22 March 2002

The Editor
Pravda

Dear Sir,

With regard to Mr. Oleg Artyukov’s letter published in the Pravda web-site on 1 March 2002, entitled Unlucky Island in the Mediterranean Sea, I would like to underline that Turkey did not need an excuse to intervene in Cyprus in 1974, but exercised its rights and obligations arising from the 1960 Treaty of Guarantee, in order to prevent the annexation of the island to Greece in the wake of a bloody coup d’etat by the Greek Junta and to stop the massacre, en masse, of the Turkish Cypriots. The presence of Turkey in Cyprus is a vital security requirement for the Turkish Cypriot people as it serves as a deterrent against the repetition of the Greek-Greek Cypriot atrocities of the past.

The references to the so-called "President of Cyprus" and "Government of Cyprus" reflect neither the realities not the legal position in the island. The Republic of Cyprus was founded in 1960 in accordance with international treaties. The Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot peoples, in their respective capacities as two political equals, entered into a partnership, setting up a joint State. The partnership Republic of Cyprus, established by the 1959-60 Agreements, was destroyed by the Greek Cypriot partner’s onslaught on the Turkish Cypriot partner in December 1963, when Turkish Cypriot members in all the state organs were forcibly ejected from their positions. The Turkish Cypriot partner did not accept this attempted takeover of the bi-national State by the Greek Cypriot side and, through its national resistance, prevented the Greek Cypriot side from extending its authority over the Turkish Cypriot people. In consequence, since December 1963, there has not been a joint central administration in the island, capable of representing the whole of Cyprus, either legally or factually. There exist in Cyprus two independent and sovereign States representing the two peoples, namely Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots. It is a fact that the Greek Cypriot administration of Southern Cyprus has no legal or moral rights to claim to represent anyone other than the Greek Cypriot people, and the said administration, under the pretentious title of the "Government of Cyprus" has no jurisdiction to represent or act on behalf of the Turkish Cypriot people whose sole, legitimate representatives are those elected under the Constitution of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.

The fact that the Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot peoples are political equals and that neither of the parties can represent the other has been underlined by the UN Secretary-General in his opening statement of the fourth round of the now defunct process of proximity talks, on 12 September 2000, as follows:

"In the course of these talks I have ascertained that the parties share a common desire to bring about, through negotiations in which each represents its side – and no-one else – as the political equal of the other, a comprehensive settlement enshrining a new partnership…"

The former Italian Foreign Minister, Mr. Lamberto Dini, on the other hand, has expressed the reality of the existence of two independent and sovereign States representing the two peoples of the island in his statement of 26 August 1997, in the following manner:

It is very interesting that the article omitted to mention the inhuman embargoes imposed on the Turkish Cypriot people since 1963, with the instigation of the Greek Cypriot side, which constitutes the major obstacle in the development of the TRNC economy. The inhuman embargoes imposed upon the Turkish Cypriot people by the Greek Cypriot side, aimed at bringing about the economic, social and political collapse of the TRNC, are still continuing. These embargoes extend to all spheres of life, including commercial, sporting and cultural activities as well as travel and communication. The inhuman and illegal embargoes imposed on the TRNC are blatant violation of the spirit of the UN Charter and in total contravention with the relevant international human rights instruments. In fact, the all-encompassing embargoes by the Greek Cypriot side constitute a gross violation of the human rights and freedoms of not only the Turkish Cypriot people, but everyone who wish to visit, trade or enter into sporting and cultural activities with the North.

I would be grateful if you could publish this letter, which is a reply to Mr. O. Artyukov allegations regarding the Cyprus issue, in your esteemed newspaper.