DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE BY TURKISH CYPRIOT PARLIAMENT
ON 15 NOVEMBER 1983

 

INTRODUCTION

 

            Developments which have taken place in Cyprus for the last 20 years, and the critical stage which these developments have reached at present, necessitate the placing of certain facts with clarity before world public opinion.

            We expect all those who desire peace and fundamental human rights to prevail on earth, who reject discrimination among men on grounds of race, national origin, language or religious belief and who are against colonialism and racism, to give serious consideration to these indisputable facts free from prejudice and preconception.

 

DESTRUCTION OF THE PARTNERSHIP STATE BY GREEK CYPRIOTS

 

            1. The establishment of the Republic of Cyprus as an independent State was based on the partnership of the Turkish Cypriot People and the Greek Cypriot people. This joint Republic which was established through the agreement of the two national communities, has been deliberately undermined and destroyed by the Greek Cypriot Administration since 1963. The Legislative, Executive and Judiciary of the partnership State, its entire Civil Service, from the most senior to the most junior ranks, have been usurped and taken over by the Greek Cypriots, placing them under the monopoly of only one of the two co-founder national communities.

            Police and armed forces consisting exclusively of Greek Cypriots were formed and these armed elements have been used against the Turkish Cypriot People as an instrument of oppression and persecution.

            For the past 20 years, the Turkish Cypriot People has been in a state of legitimate resistance and self-defense in the face of threats and attacks directed against its fundamental rights and freedoms, its political status and its very existence in Cyprus.

 

USURPATION OF THE LEGISLATURE

 

            2. There has not been a single Turkish Cypriot member since 1964 in the “House of Representatives” of the so-called “Republic of Cyprus” whose bi-communal partnership character had been abrogated in December 1963 by brute force and armed violence. The right to elect and to be elected to this assembly, has been under the de facto monopoly of the Greek Cypriots for the past 20 years. A “House of Representatives” elected exclusively by the Greek Cypriots, and to which only the Greek Cypriots could be elected, cannot under any circumstances be regarded as the parliament of a partnership state based on two national communities. Although according to the Constitutional structure of 1960, religious affairs and similar communal functions of the Turkish/Muslim and the Greek/Orthodox communities had been entrusted to two separate Communal Chambers was unconstitutionally and unilaterally abolished by the Greek Cypriot side and its functions were transferred to the so-called “House of Representatives”. Even this fact alone is sufficient to show that the said House had become the legislative assembly of only the Greek/Orthodox community.

            Such an assembly to which no Turkish Cypriot can be elected and in the election of which no Turkish Cypriot can participate surely cannot in any way represent the Turkish Cypriot People. The only assembly which can represent the free will of the Turkish Cypriots is the parliament elected by the Turkish Cypriot People themselves through democratic elections.

            The fact that the so-called “House of Representatives of the Republic of Cyprus”, which had thus come under the monopoly of the Greek CypriotsouHkkkkdkdkkkkoooooook

 

 

 

 

kkkReeekekekeek by force and armed violence, could not represent the entire population of the island had also been acknowledged by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe as far back as 1964. In spite of this fact the Greek Cypriot leadership has, in complete disregard of every principle of equity and justice, recently attempted to create yet another fait accompli with a view to having Cyprus represented in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe unilaterally by the Speaker of the Greek Cypriot parliament. The call made by the Speaker of the Turkish Cypriot parliament, proposing that the Speakers of the national assemblies of the two communities should meet to resolve this question, was not even given a reply by the Speaker of the Greek Cypriot assembly.

 

USURPATION OF THE EXECUTIVE

 

            3. Like the parliament of the so-called “Republic of Cyprus”, its executive organ also came under the de facto monopoly of the Greek Cypriots. The leader of the Turkish Cypriot Community, who was empowered to exercise executive powers jointly with the leader of the Greek Cypriot community, has been prevented from doing so by brute force and intimidation, since 1963. For 20 years, the seats in the Council of Ministers belonging to the Turkish Cypriots have been unlawfully occupied by the Greek Cypriot “Ministers”.

            Such an executive organ, of course, is obviously not entitled to act or speak on behalf of the Turkish Cypriot People.

            The only President entitled to speak on behalf of the Turkish Cypriot People is the President empowered to do so through democratic elections by the Turkish Cypriot People themselves. The only Government that can represent the Turkish Cypriot People is the Government responsible to the Parliament elected by the free will of the Turkish Cypriot People.

 

USURPATION OF THE JUDICIARY

 

            4. Even after the premeditated armed attacks against the Turkish Cypriot People in 1963, Turkish Cypriot judges had tried to continue to perform their duties. In a short while, however, these judges were also ejected from the judiciary by armed threats and brute force. There is not a single Turkish Cypriot judge in any of the judicial organs since established by the Greek Cypriot Administration in complete disregard of the Agreements and in violation of Constitutional provision.

            Just like the legislative and executive organs, the Greek Cypriot leadership had also put an end to the point judicial organs of the partnership State and placed them completely under the monopoly of the Greek Cypriots. In these circumstances, the Turkish Cypriot People were obliged to establish their own independent courts in order to meet their judicial requirements.

 

MONOPOLIZATION OF THE CIVIL SERVICE

 

            5. The Greek Cypriots had seized all the public posts, ranging from under-secretary by messenger, which under the partnership State had to be shared by both communities. Obviously, the Turkish Cypriot People cannot regard such a Civil Service as their own legitimate public administration.

 

UNILATERAL FOREIGN REPRESENTATION

 

            6. All the representatives of the so-called “Republic of Cyprus” assigned to foreign countries and international organizations, without a single exception, belong to the Greek Cypriot community. There is not a single diplomat or even a secretary belonging to the Turkish Cypriot community in the entire foreign service of the Greek Cypriot Administration.

            This foreign service protects only the interests of the Greek Cypriots and regards the political and economic strangulation of the Turkish Cypriot Community as a prime duty. Such a foreign service and its members abroad who have constantly been acting in hostility against the Turkish Cypriots, cannot possibly by accepted by the Turkish Cypriot People as their own representatives.

 

POLICE AND ARMED FORCES

 

7. It was an obligation arising from the Agreements leading to the establishment of the partnership State, that the police, gendarmerie and the armed forces should consist of persons belonging to both national communities. The Head of one of the armed forces had to be a Turkish Cypriot and the Heads and Deputy Heads of each of the armed forces had to belong to different communities.

            In the past 20 years, there has not been any Turkish Cypriot of any rank in the police and armed forces, which have completely been taken over by the Greek Cypriot Administration. Can these armed elements, who have in the past held under siege Turkish Cypriot villages and Turkish quarters of the towns, be possibly regarded by the Turkish Cypriot People as their own “security forces”? Can it ever be possible for the Turkish Cypriot People to entrust its life, property, honor and dignity to these armed elements who have in the past, hand in hand with the EOKA terrorists, set Turkish Cypriot villages on fire and indiscriminately massacred Turkish Cypriots without even sparing women, children and the elderly?

 

BUDGET AND PUBLIC SERVICES

 

            8. Not a single penny from the budget of the so-called “Republic of Cyprus” is ever spent on the Turkish Cypriots. Notwithstanding the fact that all the public establishments and institutions which have been set up with the contribution of the Turkish Cypriot People are the common property of both national communities, the State machinery which has been usurped by the Greek Cypriots, naturally, does not extend to the Turkish Cypriot People any of the public services required of a State.

            In the past, the Greek Cypriot Administration, purporting to be the “Government of Cyprus”, while providing electricity and water for the Greek Cypriot villages, has deliberately left even the neighboring Turkish Cypriot villages without electricity and water. For many years, a veritable siege had been imposed on Turkish Cypriot enclaves prohibiting the provision of even the most basic items such as medicine, foodstuffs, construction material and even Red Crescent assistance. Turkish Cypriots who were studying abroad faced obstacles on returning to their own homeland. Obstacles were even created for the registration of newly born children and, in fact, the majority of Turkish Cypriot children born after 1963 were not registered at all. On the “State” television, Greek Cypriot primary school children were told that the Turkish Cypriots were their “national enemy”. In belief, the Greek Cypriot Administration has pursued a relentless policy of discrimination against the Turkish Cypriots.

            What has compelled the Turkish Cypriot People to establish its own administration, to prepare its own budget and to organize its own public services is precisely this hostile and discriminatory attitude of the Greek Cypriot Administration.

 

ECONOMIC WELFARE AGAINST TURKISH CYPRIOTS

 

            9. The above-mentioned discriminatory policies and practices have also aggravated the economic and social disparity between the Turkish Cypriot People and the Greek Cypriots. This obvious economic gap between the two co-founder partners is closely related to the Greek Cypriot policies of domination and exploitation.

            Even today, the Greek Cypriots are trying to impose an all-out embargo on the Turkish Cypriot People and to create every conceivable obstacle in order to strangle, by economic means, the Turkish Cypriot People whom they have not been able to subjugate through armed violence and terrorism. This attitude has assumed the dimensions of an aggression directed against the fundamental rights and freedoms of the Turkish Cypriot People.

 

ARMED ONSLAUGHT AND EXTERMINATION PLANS

 

            10. The Greek Cypriot leadership has in the past tried to force a choice on the Turkish Cypriots between “death or exile”. In order to eradicate totally the Turkish-Islamic presence in the island, numerous plans of aggression and massacre, all well documented and verified, such as the notorious Akritas Plan, the “extermination” plans for implementation by the Greek Cypriot National Guard against the Turkish Cypriot People and the “Ioannides-Sampson” plan, were prepared.

            Ever since 1955, when the EOKA terrorist organization first launched its campaign of terror and violence, intimidation and extermination plans have been put into operation on many occasions in hundreds of Turkish Cypriot villages and in the Turkish Cypriot quarters of towns.

            Even today, the Greek Cypriot leadership refuses to recognize the Turkish Cypriot Community’s right to live in security and freedom in its own zone. It has become more and more evident with every passing day that the aim of the Greek Cypriot leadership is none other than to force the Turkish Cypriot People to live as a “subject community” with the status of second class citizens within a State which in practice would be dominated by the Greek Cypriots.

            A faction of the Greek Cypriot leadership, and the pan-Hellenists in Greece who manipulate them, have not given up the illusion of totally hellenising the island of Cyprus, in which two separate national communities live and where these two communities must co-exist in peace.

            The fanatical Greek-Orthodox Church of Cyprus, which does not even make any secret of its aim of hellenising the entire island, continues to prevail over the Greek Cypriot Administration.

 

INHUMAN DISCRIMINATION

 

            11. The afore-mentioned facts clearly demonstrate that the Greek Cypriot Administration’s claim to represent also the Turkish Cypriot People is incompatible with the principles of democracy, human rights, the principles of the United Nations and with reason and morality. The Greek Cypriot leadership, who wishes to subjugate the Turkish Cypriots to alien domination and who has placed all State organs under the monopoly of the Greek Cypriots, has in fact displayed one of the most flagrant examples of discrimination based on race, national origin, language and religion.

 

WHY WE OWE NO ALLEGIANCE TO THE GREEK CYPRIOT ADMINISTRATION

 

            12. The Greek Cypriot leadership which denies to the Turkish Cypriot People the right to security, equality and fundamental freedoms; the right  to participate effectively in the administration of the State; the right to self-government and the right to self-determination; and even the right to existence, can no longer claim any legitimate connection whatsoever with the Turkish Cypriot People.

            The Turkish Cypriot People could owe no allegiance whatsoever to an administration;

            which has implemented racist and discriminatory policies;

            which has attempted to usurp all the rights of the Turkish Cypriot People emanating from history, from international Agreements, and from Declaration and Conventions on human rights;

            which has lost all legitimacy by totally ignoring and violating international Agreements and the constitutional order;

            which has placed all the organs of the State under the monopoly of the Greek Cypriots;

            which has become exclusively the administration of the Greek Cypriots, not only because of its composition, but also because of the policies it continues to pursue;

            which is serving the interests of pan-hellenist expansionism; and

            which aims at the very elimination of the Turkish Cypriot existence in the island.

 

A FULLY WORKING DEMOCRACY

 

            13. Today the Turkish Cypriot People has a democratically-elected President chosen by the people through direct universal suffrage; a democratically elected Parliament which represents the free will of the Turkish Cypriot People within a democratic multi-party system; a Government which is responsible to this Parliament; an independent Judiciary with a Supreme Court which also reviews the constitutionality of all legislation; a public administration which cover all the functions of a contemporary State; security forces which maintain law and order; laws enacted through the votes of the elected representatives; taxation imposed by these laws; its own budget and its own security institutions.

 

A PEOPLE DETERMINED TO LIVE TOGETHER IN

SECURITY AND FREEDOM

 

            14. In order to save themselves from oppression and tyranny and from the constant danger of being annihilated, and in order to be able to live in security and freedom amongst their own national community; thousands of Turkish Cypriots who had been living in South Cyprus had clandestinely crossed over to the North through mountain passes, leaving all their belongings behind and at the risk of their lives. As a result of the opportunity provided by the “Vienna Agreement” of 2 August 1975, the Turkish Cypriot People in its entirety have settled in Northern Cyprus.

            The Turkish Cypriot People are determined to live together; they are determined to protect their national identity, to govern themselves in a democratic manner. They are willing to reach just and peaceful solutions, on all issues, through negotiations on the basis of equality with the Greek Cypriot People.

 

REJECTION OF RE-COLONIZATION BY GREECE

 

            15. Although Cyprus has never been a part of Greece, either geographically or historically, the Greek Cypriot leadership, under the influence of Greece, has never given up the aim of annexing Cyprus to Greece.

            The Turkish Cypriot People, who have all along rejected all forms of colonialism have always defended the independence of Cyprus at the cost of their lives, by resisting against ENOSIS. Had it not been for this valiant resistance of the Turkish Cypriot People, the whole of Cyprus would have been annexed to Greece long ago, the independence of Cyprus terminated and the Turkish Cypriot People once again put under colonial rule.

            The Turkish Cypriot People, after having freed themselves from colonial rule and after having established a bi-communal State as a co-founder partner, and subsequently having been ejected from all the organs of that State, could never accept to live once again as an oppressed “subject community” under an administration totally in the monopoly of the Greek Cypriots; nor could they accept to be put, as a result of ENOSIS, under the rule of a foreign nation.

 

TURKISH CYPRIOT EFFORTS FOR A BI-ZONAL FEDERAL SOLUTION

 

            16. The Turkish Cypriot People have earnestly striven for years for the re-establishment of an order which would be based on the equal partnership of the two peoples within a bi-zonal federal solution.

            The Turkish Cypriot People, faced with the continued need for self-government while formally establishing its own state in 1975, had adopted the name and status of a “federated state” in order to pave the way for the foundation of a federal union.

            In the Summit Agreement of 1977, concluded between the leaders of the two communities, the establishment of a bi-communal, bi-zonal federation was accepted as the common aim. This aim was later confirmed in the 1979 Summit Agreement, in the Opening Statement of the UN Secretary-General of 1980 and in the UN Evaluation Document of 1981.

            In order to achieve this aim, direct negotiations between the two national communities, and on the basis of equality, under the auspices of the UN Secretary-General, have been accepted as the only valid method. Believing that a just and lasting solution could only be achieved through this process, the Turkish Cypriot people and its leadership have made sincere efforts within the framework.

 

DESTRUCTION OF THE NEGOTIATING PROCESS BY GREEK CYPRIOT LEADERSHIP

 

            17. The Greek Cypriot leadership, especially since towards the end of 1981, under the negative influence of Greece, constantly has acted with the intention of undermining the negotiating process, of destroying the framework of the negotiations as well as eroding the major points of agreement on which the negotiations were based. All warnings and calls made by the Turkish Cypriot side in order to preserve the basic points of agreement achieved through great efforts and patience and in order not to jeopardize the negotiating process have all gone unheeded with blind intransigence.

            In the course of the last three years, while the intercommunal talks were continuing, the Turkish Cypriot side actively made constructive contributions to the negotiating process, with a view to giving effect to the agreed basis for a bi-zonal federal solution. The basic negotiating position of the Turkish Cypriot side took into account the agreed criteria in the Summit Agreements of 1977 and 1979, and was in harmony with the approach in the UN Secretary-General’s Opening Statement of 1980 and the UN Evaluation Document of 1981. The Turkish Cypriot side made comprehensive proposals on all aspects of the problem, explored all constructive means and approaches in order to pave the way for a compromise and was prepared to make great sacrifices to this end.

            However, all proposals made in good will and all steps taken by the Turkish Cypriot side to pave the way for a compromise have remained unreciprocated. Although it had been emphasized on numerous occasions that the Turkish Cypriot side was ready for meaningful negotiations in order to move rapidly towards a federal solution, the Greek Cypriot leadership first slowed down and frustrated the negotiating process, and then they abandoned the negotiating table altogether, eventually taking the Cyprus question to international fora where the Turkish Cypriot People had no opportunity of being heard, and of defending their rights.

            It has become quite clear that the Greek Cypriot leadership does not wish to accept the Turkish Cypriot People as an equal co-founder partner within a federal structure.

            A negative attitude, especially in recent months, has been predominant in the Greek Cypriot leadership - an attitude which is not compatible with the concept of a federal state and the concept of co-founder partnership; which does not take into account the bitter experiences of the past; which does not recognize the right of the Turkish Cypriot People to live in security and freedom in their own zone; and which even aims of destroying mutually agreed fundamental points of agreement.

            Under these circumstances, the Turkish Cypriot People has been confronted with the necessity of determining its own destiny.

 

INALIENABLE RIGHT TO SELF-DETERMINATION

 

            18. The Parliament elected by the free will of the Turkish Cypriot People has, as the only legitimate body capable of representing them, already declared to the world that the Turkish Cypriot People possess the right of self-determination.

            The right of self-determination of the Turkish Cypriot People stems naturally from the fundamental rights and freedoms possessed by all men. Many a State, large or small, have been established through the exercise of the right of self-determination.

            This right constitutes one of the fundamental principles of the Charter of the United Nations.

            Article 1 of the “International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights” as well as Article “ of the “International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights” also confirm the inalienable right of the Turkish Cypriot People to “self-determination”.

            As stated in Article “ of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, “all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights”. All of the international documents relating to fundamental human rights emphasize that these rights must be exercised without discrimination of any kind as to race, color, language, religion or national origin.

            The participation of every citizen, directly or through freely chosen representatives, in the conduct of public affairs, and access, on terms of equality, to public service, are among the fundamental rights protected by basic documents relating to human rights.

            As mentioned before, the Turkish Cypriot People have been prevented from all kinds of participation in the conduct of the public affairs of the so-called “Republic of Cyprus”. The Greek Cypriot leadership has, for long years, given the most  inhuman examples of discrimination based on national origin, language and religious belief. Turkish Cypriot citizens of the partnership State have been deprived of all their civil, political and social rights, and of all economic opportunities and public services.

            Even individuals known by the Greek Cypriot Administration to have committed crimes and atrocities against Turkish Cypriots have gone unpunished and not a single Greek Cypriot official who had oppressed and discriminated against Turkish Cypriots has ever been prosecuted for his offenses.

            The Greek Cypriot Administration, by its very composition and its own actions; by destroying the partnership State; by trying to deprive the Turkish Cypriots of their fundamental rights and liberties; and by pursuing a policy of hostility against them, has disqualified itself from any claim to be the legitimate “Government” of  the whole of Cyprus.

            The exercise of the right of self-determination has become an imperative for the Turkish Cypriot People.

 

NOT ONLY A RIGHT BUT ALSO A DUTY

 

            19. For years, the Turkish Cypriot People, having been deprived of its fundamental rights, has sacrificed the lives of many of its sons in order not to bow to servitude and domination.

            It s the inalienable right of the Turkish Cypriot People to live freely in security, peace and happiness under a government emanating from its own free will and to determine its own destiny. To declare that we have decided to do so has become not only a “right” for us, but also a “duty” towards future generations.

ETERNAL AND UNIVERSAL PRINCIPLES

            20. No one can expect the Turkish Cypriot People to renounce the principle that:

            “All people have the right to self-determination. By virtue of that right they freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development”.

            No once can prevent the Turkish Cypriot People from declaring the following eternal truths:

            “...all men are created equal, they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; among these are life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness...Governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed.”

            The Turkish Cypriot People believe that there must be in the world:

            “...peaceful and friendly relations based on respect for the principles of equal rights and self-determination of all peoples, and of universal respect for, and observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language or religion.”

            The Turkish Cypriot People have as much right to live in freedom and independence as the Greek Cypriots.

 

CONFIRMATION OF AN EXISTING REALITY

 

            21. The Turkish Cypriot People have in fact exercised this right a long time ago; they have established their own State with all its organs. All that is being done today is the confirmation and declaration of an existing reality and the re-naming of our State.

 

AN APPEAL TO THE GREEK CYPRIOT PEOPLE FOR

PEACE AND FRIENDSHIP

 

            22. On this historic day, we extend once again our hand in peace and friendship to the Greek Cypriot People:

PEACEFUL SOLUTIONS TO ALL DIFFERENCES

 

            a) We firmly believe that the two Peoples, who are destined to co-exist side by side in the island, can and must find peaceful, just and durable solutions to all differences between them, through negotiations on the basis of equality.

 

DOOR OPEN TO FEDERATION

 

            b) The proclamation of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus will not hinder the two equal Peoples and their administrations from establishing a new partnership within the framework of a genuine federation on the contrary, such a proclamation can facilitate efforts in this direction by fulfilling the necessary requisites for the establishment of a federation. The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, determined to make every constructive effort in this direction, will not unite with any other State.

 

UN MISSION OF GOOD OFFICES

 

            c) The Turkish Cypriot side desires the continuation of the mission of good offices of the UN Secretary-General  for a peaceful and conciliatory solution of all the issues between the two Peoples and urges the pursuit of negotiations under the auspices of the UN Secretary-General.

 

GOOD WILL MEASURES

 

            d) We urge the Greek Cypriot Administration to abandon, once and for all its illusion of ‘Enosis’ which aims at subjugating the Turkish Cypriot People to a foreign State; to give up its false pretense of speaking on behalf of all Cyprus in the international field; to accept the fact that it has no authority whatsoever to represent the Turkish Cypriots and to facilitate the immediate taking of measures of good will on matters which can be resolved in the short term, with the object of narrowing the gap between the two Peoples.

 

BASIC POLICY

 

            23. We consider it our duty to announce that the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus which we are declaring:

            a) Is, and shall remain, faithful to the principles of the United Nations Charter,

            b) Shall adhere to no other polity than non-alignment,

            c) Shall, in her relations with the two Super Powers and with all other countries attach the greatest importance to the need for peace and stability and for the presentation of the balance of power in the Eastern Mediterranean and shall not join any military bloc.

            d) Shall endeavor to establish friendly relations with all countries and shall remain firmly decided not to allow any hostile activity against any country on its territory,

            e) Shall continue to adhere to the Treaties of Establishment, Guarantee and Alliance,

            f) Shall strive to establish the closest possible ties and relations with the Islamic countries, the Non-Aligned countries and the Commonwealth countries.

            We are resolved and determined to preserve Northern Cyprus as an independent and non-aligned region of tranquillity and stability which will serve the cause of peace in the world and in the Mediterranean.

 

DECLARATION

 

            23. Expressing the legitimate and irrepressible will of the Turkish Cypriot People, in the light of the aforesaid realities, convictions and necessities we hereby declare before the World and before History the establishment of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus as an independent State.

            On this historic day, we reiterate our gratitude to our Martyrs who sacrificed their lives in order that the Turkish Cypriot People may never again be subjected to servitude under foreign domination and may live in dignity and freedom. May God’s mercy be upon our Martyrs.