TRNC Ministry of Foreign Affairs Statement…..
UN Security Council Resolution 2618 (2022) on the extension of the mandate of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force (UNFI) stationed in Cyprus for six months until 31 July 2022 was adopted on 27 January 2022.
Failure to obtain the consent of the TRNC for the extension of the mandate of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force means a violation of the UN’s own principles and rules. Ignoring the guiding principle of seeking the consent of all parties, which is the fundamental basis of peace operations, by the UN itself, deeply discredits the UN and puts its presence in our country into question.
UNBG is still able to continue its activities in the TRNC territory with our goodwill. There is a need for a legal arrangement to be agreed between the TRNC and the UN for the presence of UNFICYP in our country and the continuation of its operations. Since all our calls in this regard were left unanswered, we have no choice but to take the necessary steps.
In the said resolution of the UNSC, it is unacceptable to try to impose the “bi-zonal, bi-communal federation” model that has lost its validity, tried, and exhausted. This approach means supporting the policies of the Greek Cypriot side, which aims to imprison the Turkish Cypriot people in an open-ended process and to force them to live in isolation. By prejudging the solution model of the Security Council, it prevents reaching an acceptable agreement that will be freely negotiated by considering the out-of-form ideas stated by the UN Secretary General. This attitude also serves no other purpose than to bring the two sides closer, rather than to widen the gap between them.
Decisions regarding the closed Maraş, which is the TRNC’s own territory, are taken within the framework of international law, and respect for the right to property will be strictly observed in the future. It is worth emphasizing again; The aim of the TRNC is to provide a remedy, including return, to the property claims of the Greeks by the Immovable Property Commission (TMK), which was established within the framework of the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). Despite this, in the UNSC resolution, unnecessary expressions regarding the closed Maraş were used. These statements clearly show that the UNSC does not care about the respect of property rights and is only pursuing a biased, political decision.
The tension in the island and the Eastern Mediterranean is the result of the uninterrupted unilateral and illegal activities of the Greek Cypriot side. The military exercises carried out in the Eastern Mediterranean are just some examples of the Greek Cypriot side’s known policy of escalating tensions, as well as increasing the purchase of heavy weapons and military equipment by the Greek side along the border and in the buffer zone. In addition, it is clear that the unilateral activities of the Turkish Cypriot people regarding natural resources, of which they are partners, threaten security and stability. It is unacceptable that the UNSC does not condemn these provocative activities of the Greek Cypriot side. The biased stance of the Security Council encourages the Greek Cypriot side to usurp the rights of the Turkish Cypriot people and continue their unilateral activities.
The United Nations Security Council should stop treating the Greek Cypriot Administration as the so-called “representative of the whole island”. It would be the most realistic approach to accept the fact that there are two sovereign equal States and two Peoples on the island by the entire international community, including the UN Security Council.
Source: TRNC Ministry of Foreign Affairs
