Cyprus-Forum.com

[Nikitas]

"It is not about revenge but of redress. It is about getting back what is still held by them. "

Good point Zan, and how do you redress the balance the other way too, how do you give back what was taken in 1974 and is also still held by the TRNC?

Sener Levent in a recent article criticised both sides for not mentioning a return to the 1960 agreement. But how do you do that while the island is divided and land expropriation is goinf full pelt in the north? Going back to the 1960 deal while partition is still in place sounds like a no deal.

[zan]

Deniz and zan,
have you read todays Kıbrıs news paper.There is a article about kucukkaymaklı incidence.People are telling their own expriences .

Thank Halil

[zan]

"It is not about revenge but of redress. It is about getting back what is still held by them. "

Good point Zan, and how do you redress the balance the other way too, how do you give back what was taken in 1974 and is also still held by the TRNC?

Sener Levent in a recent article criticised both sides for not mentioning a return to the 1960 agreement. But how do you do that while the island is divided and land expropriation is goinf full pelt in the north? Going back to the 1960 deal while partition is still in place sounds like a no deal.

The property issue is all about money and that can be addressed Nikitas. Somethings are beyond repair and you can thank all your leaders intransigence for that.....Just the return of Varosha will take care of half that problem. Our representation in government and in being Cypriots is invaluable....No amount f money can make me want to lose my island and my identity. Ig you think that the refugee problem is worth that as well then you are risking the lives of all Cypriots for the few but I don't believe for one moment that it is even if you say so....

[Nikitas]

Zan,

Going back to the 1960 deal while the island is partitioned is sort of contradictory to the agreement itself which excluded both partition and union. That is the problem it raises for me. Separate municipalities are one thing, separation of the whole island is quite another. As far as I recall the 1960 agreement had no provision for a biregional division. So how do you get back to the 1960 agreement if the division is still there? This was the question that rose in my mind when I read Sener Levent's article and it is still there.

[zan]

Zan,

Going back to the 1960 deal while the island is partitioned is sort of contradictory to the agreement itself which excluded both partition and union. That is the problem it raises for me. Separate municipalities are one thing, separation of the whole island is quite another. As far as I recall the 1960 agreement had no provision for a biregional division. So how do you get back to the 1960 agreement if the division is still there? This was the question that rose in my mind when I read Sener Levent's article and it is still there.

Nikitas....We have to distinguish between what is practical and what is not. Our minds have to rule our hearts......The constitution can be reinstated. The homes issue is something different altogether. The government bonds will see to that and people will have to be patient.

[denizaksulu]

Deniz and zan,
have you read todays Kıbrıs news paper.There is a article about kucukkaymaklı incidence.People are telling their own expriences .

I have been trying all morning to get Kibris but I can not get the page. I will try again soon.

Thanks

[zan]

Deniz and zan,
have you read todays Kıbrıs news paper.There is a article about kucukkaymaklı incidence.People are telling their own expriences .

I have been trying all morning to get Kibris but I can not get the page. I will try again soon.

Thanks

I can't get it yet either Deniz....

[denizaksulu]

Deniz and zan,
have you read todays Kıbrıs news paper.There is a article about kucukkaymaklı incidence.People are telling their own expriences .

I have been trying all morning to get Kibris but I can not get the page. I will try again soon.

Thanks

I can't get it yet either Deniz....

Cyberspace must be 'embargoed'.

[denizaksulu]

Deniz and zan,
have you read todays Kıbrıs news paper.There is a article about kucukkaymaklı incidence.People are telling their own expriences .

Halil,
Your colleagues in Kibris, must be celebrating christmas and forgot to publish the 'online' Kibris. Go and sort them out Halil, and now.

[halil]

Deniz and zan,
have you read todays Kıbrıs news paper.There is a article about kucukkaymaklı incidence.People are telling their own expriences .

I have been trying all morning to get Kibris but I can not get the page. I will try again soon.

Thanks

I can't get it yet either Deniz....

Cyberspace must be 'embargoed'.

İ will get the articles later on for you .
here is the new series from 1960-1974
Cyprus: The complete history from 1960 to 1974 (1)
Cyprus gained her sovereign independence by virtue of a constitution and three treaties -- the Treaty of Guarantee, the Treaty of Alliance and the Treaty of Establishment, all of which came into force on the same day -- Aug. 16, 1960. They were interrelated so that, for example, the 48 “basic articles” of the Constitution were incorporated into the Treaty of Guarantee while the two Treaties of Guarantee and Alliance were in turn mentioned to “have constitutional force” in Article 181 of the constitution. The third treaty, the Treaty of Establishment, makes it clear that the boundaries of the Republic of Cyprus do not coincide with those of the island, in that Britain retains absolute sovereignty over two enclaves, totaling 99 square miles which contain the military bases of Ağrotur (Akrotiri) and Dikelya (Dhekelia). Britain is also given certain military rights (such as exclusive control of the Nicosia airport in the event of an emergency) on the territory of the republic. The constitution was drawn up explicitly in terms of the two people -- and was referred to subsequently by the Turkish Cypriots as a functional federation, though that expression does not actually appear. The official languages were Greek and Turkish. The Greek and Turkish flags could be flown without any restrictions, though there was also to be a national flag. The Greek and Turkish national holidays were to be observed. The country was defined as “an independent and sovereign republic with a presidential regime, the president being Greek and the vice president being Turkish elected by the Greek and Turkish communities of Cyprus respectively.” There were 10 ministers, seven chosen by the president and three by the vice president (in practice a Turkish Cypriot was appointed to defense). Decisions in the Council of Ministers were to be taken by absolute majority, except that either the president or the vice president had an absolute veto over decisions relating to foreign affairs, defense or internal security and a delaying one on other matters.
The legislative system was unicameral. The House of Representatives had 50 members: 35 Greek and 15 Turkish. This ratio was unilaterally changed to 56 Greek and 24 Turkish by Greek Cypriots without the consent of Turkish Cypriots during the “Dark Era,” namely between the years 1963-1974. According to Article 78(2), “any law imposing duties or taxes shall require a simple majority of the representatives elected by the Greek and Turkish communities respectively taking part in the vote.” This provision also applied to any change in the electoral law and the adoption of any law relating to the municipalities. This last question baffled the constitution makers. In five of the towns, separate Greek and Turkish municipalities had emerged as a consequence of the communal confrontations of 1958 and had been recognized by the British. They would now be officially established, thereby becoming the only organ of the constitution based on the idea of territorial separation, but for only four years during which the president and the vice president were supposed to decide between them whether they were to continue.

Legislation on other subjects was to take place by simple majority but again the president and the vice president had the same right of veto -- absolute on foreign affairs, defense and internal security, delaying on other matters -- as in the Council of Ministers. Outside the House of Representatives there were to be elected two communal chambers, one Greek, the other Turkish, which were given separate functions not entrusted to the House. These included education, religious matters, personal status, sport, culture, producer and consumer cooperatives and credit establishments. For these purposes they were entitled to impose taxes, set up courts and conduct their own relations with the Greek and Turkish governments over help with funds or with personnel. The judicial system was headed both by the Supreme Constitutional Court and by the High Court of Justice, each consisting of Greek and Turkish Cypriot judges, each with a neutral president (who should not be Cypriot, Greek, Turkish or British). The High Court had mainly appellate jurisdiction but could also deal with “offences against the constitution and the constitutional order.” The Supreme Constitutional Court had exclusive jurisdiction over the allocation of functions and powers between the various institutions. Either president or vice president might appeal to this court whenever he thought that a law including, specifically, the budget, would have the effect of discriminating against one of the communities. Moreover human rights were strongly protected. A long series of guarantees against discrimination and in support of fundamental rights and liberties (Articles 6 to 35) were closely based on the appropriate European conventions. Finally, the constitution recognized the bi-communal nature of Cyprus in its arrangements for administration. The public service should approximate in all grades of its hierarchy to a 70:30 ratio. The Public Service Commission was to consist of 10 members, seven of them Greek, but a number of decisions were made dependent on the approval of at least two of the Turkish members.

There was to be a Cypriot army, 2,000 strong, of which 1,200 should be Greeks and 800 Turks, together with security forces, comprising police and gendarmerie, also totaling 2,000, but this time with 1,400 Greeks to 600 Turks; forces stationed in parts of the republic inhabited almost totally by one community should have policemen drawn entirely from that community.


17.12.2007




Cyprus: The complete history from 1960 to 1974 (2)
A first reaction to this document must be that for a nation of 556,000, this was a very elaborate and very rigid constitution. It runs to 199 articles and of these the 48 “basic” ones were to remain unalterable in perpetuity.
The remainder could in practice only be altered by mutual agreement of the two communities. Drafted with the help of a Swiss constitutional adviser, the constitution was of the consociational variety which gives the preservation of the ethnic balance higher priority than majority rule.
Moreover the constitution, thus heavily freighted, was screwed into the international system by the accompanying treaties. Under the Treaty of Guarantee with Britain, Greece and Turkey, the Republic of Cyprus undertakes to uphold its own independence and its own constitution; not to participate in any political or economic union with any state whatsoever; and to prohibit any domestic action likely to promote union with another state or partition. In return Britain, Greece and Turkey recognize and guarantee not only the independence, integrity and security of Cyprus but also “the state of affairs established by the Basic Articles of its Constitution.” They also will ban activity favoring “Enosis or Taksim” (union or division). In the event of a breach of the provisions of the treaty, the three guarantors “will consult together” about “measures necessary to ensure observance.” Then follows the most critical wording of the treaty, currently cited to support the Turkish position. If, says, Article IV, concerted action should not be possible, “each of the three guaranteeing powers reserves the right to take action with the sole aim of re-establishing the state of affairs created by this present Treaty.”

The Treaty of Alliance, which was between Cyprus, Greece and Turkey, thus not including Britain, was intended to reinforce the rationale of the whole series of arrangements: that Greco-Turkish friendship was in the last resort worth more than the strict arithmetic and practical convenience of Cypriot politics. A committee of the three foreign ministers was “the supreme political body” of the alliance. Under its authority there should be a tripartite headquarters established on the island, with military contingents of 950 Greeks and 650 Turks to provide for the defense of the new republic and to train the new Cypriot army

The extent to which this complex of arrangements, redolent of old-fashioned diplomacy, was legally valid in the light of the United Nations Charter has been the subject of much debate among international lawyers. The question was whether a constitution so rigid and unalterable was compatible with the equal sovereignty which was recognized in the charter and whether its unchangeable nature could validly be enforced under a treaty which permitted any one of the signatories individually to take action.

It is a complex argument which has not been resolved.

Certainly Professor Ernst Forsthoff, the German who was the first president of the Supreme Constitutional Court, was to say [in 1963]: “I consider it wrong to regard Cyprus under the present agreement and constitution as an independent state.” The guarantees, he added, “include also a right of actual intervention -- there can be no guarantee without the right of intervention.” Clearly the signatories, it may be presumed, thought they were signing valid documents. Archbishop Makarios subsequently claimed that the settlement was imposed on him by force majeure and that he did not feel morally bound by it.

Archbishop Makarios was elected the first president of Cyprus by the Greek voters in December 1959 and Dr. Fazil Küçük the first vice president by the Turks. The archbishop had critics both on the right from supporters of Grivas -- who left the island for a hero’s welcome in Athens and the rank of a retired general -- and on the left because the settlement had been brought under the aegis of NATO. He moved swiftly to consolidate his position -- by appointing EOKA people to key positions, most notably Polycarpos Yorgadjis as minister of the interior, and by launching a vigorous foreign policy of friendship with the non-aligned powers which served to disarm the potential opposition of the communists in AKEL who were given five unopposed members in the first House. But the same process of satisfying the political needs of the Greek Cypriot community straightaway led to a series of conflicts with the Turks, in which the feelings of the two communities about the constitution were made plain.

The Greek Cypriots’ feeling was that the constitutional privileges accorded the Turkish community were preposterous; the Turkish Cypriots’ that these were the bare minimum, to be exercised to the last ounce.

The disputes concerned:

(a) The 70:30 ratio in the public service: The Turkish Cypriots required that the proportion should be attained within five months of independence as had in fact been stipulated in a pre-independence agreement between the president-elect and the vice president-elect.

The Greek Cypriots in the Public Service Commission argued that they could not draw from 18 percent of the population which was poorly qualified suitable candidates to fill 30 percent of the jobs overnight. After three years the Greek Cypriots published figures to show that real progress had been made in all grades towards the objective. But the subject rankled and aroused resentment in both communities. At the end of 1963 there were 2,000 appeals outstanding in the Supreme Constitutional Court about public appointments.

24.12.2007