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17
January, 2003
John
Taylor ( Now Lord Kilclooney)
His speech at the Symposium in Ankara, 17.01.2003, at
the Senate Hall, Turkish National Assembly buildings
Mr.
Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen:
Can I, first of all, state that I come as a friend of
Turkey and of Northern Cyprus.
I first went to Cyprus 31 years ago on a midnight
flight with my wife and we arrived to Nicosia airport at
about 4 o'clock in the morning and obviously at that
time of the morning you get into the first taxi you see.
And so we jumped into a taxi and as we were going up the
hill towards Kyrenia, the taxi driver said "You are
lucky I am your taxi man" and that was a rather
surprising comment to hear at 4 o'clock in the morning.
And I said “Why?”
And he said "If you'd taken the other taxi,
because he is a Greek Cypriot, he would have had to
drive around the mountain and it would have taken an
extra hour to get to your hotel. I'm getting you there
one hour earlier". So we very much appreciated that
but it certainly was an education immediately as to the
division that existed in the island of Cyprus.
I've
been a member of the British-Turkish parliamentary group
in Westminster for many years, and I'm also chairman of
the All-Party Friends of North Cyprus at Westminster in
London.
I
did represent the United Kingdom in New York for a week
at the United Nations Assembly in early December, and
whilst I was in New York, I went to visit President
Denktash. I found the man seriously, seriously ill, in
great pain. In fact, I feared that his life was at risk.
And what irritated me at that time was the political
pressure and demands being made upon President Denktash
by Kofi Annan through the United Nations and by the
European Union. If the man had died they would have been
found guilty for killing him. And as you look at this
document today of 150 pages with so many blank pages and
lack of detail, and the irresponsible demand that this
be agreed by the 28th of February, I say it
is political nonsense and I speak to you as a
politician. There is no way in which this could be
accepted as it stands, or even amended successfully in
the short period of time that has been given, to the 28th
of February.
Ladies
and Gentlemen,
Her
Majesty the Queen, in her Christmas address to the
people of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth, said
"We have many problems, but I always look for the
long term solution, and not for short term
advantage", and it is something which applies to
the people of Turkish Cyprus, of Northern Cyprus today.
To join the European Union on the basis of this proposal
would bring short term advantages to the Turkish
Cypriots and, quite clearly, some of the business
community within the Turkish Cypriot community recognize
the opportunities that would arise.
But
as a businessman myself in the United Kingdom, a not
inconsiderable one, I would warn against businessmen in
politics and thereby I'm criticizing even myself.
Sometimes businessmen in politics only see the
opportunities for themselves and do not think in the
longer term interest of their own community. And I see
signs of this weakness in Northern Cyprus today. When I see people out demonstrating, I think in many ways the
Turkish Cypriots are about to commit political suicide.
Because, in the long term, this plan will in fact bring
about the disappearance of the Turkish Cypriot community
in Cyprus. That
is the bottom line.
Ladies
and Gentlemen,
As
Professor Dodd has said, this plan involves a movement
of Greek Cypriots northwards in the island of Cyprus. To
begin with, tens of thousands of Greek Cypriots will
move into land which Turkish Cyprus would have to give
up, and than more tens of thousands of Greek Cypriots
would move into the remaining territory, to reduce the
area of territory to be controlled by the Turkish
Cypriots. In fact 28% of the population in time is
allowed to become Greek Cypriot. But it’s worse than
that because the plan provides not just for 28% of the
reduced territory to be Greek Cypriot, but the free
movement of all the Greek Cypriots into Northern Cyprus
so long as they only spend 3 nights per week in a bed in
Northern Cyprus. Now who is going to go around every
night at midnight to knock the doors of the Greek
Cypriot houses, in Northern Cyprus, to find how many
people are actually sleeping in their beds that night?
Who is going to count the numbers of Greek Cypriots
sleeping in the beds in Northern Cyprus? It is a
farcical proposal, a silly proposal, and one that
certainly Turkish Cypriots would be crazy to accept the
idea of Greek Cypriots having free movement into
Northern Cyprus - all Greek Cypriots to have free
movement - and strictly speaking being there for 3
nights. In practice, they'll all be there all week,
because there would be no checking and of course, as
speakers said this morning, there will be no border
between Northern Cyprus and Southern Cyprus; there will
be no passports, it will simply be like a town council
boundary. So that is one of the major dangers to the
Turkish Cypriots community.
The
next thing is, of course, this constitutional structure,
and I want to underline what Professor Dodd said, the
Senate will be 50% from the North, 50% from the South.
That sounds fair, until you realize that 28% of those
who come from the North will be Greek Cypriots. And so
the majority of the Senate will therefore be Greek
Cypriot.
And
likewise in the Chamber of Deputies, its members would
be proportionate to the population of North and Southern
Cyprus, so there again the majority will be Greek
Cypriots, and the final analysis in the parliamentary
structure is that, although the Senate and the Chamber
of Deputies will have Greek Cypriot majorities, the
decisions would be made by a simply majority. In other
words, the Greek Cypriots will control the future
decisions of the common state.
The
Presidential Council has been mentioned.
There again, 6 members to be appointed by the
parliament. But it would be once again Greek Cypriot
controlled. One
has to be from the common state, from the Northern
State, but the Greek Cypriots in the parliament can
appoint that one from Northern Cyprus who will be
amenable to their decision, and so they will manage to
have majority decisions within the presidential council,
including one vote from the component state in Northern
Cyprus.
Likewise
the Supreme Court: 9 judges, 3 from Northern Cyprus, 3
from Southern Cyprus, 3 independents, appointed yet
again by the Greek Cypriot controlled presidential
council.
The
one thing where there is some equality is the reference
to the presence of the Greek and Turkish armies. There
is to be equal presence of both the Greek and the
Turkish armies. But one thing of importance to Turkey is
that previously Cyprus could not be used for
international military operations or bases without the
approval of Turkey. That condition has now been removed.
Cyprus in future could be used for international
operations, military operations, without any approval
from Turkey whatsoever.
Policing
is something which has not been mentioned. There is to
be a common state police force with its headquarters in
Nicosia. It will of course be mainly Greek Cypriot
because they are the majority in the island of Cyprus.
There is to be a component state police force, one in
Northern Cyprus, one in Southern Cyprus. The Southern
Cyprus one would be almost totally Greek Cypriot, the
Northern Cyprus one will be about 28% Greek Cypriot,
because they will have 28% of the population. And the
common state police force, the one which will be almost
totally Greek Cypriot, will have the right to operate in
the Northern Cypriot state, so you're going to have 2
police forces operating in the same state, one
controlled by the Northern state, and one controlled by
the central state. And in addition, they're to have a
joint investigation agency to follow up terrorism,
drugs
and money laundering and it is to have equal numbers
from each state but there again that does not mean equal
numbers of Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots. In
practice, it will mean majority Greek Cypriots and
minority Turkish Cypriots and believe it or not, there's
also a proposal for the Greek Cypriot police force in
the component state in Northern Cyprus, and the same
applies to the equivalent in Southern Cyprus, and the
same applies to the equivalent Turkish Cypriot force in
Northern Cyprus, to have hot pursuit. In other words, it
provides for the Greek Cypriot police force in Southern
Cyprus to have the right of hot pursuit into Northern
Cyprus. I believe from the policing point of view there
is total confusion in having 3 separate police forces
and 2 of them having the right to operate within
Northern Cyprus.
There
is a limit in the proposals on the number of mainland
Turks who can be in the island of Cyprus. And likewise
the number of mainland Greeks, and of course you know
why that is there; it’s because if Turkey ever became
a member of the European Union, contrary to one of the
main principles of the European Union, the free movement
of people through all its member states, as many British
can go to France, as many French can go to the United
Kingdom, but not if Turkey joins the European Union,
because it’s already laid down in this U.N. plan,
supported by the European Union, that there can be no
more than 33 thousand mainland Turks in Cyprus. So if
Turkey joins the European Union the principle of free
movement of persons from Turkey to Cyprus will not apply
in this particular case and Turkey ought to be
forewarned about that.
The
Citizenship Board, there again it’s going to be
appointed by the Greek Cypriot controlled Presidential
Council and so you’ll understand the kind of people
who will serve on it.
I
now want to conclude with a brief summary of my problems
with this plan. I’m
referring to the map. I think the idea of the Karpaz
peninsula being transferred to the control of the Greek
Cypriot state is quite wrong indeed, impractical.
Apparently the reason is that many Greek Cypriots
used to live in that part of the Karpaz, and that there
are still about 200 Greek Cypriots living there. Well,
if that's the principle being applied then you can apply
it likewise through Southern Cyprus. There are still
about 200 Turkish Cypriots living in Southern Cyprus,
and many used to live there. So if a part of Northern
Cyprus has to be given over to Southern Cyprus, then
part of Southern Cyprus should now be included in the
new Northern state if one is going to be fair.
The
main road for Nicosia - I don't know, the map’s not
there now - but the main road from Nicosia to Famagusta,
on the original proposals, was intended to be retained
entirely in the Northern state. But following the second
revision of the plan, of course, part of that main road
is now going to be under the control of the Greek
Cypriot state. And, of course, as has been mentioned
earlier by the general when he spoke, the orchards
around Güzelyurt, which are so important for the
economy of Northern Cyprus, are going to be transferred
mostly back to the Greek Cypriot Southern State.
Ladies
and Gentlemen,
I
hope there is a settlement in Cyprus.
I'd like to see peace there, a settlement and
Cyprus in the European Union. But there are many
difficulties in this present plan, that if it were
accepted as it stands at the moment it would be the
beginning of the end of Turkish Cypriots living in
Cyprus and the beginning of the end of Turkey's interest
in Cyprus.
If
there is no agreement, then I do hope that you here in
Turkey will continue to give your support to the Turkish
Cypriot community. I think they will be greatly
encouraged today as they see all the seats here at this
symposium occupied by people, showing that Turkey has a
genuine interest in the future of the Turkish Cypriot
community. And I hope that some of the problems which
the Turkish Cypriots have had to suffer from, such as
the economic embargo, such as the lack of passports,
that these will be dealt with by Turkey. For example if
you take the question of passports, it can be dealt with
very easily. There’s a precedent in Europe.
In the United Kingdom, we agreed with the
Republic of Ireland, that those living in the United
Kingdom who claimed they were Irish, whether they were
in Birmingham, London, Glasgow or Belfast, they could
have Irish passports. There's no reason on earth why
those people in Northern Cyprus who claim to be Turkish,
should not be given proper Turkish full passports; so
that they will no longer live in house imprisonment in
Northern Cyprus, but can travel right across the world.
We
don't need annexation of Northern Cyprus with Turkey but
integration, yes; we've already got it in telephones, in
post, in air connections, and in the lira currency, and
I'd like to see it in the electricity as well. We must
fight; Turkey must argue the case for the lifting of the
economic embargo on Northern Cyprus. And finally, Mr.
Chairman, now that the European Union appears to be
going to bring Greek Cyprus, on its own if necessary,
into membership of the European Union, that does
certainly seem to be contrary to the 1960 Zurich
agreements and what have you, and it is something which
Turkey should now tackle legally to see if this can be
challenged.
I
conclude on a rather negative note perhaps, and it is
the image that has been presented in London, and in
Western Europe. There has unfortunately been the image
of Turkish Cypriots demonstrating against President
Denktash and demanding that he goes home, that he
resigns. I was in Paris two days ago at the Council of
Europe. We
had several Greek Cypriot MPs there, and they were
delighted to be able to tell us all that their brothers,
the Turkish Cypriots in Northern Cyprus, wanted them
back living amongst them in Kyrenia, and Famagusta and
Morphou and that their brothers, the Turkish Cypriots,
wanted Mr. Denktash to resign; they said that is now the
real position in Northern Cyprus, they want us back.
That's the image that has been given by these
demonstrations, and likewise in London, and Paris and
elsewhere, we are getting a message from Turkey, which
isn't very helpful either. And it is that it is time for
Turkey to rethink its policies towards the Turkish
Cypriot community; that perhaps the policies of 30 years
ago need to be changed, that perhaps Mr. Denktash is no
longer necessary. That has been seized upon by some of
the leading newspapers and even by the BBC World Service
radio and television, all saying that there's now a
shift of position in Turkey, that they no longer support
the Turkish Cypriots in Northern Cyprus. I hope those
reports are not correct, but I do hope that they are
corrected because there are press in Western Europe who
are very keen to promote the propaganda of the European
Union and of the Greek interest, and not to defend the
interest of Turkey.
And
so I conclude by saying "Long Live Turkey",
and long live a Turkey which supports the security,
safety and liberties of the Turkish Cypriot people.
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