Cyprus-Forum.com

[brother]

Turkish Cypriots vow to blitz London with ads
By Simon Bahceli


TURKISH Cypriots in both London and on the island vowed yesterday to step up efforts to promote tourism in the north, despite a recently imposed ban on Turkish Cypriot advertising by Transport for London (TfL).

TfL announced earlier this week it was banning advertisements for holidays in north Cyprus on buses and tubes in the British capital because they might cause offence to Greek Cypriots living there.

“We plan to fight this, not only in London, but all over the world,” Turkish Cypriot economy and tourism ‘minister’ Dervish Deniz told the Cyprus Mail yesterday.
Deniz said he planned to do this through a “PR campaign” using worldwide mass media outlets, and would use his London office to “put pressure on the Greater London Authority” (GLA) to reverse the decision of the TfL.

Turkish Cypriot tourism operators took heart earlier this week from statements by a British High Commission spokesman in Cyprus that TfL’s decision to ban advertising of the north was in contravention of British policy of ending its economic isolation.
But while the ban still stands, the north says it is moving ahead in seeking other ways to promote its as yet miniscule tourism industry.

Turkish Cypriot tourism’s London office representative Yilmaz Kalfaoglu informed the Cyprus Mail yesterday of what he described as “an alternative promotion campaign covering almost the whole of London”.

His campaign involves displaying around 300 billboard advertisements on the “busiest streets and junctions in London” and aims to “reinforce north Cyprus’ image as an unspoilt holiday destination”.

“It is estimated that the posters conveying the message ‘North Cyprus – A sanctuary of unspoilt beauty’ will be seen by 4.2 million Londoners before the campaign comes to an end,” Kalfaoglu said.

Back in Cyprus, Deniz insists the poster campaign is not the full extent of the north’s preparations for promotion of this summer’s tourism season. He refrained from giving details of what and who the campaign would involve saying only, “Whatever we do, they [the Greek Cypriot government] try to block it, so if I tell you what I’m going to do, they will go to every organisation and individual I mention seeking to scupper my plans.

“We don’t consider this fair or friendly. We want to be partners with Greek Cypriots, but if one partner keeps saying I’m the boss, how can we share the shop?”

Deniz maintains that his efforts to promote the north as a holiday destination should not be mistaken as a means of gaining political recognition for the breakaway regime.
“This has nothing to do with recognition. This is not a political struggle, but a struggle to establish greater levels of economic activity in the north,” he explained.

“Turkish Cypriots voted ‘yes’ in the referendum to unite the island, become part of the EU and part of the world. That the Greek Cypriots said ‘no’ should not mean that we sit back and wait till they are ready to say ‘yes’,” he said, adding: “How are Turkish Cypriots supposed to survive with no tourism, no industry and no trade?”
Despite what Deniz sees as the “negative attitude” of the Cyprus government towards Turkish Cypriot efforts to develop tourism in the north, he believes prospects for this year are good.

“High growth rates realised in recent years in the number of visitors from the UK will continue. The first sign of the possibility that the 40 per cent growth achieved in 2004 will be repeated in the coming years that in January 2005 statistics showed a 39 per cent increase over the same period in 2004,” he said.

[brother]

They have already started the blitz with 300 massive posters as reported by kibris gazetesi:

http://www.kibrisgazetesi.com/?newsid=19633&category=3

[insan]

That's the way it should be. TC community should fight for its rights to survive and strengthen its communal existence in Cyprus. GC will always be welcomed to reunite the Island in a feasible way, based upon bi-communality, bi-zonality, "political equality", democrasy and human rights.

[Agios Amvrosios]

I’m the boss, how can we share the shop?”

Share the shop?... Sell tourist packages on your own land not refugee's land.

[BigDutch]

They have already started the blitz with 300 massive posters as reported by kibris gazetesi:

I reported this information to this board on :

Thu Mar 17, 2005 10:24 pm
Post subject: www.go-northcyprus.com
http://www.cyprus-forum.com/viewtopic.php?t=1450

Get with the program dude !!

[BigDutch]

Deniz maintains that his efforts to promote the north as a holiday destination should not be mistaken as a means of gaining political recognition for the breakaway regime.
“This has nothing to do with recognition. This is not a political struggle, but a struggle to establish greater levels of economic activity in the north,” he explained.

But how do people get into the occupied island ? is there no control of people or goods arriving on the island ? Is there no "customs" or "passport control" ? If "TRNC" is asking people to show passports to "TRNC" guards then how are they not "forcing" recognition of their "country" on the visitors ?

[insan]

I’m the boss, how can we share the shop?”

Share the shop?... Sell tourist packages on your own land not refugee's land.

What's the total amount of land has been sold to foreigners in last 30 years? do you really think it will substantially affect the properties belong to GC refugees or their return to North?

Help us lifting the economic sanctions being imposed upon TC community, then ask us not to sell the properties belong to GCs. Furthermore, you should immediatly prepare a proposal for gradually exchange the volunteers' properties and returning a part of the occupied land which percentagely doesn't belong to TCs. These measures are not an obstacle in front of a future reunification efforts or return of 50-60 thousand GC refugees to TC administered zone in a United Cyprus. But unfortunately all you have done is complaining and preventing the lifting of economic sanctions being imposed upon TC community. Ok. Keep maintaining the same negative stance. It didn't help to solve the problem and it won't help to solve the problem. The negative stance of GC ruling elite causes the circumstances of solution to go worse, every single day we leave behind.

[metecyp]

If "TRNC" is asking people to show passports to "TRNC" guards then how are they not "forcing" recognition of their "country" on the visitors ?

So what do you want us to do? Accept anyone in the north without passports in the name of "not enforcing recognition"? Does this sound logical to you?

[metecyp]

But unfortunately all you have done is complaining and preventing the lifting of economic sanctions being imposed upon TC community.

They (GC leadership) don't even acknowledge the fact that they're imposing economic sanctions on TCs. It's the EU, UN and others, not GCs.

[BigDutch]

... Furthermore, you should immediatly prepare a proposal for gradually exchange the volunteers' properties and returning a part of the occupied land which percentagely doesn't belong to TCs.

what is stopping "your side" doing this proposal ? It doesn't need to come from "GC" does it ? A good proposal is a good proposal no ?