In 1959 Turkey, Greece and Great Britain agreed on a formula to settle the Cyprus problem. It was obvious that Enosis (union with mainland Greece) was out of the question as long as the Turkish Cy-priots refused to accept it and Turkey supported them. A compromise proposition for “double Enosis” had been turned down by the Greek side, so the only remaining solu¬tion seemed to be “independence” for Cyprus.
After full consultations with the leaders of the two peoples, the Zurich and London Agreements were drawn up. The Turks and Greeks of Cyprus were to become co-founders of the republic and Enosis in any form was to be prohibited, with its prevention guaranteed.
The two peoples were to be auto¬nomous in their communal af-fairs, while participating in the central government on an agreed ratio of 7:3. A functional federation was thus established by the two people who worked together for 18 months in preparing the Cyprus Constitu-tion.
Archbishop Makarios became the first president of this bi-national republic. His first executive action was to appoint Polycarpos Yorgadjis, a notorious National Organization of Cypriot Fighters (EOKA) killer with a pathological hatred for Turks, as minis¬ter of the interior. Subsequently other EOKA leaders were also given key positions in the government. This was the first step toward the undoing of the newly born Republic of Cyprus and its independence.
It soon became clear that Makarios had never intended to pro-mote and support the bi-national Cypriot state. He looked upon it as a Greek state and ignored virtually all Turkish rights enshrined in the Constitution.
He made no secret of his intention to amend the constitution at any cost and to abrogate the international agreements that pro¬hibited union with Greece. To this end he authorized the formation of under-ground armies to carry out a planned program of action known as the Akritas Plan, which was drawn up by Tassos Papadopoulos, the so-called president of Greek Cypriot Administration since 2003.
On Nov. 30, 1963, Makarios confronted the Turkish wing of the Cyprus government with a proposal for 13 amendments that he must have known in advance would not be accepted. He relied on Turkish resistance to any changes in the Constitution, which had not yet been fully implemented because of the Greek Cypriots and which had only been in force for three years.
For their part the Turks were fully aware of the real intention be-hind the proposal. They had been following Makarios’s increasingly strident statements about Enosis since independence.
For example, on Sept 5, 1963, Makarios had told a Uusi Suomi correspondent in Stockholm, “It is true that the goal of our struggle is to annex Cyprus to Greece.”
Barely a month before the declaration of independence, in a pub-lic speech, Makarios said: “The agreements do not form the goal; they are the present and not the future. The Greek Cypriot people will con-tinue their national cause and shape their future in accordance with their will. The Zurich and London Agreements have a number of posi-tive elements but also negative ones, and the Greeks will work to take advantage of the positive elements and get rid of the negative ones.” (published in the local Greek press on July 28, 1960)
The negative elements Makarios referred to were of course the rights and the status the agreements gave to the Turkish Cypriots and the provision that barred Enosis.
On Dec. 21, 1963, Makarios unleashed his secretly formed armed forces against the Turkish people. Greece was hand in glove with the archbishop in this new conspiracy to destroy the Republic of Cyprus.
Within a few days a wave of violence broke across the island. Armed Greek Cypriot bands, assisted by the Greek Cypriot members of the Cypriot gendarmerie and police, attacked Turkish Cypriot homes in villages and towns in a ruthless rampage of murder and vandalism.
These attacks lasted till 1974, when the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) stepped in to save the lives of the Turkish Cypriots.
The misapplication of harsh politics towards the Turkish Cypriots by Greek Cypriot administration leader Tassos Papadopoulos is exacerbating the partition of the island.
If he is re-elected as the so-called president of the Republic of Cyprus again in the February 2008 presidential election, all hopes of unification for the island will sink with no hope of surfacing ever again.
If Mr. Papadopoulos insists on enforcing his mid-20th century chauvinist politics during his second presidential period from 2008 to 2013, as he did in the first period, separation in the island will defi-nitely become inevitable.
This time there will be no hints of an Annan plan, EU appanage or ample means for Turkish Cypriots to seek a United Cyprus.
Now in the north almost 75 percent of the Turkish Cypriots sup-port the idea of separation and are sympathetic towards the existence of two states, rather than a single unitary Cyprus government, for which they voted “yes” with a 65 percent majority only three years ago.
During these three years, Mr. Papadopoulos, with his dark-ages politics, managed to melt down the majority of this “yes” vote to a figure as low as 18 percent, according to the most recent public poll.
Hopes for unification are gone with the wind.
Greece pushed hard against Turkey after Greek accession to the EU on Jan. 1, 1981 and relied on the EU to solve her disputes. Member states soon realized this dirty trick and blocked the Greek efforts.
After May 1, 2004 it was the Greek Cypriot government that staged this dirty trick all over again.
It did not help to solve any problems; on the contrary, it contri-buted much to worsen the relations with Turkey and Turkish Cypriots.
The Greek Cypriot leadership is keen to spread its sovereignty to the territories now administered by Turkish Cypriots, to root out the Turkish Republic of North Cyprus (KKTC) and assimilate the Turks of the island by way of osmosis.
Of course their plan was to periodically place obstacles before Turkey on the road to EU accession and benefit from the compromises.
The other expectation was the cowing of the Turkish Cypriots by the unjust political, economic, cultural, social, sporting and trade em-bargoes implied on them by the infamous UN resolutions 541 (1983) and 37/253.
The Russian Federation unfortunately pressed very hard on the UN the Security Council to block the efforts of the secretary-general to invalidate the above-mentioned resolutions in the wake of the 65 per-cent “yes” vote by Turkish Cypriots in the Annan plan — named after former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan — referendum on April 24, 2004.
These prospects for motherland Greece and Greek Cypriots are all over. The stance of the Turkish people toward the EU and accession has changed a lot and been turned upside down. Support for EU ac-cession among the Turkish people has hit rock bottom. They are no longer as sympathetic toward accession as they were before.
And on top of these changes in Turkey, French President Nicholas Sarkozy, with his persistent opposition to Turkey’s accession to the EU as a full member, demolished the remainder of the last hopes.
Anyway, this foul play and the expectations of Mr. Papadopoulos and the leadership of the Greek government was only a soap opera, with no possibility of realization.
Turkey will not retreat from Cyprus, nor will the Turkish Cypriots kneel.
This policy of Mr. Papadopoulos will only give a hard push, more than ever, to the separation of the two peoples on the island.
2013 will probably be the beginning of a new era in Cyprus, with two recognized states as the best choice for the Turkish and Greek peoples for a peaceful, sustainable and stable solution on the island.
These words belong to Archbishop Chrysostomos II, the archbi-shop of the Church of Cyprus, taken from his interview given to the Greek newspaper Kathimerini, published on Jan. 5, 2007, and these shameful words start the very last sentence of the first paragraph. Of course this was not the first time he spoke of Turkey or Turkish Cy-priots and targeted them as the eternal enemy.
The sentence “Europe is Christian” also belongs to him. “Of course Christianity is not simply European, but in any case Europe is Christian. Europe before Christianity was just a geographical term. Its inhabitants were distinguished as those who lived within the borders of the Roman Empire or Oikoumene (lands inhabited by Greeks), and those who lived outside the borders, and were generally called ‘bar-barians’,” he said.
How about his overdosed speech on the occasion of the official visit of former Greek President Kostis Stephanopoulos to Cyprus?
In his speech at the ceremony, Archbishop Chrysostomos said: “They say Cyprus is away from Greece. But we expect our Hellenic brothers to help us to vanquish the Turks from our lands. I hope we will not be disappointed.”
He claimed that “Turkey is looking for a reason to occupy the whole of Cyprus by using the federation betrayal” and warned Stepha-nopoulos, saying, “If Turks reach their aim in Cyprus, a few years later it will be time for the occupation of the Aegean islands.”
Archbishop Chrysostomos calls periodically upon the Greek Cy-priot administration to review its stance concerning the Cyprus prob-lem. Chrysostomos recently said that Greek Cypriot leaders should attempt to implement the UN resolutions on the island in order to bring about the withdrawal of the Turkish Army, and pointed out that the withdrawal of Turkish soldiers from the island should be a pre-condition.
Once an apostle of the notorious Greek Orthodox Archbishop Makarios, Archbishop Chrysostomos also advocates violence to achieve Greek aims for Cyprus. From time to time — and without missing the opportunity to jolt Greek Cypriots on some occasions — Chrysostomos persists in making statements about “fighting to the end” and “drinking the blood of Turks.”
He recently attempted to enlarge the boundaries of the Church of Cyprus to cover the northern Turkish parts of Cyprus as well.
The last session of the Holy Synod (ruling body of the Church of Cyprus) decided that the historic Monastery of the Apostle Barnabas in the northern territories would be declared Stavropegial (a monastery that falls directly under the archbishop’s authority) and determined the details of the changes, especially the boundaries, the parishes and the communities of the new Metropolitanates and Chorepiscopates.
The decision was also made to establish three Metropolitanates in the northern Turkish territories and elect the relevant Metropolitans.
The crowning ceremony of the Metropolitan Vasileos of Konstantia and Arsinoe, both in the territories of Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (KKTC), were also attended by the representatives of the Fener Patriarchate in İstanbul and Archbishop Christodoulos, the primate (head) of the Church of Greece.
Probably a strong collaboration with Fener is on its way to do what is desired to Turkey.
Fener is after the title oikoumene (ecumenical), or worldwide rec-ognition as leader of the Orthodox world, like the pope for Catholics. Patriarch Bartolomeos needs full backing in the EU by the Greek and Greek Cyprus governments to press Turkey for the recognition of Fener as the ecumenical patriarch during its accession negotiations.
The league against Turkey has already started.
The visit of the Fener representatives to Cyprus has now opened a way for Archbishop Chrysostomos to return the visit. An excellent and ingenious official excuse to visit Turkey, irrespective of his harsh feelings and words toward the country.
I wonder how Chrysostomos will visit Turkey after all what he has said about the Turks and Turkey.
I think he should strike this visit from his schedule, so as not to experience a kind but serious refusal.
The exclusion of universities in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (KKTC) from the Bologna Process, in other words a further em-bargo on the Turkish Cypriots — this time on education — is another thing of which the European Union should be ashamed.
Turkish Cypriots are already suffering under unjust political, economic, cultural, social, sporting and trade embargoes.
That the six excellent universities in northern Cyprus are unable to join the Bologna Process, which seeks to strengthen the ties between universities in the European family, is a wholly reprehensible decision.
This shameful result of the Bologna Ministerial Conference, held in London, actually originated from EU mishandling of the accession of Cyprus.
With respect to the sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity and non-alignment of the Republic of Cyprus mentioned in the 1960 treaty, the Greek Cypriot administration’s accession to the EU on May 1, 2004 contravenes the non-alignment element stated in the 1960 treaty concerning the establishment of the Republic of Cyprus and the 1960 Treaty of Guarantee.
The obstructive attitude and political pressure applied by the Greek Cypriot administration can be seen everywhere. All the political, economic, cultural, social, sporting and trade operations of the Turkish Cypriots are blocked by the Greeks.
It seems that the KKTC is a stepchild of the EU.
According to Protocol 10 the KKTC lies within the territorial limits of the Council of Europe and the EU.
The Turkish Cypriots are EU citizens, but their human rights are not included.
It is certainly very wrong and inhumane that academic institu-tions and the 45,000 students in the KKTC do not have access to the benefits of the Bologna Process.
Practical implications, clever and political barricades against the Turkish Cypriots’ being within the EU arise from the persistent and malicious campaigns by Greek Cypriots, who continue to pursue their terrorism of the 1960s and 1970s into the fields of commerce, commu-nication, sport, travel and now education.
The Greek Cypriot administration education minister, deputies and commission members unfortunately did whatever they could to exclude the KKTC universities from the Bologna Process. European education ministers acted in a manner that proved their awareness of the fact that a bright future for Cyprus could only be achieved through education.
They missed it, as did the EU.
Is it seemly that the EU, alleged champion of human rights and rule of law, turned a blind eye to all of this?
This “education issue” presented a golden opportunity to break the inhumane isolation of the Turkish Cypriots, namely the Bologna Process. Now this opportunity is gone with the wind.
It is not the Turkish Cypriots who will lose in the long run. The EU and Greek Cypriots will be the ultimate losers.
They will inevitably lose the Turkish Cypriots, the northern terri-tories of Cyprus and the Turks of the motherland Turkey.
It seems that the current situation on the island will continue forever and that its division will become more solid and permanent. There will be only a small change: The Turkish Cypriots will lose their belief in Western countries and turn their back on the EU and the Greek Cypriots forever.
After the Turkish Cypriots declared the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (KKTC) — an independent state in the northern terri-tories of Cyprus — on Nov. 15, 1983, UN Secretary-General Javier Pérez de Cuéllar without delay called the Security Council for an urgent and special meeting.
Having heard the statement of the foreign minister of the Greek Cypriot administration, at its 2,500th meeting the Security Council adopted the infamous resolution filed as UN Resolution 541 (1983) on Nov. 18, 1983.
Since then the KKTC has been considered legally invalid by the UN member states, and the Turkish Cypriots have suffered under unjust political, economic, cultural, social, sporting and trade embargoes.
Although the Turkish Cypriots are now considered legal citizens of the EU, they experience a life similar to one in an open prison. The Greek Cypriots are trying their best, by pushing EU rules and regulations along with the notorious UN resolution, to block the efforts of the UK government to secure permission for direct flights from the KKTC’s Ercan Airport to the UK.
The obstructive attitude and political pressure of the Greek Cy-priots can be seen everywhere. All the political, economic, cultural, so-cial, sporting and trade operations of Turkish Cypriots are blocked.
Even the universities in the KKTC, numbering seven, are left out of the EU’s Bologna process — for education and training — because of this resolution and the efforts of the Greek Cypriot administration.
Are this resolution and the others related to Turkish Cypriots still valid? I may ask the same question in another form: Is this resolution valid for the KKTC and invalid for the Greek Cypriot administration?
When this notorious resolution is read very carefully, it can be clearly understood that
a — In the third paragraph of the introduction it states that the decla-ration of independence is incompatible with the 1960 treaty concern-ing the establishment of the Republic of Cyprus and the 1960 Treaty of Guarantee;
b — Item 6 calls upon all states to respect the sovereignty, indepen-dence, territorial integrity and non-alignment of the Republic of Cy-prus.
In addition to this UN Security Council resolution the UN General Assembly Resolution 37/253 (1983) also reiterates the UN member states full support for the sovereignty, independence, territorial integri-ty, unity and non-alignment of the Republic of Cyprus.
The Greek Cypriot administration, after entering the EU on May 1, 2004, lost the non-alignment stated in the 1960 treaty concerning the establishment of the Republic of Cyprus.
And on top of this while joining the EU the Greek Cypriot admin-istration did not get the approval of the Turkish Cypriots, as mentioned in Resolution 541, referring to the 1960 Constituency of the Republic of Cyprus.
Due to these two solid reasons both resolutions 541 (1983) and 37/253 are no longer valid; they should be declared null and void or dead letters.
Actually it is quite absurd that while Item 6 of Resolution 541 calls upon all states to respect the sovereignty, independence, terri-torial integrity and non-alignment of the Republic of Cyprus and that the declaration of independence of KKTC is incompatible with the 1960 treaty concerning the establishment of the Republic of Cyprus and the 1960 Treaty of Guarantee, it called on nobody to respect the sovereign-ty, independence, territorial integrity and non-alignment of the Repub-lic of Cyprus when the Greek Cypriot administration joined the EU on May 1, 2004, contravening the non-alignment feature stated in the 1960 treaty concerning the establishment of the Republic of Cyprus and the 1960 Treaty of Guarantee.
Both resolutions 541 (1983) and 37/253 should be declared dead letters by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon as soon as possible.
