6 August 2005 

Turkish Army General Staff

delivered through the

UN Peace keeping Force, Cyprus

at Derynia check-point

outside the Famagusta sealed-off section

 Since 1974 you maintain at least 35,000 troops in Cyprus enforcing the de facto division of our country achieved through the two-staged invasion code-named ‘Attila I’ and ‘Attila II’ you carried out in July and August 1974. For 31 years your troops stand guard on the demarcation line you established, keeping us Cypriots apart while exercising pervasive influence in the ostensibly Turkish-Cypriot administered area in the north of Cyprus.

 Since 1974 you have kept a section of our city, Famagusta, sealed-off and out-of-bounds for all Cypriots, after you systematically looted it, rendering it a ‘ghost town’ left to the elements. Adding insult to injury and ignoring every basic internationally recognized human right, you use some of this city section’s facilities for your officers’ and troops’ Rest and Recreation. 

Your actions reveal the status and outlook of your army in the dawn of the 21^st century. You have chosen to create and maintain a European Anachronism while you try to project a modern army image. At the same time you deny all Cypriots the opportunity to begin the process of reunification by not allowing, as a first step, the return of the Famagusta sealed-off section’s inhabitants to their homes. 

As citizens we demand your withdrawal from the Famagusta sealed-off section and its return to its inhabitants. Even though we have no means to enforce it, we can only pursue our goal as united Cypriots motivated by our yearning for reunification.

 The people of Famagusta

The  Plight  of

F A M A G U S T A

A  Modern  European  Anachronism

The fortune of a country and its cities is determined by certain physical and human factors, such as its potential sources of wealth, its geographic location and the industriousness and intelligence of its people. The eastern part of Cyprus is favored with the fertile Mesaoria, ‘in the middle of mountains’ plain, the granary of all Cyprus, bounded by the Pentadaktylos range in the North and the Troodos range in the Southwest, whose eastern edges meet the sea forming a coastline of remarkable beauty. Since antiquity, great cities were founded and prospered along the eastern Cyprus seashore, as commercial and Greek cultural centers and maritime powers, all along a 10 kilometer section of the coast, but in an almost linear succession stretching over 4,000 years. In the middle of the 10^th century A.D., the inhabitants of Salamis, which was destroyed by raids and earthquakes, moved several kilometers to the south and established a new city on the ruins of the deserted, buried in the sand, town of Arsinoe. The new city was called Ammochostos, ‘buried in sand’, which the Latin rulers of Cyprus corrupted into Famagusta. By the mid 14^th century, Famagusta became one of the strongest commercial centers in the Mediterranean, as it handled most of the Orient trade. Later, the rivalry between Genoa and Venice led to the city’s decline, although it remained an important commercial hub. During the rule of Venice, the impressive fortification of the city, with its massive walls and ramparts and cylindrical towers was built on the earlier work by the Lusignans, and Byzantines. Famagusta was first captured by the Turks after an eleven-month siege in August, 1571. Its Christian inhabitants were later forced to reside outside of the city walls, and gradually formed a new town called Varosha, which derives from the Turkish word varos, for suburb. After independence from British colonial rule, Famagusta (the name is commonly applied to include both the walled section and Varosha) grew rapidly as a tourist destination and as a commercial and cultural center. By June 1974, Famagusta hosted more than 53% of the tourists who visited Cyprus, while its port handled 83% of the total general cargo and 49% of the total passenger traffic to and from the island.

Famagusta was captured for a second time by the Turks in August 1974, during the second phase of the Turkish invasion, as its inhabitants fled before the advancing Turkish troops. An extensive section of the city, largely corresponding to Varosha, was immediately sealed-off, and entrance to it was strictly prohibited. In the following two years it was systematically looted by Turkish army contingents using 30-40 trucks at a time. Most of the plundered goods were taken to Turkey where they were sold at auction, while some were given to Turkish Cypriots and Anatolian settlers on the island. The Swedish journalist Jan-Olof Bengtsson, while visiting the Swedish UN battalion at the port of Famagusta, wrote in Kvallsposten, on September 24, 1977:

                        The asphalt on the roads has cracked in the warm sun

                        and along the sidewalks bushes are growing.

                        Today – September 1977 – the breakfast tables are

                        still set, the laundry still hanging and the lamps still

                        burning.

                        Varosha is a ghost town. (emphasis added)

Since May 1, 2004, the sealed-off section of Famagusta has become a

European Union anachronism, the only ghost town within its borders,

established by war and maintained by political will.

The sealed-off section of Famagusta has been used as a “bargaining chip” by the occupying forces, throughout efforts to reach a negotiated settlement of the Cyprus problem. Since 1977, it is included in numerous officially formulated proposals and counterproposals, none of which has come to fruition.

The city remains under the direct control of the Turkish military. 

On July 7, 2004, the European Commission, acting on the invitation of the European Council, put forth proposals aiming to end the isolation of the Turkish Cypriot community. After the outcome of the April 24, 2004 referenda, where the Turkish Cypriots made a clear choice to accede to the European Union in a reunified Cypriot state, while the Greek Cypriots were not ready to support the latest UN proposals for a comprehensive settlement of the Cyprus problem, the Council stated on April 26, 2004:

“The Turkish Cypriot community have (sic) expressed their clear desire for a future within the European Union. The Council is determined to put an end to the isolation of the Turkish Cypriot community and to facilitate the reunification of Cyprus by encouraging the economic development of the Turkish Cypriot community. The Council invited the Commission to bring forward comprehensive proposals to this end, with particular emphasis on the economic integration of the island and on improving contact between the two communities and with the EU. The council recommended that the 259 million euro already earmarked for the northern part of Cyprus in the event of a settlement now be used for this purpose.”

In an “Explanatory Memorandum” attached to the “Proposal for a Council Regulation establishing an instrument of financial support for encouraging the economic development of the Turkish Cypriot community,” it is stated that:

“The present package is aiming at facilitating the reunification of Cyprus by encouraging the economic and social development with particular emphasis on the economic integration of the island, through alignment with the acquis, and by improving contacts between the two communities and with the EU. Besides reconciliation and confidence building measures, it will cover, inter alia, the promotion of social and economic development, development of the infrastructure, and the people to people contacts. Most of the activities will be therefore similar to pre-accession activities. Due to the isolation of the Turkish Cypriot community over the last years, the activities will have a strong focus on helping with acquis approximation, especially as regards investments to comply with European norms, inter alia, in the environmental and transport areas.” (emphasis added)

The UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has expressed in his Report on his mission of good offices in Cyprus of May 28, 2004, UN Doc S/2004/437, his support for the elimination of “unnecessary restrictions and barriers that have the effect of isolating the Turkish Cypriots and impeding their development,” in the context of encouraging “the Turkish Cypriots, and Turkey, to remain committed to the goal of reunification…and not for the purpose of affording recognition or assisting secession”(para 93) and added:

“A generation or more of Cypriots have no memory of life on a unified island. Most of the dispossessed in the south, by hard work and enterprise, have carved out a prosperous livelihood, as have many others who are not originally from the north. While they strongly state their wish to reunify, many see in a settlement very little gain, and quite a lot of inconvenience and risk.” (para 85, emphasis added)

“These are matters on which Greek Cypriots may wish to reflect in the coming period, when there is little prospect of any renewed peace effort. Civil society, not just political parties, may need to play a role in such a reflection. The European Union will no doubt contribute to this exercise. If the Greek Cypriots are ready to share power and prosperity with the Turkish Cypriots in a federal structure based on political equality, this needs to be demonstrated, not just by word, but by action.”(para 86, emphasis added)

“While the Turkish Cypriots may feel rebuffed after the 24 April vote, their best course is not to turn their back on reunification, but to redouble their determination to achieve it. They, and Turkey, would be well advised to take every opportunity to reach out to the Greek Cypriots, and do everything in their power to promote reconciliation. I am encouraged that both Mr. Talat and the  government of Turkey have made clear that they respect the wishes of the Turkish Cypriots for reconciliation and reunification, and that their policy will be guided accordingly.” (para 88, emphasis added)

In his historic declaration of 9 May 1950, Robert Schuman, Minister for Foreign Affairs of France, stated that “Europe will not be made all at once, or according to a single plan. It will be build through concrete achievements which first create a de facto solidarity.”

At the aftermath of the April 24, 2004 referenda, the Famagusta Refugee Movement, acting in accordance to the ultimate goal of reaching a settlement of the Cyprus question, formulated and circulated a proposal calling for the return of the sealed-off section of our city to its rightful owners, in conjunction with measures, still under consideration at the time, to be adopted by the international community, including the EU, for the alleviation of the economic isolation of the Turkish Cypriot community. We declared our support for efforts to assist the Turkish Cypriots, who legally and sociologically constitute an integral part of Cyprus, but had also expressed our concern that the adoption of measures in benefit of the Turkish Cypriot community, applied in isolation to and independently from an overall purposeful strategy aimed at the reunification of our country, may prove to be counterproductive.

We find the recent promulgation of the European proposals “encouraging the economic development of the Turkish Cypriot community” heartening in their scope and aims. We also recognize that they do not include practical applications which could “facilitate the reunification of Cyprus by encouraging the economic and social development with particular emphasis on the economic integration of the island.” In that respect, we would like to bring directly to the attention of the European Parliament, the Council of the European Union and the Presidency and the European Commission the merits of our proposal, which are in line with the European Commission’s proposals stated goals.

Return of the sealed-off section of Famagusta to its rightful, lawful inhabitants in conjunction with the European Commission’s proposals for “putting an end to the economic isolation of the Turkish Cypriot community.”

A ghost town is of no use. It merely inflicts pain on its displaced residents and their descendants, hinders the overall economic revival of the city and does not contribute to the building of confidence between the Cypriot communities.

In paraphrasing Mr. Schuman, Cyprus may be reunified through concrete achievements which first create a de facto solidarity. Let the revival of Famagusta be the first such achievement.