Cyprus, 2006

Before proceeding

with my remarks, I wish to indicate that Cyprus, as a

member of the European Union, is represented by the

Union and fully subscribes to the statement delivered

this morning by the President of Finland on behalf of

the European Union. I should also like to express my

sincere congratulations to Ms. Haya Rashed Al-Khalifa

on her election as President of this session of the

General Assembly, and my gratitude to Mr. Jan

Eliasson, President during the sixtieth session, for his

tireless efforts during a historic year for the United

Nations. I also wish to thank the Secretary-General for

his comprehensive report on the work of the

Organization (A/61/1), highlighting the problems, the

concerns and the achievements of the United Nations

and providing guidance on the way forward. I would

like moreover to warmly welcome the Republic of

Montenegro as the 192nd Member of the United

Nations.

During the session that followed the 2005 World

Summit, implementation of the Summit Outcome

Document (resolution 60/1), and the reform process

more generally, absorbed an important part of the work

of the Organization. The establishment of the

Peacebuilding Commission and the Human Rights

Council, alongside other important achievements,

constitutes an important building block towards a

consolidated international system based on effective

multilateralism. We should, however, not lose sight of

the fact that the legitimacy and the relevance of the

reform achieved will be judged by its impact on the

lives of our peoples. In that respect, let me underline

that as a country whose priority lies with upholding the

integrity of international law and full respect for

human rights, we have a strong interest in seeing a

Human Rights Council that fulfils its mandate and

leads to human rights improvements on the ground.

There are also aspects of reform that continue to

elude us, such as Security Council reform and a

comprehensive convention against terrorism; aspects

that remain in progress, such as management reform,

mandate review and system-wide coherence; and

challenges that are increasingly more difficult to

tackle, such as disarmament and non-proliferation.

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In that regard, I would like to commend the

President of the General Assembly for choosing the

achievement of the development goals as the theme of

her presidency in recognition of their enduring

importance. My Government believes that concerted,

innovative multilateral action to eradicate the scourges

deriving from poverty and underdevelopment can yield

substantial results. In that connection, Cyprus has

joined France, Brazil, Chile, Norway, the United

Kingdom and other countries in deciding to introduce a

special levy on air tickets, the proceeds of which will

fund improved access to medication in developing

countries.

Regrettably, the urgent need to achieve a

comprehensive and lasting peace in the Middle East

manifested itself in a very dramatic manner once again

this summer. For almost four weeks, the international

community witnessed a violent crisis in Lebanon that

caused indescribable suffering, devastation and a

deplorably high number of casualties among civilians.

We offer our sympathy and concern to the

Governments of Lebanon and Israel and to the families

of all those affected.

Firmly convinced that there is no military

solution to such crises, Cyprus, from the very first

moment of the outbreak of violence, supported the

calls for an immediate ceasefire and joined in the effort

to provide assistance both to the Lebanese people and

to the evacuees. Unfortunately, it took almost a month

for the Security Council to discharge its

responsibilities effectively towards the peoples of the

region, causing disappointment and frustration. In our

search for United Nations-centred, effective

multilateralism, the lessons learned from that crisis

should be a strong guiding force. We hope that the

expanded United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, to

whose deployment, operations and support Cyprus has

undertaken to contribute, will be effective in

preventing future eruptions of violence.

In parallel to the Lebanese crisis, the world

continues to witness the deterioration of the situation

in the occupied Palestinian territories, with a heavy

civilian toll and worsening humanitarian conditions. A

year after the positive prospects created by Israeli

disengagement from Gaza, the current crises serve as a

reminder of the urgent need for a new strategy that

would lead to a comprehensive and lasting settlement

of all facets of the Middle East question on the basis of

relevant United Nations resolutions. In that respect, it

is imperative to urgently revert to the implementation

of international agreements, including the road map,

providing for the creation of a viable Palestinian State

that will peacefully coexist side by side with Israel

within agreed borders.

Let me now turn to the Cyprus problem — a

problem of the invasion and continuing occupation by

Turkish military forces of 37 per cent of the territory of

my country for more than 32 years now. Mistaken by

some for a protracted conflict, the Cyprus problem

essentially epitomizes the inability of the international

community to redress this set of massive violations of

international legality. The status quo remains

unchanged and the humanitarian and human rights

consequences of the forcible division of the island and

its people persist. The efforts to establish a separate

political and legal entity within the occupied area of

Cyprus by the occupying Power remain undiminished.

Only with respect to investigating the fate of persons

missing since the invasion and establishing the

circumstances of their disappearance have we recently

witnessed some encouraging developments.

In the political field, we have continued to exert

efforts on two key axes, coming closer to a negotiating

process that would guarantee a peaceful settlement,

alleviate the consequences of the invasion and bring

about the reunification of Cyprus, its territory, people,

society, economy and institutions in a bizonal,

bicommunal federation.

The political agenda of projecting a separate

political entity in Cyprus has been pursued in recent

years under the pretext of a campaign to lift the so-

called isolation of the Turkish Cypriot community.

However, with the annual per capita income in the

occupied areas of Cyprus currently standing at

approximately $11,000, it is evident that the argument

for economic development is being exploited for

political reasons and is a manifestly unsubstantiated

allegation. A recent example of that pattern of

behaviour is the refusal of the Turkish side to consider

our proposal to increase trading activity by reopening

the port of Famagusta for exports to other States

members of the European Union, in cooperation with

the European Commission, following the return of the

now fenced-off and derelict city of Famagusta to its

lawful inhabitants under the control of the Cyprus

Government.

19 06-52737

The Greek Cypriots remain committed to

reunification through a functional bizonal, bicommunal

federation. The failure of the most recent initiative did

not alter our commitment or our willingness to work

resolutely towards the reunification of our country. The

proposed plan was not accepted precisely because it

did not provide for the reunification of our divided

country or address core issues and key concerns in a

satisfactory manner. The search for a settlement firmly

remains for us in the United Nations framework, within

the context of the good offices mission mandated to the

Secretary-General by the Security Council.

I would now like to turn briefly to developments

of a political nature that have taken place over the past

few months and to our attempts during that time to

create the right conditions for the resumption of

meaningful negotiations in the framework of the good

offices mission of the Secretary-General for a viable

settlement of the Cyprus problem. To that end, I wish

to emphasize our concurrence with the opinion of the

Secretary-General that good and careful preparation of

any negotiating process is necessary before full-

fledged negotiations can take place. It was thus agreed

that bicommunal discussions at the technical level

would commence to address substantive aspects of the

Cyprus problem, as well as issues that affect the

everyday life of all Cypriots as long as the status quo

persists — a process that could be complemented by

parallel confidence-building. This expert-level process

is a sine qua non for the preparation of issues and their

presentation to the leaders of the two communities for

the purpose of meaningful negotiation. The method of

initiating these technical discussions was agreed to by

the two communities during the recent visit to Cyprus

of Under-Secretary-General Gambari. Here, I wish to

express my sincere gratitude and appreciation for the

good offices of Mr. Gambari, as well as for the

continuing efforts of the Secretary-General’s Special

Representative, Mr. Michael Møller.

Addressing these core issues — which must be

settled satisfactorily if there is to be a feasible

solution — should facilitate the attainment of the

broader objectives of a settlement, which should be

based on international law, the relevant United Nations

resolutions, the high-level agreements, the European

Union acquis and the relevant decisions of the

European Court of Human Rights. That entails

establishing a bicommunal and bizonal federal State of

Cyprus with a single sovereignty and international

personality and with a single citizenship. It must also

guarantee the independence and territorial integrity of

Cyprus, without any foreign troops on its soil and

without the possibility of foreign intervention. A

settlement must aim, through a rational approach and a

common vision of the future, to preserve and uphold

the character of the State as a working democracy and

to ensure the reunification of society and the

convergence of allegiances to common institutions.

Ethnic origin, political equality as defined in the

relevant United Nations resolutions, and cultural and

religious diversity should be safeguarded, but not at the

expense of the fundamental rights of citizens and the

functionality and efficiency of State institutions.

We had hoped that by now, Turkey’s course of

accession to the European Union would have had a

catalytic effect, producing the necessary political will

on the part of Turkey and changing its perception of

Cyprus from that of an adversary to that of a partner, a

valuable neighbour and a potential ally in the European

Union. Such a change in attitude would render

completely anachronistic those considerations that

have led the country to maintain its occupation army in

Cyprus and that fuel its confrontational approach.

We continue to expect Turkey to at least proceed

with the implementation of its legally binding

obligations vis-à-vis the European Union. This is a

unique opportunity for Turkey to prove its willingness

to turn the page by meeting obligations that it

undertook years ago. Unfortunately, it has so far

persistently refused to comply with them. Instead, our

generous attitude towards Turkey’s accession to the

European Union has met with a blockade against my

country in its bid to join several international and

regional organizations and with Turkey’s refusal to

open its ports and airports to Cypriot vessels, as

required.

We still believe that in our relations with Turkey,

there is only one way forward: creating a future of

peace and cooperation, building bridges and mutual

understanding, normalizing our relations and working

hand in hand to achieve the goals of the European

Union in our region. That would also enable us to

address all outstanding issues to the benefit of all —

especially the Turkish Cypriot community, which

would have major opportunities to thrive and flourish

if Turkey were to accept and acknowledge that it has

no vested interests in Cyprus and must therefore

relinquish all forms of interference in my country’s

06-52737 20

affairs. Once again, I invite Turkey to recognize that

there is no room for military doctrines with regard to

Cyprus and to join us in seeking a lasting solution for

the benefit of all Cypriots — Greek and Turkish

Cypriots alike — of Turkey and of our entire region.