Sir, - May I be allowed to comment on the views expressed by the Turkish Foreign Minister, Mr Gürel, and the Turkish Cypriot leader, Mr Denktash, as recited by David Shanks (Letter from Cyprus, July 29th)?
Twenty-eight years have elapsed since the Turkish invasion of Cyprus. Turkey continues to deny the most basic human rights and freedoms to the people of Cyprus; to prevent the 200,000 refugees from returning to their ancestral homes; to keep the country divided along ethnic lines; to systematically destroy our 9,000-year-old civilisation, cultural and religious heritage in the occupied area; to repopulate the occupied north with thousands of mainland settlers; and to create unbearable living conditions, driving thousands of Turkish Cypriots to emigration, to the point that Turkish Cypriots themselves warn that Turkey's policy is eradicating them.
Turkish Cypriots have already become a minority in the occupied area. According to the latest figures of the EU Commission, there are today only 89,000 Turkish Cypriots living in the occupied areas, while there are 110,000 Anatolian settlers.
To put things in perspective, one should mention that there were 120,000 Turkish Cypriots in Cyprus in 1974, amounting to 18 per cent of the total population of the island. In accordance with their normal demographic pattern there should have been today more than 160,000.
Turkey and the leadership of the Turkish Cypriot community do not see any problem because, according to them, "Turks are replaced by Turks" (sic!). More and more Turkish Cypriots are waking to the reality that their individual and collective aspirations and expectations are thwarted by the imperatives of Turkey's geo-strategic interests.
Every time we try to talk about the events in Cyprus and the painful experiences of our people, we face the harsh and fierce reaction of Turkey and the Turkish Cypriot leadership, who prefer to distort realities. It is certainly very difficult in today's world to navigate through the waves of propaganda, misleading information and the suppression of the voice of the small and weak.
When we invoke the rule of law, human rights, the resolutions of the United Nations, the decisions of international judicial bodies, they retort by calling all these a legalistic approach. They feel powerful and prefer the law of the jungle where sheer might prevails without any mitigating factor.
All efforts to reach a settlement throughout the years have been frustrated by the arrogant stance of Turkey. As has been repeatedly stated by all parties involved in efforts for a solution, including the UN Secretary General, the lack of progress towards a settlement is due to the lack of political will on the Turkish side. Their intransigence has recently reached a climax by setting extravagant pre-conditions for progress in the ongoing talks.
Despite the High Level Agreements and the UN Security Council Resolutions calling for a federal, bi-communal and bi-zonal state comprising two equal constitutive parts, they insist on their totally unacceptable proposal for a "confederation" which aims at destroying Cyprus as a sovereign and independent state and turning it into a Turkish protectorate.
The only window of opportunity is the potential and the dynamic created by the prospect of Cyprus's accession to the EU. The completion of accession negotiations by the end of the year and full membership of the Union by January 1st, 2004 will be the fulfilment of a dream, a wish, a vision for the future for the vast majority of Greek and Turkish Cypriots. Not only because accession to the Union is the natural course of Cyprus, underpinned by her history, civilisation and values; not only because we wish to contribute to the process of European integration; but also because we believe that accession will also contribute vastly to the pursuit of our top priority: healing our open wound; finding a solution to the Cyprus problem.
We are genuinely determined to renew and invigorate confidence, trust, co-operation and interaction between the communities in Cyprus. Our two communities have a common destiny. We want our accession to be an all-inclusive process, which will benefit all Cypriots. Where sacrifices are necessary in order to adjust, we are ready to make them.
The Turkish reaction to this prospect has been a fierce rejection of this idea and the mobilisation of every possible means to hinder our accession process. However, it would be immoral to hold Cyprus hostage to Turkish intransigence.
The absence of major military conflict in Cyprus in recent years should not delude us. In the absence of a political solution, the perpetuation of the present status quo would inevitably increase the tension. A by-product of this vicious circle would be greater tension in our sensitive area, a situation where potential dangers for peace and stability in Eastern Mediterranean would certainly arise.
Finally, I would like to reiterate my firm belief that the peace process in Northern Ireland has made the situation in Cyprus look even more anachronistic and more obscene.
At the dawn of the 21st century, "ending divisions" should be the prevailing leitmotiv in Cyprus as everywhere in the world. - Yours, etc.,
Dr NICHOLAS EMILIOU, Ambassador of the Republic of Cyprus,
Dublin 2.