15 November 2005
Rt Hon Tony Blair MP
Prime Minister
10 Downing Street
London SW1A 2AA
Dear Prime Minister,
Today marks the 22nd anniversary of the unilateral declaration of independence issued by the unrecognised and illegal regime occupying northern Cyprus. The global community condemned the UDI at the time and continues to do so, while Cypriot refugees still await their return home and the regime in the occupied area oversees constant breaches of human rights.
Yet while the basic principles of social justice are violated and international law and UN resolutions are contravened, HMG has forsaken its longstanding, principled stance to pursue political capital from the situation. The opportunities that present themselves today, particularly in relation to the terms of Turkey’s accession to the EU, are being overlooked as other geopolitical aims are pursued. The fact that such aims need not be mutually exclusive adds further dismay to the Greek Cypriot community and all those who respect justice and ethical foreign policy.
The rejection of the Annan Plan was unscrupulously used to portray Greek Cypriots as the barrier to progress, while a considered view of the Cyprus problem since the invasion would clearly show that this is far from being the truth. Indeed, while Turkey persists in trying to create a recognised state in the occupied area, the Government of the Republic already acts in as many ways as possible as the government for all Cypriots, providing millions of pounds from its own domestic budget for pensions, healthcare and social welfare for the growing number of Turkish Cypriots moving across the border. This is merely a reflection of the longstanding willingness of the Greek Cypriot side to compromise and accommodate in its pursuit of a settlement.
In the UK, the government of a party so long adherent to the values of justice and the rule of law that lie at the centre of the Cyprus problem is welcoming with open arms the bogus officials of the so-called administration in the occupied area. “President” Talat and “Prime Minister” Soyer, despite being members of an illegal, unrecognised regime with poor human rights records and a litany of UN resolutions condemning their pseudo-state, have both been granted audiences with Foreign Office Ministers.
Compare this with the repeated rebuffing of requests for a meeting with Mr Alexander from the National Federation of Cypriots, representing over 250,000 British Cypriots residing in the UK, and a rather unflattering portrait of HMG’s approach to foreign policy and its prioritisation therein emerges.
The Greek Cypriot community in Great Britain believes that the future of the people of Cyprus lies in a united, independent, bicommunal Cyprus where the human rights of all Cypriots will be safeguarded, and we are resolved to continue working towards that end. To understand the context within which we shall do so, please could you justify the reasons for such ambiguity in your Government’s approach and the reasons for the shift in foreign policy formulation that has seen the focus move from rights and justice to political expediency?
Yours sincerely,
Haris Sophoclides
President
National Federation of Cypriots in Great Britain