The Body of Emeritus Professors of EKPA organized a conference on: “The Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974. The painful events and their consequences». In his speech in the context of the said conference, the former President of the Republic and honorary professor of the School of Law of the EKPA, Prokopis Pavlopoulos, mentioned, among other things, the following:
“It has already been 50 years since Turkey invaded, in a barbaric manner and violating every concept of International Law as well as all the relevant decisions of the UN bodies, in Martyr Cyprus and the defiant occupation of one third of the territory of the Republic of Cyprus unfortunately continues. This unimaginable impunity of Turkey – when it is accompanied by its blatant refusal to accept a resolution of the Cyprus Issue in a manner consistent with International Law and European Law – on behalf of the International Community and the European Union is not permissible nor tolerable to continue.
I. The “complicity” of Turkey and Russia in the gross violation of International Law
This is now becoming more than obvious due to the current international situation. And I am primarily referring to Russia’s equally barbaric invasion of Ukraine, given that no one has the right to overlook that the Turkish invasion and occupation of Cyprus and the above-mentioned indifference – to put it mildly – of the International Community and the European Union were the “pattern”, which the leadership of Russia did not hesitate to adopt in order to attack Ukraine and provoke the bloody war.
A. The war which continues, with the “invisible” prospect of its end still “unseen” and with an impossible assessment of how far its further escalation can lead for Peace and Security worldwide. Greece and Cyprus – in complete contrast to Turkey – stood by, stand by and will continue to stand by, sincerely and in various ways especially within the framework of the European Union, the suffering People of Ukraine. But from now on, and especially as soon as this horrible war ends and the guilty invader pays the heavy price of his crime, we must draw the necessary lessons, both at the level of the European Union and at the level of the International Community. And conclusions about both its causes and its effects.
B. In this spirit and as consistent defenders of European and International Legitimacy, Greece and Cyprus – in essence, Hellenism as a whole – must demonstrate to the European Union but also to the International Community, primarily to the USA and to NATO, how great are their responsibilities because they tolerated and tolerate, for so many decades, the effects and achievements of the Turkish invasion and occupation of the territory of the Republic of Cyprus. The first such gross violation of the territorial integrity and sovereignty of a Member State of the International Community since the Second World War. An invasion that claimed the lives of thousands of innocent victims, many of whose fates are unknown even today.
II. The conditions for resolving the Cyprus Issue according to International and European Law
Unfortunately, until now and even though the Republic of Cyprus is closing two decades as a full Member State of the European Union, the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) has never been sufficiently activated – and par excellence under conditions that correspond to the Principle of Solidarity mainly the provisions of the aforementioned article 42 par. 7 of the TEU – in favor of Cyprus and against Turkey. The CFSP sanctions against Turkey for the flagrant violation of European and International Law at the expense of the Republic of Cyprus are demonstrably absent, while at no time was this country pressured, essentially, for the conditional resolution of the Cyprus Issue under European Law and European Legitimacy. That is, under conditions of a federal type of Representative Democracy, as required by the European Acquis. At this point it is necessary to point out with emphasis that, according to the aforementioned, a solution to the Cyprus Issue is understood only under the following seven, at a minimum, conditions:
A. Firstly, the Republic of Cyprus must have the form of a Federal State at most, according to International and especially European standards. No form of Confederacy, direct or covert, is tolerated. And this is primarily because, in addition to the fact that such a “solution” is, by definition, “fatal” and only serves the aspirations and interests of Turkey by leading to the essential state disintegration of the Republic of Cyprus, it completely contradicts the “core » of primary European Law. Mainly with the provisions of the EEC, regarding the state form and the sovereignty of its Member States. Indeed, it is common legal and political “place” that a Confederate State cannot be a Member State of the European Union, given that it cannot, by nature, meet, among other things, the requirements of adequate observance of the European Acquis.
B. Secondly, the Republic of Cyprus must be based, in its entirety, on the fundamental principles of Representative Democracy, as an institutional guarantee of Freedom in globo. So as an institutional guarantee of the Fundamental Rights of Man, not only according to National Law but also according to International and European Law.
C. Thirdly, the Republic of Cyprus must have, as a member of the International Community and the European Union, an International Legal Personality.
D. Fourthly, in the Republic of Cyprus there is one, and only one, Citizenship.
E. Fifthly, the Sovereignty of the Republic of Cyprus must be complete, with equally complete respect for all, without exception, the provisions of International and European Law. This means completeness of the stricto sensu Dominion of -eg. as regards its territorial integrity, its borders, its coastal zone, etc.- and its lato sensu Sovereignty, thus the full exercise of all, without any distinction, its Sovereign Rights, with a focus on the Rights of all its Maritime Zones under the International Law of the Sea (Montego Bay Convention of 1982), e.g. on its Continental Shelf and its Exclusive Economic Zone. The fact that Turkey has not acceded to the aforementioned International Convention has no influence on this, since this, according to the jurisprudence of the International Court of Justice in The Hague, produces internationally accepted rules of International Law, which apply erga omnes.
F. Sixth – and as a consequence – it is not permissible for the Republic of Cyprus to remain, in any way, occupation troops nor to apply, also in any way, third party guarantees. And these “guarantees” include potential “guarantees” of Great Britain as well, especially after Brexit took place.
G. And, seventh, the above-mentioned implies that the “settlers”, who were illegally settled, according to the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights, by Turkey must leave the Republic of Cyprus, without conditions, and return refugees who were forced to leave their homes due to the Turkish invasion, fully recovering all their rights according to the European Convention on Human Rights and also according to the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union.
As for the International Community and the UN, the resulting “equal” treatment of Turkey and Cyprus – that is, the “perpetrator” and the “victim” of the Turkish invasion and occupation – according to the logic of tolerance of endless and empty discussions between of two parts, shows how nowadays International Law, under the sole responsibility of the International Community itself and the UN, is composed not so much of leges perfectae, but in many cases of leges minus quam perfectae or even leges imperfectae. Greece and Cyprus, therefore, by sending the message that they are not willing to accept this quasi “hibernation” of the CFSP and International Legitimacy, must, as Member States of the European Union and the International Community, put before their responsibilities the European Institutions and those of the International Community, pointing out, without twists, retreats and retreats, and the following: As we all stand today on the side of Ukraine, condemning Russia’s war crime without words and in practice, on the same line of defense of European and International Legitimacy we must condemn – using the veto if necessary in future decisions of the European Union and NATO – Turkey’s ongoing criminal tactics against the Martyrdom of Cyprus be condemned unequivocally and in practice. Because the selective application of International and European Legality leads, unfortunately, to their substantial annulment.”
Tags: Pavlopoulos Turkeys defiant impunity years illegal invasion occupation Cyprus
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