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Secretary-General Mr. Kofi Annan,
I would like to share my disappointment with your attitude towards
the invasion of Cyprus and the related plan you submitted.
That plan treats the PERPETRATORS and the VICTIMS of a brutal and
planned INVASION as if they were equally in pursue of Justice.
---- The plan would encourage similar crimes by Turkey and others ----
That plan should NEVER be accepted because it would LEGITIMIZE
SEVERAL crimes against humanity perpetrated by Turkey during the
28 years of INVASION of a large part of Cyprus.
The plan would also DEMORALIZE the several resolutions and reports
of the UNITED NATIONS that condemn the INVASION of Cyprus.
The plan does NOT propose fair nor reasonable conditions for Cyprus
to be FREED from the INVASION it suffered in 1974. But it ENCOURAGES
Turkey and other military-ruled countries to commit similar crimes.
---- Any FAIR plan to end the INVASION of Cyprus should ASSERT ----
A plan about the invasion of Cyprus with Justice as its goal, must
necessarily include at the least the following assertions:
- The IMMEDIATE withdrawal of the 45.000 occupying Turkish troops.
- The IMMEDIATE repatriation of the 120.000 Turkish settlers sent
illegally to the occupied areas of Cyprus since 1974.
- The respect for the unquestionable right of the Hellenic Cypriots,
as well as Armenians and Maronites to return to THEIR properties.
- The return of the Turkish Cypriots who were DISPLACED by the
Turkish settlers (who now OUTNUMBER the Turkish Cypriots).
- The compensation of the victims of the many crimes perpetrated by
the Turkish government during the 28 years of INVASION of Cyprus.
An example of such compensation is the decision of the European
Court of Human Rights in the case Loizidou vs. Turkey.
- The respect of all the many resolutions of the United Nations that
have condemned the INVASION of Cyprus since 1974.
Unfortunately, the plan presented by the Secretary-General does NOT
make those assertions. Instead, it LEGITIMIZES the INVASION of
Cyprus and LEGITIMIZES several crimes against humanity.
---- The crimes against humanity that would be LEGITIMIZED ----
The plan would LEGITIMIZE the following CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY,
which have been DOCUMENTED and CONDEMNED not only by the United
Nations but by the European Court of Human Rights as well:
- The PLANNED INVASION of an independent country. Most of the 37% of
the territory of Cyprus were invaded 20 DAYS AFTER the order had been
restored (after the coup d'etat). The Turkish INVASION resulted in
the partition of Cyprus as proposed by Turkey SINCE THE 1950's.
- The ETHNIC CLEANSING of 200.000 persons (33% of the total).
- The KIDNAPPING of 1.600 of persons, including CHILDREN. Until TODAY
the Turkish government refuses to say what was done to those persons.
- MASS MURDER of thousands, including the bombing of hospitals.
- MASS RAPE of women and children of all ages.
- Systematic LOOTING, DESECRATION and DESTRUCTION of Hellenic
and Armenian churches and cemeteries.
- Systematic LOOTING and DESTRUCTION of the Hellenic CULTURAL
HERITAGE, including archaeological sites of several MILLENNIA.
- EXTERMINATION of the ENCLAVED through persecution and all kinds
of crimes. They were 20.000 in 1974 and are a couple of 100's now.
- CHANGE OF DEMOGRAPHY of the occupied areas by sending 120.000
Turkish settlers. The Turkish Cypriots have been REPLACED in large
numbers. The Turks already OUTNUMBER the Turkish Cypriots.
- The imposition of a total lack of freedom of expression in the
occupied areas. Journalists are systematically attacked, such as all
the documented aggressions against the paper Avrupa/Afrika.
---- The INVASION of Cyprus is the CONTINUATION OF A GENOCIDE ----
The EXTERMINATION of the Hellenic Cypriots and the Hellenic cultural
heritage in occupied Cyprus is the continuation of the same policy of
extermination applied to all other territories ruled by Turkey.
The invasion of Cyprus is the most visible part of the present-day
efforts to continue the Hellenic Genocide. For more information on
the Hellenic Genocide, please see, among other works:
The Hellenic Genocide
Quotes from historical documents and related Photos.
http://www.greece.org/genocide/quotes
The United Nations cannot support the continuation of a Genocide.
---- CONTRADICTIONS that would DEMORALIZE the United Nations ----
The plan is AGAINST the principles of the United Nations and their
efforts to make the world a place where JUSTICE prevails, not FORCE.
Here are SOME contradictions found on the United Nations documents:
-- THE ROLE OF THE SECRETARY-GENERAL
http://www.un.org/News/ossg/sg/pages/sg_office.html
> Equal parts diplomat and advocate, civil servant and CEO, the
> Secretary-General is a symbol of United Nations ideals and a spokesman
> for the interests of the world's peoples, in particular the poor
and
> vulnerable among them.
How COULD a plan like the one of the Secretary-General represent the
interests of the poor and vulnerable by LEGITIMIZING an invasion of
a
small country by a large one and by LEGITIMIZING all the MANY crimes
against humanity perpetrated by the Turks against ALL Cypriots?
-- Universal Declaration of Human Rights
http://www.un.org/Overview/rights.html
> PREAMBLE
> Whereas disregard and contempt for human rights have resulted
in
> barbarous acts which have outraged the conscience of mankind, and
the
> advent of a world in which human beings shall enjoy freedom of
speech
> and belief and freedom from fear and want has been proclaimed as
the
> highest aspiration of the common people,
How could ANY conscious person of ANY nation support a plan that
would legitimize all the many barbarous acts of Turkey in Cyprus?
> Whereas it is essential to promote the development of friendly
> relations between nations,
That goal is NOT achieved by ENCOURAGING INVASIONS and by trying
to MINIMIZE crimes against humanity, like the plan would do.
> Whereas the peoples of the United Nations have in the Charter
> reaffirmed their faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity
and
> worth of the human person and in the equal rights of men and women
and
> have determined to promote social progress and better standards
of
> life in larger freedom,
This plan would RUIN this faith, not only in the eyes of the Cypriots
but in the eyes of ALL persons of ALL nations who WILL learn in
detail about all the crimes perpetrated by the Turks during the
invasion of Cyprus and during the last 28 years of occupation.
> Article 1.
>
> All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and
> rights.They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act
> towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
ALL human beings. That means the people of Cyprus too. The plan would
tell the whole world that SOME people are NOT to be treated equally,
as the CRIMES against them may be even LEGITIMIZED.
-- Charter of the United Nations - Preamble
http://www.un.org/aboutun/charter/preamble.htm
WE THE PEOPLES OF THE UNITED NATIONS DETERMINED
> to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, which twice
in our lifetime >has brought untold sorrow to mankind, and
How a plan that would LEGITIMIZE an INVASION and SEVERAL crimes
against humanity would leave peace to the future generations?
> to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity
and
> worth of the human person, in the equal rights of men and women
and of
> nations large and small, and
How would that plan consider equal large and small nations if it
would reward the responsible for an INVASION of a very small country
by a large one and thus ENCOURAGE similar crimes in the future?
> to establish conditions under which justice and respect for the
> obligations arising from treaties and other sources of international
> law can be maintained, and
What Justice can be seen in a plan that would LEGITIMIZE and REWARD
all forms of INJUSTICE we could ever imagine?
> to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger
> freedom,
The plan would STRENGTHEN a regime that is the ANTITHESIS of anything
we can associate to progress and freedom. Exactly the OPPOSITE can be
seen today in the occupied areas of Cyprus, in which even the Turkish
Cypriots (who were used as an EXCUSE for the INVASION) are replaced
by the illegal introduction of about 120.000 Turkish settlers.
> AND FOR THESE ENDS
> to practice tolerance and live together in peace with one another
as
> good neighbours, and
The plan would treat an INVASION and all the many hideous crimes
perpetrated by the Turkish troops since 1974 in Cyprus as something
that is WORTH DOING, because even the United Nations can
LEGITIMIZE such actions.
That plan would tell the whole world: "WAR PAYS, not peace."
> to unite our strength to maintain international peace and security,
> and
That plan would not end the INVASION of Cyprus and instead, it would
create the conditions for MORE conflicts in Cyprus.
> to ensure, by the acceptance of principles and the institution
of
> methods, that armed force shall not be used, save in the common
> interest, and
That plan would encourage not only the military who rule the Turks
but ALL dictators all over the world to USE FORCE, since even such
a brutal INVASION can be treated as if it were IGNORED by all.
> to employ international machinery for the promotion of the economic
> and social advancement of all peoples,
It's NOT with such UNFAIR treatment of the hundreds of thousands of
Cypriots victimized by the INVASION of their country that the United
Nations will achieve those goals.
On the contrary, the INVASION of Cyprus is a symbol of how the use
of
FORCE by dictatorships like Turkey is against those goals, as one can
easily verify in the occupied areas of Cyprus.
-- ADDRESSING SECURITY COUNCIL, SECRETARY-GENERAL ENDORSES
THREE-PRONGED COUNTER-TERRORISM STRATEGY
http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2002/sgsm8417.doc.htm
> Your meeting today reflects your determination to confront reality
> rather than escape from it; to recognize an evil rather than excuse
> it.
Then, why should ANY conscious person of ANY nation excuse all the
innumerable acts of terrorism perpetrated by Turkey against Cyprus,
BEFORE, DURING and AFTER the INVASION of 37% of its territory?
The plan presented by Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan, would mean
the LEGALIZATION of the INVASION of Cyprus and would most certainly
be seen as and ENCOURAGEMENT for similar crimes by all countries.
> First, we must dissuade the would-be perpetrators of terror by
setting
> effective norms and implementing relevant legal instruments; by
an
> active public information campaign; and by rallying international
> consensus behind the fight against terrorism. To achieve effective
> dissuasion, it is essential to remember that the fight against
> terrorism is above all a fight to preserve fundamental rights and
> sustain the rule of law.
The United Nations cannot expect to dissuade potential terrorists
when one of its plans would LEGITIMIZE all forms of terrorism
perpetrated by a State member against another State member.
---- Conclusion and a Request ----
The plan submitted by Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan, could NEVER
be supported nor accepted because it treats equally the perpetrators
and the victims of several crimes against humanity and contradicts
the principles and resolutions of the United Nations.
I would like to ask Secretary-General Kofi Annan as well as all who
might read this letter to consider all the IRREFUTABLE documented
FACTS that reveal the criminal character of the invasion of Cyprus
and to act accordingly, respecting humanity's right to JUSTICE.
The United Nations Resolutions can be found online at:
http://www.kypros.org/Cyprus_Problem/UNresolutions-list.html
European Union documents on Cyprus
http://www.kypros.org/Cyprus_Problem/eudocs/A.html
Detailed information on the invasion of Cyprus can be found at:
http://www.kypros.org/Cyprus_Problem/index.html
The invasion of Cyprus must END. It cannot be LEGITIMIZED.
Thank you for your attention.
Roberto Lopes*.
São Paulo, Brazil
----
* Activist for the respect of human rights and the prevalence of
Justice and researcher of certain crimes against humanity, such
as the Hellenic Genocide and the invasion of Cyprus.
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