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IRISH M.P. SEAN POWER EXPLAINS CYPRUS REALITIES IN IRISH PARLIAMENT

            Explaining the Cyprus realities in the Irish Parliament, Irish M.P. Sean Power criticized the Greek Cypriots, Greece and the E.U.

            His address to the Irish Parliament is as follows:

            “As I have little time at my disposal, I will use that time to deal with enlargement, in particular the application of Cyprus. I had the honour of visiting northern Cyprus during the summer with two of my colleagues from the House. To my surprise the ambassador chose to object in the strongest manner on my return. It was not my first visit and it was obvious to me that on the island there exists two democracies and two sovereign states representing their distinct peoples.

            Turkey has never expressed a wish to make Cyprus a Turkish island or an annex to Turkey, which is only 40 miles away, but the Greeks have continued to press for enosis to make Cyprus part of Greece even through Greece is 500 miles away. The history and settlement of the island would weight heavily towards a Turkish claim as soldiers from the Ottoman Empire captured Cyprus in 1571. They were there until the British arrived in 1878. We do not have time to go into the full history of the island. In 1924, the Treaty of Lausanne was accepted by Turkey and Greece and Britain was then the sovereign ruler of Cyprus. There has been much change since. Gradually the Greek Cypriots made demands for enosis and Britain, playing politics, offered the island to Greece in return for them taking up arms against Bulgaria. Naturally, the Turkish Cypriots opposed enosis.

            In 1950 the demand for enosis exploded under Archbishop Makarios. Britain took strong action against the militants and Makarios was exiled to the Seychelles. Turkey took a keen interest and was obviously anxious to protect the Turkish Cypriots, but the partition of the island was suggested and has some appeal in Ankara. However, Mr. Lennox-Boyd declared in the House of Commons in 1956: “Any exercise of self-determination should be affected in such a manner that the Turkish community should be given freedom to decide for themselves their future states.” This was reaffirmed in 1958 by Harold Macmillian. At this stage, with a declining empire, Britain realised it did not want Cyprus as a military base but wanted bases in Cyprus. Gradually talks between Greece, Turkey and Britain, with the UN a very interested onlooker, led to a treaty of alliance and a treaty of guarantee being accepted in Zurich. Enosis and partition were banned and the two countries were to work out a system of government among themselves with Britain, Greece and Turkey. These three states were to guarantee the general state of affairs proposed under the treaty. Unfortunately, both the Greek Cypriots and the Turkish Cypriots were suspicious of each other and the details of the shared government were complex and proved very difficult to operate. Harmony and success very much depended on consensus, respect for each side and security for the minority.

From 1964 to 1967 there were many attacks on the Turkish Cypriots and in an  effort to counteract the difficulty there the United Nations sent a peacekeeping force to the island, including an Irish battalion consisting of many soldiers from the Curragh. The Cypriot ambassador wonders why a Kildare person should show such an interest in Cyprus. In 1967, Turkey and Greece were on the brink of war and the Greeks wanted enosis and Turkey favoured a federation of Cyprus. In July 1974, Archbishop Makarios was overthrown and was flown out of Cyprus. The Turkish premier flew to Britain to ask Mr. Callaghan to intervene, but no action from any of the guarantee countries was taken. Countries that had pledged support to make Cyprus work were found wanting when a crisis arose.

With genuine interest and goodwill by the EU, some help can be given to find a lasting peace on the island of Cyprus. Cyprus is an applicant for admission to the EU. This should not be just for part of the island. This would only perpetuate problems as Greece is a member and Turkey is unlikely to be accepted as a member in the next draft for enlargement. We continue do drive wedges between the two parts of the island. There are not direct flights to northern Cyprus. There are grants galore for the Greeks side for the restoration of ancient sites, among other things, yet we continue to deny northern Cyprus a market for its produce and access to it by tourists.

Since Cyprus applied to become a member of the European Union all negotiations have been carried out by the Greek Cypriot Government, which does not and cannot represent the people of the entire island. The European Union has never sought a resolution of the problem as a condition of Cyprus becoming a full member and as a result, the talks between Mr. Clerides and Mr. Denktash are unlikely to prove fruitful. There is no incentive for Greek Cypriots to find a solution.  

If a divided Cyprus is allowed to become a member of the European Union, serious problems will arise. The south is recognised by all states except Turkey as the Republic of Cyprus while the north is recognised only by Turkey, whose forces there for the defence of northern Cyprus may be accused of occupying the territory of an EU member state. This scenario is very likely despite the fact that Turkey has a customs union with the European Union and also been accepted as a candidate for future membership. It is time we asserted our independence in order to do what we think is right and just, rather than go along with what our wealthier neighbours advise.”