Letters On Cyprus Issue  

The full text of the letter, which was circulated as a document of the General Assembly, is as follows;

I have the honor to refer to the statements made by representatives of the Greek Cypriot administration to the Third Committee on 19 October and 13 November 2001, under agenda items 112, "Advancement of women", 113, "Implementation of the outcome of the Fourth World Conference on Women and of the special session of the General Assembly, entitled `Women 2000: gender equality, development and peace for the twenty-first century"', and 119 (b), "Human rights questions, including alternative approaches for improving the effective enjoyment of human rights, and fundamental freedoms", respectively. Since the above statements contain unfounded allegations against my country and distort facts pertaining to the Cyprus issue, it is my duty to respond to these assertions in writing.

Greek Cypriot representatives have referred to the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus as "occupied areas" and "a subordinate local administration". Firstly, the only occupation in Cyprus is the usurpation of the title of the "government of Cyprus" by the Greek Cypriot side since 1963. For eleven years between 1963-1974, Turkish Cypriots were persecuted and subjected to ethnic cleansing by the usurper regime under the Greek Cypriot leadership. It should be kept in mind that the attempted forcible annexation of Cyprus by Greece in 1974 was reversed by the timely intervention by Turkey carried out in July I974 in accordance with its rights and obligations under the 1960 Treaty of Guarantee, Ever since the Turkish intervention, Northern Cyprus has been a sanctuary for Turkish Cypriots who had been subjected to a systematic campaign of ethnic cleansing by the Greek Cypriots. Turkish military presence in Northern Cyprus is legal in accordance with the 1960 Treaty of Guarantee and has proven to be an indispensable element of security. Therefore, any attempt to portray Northern Cyprus, the homeland of the Turkish Cypriot people, as “occupied areas" is nothing more than false propaganda. Secondly, the misnomer (i.e. subordinate local administration) used by Greek Cypriot delegates to describe the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is also indicative of the chronic denial by the Greek Cypriots of the basic rights of the Turkish Cypriot people. The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus was established in 1983 by the Turkish Cypriot people in exercise of their inherent right to self determination. It should be recalled, in this context, that the Turkish Cypriot people, as one of the co-founder partners of the 1960 Republic of Cyprus, were ejected by force of arms from the state machinery in 1963 and subjected to inhuman treatment and harsh restrictions between 1963 and 1974.

The Greek Cypriot representative has raised the issue of human rights violations in Cyprus. Given the historical background of the Cyprus question, the Greek Cypriots would have better refrained from talking about human rights issues. The most blatant human rights violations in contemporary Cyprus, such as the forcible displacement of populations and the imposition of inhuman restrictions on Turkish Cypriot enclaves, took place between 1963 and 1974. Those responsible for the violations were Greek Cypriots. The victims were all Turkish Cypriots.

The Greek Cypriot representative has referred to the ruling by the European Court of Human Rights in the ease of the fourth "state application" by the Greek Cypriot administration. Our position vis-a-vis this ruling has already been communicated to Your Excellency. In this connection, I would like to draw attention to the ruling of the European Court of Human Rights dated 23 May 2001, which found the Greek Cypriot administration guilty of the inhuman treatment of nine Turkish Cypriots, while held in detention, at the hands of the Greek Cypriot police in 1994. These Turkish Cypriots had been subjected to beating and brutal treatment followed by forcible expulsion from Southern Cyprus to the North. One of the Turkish Cypriots, Ilker Tufansoy, was brutally murdered after returning to Southern Cyprus two months later. No one has ever been arrested in connection with this murder. The Court has ordered the Greek Cypriot administration to pay compensation to each of the  victims. It will also be recalled that, in December 2000, the Greek Cypriot administration was ordered to pay compensation to another Turkish Cypriot, Erkan Egmez, who was tortured by the Creek Cypriot police after being abducted from the United Nations-controlled buffer-zone, within which the Greek Cypriot side has no jurisdiction, and released only after a very long and tortuous ordeal in 1995.

The Greek Cypriot delegates have also shown the audacity to express "concern" about the welfare of their Turkish Cypriot "compatriots" who live in the "occupied area"! Since nobody with a brief knowledge of Cyprus history would be deceived by this display of hypocrisy, I will refrain from responding extensively. I will merely point out that if these delegates are sincerely concerned about the economic and human rights situation in Cyprus, they should first of all urge their own administration to assume full responsibility for the violation of human rights of the Turkish Cypriots since 1963, and to recognize their sovereign rights as an equal and independent nation. Moreover, they should also take action with a view to removing the inhuman embargoes on the Turkish Cypriot people, imposed by the Greek Cypriot administration, without any legal basis. Unless these are carried out, the statements of Greek Cypriot delegates on human rights will be empty and misleading rhetoric.

The Greek Cypriot representatives have in their statements alluded to the necessity to respect the rule of law and to safeguard international legality. Recent Greek Cypriot press reports have revealed a major scandal in the Greek Cypriot land registry department; involving the illegal transfer of Turkish Cypriot land and property to Greek Cypriots. The Greek Cypriot daily Politis, dated 30 October 2001, reported that many Greek Cypriot companies and businessmen had acquired such property throughout the island by illegal means and that around 20,000 immovable properties had changed hands over the past three years. The Greek Cypriot daily Haravgi, of the same date, reported the scam under the heading "Turkish Cypriot properties auctioned off'.

The Greek Cypriot delegates to the Third Committee have also tried to argue that the issue of displaced and missing persons in Cyprus began in 1974 as issues effecting only the Greek Cypriot side. In fact, the issue of displaced persons came about when one quarter of the Turkish Cypriot population was displaced between 1963 and I974 as a result of the Greek Cypriot onslaught. On the question of missing persons, the Greek Cypriot side has, from the beginning, been abusing this matter for political purposes rather than dealing with it as a humanitarian problem whose solution is long overdue. We have consistently held the view that the Committee of Missing Persons in Cyprus should be allowed to complete its mandate, in accordance with its agreed terms of reference and procedures and also with the suggestions contained in your letters addressed to the two parties in 1996. However, the Greek Cypriot side has failed to respond positively to this framework.

Finally, I would like express the hope that the Greek Cypriot side will adopt a new approach to the Cyprus issue in the period ahead, thereby making it possible for the process of reconciliation to move forward as soon as possible.

I should be grateful if the present letter could be circulated as a document of the General Assembly, under agenda item 62, and of the Security Council.

(Signed) 

Aytuš Plümer
Representative Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus