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Resolution 1628 (2008)
Situation in Cyprus
1. The Parliamentary Assembly refers
to its resolutions and recommendations that have been adopted since
the outbreak of the conflict in Cyprus in the 1960s, and regrets
that Cyprus remains one of the last divided countries in Europe,
the only one in the European Union, with its northern part occupied
by Turkey since 1974.
2. It reaffirms its strong commitment to reaching a fair, lasting
and comprehensive solution for a peaceful and united Cyprus which
would guarantee the legitimate rights of both Greek and Turkish
Cypriots, in full compliance with the values and principles of the
Council of Europe.
3. In this context, the Assembly welcomes the renewed political
process between the two Cypriot parties, which started in March
2008 and has already produced encouraging results for the benefit
of all Cypriots, including the opening of the Ledra street crossing
in Nicosia and agreements on practical co-operation between the
two communities in a number of areas. It commends the political
will and determination shown by the leaders of the two Cypriot communities,
President Christofias and Mr Talat, and fully endorses their efforts.
The Assembly encourages all parties and countries that are directly
or indirectly linked to the Cypriot question to develop and maintain
a climate of reconciliation, confidence and mutual respect, as well
as to avoid all action or declarations that could harm the ongoing
constructive dialogue and accentuate tensions.
4. The Assembly further welcomes the resumption of fully fledged
negotiations between the leaders of the two Cypriot communities
under the auspices of the Secretary-General of the United Nations
(UN). It hopes that the appointment of Mr Downer, former foreign
minister of Australia, as Special Adviser on Cyprus, will contribute
to maintaining positive dynamics in the talks and making progress
towards a comprehensive settlement.
5. The Assembly encourages the UN to take full advantage, in
the negotiation process, of the Council of Europe’s expertise in
the areas of its core competences. Furthermore, it believes that
any future settlement agreement must comply with Council of Europe
standards in the fields of human rights (including the case law of
the European Court of Human Rights), democracy and the rule of law.
6. The Assembly is aware that, even with a new and more positive
climate between the two communities, mistrust between them is still
deep. New efforts are needed to reactivate intercommunity contacts,
encourage dialogue, promote reconciliation and restore confidence.
Ongoing Council of Europe activities aimed at confidence building
in Cyprus, namely the European Forum Cyprus and the co-operation
in history teaching programmes, must be given full political support.
7. Furthermore, the Assembly believes that Council of Europe
expertise could be of practical value for the two Cypriot communities
in the areas where they have already agreed to set up co-operation,
such as the environment, cultural heritage, health and criminal
matters, as well as in other areas (for example, protection of human
rights, combating intolerance, protection of minorities, the fight
against trafficking in human beings, education, gender equality,
contacts between young people, etc.).
8. The Assembly stresses once again the importance of resolving
the humanitarian issues of the Cyprus problem. Against this background,
it commends the recent progress in the work of the Committee on
Missing Persons (CMP), and calls all the parties concerned to grant
full support to its activities. In this context, the Assembly welcomes
the financial contributions to the CMP made by several Council of
Europe member states, as well as by the European Union and the United
States, and calls for new donations in order to increase the efficiency
of the CMP’s work.
9. The Assembly takes note of, and welcomes, the efforts made
by the European Union and by the Republic of Cyprus aimed at improving
the situation of Turkish Cypriots. However, more needs to be done
in order to facilitate Turkish Cypriots’ integration into Cyprus
and Europe. The Assembly therefore calls for new goodwill steps
to be taken to allow increased international trade as well as educational,
cultural and sporting contacts for the Turkish Cypriot community,
it being understood that these activities are consistent with United Nations
Security Council Resolutions 541 (1983) and 550 (1984) on Cyprus
and cannot be misused for political ends incompatible with the aim
of reunifying the island.
10. The Assembly is hopeful that, despite deep-rooted differences
between the parties on a number of key issues to be negotiated,
and the need to find difficult compromises and to secure their public
support, the current situation offers the best opportunity in many
years to reach a settlement. President Christofias and Mr Talat
are conscious that they cannot afford to fail. All the internal
and external actors involved must do their utmost to maximise the
chances of success for this process.
11. The Assembly therefore:
11.1. calls
upon political forces, civil society and non-governmental organisations
(NGOs) in both Cypriot communities to:
11.1.1. provide full support to the ongoing settlement process,
and refrain from any action which could undermine it;
11.1.2. multiply and facilitate bi-community activities as a means
of re-establishing mutual trust and developing a sense of partnership
and shared responsibility for the future of a reunified Cyprus;
11.1.3. use fully, for that purpose, the opportunities offered
by Council of Europe activities in various fields;
11.2. calls upon the authorities of the Republic of Cyprus:
11.2.1. to lift objections to the adoption
of the Council of the European Union’s Direct Trade Regulation put
forward by the European Commission allowing free direct trade between
Turkish Cypriots and the European Union through their own ports;
11.2.2. not to oppose increased international contacts of Turkish
Cypriots in the areas of culture, education, sport and youth exchanges,
as long as these contacts are not misused for political purposes
or incompatible with the reunification of the island;
11.2.3. to make full use of Council of Europe experience and assistance
as regards history teaching for reconciliation, and to review history
textbooks in such a way as to avoid hate speech and inflammatory
language with regard to painful events of the past;
11.2.4. to seek actively the establishment of good-neighbourly
relations with Turkey;
11.3. calls upon the authorities of the Turkish Cypriot community
to:
11.3.1. confirm their commitment
to reunifying Cyprus, and to refrain from insisting on the existence
of a “separate state” in the north of the island;
11.3.2. put an end to the sales of Greek Cypriot properties, and
to any construction on land belonging to Greek Cypriots, in the
northern part of Cyprus;
11.3.3. consider specific aid to help the Turkish settlers to
leave the northern part of the island;
11.3.4. respect point 5 of UN Security Council Resolution 550 by placing the city of Famagusta under UN administration;
11.4. calls upon the authorities of the Republic of Cyprus and
of the Turkish Cypriot community to protect all religious monuments
and allow restoration work to take place whenever necessary.
12. The Assembly urges Greece, Turkey and the United Kingdom,
as the guarantor states of the 1960 Constitution of Cyprus, to use
fully and actively their influence to support the ongoing political
process in Cyprus.
13. In particular, the Assembly calls upon Greece to use, on the
one hand, its traditional ties with the Greek Cypriots, and on the
other hand, its experience of building normalised relations with
Turkey, in order to facilitate dialogue between the Republic of
Cyprus and Turkey.
14. Furthermore, the Assembly calls upon Turkey to:
14.1. respect the UN Security Council’s
resolutions on Cyprus and contribute to creating a more constructive
climate in the negotiations by reducing, as a confidence-building
measure, its military presence in the occupied part of Cyprus;
14.2. seek actively the establishment of good-neighbourly relations
with the Republic of Cyprus, including lifting the ban against entering
ports in Turkey imposed on vessels registered in the Republic of
Cyprus and on vessels sailing under other flags which enter the
ports of the Republic of Cyprus, and to sign a trade agreement with
the Republic of Cyprus in accordance with the commitment made by Turkey
to the World Trade Organization and its obligations under its customs
union agreement with the European Union;
14.3. co-operate effectively in the efforts to ascertain the
fate of missing persons in Cyprus and to implement fully the judgment
of the European Court of Human Rights in the case of Cyprus v. Turkey (2001)
pertaining to the tragic problem of the missing persons and their
families, and abide by and fulfil, without any further delay, its
obligations and duties stemming from the aforementioned judgment,
as well as from the Court’s other judgments concerning citizens
of the Republic of Cyprus, namely the Loizidou and Xenedis-Arestis
cases.
15. The Assembly calls upon the United Kingdom to confirm its
previous offer to transfer part of the territory of its military
bases in Cyprus to Greek Cypriots in order to facilitate territorial
adjustments to be negotiated between the two parties in the framework
of a comprehensive settlement.
16. The Assembly asks its committees, when holding meetings in
Cyprus, to associate as much as possible representatives of the
Turkish Cypriot political forces, as well as representatives of
civil society and NGOs from both communities.