S/PV.2099 Security Council

I wish to draw the attention of members of the Council to document S/l2924 containing the text of a letter dated 14 November 1978 addressed to the President of the Security Council by the Secretary-General, which transmits the text of General Assembly resolution 33/l 5, entitled “Question of Cyprus”. 3. On behalf of the Council I welcome the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Cyprus, Mr. Rolandis, who is the first speaker for this afternoon: I now call on him. 4. Mr, ROLANDIS (Cyprus): Last week the question of Cyprus was brought once more before the General Assembly. I spoke1 on behalf of the people of my country. But my voice was not that of a foreign minister or a diplomat. I could not mould my words to take the shape of the language normally used by a technocrat. In the political spectrum of Cyprus, there is no room for technocracy any more. In the Cyprus of the present day there is room only for resistance against injustice and brutality, And my voice reflected this spirit, which I am certain is also the spirit and credo of the Security Council, because I do not think that there is even one person in this room who would tolerate having his country shamelessly described by its aggressor as “no more than a geographical expression”. Yes, honourable members of the Council, the representative of Turkey had the cynicism and the audacity to say in his statement before the Assembly that “there is no Republic of Cyprns, there is no Government of Cyprus, and the word ‘Cyprus’ is no more than a geographical expression”.2 5. The astonishing and repulsive thing about this statement is that it was made before a body all the members of which fully recognize the Government of Cyprus and the State of Cyprus as a Member of the United Nations. Shall I then call this statement an indiscretion? Shall I call it disrespect’! Shall I call it provocation of the international community’? Shall I call it contemptuous and barbaric treatment of the civilized by the uncivilized? 6. The representative of Turkey accused us of trying to fool the members of the Assembly. l-lc said that we “cannot fool all the people all of the time”.” But the Assembly gave him a staggering blow by way of all answer. By a whopping majority of 115 votes to 4 he was told that the one who was attempting to fool the Assembly and the world was nobody else but he, He was told [hat his statements had no credibility. He was told that 96.6 per cent of those who voted considered his sophistries and his crocodile tears and theatrical absurdities flat lies. He was told that 96.6 pel cent of the world believed that Cyprus was under occupation and that Turkey had committed disgraceful and criminal conduct by turning a beautiful island into a ruin. I-Ie was told that 96.6 per cent of the world believed in 7. I do not think that there is realty any need each time to rebut the Turkish lies, There is no need to waste the valuable time of the Council for the purpose of disproving what it has already taught us so many times by its vote that it does not believe, 8. I have no doubt that the Turkish representative and the Turkish Cypriot leaders will now put on a theatrical spectacle in an effort to justify crime. They will tell us about the plight of the Turkish Cypriots, who have actually been the victims of nobody else but Ankara and the Turkish Cypriot leadership for the last 20 years. They will produce some newspaper clippings, which may be in their favour, whilst there are thousands of clippings in our favour. After all, over a period of 20 years there is no subject which has not been presented and criticized in all possible ways by the press. But they will not, of course, produce General Assembly and Security Council resolutions in their favour; they do not have them. They wilt not produce non-aligned declarations; they do not have them. They will not produce reports of the Commission on Human Rights; they do not have them, Such reports and decisions of objective international organs are anathema to Turkey; the Turks try to hush them up, They try to hide them in well-locked drawers. 1 do not think that it would be an exaggeration to say that a good part of the diplomatic service of Turkey is laboriously busy covering up the crimes committed by their country, which are exposed in intcrnational forums, books, true-story films and so on. 9. So the substance of the Turkish crimes against Cyprus was established by a 96.6 per cent majority vote last week, It was also established that the Cyprus problem constituted a serious threat to international peace and security. Furthermore, the Assembly recommended that measures against Turkey should be considered within a time-frame. 10. In this connexion, I further remind members of the Council that, by its resolution 365 (1974) of 13 December 1974. the Council endorsed General Assembly resolution 3212 (XXIX), which urged, Mar alia, the speedy withdrawal of all foreign armed forces from the Republic of Cyprus. That resolution has been reaffirmed nine times since then, but, of course, Turkey nine times has turned a deaf ear to the call of the Council. Thus, not only have Assembly recommendat iuns been defied by Turkey: Council resolutions also have been defied, 11. Cyprus and its people have been patiently waiting for a long time for the implementation of Security Council and Gcncral Assembly resolutions: and, although Kipling in his famous poem “If suggests that WP should “wait and not be tired by waiting”, I humbly submit that the Cypriots have 12. I submit that it is the duty of the Governments of the States members of the Security Council to heed the remarks of Mr. Waldheim in the introduction to his 1976 report on the work of the Organization, which reads: “The responsibilities of Governments do not cease when a resolution is adopted; indeed resolutions usually require determined action by Governments, in addition to the parties directly concerned, if they are to be translated into reality.“4 The message of Mr. Waldheim is crystal clear, When a country does not comply with resolutions, action is required by all Governments to bring about results. 13. We know that the tendency of the Security Council is to avoid ordering enforcement measures. We know that in its 33-year history such measures have been ordered by the Council only very few times. We know that many other countries have not managed to press effectively for measures. But I believe that the situation in Cyprus is so grave and the attitude of Turkey so contemptuous and provocative that I am fully entitled to ask members of the Council for the first time in the history of the question of Cyprus in the United Nations to consider measures under Article 41 of the Charter. 14.. I should like it to be on record that the Cyprus Government is asking the Security Council to consider measures against Turkey under the aforementioned Article 41 on the basis of paragraph 8 of General Assembly resolution 33/15. It is now the responsibility of the Council, not only towards Cyprus but also towards the whole world and in accordance with its own specific responsibilities under the Charter, to consider how to entertain this well-founded request of the Cyprus Government. 15. I turn now to another subject. During the last 48 hours, an attempt has been made to magnify certain suggestions concerning the resumption of the intercommunal talks. These suggestions, which do not take the form of proposals, were communicated late last week to the Secretary-General, to my Government, to the Turkish Government and to the Turkish Cypriots. The attempt has been to create the impression that because of these suggestions no decision regarding the implementation of its resolutions is required by the Security Council. I consider that I owe it to the members of the Council to explain and to clarify what the true situation is. 16. Tt has always been my Government’s position that we welcome any initiatives, from whatever source, that are 19. Do not forget that volcanoes erupt from tinic to time. Of course we know (hat we, the Cypriots, would be the direct victims of such an eruption, but most certainly mankind would take a very big step backwards. And what is nccdcd very badly by the world today is steps forward. tile etistence of something that is fill3 short of being an acccptcd proposal, let alone a solution. If that were not the case, then any country might intcrferc with the functioning of the Council by presenting idcns ilt any moment of their political choice. 20. I urge the Council to act in a bold and dynamic way, while a positive spirit of goodwill and conciliation exists among our people and before it changes decisively to indignation and despair, because, as mcmbcrs know very well, nothing in this world is more dangerous than to push people to the point of desperation. 17. I submit that the appropriate time for the Security Council to consider the question of Cyprus is now. In my statement before the Council on 16 June 1078, I said: “The Security Council is meeting today . . . in order lo consider the operation of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus on the basis of the Sccrctary- General’s report of 3 1 May. TI1csc six-monthly meetings 21 , The PKESIDENT (intspwtatim Jiorrr Frcwdr): I call now on the representative of Greece. tWe in practice provitlcd tile OCCilSiOll, ilpiu’t from the rellcwal of the mandate 3s proposed by the Secrctary- General and as required by tho circumstances, for a 22. Mr. I’AI’OULIAS (Greece): Mr. President, it gives me great plcasure to extend to you my warmest and most sincere congratulations on your assumption of the presidency of the Security Council. Your prestige and the important role your country and you personally have played in the affairs of the United Nations and in the non-aligned movement, as well as your authority and you1 well-known diplomatic skills, give us great confidence that this debate will bc concluded successfully. It is particularly gratifying for my delegation that you represent a country which is linked with my country by close ties of friendship. review of the situation with regard to the substantive aspects of the Cyprus problcni in the light of the developments sot out in the report. While this practice has bCeI1 both useful ilIlJ Icgitiniatc, certain misgivings h;\VC been expressed by members of’ the (‘ouncil X. to the appropriatcncss of making the renewal of the UNFICYI’ mandate dependent 011 the substantive aspects of the Cyprus problem For my part, I see the validity of these misgivings. I bclicve that thcsc substantive aspects of the Cyprus problem, which is in its cssencc un intcrnationat problem constituting :I threat to international t>catX and security and thcreforc, under the Charter, fully within tllc jurisdiction of the Council, should IX fully considered and dealt with at ;I separate meeting of the Council.” [2081st mctirig, para. 1 (I./ 23. I would also thank you and the members of the COUIUA for allowing me to participate in this discussion. “24. The Minister for Foreign Affairs of Cyprus, Mr. Rolandis, has already, and in a very convincing manner, given the Council the reasons which have prompted the Government of Cyprus to have recourse to the Council. It is in line with the above promise, which was at the time welcomed by the members of {hc Council, that we have asked for a meeting of the Council today so as to avoid the discussion of matters of substance under conditions of pressure when the Council meets for the renewal on 15 December of the mandate of the United Nations Force. 25 We feel that the action taken by the Government of Cyprus is not only fully justified by the facts but also constitutes the appropriate follow-up of resolution 33/l 5. which was adopted by the General Assembly by an overwhelming majority Indeed, through its resolution, the Assembly has once more expressed the frustration felt by the international community at the tolal lack of progress on Cyprus and the non.in~pIement~Ilio~~ of the United Nations resolutions on the problem. This feeling of frustration is shared equally by the Secretary-(;cncral$ who, in his 1% The only objcctivc of the people of Cyprus is to be left hlle to ho in peace. WC are ;I sn~all country, and 0111 ambitions are not and cannot be greater than our size. We do not want to play and we cannot play any role of substance in international power politics. Our cou’ntry has suft’icicn t resources to offer a very coInfort:lble lift (0 iLlI its citizens. 26. Consequently it is fully understandable that the Government of the Republic of Cyprus deemed it necessary again to place this serious problem before the Security Council, a problem which, in the terms of resolution 33/15, continues to constitute a serious threat to international peace and security and which, according to the Secretary- General’s report,5 remains a threat to stability and good relations in the eastern Mediterranean. 27. I will not enter into a lengthy elaboration of my Government’s position on the Cyprus problem as that has already been done repeatedly in the past and, more recently, in a very clear and unequivocal manner by the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs of Greece, Mr. Zai’mis. 28. In view of the fact that the crucial question of the non-implementation of the United Nations resolutions is closely related to the present debate in the Council, 1 shall confine myself-and 1 think this is amply adequate-to quoting pertinent passages from Mr. Zai’mis’s speech in the General Assembly on 9 November. MC said: “The United Nations has adopted an impressive number of resolutions on Cyprus. Since 1974”-when Cyprus became the victim of invasion-“the General Assembly has been called upon four times to express itself on this problem, while the Security Council has dealt with the matter 19 times. Resolution 3212 (XXIX) of the General Assembly was even adopted unanimousIy. “What do these resolutions recommend and what, if anything, has been done in order to implement them? . . . “The resolutions call upon all States to respect the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of the Republic of Cyprus. One can hardly speak of the territorial integrity of a country when approximately 40 per cent of the territory is under alien administration, a fact which is incompatible with the concept of sovereignty. “The resolutions urge the speedy withdrawal of all foreign armed forces and foreign personnel from the Republic of Cyprus. Yet a strong foreign force, backed by heavy armaments, is still occupying a sizeable part of the island . . . “The resolutions recommend that all refugees return to their homes in safety, yet all the refugees continue to be kept away from their ancestral homes. This constitutes per se a gross violation of human rights.“7 5 Ihid., Tllirty-third Session, Supplcrncnt No. 1 n p. 4. 6 A/33/348, para. 19. 7 of]iCiQl Records of the General Assembly. Thirty-third Session, Plenary Meetings, 48th meeting, paras. 44-48. “Finally, the resolutions call for the urgent resumption of negotiations between the representatives of the two communities on the basis of comprehensive and concrete proposals, with the help of the good offices of the Secretary-General, These negotiations must aim at reaching an early settlement of the problem of Cyprus.“9 Yet, as Mr. Zai‘mis continued: “Six rounds of intercommunal talks brought no result. We can now hardly see how a seventh round could be arranged on the basis of proposals like those which were put forward by the Turkish side last April, for they deviate totally from the spirit of the resolutions of our Organization. They also deviate from the guidelines laid down in February 1977 in talks between the late President Makarios and the leader of the Turkish Cypriot community in the presence of our Secretary-General.“’ e 29. The representative of Turkey, in his statement at the same meeting, referred1 1 to the part of my statement of 15 December 1977 in the Security Council which reads as follows: “For our part, we wish again to stress that, in order to have a chance of success, these negotiations must be carried out in a substantive way on the basis of concrete proposals covering all major aspects of the problem, including territorial and constitutional questions. I need not remind the Council that the concrete proposals made by the Greek Cypriot negotiator on those questions are still awaiting a reply from the other side.” [2054th mee tilg, para. 72.1 30. While drawing particular attention to the obvious meaning ofthe last sentence of that statement, I wish to say today that I fully abide by that statement, for, I should emphasize, we are still awaiting proposals that will make possible the speedy resumption of the intercommunal dialogue on a mutually agreed basis by the two communities. 31 I On the other hand, as we have repeatedIy declared, the Greek Government has always given, and will continue to give, its support to the Secretary-General’s mission of good offices. I certainly shall not let this opportunity pass without expressing once more to Mr. Waldheim and his collaborators our deep appreciation of and sincere thanks for their untiring efforts in the interest of a peaceful settlement of the Cyprus issue. 32. Today the Security Council is seized of the request of the Cyprus Government to deal with the effective imple- 8 Ihid., para. 34. 9 Ibid., para. 49. IOlbid., para. 51.. I1 Ihid., para. 106. 33. I am sure no one will dispute the fact that such implementation is long overdue. That is precisely the spirit and the meaning in which the General Assembly adopted The tneetirzg rose ot 5.45 p.m. HOW TO OBTAIN UNITED NATIONS PUBLICATIONS United Nations publications may be obtained from bookstores and distributors throughout the world. Consult your bookstore or write to: United Nations, Sales Section. New York or Geneva. COMMENT SE PROCURER LES PUBLICATIONS DES NATIONS UNIES Les publications des Nations Unies sont en vente dans les librairies et les agences deposit&es du monde entier. Informer-vous aupres de votre libraire ou adressex-vous B : Nations Unies, Section des ventes, New York ou GenEve. ICAK IIOJIYYZITb HBAAHIill OPl-AHM 3A4HZI OWJiEAMHEHHMX HAl&ElH COMO CONSEGUIR PUBLICACIONES DE LAS NACIONES UNIDAS Las publicaciones de las Naciones Unidas estin en venta en librerias y casas distribuidoras en todas partes de1 mundo. 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