of the buffer zone.