Letter
dated 19 August 2005 from the Chargé d'affaires a.i. of the
Permanent Mission of Cyprus to the United Nations addressed to the
Secretary-General
Upon instructions from my Government, I write to bring to your attention
some disconcerting statements made recently by the leader of the Turkish
Cypriot community. Mr. Mehmet Ali Talat, concerning the latest
developments in and the prospects for the future for the solution of the
Cyprus problem.
In an interview with the Turkish
newspaper The New Anatolian, which was published on 8 August 2005
and reproduced later in the Turkish Weekly, Mr. Talat was asked,
inter alia, to explain his position regarding the alleged proposal of the
Turkish Cypriot leader for the return of Varosha to its lawful
inhabitants. In reply, Mr. Talat stated that "in exchange for
returning Varosha, we want the opening of our airports and harbours, and
an end to the cultural embargo. It means the end of our isolation. I am
surprised when I see people criticizing this proposal without
understanding its importance. Because the meaning of our proposal is to
achieve the last phase before full recognition in exchange for Varosha.
Essentially everything except recognition".
These statements raise serious questions as to the real
intentions and the overall objectives of the Turkish side and do not
portend well for the future prospects of the efforts to achieve a just and
viable solution to the Cyprus problem. By referring to the "last
phase" before full recognition, Mr. Talat actually reveals that the
goal of the recognition of the illegal entity set up in the occupied areas
of Cyprus has never been abandoned and remains on the political agenda of
the Turkish side. In fact, this statement is tantamount to a declaration
that the ultimate goal remains the same and that what it has changed are
the methods and tactics used for its achievement.
It has now become clearly obvious that, at this phase, the temporary
objective of the Turkish side is to upgrade the status of the illegal
regime set up in the occupied areas of Cyprus and to demonstrate the
existence of an entity functioning in a legitimate manner, which is simply
short of international recognition. Using as a springboard the results of
the referenda of April 2004, the Turkish Cypriot leadership, in concert
with Turkey, has been trying, for the last 15 months, to portray
internationally the image of the unquestionable supporter of the
reunification of Cyprus, while asking in parallel an acknowledgement and a
reward for their "efforts to achieve a solution" in the form of
the ending of the so-called isolation of the Turkish Cypriots. In the
light of the recent statements of Mr. Talat, one can easily draw the
conclusion that the ending of the so-called isolation of the Turkish
Cypriots does not constitute an objective per se; it is rather an
instrument for the achievement of the temporary objective for the
upgrading of the status of the illegal regime, thus earmarking the last
phase on the road toward full recognition.
Even more disturbing is the
attempt of the Turkish Cypriot leadership to use the fenced area of
Varosha, for which the United Nations holds the Government of Turkey
responsible, as a card for the promotion of its schemes to upgrade the
status of the illegal entity in the occupied part of Cyprus. It should be
stressed that with its resolution 550 (1984), the Security Council called
for the transfer of Varosha to the administration of the United Nations,
but unfortunately to no avail. Instead of complying with its obligations
under international law, as stipulated by Security Council resolution 550
(1984), Turkey recently allowed its subordinate administration in the
occupied part of Cyprus to make a play, under the guise of the ending of
the so-called isolation of the Turkish Cypriots, for the opening of ports
and airports in the said area in exchange for a mere promise to discuss at
a later stage the return of Varosha to its lawful inhabitants.
The so-called proposal of Mr. Talat, during unofficial talks
organized in Brussels by the European Union (EU) Presidency of the first
semester of 2005, provided for the approval of the EU regulation on
financial assistance to the Turkish Cypriots, amounting to ¤259 million,
the adoption of a regulation proposed by the European Commission on direct
trade between the occupied area of Cyprus and the EU and further
discussions in Nicosia, under the aegis of the United Nations, on the
return of Varosha in exchange for the opening of all ports and airports in
the occupied area of Cyprus and the lifting of the so-called sports
embargo. In fact, there was no proposal for the return of Varosha, but
rather a demand to meet the Turkish claims with regard to the two
aforementioned EU regulations, since the adoption of the regulation on
direct trade would have in any case rendered legal the use of ports and
airports in the occupied areas of Cyprus. Specifically, the proposed
discussions in Nicosia on the return of Varosha, after the adoption of the
two EU regulations, would have become meaningless, since they would have
led to a trade-off between the return of Varosha in exchange for something
already obtained by the Turkish Cypriot side.
On the specific matter of airports and ports in the occupied
area of Cyprus, it should be stressed that, following the Turkish military
invasion and occupation of the northern part of the island, the Government
of the Republic of Cyprus declared all ports of entry into the Republic of
Cyprus which are situated in those areas as closed. In particular with
regard to airports, it should be noted that the Government of the Republic
of Cyprus acted in accordance with the Chicago Convention on International
Civil Aviation, which provides that "the contracting States recognize
that every State has complete and exclusive sovereignty over the airspace
above its territory", including designation of official ports of
entry. Moreover, according to International Civil Aviation Organization
decisions of 1974, 1975, and 1977, a country not exercising, temporarily,
effective control over its territory by reasons of military occupation,
does not lose its sovereign rights over its territory and the airspace
above it. In that context, the two airports operating in the occupied area
of the island - over which the Government of the Republic of Cyprus has
temporarily no access or effective control and consequently is not in a
position to impose the terms of operation and international safety
standards - are illegal and pose potential safety concerns to civil
aviation.
In order to set the record straight, it should also be noted that it was
the President of the Republic of Cyprus, H.E. Mr. Tassos Papadopoulos, who
in June 2004 in Brussels made concrete proposals for the opening of the
Famagusta port and the return of Varosha to its lawful inhabitants, in the
context of the discussions on the two aforementioned EU regulations. The
aim of those proposals was to facilitate the movement of persons and goods
across the Green Line and to the outside world, and they constituted part
of a wider set of concrete measures announced and implemented by the
Government of the Republic of Cyprus in favour of the Turkish Cypriot
community, following the accession of Cyprus to the EU. Those measures are
in line with EU policy defined in April 2004, which aims at the economic
development of the Turkish Cypriot community by placing particular
emphasis on the economic integration of the island and on improving
contact between the two communities. The objective of this policy is the
facilitation of the reunification of Cyprus and not the promotion of
divisive measures and the upgrading of the status of the secessionist
illegal entity in the occupied areas of Cyprus.
When referring to the so-called isolation of the Turkish Cypriots,
the Turkish Cypriot leadership seems to prefer to be oblivious to the fact
that the international community has taken measures against the purported
state of the so-called "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus",
but never against the Turkish Cypriot community. In fact, with resolutions
541 (1983) and 550 (1984), the Security Council considered the declaration
which purported to create an independent state in northern Cyprus as
legally invalid, called for its withdrawal and called upon all States not
to recognize the purported state of the "Turkish Republic of Northern
Cyprus" set up by secessionist acts, and not to facilitate or in any
way assist the aforesaid entity. Instead of implementing those Security
Council resolutions and complying with international law, the Turkish
Cypriot leadership and Turkey prefer to insist on their attempts to erode
the said resolutions and upgrade the status of the illegal entity in
occupied Cyprus by hiding their intentions under the guise of the
so-called ending of the isolation of the Turkish Cypriots. It should be
noted that what is erroneously described by them as "isolation"
of the Turkish Cypriots is, in fact, nothing more than the consequence of
the illegal Turkish military occupation of northern Cyprus and the
purported declaration of an "independent state". It is a
self-inflicted wound caused by their policy of pursuing status rather than
pursuing settlement.
With the accession of the Republic of
Cyprus to the EU, all of its citizens, be they Greek Cypriots or Turkish
Cypriots, automatically became citizens of the European Union, an area
which is founded on respect for human rights and the rule of law, and they
are all entitled to and benefit from all the rights of European citizens.
The economic development of the Turkish Cypriots and the economic
integration of the two communities in Cyprus are pursued in a way that it
is consistent and in compliance with international norms and EU and Cyprus
domestic law.
Meanwhile, the Government of the Republic of Cyprus remains committed to a
fair and sustainable resolution of the Cyprus problem, which will be
mutually and freely agreed by both communities, and "based on a State
of Cyprus with a single sovereignty and international personality and a
single citizenship, with its independence and territorial integrity
safeguarded, and comprising two politically equal communities as described
in the relevant Security Council resolutions, in a bi-communal and
bi-zonal federation", pursuant to Security Council resolution 939
(1994).
I should be grateful if you would
have the present letter circulated as a document of the General Assembly,
under agenda item 29, and of the Security Council.
(Signed)
Andreas Hadjichrysanthou
Chargé d'affaires a.i.
--
Tasoula
Saparilla Berggren
Consul, a.h. of The Republic of Cyprus
and
Secretary of The Consular Corps
of British Columbia, Canada
Phone: 604.936.2268
Fax: 604.936.2168
