Treaty of Guaranties and the security needs of the communities
Several appendixes constitute the Constitution of the Republic of Cyprus . Appendix A is the Treaty concerning the establishment of the Republic of Cyprus . Appendix B and C are Treaty of Guaranties (The Treaty) and Treaty of Alliance respectively. The Treaty of Guaranties was signed by Republic of Cyprus, Greece, Turkey and United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, c onsidering that the recognition and the maintenance of the independence, territorial integrity, and security of the Republic of Cyprus, as established and regulated by the Basic Articles of its Constitution, are in their common interest and desiring to co-operate to ensure respect for the state of affairs created by that Constitution.
In line with the Treaty, the Republic of Cyprus undertook to ensure the maintenance of its independence, territorial integrity, and security, as well as respect for its Constitution. It undertakes not to participate, in whole or in part, in any political or economic union with any State whatsoever. It accordingly declares prohibited any activity likely to promote, directly or indirectly, either union with any other State or partition of the Island .
On the other hand Greece , Turkey , and the United Kingdom , taking note of the undertakings of the Republic of Cyprus set out in the Treaty, recognise and guarantee the independence, territorial integrity, and security of the Republic of Cyprus , and also the state of affairs established by the Basic Articles of its Constitution. Greece, Turkey, and the United Kingdom likewise undertake to prohibit, so far as concern them, any activity aimed at promoting, directly or indirectly, either union of Cyprus with any other State or partition of the Island.
In all Turkish versions of the Treaty which we had access to, including the official web page of the “TRNC President” article 3 of the Treaty is excluded. We do not comprehend this behaviour. This article states that t he Republic of Cyprus, Greece, and Turkey undertake to respect the integrity of the areas retained under United Kingdom sovereignty at the time of the establishment of the Republic of Cyprus, and guarantee the use and enjoyment by the United Kingdom of the rights secured to it by the Republic of Cyprus in accordance with the Treaty concerning the Establishment of the Republic of Cyprus.
In the event of a breach of the provisions of the Treaty, Greece , Turkey and the United Kingdom undertake to consult together with respect to the representations or measure necessary to ensure observance of those provisions. In so far as common or concerted action may not prove possible, each of the three guaranteeing Powers reserves the right to take action with the sole aim of re-establishing the state of affairs created by the Treaty.
In substance, none of the articles of the treaty address the security concerns of the Turkish and Greek Cypriot communities directly. T he independence, territorial integrity, and security of the Republic of Cyprus, and also the state of affairs established by the Basic Articles of its Constitution was guaranteed and in so far as common or concerted action may not prove possible, each of the three guaranteeing Powers reserves the right to take action with the sole aim of re-establishing the state of affairs created by the Treaty. This could also be interpreted as; by safeguarding the state of affairs the security of the two communities was also safeguarded.
But it is clear that; neither the Republic of Cyprus nor the three Guarantor States could safeguard the independence, territorial integrity, and security of the Republic of Cyprus , and also the state of affairs established by the Basic Articles of its Constitution and/or re-establishing the state of affairs together or individually.
Despite its articles, it is not possible to state that the security of the both Communities was simultaneously safeguarded since the signing of the Treaty on 16 August 1960. During the period between 1960 and 1963, preparations of the underground organisations aiming at the security of the other community, and time to time their own community, psychological arrangements and arming had continued. Treaty of Guaranties and the three Guarantors could not safeguard the security of both communities when bloody clashes occurred in 1963. In 1964 UN created with the consent of the Government of Cyprus, a United Nations Peace-Keeping Force in Cyprus, the mandate of which was to preserve international peace and security, to use its best efforts to prevent a recurrence of fighting and, as necessary, to contribute to the maintenance and restoration of law and order and a return to normal conditions.
The Treaty and the Guarantors could not safeguard the security of the Turkish Cypriot community who were compelled to live under very poor conditions between 1963 and 1974. In 1974 Turkey militarily intervened under the provision to “ take action with the sole aim of re-establishing the state of affairs created by the Treaty”. It is hard to say that the security of hundreds for thousands of Greek Cypriots living in the northern part of Cyprus and tens of thousands of Turkish Cypriots living in the southern part were simultaneously secured and the state of affairs was re-established by the Turkish intervention. Alas, the new state of affairs created by this operation has been declared unacceptable and illegal by the UN Security Council resolutions and the European Court of Human Rights judgements. In 2008, it is still hard to say that the simultaneous and parallel security needs of both communities are safeguarded.
Although the Treaty does not directly include the simultaneous and parallel security of both communities as a direct ambition , such a security could have been loaded on the Treaty. But during the past half of a century, at no time the simultaneous and parallel security of both communities was safeguarded nor the independence, territorial integrity and security of Republic of Cyprus was preserved. On the other hand “to respect the integrity of the areas retained under United Kingdom sovereignty” which is excluded in the Turkish version of the Treaty, and the “strategic interest” of the Guarantors which was always a cause of anxiety, was successfully maintained.
It is inevitable that any solution to the Cyprus problem has to satisfy the simultaneous and parallel security needs of both communities. Thus, if an acceptable solution by both communities is to be found, the new security arrangement should be different. An arrangement where the right to “ re-establishing the state of affairs” could not be abused and its only success is not to safeguard the security and strategic interests of the Guarantors, is a must and cannot be overlooked for the sake of the communities living in Cyprus.
Within this framework, it should be noted and taken into consideration that a new arrangement to meet the simultaneous and parallel security of both communities is needed. Thus the red lines in the negotiations taking place in aim of finding a solution to the Cyprus problem are the satisfaction of the interests and security needs of the two communities.
Ali Erel
President - Cyprus EU Association