Articles and Comments 

Archive

NONSENSE AS A RESULT OF IGNORANCE

Following is an article written in the Turkish Cypriot daily “Volkan”, on March 14, by Sabahattin Ismail:  

“Argument 1: After the establishment of the Constitutional Order you (theTurkish Armed Forces) were forced to retreat.  

Response 1: What Constitutional order?  Is it the order before 1974? Was that order a constitutional order?  With the Geneva Agreement on 30 July 1974, all the parties, including the guarantors agreed that the constitutional order established in 1960 on the island was destroyed, and that there were TWO EQUAL, AUTONOM ADMINISTRATIONS on the island and that the new constitutional order would be established on this basis. As a continuation of this, in 1975 the Population Exchange Agreement, and the 1977-1979 high Level Agreements were made, and it was jointly agreed that the new constitutional order would be established on the basis of two communities – bi-zonality. Negotiations continued in order to establish a new order on this basis. Turkey had many times announced that once the two sides had agreed on this new order, and within this framework after determining the number of Turkish forces, who would remain on the island, she was ready to remove all remaining Turkish soldiers from the island. Thus, Turkey had no other alternative other than to wait until the two sides had agreed and to continue to preserve the peace that she brought in 1974.  

Argument 2: The Agreements do not give you the right to displace Greek Cypriots and confiscate their properties.  

Response 2: The Greek Cypriots crossed over to the South according to the Population Exchange Agreement. The TRNC had the right to render Greek Cypriot properties for public use.  The Greek Cypriots’ right of possession were not rejected.  However, this problem, just as it was after the end of the War of Liberation, would be solved through exchange and compensation, as also stated in the 1985-1986 Cuellar Documents and the1992 Ghali Set of Ideas.  

Argument 3: You are importing people to the country after war…  

Response 3: The TRNC is an independent state. Like the state in the South, within the framework of its laws and population policy, it can take decisions as it sees fit. More than 100,000 Greeks, Russians, Arabs, and Phillipinos and other foreigners were even made citizens in South Cyprus.  

Argument 4: You have been keeping soldiers on the island for 30-years.  

Response 4: The reason for this is because there’s still no agreement. Turkey has announced that in the event of an agreement being reached between the two sides, she will remove from the island all the remaining soldiers other than the amount agreed to be left on the island. Within this framework, for 30-years UN and Greek soldiers have continued to be on the island…Those who are the voice of external powers should do their homework…”