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11.36 am
Dr. Ian Twinn (Edmonton): I am grateful to you, Madam Deputy Speaker, for calling me. I should declare my interest in Cyprus. I was a paid-for visitor to the rallies at Morphou and Famagusta last summer. Sadly, they were held just outside those regions because they are occupied by Turkish troops. That is a graphic symbol of why hon. Members should take a close interest in what is going on in Cyprus. It is a blot on Europe and on the world that we allow an island to remain occupied and divided in such a way.
I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Hendon, South (Mr. Marshall) on securing yet another debate on Cyprus. It shows the interest that exists here and that we want to keep reminding the country, this Parliament and others around the world of the need to be positive about Cyprus.
Listening to the two speeches so far, I find it interesting that there is optimism. Despite what has happened in Cyprus, we remain optimistic that a solution is not only right but possible to achieve. That solution would be in the interests of all Cypriots--not just Greek Cypriots but Turkish and other Cypriots. Their prosperity and human rights are at stake and that is what we are discussing.
Britain has a particular interest in Cyprus. It is not just that we are the former colonial power--or one of a number of former colonial powers over the years--or that we have bases there that continue to be extremely useful to our defence needs, or that we have strong cultural links with Cyprus. Even a casual visitor to that lovely island must realise that people there drive on the same side of the road as us and that they speak English very well. Some businesses have joint branches in north London and in our constituencies in particular. Hon. Members speaking today are proud to represent many Cypriots who are London based, which is our gain, but Cyprus's loss in that Greek and Turkish Cypriots are not able to live at peace in their own homes there.
The reason why we have a moral duty to take a close interest in Cyprus is that, as Britain is a guarantor power, we have international obligations. Sadly, we have not always taken those as seriously as we should. The 1974 Turkish invasion remains a blot on British foreign policy. The Government of the time, a guarantor power, refused to join the other guarantor power in taking action against the Greek colonels, who had instituted a coup in the island and thrown out the legitimate president.
We had every right, indeed a moral duty, to be involved then. We did not act, and we have been fighting the consequences for the past 21 years. We in the House must recognise that fact, and it is right to return to it time and time again. I hope that we shall not be as weak-kneed again in the future, and will take our responsibilities seriously.
We left a legacy in Cyprus, and my hon. Friend the Member for Hendon, South has outlined in graphic detail the effect that it has had on Cypriots. There are refugees who cannot go back to their homes, and there is an army of occupation far larger than Turkey, as a guarantor power, could possibly argue that it needed to protect Turkish Cypriots, even if anyone seriously believed that such protection were needed. I fully accept that in 1974, with the Greek army there and a coup taking place, there was a need for international involvement in Cyprus, but I do not think that that justifies the presence of 30,000 or more troops and lots of heavy armaments on such a small island.
Today we have heard about the refugees, the occupation and the missing people. We have heard from Mr. Denktash the very late news--which, although interesting, is not surprising--that those people were killed in 1974 by Turkish Cypriot paramilitaries. Possibly that is what most people already knew in their hearts actually happened, but the committee in Cyprus investigating the missing people must consider with a little more urgency what happened to them and where the graves are.
The surviving relatives remain most concerned, and while there is even the slightest hope that the missing people may be alive, it is cruel not to allow their deaths to be finally underlined, so that proper remembrance services can be held. I hope that Mr. Denktash will carefully consider the implications of his words. Indeed, I hope that he is not too ill to do so, and will make a recovery from his heart attack, as I gather he is now doing in Turkey.
At the time of the invasion, and perhaps even before, what took place in Cyprus was ethnic cleansing. We have seen results of that continue in the Mediterranean area. None of us has anything to be proud of when we realise that we allowed that to happen.
There is another legacy of what happened in Cyprus--the actions of Turkey itself, which convey serious messages that we tend to forget. Yes, Turkey is important and we have to take account of it. It is a military ally of ours, and was extremely important to us during the cold war.It remains significant in the fight against the spread of fundamentalism in Islam. It cannot be in the interests of European civilisation to allow non-democratic fundamentalist terrorism to spread in our area, and Turkey stands as a bulwark against that. If it can continue to do so, that is something that we should all support with enthusiasm, and we must give Turkey all the help that we can.
Turkey's sheer presence is important in the region.The hon. Member for Knowsley, South (Mr. O'Hara) talked about the geo-politics. Turkey is a large significant country with strong cultural links with Cyprus, but Cyprus is not and never has been part of Turkey. It was a Turkish colony until we took it over in the 19th century, when it became our colony. But Cyprus remains a separate country. When Turkey starts to say that it would like Cyprus to be part of Turkey, we should all fear for the consequences.
We do not want an expansionist Turkey in the region again. We have a duty to support that country as it is, but not as it, in its wilder fancies, may like to see itself, with an expanding empire. The United Kingdom and the European Union must stand firm against Turkey, while at the same time being supportive. I look at Cyprus and wonder what objectives Turkey can possibly have in carrying on as it does there. There can be only one conclusion: Turkey wants to dominate the island and still sees it as a part of its empire which, for cultural and other reasons, it would like to take back. We need to say that that is not acceptable.
The United Nations has made that plain, and in all its statements and successive motions, as well as in the activities of the Secretary-General, has underlined it time and time again; yet 21 years later we are in the same position as we were in 1974. There has been no significant progress, for the good reason that Turkish politicians and
some Turkish Cypriot leaders have not wanted there to be any progress. All the political good will, where there have been signs of progress, has come from the Greek Cypriot politicians and the Cyprus Government--but I hope that we shall now start to see a significant change.
I believe that the European Union offers the possibility that Cyprus could become united again, and have the guarantees of peace and freedom within their own country that all Cypriots want. Perhaps it was not appropriate for Greece, Turkey and Britain to be guarantor powers, but it would be appropriate, within the European Union, for the guarantees of freedom and justice to be offered by a wider international community. So I hope that we can make progress there.
I am grateful for the British Government's support for the UN. It has been noticeable that many of the initiatives have come about not only with Britain's tacit support but after a great deal of hard work by our Ministers and diplomats. One has only to observe the activities of the British high commissioner in Nicosia to appreciate what good work is done, and what confidence building between the two communities can be achieved by the positive actions of the British Government.
I hope that that will continue. We must do more than rely on the United Nations; we must work through the EU and use our own resources to promote justice within Cyprus rather than simply relying on what may be perceived as the foreign affairs interests of the United States.
We would probably all agree that nothing can be achieved in Cyprus unless the United States wants something to be achieved. After 21 and a half years, that may lead us to certain conclusions about the good will of American Administrations. I hope that there is now an opportunity for America to show a more positive attitude towards Cyprus, and a less sycophantic response to the military needs of Turkey. The United States elections are a jolly good time for candidates on both sides to make their positions clear, and I hope not only that they do that but that this time they carry out what they say after they have been elected.
We have talked about possible membership of the EU for Cyprus, with negotiations starting six months after the conclusion of the next intergovernmental conference--if it ever reaches any conclusions. I hope that we manage to get some sensible conclusions from the IGC, with which Conservative Members can agree. I see my hon. Friend the Minister of State laughing; he knows perfectly well what I would like to come out of the IGC. Immediately afterwards I would like to see Cyprus join the EU.
It is important for us to reaffirm the message that Cyprus will join, and that it should join as a federal state--one Cyprus, one sovereignty and one Government, albeit in a federal system with two parts. Turkey does not have the right to veto a political solution in Cyprus, and therefore veto its membership of the EU.
I have no illusions about how difficult it would be for the Government of Cyprus to enter the EU when one third of the island is still occupied, as that part could not functionally be part of the European Union. That would be incredibly difficult, but it must remain a possibility, if Turkey and Turkish Cypriots do not adopt a positive attitude and find a solution. I should like an affirmation from my hon. Friend today that that remains the bottom line, and could happen, however difficult it may be.
I also draw conclusions about Turkey over what has being going on in the Aegean. I am concerned that Turkey has sought to overturn a clear international agreement on the demarcation line between the Dodecanese islands and the Anatolian coast that was agreed in 1932. It was perfectly fairly agreed with Italy, transferred by Italy to Greece in 1947 and has been operated successfully ever since by Turkey and Greece. Turkey cannot use weasel words or find ways to slip out of it.
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