S/PV.2534 Security Council

I wish to thank you, Sir, and the other members of the Council for affording my delegation an opportunity to address the Council on the situation in Cyprus. I also wish to congratulate you on your assumption of the presidency for the month of May. We are confident that, with your mature judgement, experience and well-known diplomatic skill, y&u will be able to guide the Council to a speedy and satisfactory conclusion of this debate. May I also take this opportunity to express our appreciation td Mr. Kravtts of the Ukrainiafl Soviet Socialist Repubiic for the able nianner lil which he conducted the Cotmcil’s tiork during the mdnth of April. The meeting was called to order at 4.20 p.m. Adoption of the agenda The agenda was adopted. The situation in Cyprus: Letter dated 30 April 1984 from the Permanent Representative of Cyprus to the United Nations addressed to the President of the Sectirity Council (S/16514) 1. The PRESIDENT [ihterpretation from Russiaiz]: In accordance with the decjsidfis taken at the previous meetings on this iteni (253Zst to 2533rd ri?eetitigs] I invite the tepresehtatities of Cyprus, Greece &fid Turkey to take places at the Ctiuncil table; I invite the representatives ;of Afghaiiistan, Afitigua and Barbuda, Australia, Ecuadoi-, Sri Lanka, the Syrian Arab R& pubiic and kugosiivia to take the places ieserved for thein at the side of the Cotincil chamber. 5. The situation in Cyprus has engaged the attention of the United Nations for fwo decades. During the past 20 Leafs this issue has been brought before the Council, BS well as the Gexi&al Assenibly, on numerous occasions. The deteriorating situation in that country necessitated the reconveriifig of the thirty-seventh session of the General Assembly in, hay of last year, and within six months the Security Council had to be convened as a result of the decision taken by the Turkish Cypriot side to declare uirilateral independence. At the irivitation of the President, Mr. Zacovou (Cyprus), Mr. Dountas (Greece) ahd Mr. Kirca (Turkey) took places at the Cotincil tab!e: Mr. Za~t~(AfghanLtan), Mr. Jacobs (Antigua andBarbtida), Mr. Woolcott (Australia), Mr. Albornoz (Ecuador), Mr. Wijeirjardane (Sri Lanka), Mr. AIAAtassi (Syriati Arab Republic) and Mr. Golob (Yugoslavia) took the places reserved for them at the side of the Councii chamber. 6. SeCuiity Council resolution 186 (1964), adopted in Match i964, dealt with the problem of the situation in Cyprus. The third preambular paragraph of that resolution made reference to the cardinal principles enshrined in Article 2 of the Charter of the United Nations. Since then the Security Council and the General Assembly have adopted resolutions on the subject, including Council resolution 365 (1974) and Assembly resolution 2. The PRESIDENT [interpretation from Russian]: I should like to inform members of the Council that 7. In 1974, when Cyprus was invaded and occupied, the international community believed that what happened in Cyprus was an aberration in international relations and only a temporary phenomenon. However, throughout the ensuing decade this belief has continued even when certain ominous developments took place in Cyprus, such as the unilateral announcement of February 1975 which declared that the occupied part of Cyprus would become “the Turkish Federated State of Cyprus”. 8. As we are aware, the Security Council and the General Assembly have recommended the continuation of intercommunal talks and have entrusted the Secretary-General with the responsibility of pursuing his mission of good offices. However, the international community, to its dismay, finds the situation in Cyprus continuing to deteriorate. Regrettably, while the Secretary-General was making every attempt to fulfil his mandate, the Turkish Cypriot side, on the other hand, was continuing its strategy of working against the resolutions of the Security Council. 9. Having declared unilateral independence in November last year, which was declared legally invalid by the Security Council, the Turkish Cypriot side has taken other steps, such as announcing its intention to adopt a flag of its own in March this year and holding “constitutional referendum” and “elections” in August and November 1984,‘respectively, as indicated in the Secretary-General’s report [S/Z6529]. The situation has been further aggravated by the decision to exchange ambassadors. We have to bear in mind that all these activities were set in motion by the Turkish Cypriot side at a time when the Secretary-General was conducting an active dialogue with the Government of Cyprus and the Turkish Cypriot side. 10. As a member of the Commonwealth, the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries and the contact group on Cyprus, Sri Lanka has closely followed the events in Cyprus. Sri Lanka views the recent developments that have taken place in Cyprus with deep concern and regret. We have consistently supported the independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity and non-alignment of the Republic of Cyprus and have called for both the withdrawal of foreign troops and non-interference in the internal affairs of Cyprus. 11. No sooner had the Government of Sri Lanka 17. The representative of Sri Lanka has just spoken in learned of the unilateral declaration of independence by very eloquent terms, and this morning [2533rdmeetingl 12. Cyprus has come before the Security Council once again because it is the principal organ of the United Nations which is responsible for the maintenance of international peace and security. The Council should not be complacent merely because there is no violence or bloodshed in Cyprus at present. It has to take into consideration the fact that the armed intervention against Cyprus took place 10 years ago and that the occupation of that country has continued since then. 13. In his report of 1 May; the Secretary-General has emphasized the importance of maintaining a continuing process of communication and negotiation and uninterrupted deployment of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP). The delegation of Sri Lanka wholeheartedly supports this position. It is my delegation’s fervent hope that the Security Council, having taken into consideration the report of the Secretary-General and the statements made before the Council, will decide on appropriate measures that would arrest the deteriorating situation in Cyprus. It is also our hope that the Council will give a fresh mandate to the Secretary-General to intensify his mission of good offices and call on all parties concerned to give their wholehearted co-operation to him, which is essential to finding a just and lasting solution to the problem of Cyprus. 14. In addition to any their decisions the Council may wish to make, it should also examine the most effective ways of implementing its previous resolutions on the subject, preferably within a given time-frame. 15. The PRESIDENT [interpretationfrom Russian]: Mr. Rauf Denktag, to whom the Council extended an invitation under rule 39 of its provisional rules of procedure at the 2531st meeting, wishes to make a further statement. With the consent of the Council, I invite him to take a place at the Council table and to make his statement. 16. Mr. DENKTAS: I thank you, Mr. President, for giving me a second opportunity to speak before the Council in order to make a further statement in reply to what we have heard about the Cyprus problem, yesterday and today, from various speakers. 18. Intercommunal talks are, as named, “intercommunal” talks. The concept of a legitimate Government within the intercommunal talks or over the intercommunal talks cannot be supported, having regard to the facts of Cyprus. And it is because this concept has been bolstered by people and countries that know little about Cyprus and that have been misinformed for many years that progress is not being made. I beg that the Secretary-General’s hands be untied, so that he may be free from this concept in conducting his good-offices mission. Otherwise, in making offers with this concept of “the Government of Cyprus’* as his starting-point, he is hindered from doing justice to the two sides. 19. I shall now refer to the allegations made by the Greek Cypriot side yesterday [253Zst and 2532nd meetings]. I shall begin by again pointing out that the Greek Cypriots who occupy the seat of Cyprus do not have the mandate of the whole of Cyprus. They are usurpers of power, usurpers of the name of the Government of Cyprus. They have no mandate under the Constitution because, were the Constitution still valid-and it is not, since they have consigned it to the waste-paper basket long ago-the Turkish Cypriot side would have to countersign their credentials and appointments to their posts, and there would also have to be Turkish Cypriot representatives with them. Since they have wiped out all Turkish Cypriot personnel from the organs of the State, they have no Turkish Cypriot representative there. It is a 100 per cent Greek Cypriot racist regime that is being presented to the Council and to the world as the Government of Cyprus. 26. It was stated yesterday by the Greek Cypriot representative that Turkey is the alien and undesirable element in Cyprus, that Turkey has come and partitioned the island. You will recollect that the green line was drawn in 1963 when Greek Cypriots attacked us with their secret armies in order to down us as a partner. community and in order to unite the island with Greece. The green-line division started then. The green line is where we stopped the Greek Cypriot aggressor. The green line is where the two communities, the two partners, fell apart because of the Greek Cypriot attack. To say that Turkey came and partitioned the island is misinformation and does not impute good will to us. 20. That is the first point I wished to make, and I shall make it repeatedly becausethis is the law and this is a fact in Cyprus; and unless we pay due regard to the laws and to the facts of the case, we shall not be able to find justice. Justice cannot be sought in the abstract and without a fair statement of facts and the law pertaining to them. 21. What are the facts of Cyprus? I stated them yesterday [2531st meeting]. The Republic of Cyprus-its independence and sovereignty-was not won by the Greek Cypriots. It was won by the two peoples of Cyprus as a result of a conflict-the conflict of union with Greece, which Greek Cypriots regarded as liberty-and our resistance to it because we regarded it as neocolonialism. 27. On this point let me refer to the Greek representative’s statement in July 1974, when he said: 23. In 1977, I agreed with Makarios to settle this problem by establishing the partnership in a bi-zonal federal republic. So if we have not gone there it is not because, as the Greek Cypriot side now proclaims, that Turkey, as an aggressor, has invaded Cyprus. Who has invaded Cyprus? I would like to remind the Council by citing Archbishop Makarios himself, who on 19 July 1974, talking to the Security Council, said: “The coup . . . is clearly an invasion from outside, in flagrant violation of the independence and sovereignty of the Republic of Cyprus. The so-called coup was the work of the Greek officers staffing and commanding the National Guard.” [See 1780th meeting, para. 18.1 24. The 15 July 1974 coup was an invasion and the invasion continues so long as there are Greek officers in Cyprus. This invasion could not be stopped by any country except Turkey, as a guaranteeing Power. Greek officers are still in Cyprus, their numbers are increasing, and there is the threat that they will increase even more. Yesterday I quoted Prime Minister Papandreou’s statement that he regards Cyprus as a Greek State and that he aims at uniting the two Greeces and making them into one, 25. That is the position, and I ask whether representatives who have been accusing us of fomenting a secessionist movement and of defying the Security Council are aware that, if we had not resisted what Greek Cypriots were doing in Cyprus, we would have been dead, or we would have been completely out of our own State. We have saved our State. We have saved our partnership rights and we are entitled to sit with our Greek Cypriot partner and reestablish the partnership; if that is what they wish to do. “Contemptuously disregarding the written warnings by former Foreign Minister Averoff, he”-Maka- So this Greek Cypriot’s presentation that Turkey came, invaded and divided the country is false information. Turkey came and prevented the utter invasion of Cyprus by Greek forces. Then we have all the records of the Secretary-General which show how the Greek army came into Cyprus first clandestinely and then openly. : : : : : 28. I should like to refer the Council to Papandreou’s book where he boasts about his father in the following words: : “On June 14” -this is 196A‘he sent Grivas, by then a Lieutenant General in the Greek army, to Cyprus, for the purpose of co-ordinating future military actions against the Turkish Cypriots. He also made good on his promise to smuggle in troops from mainland Greece. He entrusted Defence Minister Peter Garufalias with the responsibility of directing this operation. According to the noted journalist, Takis Torikopalos, Garufalias managed to pull off a magnificent coup under cover of darkness. Using only small yachts and fishing boats, 9,000 men and 950 officers, ‘fully equipped and heavily armed, landed in Cyprus.” These troops became the backbone of the new National Guard, the unconstitutionally created Cypriot army, Why? In order to pursue military actions against the Turkish Cypriots and to unite Cyprus with Greece. 29. And this is what Newsweek reports: “Before dawn each day the great iron doors of the Port of Limassol are slammed shut.‘Turkish Cypriot dockers are sent home. United Nations guards are barred. A few hours later the doors swing open and covered lorries, weaving on heavily overloaded springs, roar out of the Port and head northwards towards the Troodos Mountains”. 30. I put the following question to any representative who invites us to submit to the kind of organization represented by the Government of Cyprus: if three fourths of the population of your country accepted all these troops from another State with the intention of destroying your country; if they clandestinely defied United Nations Forces and prepared for action against one fourth of the population, and you were the one fourth; if they destroyed the constitutional setup and threw the whole Constitution and rule of law into the waste-paper basket, would you have accepted them as we are supposed to accept the Government of Cyprus? 31. How can representatives expect us to accept a situation to which they themselves would never bow as men of honour, as men who love their countries and as 32. We want the Government of Cyprus to be established as a binational government. We have made proposals, and we are waiting for the Greek Cypriots to come to the table and start the negotiations from the point where we left off. There is no other way and there is no other solution except the establishment of a federal republic of Cyprus, if Cyprus is going to be united. 33. When I last addressed the Council I said that if the unity of Cyprus was really desired its duality must be accepted--otherwise, there is no need for unity; unity exists. If the Government of Cyprus exists as a legitimate organ, there is no reason for the intercommunal talks at all, because the purpose of those talks is to establish a legitimate, bicommunal, binational, bi-zonal Government. So how can the Security Council, the General Assembly or the Non-Aligned Movement blow hot and cold at the same time, asserting that the legitimate Government has to be obeyed and that what it says is the order of the day, and tying the Secretary-. General’s hands so that he cannot move away from this concept, which blocks the way to peace, to a final settlement? This is my question to you all. 34. It becomes clearer to me with every meeting that the more votes they receive on their resolutions -which have nothing to do with the realities of Cyprus, and therefore we are forced not to accept those resolutions, because they are one-sided and based on the wrong concept-the surer they become of themselves, and we hear statements such as the one we heard yesterday that they are the sole legitimate Government of Cyprus and that is why they are in the Security Council. A 100 per cent Greek Cypriot administration, representing only the Greek Cypriots, not having dealt with the Turkish Cypriots for 21 years, except by attacking them and depriving them of their rights, says that it is the legitimate Government of Cyprus. According to the Security Council’s resolutions, Cyprus is a binational State, and intercommunal talks are required, urged and advised in order to settle the problem. 35. How can this be? It becomes possible with the one-sided resolutions and with this concept of the legitimate Government. I am not asking the Council to reverse its decisions on those points. All that I am asking representatives to do is to whisper into the Secretary-General’s ear that they know what kind of a legitimate Government the Greek Cypriots are at this stage, and know that at the negotiating table it is not necessary to ask the Turkish side to accept anything emanating from the so-called legitimate Government, as the Greek side does not have to accept anything emanating from the Northern Republic of-Cyprus. It is the two peoples, the co-founders of the Republic of Cyprus, the people who created the Republic of Cyprus as partners, talking in order to make a partnership State again possible. 37. Yesterday I read out to the Council passages from a report of the Secretary-General, to the effect that as a result of the 1963 onslaught on us, all our Turkish Cypriot personnel had been ejected from the bicommunal Republic of Cyprus. I shall read out again from the report of the Secretary-General of 10 September 1964, as follows: “The UNFICYP authorities, from the beginning of their mandate in Cyprus, gave serious consideration to this question and on several occasions raised it with the Cyprus Government. All negotiations on the possible re-employment of the Turkish Cypriot civil servants in Nicosia and their financial compensation from January 1964 have so far ended in a deadlock, as the matter is considered by the Government to be highly political and closely linked with the final settlement of the Cyprus question.” [See S/.5950, para. 108.1 That political question has not been settled so far, and for 21 years all Turkish civil servants have been unable to work at their posts, so they have worked for the Turkish Cypriot community in order not to let them down, in order not to leave them in a vacuum. But the Council was told seriously yesterday: “We never expelled anyone from the Government service. Turkish ministers were threatened out of o&e by Turkey.” Can the Council accept so much for so long? Can it be misled so openly on important matters where the life and liberty of a people are at stake? Can it act on such misinformation, and can representatives then go home and rest and sleep with their consciences clear that they have done justice to Cyprus? 38. What is the political matter which has to be settled? I refer to the Secretary-General’s report of 29 July 1965 [S/6.569]. Turkish Cypriot members of the Cyprus Parliament have been kicked out. They cannot go because of the situation, but they must go. We see that Greek Cypriots are making headway. We see that they are pleased with the fact that they have kicked us out, so we make representations to go, and I quote paragraphs 7 and 8 of the Secretary-General’s report: “The Turkish Cypriot members requested UNFICYP to extend its good offices to enable them to receive information about the time of meeting of the House, and to make arrangements for the Turkish Cypriot members to attend such meetings in safety. . . . “(a) The Turkish Cypriot members would resume their seats permanently rather than only for the purpose of the present debate; “(6) The Turkish Cypriot members would accept that the laws enacted by the House of Representatives would be applied to the whole of Cyprus”- laws enacted while Turkish members are out-and the House cannot act legitimately on a great deal of legislation without the Turkish members voting for or against-but we must accept as proper all legislation that they pass. Paragraph 8 continues: “(c) While the Greek Cypriot members would regard attendance at the House by the Turkish Cypriot members as implying recognition by them of the . . . Cyprus Government”-it has no Turk in it, but that must imply recognition of the Cyprus Govemment- “the Turkish Cypriot members would not be called upon to make a statement to that effect.” Secretly we would agree that we accepted them as the Cyprus Government. They know they are not, so they are putting this condition to us at gunpoint, that we must accept them-a 100 per cent Greek Cypriot racist regime-as the Cyprus Government, and it is that organization that the Security Council and the General Assembly have continued to treat as the legitimate Government of Cyprus. Paragraph 8 continues: “(d) It must be understood that the provision in article 78 of the Constitution concerning separate majorities had been abolished and every member of the House would have one vote for all decisions.‘* The Constitution had been abolished-by whom? By the Greek Cypriots. And we had to accept it. 39. The report goes on, in paragraph 9: “Mr. Clerides informed UNFICYP that he was prepared to discuss the situation during the afternoon of 22 July with a group of Turkish Cypriot members of the House. He subsequently indicated, however, that he would not receive this delegation if they came escorted by UNFICYP soldiers”-people are afraid to go to the Greek side, but they must not be escorted--” though he would not object to their being brought to his office in an UNFICYP automobile driven by an UNFICYP employee.” 40. This, 1 hope, gives members of the Council a picture of Cyprus, of the condition my community was in: we were without the protection of the Constitution, continues, in paragraph 9: destroy the sovereignty and independence of a State and unite it with Greece. “Finally, Mr. Clerides stated that unless the Turkish Cypriot members accepted the conditions laid down by him, he found it pointless to supply to them copies of the pending bills.” 41. The report then notes that this was passed on to the Turkish side and that the Turkish Cypriots did not accept it. They pointed out that it was contrary to the Constitution. In paragraph I I the report goes on: “During the afternoon, the Turkish Cypriot members visited the President of the House, who reiterated the substance of the points set forth in paragraph 8 above. He made it plain that, unless agreement was reached on these matters, he would not permit the Turkish Cypriot members to attend the House. Mr. Clerides also stated that the constitutional provisions concerning promulgation of the laws by the President and the Vice-President [conjointly] .were no longer applicable. He subsequently stated that in his opinion the Turkish Cypriot members had no legal standing any more in the House.” 42. We have been urged by the representative of India and others to submit to this Government. Would they submit to such an institution as the legal Government of a State? Would they bow to such indignity? Would their leader, the fighter, the renowned Gandhi, have advised them to submit to that indignity? That is the question. 43. This was the state of affairs. This is what people accepted as the Government of Cyprus and those who sit at the other end of this table are the remnants of that Government. 44. We did not bow to them, and we feel very proud of the fact that we did not. We lived in caves; we went hungry; Red Crescent food was denied us. But we did not bow to them. Turkey was not there invading the country; Greece was there with 20,000 troops, as I read out from Papandreou’s book. We did not bow to them, and we expected the Security Council to say to us, “Well done; you are upholding the validity of international treaties; you are upholding the independence and sovereignty of Cyprus; you are upholding human dignity with this fight.” But there was no one to tell the Council the truth. The few people, who were in the embassies of Cyprus were kicked out, so the Council heard only the Greek Cypriots. : : ._ : .- 45. If non-aligned principles recognize such Govemments as Governments fully entitled to rule other people by oppressing them and by denying them justice, then we must take a second look at those non-aligned principles. I do not think, though, that those principles provide for the oppression of a people by usurpers of 46. We have been shouting these things; why do the non-aligned peoples not hear us? What is wrong with us that we cannot make ourselves understood? We are fighting for our country, for our independence and for our sovereignty, which for 21 years have been grabbed from us. Every action we take is taken in order to establish that we exist, to prove to the world, and to them, that we shall never submit. 47. And they come and say to the Security Council that they never threw anyone out. Were Turkish Ministers threatened out of office by Turkey? And they say that there are “at least a few courageous Turkish Cypriots who defied Turkey and are still working with us”. I think of the prestige of the Council when such lies can be uttered. Only 134 Turkish Cypriots live in the south. We have exchanged populations; populations have moved because of the war and since the war; UNFICYP has carried them. Two zones have been established. Most of the 134 Turkish Cypriots who live in the south are old people attached to their homes. And the Council is told that “some courageous Turks have defied Turkey and are working with us” and that 150,000 cowardly Turks have obeyed Turkey and are not working with them. 48. Is the Council going to accept that presentation of the Cyprus facts? Is it going to condemn us on that presentation? Is it not going to look into the facts coolly? Is it not going to ask the Secretary-General to report on the realities of Cyprus as a beginning for his mission of good offices? Is it going to have him bogged down with the resolutions adopted on the basis of such misinformation? Those are my questions to the Council. Its resolution will either finish the intercommunal talks completely and leave Cyprus divided, or will-if there is to be a reasonable, good and balanced resolution-help the reactivation of the talks. We want reactivation of the talks. 49. We are told that the representative of the “Cyprus Government” never regarded Turkish Cypriots as second-class citizens. How true: we were regarded as fifth-, sixth-, or seventh-class citizens. We were regarded as rebels in our own country for having defied them, for having defied their armed activity and their conspiracy with Greece to annex Cyprus. We were regarded as rebels to be shot on sight, and we were shot on sight. We lost 103 villages. And he says to the Council that they never regarded us as second-class citizens. Just think what they would have done to us if they had so regarded us. 50. Let us have a very short look at how they treated the Turkish Cypriots whom they did not regard as second-class citizens, and ask yourselves, gentlemen 51. I shall read out from the report of the Secretary- General of 8 December 1967: “thousands of Turkish Cypriots fled from their homes, taking with them only what they could drive or carry, and sought refuge in what they considered to be safer Turkish Cypriot villages and areas.” [See S/8286, para. 126.1 From what were they .fleeing? Were they fleeing from the legitimate Govemment’of Cyprus or from those who had usurped the title, who had planned secret armies under different leaders, who had taken an oath to unite Cyprus with Greece and who had attacked us because the then Foreign Minister, Mr. Kyprianou, had reported to Makarios that the non-aligned were now ready by their votes to abrogate the 1960 treaties, and Turkey would never be allowed to intervene under those treaties? 52. From the report of the Secretary-General dated 10 September 1964 [S/5950]-and I shall summarize, from paragraph 190: “In addition to losses incurred in agriculture and in industry during the first part of the year, the Turkish community had lost other sources of its income, including the salaries of over 4,000 persons who were employed by the Cyprus Government and by public and private concerns located in the Greek Cypriot zones.” But we are told Turkey divided the country. No-their attack divided the country into Greek and Turkish zones. The paragraph continues: “The trade of the Turkish community had declined considerably . . . owing to the existing situation, and unemployment had reached a very high level, as approximately 25,000 Turkish Cypriots had become refugees. Expenditure of the Turkish Communal Chamber on development and other projects, as well as other expenditure, had dropped ,considerably as a yearly subsidy formerly received from the Govemment had ceased to be granted in 1964.” The subsidy was for the education of our elementary schoolchildren; that also had been stopped, and our children had to go to school in barns, in garages and places like that. The paragraph goes on: “In accordance with figures published by the Turkish Communal’ Chamber, the number of persons re- 53. Would the members of this Council ask us to accept those who treated us like this as the legitimate Government of Cyprus? If you do, then the Charter is not working. If you do, then the principles of non-alignment are not there. It is the right of man to be ruled with his consent, with his participation in the Government, not to be kicked around by gunmen who assume the role of the Government of Cyprus. 54. We ask members only to have a look at the facts, to ask the Secretary-General to take a new look at the facts, and not to take as a starting-point this Cyprus Government. Once you have that, you have missed the road and you have mistaken your goal. We all want to proceed towards a united Cyprus in a bi-zonal federal system. If that is also what the Greek Cypriots want, then they should accept this, and Mr. Kyprianou should not raise his nose and say, “I shall never speak to Mr. Denktas.” Why? “Because Mr. DenktaS or his people have established a State.” But we had a federated State which was functioning fully as a State, and he talked to me, and it was for the good of Cyprus. What has happened now? Because of his intransigence we had to take a further step. If this intransigence continues, what shall we do, gentlemen? We shall take even further steps, because there is a body politic living in Cyprus. You cannot kill it; you cannot destroy it; you cannot ask my people to live without the protection of a Government, without the protection of a State. They are entitled to it. They are human beings, and the Charter which gives you life provides that they should have this right. 55. From the report of the Secretary-General dated 31 May 1973: “Practically no progress has been made during the period under review towards a solution of the problem of the Turkish Cypriot displaced persons. There have been no’ negotiations on the general question for two years, but from time to time efforts are made to resettle abandoned villages.” [See S/20940, para. 67.1 56. In the report dated 1 December 1972 we learn that 103 villages have been abandoned and that we want to return to some of them. UNFICYP tries to help; people come and go to the so-called Government of Cyprus; but nothing happens. “No progress has been made towards solving the general problem of Turkish Cypriot displaced persons. The request for resettlement of the Turkish Cypriot village of Vroisha in Lefka district has been rejected by the Government on the basis that it would be economically unsound for the villagers.” [See S/10842, para. 48.1 “Although no cases of starvation have been noted in the Turkish-Cypriot areas, serious inconveniences have been caused to the people subjected to these restrictions and in some cases conditions have reached the hardship stage.” [See S/5950, paru. 205.1 The offtcial list of restricted items had reached 31 items. 58. In September 1965 the Turkish Cypriot leadership drew the attention of UNFICYP to the general question of housing for refugees. The question of supplying the Turkish Cypriots with building materials for improving the accommodation of the refugees was repeatedly taken up by UNFICYP with the highest authorities of the Republic, both as part of the general problem of the maintenance, repair and construction of houses and buildings in Turkish Cypriot areas and as a separate and special problem. Whatever the approach to the problem, the Government did not approve the release of building materials for the refugees. They did no harm to us. We were not second-class citizens. They are the legitimate Government of Cyprus. 59. There are several other quotations, but I shall not waste the Council’s time. I shall now deal with other matters which the so-called Cyprus Government thought fit to impose upon us. The quotations are so many, one loses one’s self in the deluge of authorities. 60. We were not second-class citizens; they treated us as Cypriots. But we should not mind when they said, “Enosis is the aim, and we shall unite the island with Greece at all costs.” That is what the President of the country, the man the non-aligned suppose is dying for the preservation of the independence of Cyprus, said on 27 October 1964, while Turkish blood was flowing to protect the independence and sovereignty of Cyprus. “Cyprus is Greek. Cyprus has been Greek since the dawn of its history, and will remain Greek. Greek and undivided we have taken it over, Greek and undivided we shall preserve it, Greek and undivided we shall deliver it to Greece.” Do you now understand, honourable members of the .Council, why there exists this anger that we have secured our part and are not going to allow them to unite the island with Greece? That explains the anger. 61. He continues: “Greece has become Cyprus, and Cyprus is Greece. I firmly believe that the Pan-Hellenic struggle for the union of Cyprus with fatherland Greece will shortly be crowned with success, and its success will serve as the beginning of a new era of Greek grandeur and glory.” 8 . 62. They never did any harm to us? This is from UPI, dated 20 August 1974: “Every hour new ditches and numerous corpses are being discovered. It is very difficult to endure the job.” My people are discovered in the ditches. 63. From The Washington Post of 23 July 1974: “In a Greek raid on a small village near Limassol, 36 people out of a population of 200 were killed. The Greeks said they had been given orders to kill the inhabitants of Turkish villages before the Turkish forces arrived. *’ We were hostages in their hands. If Turkey moved to save us, we would be killed; if Turkey did not move to save us, we would be destroyed. Is this the approach of peace, of equality, of Cypriotism, of the Government of a land? 64. From The Washington Post of 30 July: “In Alaminos village, near Lamaca, 14 Turks between the ages of 25 and 55 have been killed and buried in the earth with bulldozers , . . in a Greek raid on a small Turkish village near Limassol, 36 out of 200 killed. Greeks said they had orders to kill the Turks before the Turkish forces arrived.‘* That confirms the previous quotation. 65. From the Voice of Germany, on 30 July 1974: “The human mind cannot comprehend the butchery of the Greeks. In the villages around the Famagusta region the Greek national guards have displayed unsurpassed examples of savagery. Entering Turkish homes, they ruthlessly rained bullets on women and children. They cut the throats of any Turks.” 66. From The Times of London, ‘22 July 1974: “Thousands of Turks are held as hostages. Turkish women were raped and Turkish children killed on the streets. The Turkish Quarter in Limassol was burned down. The incidents have been confirmed by Greek Cypriots.” Would it add anything if I kept on reading out accounts of such ghastly scenes and of the treatment of my community? 68. Now we understand. The earth is dug. Greek vases are discovered all over Asia Minor, Cyprus, in the Greek islands. They are very valuable, very precious. That is why they chose to bury us: so that we would become precious findings later. That is all I can say to a man who, knowing history, knowing what has happened in Cyprus for the last 21 years, knowing the plans of the Greek Cypriot leadership, being part of it, the terrorism and the secret armies and the importation of Greek troops to Cyprus, comes and tells the Council that we are a precious and inseparable part of the people of Cyprus. That we are, of course we are. But we were not accepted like that, and we were not treated like that. 69. And then he says, should our community be let free the world would stand witness to one of the most moving scenes of reunion among countrymen with a common destiny and country. 70. Turkey was not in Cyprus before 1974, and what I have read out to the Council is what happened to us before 1974. Turkey was not there. We lost 103 villages because Turkey was not there. We lost 1,500 lives because Turkey was not there. Half of my people became destitute because Turkey was not there. We had 30,000 refugees because Turkey was not there. And we had no law, no order, no justice at all because Turkey was not there. And he says, “Turkey has come and stopped all that beautiful arrangement,” and, “If we are left alone again we shall be so pleased you will see joy in the country.” Is this information for the Security Council, or is it propaganda for people who know nothing about Cyprus? 71. Then we are told that Turkish Cypriots were not threatened by the coup, so we should have done nothing about it. The coup was for the union of Cyprus with Greece. Let us see how the Turkish Cypriots were threatened. 72. The Greek cemetery priest Papasetsos, who made a statement to the Greek press on 28 February I976, said: “In the cemetery there were two open graves and two bodies lying beside them. I went to see if I could recognize them. One was dead, but the other, acurlyhaired, fair complexioned 18-year-old youth, was moving. Startled, I turned back and shouted, ‘But officer, this man is alive.’ ‘Shut up, you dirty priest, or I will shut you up for good,’ the officer retorted. Then the youth was pushed into the open grave, which was tilled with earth. I swear to God that they buried this youth while he was still alive. “I remember the day they first came to me. They said: ‘Father, we have some dead bodies which we want you to bury.’ Gf course, I replied, and asked how many bodies they had. ‘Seventy-seven’, they said. An hour later a lorry arrived and I heard someone say, ‘Dump them outside.’ They were dead bodies; they were all put into one common grave, without waiting for identification by their relatives. The junta man is commonly called ‘Muskos’ supporter and so on. When he was asked if there were Turks among the dead, he said ‘Yes’.” 73. What happened? The coup was for union of Cyprus. Today the Council was asked: “Why has Turkey come because of the coup? It had not harmed us.” This is the approach, the mentality. Then he directed questions to all representatives: “Which country amongst us does not have a little trouble? Is that enough reason for Turkey to go and invade Cyprus?” 74. I repeat: Cyprus is not a proper State; it is a sui generis partnership State created by international agreements. And, because we did not trust the Greek Cypriots, we wanted guarantees. Only those guarantees have saved us from the ditches and saved the independent Republic of Cyprus. Had Makarios given us time for evolution, Cyprus would have grown up into nationhood-maybe. But revolution of this nature has destroyed it. 75. With regard to the complaints about Turkey’s interfering and so on, I told the Council yesterday that during the past three or four months Mr. Kyprianou has been to Athens 14 times getting orders, instructions and aligning policy with Greece. And if the negotiations have come to a halt, it is because of the policy of Papandreou which he underlined on 24 November 1983 in Brussels to the Athens News Agency, in the following words: “We can hold negotiations only for a unitary Cyprus. For us, neither federation nor confederation is an acceptable solution.” So why are we talking-intercommunal talks, good offices of the Secretary-General-if we are not talking about federation? And why are the talks not progressing? Because Greece is not allowing progress-that is why. 76. There have been complaints about our flag. When we had the Turkish flag and they had the Greek flag, they told the world that Turks had the Turkish flag. Now that we have our own flag they complain that we have our own flag. What is the implication? The implication is that we should have the Greek flag. We have refused it, we refuse it and we shall refuse it. The Greek flag is not our flag. We have our flag. 77. They have complained about a national anthem. Who are the complainants? Greek Cypriots who use the 78. Should we have brought them to the Security Council for adopting, under false pretences, the national anthem of Greece and presenting it to the world as the national anthem of Cyprus? And would India have agreed to three fourths of the nation securing a neighbouring country’s flag and presenting it as India’s flag without its consent? 79. Are we persons entitled to the same rights under the Charter as any other persons? Or, are we the slaves of the Greek era, denied everything? They are entitled to everything; we are denied everything in our own land, in our own partnership State. That is the picture of Cyprus. That is the trouble of Cyprus. That is the problem of Cyprus. And so long as the Council allows them to speak as the Government of Cyprus, as a 100 per cent racist regime, the problem of Cyprus will continue to bother the Council for ever. 80. We are accused of secessionist activities. I reject the accusation. One can secede from a legitimate existence. We were thrown out, kicked out, of our own State for 21 years. Then, when we put the “roof” of statehood over our heads, the Security Council, I am sorry to say, hurried to condemn us, without paying due consideration to the facts, because the leading countries hastened to condemn us for their own purposes. But I do not see that as a final position. I say: please take a look at your facts and please do so with compassion. 81. This is, again, what Makarios said on 2 March 1955: “Before Cyprus could unite with Greece, Greece had already united with Cyprus. How? Greece had sent her sons to struggle and die, if necessary, for their beloved brethren on the island.” Non-aligned peoples, countries and nations, that is the problem of Cyprus. 82. There have been complaints by one or two countries-which were informed only by the Greek Cypriots and the so-called representative of the Cyprus Govemment-that we are using Turkish lira. From 1963 we have been cut off from Cyprus pounds. We could not get Cyprus money unless we produced foreign exchange to the Central Bank of Cyprus, where all our reserves had been frozen-and are still frozen. We had to get help from Turkey in order to pay the Central Bank 83. When Turkey liberated us-thank God-we asked Turkey not to send us hard currency, of which it was very short, and we started to use Turkish lira. They have been complaining that that indicates aninvasion of Cyprus. This indicates the stealing of our rights in the Cyprus pound; it indicates nothing else. .But again, like the flag, in order to avoid further misunderstanding we are working on a scheme for producing our money, if there is no solution very soon. We have to, because this accusation is being repeated. How can .we reply to them? We cannot steal Cyprus money from them; it is all in the south. We cannot get it unless we give foreign exchange for it. What are we to do? Live without money, by exchanging beads? This is .not the era for that. Therefore we must have our money, but when we have it we shall be brought here again. 84. The Greek Cypriots say: “They now defy the Security Council, and they are going to have their own currency. ” That is why I say: a body politic has to live and has to survive. This is not defiance; this is a necessity of life because of what they have done to us. I beg members to understand that and to appreciate it. We are too little a people to defy the Security Council or any country at, all. We defy injustice; we defy wrong decisions; and we ask for correction while we try to give more information. If I have been speaking at great length-and I am sure members of the Council must be tired-it is because I do not get an opportunity like this all the time, whereas their ambassadors are going around, even today, purveying more misinformation to the world. We do not have that facility. 85. They say that we are using Turkish time. Well, our connections are with Turkey, thanks to you; you have cut us off from the ,world completely.’ All connections are with ‘Turkey; so what is more natural than to use Turkish’ time? And, indicatively, Turkey uses European time. Sometimes it goes one hour ahead; that does not matter; we are one hour earlier; it is our misfortune; it does not matter; it does not harm them. What have they done to us that we should use their time? Are we together? We have been separate for 21 years. But it is a question of complaint here; it is very significant. 86. Then they say: “We give the Turkish Cypriots water and electricity free.” At the talks there is stil1 a paper on compensation for exchange of properties, for what they owe to us, for what we owe to them, which we have not yet touched upon. All this will be touched upon. But they never say that since 1963 they have been using the waterworks of Larnaca-our water for the whole of Lamaca-free of charge. This is what happened when separation came in 1963, not in 1974. We are taking account of all this, and we shall settle with them one way or the other. But these are matters of complaint against us. 88. The rule of law is what we want. Those who destroyed the 1960 set-up by force of arms and shed the blood of my community for 11 years in order to annex Cyprus to Greece are not entitled to preach anything to us about the rule of law. We do not rely on might; we rely on right. Turkey has come to Cyprus to save us in accordance with international treaties. Had there been no such treaties, I am sure Turkish public opinion would still have obliged the‘ Turkish Government to come and stop the butchery of the twentieth century. We are grateful to Turkey for the sacrifices it has made in saving us from being destroyed. 89. In this statement-and again I apologize for its length--Ihave tried to draw a correct picture of.the events. But I have been accused by the other side of picking out scattered events over the past. 20 years. Therefore, let me show members again what are those facts. First, the planned onslaught for enosis and the destruction of independence still goes on. Secondly, the ejection of Turkish Cypriot personnel from all parts of the administration and all organs of the State still goes on. Thirdly, the ejectionof members of Parliament still goes on. Fourthly, confiscation or freezing of all Turkish Cypriot assets at the Central Bank of Cyprus still goes on. Fifthly, the denial of all constitutional legal and fiscal rights still goes on. Sixthly, the ousting of Turkish Cypriots from the budget of Cyprus has been going on for 21 years. There is also the destruction of 103 villages and IO7 mosques and forcing people to leave as refugees for 11 years; relief came only ‘with Turkey’s arrival. There are the dead and the missing. Those are the permanent edifices which continue to stand high, confirming my version of events, and no elocution can conceal the true facts if only one takes the trouble to consider them. 90. A State exists for the protection, happiness and prosperity of its people and is formed by the people. The non-aligned and all Members of the United Nations have taken it for granted that because they have retained the name of “Government of Cyprus” that is how they will look upon the State of Cyprus. 91. I shall read out from .the official press release No. 4 of 1 April 1967 of the Greek Cypriot Public Information Office, which contains a statement by “Another essential prerequisite is the maintenance by the Greek Cypriots of their national issue as such” -there is no Cypriot national issue. “They should never think that the Cyprus question can be considered a political matter even for a moment. It is neither a political, nor a party nor a personal matter. It is a national issue, both for Cyprus and Greece.” I ask members: Where are we if it is a national issue for Cyprus and Greece? Where are the Turkish Cypriots? Where is Cypriotism? He continued, “And the solution cannot be anything else but enosis.” 92. At this critical stage which the Cyprus struggle is passing through there is a great advantage which did not exist in 1955, and that is the fact that Cyprus now has a voice of its own in the international field. In spite of a large number of disadvantages, Cyprus is now an independent and sovereign State and, therefore, its struggle for union with Greece is easier and shorter than before. The non-aligned countries tirst, and the whole United Nations thereafter, have been and are being used to this end, because no one has raised the curtain to look beyond the name “the Government of Cyprus” and see what it is and why it is. For them it is the State of Cyprus. For us, it is the end. It is not a means to an end. For us it is homeland; it is our State, our independence, and we do not want it to be made Greek. 93. Finally, I will iust cite a quotation from the Greek daily, Eleft&rotyph, of 29 April 1984, in order to show the Council the Greek mentality: ’ _. “The developments in Cyprus will fohow the path wished by the Turks and Denktas. The Cyprus problem can only be solved by the Greek army. This ignominy started in Izmir in 1920/1922”-when they tried to invade Turkey; they were thrown back- “The ignominy which started in Izmir, and ended with the’establishment of a State by Denktag, can only be washed away by bloodletting. The Greek army has responsibility and honour. It is high time to show up along the borders and hack the feet of the new Atilla. ** That is the mentality of those who request Council resolutions giving them title to Cyprus and condemning us as enemies of Cyprus, as secessionists. They will then use those resolutions to attack us and clear Cyprus of the Turks. . 94. I hope the Council will examine the facts of Cyprus anew and will give the Secretary-General the task of acting on the facts of Cyprus without having his hands tied by the imagined existence-of a legitimate 95. I thank you, Mr. President, and I apologize for the length of my statement. 96. Mr. CHAMORRO MORA (Nicaragua) [interpretationfiom Spunish]: As this is my first statement in the Council this month, Sir, may I express my personal satisfaction at seeing you acting as President of the Council. We are familiar with your diplomatic and political experience and your skill in confronting and resolving difficult situations. Our two peoples and Governments enjoy fraternal relations of friendship based on full respect for the principle of the sovereign equality of States, regardless of their size, population or military or economic might, and we share respect for recognition of the fact that inter-State relations must be based on respect for the principle of self-determination. All this guarantees the success of our work and ensures that we will find solutions to the difftcult problems confronting mankind. One such problem is the important one before us which, in our opinion, is the result of foreign military intervention in Cyprus. 97. Also, Mr. President, through you, I would like to congratulate the representative of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic for the splendid manner in which he conducted the proceedings of the Council last month. We personally witnessed, because of the complaint we brought, the skill he demonstrated in conducting the work of the Council. 98. My delegation listened yesterday [243Jst meeting] with great interest to the brilliant presentation by Mr. Spyros Kyprianou, President of the Republic of Cyprus. We were much impressed with his faith in the international community and, furthermore, with his hope that this body would assume its rightful responsibility in maintaining peace and international security and consequently take appropriate action to ensure compliance with its resolutions on the subject. We were also impressed with his people’s clamouring forjustice. His is a small but proud country, a non-aligned country which, against its will, has seen 40 per cent of its territory militarily occupied. He has demanded a just and peaceful solution to the problem and to the military intervention which has existed since 1974. 99. The problem at present before us is of great concern to my Government, not only because of the important universal principles that are being violated, respect for which is of fundamental importance to the international community, but also because Cyprus’ lawful 100. Furthermore, Cyprus is a founding member of, and enjoys great prestige and respect in, the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries, which has constantly tried to find a just and lasting solution to the problem of Cyprus, not only through the communiques issued after its various summit or ministerial meetings, but also by setting up a contact group made up of members of the Movement which have made many efforts along these lines. 101. For these reasons, and because of the importance of the subject, we would like to begin our statement with a reference to the message sent by Mrs. IndiraGandhi, Prime Minister of India and Chairperson of the Non-Aligned Movement, to our heads of State, following the unilateral declaration of independence which is the precise reason for this meeting. In that message, which reflects the feelings of the great majority of the international community, our Chairperson said that the Movement as a whole could only express its surprise and concern over that declaration, which not only undermined the unity of Cyprus but also violated its territorial integrity and sovereignty and jeopardized the non-aligned status of the island as a whole. 102. The members of the Movement, whose membership should be based on faithful compliance with its principles, have an unshakeable commitment to the sister non-aligned Republic of Cyprus to work to revoke the unilateral declaration and to support the Secretary-General’s efforts to ensure full respect for the unified status of Cyprus and to curb all activities aimed at recognizing or supporting the so-called Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, which is nothing but a new term for foreign occupation, intervention and interference. 103. Nicaragua, as a non-aligned country, expresses its fu!l support for the sister Republic of Cyprus, its people and Government, and reiterates its commitment to continue to give all the solidarity and support necessary to bring about the complete revocation of the unilateral declaration of independence, the immediate withdrawal of all occupying forces, the comptete demilitarization of Cyprus as proposed by its President, and the realization of its legitimate right to independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity, unity and nonalignment. 104. Since the invasion and occupation of part of Cyprus by foreign forces in 1974, both the Security Council and the General Assembly have adopted numerous resolutions aimed at bringing about a just and lasting solution to the problem of Cyprus. Security Council resolution 365 (1974)-which urged the immediate implementation of General Assembly resolution 3212 (XXIX), unanimously adopted by the General Assem- 105. In those resolutions the international community has reflected its full support for the independence, territorial integrity, sovereignty and unity-of Cyprus and its repudiation of the occupation of part of its territory by foreign forces, demanding the immediate withdrawal of all the occupation forces. At the same time, those resolutions consider that the defucto situation created by the invading forces cannot form part of a solution to the problem and urge the parties to refrain from any unilateral acts which could have a negative impact on the prospects for a just and lasting solution to the problems of Cyprus. 106. As long ago as 1975 the Security Council had to consider the decision taken at that time to turn the part of Cyprus occupied by foreign forces into a “Federated Turkish State”, and it adopted resolution 367 (1975), which, inter aliu, regretted that unilateral decision and reiterated the principles contained in previous resolutions, requesting the Secretary-General to undertake a mission of good offices and calling upon the two communities to co-operate. 107. Furthermore, Security Council resolution 541 (1983), adopted last November, was produced when, to the perplexity of the whole world, new attempts were being made to divide the Republic of Cyprus, in flagrant violation of previous resolutions which called on all States to-respect the sovereignty, independence, integrity and non-alignment of Cyprus and not to take any action which would violate those rights. That resolution, for which our delegation voted, deplored the declaration by the Turkish Cypriot authorities of the secession of part of the Republic of Cyprus, and, in paragraph 2, considered the declaration legally invalid and called for its withdrawal. It also called upon all States not to recognize any Cypriot State other than the Republic of Cyprus, renewed the Secretary-General’s mandate to pursue his mission of good offices and called upon the parties to co-operate with him. 108. In this respect, it is important to recall here that after the declaration by the Turkish Cypriot community purporting to establish an independent State called the “Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus”, the Secretary-General made a statement [see 2497th meeting, pm-u. 91 in which, in addition to expressing his opinion that the step was contrary to the Security Council resolutions and the high-level agreements of 1977 and 1979, he said that the declaration impeded the efforts of his Special Representative, who had arrived in Cyprus only a few days earlier. 109. In recent weeks we have seen how the Secretary- General’s Special Representative has again been exposed to a similar situation,- when while he was in 110. It is my delegation’s opinion that the Security Council must not allow its resolutions and its authority to continue to be undermined, for ultimately what is at stake is our ability to prevent the use of force, military adventurism and foreign intervention and occupation -direct or indirect, overt or covert-from prevailing in international relations, contrary to the norms of international law, which every day is violated more frequently by some Members of our Organization. 111. Ever since 1975, when we gave him his present mandate, the Secretary-General has acted with great prudence and skill and has tried to bring about a just and lasting political solution to the problem of Cyprus. In his report of 1 May 1984 [S/16529] he has told us of his most recent actions. His proposals to the parties have been marked by great moderation, as we could see in the plan submitted to the leader of the Turkish Cypriot community on 16 March this year [ibid., puru. 141. This plan, consisting of five points, has not met with the necessary receptiveness which would allow further progress in his actions. 112. We see that while the Secretary-General appealed to the parties not to take any actions complementary to the declaration of 15 November 1983, or to continue carrying out the initiatives which were under way, a few days earlier-on 6 March 198,‘the Turkish Cypriot leaders had announced their intention to adopt their own flag. After the Secretary- General submitted his plan on 10 April, Mr. Denktas announced that he would carry out a constitutional referendum and an election in August and November this year. All this shows that the intent to consolidate the so-called Turkish Cypriot State continues to exist, and that for one of the parties Security Council resolution 541 (1983) is a dead letter. 113. This Council and, through it, the international community have heard the appeal of the President of Cyprus for an end to a situation which in fact represents the partition of Cyprus and which constitutes an attack on the very existence of that small State. We have heard what we already knew about the great flexibility shown by the legitimate Government of the country in the negotiations with the communities, despite occupation by a foreign military force. 114. We think it is very important that the Council assume its proper role in the settlement of the problem before it. The words of President Kyprianou should give us pause; especially in view of the disappointing

May I take this opportunity, Mr. President, of associating myself fully with the tributes paid to you by my colleagues who spoke before me. Since this is the second time my delegation has participated in the deliberations of the Security Council under your presidency, we are keenly aware of your exceptional personal qualities and your wealth of diplomatic skill, experience and statesmanship. We are confident that your tested leadership will enable the Council to conduct its business successfully and effectively during’your presidency. I avail myself of this opportunity also to express our deep appreciation of the excellent manner in which your predecessor, Mr. Vladimir Alekseyevich Kravets, guided the work of the Council during the month of April. .: 116. On this occasion the Security Council has been convened to consider the exchange of envoys which took place last month between Turkey and Northern Cyprus, and the intention of the Turkish Cypriot leadership to conduct a constitutional referendum and elections later this year. We have listened with great attention and due care to the statements by President Kyprianou and by those who have spoken in support of the territorial integrity and unity of Cyprus, which, indeed, is a common concern of both sides to the dispute. We have also paid equal attention to the eloquent presentations made by Mr. Denktas and by the representative of Turkey concerning the genesis of the Cyprus problem and the circumstances which made the latest developments inevitable. . 117. It,is easy to work oneself into a rage on the basis of one set of assumptions, or into despair and condemnation on the basis of another. It would not be at all helpful in the present circumstances, however, to take a one-sided view, when a genuine attempt has to be made to bring about a negotiated and peaceful settlement of the Cyprus question, the origins of which lie in the developments which immediately followed the independence of Cyprus, in particular the breakdown of its constitutional setup in 1963. 118. The Security Council has been seized of the Cyprus question for the past 20 years, during which events have marched inexorably towards the present state of affairs, when Cyprus is virtually divided into two separate entities. Those who allowed the distortion of the political processes in Cyprus 20 years ago by neglecting the historical and cultural realities of the situation did not appear to have comprehended its implications or to have foreseen its culmination in the present impasse. Today, all of us are called upon to take an impartial, farsighted and statesmanlike view of the current 119. The last occasion on which the situation in Cyprus was the subject of a full debate in the Security Council was in November 1983, when the Turkish Cypriot community and its leadership made a proclamation of independence. That debate culminated in the adoption of resolution 541 (1983). We opposed that resolution on the ground that it failed to take into account the historical and cultural aspects of the process of political evolution in Cyprus and the profound sense of disappointment and outrage of the Turkish Cypriot community, engendered by the frustration of the political process envisaged at the birth of the island’s independence. 120. The defiant course to which the Turkish Cypriot community has been obliged to resort is a product of its despair at the bleakness of efforts made over the past 20 years to ensure the fulfilment of its historical, cultural, political and humanitarian aspirations as guaranteed to a co-founder of the State of Cyprus under the 1960 Constitution. Viewed in its proper historical perspective, the Turkish Cypriots’ decision to proclaim independence last November was no more a violation of international law than the numerous grave violations which had preceded it. That is why we regarded the adoption of resolution 541 (1983) as compounding rather than mitigating the circumstances which threatened to shake the very foundations of the State. 121. In disassociating itself from resolution 541 (1983). Pakistan cautioned the membersof the Council that such a resolution would neither serve the cause of conciliation in Cyprus nor help the Secretary-General’s mission of good offices, which it was intended to promote. We were not, therefore, surprised when, following the adoption of the resolution, it was categorically rejected by the Turkish Cypriot leadership. 122. The one-sided nature of resolution 541 (1983) could not have been expected to facilitate the task of the Secretary-General while renewing his mandate to use his good offices. In view of the inherent flaw in the resolution as a basis for initiating conciliation efforts, it redounds to the Secretary-General’s prestige and statesmanship that he succeeded nevertheless to reactivate contacts with the two Cypriot communities and offer them a five-point scenario which yet holds the promise of developing into a framework for the resumption of high-level intercommunal talks. Here, I should like to draw the attention of the members of the Council to the compatibility of the five-point scenario with the four-point proposal made by Mr. DenktaS in his letter of 18 April to the Secretary-General [ibid., annex ZV). 123. Like the proclamation of independence by the Turkish Cypriot community last November, the recent developments in the field of diplomatic exchanges between the Turkish Cypriot community and Turkey must not be seen in isolation from the unresolved con- 124. In the statements made before the Council by Mr. Denktas there are important elements which strengthen our belief that it is not too late to retrieve the situation in Cyprus and to nourish the roots of conciliation and coexistence in a federal State, which lie in that situation. His statements made it quite clear that the Turkish Cypriot community continues to adhere to the concept of a united Cyprus within a bicommunal, bizonal and federal framework, as provided for by the high-level agreements between the leaders of the two Cypriot communities in 1977 [see S/12323, paru. 51 and 1979 [see S/13369, para. 511 and by the 1980 opening statement of the Secretary-General [S/14100, annex]. The continued loyalty of the Turkish community to the federal concept is predicated on its expectation that such a framework would ensure the fulfilment of its legitimate aspirations to equal partnership in the conduct of the affairs of the State. The right of the Turkish community to equal status and partnership is sui generis, being inherent in the 1960 Constitution, and cannot be qualified or diminished by the stipulation of customary distinctions between a majority and a minority community-within a State. 125. In these circumstances we may ask how the Council should respond to the developments in Cyprus and how it should pronounce itself on the matter that has been brought before it? In our view the Council would be shirking a major responsibility if it were to limit itself to announcing a verdict on the immediate developments, which are but a symptom of a deep and recurring malaise. The lesson of the tragic happenings of the past 20 years is that the panacea for this malaise lies in the establishment of a bicommunal, bi-zonal federal structure for the State of Cyprus. While this option is still available and the unity of the State of Cyprus within a federal framework is still a viable proposition, a beginning has to be made towards that end with the resumption of the intercommunal dialogue. Any preconditions which are unacceptable to one or the other community would only serve to freeze the negotiating process and lead inevitably to the consolidation of the defucto partition of the island. 126. The Turkish Cvoriot communitv’s readiness for a dialogue and the resumption of intercommunal talks through the good offices of the Secretary-General is vouched for in the statement made before the Council by Mr. Denktas, who also speaks ,of the Turkish Cypriot community’s desire to engage in serious nego- 128. In order to revitalize the search for a peaceful settlement of the Cyprus question the Council is now called upon to adopt a resolution which would provide the necessary political support to the good offices of the Secretary-General and facilitate his task by encouraging dialogue and the negotiating process. This purpose can be served only by the adoption of a resolution which is not rejected by either side. It goes without saying that a mandate based on a resolution unacceptable to one of the communities would hardly generate the kind of political support which the Secretary- General regards as essential for the renewal and success of his mission of good offices. 129. Here is another opportunity for the Security Council to turn the course of events in Cyprus in the right direction. Pakistan will extend its full co-operation to any effort to promote conciliation, understanding, confidence and trust between the two Cypriot communities and will support any step which would put the Secretary-General’s mission of good offices back on the tracks, reviving the hope for a peaceful and just solution of the Cyprus question. By the same token Pakistan may not be expected to associate itself with any step which would further embitter the relations between the two communities, complicate the task entrusted to the Secretary-General and perhaps extinguish forever the hope for a united Cyprus built on the consensus of the communities that constitute it. 130. Mr. ARIAS STELLA (Peru) [interpretation from Spanish]: It is a particular pleasure for the delegation of Peru to see you, Sir, presiding over this meeting. Your diplomatic abilities and poise, your calm and amiable manner, as well as your warm personality, guarantee success in the discharge of your responsibilities as President of the Security Council for this month. I should also like to express the gratitude of my delegation to Mr. Kravets of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic for the skill and brilliance with which he conducted the proceedings of this body last month. We extend to him our most sincere congratulations. 132. Almost half this time has been spent in pursuing what, in ourjudgement, constitutes the keystone of this ongoing conciliation effort-namely, the discharge of the mission of good offices the international community has entrusted to the Secretary-General and which it has renewed on successive occasions. 133. The Security Council and the General Assembly have from the very beginning, and on repeated occasions since, right up to December of last year, taken a position on the facts which have kept the question of Cyprus on the list of the most burning international conflicts. The resolutions that have been adopted also contain the guidelines for the negotiation of a broad, just and definitive political settlement. 134. It is well known that the Peruvian Government has given its wholehearted support to the framework laid down by the United Nations and the consistent positions adopted by the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries which have been reaffirmed at so many of its meetings, because we believe that those positions are based on the common objective of ensuring strict respect for the norms of international law set forth in the Charter and other international instruments, norms that have largely been violated in the case of the Cypriot people. We believe it to be our duty to stress now that those positions retain their validity and their force. 135. For these reasons, and bearing in mind the renort of the Secretary-General in document S/16519, Peru shares the legitimate concern of the international community in noting that in spite of the process promoted by the United Nations, results have not so far been forthcoming that give grounds for hoping for any early understanding between the parties to the dispute. 136. It is our understanding that at the present stage of this conflict there are three substantive aspects that must be given priority attention. 137. First, we must bear in mind the principle that the final understanding which is the ultimate objective of the ongoing attempts must ensure recognition of and respect for the federal nature, sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Cyprus, as well as its non-aligned status, with all the attributes necessary for it to exercise those rights effectively. 139. Thirdly, it is necessary to revitalize the goodoffices mission of the Secretary-General with the most solid and unequivocal support, both of the parties directly concerned and of the international community. 140. If the Security Council has to take a further decision on the question of Cyprus, we believe it should do so in the light of the elements I have just mentioned. 14 1. My delegation is aware that the question of Cyprus is extremely complex and delicate. In this case, and in the positions taken by the countries concerned, we have seen the introduction or frequent influence of elements alien to the essence of the problem and to the interests of the Cypriot people, the effect of which is undoubtedly disruptive and distorting. It cannot be denied that these factors, whatever the explanation for them may be from the various national standpoints, underlie the procrastination and the danger of paralysis that are affecting this process. 142. My delegation cannot refrain from expressing its appreciation for the work being done by UNFICYP, which, apart from discharging its lofty mission so efficiently, has, as Secretary-General does welI to point out in his report, been lending its co-operation in the solution of immediate humanitarian problems, and in this regard it is important for us to recall that the situation in Cyprus is also a basically human probIem, with its tragic toll of lives, disappearances and the mass displacement of people from their homes. 143. With a view to reinitiating the common quest for formulas that will clear the way to a negotiated agreement that would take into account the interests of the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities, that is to say the Cypriot people, under the auspices of the Secretary-General, we urgently appeal to the responsible Governments and leaders to adopt realistic and constructive positions. We appeal to them to demonstrate unequivocally their dedication to peace and a genuine poiitical will. Neither isolated or unrecognized unilateral acts, no matter how numerous they ‘may be, nor intransigent or extreme positions, no matter how comprehensible they may be, will contribute to the common goal of restoring harmony in the island. The meeting rose at 6.3.5 p.m. HOW TO OBTAIN UNITED NATIONS PUBLICATIONS United Nations publications ma> 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 sent en vente dam les librairies et les agences depositaires du monde entier. Informer-vous aupres de votre libraire ou adressez-vous a : Nations Unies. Section des ventes. New York ou Geneve. COMO CONSEGUIR PCBLICACIONES DE LAS NACIONES UNIDAS Las publicaciones de las Naciones Unidas estan en venta en librerias y casas distribuidoras en todas panes de1 mundo. Consulte a su librero o dirijase a: Naciones Unidas. Section de Ventas. Nueva York o Ginebra. Litho in United Nations, New York 00400 90-61313~January 1993-2,050