50 years since the coup d’etat and Turkish invasion

 

Solidarity Statement with the people of Cyprus

It is with deep sorrow and concern that we mark this year the 50th devastating anniversary of the illegal invasion and ongoing occupation of 37% of the territory of the Republic of Cyprus by Turkey, following the treasonous coup d’etat of 15 July 1974 planned by CIA, NATO and the Greek junta. We recall that in result of foreign interventions and imperialist aggression, Cyprus and its people -Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots- have become hostage in a relentlessly dangerous status quo.
The status quo is nor static nor can it represent a solution; on the contrary, the status quo and the continuing stalemate serve Turkey’s long-term hegemonic objectives against Cyprus and the permanent division of Cyprus and its people. The constant fabrication of new divisionist fait accompli in the occupied territory and the hegemonial subordination and control over the Turkish Cypriots by Turkey, hinder the prospects of a comprehensive, just and viable solution. Turkey’s constant challenge of the sovereign rights of the Republic of Cyprus in its Exclusive Economic Zone contrary to the Law of the Sea, the unilateral partial opening of the fenced off are of Varosha, in violation of UN Security Council resolutions 550 and 789, along with the provocations near Pyla and Agios Dometios and the intensifying militarisation of the occupied areas by the further transfer of military equipment including combat drones, are causes of extreme concern for the present and the future of Cyprus.
The resumption of a substantive dialogue, from where it was left in July 2017, is a matter of urgency, in order to achieve a comprehensive solution on the agreed basis of a bizonal bicommunal federation with political equality, as this is prescribed by the relevant UN resolutions, with the withdrawal of all the Turkish occupation troops and termination of the Treaty of Guarantee. This constitutes the sole viable option for Cyprus to be freed of the illegal occupation by Turkey and for the country and its people to reunify.
The transformation of the political system into a federal one, is the only way to reunite Cyprus; we will never accept any ‘solution’ that may jeopardize the true independence of Cyprus, bearing on its single sovereignty, single international legal personality and single citizenship, and whereby no third parties will be able to intervene and the human rights and freedoms of all Cypriots will be restored in accordance with international law and the principles upon which the EU is founded.
The current official position of Turkey and Mr. Tatar for a two-states solution and the persistent demand for a recognition of ‘sovereign equality’ and an equal international status as prerequisites for the resumption of the negotiations are utterly unacceptable. They encroach upon the agreed basis of the solution, all the relevant UNSC Resolutions and violate core international law principles which set the parameters for the comprehensive solution of the Cyprus problem. The continuous intransigence of Turkey in this regard, obstructs the resumption of meaningful negotiations. Whereas we firmly believe, that the agreed framework constitutes the only realistic point of convergence for a solution to the Cyprus problem, as it is based on the respect for international law and can serve the well-intentioned interests, sensitivities and just demands of the Cypriot people as a whole.
In the current international conditions of exacerbated militarisation of international relations, the sidelining of international law and the UN Charter, the peaceful solution of the Cyprus problem becomes even more urgent. The international community is in need of positive conflict resolution paradigms and tangible results in building a peaceful, stable and secure world within which humanity can truly develop and progress.
The comprehensive solution of the Cyprus problem is a necessary prerequisite for the demilitarisation of the island and for common class struggles a future.

Those signing the present Statement:

Call on the international community to support the resumption of substantive negotiations for the comprehensive solution of the Cyprus problem as soon as possible and demand an end of the Turkish illegal actions and occupation
Express their solidarity with and support to the struggle of the Cypriot people for the liberation and reunification of its country.

Undersigning Parties 

• Austria - Communist Party of Austria
• Brazil -   Communist Party of Brazil
• Britain - New Communist Party of Britain
• Cyprus - AKEL
• Czech Republic - Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia
• France - French Communist Party
• Germany - German Communist Party
• Iran - Tudeh Party of Iran
• Italy - Communist Refoundation Party
• Italy - Italian Communist Party
• Luxembourg - Communist Party of Luxembourg
• Portugal - Portuguese Communist Party
• Spain - Communists of Catalonia
• Spain - Communist Party of the Peoples of Spain
• Spain - Galizan People's Union (UPG)
• Sri-Lanka - JVP - People's Liberation front

Lift the Blockade on Cuba

On AKEL’s initiative communist and workers parties of are calling for an end to the US blockade of Cuba.

Joint Declaration of Communist and Workers’ Parties

 As the Covid-19 pandemic continues to spread over the whole planet causing enormous human pain and loses, it tragically confirms the existence of two different approaches: one insisting to put profits and imposition of global control above public health and the wellbeing of their own people, and a different one putting people, their health and wellbeing, above all other interests.
Amidst the  Covid-19 pandemic, in different continents peoples become witnesses of the internationalism and solidarity exhibited by Cuba as it responds to calls for assistance by dispatching medical teams to tenths of countries.  This humanitarian response is a continuation of decades of disinterested practice when Cuban doctors and nurses came to the help of countries stricken by natural disasters or epidemics.
Whilst the word “Solidarity” is echoed from different corners as the necessary approach for the whole planet to face the pandemic, the US choose to further harden the illegal economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed on Cuba. At these critical times, when human lives are at stake, the US, by imposing the extraterritoriality clause of the Helms-Burton Law, obstruct personal protective equipment, ventilators, and test kits to be acquired or reach Cuba. This is the most gruesome manifestation of the criminal 60-year-long blockade and its consequences for the life and economic development of Cuba and its people.

Under these conditions we the undersigned Communist and Workers’ Parties:

• denounce the criminal US economic, commercial and financial blockade on Cuba
• demand the immediate lifting of the illegal US blockade on Cuba
• express our gratitude for Cuba’s solidarity extended to peoples in need through its medical teams
• reiterate our solidarity with the Communist Party of Cuba, the Cuban Government and People in their struggle to defend the socialist path of development

Solidarity YES – Blockade NO

The Joint Declaration is open for signatures

	Communist Party of Albania Communist Party of Argentina Communist Party of Armenia Communist Party of Australia Party of Labour of Austria Democratic Progressive Tribune, Bahrain Communist Party of Bangladesh Workers’ Party of Belgium Communist Party of Belgium Communist Party of Brazil Brazilian Communist Party Communist Party of Britain New Communist Party of Britain Communist Party of Canada Communist Party of Chile Communist Party of Colombia Socialist Workers’ Party of Croatia Communist Party of Cuba AKEL – CYPRUS Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia Communist Party in Denmark Workers’ Party of Korea Communist Party of Ecuador Egyptian Communist Party Communist Party of Finland French Communist Party Unified CP of Georgia DKP-German Communist Party Communist Party of Greece Hungarian Workers’ Party Communist Party of India (Marxist) Communist Party of India Tudeh Party of Iran Iraqi Communist Party Communist Party of Kurdistan-Iraq Communist Party of Ireland Workers’ Party of Ireland Communist Party of Israel Communist Refoundation Party - Italy Italian Communist Party -PCI Communist Party –Italy Jordanian Communist Party Communist Party of Luxembourg Communist Party of Malta Communist Party of Mexico New Communist Party of Netherlands Communist Party of Norway Communist Party of Pakistan Palestinian People’s Party Palestinian Communist Party Paraguayan Communist Party PKP-1930, the Philippine Communist Party Communist Party of Poland Portuguese Communist Party Romanian Socialist Party Communist Party of the Russian Federation Russian Communist Workers’ Party Union of Communist Parties CPSU New Communist Patry of Yugoslavia Communists of Serbia South African Communist Party Communist Party of Spain Communist Party of the Peoples of Spain –PCPE Communist Party of the Workers of Spain Communists of Catalonia Communist Party of Sri Lanka Sudanese Communist Party Communist Party of Swaziland Communist Party of Sweden Communist Party of Turkey Communist Party of Ukraine Communist Party USA Communist Party of Venezuela

Solidarity with the People of Cyprus

AKEL, within the framework of the annual 19th International Meeting of Communist and Workers’ Parties, circulated a “Joint Solidarity Statement with the people of Cyprus”. The Joint Statement, as well as the sixty one Parties that have signed it, are listed below.

Solidarity Statement with the people of Cyprus

 “The freedom and reunification of Cyprus is a milestone against imperialist aggression”

• We assert that the Cyprus problem is the result of foreign intervention and imperialist aggression; in July 1974, the Greek junta and the fascist organization EOKA B staged a coup d’état against the elected President of the Republic of Cyprus Archbishop Makarios.
• We recall that Turkey exploited the coup d’état to materialise its expansionist plans in Cyprus, invading illegally the island which remains occupied to this day in flagrant violation of international law.
• We recall that the double crime of the coup d’état and invasion was planned by the US and NATO aiming to divide Cyprus and impose union of one part to Greece and the other to Turkey, as both countries  were NATO members.
• We emphasize that the persisting violation of the sovereignty and the territorial integrity of the Republic of Cyprus, the continuing violation of the human rights and freedoms of Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, the perpetuation of the division of the people of Cyprus and the illegal mass settlement of the occupied territory to alter the demographic character of the island, form another expression of the imperialist aggression in the region of the Eastern Mediterranean and the world.
• We reiterate that the Cyprus problem is in essence an international problem of invasion and illegal occupation, in violation of the fundamental principles of international law and the Charter of the UN, but also has an internal aspect, of restoring relations between the two communities of Cyprus, the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot.
• We underline the negative prospects for the future of the negotiations following the recent failure of the peace process in Switzerland.
• We stress that the recent failure cannot be the end of all efforts to liberate and reunify Cyprus but that the leaders of the two communities, echoing the calls of the UN Secretary-General, should return to the table of the negotiations with the political will to reach a solution within the agreed framework of bicommunal, bizonal federation and in accordance with international law.
• We reiterate that Turkey’s departure from its long- standing intransigence that has hindered any concrete progress in the last 42 years remains a prerequisite for the comprehensive solution of the Cyprus problem; for the termination of the occupation, the demilitarisation of the Republic of Cyprus, the annulment of the anachronistic Treaty of Guarantee and the exclusion of any right of foreign intervention.
• We underline that the status quo entrenches the long- term aspirations and objectives of Turkey against Cyprus and is not counter-productive for the strategic goals of NATO to maintain the geostrategic and military control of our region. On the contrary, we emphasise that the comprehensive solution of the Cyprus problem within the agreed framework is the only way to reunite our people and country, thus providing the impetus for common class struggles and a future socialist transformation.

The Communist and Workers’ Parties signing the present Statement:

1. Demand the immediate withdrawal of Turkish army, the demilitarization of the Republic of Cyprus and the abolishment of foreign guarantees and of any rights for foreign intervention; it is within this context that permanent peace can be pursued, that would allow indeed the reunification, independence and freedom of the Cypriot people as a whole.
2. Demand the solution of the Cyprus problem the soonest possible, on the basis of international law and the UN Security Council resolutions. The solution must restore the human rights and freedoms, provide for the transformation of the Republic of Cyprus from a unitary state to a bicommunal, bizonal federation with a single and indivisible sovereignty, a single international personality and single citizenship with due respect to the principle of political equality, as this is prescribed in the relevant UN resolutions.
3. Call for an immediate verification of the fate of the remaining missing persons of the Cypriot tragedy.
4. Deplore the policies of Turkey in the occupied part of Cyprus aiming to the consolidation on the ground of the divisionist faits accomplis; including the enforced economic and cultural assimilation of the Turkish Cypriots, as well as the recent imposition of “charges” for medicines and basic supplies transferred to Greek Cypriots enclaved in the occupied part of the island.
5. Express their strong support for the resumption of the direct negotiations as soon as possible and call on Turkey to commit itself in abandoning its long-standing intransigent stance against Cyprus.
6. Call on the international community to stop tolerating the continuing illegality that is taking place in Cyprus, and exert its influence on Turkey in order to terminate its divisive policies on the ground and take concrete steps for the solution of the Cyprus problem within the agreed framework.
7. Express their solidarity with and support to the struggle of the Cypriot people for the liberation and reunification of its country.

THE CENTRAL COMMITTEE OF AKEL – NOVEMBER 2017


Parties undersigning

1. Argentina - Communist Party of Argentina
2. Australia - Communist Party of Australia
3. Bahrain - Democratic Progressive Tribune
4. Bangladesh - Communist Party of Bangladesh
5. Bangladesh - Workers' Party of Bangladesh
6. Belgium - Communist Party of Wallonia-Brussels
7. Brazil - Communist Party of Brazil (PCdoB)
8. Britain – Communist Party of Britain
9. Britain - New Communist Party of Britain
10. Bulgaria - Communist Party of Bulgaria
11. Bulgaria - Party of the Bulgarian Communists
12. Canada - Communist Party Of Canada
13. Chile – Communist Party of Chile
14. Colombia - Colombian Communist Party
15. Croatia - Socialist Workers' Party of Croatia
16. Cuba - Communist Party of Cuba
17. Czech Republic - Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia (CPBM)
18. Denmark - Communist Party in Denmark (KPiD)
19. Denmark - Communist Party of Denmark
20. Ecuador - Communist Party of Ecuador
21. Egypt – Egyptian Communist Party
22. Finland - Communist Party of Finland
23. France - French Communist Party
24. Germany – German Communist Party (DKP)
25. Georgia – Unified Communist Party of Georgia
26. Ireland - Communist Party of Ireland
27. Ireland - The Workers' Party of Ireland
28. Hungary - Hungarian Workers' Party
29. India – Communist Party of India
30. India – Communist Party of India (M)
31. Iran – Tudeh Party of Iran
32. Iraq – Iraqi Communist Party
33. Israel - Communist Party of Israel
34. Italy – Party of the Communist Refoundation
35. Jordan –Communist Party of Jordan
36. Lebanon - Lebanese Communist Party
37. Luxembourg - Communist Party of Luxembourg (KPL)
38. Madagascar - Party of the Congress for Independence of Madagascar (AKFM)
39. Malta – Communist Party of Malta
40. Norway - Communist Party of Norway
41. Pakistan – Communist Party of Pakistan
42. Palestine - Palestinian People's Party
43. Palestine - Palestinian Communist Party
44. Panama – Party of the People
45. Peru - Communist Party of Peru (Patria Roja)
46. Philippine Communist Party [PKP 1930]
47. Portugal – Portuguese Communist Party
48. Romania – Romanian Socialist Party
49. Russia – Communist Party of the Russian Federation (CPRF)
50. Russia - Russian Communist Workers' Party
51. Russia - Union of Communist Parties-CPSU
52. Serbia - Communists of Serbia
53. Serbia - New Communist Party of Yugoslavia
54. South Africa - South African Communist Party (SACP)
55. Spain - Communist Party of Spain (PCE)
56. Spain - Communist Party of the Peoples of Spain
57. Spain – Communists of Catalonia
58. Syria - Syrian Communist Party
59. Syria - Syrian Communist Party (Unified)
60. Sudan – Sudanese Communist Party
61. Turkey - Communist Party of Turkey (TKP)
62. Ukraine - Communist Party Of Ukraine
63. Uruguay – Communist Party of Uruguay
64. USA - Communist Party USA
65. Venezuela – Communist Party of Venezuela
66. Vietnam - Communist Party of Vietnam

AKEL: Strength comes from struggle: Hope comes from the Left

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by New Worker correspondent

THAT WAS the watchword for Cypriot communists charting the way forward in the fight against austerity and for the peaceful reunification of the island. Fraternal observers from all over the world, including New Communist Party leader Andy Brooks, joined some 1,500 delegates from the island and from the overseas Cypriot community, in Nicosia for the 22nd Congress of the Progressive Party of the Working People (AKEL) last week.

Seventy fraternal observers representing 55 parties and movements took part in the Congress and an AKEL-sponsored conference on the threats of fascism and reactionary forces in the era of imperialism and wars. Ruling communist parties were in the hall including delegations from People’s China, Cuba and Vietnam, as well as Sinn Féin, the Kurdistan National Congress and some parties of the European Left movement including Greece’s Syriza and Podemos from Spain.

AKEL was founded in 1941 but it has a much longer history as it is the direct heir of the old Communist Party of Cyprus (KKK) that was established in 1926 and later banned by the British colonial authorities. Following independence in 1960 AKEL struggled to defend the island from imperialist plots that culminated in the 1974 coup organised by the reactionary Greek military junta that gave Turkey the pretext to invade and occupy northern Cyprus.

AKEL formed a left-leaning government after it won the Cyprus parliamentary elections in 2006 and its then leader, Dimitris Christofias, won the presidential race in 2008. Working people made considerable gains when AKEL and its allies were at the helm. But welfare, pension rights, public health and education are being cut to bone by the right-wing, who took control of parliament after the 2011 elections and defeated the AKEL candidate in the presidential race in 2013.

The new government is implementing austerity with a vengeance to meet the demands of the European Union and the banks to make working people bear the entire burden of the so-called “bailout”. Unemployment has doubled in the last four years — officially now at 15.6 per cent. In reality it’s much higher if part-time and seasonal employment is taken into account. Tourism, the major industry, was hit by the worldwide capitalist slump that began in 2008. The drop in numbers of visitors from western Europe was partially off-set by others coming from Russia. But now even that sector has dipped as Russians, angry at the European Union’s sanctions over Ukraine, cross the EU, including Cyprus, off their holiday lists.

“Today, one could say that we are at the most dangerous juncture of this difficult path of struggle. The Cyprus problem remains unresolved with the danger of permanent partition growing day by day. Our people’s gains and rights, all that it has so painstakingly built and won over the years are under attack,” AKEL general secretary Andros Kyprianou declared.

Andros Kyprianou

“The elderly on low pensions, the unemployed, refugees, single parents, large families, recipients of public assistance, young scientists, farmers and workers are all thinking that perhaps for the first time in their lives they cannot hope that tomorrow things will get better.”

Nicosia is now the only divided capital in the world and the continuing division of the island, of course, dominated much of the Congress. The Turkish government publicly says that it will never betray the interests of the Turkish Cypriot community to obtain admission into the European Union. But everybody knows they would if that was the price to join the European club. And everybody also knows that Turkey’s accession is as far away as ever in these days of slump.

If the Turks were seriously concerned about the fate of the Turkish Cypriots they would have done more to preserve their community in northern Cyprus rather than seeing it evaporate over the years through immigration. Although the ethnic balance is maintained through immigration from the poorest parts of Turkey, about half the original Turkish Cypriot population now live in Britain and other parts of the European Union while the rest are outnumbered by Turkish immigrants encouraged to settle since the invasion in 1974.

Some 200,000 Greek Cypriots were driven out of their homes after the invasion while 50,000 Turkish Cypriots were incited to move to the north. Turkey occupies 36 per cent of the island, which is administered by “Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus” — a phantom state governed by Turkish Cypriot leaders and recognised by no one apart from Turkey itself. Real power lies with the Turkish “ambassador” and the 40,000 Turkish troops based in the north.

The end of partition and the restoration of a united republic with full rights for both the Turkish and Greek communities has, all along, been the paramount objective of AKEL and its allies. But no major advances can be made while the island remains divided and occupied by Turkish forces. Now there are glimmers of hope on the horizon.

The first is the search for oil and the development of natural gas fields in Cypriot waters, which has fired hopes for an economic turn-around based partly on offshore reserves. The Aphrodite natural gas field off Cyprus is commercially viable and plans are being prepared for producing eight billion cubic metres a year and the construction of a pipeline to Egypt. The big oil corporations along with Greek and Israeli oil and gas companies are all looking at the potential in the eastern Mediterranean. And so is Turkey, which has intervened, supposedly on behalf of the Turkish Cypriots it claims to represent, but in reality because they too want a share of this new energy cake.

The second was the victory of Mustafa Akinci in the northern Cyprus presidential elections. Akinci is a social-democrat and his Communal Democracy Party (TDP) is committed to reaching a compromise to end the division of the island. Following his election in April Akinci held talks with the Turkish government in Ankara and reported that they would support the resumption of negotiations with the Greek Cypriot side amid speculation that Turkey would respond realistically to long-standing Cypriot government demands in return for concessions on the oil and gas issue.

The Cypriot communist movement has always fought against nationalism and chauvinism. The Party has Turkish Cypriot members and from the very beginning the Cypriot communist movement worked to end ethnic divisions, to build united unions and a united working class. AKEL considers that the Cyprus problem should be resolved on the basis of the UN resolutions and calls for an end to the Turkish occupation and for the demilitarisation of the island and the closure of the British, Turkish and Greek bases.

Andros Kyprianou said that the party was working with other peace-loving forces on the island to help create a “dynamic solution” to the Cyprus problem. “But not just ‘any solution’, he said, “a solution that will reunite the island on the basis of a bi-zonal, bi-communal federation, which will lead to a state with a single sovereignty, international personality and citizenship; a solution without guarantees, without intervention rights and foreign armies; a solution based on the relevant UN resolutions, the High Level Agreements, international and European law; a solution that will serve the people of Cyprus, Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots and the cause of peace in the region.”

No one knows what the future will hold but the talks are going ahead and many Cypriots on both sides of the island are hoping that, at long last, an end to the conflict is in sight.

•  Speech of Andros Kyprianou, General Secretary of the C.C. of AKEL, at the International Conference organised by AKEL
•  Speech of Andros Kyprianou, General Secretary of the C.C. of AKEL, at the session of the 22nd Congress of AKEL on the 90th anniversary of the Communist Party of Cyprus – AKEL
•  Declaration of the 22nd Congress of AKEL on the Cyprus Problem
• List of fraternal delegates
  

AKEL: A Force for Cyprus A Force for the People

By a New Worker correspondent
That was the slogan that greeted representatives from communist parties all over the world, including NCP leader Andy Brooks, who came to Cyprus last month to join their Cypriot comrades taking part in the 21st Congress of the Progressive Party of the Working People (AKEL) that began in Nicosia on 25th November.
AKEL was founded in 1941 but it has a much longer history as it is the direct heir of the old Communist Party of Cyprus (KKK) that was established in 1926 and later banned by the British colonial authorities. Following independence in 1960 AKEL struggled to defend the island from imperialist plots that culminated in the 1974 coup organised by the reactionary Greek military junta that gave Turkey the pretext to invade and occupy northern Cyprus.
AKEL has maintained warm relations with virtually all the communist parties throughout the turbulent history of the world communist movement so it was no surprise to see that the number of fraternal delegations at this Congress was almost equal to that of the annual conference of communist and workers’ parties itself.
Over a hundred fraternal observers representing 67 parties and movements took part in the Congress and an AKEL sponsored conference on the struggle of the left and the struggles of the peoples for world peace and security against the imperialist order. Major communist parties were in the hall including delegations from People’s China, Cuba and Vietnam, the Syrian Arab Socialist Renaissance Party (Baath) as well as some parties of the European Left movement including the Dutch Socialists and the German Left. All the parliamentary parties in Greece and Cyprus were represented at the Congress and the Greek visitors included deputy premier Theodoros Pangalos from the governing social-democratic PASOK movement, Aleka Papariga from the Greek communist party (KKE), the opposition conservative New Democracy and the far-right LAOS movement.
AKEL is a mass party with nearly 15,000 members out of population of 670,000 in the free south of the island and membership has increased by 800 plus since the last Congress in 2005. The membership was reflected in the numbers of delegates taking part in the Congress. Over 1,400 full delegates including a number from AKEL overseas branches in Britain and Greece took part in the debates and votes over the long Congress weekend.
AKEL formed a left-leaning government after it won the Cyprus parliamentary elections in 2006 and its then leader, Dimitris Christofias, won the presidential race in 2008. But AKEL’s leaders stress that it is a “governing” – not a “ruling” party. Though the coalition is committed to social justice it is administering the economy rather than steering it towards socialist reform. Amongst other things this is largely because no major advances can be made while the island remains divided and occupied by Turkish forces. The end of partition and the restoration of a united republic with full rights for both the Turkish and Greek communities is the paramount objective of AKEL and its allies.
Nicosia is now the only divided capital in the world and the continuing division of the island, of course, dominated much of the Congress. The Turkish government publicly says that it will never betray the interests of the Turkish Cypriot community to obtain admission into the European Union. But everybody knows they would if that was the price to pay to join the European club and everybody also knows that Turkey’s accession is as far away as ever in these days of slump.
If the Turks were seriously concerned about the fate of the Turkish Cypriots they would have done more to preserve their community in northern Cyprus rather than seeing it evaporate over the years through immigration. Though the ethnic balance is maintained through immigration from the poorest parts of Turkey about half the original Turkish Cypriot population now live in Britain and other parts of the European Union while the rest are outnumbered by Turkish immigrants encouraged to settle since the invasion in 1974.
Turkey occupies 36 per cent of the island which is administered by “Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus” – a phantom state governed by Turkish Cypriot leaders and recognised by no-one apart from Turkey itself. Real power lies with the Turkish “ambassador” and the 40,000 Turkish troops based in the north. Some 200,000 Greek Cypriots were driven out of their homes after the invasion while 50,000 Turkish Cypriots were incited to move to the north.
In 2004 the Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities voted on a United Nations plan to end partition. It was accepted by the Turkish Cypriots but rejected by the Greek community, largely because it met more Turkish requirements but failed to meet core Greek demands. Talks between the two communities continue but no-one expects a breakthrough unless there is a dramatic change of policy in Turkey.
Of all the predominantly Greek Cypriot parties AKEL has the best credentials for negotiating with the Turkish Cypriot community. The Cypriot communist movement has always fought against nationalism and chauvinism. The Party has Turkish Cypriot members and from the very beginning the Cypriot communist movement worked to end ethnic divisions to build united unions and a united working class. AKEL considers that the Cyprus problem should be resolved on the basis of the UN resolutions based in the framework of a bizonal and bicommunal federation with a single sovereignty, single international personality and single citizenship, with the human rights and freedoms of all Cypriots guaranteed. AKEL calls for an end to the Turkish occupation and the demilitarisation of the island and the closure of the British, Turkish and Greek bases.
The AKEL leadership does acknowledge that the current Islamic-leaning Turkish government is more realistic than the old guard parties that had dominated Turkish politics for the past 60 years. More check-points have been opened along the cease-fire line making it easier for Turkish Cypriots to look for work in the more prosperous south and making it easier for southerners and tourists to visit the north of the island.
But the Justice and Development Party (AKP), which came to power in 2002, has its own agenda that focuses on the restoration Islamic practices outlawed by General Mustafa Kemal, the founder of modern secular Turkey who ruled the country from 1923 until his death in 1938. The AKP government kept Turkey out of the Iraq war and it has developed closer ties with its Arab neighbours including the Palestinians. At the same time Turkey has sought to strengthen its position as the eastern flank of Nato to establish itself as the major power in the eastern Mediterranean.
Delegates also pondered on the impact of the global slump and the actions that the AKEL-led government has to take to deal with the crisis. Though Cyprus was better placed to withstand the storm the largely tourist dependent economy has been hit by a five per cent drop in visitors which has had a knock-on effect on the property market. The government is hoping that increased tourism from Russia will fill the gap but it is also planning to curtail the civil service payroll and raise taxes on a number of products, including medicines and foodstuffs to slash the deficit and achieve the EU goal of 4.5 per cent of GDP by the end of 2011. This isn’t enough for the right-wing opposition which wants sweeping cuts in the public sector and more incentives for the market economy and the issue will be fiercely argued during next year’s parliamentary and local elections.
The Cypriot communist movement has thrived despite all the twists and turns within the communist movement. A revisionist, liquidationist trend was defeated in the late 1980s when huge parties, millions strong were collapsing in the people’s democracies of eastern Europe. AKEL has become the leading player in the Cyprus parliament working together with other democratic forces to defend working people and foster peace and reconciliation with the Turkish community. AKEL has established links with some left social-democratic parties in Europe while continuing to play an important role in the network of communist and workers parties because it has retained the ideology of Marxism-Leninism and the long-term objective for the socialist transformation of Cypriot society. There can be little doubt that AKEL will continue to defend and advance the interests of the working people of Cyprus from both the Greek and Turkish communities in the years to come.