WHY DO TURKISH CYPRIOTS WANT THE RECOGNITION OF THE TURKISH REPUBLIC OF NORTHERN CYPRUS (TRNC)?

 

·       We need and deserve to be free of oppression.

 

·       We need and deserve to have our own country that we call home.

 

·        We need and deserve to have direct flights to our home country.

 

·       We need and deserve to have direct trade.

 

·       We need and deserve to be known as Turkish Cypriots NOT as Greeks Cypriots.

 

·       We need and deserve to have a say in the running of our country.

 

·       We need and deserve to live without the fear of being murdered in our sleep.

 

·       We need and deserve to have Human Rights.

 

·       We need and deserve to be able to take part in international sporting events.

 

·       We need and deserve for all Isolations to be lifted.

 

 

We WILL NOT be a mere minority.

 

We WILL NOT be second-class citizens.

 

We WILL NOT live under an apartheid regime.

 

 

THE TRUTH ABOUT CYPRUS

 

 

WHO ARE THE CYPRIOTS?

There has never been a Cypriot nation.  Turkish Cypriots & Greek Cypriots have each lived on the island for more than 400 years.  They have no common language & no common culture.  The two peoples of Cyprus are political equals, NOT majority and minority and in 1960 independence was granted on that bases.

 

WHY DID TURKEY INTERVENE IN 1974?

Within 3 years of independence, the Greek Cypriots threw the Turkish Cypriots out of all their official positions and ignored the supreme constitutional court when it ruled in favour of the Turkish Cypriots.  They Greek Cypriots committed acts of genocide against Turkish Cypriots in 1963, 1967 and 1974.  The AKRITAS Plan (a plan by Greek Cypriot political Members and Military Generals) was put into affect which had the objective of cleansing the Turkish existence in Cyprus. Turkey was forced to rescue Turkish Cypriots in 1974 when 103 Turkish Cypriot villages were attacked and desecrated, and the Turkish Cypriots were forced to live in less than 3% of the island’s territory. Greek Militia and mainland Greek troops then tried to take over the island and annex it to Greece and to ethnically cleanse the remaining Turkish Cypriots.

 

WAS THE INTERVENTION LAWFUL?

YES.  On 20th July 1974, Turkey intervened under Article IV of the Treaty of Guarantee (UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office doc CPS/79).  Turkey exercised its right of intervention in accordance with article IV of the Guarantee Treaty of 1960. (Standing Committee of the Consultative Assembly of the Council of Europe 29th July 1974).  Even the Greek Court of Cassation (in case no. 2658/79) has held that the Turkish intervention was legal.

 

WHY ARE TURKISH TROOPS STILL IN CYPRUS?

International guarantees, including a guarantee from Britain, and the actual presence of UN troops in Cyprus, have concluded that the only effective guarantee for the safety of their families is to ask Turkey to keep it’s troops in the Northern part of Cyprus for as long as may be necessary.

 

WHY DID THE TURKISH CYPRIOTS ESTABLISH THEIR OWN STATE?

Because by 1983 it was clear that the necessary confidence between the two peoples would not be re-established for the foreseeable future, and the Turkish Cypriot people could remain as stateless persons indefinitely. We therefore established the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, where we now elect our own representatives, and peace has prevailed in Cyprus ever since.

 

WHAT ABOUT PROPERTIES & MISSING PERSONS?

As a result of the appalling behaviour of the Greek Cypriots a great many innocent people on both sides have disappeared and have lost their property.  Turkish Cypriot property in the south is occupied by Greek Cypriots and vice versa.  The Turkish Cypriots have accepted that their missing persons were killed but the Greek Cypriots keep this issue alive for political reasons.

 

IS THERE A GOVERNMENT OF CYPRUS?

NO.  The Greek Cypriots destroyed the 1960 partnership Constitution, and they do not have, and have never had, the right to represent Turkish Cypriots.

 

WHAT IS WRONG WITH THE STATUS QUO?

For the past 31 years, the Turkish Army has kept the peace between the two communities and there has been no return to the earlier bloodshed.  The status quo should continue until the Greek Cypriots accept that Turkish Cypriots are equal and justice should prevail for both peoples of Cyprus.

 

SHOULD CYPRUS BE IN THE EU?

NO.  Neither the Greek Cypriots nor the Turkish Cypriots have the right alone to commit the island to membership of the EU.  This can only be done by joint application.  Britain and Greece, both guarantor powers, have breached the Treaty of Guarantee by failing to veto the application made by the Greek Cypriots.  Cyprus is not a legal member of the EU without Turkish Cypriots.

 

http://www.atcanews.org/archive/WhyTurkishCypriotswantRecognitionLEAFLET.doc