We demand Recognition of our Sovereignty and Equality  "Peace At Home, Peace With the World" 27 Old Gloucester St.London WC1 3XX

Sophoclides the almighty gets them going again!

Following the report by The Sunday Times on 13 September, which revealed that Haris Sophoclides, a Greek Cypriot businessman, made hefty donations to John Prescott's election campaign and that the deputy prime minister took holidays in Sophoclides' luxury villa, another revelation concerning donations made to Labour party by drug lords was made by The Observer.

London based Greek Cypriot newspaper Parikiaki also covered the news under the headline  "Drug lords with Cypriot (Greek Cypriot) connection gave Labour dirty cash for election fund".

According to these recent revelations, Michael Papamichael, the Greek Cypriot member of a crime organisation known as the Adams Family, made the donations on behalf of the family.

The Observer also reported that Androulla Adams; the Greek Cypriot wife of Sean Adams will be facing money-laundering charges.

It is very likely that, as previously argued by the Labour party officials, the donations were accepted without the source of the funds being known. However what comes across loud and clear is that the Greek Cypriots have invested in the Labour party heavily with donations and freebies such as the so-called fact finding missions by certain high ranking Labour party members. The facts of Cyprus are very clear. No further facts can be discovered by visiting only one side of the island three times a year.

Meanwhile, relationships between the Greek Cypriot businessmen like Haris Sophoclides and high ranking Labour party members continue albeit the revelations.

According to the illegal Cyprus news agency CNA, British Secretary of State for Heritage, Media and Sport, Chris Smith, speaking at a fringe meeting on 27 September 1998, before the Labour Party Conference at Blackpool said that he believed "the key to resolving at long last the Cyprus question, restoring a united island of Cyprus does lie through the EU and the pressure the EU can bring to bear on Turkey". Smith said he had long formed the view that Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash "is almost certainly unmoveable in his determination to preserve the status quo", on the island.

"Every attempt that has been made for some progress has been rebuffed," he remarked, pointing out that "the only way we are eventually to get progress is through shifting Turkey and Turkey deciding to exert pressure that Mr Denktash cannot ignore.” He declared this to be “ the way forward."

 Also speaking at the meeting, which was chaired by Minister of Transport, Alan Meale, Euro-MP Pauline Green expressed the "absolute certainty" that Cyprus will join the EU.

On his part, Labour MP, Tom Cox, who attended the recent session of the Council of Europe Assembly where Titiana Loizidou's case came up, stressed "Turkey will have either to accept the decision of the (European) Court or to leave the Council. Any attempt by Turkey for a compromise on the judgement or for a delay will not be accepted."

Illegal CNA reported that so-called Cyprus' High Commissioner, Michalis Attalides and the president of the Cypriot Brotherhood of Britain, Haris Sophoclides, also spoke at the Labour Party meeting.

Last year a similar gathering was organised by Sophoclides in Blackpool during the Labour conference and was attended by John Prescott, Pauline Green and other Labour Party members where similar messages were given.

Chris Smith’s accusation of President Denktash for being intransigent is based on suspect reasoning. He either never bothered to look into the reasons for the failure of the talks since the late 1960s or he really does not care for a solution and is merely trying to make his Greek Cypriot friends happy. It is a shame that all those fact-finding missions did not really amount to much.

On the other hand, when Mr. Tom Cox expressed concern about the Greek Cypriot woman's compensation, did he for one moment stop to consider who is going to compensate the Turkish Cypriots who suffered at the hands of the EOKA terrorists like Clerides? How and who is going to compensate the Turkish Cypriots who were put in mass graves? Can they be brought back to life? Mr. Cox is old enough to remember the atrocities that the Turkish Cypriots suffered at the hands of the Greek and Greek Cypriot terrorists.

While on the personalities who attended the fringe meeting, it is worth reminding the Labour Party members that Michalis Attalides, the person they treat as the so called representative of Cyprus, was heavily criticised by Greek Cypriot newspaper Parikiaki for holding a remembrance day for general Grivas at the high commission in London last year. Grivas was the notorious EOKA terrorist responsible for the murder of hundreds of British, Turkish and Greek Cypriots. Do the ladies and gentlemen in question care that Attalides is an EOKA supporter like his masters in South Cyprus?

PRESIDENT DENKTASH IN NEW YORK

President Rauf Denktash of the TRNC speaking at the UN General Assembly Meeting in New York on 30 September ruled out any return to negotiations aimed at creating a bi-zonal, bi-communal federation in Cyprus.

In his speech President Denktash stated that the Turkish side would never allow the Greek side to get the title deeds of the island. He further pointed out that what the Greek Cypriots are in fact trying to achieve is to upset the existing balance between Turkey and Greece.

He continued by stressing that those who keep treating the Greek Cypriot administration as the "government of Cyprus" are to blame for the current deadlock in finding a solution to the Cyprus problem. The relevant UN Security Council resolutions on Cyprus have also been a misfortune, he added, because they have only helped the problem remaining unsolved. He also pointed out that the Greek Cypriot side is continuing its rearmament campaign at full speed and criticised the countries that view this as a legitimate act of defence.

President Denktash recalled that at the Glion talks the leader of the Greek Cypriot Administration Glafcos Clerides rejected discussion of the issue of sovereignty, expressed a wish to change the existing guarantee system and hence altered the parameters for a federation. It was as a result of these circumstances, he added, that the recent proposal for a confederation was put forward. President Denktash added that his proposal would enable the existence of two separate equal states on the island and also provide common grounds at which the two separate governments would meet. He stressed that it was important that this opportunity not be missed.

Referring to the tactics used by Clerides, President Denktash said, “the tactics used by the Greek Cypriot leader is to accept everything that the Turkish Cypriot side rejects - a policy which is far from being of a confidence building nature.”

Furthermore, President Denktash added that the Greek Cypriot leader's main aim was to eliminate the existing Turkish-Greek balance over Cyprus and claimed that he would not sit at the negotiating table under prevailing conditions.

As far back as our newsletter’s second issue dated April 1996 we have been reporting instances of Greek Cypriot unwillingness for a federation. Encouraged by the acceptance of their membership application, in March 1996 Greek Cypriot House of Representatives took a decision to oppose a bi-zonal, bi-communal federation and were criticised by Chris Katsambas, a Greek Cypriot deputy. At the time Katsambas said “Unrealistic goals lead peoples to national tragedies”. Another deputy who criticised this decision at the time was Nikos Rolandis who is a minister in the present Greek Cypriot Administration. At the time Rolandis said, “if we do not agree to a federal solution now, in future we might not even be able to achieve confederation.”

Greek Cypriots should re-consider the proposal for who knows what will happen tomorrow?
 

For quite a while the Greek Cypriot media have been reporting that the racist behaviour of the Greek Cypriots is becoming a real problem and over the last few months there have been many reports about the racist treatment of the foreign workers and the tourists in South Cyprus.

On his return to Britain, a black British man who had spent some time in south Cyprus wrote to the Greek Cypriot newspaper Cyprus Weekly complaining about the racist treatment he was subjected to by Greek Cypriots.

However Greek Cypriots do not inflict their prejudices merely on black foreigners but also on expatriate Greek Cypriots living in Britain.

London based Greek Cypriot newspaper Parikiaki in an article published on 16 April entitled “Charlie beatings in Cyprus leave police indifferent”, clearly demonstrated the prejudice the British citizens of Greek Cypriot origin are subjected to by their own fellow countrymen.

The article was based on a letter written to Parikiaki by a twenty three-year-old man from London named Louis. In his letter Louis described his ordeal in South Cyprus while on holiday when he was beaten up badly by a group of 20 - 25 Greek Cypriots just in front of a police station.

Louis stated that throughout his ordeal he was addressed as  “f***ing English Greek Billy” by his attackers and said: “When they finished we went for help to the police station, telling them they were outside. ‘It's not our job’, they answered I was bleeding all over so we asked for first aid kit and water. They said they had none of that and handed me some toilet paper. In anger, I shouted and they threatened to arrest me. One of the policeman said, ‘bloody charlies’ they always make trouble.”

Louis also said: “This experience has made me feel very unsafe in Cyprus I feel like a foreigner in my country. I felt proud when I was in the army in 1992. I said I would always fight for my country, but I don't think there's any chance of that now. I had two fractured ribs and needed stitches on top of my right eye and suffered a broken nose. I delayed my flight and paid a fine for the delay. How can people feel safe in a country where even the police are against you if you're a 'foreigner'?”

An article published in the Greek Cypriot newspaper Cyprus Mail on 7 October 1998 sheds a light on the reasons why so much prejudice exists amongst Greek Cypriots.

Article by Jean Christou entitled “Schools' main aim is to spur militancy” reported that “The primary aim of education in Cyprus is to teach children not to forget the Turkish occupation of the island, according to a newly-released government report. An educational programme entitled ‘I Get to Know, I Do Not Forget, I Struggle Against the Occupation’ ‘saturated life in school’, according to the report on education in 1997.”

Jean Christou further explained that according to the report, “The programme formed the spine of militancy in our schools and the route of the people of Cyprus for achieving its visions.”

Jean Christou also said: “A UNESCO report published last year concluded that the Cyprus education system was geared more towards the needs of teachers than pupils, and it also expressed concern over the politicisation of student bodies on the island. But Elementary Schools Director Michael Stavrides yesterday denied that the programme constituted any sort of institutionalised propaganda from the Greek Cypriot side.”

It is clear that from a young age, as a policy of their administration, the Greek Cypriot children are trained in schools to hate Turks. Their hate is so great that it is becoming a problem in their own society.

If children are trained in schools from a young age to hate; if they are instilled with hate through the church; and if in the army they are issued with T-shirts that bear slogans such as “A good Turk is a dead Turk”, it becomes second nature for them to hate.

If prejudice and racism in South Cyprus are presenting a problem for the tourists and as well as their expatriates, imagine for one moment how the Turks living in South Cyprus are treated?

Racist Greek Phone Cards

While the extent of prejudice, racism and hate encouraged by the illegal administration of South Cyprus is becoming a problem, a recent incident in Greece indicated the real source of the hate towards Turkish people as Greece itself.

Turkish news channel NTV reported on 6 October that the national Greek telecommunications organisation issued a telephone card bearing artwork which demonstrate the blatant hate felt towards the Turks. A painting from 1988 by a Greek artist appeared on the telephone cards, which went on sale all around Greece. The painting depicts three Greek men in Greek national costume, the Foustanella, in the act of murdering a Turkish man with daggers.

As in South Cyprus, racism in Greece is encouraged by state and is mainly targeted towards Turks. The Turkish and other ethnic minorities in Greece continuously suffer at the hands of racist gangs who organise attacks and raids on a regular basis. Recent reports by International Amnesty on racism in Greece and the United States country report clearly reveal the extent of racism in this country.

Throughout history it has always been the case that when prejudice and racism is systematically promoted, backed and encouraged by the state the prevailing hysteria of hate turns against those who create it.

Speaking at a conference while in New York, Greek Cypriot leader Glafcos Clerides, in answer to a question on the role of the European Union in a finding a settlement for the Cyprus conflict, said, "We as Cyprus are in favour of Turkey joining the EU and we are convinced that in such a case the Greek Cypriots would feel more certain that there would not be any military expansion by the Turkish forces." He also added that under such circumstances "the Turkish Cypriots would also feel safer."

In his speech Clerides also referred to the need for international guarantees of Cyprus' security and the need for an international force to oversee the implementation of any agreement. He said that his ‘government’ is prepared to pay for such a force.

We are baffled at Clerides’ audacity to claim that the Greek Cypriot side is in favour of Turkey joining the EU. When the EU excluded Turkey from the membership at the Luxembourg summit we clearly remember his side declaring the decision “The Luxembourg Victory”. It was again the Greeks who jeered and booed Mr. Richard Holbrooke in Greece when he stated during a conference that Turkey should be included on the EU membership list.

It was reported that at this meeting there were people like Thomas Miller, Gustav Feissel and other influential people. We cannot help thinking that Clerides is yet again pretending in order to gain brownie points for his side. If he really wants to see Turkey in the EU he should tell his masters in Greece to stop blocking Turkey’s membership.

His claim that there would not be a military expansion by Turkish forces if Turkey were to be admitted to the EU is another ploy by Clerides to portray Turkey as expansionist. We said it many times before and will say it again; if Turkey had expansionist intentions she would have taken Cyprus in 1974 and could have done so in the last twenty-four years. If Clerides is genuinely worried about this issue, why doesn’t he sign a non-aggression pact with the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus and put an end to his rearmament campaign.

Please Mr. Clerides, come to your senses and do not put Cyprus through another war with your desire to rule the whole of Cyprus. You never ruled the whole island before and you will never do so in future. As to your comment that Turkish Cypriots would also feel safer in the EU with Turkey as a member is admittance that an EU without Turkey is not safe for Turkish Cypriots. We will definitely feel very safe with Turkey as a member because then you will never be able to design and execute new AKRITAS plans.

Dini’s concern

Speaking at a conference on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly on 24 September 1998, Italian Prime Minister Alberto Dini raised his country’s opposition to Cyprus becoming a member of the EU before a solution on the island.

Replying to questions Dini said; "the unsatisfactory relations between NATO members, Greece and Turkey are of continuous concern, especially to EU members".

Although Dini argued that South Cyprus was in a better position than other candidates to join the EU, he stated; "of course we can not have only half of Cyprus become a member… the whole island must become a member."

Cem said: "When we talk about UN resolutions, we should not see them as a very rigid set-up but we should look into their essence, the essence of UN resolutions." He also said, "When I look at them, I think it would be much more wiser, instead of insisting on the words of some resolutions which have proved to be ineffective, inoperative for 25 years, I think it should be much wiser if we were to consider the essence."

Responding to comments by Cem that the confederation proposal by Turkish Cypriot President Rauf Denktash was constructive because "it is for unity, not separation",  Christos Stylianides, so called spokesman of the Greek Cypriot administration said, "It seems Mr Cem understands things his own way or it seems he does not know how to read, as he should do, certain words which are very well known, both in the framework of international law and of common sense."

Accusing the Turkish side of not respecting the international laws and agreements is one of the latest tactics implemented by Greece which has been adapted very successfully by Greek Cypriots. It is only expected from Stylianides to act in line with his Hellenic masters’ wishes.

If the concern is respecting or not respecting the international laws and agreements, Stylianides’ reading and understanding ability is a lot worse than the Turkish Foreign Minister.

He should re-read the 1960 international agreements to see if the agreements allow Cyprus to become a member to the EU and to see if Greek Cypriots represent the Turkish Cypriots. Even the UN resolutions he keeps referring to emphasise the existence of two politically equal sides in Cyprus. How does he interpret this equality?

Whatever name is given to its framework, a solution can only be achieved between two equal sovereign people. Instead of getting high on the announcements of certain paid European politicians, Greek Cypriots should re-consider the confederation proposal of the Turkish Cypriot side. Alienating Turkey and TRNC through unjust EU decisions will not gain them anything. Decisions taken by the EU against Turkey and Turkish Cypriots as a result of Greek blackmail show us clearly what our fate will be in an EU without Turkey.

During his speech at the UN General Assembly Greek Cypriot leader Glafcos Clerides shamelessly claimed that the system of guarantees established in 1960 was the cause of the Cyprus problem and claimed that it should be changed.

Commenting on the claims of Clerides the TRNC President Rauf Denktash, in a written statement, said that the leader of the Greek Cypriot Administration wants to turn Cyprus into a Greek island by watering down and making ineffective the 1960 Guarantee System and turning the existing guarantee system into an international guarantee system.

 President Denktash continued by saying that, the Cyprus problem did not stem from the Guarantee System but from the fact that the Greek Cypriots by force of arms and bloodshed ousted their partner, the Turkish Cypriots from the partnership  state and tried to turn Cyprus into a Greek island.   Stressing that the existence of two equal states in Cyprus is a reality, President Denktash said, a reconciliation platform on equal terms could be set up if the Turkish Cypriot people's equality, sovereignty, government and state were recognised. President Denktash also stressed that; his confederation proposal was the most important factor for the creation of this platform.

President Denktash continued by saying that the Greek Cypriot Administration wants to turn Cyprus into a Greek island and as one who had spent a lifetime foiling the Greek Cypriots' Byzantine intrigues, he understood Clerides' message very well.

Clerides, who brags about bringing Greece to Cyprus and declares that he is serving the cause of Hellenism, is now saying that, "lasting peace in Cyprus should be based on the augmented guarantees of a federal agreement and not on the 1960 agreements" President said.

President Denktash also pointed out that, Clerides was saying this because it was the 1960 Guarantee System which prevented the Greek Cypriot - Greek duo's achievement of their national objective and saved the Turkish Cypriot people from total annihilation.

President Denktash went on to explain that, the Turkish Cypriots are against the 1960 Guarantee System being altered and the UN Security Council had also confirmed the continuation of the existing guarantee system. It was only after the EU had given them the green light that the Greek Cypriot Administration began to oppose the guarantee system, which it had seen as a barrier to ENOSIS from the very beginning President Denktash said. Furthermore, President Denktash said, he himself did not, like Clerides, sit at the negotiating table purely for tactical reasons to say 'no' instead of 'yes' to everything the other side proposed. "We have never employed such tactics and we are not employing them now," he added. If the whole world told Clerides that he could never be the Turkish Cypriots' state and government, he could give up playing tactical games and engage in serious talks, said President Denktash.

Poperty exchange is a must

Following the confederation proposal by the Turkish side, which was rejected by the Greek side without even consideration, Turkish Cypriot President Rauf Denktash of the TRNC has proposed the creation of a joint commission for the exchange of property between the Greek and Turkish sides.

 After a meeting with the UN envoy to Cyprus Ann Hercus, President Rauf Denktash said: "One of the elements essential to a solution in Cyprus is the exchange of property. An accord is impossible before going ahead with a property exchange," Denktash further said: "If the Greek Cypriots desire a solution to the Cypriot question, they must accept this proposal."   As in the case of the confederation proposal, the Greek Cypriot side rejected this new proposal to establish a commission to examine property rights in Cyprus. "There is no Security Council resolution or decision by the Human Rights Court which refers to exchange of property, as the Turkish side proposes", Greek Cypriot spokesman Christos Stylianides said while he was in New York. Greek Cypriot leader Glafcos Clerides was also quoted as saying that he opposed the idea and claimed that the property exchange was not part of the parameters.

In answer to the claims of Clerides, President Denktash said, “Clerides acted as if he does not know any better when he said that the exchange of property is not part of the Set of Ideas or one of the parameters.” He further said, “No matter what the name of the agreement, the exchange of property is the basis and unchanging formula of bi-zonality''.   Like everything else Greek Cypriots are trying to change the concept of bi-zonality. While on one hand they are claiming to want a bi-zonal federation, on the other they are against property exchange, which has to happen to make bi-zonality possible. By saying that there is no decision by the European Human Rights Court for property exchange Stylianiades showed what encourages the Greeks to act the way they do. Human Rights Court is not the body that is going to decide whether there will be an exchange of property in Cyprus. While a Greek person is the deputy head of this court, of course Stylianides will look up to it for support.

Pauline Green yet again fulfilled her yearly duty and attended a Greek Cypriot demonstration at the Guzelyurt border as she does every year. Speaking to the press after a meeting with Glafcos Clerides, she praised Clerides' “generous offer” to the Turkish Cypriot community to participate in the negotiating team stressing that this conveys a "powerful message to the EU that the President of Cyprus understands and fully appreciates his commitment to the Turkish Cypriot community". This is exactly why we will not have peace in Cyprus in the near future because people like Pauline Green feels that it is their duty to turn up at demonstrations and support Greek views. She pretends that Clerides is our president and treats us as a minority. We are at the point of believing that she deliberately does this to divide the island. She knows that her actions only angers and antagonise the Turkish Cypriots which only helps the division.

© 1997, TURKISH CYPRIOT NETWORK. All rights reserved. For further information and comments please contact us. Address: 27 Old Gloucester Street, London WC1N 3XX. TEL: 0930 194 191(all calls charged at 50p per min) Email: tcn@tc-net.demon.co.uk