Written evidence submitted by the Union
of South London Cypriots in Britain
Following the Zurich and London Agreements in
1959 Cyprus was proclaimed an independent state in 1960 and became
a member of the United Nations Organisation, a member of the British
Commonwealth and of the Council of Europe.
Under the 1960 Treaties of Independence and
Guarantee; Greece, Turkey, and the United Kingdom undersigned
to guarantee Cyprus' Independence Sovereignty and Territorial
Integrity.
What did the guarantor powers do to Cyprus during
the momentous years?
Greece
On the 15 July 1974 the military junta of officers
that was ruling Greece with the assistance of EOKAB they engineered
a military coup against the democratically elected Government
and seized power in Cyprus. President Makarios survived and flew
to London. The junta paved the way and opened the gates to the
Turkish invasion of Cyprus. A few weeks later under the enormity
of their betrayal the Greek military junta collapsed like a pack
of cards.
Turkey
On the 20 July 1974 Turkey invaded Cyprus on
the pretext that she wanted to restore the constitutional order
that was disturbed by the Greek junta's coup. The Turkish army
occupied 37% of the island's territory and embarked on a policy
of ethnic cleansing. They have uprooted 180,000 people from their
homes their property and their occupations turning them into refugees
in their own country.
Constitutional order was restored a few weeks
later and President Makarios returned to the island in December
1974.
Thirty years on 35,000 Turkish troops are still
occupying 37% of the territory of Cyprus. Furthermore the Turkish
Government brought over 119,000 illegal settlers into the occupied
area of Cyprus in order to change the demographic composition
of the island. The tragic and humanitarian case of 1,619 missing
persons many of whom were held in Turkish prisons is still unresolved.
The United Kingdom
It is regrettable that the British policy during
July, August 1974 amounted to a betrayal of the young Republic,
as Britain did not honour its signature and its obligations as
a guarantor of the independence and territorial integrity of Cyprus.
Lord Caradon in an article in The Times
on the 17 April 1975 wrote: "It was not possible to uncover
or detect any British influence or initiative other than we should
follow Dr Kissinger. We have followed him with devastating and
shameful results and failed to honour the British obligations
as guarantor of the Cyprus people."
The report of the Parliamentary Select Committee
on Foreign Affairs on Cyprus was published on 8 April 1976. Among
other things it stated: "Britain had a legal right, a moral
obligation and the military capacity to intervene in Cyprus during
July, August 1974. She did not intervene for reasons which the
Government refuses to give."
There is a relevant reference to Cyprus in the
Crossman Diaries. "In July 28 1967 three months after the
fascist military regime was imposed on Greece, a paper was sent
to the Cabinet by the Defence and Planning Committee. This paper
advised that if the Greek army in Cyprus staged a coup against
Makarios in order to achieve Enosis we should dissent from it
but prevent our troops getting engaged in any hostilities. Denis
and I were the only two people there who had noticed this extraordinary
proposal. A Commonwealth country is attacked by a fascist dictatorship
and although we have 15,000 armed men there we stand aside."
It is our view that the Greek coup and the Turkish
invasion of Cyprus are the two parts of the Dean Acheson plan,
the NATO plan to dismember the Republic of Cyprus and to partition
the island.
Britain was in collusion and capitulated to
the USA and NATO and that is the reason that she did not intervene
to prevent the Greek Colonel's coup and the Turkish invasion of
Cyprus.
In 1977 were the High Level Agreement signed
by Archbishop Makarios and Mr Denktashh and in 1979 the Agreement
was signed by Mr Kyprianou and Mr Denktashh. These agreements
and all subsequent discussions were based on a bi-zonal bi-communal
Federal solution.
Since then all efforts to resolve the problem
were obstructed and thwarted by the intransigence of the Turkish
Governments and Mr Denktashh.
The Annan Plan was presented in November 2002
and it was revised five times. However, no substantive negotiations
took place due to the lack of sufficient time and the tight deadlines
to come to an agreement.
The Secretary General of UN HE Kofi Annan in
his Report to the Security Council recognised that "The serious
concerns of the Greek Cypriot community had not been adequately
addressed in the final Plan of 31 March 2004, a factor which weighted
heavily on the results of the referendum held on 24 April 2004."
Please find below our approach to the issues
that you will examine.
1. The UK should continue to back the Annan
Plan but should be flexible to changes that through negotiations
and when adopted could facilitate a yes vote by the Greek Cypriot
community.
2. The European Union as well as all Cypriots
wish to have a united Cyprus in the EU. The EU may take initiatives
within the UN Parameters and promote the dialogue among the communities
that may help the unification of Cyprus.
3. The UK should take positive and constructive
role and within the UN parameters promote activities that bring
together the communities so that they may reach a negotiated agreement.
4. For 30 years Turkey and Mr Denktashh
with their intransigence obstructed and thwarted all efforts to
solve the Cyprus problem, and no action was taken against them.
It is in the interest of all to accept that this is not the end
of the road. New efforts should be initiated as soon as possible
to promote a negotiated functional and viable settlement.
5. Any help that the British Government
may contemplate to give to the Turkish Cypriots should be through
legal process and it may also promote co-operation among the communities.
6. Provided that Turkey fulfils the human
rights requirements according to the 1993 Copenhagen criteria,
Turkey is likely to have a date to open accession negotiations
with the EU. At the same time as we are close to achieve a negotiated
settlement on Cyprus, Turkey should not obstruct the process;
she should rather facilitate it.
During the last 50 years the people of Cyprus
have been though terrible ordeals, tribulations and traumatic
experiences that have left their indelible mark on the island
and its people. The wounds have not yet healed.
It is time to give a helping hand to alleviate
the pain to soothe and heal the wounds.
President T Papadopoulos in his letter of the
7 June 2004 to the Secretary General of the UN Mr Kofi Annan stated;
"I take this opportunity to emphatically reiterate once more,
on behalf of the Greek Cypriot side, the commitment of my people,
as well as my strong personal one, to the solution of a bizonal
bi-communal federation."
Almost all Greek Cypriot parties agree with
that statement and would be glad to see a new initiative by the
UN to open negotiations to address the legitimate concerns of
the Greek Cypriot community and to make the Annan Plan viable
and functional.
Dr George J Christofinis
Chairman, The Union of South London Cypriots in Britain
1 September 2004
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