Pan-Cyprian Freedom Movement
His Excellency Mr António Guterres
Secretary-General of the United Nations
Your Excellency,
The military occupation of Cyprus by Turkey has resulted in severe political, economic, cultural, social, and humanitarian consequences for the island’s lawful citizens. For more than five decades, daily life has been shaped by abnormal conditions within a politically divided and insecure environment.
Turkey maintains more than 40,000 troops in the occupied areas and has systematically used colonisation as a tool of demographic alteration. The transfer of hundreds of thousands of settlers has profoundly affected the demographic composition of the occupied areas, while the Turkish Cypriot community has experienced a significant demographic decline and continuing concerns regarding the protection of its rights.
Tufan Erhürman is presented as the representative of the Turkish Cypriot community. However, his so called election has been challenged by Turkish Cypriot political movements and civil society organisations, which argue that the outcome reflects the will of illegal settlers rather than that of the Turkish Cypriot community.
Furthermore, the continuing militarisation of the occupied areas has transformed our country into a military base and a strategic launching point for Turkey, increasing the constant sense of insecurity and the perceived threat faced by the lawful citizens of Cyprus.
The occupying power continues to disregard numerous international conventions, including the Geneva Conventions, and to violate international treaties, including the Rome Statute.
RESOLUTION OF THE CYPRUS ISSUE AND FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES
The negotiations between the two communities represent only one aspect of the broader Cyprus issue. The Cyprus problem has always been, and remains, an issue of invasion and military occupation rather than an intercommunal dispute. Throughout the years, discussions have focused primarily on the internal constitutional aspects of a settlement without first addressing the essential prerequisite, namely the end of the occupation and the withdrawal of foreign troops and settlers from Cyprus.
The proposed Bizonal Bicommunal Federation, presented as a framework for a settlement, would establish a permanent division of Cyprus into two separate territorial, demographic, and political entities. Rather than providing a sustainable framework for the island’s future, it would institutionalise and legitimise the existing consequences of occupation, creating conditions that many consider comparable to systems of institutionalised segregation.
The proposal to introduce residential quotas for Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots within the proposed “constituent states” of a future settlement, as envisaged in the Annan Plan and in subsequent discussions on a Bizonal Bicommunal Federation, raises significant questions regarding its compatibility with the European acquis.
In particular, it appears difficult to reconcile such provisions with several articles of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, including Article 45, which guarantees every Union citizen the right to move and reside freely within the territory of the Member States.
This proposed model raises concerns regarding fundamental democratic principles, human rights, and the long term functionality and stability of the state. It is also inconsistent with the Convention on the Non Applicability of Statutory Limitations to War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity, particularly in relation to the continuing effects of settler colonialism since the beginning of the occupation.
The experience of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with its complex system of ethnic power sharing, is often cited as an example of the challenges associated with constitutional arrangements based primarily on ethnic division, raising questions regarding their long term sustainability and effectiveness.
As the Panyyprian Freedom Movement, bound by the Joint Declaration signed by hundreds of Cypriots, we firmly support the termination of the Turkish occupation of Cyprus and the establishment of a unitary, democratic, pluralistic, and secular state.
In this regard, we respectfully recall Your Excellency’s statement in 2017 expressing the aspiration that the settlement of the Cyprus issue should lead to “a normal state from day one”. We continue to believe that this principle remains one of the most important foundations for a just, viable, and lasting solution.
The Pancyprian Freedom Movement is an initiative of lawful citizens of Cyprus, including Greek Cypriots, Turkish Cypriots, Maronites, Armenians, and Latins, united by a Joint Declaration supporting the end of the Turkish occupation of Cyprus and the establishment of a unified, democratic, pluralistic, and secular state.
We remind our readers that publication of articles on our site does not mean that we agree with what is written. Our policy is to publish anything which we consider of interest, so as to assist our readers in forming their opinions. Sometimes we even publish articles with which we totally disagree, since we believe it is important for our readers to be informed on as wide a spectrum of views as possible.