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11.50 am
Mrs. Barbara Roche (Hornsey and Wood Green): I am extremely proud to declare as an interest that I have a very large Cypriot community in my constituency. I have visited Cyprus on a number of occasions as a paid guest of the Morphou district association and the Morphou council in exile.
I am very pleased that we have the opportunity to debate Cyprus once again. It is extremely appropriate to continue the debate because, as hon. Members know, Cyprus is important to us not only as a member of the Commonwealth but because of the unique role that we play as its guarantor power--a guarantee of Cyprus's integrity.
It is difficult to speak in this debate without feeling emotionally committed to Cyprus and the history of the past 21 years. I remember very clearly where I was when Cyprus was invaded in 1974. I was a student and can remember the shock waves and the feeling of outrage that the invasion caused. When we look back, we ought to feel outraged that an invasion was allowed to take place and that that occupation--that is the only word for it--is continuing in Cyprus.
To very many people in this country, Cyprus is a beautiful island to visit. It has built a very successful tourism industry and many people from Britain visit that lovely place. They probably go for a couple of weeks' holiday, have a lovely time on the beaches and, one hopes, also see the sights and visit the villages, where people can still receive traditional hospitality.
Before people go--or even during their visit if they stick to the beaches--few realise the tragedy of the divided island and its divided capital. In, for example, the commercial, bustling, modern city of Nicosia, they might suddenly come to the end of a road where they are met by a wall, and the fact that they are in the middle of a division will really hit them. Encountering that division, represented by a physical wall, is a great shock to many people.
One of the reasons why Cyprus is not so high on the international agenda is that the Cypriot community have been so successful in building their economy and
absorbing their refugees. One does not see any refugee camps in Cyprus. Indeed, as a result, one can go to Cyprus and not fully appreciate what has happened. That is part of Cyprus's tragedy. Its problems are on the international list, but not as high on it as hon. Members want.
Hon. Members have graphically described how 40,000 Turkish troops--a foreign army--are occupying a country that is a member of the United Nations, a sovereign country, part of the Commonwealth, and for which we are a guarantor power. We have heard about the terrible plight of the enclaved people, the great majority of whom are elderly. Some, however, are extremely young and are harassed in their daily lives. We know that not only from people who are sympathetic to the Cypriot cause but from the United Nations.
There is also the tragedy of missing people, about which recent information is very welcome. Like other hon. Members, I have Cypriot constituents who do not know the fate of their relatives. I know that hon. Members have heard me say this before, but it is worth repeating. An elderly lady in my constituency does not know what has happened to her son. The only snippet of information that she hasis a reference to his name on the BBC9 o'clock news on the day the invasion occurred. Her son was a police officer--a young man serving his country and his community. One moment he was there, the next moment he disappeared out of sight. That lady is elderly and she deserves to know what has happened to her beloved son.
I referred earlier to visiting Cyprus. Sadly, I could not go to Morphou, although I could see it from a distance. The refugees may be absorbed in the new lives that they have created, but they can still see the villages and communities that they had so tragically to leave when they were invaded. Indeed, they can even smell their former orange groves while staging demonstrations.
Like other hon. Members, I remain optimistic, as we must. Cyprus's application to join the European Community is absolutely essential in resolving the problem. It is very important that the illegal regime ofMr. Denktash and the Turkish Government is not allowed a de facto veto on negotiations. I remain disturbed by the Prime Minister's comments on Cyprus's application. Cyprus fulfils the criteria of European Union membership in every possible way. It looks to Europe. Its successful, modern, vibrant economy is right for European Community membership. But Turkey and the illegal regime must not be allowed to have a veto on the accession.
A two-pronged strategy involving the EU and the United States is needed. Britain has a key role with respect to the United States because of our countries' special relationship, and we must work with the Americans and the EU to bring about a just solution. Britain could do much more with the Americans to make sure that the issue goes to the top of the international agenda.
Mr. Hartley Booth (Finchley):
During a debate on Cyprus last year, I explained that I was taking up the case of a particular missing person to whom reference has been made by hon. Members. I said that I would have a letter to Mr. Rauf Denktash translated into Turkish, and I did.I received a reply that asked for more information, and it may amuse the House to learn that the letter--which I took great difficulty to prepare--was treated byMr. Denktash's office as though it were a standard letter. That office has obviously been bombarded by such letters over the years. I intend to continue my efforts and negotiations, and I am still in contact with Mr. Denktash's office. If there is a further debate on Cyprus this year,I shall give the House more information.
Those of us who are friends of Cyprus look now not to Mr. Denktash--whom we regard as a puppet--but to mainland Turkey. Greek Cypriots--indeed, all Cypriots--now see their future in the hands of mainland Turkey. Only when the 35,000 troops in northern Cyprus are withdrawn by the political will of Ankara shall we see a solution.
I hope that we shall hear from my hon. Friend the Minister that the British Government place a top priority on solving the problem, and they should focus their attention on two matters. First, no one should argue that the fact that the island is temporarily divided--it is only a temporary division--should be a barrier to EU membership for Cyprus. One thinks of the differences between Gibraltar and Spain, the residual claims of France to the channel islands, the well-known divisions in Belgium, the awful divisions in Germany, the divisions in Corsica and, of course, those in Northern Ireland. It seems as though there is almost a rule that a country needs division to be a part of the EU.
What would be a barrier to EU entry, however, is a failure to observe human rights, and that is the second point that I want the Government to focus on. For years, Europe told Franco that if Spain cleaned up its act, respected human rights and got rid of dictatorship, it could perhaps join the European Community. Democracy was introduced and human rights were respected in Spain thanks to the force of the EU. That is now also taking place in eastern Europe, and it could also happen in Cyprus.
Mr. Anthony Coombs (Wyre Forest):
I want to make four points about Cyprus. First, the status quo is not acceptable. It is easy to say that the situation is stable because there has been only one death on the green line in 22 years. Nevertheless, it is precisely the opposite. The recent tension between Greece and Turkey in Imia, and the fact that Cyprus is heavily militarised--and hence potentially explosive--and occupies an important part of the eastern Mediterranean between the Islamic and western worlds mean that the island of Cyprus is extremely important. Having a green line across the island separating two communities whose resentments for one another fester the longer the division goes on is therefore not sustainable.
Secondly, the approach adopted in the past 22 years--the UN overseeing intercommunal talks--has plainly been a failure. If one is to solve the Cyprus problem, although
one must leave the individual communities to discuss the basic substance, the strategic overview must be internationalised, as it was in Bosnia. Had there not been an intervention by the international community in Bosnia, we would not have got a successful solution there.
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