ECEVIT’S PROPOSAL AND FEDERATION

It is well-known that as a result of the conflict between the enosis-ists and the partition-ists, the Cyprus problem re-flamed once again in December 1963 and the intercommunal talks were started on June 24, 1968 in order to find out a solution to the problem. The aim of the talks was to reach through peaceful means to an agreement, based on the principles of an “independent, sovereign and unitary state”. The talks were reinforced and started again on June 3, 1972 with the participation of constitutional experts. In these five-party negotiations the sides were able to reach to an agreement on the subjects of executive, legislative and the judiciary and the Turkish and Greek constitutional experts were given the task to find a solution to the problem of local administration, which caused long discussions. After a compromise was reached on the controversial subjects of police and courts, there was an expectation for the signing of an overall agreement in the year 1974.

When the Republican People’s Party got into the power in Turkey together with the National Salvation Party and proposed “a federal state structure for the solution of Cyprus problem” in its government program, the inter-communal talks were cut off on April 2, 1974. On the other hand, the leader of the Turkish Cypriot community, Rauf Denktas began to talk about the possible declaration of a separate Turkish Cypriot state. According to the Greek Cypriot’s point of view, it was no use to continue the inter-communal talks since Turkey deviated from the policy of a unitary state to the thesis of a federal state and this was told by the then Prime Minister of Turkey, Bulent Ecevit and by this, he was undermining the inter-communal talks.
After three months, a de facto situation was created by the aborted coup d’Etat against President Makarios, organized by the fascist Greek junta and its military forces in the Greek Cypriot sector on July 15, 1974 and thus on August 16, 1974, on the 16th anniversary of the foundation of the Republic of Cyprus, the island’s territory was partitioned into two regions, one in the North for the Turkish Cypriots and the other in the South for the Greek Cypriots.

Nicos Sampson, who was appointed as the leader of the fascist junta in Cyprus, wrote in his memoirs, published in 1981 in Eleftheri Ora newspaper in Athens: “The responsible persons of this betrayal got together with Ecevit months before and agreed with him. They proposed Ecevit to give Kyrenia town and its sub-districts to the Turks. This was supposed to be thought within the frame of a final solution to the Cyprus problem. Thus Kyrenia would be connected with the Turkish sector of the town of Nicosia, which was in the hands of the Turks since 1963. In this framework of the agreements, the responsible persons of the betrayal agreed with Ecevit also on a population transfer and to find a federal solution.” (Sampson’s Memoirs, published in mimeograph by the PIO of the TFSC, February 1983, p.81-82)

After the declaration of the Turkish Federated State of Cyprus on February 13, 1975, all the member states of the UN Security Council, which met between February 20 and March 12 agreed sensitively on the point that the sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity nd the non-alignment of the Republic of Cyprus should be respected.

Rauf Denktas declared in an interview with Milliyet newspaper on December 20, 1975 that from the Turkish Cypriots’ point of view, if the thesis of bi-regional federation would not be accepted, the only solution will be to get united with Turkey. He gave later various statements that in the year 1976 he could under these circumstances establish an independent Turkish Cypriot State. In the first government program of the National Unity Party, declared on July 12, 1976, the right of declaring a separate independent state in Cyprus was reserved. (Milliyet, 13 July 1976)

With the declaration of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus on November 15, 1983, all the relations with the Republic of Cyprus were completely broken off. The UN Security Council Resolution No.541 of November 18, asked for the reversal of this decision and the declaration of the TRNC was branded as illegal. The Secretary-General of the UN was urged to find the ways of starting the inter-communal talks as soon as possible. The talks were started on September 10, 1984 and the talks passed through various stages, coming to the Denktas-Vassiliou summit of February 26, 1990. It was expected that a draft agreement would be signed at this meeting, but Rauf Denktas went outside the framework agreed on until so far and asked for the right of self-determination for the Turkish Cypriots, thus bringing the summit into a deadlock.

On March 5, 1990, the “Conquerer of Northern Cyprus” and the Chairman of the Democratic Left Party, Bulent Ecevit, issued a written statement, in which he proposed the following: “As an interim solution, the TRNC can be an autonomous state, whose foreign affairs and external security will be dependent on Turkey, but its regime will be determined by itself and all the internal affairs will be governed by itself. Of course such an interim solution could only put into practice if the Turkish Cypriot people find it appropriate after a democratic referandum.”

Rauf Denktas regarded this proposal as “a realist approach, on which we should think about” and said: “It is reasonal and mindful to exercise the representation of Cyprus through the Turkish Embassies and by this we can reach to the World. This is a necessary situation, which the Greek Cypriots created against us. Such an agreement can be made and from my point of view it will be useful.”

The chairman of the National Unity Party and the Prime Minister Dervis Eroglu declared that he welcomed the proposal made by Ecevit with satisfaction and that the NUP since the day of its foundation made the first step, having in mind the idea of establishing a separate Turkish state in Cyprus.

On the other hand, according to a newsitem, published in the Greek Cypriot press on March 11, 1990 and quoted from the Italian newspaper “Corriera della Sera”, the UN Secretary-General told the Italian Prime Minister Andreotti at a meeting in New York on March 8, 1990 that “a part of Cyprus cannot be the Puerto Rico of Turkey.”

In fact Ecevit’s proposal and the similarity made by Mr. De Cuellar fit into each other. Because between Puerto Rico, the most eastern island of the Caribbean Sea and the USA, there is the same relationship of a partnership, just like the proposed one to be between the TRNC and Turkey. Since 1898, the USA keeps the island under its occupation and the three million people, living on the island of Puerto Rico, are regarded as the citizens of the USA since 1919. Puerto Rico was granted the right of electing its governor in 1948 and approved its own constitution in 1952 with a referandum and the US Congress gave a free state status to this island state, which remains dependent on the USA. The Puerto Ricans do not have their representative in the US Congress and they do not pay the federal tax. Just like Ecevit’s proposal, the US government is responsible for the defense and foreign affairs of Puerto Rico. At the referandum of July 23, 1967, 61% of the voters wanted the continuation of the partnership state status with the USA and 39% voted for the union with the USA. In the elections of 1972, the Populist Democratic Party, which has been in power since 1940 and the New Progressive Party received 95% of the votes and proved the dominancy of the policy,  which advocates union with the USA. The Puerto Rico Independence Movement, which was started in 1968, is kept under oppression.

If we return to Ecevit’s proposal, we see the following: “This proposal will not put aside the federal solution from the agenda and will not obstruct it. On the contrary, this will end the illusion of the Greek Cypriots for return and may be it will market the federal solution easy.” As it is seen here too, the double-faced policy and the dishonesty of Turkey, which has been exercised since 1964 on the Cyprus problem is obvious. It will be recalled that the then Prime Minister of Turkey, Ismet Inonu, had declared the aim of the Turkish policy as partition of the island by saying: “Just to be within the framework of the agreement, we started to discuss officially with federation form, rather than using the word partition.” (Nihat Erim, As I know and recall Cyprus, Ankara 1975, p.427-428)

Therefore, starting from the first written Turkish proposals handed over to the Greek Cypriot side in April 1977 in Vienna, up to the last document of 27 pages put on the table in New York on February 26, 1990, the dominating view is to impose the existence of two separate states in Cyprus under the guise of federation. The reality on the other side of the medaillon is that the northern part of Cyprus is practically treated as a province of Turkey since 1974. It is not fair to accuse the Greek Cypriot side as if they do not want federation. The Turkish Cypriot side transfers to the other side the blame, whose responsibility it has, that is, it does not want a solution. The stage that we have arrived today by uttering federation is the demand of the acceptance by the World that Northern Cyprus would turn into the Puerto Rico of Turkey. This de facto situation, which has been continuing for the 16 years now, by depending on a military power is not acceptable as de jure, because of their incompatibility with the principles of international law, UN Charter and the Helsinki Final Act. The reunification of the island of Cyprus is only possible if the principles of international law are respected and a constructive attitude is adopted for the establishment of a real federal state. Proposals for confederation or proposals for a federation between the Republic of Turkey and the TRNC do not serve to peace, but only to the chauvinist and expansionist aims of Turkey on the island of Cyprus.

The return to the thesis of a federal state, meaning the partition of the island, had unmasked once again the target, which Inonu pointed in 1964. This shows the strategy of the uncompromising Turkish Cypriot leadership and what it means with federation. The real federalists and those, who defend the independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity and the non-alignment of Cyprus, have to stress on this wrongness and keep the anti-peace aspect of this strategy always on the agenda.

(The Greek translation of this article was published under the name of Ahmet An in the Greek Cypriot newspaper Embros on 20 May 1990)