Armenian, Assyrian and Hellenic Genocide News

Turkish Cypriots want 'Palestine status'
by Yusuf Kanli - Ankara - Turkish Daily News
Posted: Monday, December 11, 2000 01:40 am CST

SOVEREIGN ENTITY - Turkish Cypriots say like the Palestinians, the Turkish Cypriot state should be considered and treated by the United Nations as a 'sovereign entity'

NEW CRISIS IN OFFING - If Clerides is invited to a Security Council meeting as 'President of Cyprus' and Denktas as an 'individual' the Turkish Cypriot side may boycott such a session

UN TROOPS UNWELCOME UNLESS- President Rauf Denktas says unless the U.N. makes a separate deal with the Turkish Cypriot administration, U.N. peacekeepers are unwelcome in northern Cyprus

As the United Nations Security Council is preparing to invite the Turkish and Greek Cypriot sides --representatives of three guarantor powers for Cyprus, Turkey, Greece and Britain -- to a special session on the Cyprus problem, Turkish Cypriot President Rauf Denktas is pressing hard on the U.N. to accord his government "Palestinian status."

According to well-placed sources, President Denktas has been stressing at talks with U.N. officials that, like the world body did for the Palestinians, it should accord Turkish Cypriots the status of "sovereign entity" and accept it as one of the two "equal parties" in dealing with the Cyprus problem.

"The Palestinians don't have a state recognized by the United Nations, by any of the permanent members of the U.N. Security Council or any western power. Yet, at Security Council sessions on Palestine, or the Middle East problems, Palestinian envoys represent their people as representatives of a sovereign entity, on equal footing with the representatives of Israel, a country which is a full-fledged member of the U.N. We expect the same treatment from the U.N.," the source said.

The source said although Palestine was not recognized by the U.S. President Yasser Arafat has been receiving the red carpet treatment at the White House on an equal level with the representatives of the Israeli state.

"We are not asking for a special treatment. We want to international community see the reality on the island and act with the awareness that there are two equal sovereign democracies on Cyprus."

In an attempt to push for a Cyprus settlement and overcome the current stalemate in the proximity talks process, the Security Council is reportedly considering a call for a special Cyprus session. Invited would be Turkey, Greece and Britain, the three guarantor countries for Cyprus according to the 1960 agreements with which the island gained its independence from Britain and representatives of the two sides on the island.

The problem is how the two sides on the island will be invited to that meeting. Greek Cypriots have been stressing that as a member of the U.N. the "Cyprus Republic" should be invited in line with article 37 of the U.N. charter along with the three guarantor powers, while Turkish Cypriots should be invited in line with article 39 of the U.N. charter as a "community."

"This is unacceptable for us," Ergun Olgun, undersecretary of President Denktas told the TDN. Olgun, however, said the Turkish Cypriot administration was not officially approached by any U.N. official and so far there has not been any invitation for such a meeting.

"We have heard and read that there is such a preparation. Although we were not officially presented any such offer, we are evaluating reports and making assessments. We have not decided yet whether to accept such an invitation or under what conditions we may accept such an invitation," Olgun said.

He, however stressed that if Greek Cypriots were invited to such a meeting in line with Article 37 of the U.N. Charter as a "member state of the U.N." and Turkish Cypriots were asked to send an "individual" to represent the Turkish Cypriot "community" such an invitation would not be an acceptable one.

Olgun said if the Turkish and Greek Cypriot sides on the island were both invited to the Security Council meeting in line with Article 37 of the U.N. Charter, the U.N. would not establish a new practice as it has been pursuing the same policy vis a vis the Israeli and Palestinian representation at the Security Council, but on the contrary, would establish a "symmetry and parity" between the two sides on the island and help establish a better atmosphere for the future of Cyprus peace efforts.

UN force unwelcome unless...

In a related development and very much in line with the same reasoning, the Turkish Cypriot side declared this week that the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) is unwelcome to operate in northern Cyprus unless the U.N. makes a separate deal with the Turkish Cypriot authorities.

"Northern Cyprus exists. By behaving as if there is one legal government on the island, no one should expect us to embrace the peace force which is said to exist through the confirmation of the fake government," Denktas said in a statement.

The development followed the release of a biannual report Wednesday by U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan to the Security Council recommending an extension of UNFICYP's mandate for another six months.

In the report, Annan said he considered the force to be "essential for the maintenance of the cease-fire on the island."

Denktas said he could not accept the force because the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (KKTC) is not treated as an equal by the Greek Cypriot administration, which enjoys international recognition as the "sole legitimate government" of the eastern Mediterranean island.

He proposed meetings with the United Nations "to draw up the framework that foresees our existence and our equality."

UNFICYP has been in Cyprus since March 1964, four months after Greek Cypriots expelled Turkish Cypriots from the joint administration and launched an island-wide campaign to exterminate the Turkish Cypriot population in Dec. 1963.

The Greek Cypriot administration has been warning that it will withdraw its consent for the presence of the force if it recognizes the Turkish Cypriot north as a state.

UN: No change in Cyprus policy

In another development, at the United Nations, Annan spokesman Fred Eckhard said the United Nations' position hasn't changed on Cyprus. U.N. envoy Alvaro de Soto, who met with Denktas and Greek Cypriot leader Glafcos Clerides this week, is expecting to meet with both sides again before indirect talks resume in January in Geneva, he said.

"Our hope is that both sides show up," Eckhard said.

The Turkish side imposed restrictions on UNFICYP's movements in June when the previous report by Annan ignored earlier Turkish Cypriot demands for a separate deal between the U.N. and the KKTC authorities for operations of UNFICYP in northern Cyprus.

Annan criticized the Turkish side for imposing these restrictions saying, "the conditions under which UNFICYP operates have become more difficult, owing to the restrictions imposed on it by the Turkish Cypriot authorities and the Turkish forces."

On Monday, Denktas indicated he would boycott future U.N.-sponsored talks unless the north received recognition. But Tuesday U.N. envoy de Soto ruled out such a recognition, saying the talks are carried out within a framework laid down by Annan "and I cannot foresee any variation as to those parameters."

Denktas's warnings have been more strident since the United Nations last month presented both sides with a general outline for a settlement proposed by Annan that rules out recognition of a Turkish state in the north.

Related Information...

Armenian, Assyrian and Hellenic Genocide News Archives